DNR Fishing Report

Last updated: August 19, 2026

Seeing a lot of mentions of walleye in the fishing report? That's no coincidence — walleye is now the most harvested species in Michigan waters of the Great Lakes. Read more about this interesting trend in this Showcasing the DNR story.

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. Buy your license ►

Little Bay de Noc: Anglers targeting walleye reported an uptick in action, catching decent numbers of fish near drop-offs and flats. Anglers reported good fishing during both the morning and evening. Some cast for them primarily near the bottom, while others trolled worm harnesses at slow speeds.

Yellow perch anglers reported good fishing, with the overall catch increasing dramatically. Most of the perch measured 8 to 11 inches, although some larger fish were reported.

Munising: Boat anglers did well on lake trout when trolling and jigging around Grand Island and Wood Island. Anglers trolling the bay reported a few Chinook salmon and coho salmon along with a few splake. Anglers fishing off the Anna River reported a slow bite on splake.

Ontonagon River: The river saw a fair amount of angling effort over the past week. Low catches of walleye were reported, with jigging serving as the preferred method for most anglers. Shore anglers reported catches of walleye, rock bass, and an occasional lake sturgeon in very low numbers. Early morning hours proved to be the most productive time of day for catching these fish.

Ontonagon/Silver City/Union Bay: Angling effort from Ontonagon increased slightly over the past week. Effort from the Silver City and Union Bay access sites also increased slightly but remained lower than in Ontonagon. Anglers reported catches consisting primarily of lake trout in fair-to-low numbers. Brown trout were also reported by anglers, but with much lower frequency. Anglers trolled depths ranging from 70 to 150 feet to find fish.

Black River Harbor: Angling effort was low from the harbor over the past week. Angler reports indicated catches of lake trout in low numbers, with boats trolling depths ranging from 60 to 160 feet to locate fish. Shore anglers fishing within harbor boundaries found little success.

St. Ignace: Chinook salmon anglers trolling spoons off St. Martins Island and the Coast Guard pier reported low catches of salmon. Reports also indicated salmon were staging at the Carp River.

Grand Marais: Boat anglers did well on lake trout when trolling and jigging at deeper depths.

Manistique: Anglers targeting Chinook salmon out of Manistique reported good fishing south of the port and near the Garden Peninsula. Anglers reported good numbers of fish caught, including some individuals around 20 pounds. Spoons were the most common lure trolled.

Marquette: Most anglers continued to troll north of White Rocks out toward north of Granite Rock and the Clay Banks in 120 to 160 feet of water for lake trout, catching fish throughout the water column. Good sized lake trout were also caught out near White Rocks.

A few anglers reported catching salmon and brown trout near Little Presque Isle and the Clay Banks in 60 to 100 feet of water, along with a few steelhead in slightly shallower depths. Few anglers headed out to Sand River and Shot Point, resulting in lower lake trout catches compared to previous early August reports. Prior to the weekend, some coho salmon were reported in 60 feet of water between the Lower Harbor Lighthouse and the Chocolay River, with lines set 25 to 30 feet down.

Au Train: Fishing effort remained light in the Au Train area. Anglers fished depths consistent with previous weeks, working 120 to 160 feet of water. Lake trout were caught near the bottom northwest of Au Train Island and around Wood Island Reef.

Keweenaw Bay/Huron Bay: Anglers reported poor-to-fair fishing over the past week, with a mixed bag consisting mostly of lake trout along with a few coho salmon, splake, and Chinook salmon. Trolling spoons and flasher-fly combinations yielded the most success, while jigging for lake trout produced a slow bite. Anglers jigging reported better success using natural baits in water deeper than 150 feet.

Lake Independence, Big Bay: Fishing activity slowed down with most anglers targeting walleye and yellow perch. Anglers did best jigging in 15 to 20 feet of water using natural bait.

Traverse Bay/Portage Entry: Anglers trolling spoons and flasher-fly combinations near the bottom in 90 to 120 feet of water reported fair-to-good numbers of lake trout. Anglers also reported coho salmon, steelhead, and small Chinook salmon caught while trolling. Anglers targeting lake trout reported a fair bite when using natural and artificial baits, with most fish caught between 100 to 140 feet of water with some anglers finding success in water deeper than 200 feet.

Fishing tip: Glow lures are popular with Great Lakes salmon

Salmon fishing on the Great Lakes is really hitting its stride as many species are getting ready to begin their upstream migration. At the moment Lake Michigan is particularly popular for Chinook salmon with anglers trying various techniques to land this prized sportfish.

One tactic that can be particularly useful when targeting Chinook is fishing with glow lures. This species can often be caught near the surface in low-light conditions and glow lures make that opportunity even more appealing.

In particular, glow lures work well in the early morning hours before the sun comes up or at night. Many believe this type of lure attracts salmon because it can be seen in the dark from longer distances and encourages them to strike.

Are you interested in targeting Chinook salmon this late summer/early fall? Learn more at Michigan.gov/FishID.

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.