Curly's Photo and Fishing Blog
Perch Runs are Still Good
Perch runs have started in many places and we will keep you updated as we find out where they are biting. The Indian Summer still has the perch biting in many lake in Northern Michigan, with Big Glen, Crystal, Lake Ann, Lake Leelanau, Lake Charlevoix, West Grand Traverse Bay, Lake Margrethe, Higgins Lake and Manistee Lake. Many are saying most inland lakes are having a perch bite the last few days..
Lake Charlevoix - Anglers are catching small perch.
Glen Lake - Has excellent perch fishing with limits reported. Several fish were in the 10 to 12 inch range. Wigglers seem to work best for the bigger perch but shrimp, minnows and worms also took fish in 30 to 40 feet of water. The best time is early morning as the bite shuts down after lunch. The rainbows are active and feeding at the surface. Lots of rock bass were caught.
Portage Lake - Good catches of large and smallmouth bass have come from the south shoreline on tubes and crank baits. Good numbers of rock bass, northern pike, and a few chinook were caught by anglers casting along the drop-offs and docks.
Skegemog Lake - A lot of bass anglers are still taking fish in the flat between the Torch River and the Baggs Road Access, off Fairmont Drive and near the Narrows. They are using lures and natural baits such as crawlers and leeches in waters 3 to 20 feet deep. Some nice 21 to 25 inch pike were caught and bluegills can be found in 10 to 12 feet of water.
Little Bay De Noc - Walleye catches were down with a few fish taken between Garth Point and the Second Reef or south of the Black Bottom when trolling or drifting crawlers in 10 to 20 feet of water. A few perch were caught around Butler Island. Good smallmouth action between Hunters Point and Garth Point.
Big Bay De Noc - Bass fishing was fair with most of the fish taken around Garden Bluff when drifting minnows in 10 to 20 feet of water. It is still a bit early for the really good bass fishing that anglers are accustomed to in the fall. No salmon off Fairport as most of the fish are moving into the rivers.
Higgins Lake - Very few fishing but the perch are biting and they are nice size for once.
Houghton Lake - Cooler nights have the northern pike biting. Minnows and large crank baits are taking fish. Walleye action remains steady.
Portage Lake - Good numbers of panfish are still being caught in the deeper waters on the east end of the lake. Good walleye and pike fishing. The walleye bite is better at night and the pike are hitting on small spoons and body baits throughout the day.
Hamlin Lake - Big bluegills can be found on Upper Hamlin in 5 to 10 feet of water. Try wax worms on ice fishing jigs or crawlers on a single hook fished a couple feet off the bottom. Bass fishing remains good.
St. Mary’s River - Has good numbers of pink salmon between the Power Plant and the tour boat docks. Anglers are casting or jigging Swedish Pimples and spoons. Good walleye action in the early morning when trolling a bottom bouncer with a crawler harness and blades. Some nice yellow perch were caught in the weedbeds across from the ferry dock on Neebish Island. Good smallmouth action off the southeast corner of Sugar Island in 20 feet of water.
De Tour - Chinook and lake trout are still being caught in the shipping channel. Green and blue spoons worked well. Walleye are still being caught around Peck Island, Rutland Island, Scott Bay and north of the city launch. Off Drummond Island, perch were caught in 6 to 8 feet of water near Ashman Island and Harbor Island.
Cedarville and Hessel - A few salmon have been caught in 30 to 45 feet deep. Lots of splake were seen along the shoreline in Hessel Bay. Pike fishing has still been good along the weeds in 6 to 8 feet of water. Perch fishing continues to be good and the smallmouth bass have started to bite, especially around the points and shallow bays. Small spinners and tube baits are taking fish. Largemouth are hitting in shallow waters on the east end of Hessel Bay..
Saginaw Bay - Perch were caught from a variety of locations including the Spark Plug, the Callahan Reef, and 2.5 miles north of the Quanicassee River. Perch were also caught in 50 feet of water off Oak Point which is up near Caseville. Walleye fishing is quite slow, as it always is this time of year. A few channel cats were taken at the Hot Pond.
AAA Fishing Report
Upper Peninsula:
AAA Tip: The Manistique Lake boating access site will close October 6-27 for repair and dredging.
Sault Ste. Marie anglers are finding good fishing conditions on the St. Maryâ??s River for Kings around the Power House when using J-plugs and Pink salmon are being reeled in on Swedish Pimples. Crawler harnesses seem to be working well on very good counts of walleye and actually the walleye fishing is the best it has been in years. Walleye are biting in weed beds and waters over a foot deep. Anglers are catching plenty of small size perch, but waiting for the big ones to arrive. Pike action is decent throughout the River with anglers using crank baits with good results.
Good activity around the Munuscong area where anglers are pulling in nice numbers of walleye and bass on the St. Maryâ??s River and Raber Bay jigging. Perch action is good using minnows on Munuscong Lake in line with the Barbeau area. Salmon action is good on the St. Maryâ??s River using spawn and spoons.
Drummond Island anglers fishing Scott Bay and Maxton Bay will find nice catches of perch in 12-feet of water. Perch minnows and crappie rigs with minnows seem to work well. Bass and pike action is rated fair.
In St. Ignace conditions are good for fishing walleye on Brevort Lake using jigs and St. Martinâ??s Bay is giving up good salmon action between 9 p.m. and 1 a.m. Baits of choice include glow Cleos and J-Plugs.
Off of the Hessel and Cedarville areas, anglers can expect some good perch fishing on St. Martinâ??s Bay. It appears that the fishery is rebounding after years of Cormorant devastation. Pike are also moving in and out of the shallows for a fall bite. Spoons and spinners are working well.
The Manistique River is producing good numbers of Pink and King salmon. Stick baits and flies are working best.
In the Bergland area, Lake Gogebic continues to give up decent catches of walleye on minnows, mostly near the weed beds. As the water starts to cool down the fish are moving towards fall fishing patterns.
In Marquette area the angling activity is slow, mainly due to hunting season starting. A good time for anglers to get some time alone on the waters, just be sure to wear bright colors. Walleye season closes next week for inland lakes. A few fish are moving into shallower waters from Lake Superior, but most remain out in 140-feet.
Around the Escanaba area, walleye are spread out on Little Bay DeNoc and anglers are drifting and trolling in 25-40 feet of water. Perch are hitting at the north end of the Bay, specifically around Butlerâ??s Island. Pike can be found in the weeds all over the Bay when using spinner bait or big crank baits. Ford River is giving up good catches of salmon on big jointed Rapalas.
AAA Tip: The Glen Lake boating access will close October 1-8 for dredging.
Throughout the Traverse City area good fishing opportunities are plentiful. Excellent fishing is taking place on the East Traverse Bay for whitefish, specifically near Bunker Hill Road. Limits are being taken in a short timeframe. Salmon are packed and stacked in the rivers and in a holding pattern near the mouth of the rivers due to warm water. Salmon action is rated fair to good on the Betsie, Manistee, and Boardman rivers. Spoons, crank bait and spawn are the baits of choice. Inland fishing is getting better and better as small mouth bass move up on to the flats. Crank bait, spinner bait, tubes and jerk baits are working well. Long Lake is also good for bass activity. Perch action is good on Lake Leelanau, Long Lake and West Traverse Bay using wigglers and minnows.
Boyne City anglers are finding good action on Lake Charlevoix for salmon pretty much all over and near the mouth using spawn bags. Perch numbers are good fishing the Lake Charlevoix shoreline from Boyne City to Young State Park. Anglers are using perch minnows with good luck.
Off of Frankfort the salmon are biting on a variety of flies, spawn, spinners and imitation spawn on Lake Michigan. Crystal Lake is giving up perch but anglers will need to move around a lot. Wigglers and minnows are working best.
Manistee anglers are finding great salmon action on the Big Manistee River on the lower end using Storm Deep Jr. Thunder Sticks and casting. Salmon action is good off of the piers casting spoons and trolling on Lake Michigan and fishing 40-50 feet down.
Lake Cadillac is giving up some crappie, but not in great numbers. A few small pike have been pulled in and perch are starting to show up. Mitchell Lake is also producing minimal amounts of crappie, perch and pike.
Alanson anglers are obtaining fair catches of salmon on the Betsie River. Burt and Crooked lakes are both decent for perch and pan fish.
Around the Kalkaska area water levels are good on the lakes as well as Elk Rapids Dam. Small mouth bass on Lake Skegemog are starting to pick up.
Gaylord has some great fishing on the Boyne, Black, Sturgeon and AuSable river systems. Trout action is fair to good and fish are biting during the mid-day into the early evening hours. Salmon are active on egg patterns on the Boyne and Jordan rivers. Bass and walleye are everywhere and crank baits and crawler harnesses are working well.
West:
In the Baldwin area, excellent salmon fishing taking place on the Pere Marquette River as well as out of Lake Michigan. Salmon range anywhere from 15-35 pounds. A few Coho and steelhead are running in the rivers as well. A variety of baits are working on salmon, but egg patterns seem to be the best with wigglers working well on Coho and steelhead. Beautiful new chrome Chinook are appearing in the rivers.
Ludington anglers are fishing for a variety of species. Pan fish, bass and pike are doing well on Hamlin Lake. Salmon are active on the Pere Marquette River as well as the Pere Marquette Lake. Fishing off the break wall is good and anglers are using spawn and thunder sticks. Steelhead and brown trout activity is rated fair off of the Charles Mears State Park.
Off of Muskegon, Lake Michigan is producing good amounts of salmon in 150-200 feet of water and fishing down 80-110 feet. Anglers are using spoons and plugs with good results. A few salmon are being pulled in around the pier heads on J-plugs. Muskegon River is giving up fair quantities of salmon. Muskegon Lake is fair to good for blue gill near the weed edges on leaf worms.
Northeast:
In the Cheboygan area, salmon continue to move up the Cheboygan River, with hit or miss activity. If a pod is moving up, good catches are taking place. Anglers are using fresh salmon eggs still in the skeins with a bobber or free drifted. Spoon and spinner anglers are provoking strikes. Anglers trolling are hitting fish on J-Plugs in an up-and-down River pattern. Fish recently caught are weighing in at 25-27 pounds.
Lake Margrethe in Grayling is great for good numbers of perch. Anglers are fishing in 20-feet of water with perch minnows, crappie or perch rigs. Muskie action is good in 25-feet of water, bottom fishing with a spinner dragging or using live sucker minnows. Walleye activity is on the rise and should really pick up within 30 days.
Oscoda anglers are doing well for salmon that have moved into the AuSable River. Off of the high banks and near the mouth of the River are the hot spots with spawn eggs working well. Foote Dam Pond is giving up nice catches of bass and walleye on crawlers and wax worms, while Van Etten Lake is good for perch on the same baits.
On Higgins Lake the perch fishing is fair with minnows and anglers are doing ok jigging for lake trout on big Swedish Pimples.
Houghton Lake is always great for fishing, and this week is no exception. Good action for walleye while trolling with crawler harnesses with bottom bouncers in 7-8 feet of water. Crank baits and Hot-N-Tots are also working well. Big pike (16 pounds) are hitting on Rapalas and large sucker minnows. Small mouth bass are biting on night crawlers and crank baits. Perch and pan fish are spotty.
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