Southwest Lower Peninsula
St. Joseph River: Still had good movement of salmon and steelhead through the fish ladder at Berrien Springs.
Dowagiac River: Had good numbers of salmon and a couple steelhead being caught. Most were taken on spawn.
Paw Paw River: Has salmon in the system but no big numbers.
Kalamazoo River: Salmon have been caught from Saugatuck to the Allegan Dam.
Grand River at Grand Rapids: Still has a few Chinook and coho being caught up near the dam. Higher water levels made fishing a little more difficult.
Grand River at Lansing: A few scattered coho have been caught at the Portland Dam and the Webber Dam. Pike were hitting on spinners. A couple smallmouth bass were caught at Moore’s Park. Channel cats were caught on live minnows or cut bait.
Muskegon River: Has trout and salmon but also had good pike and walleye fishing.
White River: Anglers caught Chinook salmon while drifting skein or spawn bags through the deep holes.
Northeast Lower Peninsula
Cheboygan River: Higher water levels and a strong current made it hard to float fish. Anglers have caught Chinook ranging six to 17 pounds when bottom bouncing skein or casting crank baits at the dam. Those targeting pink salmon were using spoons, spinners or spawn behind the paper mill but not many fish were caught.
Ocqueoc River: Anglers caught Chinook on spinners, spawn and crank baits. Fish up to 18 pounds were caught and most of the females were loose.
Thunder Bay River: Has Chinook salmon but anglers had a hard time getting them to hit. Fresh skein under a bobber seems to work best. Atlantic salmon are slow to come in this year, but the action should pick up soon. Try casting body baits, spinners and Cleo’s or drifting beads.
Black River: Anglers were targeting salmon and trout at the mouth when casting spoons, spinners, and crank baits or still-fishing with spawn. A couple small yellow perch were caught on crawlers.
Harrisville: A few anglers targeting Chinook were casting spoons near the mouth of Mill Creek but had no luck. Pier anglers caught walleye when casting rapalas.
Au Sable River: Atlantic salmon continuing to trickle in. Anglers are casting spoons and spinners, floating spawn bags or swinging and drifting streamer flies. Most fish were caught above the Whirlpool, but the numbers were still low. A couple Chinook salmon, smallmouth bass, and pike were taken when casting rapalas and spoons. The river was high and fast. Water temperatures were in the low 60’s and dropping.
Northwest Lower Peninsula
Bear River: Water levels were high. Chinook and coho along with the odd pink salmon and lake trout were caught at the dam but anglers had a hard time landing them. Some of the Chinook had turned quite dark. A couple very small steelhead were hooked. Most were using real and artificial spawn bags or a single egg and flies.
Platte River: Still had good numbers of coho along with a few Chinook and steelhead. Staff at the lower weir plan to allow more fish to pass upstream Friday morning so the weekend anglers should find a decent number of fish.
Betsie River: Had a good run of Chinook salmon in the lower river last week. Coho are also in the river.
Manistee River: Had a good number of salmon all the way up to Tippy Dam and lots of anglers targeting them. Expect the fish to start dying off here in the next week or so. As that happens, coho and steelhead will be moving into the river. Those looking to avoid the crowds might want to fish the upper stretches near Hodenpyle.
Big Sable River: Coho continue to be present at the state park however some anglers had a hard time getting them to hit. A few had success casting wobblers or spinners. The occasional Chinook was taken on spawn.
Pere Marquette River: Had a very good run of Chinook salmon in the lower river. Many are dark in color which will only get worse as the fish start to die off in the next week or two. Look for coho and steelhead to start moving in.
Pentwater River: Anglers drifting skein or egg-pattern flies caught Chinook.
Upper Peninsula
Lac Vieux Desert: The cool wet weather did not hamper muskie anglers hoping to land a big fish. A handful of fish 32-47 inches were caught on suckers or artificial baits. A few small pike were caught right along with fish ranging 30 inches or so. Walleye and panfish anglers were few and far between however some decent size perch were caught on minnows. Anglers had to sort through a lot of small ones to get them.
Marquette: The weather has once again limited fishing. The few boats heading out did catch a couple Chinook, lake trout and steelhead just outside the breakwall. Overall catch rates were low with most getting just one or two fish. Shore anglers had some luck catching coho and steelhead on both the Carp and the Chocolay Rivers. The Dead River is still producing a few Chinook, but the fish are beginning to die off.
Manistique River: Anglers were still getting salmon including some pinks and some Chinook which were turning dark. Walleye have also been caught.
Two Hearted River: Continues to produce some coho. The action did slow with the warmer weather but should pick back up with the cold front.