Curly's Photo and Fishing Blog
Perch Bite
Grand Traverse Bay- I’m hearing good reports on perch on many inland lakes with East Grand Traverse Bay has both a whitefish and perch bite with wigglers working best. Lake Margrethe, Higgins, Lake Leelanau, Fife Lake, Big Glen Lake, Long Lake, Manistee Lake and Portage Lake are reporting good perch bite. This is going to be a great weekend to fish as the deer will not move till late with these warm temps.
Betsie River - Has slowed some, but fish are still being caught all the way up to the Homestead Dam.
Manistee River - It’s about peak time for salmon. Despite the warm temperatures, many salmon are now hitting the gravel.
The perch are starting to show up on a few lakes and some are catching bigger perch on East Grand Traverse Bay off of Samulson’s
Cedarville and Hessel - Salmon activity is beginning to pick up but the perch fishing has slowed. Northern pike have been caught off the pier at Hessel and smallmouth bass were caught by those fishing off the rocky points.
By Escanaba, the bass and pike fishing is fair on Little Bay de Noc. The walleye action is slow on the bay. Some salmon are starting to move into the Escanaba and Ford rivers.
Saginaw Bay - Windy conditions made for spotty perch fishing. The better spots to fish were Buoys 11 & 12 at the Spark Plug and Buoys 9, 15 and 16. A few perch were also taken around the commercial nets off Linwood, the Black Hole and off Oak Point which is near Caseville. Bluegills and crappie were caught in the marina at Sebewaing.
Lake Leelanau - Reported good walleye fishing and a great perch bite on the south -end.
Lake Margrethe reports a fair walleye bite with minnows working best and perch are biting also.
Portage Lake - Good numbers of perch are being caught but the fish are small. The big bluegills, sunfish and rock bass are hitting on minnows or wigglers in 25 to 30 feet of water. Anglers trolling along the drop offs are catching good numbers of pike along with a few smallmouth bass.
Wixom Lake the gills and crappie are on the bite right on the drop-off.
Out of the Kalkaska area, the smallmouth bass fishing is very good on Lake Skegemog. Try using a tube or spinner baits. Fife Lake is producing good perch fishing. Minnows are working well as bait in water ten to 12 feet deep.
Higgins Lake - Some boats are still out trolling for lake trout, but angler numbers have dropped with the onset of hunting season. Perch fishing has been good with wigglers working best.
Houghton Lake - This should be a good weekend to target pike and walleye. Look for the panfish such as bluegills, crappie, and rock bass in waters 8 to 12 feet deep.
And at Cadillac, the pike fishing is very good on both lakes Cadillac and Mitchell. The best spots to fish are near the weed beds.
FISHING REPORT
Upper Peninsula:
Lake Gogebic is producing some very good walleye fishing. The marble eyes have moved into water eight to 12 feet deep on the north and south ends of the lake, near the weed beds. Anglers on the lake are catching good numbers of smallmouth bass, near the drop-offs.
Out of the Marquette area, the salmon and brown trout fishing on the Carp and Dead rivers and on the Upper Marquette and Lower Marquette harbors is fair. Anglers on Lake Superior are catching a few lake trout. Some of the lakers have moved into water as shallow as 20 feet. Anglers on Lake Independence are catching a few walleye, using jigs.
By Escanaba, the bass and pike fishing is fair on Little Bay de Noc. The walleye action is slow on the bay. Some salmon are starting to move into the Escanaba and Ford rivers.
Along the Manistique River in Manistique the salmon and steelhead fishing is very good. Anglers on the river are also reeling in good numbers of walleye.
In the Sault Ste. Marie area, the walleye fishing is fair on the St. Marys River. Anglers on the upper end of the river are catching a few perch. On Munuscong Bay, the walleye fishing is good. The perch fishing is very good around Neebish Island.
Around Drummond Island, the perch and pike fishing is fair on Maxton Bay. The perch are hitting on minnows, in water 12 to 20 feet deep. And at Cedarville, the salmon fishing is fair in the Carp River.
Northwest:
In the Alanson area, the perch fishing is good on Crooked Lake. The best fishing is found near the weed beds, with minnows working well as bait. The bass, perch and walleye action is improving on the Crooked River.
Around Boyne City, the salmon action is good on the Boyne and Jordan rivers and at the mouth of the Boyne River on Lake Charlevoix. Some steelhead are starting to follow the salmon into the rivers. Lake Charlevoix is producing some very good perch fishing.
By Frankfort, the salmon fishing is good on both the Betsie and Platte rivers. The windy weather has been preventing anglers from getting out on Lake Michigan.
The salmon fishing is good on the Big Manistee River and Manistee Lake by Manistee. Anglers on the lake are trolling for the salmon.
Out of the Kalkaska area, the smallmouth bass fishing is very good on Lake Skegemog. Try using a tube or spinner baits. Fife Lake is producing good perch fishing. Minnows are working well as bait in water ten to 12 feet deep.
Anglers along the Bear and Jordan rivers near Gaylord are catching a few salmon. The walleye action is fair on Otsego and Bradford lakes.
And at Cadillac, the pike fishing is very good on both lakes Cadillac and Mitchell. The best spots to fish are near the weed beds.
West:
Out of the Ludington area, the salmon fishing is good on the Big Sable and Pere Marquette rivers. When the weather allows anglers to get out on Lake Michigan, the salmon fishing is fair. Anglers on Pere Marquette Lake are reeling in a few pike.
The Pentwater River is producing some excellent king salmon fishing. Anglers are using thundersticks with spawn as bait.
In the Muskegon area, the salmon fishing ranges from good to very good on the Grand, Muskegon and White rivers. On Lake Michigan, the salmon fishing is fair. The fish are found 50 to 80 feet below the surface in water up to 140 feet deep. During the evening hours, anglers are catching a few walleye on Muskegon Lake.
Fishing activity this week is slow on Chippewa Lake.
And at Baldwin, the salmon fishing is good on the Pere Marquette River.
Northeast:
By Alpena, the salmon, steelhead and walleye fishing is fair on Thunder Bay near Alpena. The best fishing occurs during the early morning or late afternoon hours in water 30 to 40 feet deep. Anglers are catching a few salmon on the Thunder Bay River near the Ninth Street Dam. The perch action on Hubbard Lake is spotty.
Lake Margrethe by Grayling is producing fair to good perch fishing. The bluegill action on the lake is fair.
Around Oscoda, the perch fishing is good on Van Etten Lake. Anglers along the Au Sable River are starting to catch a few salmon.
Out on Higgins Lake, the perch and rock bass fishing is fair. The perch are hitting on minnows, the bass on anything cast their way. Anglers on Houghton Lake are catching a few bass, pike and walleye. The best areas to fish are in water up to ten feet deep, along the weed beds in the lake.
And at Au Gres, the perch fishing is fair on Saginaw Bay. The best area to drop a line in the water is straight out from the Au Gres River, in water about 40 feet deep. Some salmon are starting to move into the Au Gres River. The salmon are hitting on spoons, with blue and silver being the hot color combination.
East:
Anglers on Saginaw Bay near Linwood are reeling in a few perch. Try dropping a line in the water along the shipping channel, in water up to 25 feet deep.
Around Bay City, the perch fishing is fair on Saginaw Bay. Minnows are working well as bait. Two of the best areas to cast a line in the water are by buoy 14 and in front of the Quanicassee River.
Along the Saginaw River, anglers are catching a few catfish.
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