Upper Peninsula Weekly Fishing Report – June 24, 2021

Keweenaw Bay: Anglers had the most luck fishing in Keweenaw Bay while trolling for lake trout and jigging for lake whitefish. Most of the fishing was done in waters deeper than 50 feet. A few coho and rainbow trout were also caught in Keweenaw Bay this week. Fishing pressure was slow in the Falls and Silver Rivers. Some shore anglers had luck near the mouth of the Traverse River.

Au Train: Anglers are still bringing in some decent catches of lake trout. They seem to have moved in shallower waters. Anglers caught some nice ones close to shore.

Marquette: Decent catches of lake trout were brought in. Anglers report catches in shallow water. A few browns and a coho were brought in.

Munising: Fishing pressure continues to be low, with boat angler effort directed towards Manistique and Fairport for kings.  A few boats have been out for lake trout and doing quite well, not always limits but most anglers are catching a few.  Best areas again to fish are towards White Rocks, Wood Island Reef, Grumps Hump and Big Reef.  Some anglers have tried bobbing with limited success – best luck is trolling with flies near bottom near the breaks around 120 to 180 feet.  Anglers fishing Big Reef have been fishing the edges in around 80 feet or less.  Pier anglers have been catching a few nice splake around 18 to 20 using mainly fresh spawn however action has been intermittent.

Grand Marais: Pier anglers continue to do well with limits as long as winds are from the northwest.  Action slows down considerably when winds are from the south.

Little Bay de Noc: Smallmouth anglers are catching fish at the mouth and in the Ford River. Walleye anglers are having a tough time but some reports of success. Limited numbers being caught around Portage Point and out of the Whitefish River when trolling or drifting crawler harnesses. Perch anglers that went out of Kipling and Gladstone had some success. Shore anglers at the Whitefish caught perch. People that fished the dock and shoreline at Gladstone caught perch and rock bass.

Big Bay de Noc: Smallmouth fishing has been good. Catch rates have been mixed throughout the bay. Those that headed out of Nahma and Ogontz found most fish out deep near structure, although some were also caught in the shallows along the shore. In Fairport, some Chinook salmon are being caught.

St. Ignace/Les Cheneaux: The bite has continued to be very slow. There are still few pike and walleye being caught in both the Pine and Carp rivers. Anglers are still catching perch in the Les Cheneaux areas, but are struggling to get the bigger ones to bite.

Fishing Tip: Fishing deep for post-spawn bluegill

After spawning, bluegills will move to deeper water for the rest of the summer, and larger bluegills can be hard to locate. They can be found living near the top of the thermocline (the layer of water between the deep and surface water), where water temperatures approach 69 degrees. Depending on the lake, this depth usually will be somewhere between 12 and 18 feet.

To locate this depth, either use a lake thermometer, available at most larger tackle stores, or contact the nearest DNR office. If the lake has a public access site, fisheries biologists will have surveyed it and will have a temperature-oxygen profile of the lake. This chart will identify the depth with a temperature near 69 degrees.

Try fishing at this depth, where the 69-degree temperature is close to the bottom – usually at the deep edge of weed beds. Use light line (4-pound test or less) tipped with a white ice-fishing teardrop jig baited with a wax worm. Some anglers use slip bobbers, while others fish European style with very long fiberglass poles. Early morning and dusk are most productive.