Keweenaw Bay: Anglers are picking up a mixed bag in the early morning from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. when trolling 25 to 35 feet down in 35 to 50 feet between the Baraga Marina and the Head of the Bay. They caught Chinook, coho, splake, lake trout and browns. Those fishing in the evening between 7 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. caught Chinook, coho and lake trout from the red can south of Sand Point and north towards Old Mission 30 to 50 feet down in 40 to 70 feet. Anglers are also seeing baitfish. Lake trout and coho were caught by those trolling or jigging from Hermits Cove south to 7-Mile Reef and off Big Louie’s Point. Those trolling 1.8 to 2.5 mph caught coho and lake trout. Those jigging were out in 180 to 260 feet off Big Louie’s. Lake trout were caught near the South Portage Entry as well as between the lighthouse and the Mud Banks in 60 to 90 feet.
Little Bay De Noc: Walleye anglers reported fair catches in the northern Bay with the Second and Third Reefs producing fish in 10 to 20 feet with crawler harnesses or stick baits at night. Excellent catches were reported south of the Ford River near No-See-Um Creek when using crank baits or stick baits in 16 to 20 feet. Most of the walleye here were bigger ranging four to eight pounds. Good catches of perch were reported between First and Second Reefs with minnows in 13 feet, off the Escanaba River in 20 to 25 feet and south to Portage Point fishing 10 to 18 feet down along the break with minnows or crawlers. Walleye anglers were also catching a lot of pike. Salmon anglers reported spotty catches out by the Ford River Buoy and just northeast of it when trolling spoons 30 to 60 feet down in 70 to 110 feet. The best smallmouth fishing was just south of the Ford River near Round Island when casting plastics in 12 feet.
Big Bay De Noc: Had fair to good walleye catches with those fishing well into the night reporting the best fishing. Most are trolling stick baits in 10 to 22 feet between Stoney Point and Kates Bay. Smallmouth anglers reported good catches around St. Vitals Island in 10 to 14 feet, Kates Bay in 12 feet or around Ansell’s Point in 14 to 18 feet when casting plastics and spinners or jigging with crawlers. Salmon anglers off Fairport did best at dusk. Those fishing during the day caught mostly lake trout. Many have traveled south to St. Martins Island where good catches of Chinook were reported 40 to 60 feet down in 80 to 120 feet.
Marquette: The Upper Harbor at Presque Isle Marina remains closed for renovation so the Lower Harbor is the main public launch at this time. Most are targeting lake trout with some using high-lines for a possible salmon. Success has varied with some managing to get a limit of lake trout while others caught nothing or only a few. Many are heading north and east and fishing the “white rocks”, Little Presque Isle, Partridge Island, the “Sand Hole” east of Marquette or the “Humps” out near Granite Island. Fish were caught flies and spoons tipped with cut bait in 140 to 180 feet. A few coho were caught off the Lower Harbor area. Those jigging in 50 to 80 feet near the reef out by Stannard Rock had good success.
Big Shag Lake: The boating access site located off Marquette County Road 557, along Knudsen Road will be closed beginning Monday, August 17 through Friday, August 21 for installation of a new concrete ramp. There is no alternate boat launch in the area.
Au Train Lake: Fishing improved slightly with several large smallmouth bass up to 20 inches and 4 pounds caught and released. A few more legal pike were also caught. Bass and pike anglers are casting spinners and small crank baits. Those targeting perch are using worms or small spinner rigs but most of the fish were less than 8 inches. Walleye fishing improved with a couple more legal size fish caught when trolling crawler harnesses and crank baits. Schools of minnows and small perch were seen near shore. The weed beds are dense. Surface water temperatures were right around 70 degrees.
South Manistique Lake: Water levels are down and lake temperatures are warm. Continue to fish deeper than usual for walleye and perch. The walleye were scattered but north of Norton Island continues to be the hot spot. On windy days, try drifting crawler harnesses with bottom bouncers along the deeper parts. On the calm days, use the same setup with pink blades and purple beads for monster perch. Pike fishing remains hot.
DeTour: Was producing a few more steelhead, Chinook and Atlantic salmon in the five to eight pound class. Anglers are trolling upstream of the lighthouse with 5 color lead core and three inch spoons for Atlantic and steelhead. Blue, white and chrome colored spoons worked best. Lake trout fishing was excellent for those trolling from the green buoy west of the lighthouse and back to the red buoy on the east side. Use chrome spoons 35 to 40 feet down in waters over 80 feet deep.
Drummond Island: Walleye fishing slowed in Scott Bay. Those trolling early morning and late afternoon caught a few along the west side of Rutland Island in 12 to 14 feet. In Maxton Bay, anglers are drifting and jigging crawlers in eight to 10 feet from Bay Island east to the old Drummond Island Sportsmen’s Club. Northern pike fishing was fair on the southeast side of Grape Island when trolling or casting chrome spoons with red eyes in six to eight feet along the weed beds. Those fishing the mouth of Harbor Island caught sunfish and rock bass in three to five feet.
Cedarville and Hessel: Pike fishing is good all throughout the Les Cheneaux Islands. Those casting in Moscoe Channel did best but fish were still caught by those trolling or still-fishing with chubs in all other locations. Perch fishing was excellent in Moscoe Channel and Hessel Bay. A few Chinook and lake trout were caught out of Hessel.
The Weekly Fishing Report is intended to give anglers an ”idea” of what is going on around the state. Updates for the report come from our DNR Fisheries Creel Clerks (seasonal staff) and field staff as well as DNR Conservation Officers working in in the field. General information when available can be found in the first paragraph for each section of the report. For those looking for specific information on a certain body of water or port, it is safe to say if a certain species is being caught in some waters in the area, more than likely they are being caught in all waters in that section of the state that have that species.
While we would love to include all waters and ports of the state that simply is not possible, especially with more than 11,000 inland lakes, the Great Lakes and thousands of miles of rivers and streams.
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