DNR Fishing Report
The weekly fishing report has resumed for ice fishing in select locations. Report information is collected by creel clerks; additional locations will be featured in beginning in March when more creel staff reports are available.
For more information on current fishing conditions, we recommend calling your local DNR fisheries management unit or customer service center, bait shop, sporting goods store or outfitter or checking their social media. Fishing reports for many popular waterbodies are shared on social media and in local and statewide fishing forums.
All anglers 17 years of age and older are required to have a fishing license. Fishing licenses can be purchased at Michigan.gov/DNRLicenses or by downloading the Michigan DNR Hunt Fish app and purchasing your license on the app.
Little Bay de Noc: Anglers fishing the upper bay had limited success. Most anglers targeting walleye reported lethargic marks, making for a tough bite. Perch anglers reported similar results, struggling to convert marks into fish on the ice. Cold temperatures made using set lines outside of the shack difficult. Shiny lures tipped with minnows were the presentation of choice for most anglers. Minnows and wax worms were the preferred bait for perch this week. Anglers fishing farther south toward Escanaba also reported slow walleye fishing.
Les Cheneaux Islands: Anglers in Muskie Bay caught a lot of undersized northern pike when targeting perch. The perch were few and far between in Muskie Bay. In Hessel, anglers caught good numbers of perch, with the majority being throwbacks. Very few splake were caught, and the fish were tough to find. The wind and negative temperatures this past week were brutal. Spikes, wax worms, and minnows were the most popular baits.
Munising: The coho salmon bite was steady this week, with anglers having good success. In the bay, anglers did well on splake and whitefish, but many of the splake caught were undersized. Anglers targeting perch had little success this week, as the bite was slow. Anglers had success using wax worms, wigglers, and eggs for bait.
Fishing tip: Fishing marking but no bite?
When fish are marking on electronics but won’t bite, downsize your presentation and slow your cadence. Lethargic winter fish often respond better to smaller spoons or jigs tipped with a minnow head or wax worm, especially during cold fronts and extreme low temperatures.
This report is intended to give you an idea of what is going on around the state. Updates come from Fisheries staff and conservation officers. With more than 11,000 inland lakes, the Great Lakes and thousands of miles of rivers and streams, not all locations can be listed. However, it is safe to say if a species is being caught in some waters in the area, they are likely being caught in all waters in that section of the state that have that species.