Michigan DNR

The weekly fishing report for the Upper Peninsula, released by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources

Ontonagon River: Angling efforts on the river were extremely low over the past week. Reports suggested that few fish were caught. The floating docks in the Ontonagon Marina have been removed from the river for the season.

Marquette: Anglers had success both trolling and jigging for lake trout from north of the White Rocks out toward Granite Island. Anglers reported doing well in both deep and shallow waters. Reports were received of coho salmon and steelhead around both the Carp and Chocolay Rivers, at the mouths. Most of the fish were reported to have started to move into shallower water now that the water temperature has dropped. Lake trout fishing remained very good.

Ontonagon/Silver City/Union Bay: Ontonagon saw low amounts of angling efforts over the past week. Union Bay and Silver City saw slightly higher efforts. Reported catches consisted of lake trout, brown trout, and coho salmon. Reports suggest that anglers had the best luck when trolling in water depths of approximately 80 to 100 feet of water.

Black River Harbor: Angling efforts in the harbor remained low over the past week. Recent catches consisted of lake trout, coho salmon, and brown trout in low numbers. Anglers reported having the best luck when trolling in water depths of 60 to 80 feet. Those fishing at the mouth of the river have had some success in catching coho salmon when casting spoons.

Little Bay de Noc: There were limited numbers of anglers fishing this week. Anglers targeting smallmouth bass reported good fishing with quality catches. Some anglers casted plastics for bass, while others drifted live bait near the bottom. Most perch fishing success was in the shallows.

Big Bay de Noc: Anglers primarily targeted bass. Anglers reported slow to fair fishing — large size catches, but small numbers of bites. Some anglers cast soft plastics or trolled crank baits for bass, while some drifted sucker minnows on drop shot rigs.

Keweenaw Bay/ Huron Bay: Anglers reported fair to good numbers of salmon caught. Anglers caught coho salmon and pink salmon while trolling spoons, crankbaits, and flasher-flies in the upper portion of the water column. Anglers also occasionally caught splake while targeting salmon.

Traverse Bay/Portage Entry: There was low angling effort from these ports in the last week. Anglers reported catching fair amounts of lake trout with a few salmon mixed in. Anglers reported most fish were caught in 40 to 80 feet of water while trolling.

Grand Marais: The salmon bite was slow. Anglers reported catching a few salmon off the Sucker River mouth casting spoons and using spawn. Boat anglers did well trolling for lake trout.

Munising: The coho salmon bite was very good for boat anglers trolling the bay and anglers fishing from the pier at the mouth of the Anna River. Anglers did well casting spoons and using spawn for both coho salmon and splake. A few coho salmon made their way up into the Anna River.

St. Ignace: At the Carp River mouth, anglers reported that they caught steelhead while using spawn off of the cement footing pier. There were no reports of salmon at the Carp River. At Nunns Creek, high numbers of salmon moved into the creek to spawn. Anglers floating spawn in the early morning and late evenings were the most successful. Other lures that caught salmon were stick baits and spoons.

Au Train: Anglers targeting lake trout reported good success. Most anglers who caught fish were fishing northwest of Au Train Island out to the flats in around 120 to 160 feet of water, finding that both trolling and jigging were effective. Anglers who fished around the Wood Island Reef did not do as well according to reports. Anglers who found success were trolling or jigging for lake trout in around 120 to 180 feet of water north to northwest of Au Train Island. Salmon and brown trout anglers were fishing in around 60 to 100 feet of water between Au Train Island and the Rock River and heading out toward the clay banks.

Les Cheneaux/DeTour: Anglers in Hessel caught a few smallmouth bass from boats, as well as some bass and pike from the pier. In Cedarville Bay, anglers caught a few perch, but had to sort carefully for keepers.

Fishing tip: Big smallmouth

Don’t overlook inland lakes for big smallmouth bass. As water temps drop into the 50s, smallmouth bass feed aggressively to bulk up for winter. Focus on rocky points, drop-offs, and the edges of dying weed beds using jerkbaits, tube jigs, or drop-shot rigs. Midday warmth can spark feeding activity, especially on sunny days.