Upper Peninsula Weekly Fishing Report – June 8, 2022

Little Bay de Noc: Anglers targeting walleye reported fair to good fishing. Catch sizes were primarily smaller fish with sorting through the undersized fish necessary. Anglers had success with various tactics including trolling harnesses or hard baits and drifting harnesses. Some anglers fishing the Escanaba River had luck casting crank baits. Perch anglers reported mixed results. Smallmouth fishing was good. Many of the larger smallmouth moved out of the Ford River but were still being caught in the bay.

Manistique: Walleye anglers were having some success in the river. It appears that most of the steelhead have now moved out of the river.

Keweenaw Bay/Huron Bay: Anglers reported decent numbers of fish caught while trolling and jigging around the mouth of Huron Bay and the Huron Islands. Most catches were lake trout but some coho and Chinook salmon were caught. More fish came off the water from jigging than trolling trips.

Les Cheneaux/Detour: Anglers were catching a good number of Atlantic salmon and lake trout around the lighthouse in Detour while using spoons when trolling. A few Chinook were caught in the area as well. Anglers were also catching plenty of walleye and smallmouth bass towards Drummond Island. In Hessel, anglers were catching pike off of the pier.

Lake George: Fishing in Lake George has been somewhat consistent within the shallow bays along the shore of Sugar Island, where walleye, northern pike, perch and smallmouth have been reported being caught. When the temperature in the bays were low to mid 50s, the fish were moving shallow, which made trolling somewhat difficult (weed beds), but there were numbers being pulled out through the shallow bays. Walleye were a tough bite as of late, hardly hitting cranks or any artificial baits for that matter. Crawler harnesses were the most productive with the occasional pike hit on most of the usual methods as well as by-catch when trolling for walleye. Perch were hitting on perch rigs and the bite was slowly increasing with temperatures.

Lake Nicolet: Fishing in Lake Nicolet was somewhat consistent within the shallow bays along the shore of the lake and the main river channel. There were a couple Atlantic salmon that were caught along with a couple steelhead. Most of the fishing has been more productive down towards Dunbar Park, where shore fishing was producing a good number of harvested fish. In the Upper River, whitefish were caught. Most of the trolling in the area had been hit or miss since most of the fish head shallow for the warmth and forage. Jigging and rigs were more productive in comparison to trolling.

Traverse Bays/ South Portage Canal Entry: Anglers were having success on the lake fishing for lake trout and other species. Anglers catching lake trout were mostly trolling however many anglers also had luck while jigging. Angers who were trolling found the best results fishing in waters ranging from 70 to 150 feet of water. Other fish caught were in shallower water while trolling. Body baits, flasher flies and spoons were reported as successful. If fishing for lake trout in deeper water, try cut bait but if trolling try something that looks like small fish.

Munising: Fishing pressure was very low. Boat anglers were fishing in the mornings for Chinook and reporting fair catches. Boats were trolling mainly in Munising Bay and in the west channel towards Five Mile and AuTrain area. Shore fishing continued to be slow at the Anna River due to large sand bar out from the mouth.

Grand Marais: Fishing pressure was very low. Pier fishing dropped off dramatically with only about 10 anglers out. Pier anglers were targeting whitefish in the early morning and towards dusk. Boat anglers reported only a few lake trout caught.

Carp & Pine rivers: Walleye Fishing were caught in these locations with the rising water temperatures. Most fish were caught near the mouths of the rivers but up river on the Pine river was productive also. Drift a leech under a slip bobber with enough of a leader that your bait is near the bottom. Jigging was less popular in these locations.

Marquette: Fishing activity increased over the last week. Majority of anglers were targeting lake trout with some anglers still targeting salmon. Lake trout were caught in upper harbor itself, as well as around White Rocks in deep water (100+ feet). There was some angling effort near Stanndard Rock where anglers reported great catch rates of lake trout. A lot of anglers fishing near Stanndard Rock returned with their limit. Anglers should try jigging natural baits or trolling spoons in deep water by Stanndard Rock. Anglers fishing in the lower harbor near the Carp and Chocolay rivers had some success trolling for lake trout. For lake trout in lower harbor, try trolling at low speeds using spoons or flickers near the bottom of the water column. For salmon, try fishing spoons or flickers in the top of the water column for best success.

Au Train: Shore fishing in the Rock and Au Train rivers was minimal. Off-shore anglers switched over to lake trout fishing. Some anglers were still determined to catch salmon, but there was little success. Anglers fishing to the west of the Brownstone Boat Launch reported mainly lake trout catches with some brown trout being reported. Anglers fishing east of the Brownstone had success catching lake trout. When fishing to the west of the Brownstone Boat Launch, try trolling or jigging in 150+ feet of water for best results. When fishing to the east of the launch, try trolling spoons at slow speeds in deeper waters.

Upper St. Mary’s: Anglers were primarily targeting whitefish and steelhead toward the Soo Locks. Near Brimley and Bay Mills in Waishkey Bay, anglers were targeting walleye and were more successful in the evening. Trolling while using crawler harnesses in the bay produced the best results.

Whitefish Bay: Walleye anglers trolling in and out of the Tahquamenon River mouth had success. Anglers were reporting several rock bass caught while fishing for walleye, as well as fishing from shore using natural types of bait. The occasional northern pike and muskie were caught and released. Several boats were out in Lake Superior, unfortunately not having much success. Anglers were primarily targeting Chinook and coho salmon and reporting some bites with limited catches.

Fishing Tip:

Free Fishing Weekend on June 11 & 12, 2022 is held in conjunction with “Three Free” weekend, where residents and nonresidents can grab a fishing rod, ride the off-road trails and visit state parks and boating access sites – all free of charge. Take someone out fishing this weekend during Free Fishing Weekend! Learn more at Michigan.gov/FreeFishing.