Travel Marquette
DNR Fishing Report
May 14, 2025
Looking for a new place to fish? Check out our helpful maps for fishing locations around Michigan.
For those fishing or paddling in the disaster area encompassing Mackinac county, please be aware that waterways may contain new obstructions, including downed trees and branches. Please also be aware of possible boating access site closures.
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.
All anglers 17 years of age and older are required to have a fishing license.
St. Ignace: Just off the Wawatam Lighthouse and in front of Mackinac Island, lake trout anglers were successful trolling downriggers with spoons. Greens, silvers, whites, and purples were good colors to use. Suckers were in at the Carp River.
Grand Marais: When strong winds were not prevalent this past week, boat anglers who went out had the best success trolling west of the breakwall picking up some coho salmon and steelhead. It was also reported that boat anglers had success jigging for lake trout. Anglers fishing early morning off the breakwall had very good success on whitefish, with only a few coho salmon reported caught. Anglers on the breakwall had the best success when using spawn. Few steelhead and coho were reported caught by shore anglers on the mouth of the Sucker River.
Munising: Anglers fishing off the Anna River Dock reported some splake and whitefish using spawn and casting spoons. Anglers trolling the bay were still catching good numbers of coho salmon and also caught a few splake and Chinook salmon mixed in. Boat anglers jigging for lake trout did well outside of the bay.
Ontonagon River: Over the past week, the river saw very little pressure from anglers. Reports suggest that very few fish were caught.
Ontonagon/Silver City/Union Bay: Fishing efforts from these ports was fair over the past week. Strong winds limited access to the lake on occasion. Anglers had luck in catching mixed bags of coho salmon, lake trout, and brown trout. These fish were caught in low numbers by those trolling shallow waters. The Silver City boat launch dock remains out of the water.
Black River Harbor: Over the past week, the harbor experienced a low amount of angling efforts. This is likely due to recent weather limiting fishing activity. Boats trolling shallow waters reported mixed catches consisting of coho salmon, Chinook salmon, lake trout, and brown trout in low numbers.
Little Bay de Noc: Anglers that went out for yellow perch this week had mixed results; some anglers had success catching their limit or close to it, while others had trouble staying on active schools. Perch anglers used minnows and small, soft plastics. Anglers targeting smallmouth reported good fishing around river mouths and in relatively shallow water.
Big Bay de Noc: Anglers reported good smallmouth fishing in Ogontz Bay, near the mouth of Fishdam River, Garden Bay, as well as near Nahma. Anglers targeting smallmouth in the shallows used soft plastics and jerk baits. Reports of slow perch fishing in Garden Bay.
Les Cheneaux Islands: Anglers in Hessel were still having some luck catching perch at the marina, but they were tight-lipped and there was a lot of sorting required. There were a few splake caught off the docks on the inside and outside, caught on minnows, smelt and spawn. Anglers going out in boats were trolling for splake and mostly catching pike. There were good numbers of smallmouth bass caught around the bays of Hessel as well. Detour is still slow with little to no activity.
Fishing tip: Try using polarized sunglasses
Polarized sunglasses on sunny and even overcast days can make spotting fish much easier. The lenses used eliminate any glare on the water made by the sun, allowing you to cast at fish you may have never known were there otherwise.
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.