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2009 Michigan's Upper Peninsula Travel Guide

 

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Week of July 2, 2009
Holiday Fireworks and Fishing Booming
DNR Report

Ontonagon River - Is producing some walleye.

Portage Lake - Anglers have caught some big walleye along the drop-offs and the weed beds. Try minnows or leeches.

Copper Harbor - Has good splake action with nice fish caught on jigs and cut bait. Anglers will need to sort through the small ones.

Eagle Harbor - Has good fishing for lake trout, brown trout and steelhead when trolling or bobber fishing in the lower half of waters 75 to 150 feet deep.

Lac La Belle - Smallmouth fishing has been good for those casting. Pike are still active and hitting on spoons or body baits however the fish are were small. Walleye and crappie fishing were slow.

Keweenaw Bay - The bite was slow but chinook and coho were caught. Early morning was best 35 to 80 feet down in waters 40 to 90 feet deep with spoons. Lake trout were caught when jigging in 220 to 240 feet of water off Pequaming. Good catch rates for those trolling between Gay Point and Big Louie's Point. Try spoons or dodgers and flies in 130 to 150 feet of water. Slow trolling is the trick. Anglers were also picking up lake trout jigging off of Big Louie's Point in 220 to 250 feet of water. Those trolling for lake trout reported spotty catch rates on the Mud Bank and the Farmers Reef.

Marquette - Water temperatures moved up between 50 and 56 degrees. Lake trout fishing was fair to good with some limit catches reported near the White Rocks and Shot Point. Target waters 140 to 200 feet deep. A few chinook were caught in 35 to 50 feet of water a mile or two from the harbor. Fishing at Stannard Rock was good for lake trout.

Menominee - Anglers are starting to get chinook when trolling near Chambers Island. Most are staying south of the Island, but some caught fish to the north as well. Dipsey divers with shiners or flies were taking fish. Walleye were caught on crawler harnesses south of the port in 15 to 25 feet of water. Smaller brown trout and some perch were caught off the pier at the marina.

Menominee River - Those fishing the deeper holes from the mouth to the first dam are picking up good numbers of walleye, but many were small. Try jigging crawlers or trolling a harness. Plenty of freshwater drum and some smallmouth bass have been caught. Catch rates were slow from the Cat Walk and the Hattie Street Dam.

Cedar River - Smallmouth bass are still being caught between the mouth and the first dam but many are sub-legal. Catfish are hitting at night on crawlers or plugs.

Little Bay De Noc - Even with the Mayfly hatch, walleye were caught and the better action was from Portage Point south to the Ford River. Anglers are trolling crank baits along the break in 17 to 25 feet of water. Fair to good action reported in 25 feet of water out from the Terrace Bay Inn when trolling crank baits or crawlers. Several nice perch were taken off the mouth if the Whitefish River in 8 to 13 feet of water. Good smallmouth action especially near the mouth of the Ford River in 4 to 12 feet of water. Chinook and steelhead were caught out by the Ford River buoy by those trolling spoons or fly's about 20 feet off the bottom in waters 80 to 100 feet deep.

Big Bay De Noc - Walleye anglers are trolling crank baits or crawlers in 25 feet of water off Ansels Point. Anglers reported good smallmouth action along the head of the Bay and near Ogontz when casting crank baits, crawlers or tube baits in 4 to 12 feet of water. Lots of small perch were caught in Garden Bay. At Fairport, more anglers are showing up for salmon. Chinook and steelhead have been caught but the fish were scattered in waters up to 130 feet deep. Most are trolling spoons or artificial bait. Good smallmouth bass fishing around the Summer Islands.

Au Train - Had fair catches of lake trout in 140 to 180 feet of water but salmon fishing was slow.

Munising - Is still producing limits of lake trout.

Grand Marais - Whitefish action was hit-or-miss but catch rates for lake trout were good with limit catches taken in the early morning or late at night in waters 90 to 290 feet deep.

St. Mary's River - Is producing walleye all the way down to Raber Bay. Boats were trolling in 12 to 14 feet of water just in front of the Raber Bay boat launch and the Lime Island dock.

De Tour - Is producing chinook and atlantic salmon, lake trout, and steelhead however; anglers need to use extreme caution and watch for nets. Some anglers have lost lines, lures and poles. Try 10 to 50 feet down between the shipping cannel and the lighthouse.

Drummond Island - Limits of walleye were caught in Scott Bay on the northwest side of Peck Island when trolling a 28 inch crawler harness with a bottom bouncer in 10 to 14 feet of water. A few limits of herring were taken in 16 feet of water around Howard Island by those using Swedish Pimples or natural fly's just off the bottom.

Cedarville and Hessel - Fishing for northern pike continues to be excellent for those casting in 4 to 12 feet of water or those still-fishing with chubs. Yellow perch are starting to hit on crab tails or minnows in Cedarville Bay. For herring, some limit catches were taken in McKay Bay when using wax worm sin 7 to 12 feet of water. As the fish continue to come in, try the east end of the Moscoe Channel.

Pine River - Anglers are still-fishing for suckers. Try leeches

St. Ignace - A few small boats are launching from the primitive launch in St. Ignace and targeting pike in the bull rushes. Try casting weedless stick baits in fire-tiger or chartreuse. Boats trolling from the old fuel tanks across the bay to the Coast Guard Station have caught chinook and atlantic salmon along with steelhead. The hot spot for chinook was the west side of the bridge when trolling 15 to 45 feet down with spoons. Good colors were blue or green spoons with white or a white spoons with orange, pink or green stripes.

AAA Michigan Report

The fireworks and fishing will both be booming this holiday weekend. As a note, new sturgeon tags can only be acquired from license vendors and are available as of today according to AAA Michigan.

Lake Gogebic has a Mayfly hatch taking place and fish are suspended off the bottom. Try using slip bobbers with Rapalas. Perch seem to be active in the weed beds.

As the weather improves so does the fishing in the L’Anse area and anglers can expect good fishing opportunities for the holiday weekend. Crappie and blue gill are just starting to bed and anglers are working hard for salmon. Lake trout activity is good and pan fish is also decent. Worms and wax worms are working well on the majority of inland lakes.

Escanaba fishing has been quiet this week, however by the weekend the action will start booming as better weather moves in. Pike activity is on the rise, particularly in the weeds and when anglers use spinner and crank baits.

Rain and wind has plagued the area all week so anglers are really looking forward to nice weather over the weekend. A few bass and walleye are hitting in the Manistique River on stick baits and crawler harnesses. Lake Michigan is giving up a few salmon and activity is on the rise, most salmon have been caught closer to Fairport. Indian Lake has been slow overall.

Fishing activity has improved around the Sault Ste. Marie area. Whitefish and Atlantic salmon can be caught behind the Power House and near the ferry docks. Spoons, flies and Rapalas seem to work well. Walleye is rated fair and often times hit or miss, the fish seem to be going deeper. Try crawler harnesses and crawlers.

Near the Munuscong Bay area Raber Bay and the St. Mary’s River is giving up walleye and pike on hard baits and crawler harnesses. Bass are biting on everything. Off of Cedarville herring activity is good when using tear drops and wax worms. Pike are also biting in good numbers. Lake trout, Atlantic salmon and a few King salmon are hitting off of Detour.

Drummond Island anglers dealt with rain and cool temperatures this week and overall slow fishing. The weekend forecast is expected to bring warmer temperatures and much better angling activity.

St. Ignace anglers fishing Brevort Lake are finding a few walleye and the pan fish are moving on to their beds.

Information Providers: Johnson’s Sports-Drummond Island; Bay View Bait & Tackle-Escanaba; Top O’ Lake Sport-Manistique; Hank’s Sporting-Sault Ste. Marie; Wilderness Treasurers-Munuscong Bay; ACE Hardware-St. Ignace; Indian Country Sports-L’Anse and Gogebic Grocery-Bergland.