Upper Peninsula Weekly Fishing Report – May 11, 2022

St. Ignace: A few lake trout were caught in Lake Huron. Anglers should try trolling artificial baits adjacent to river mouths as the trout were reportedly feeding heavily on smelt.

Manistique: Steelhead fishing improved. Anglers were catching steelhead when drifting beads primarily, but some were caught on spawn. Suckers were in the river in good numbers.

Keweenaw Bay/Huron Bay: Anglers were finding luck trolling around Sand Point and near the head of Keweenaw Bay when searching for salmon. Anglers were able to catch steelhead and coho in good numbers in and around river mouths as well. Walleye numbers appeared to be in good shape with reports of quite a few catch-and-release walleye coming from Huron Bay. Some anglers were finding success casting lures for salmon and steelhead in nearshore waters north of the Sand Point Lighthouse. Anglers should try natural baits in near shore waters and artificial bait in deeper waters while trolling.

Traverse Bays/ South Portage Canal Entry: Better weather conditions have led to an increase in fishing pressure. Anglers were catching coho, Chinook salmon, brown trout, rainbow trout and lake trout. Most successful anglers were trolling while they brought in fish and of those many were using artificial baits. Most fishing pressure was taking place in waters shallower than 50 feet. Some anglers found success specifically jigging for lake trout in deeper waters. Try using silver, blue, or white lures in shallow water for chances at Chinook salmon and steelhead.

Munising Bay: Boat anglers were mainly fishing for coho and the occasional lake trout. There were good catches of coho and some splake. Anglers were mainly trolling stick baits with best luck in morning. Few pier anglers were out with most reporting slow catches or several hours of effort to catch a limit. The rainbow trout appeared down spawning at this time. Some incidental catches of brown trout were observed.

Grand Marais: Whitefish pier anglers reported slow to fair catches with best catches reported in the morning. The best action was on single eggs. A few coho were reported off the pier. Boat anglers reported catches of coho with some rainbow trout but in general has slowed slightly in the past week.

Marquette: Anglers on the Carp River had some success catching steelhead and coho from the river mouth. In the Chocolay River, anglers reported catching steelhead and brown trout. Boating activity was up, and anglers reported catching Chinook and coho salmon offshore near the mouth of the Carp River. Near the break-wall, anglers reported catching lake trout, brown trout and coho. Drifting spawn or beads in the Carp River and Chocolay River had the most success. Anglers casting from the mouth of the of the Carp River were using spawn and crawlers which had the most success. Try trolling offshore near the mouth of the Carp River, or near the break-wall using spoons or flickers.

Au Train: Anglers were successful catching steelhead in the Rock River, and coho salmon from the mouth of the Rock River. Boat anglers reported catching coho and Chinook salmon east of the Brownstone boat launch near the Au Train River. Anglers fishing to the west of the Brownstone boat launch reported catching brown trout and coho salmon in shallower water. In deeper water (150+ feet), anglers reported catching lake trout. Anglers drifting spawn and beads had the most success, while anglers fishing from the mouth had success using spawn and crawlers. For better chance at catching coho, Chinook and brown trout, anglers should try trolling while using spoons or orange flickers. For lake trout, try jigging cut-baits or smelt in deep water for best success.

Les Cheneaux/Detour: Anglers were catching a few splake off the pier and within Hessel Bay. There were many of last years stocked splake being caught averaging around the 18-inch mark. Anglers were catching a few pike within Hessel Bay while out trolling for splake. There were a few largemouth bass spotted within the marina area as well. Anglers were starting to catch a few nice perch off the pier as well, however the strong cold east winds that we have had constantly over the last week has kept the perch catches to a minimum. In Detour, a few boats went out for perch and lake trout, however it continued to be very slow. Anglers were having some luck using bright colored spoons for splake.

Fishing Tip: Use a spinnerbait to target bass

As water temperatures rise, both largemouth and smallmouth bass will start to hang out in shallower water and stick close to areas with cover. Want to know a great tool to target them there? Try a spinnerbait.

Seek out cover; such as logs, boulders or weed patches and cast your spinnerbait in that direction. Often you’ll entice a bass ready to strike unsuspecting prey.