Chain: With the cooler days the bite has moved to a midday time frame. There have been some reports of stained water in most of the lower lakes. Water clarity is poor, and this is affecting the fishing. The water temps have dropped into the 60s, and the fish are starting to put the fall feed on. The bass will…
ASHLAND AREA Chequamegon Bay fishing is good on the days Mother Nature cooperates. The smallmouth bite is best on days with a little chop, and the best bite is on suckers on the rock pile, breakwall, and tip of Long Island. Walleye anglers report success on weeds, the rock pile, and channel edges. With falling water temperatures, trout and salmon…
LAKE MILLE LACS East – Smallmouth bass and walleyes are hitting crankbaits on the reefs in 5 to 12 feet. The walleye bite has been best in the evenings. Muskies should be up on the reefs as they begin to chase spawning tullibees. Look for northern pike to hit minnows or crankbaits along the weedlines in most bays. Johnson’s Portside (320)…
Traverse City Area Salmon fishing has been slow in Grand Traverse Bays. Steelhead are starting to show up in the Manistee and Betsie rivers. Spinnerbaits have been catching good numbers of smallmouth bass on Green and Duck lakes. Grouse hunting has been pretty good, and archery deer season should be fair. Deer numbers are down a little. WildFishing Guide Service,…
Kettle Creek (Potter County) — Brook trout were hitting in recent weeks, with stimulator fly patterns (16) working for some. Allegheny River (Potter County) — The delayed-harvest section around Coudersport was yielding trout on Royal Wulff (12), small beadhead Prince nymphs, and Pheasant Tails in recent weeks. Hamilton Lake (Tioga County) — Panfish and bass were reported, with bass up…
LAKE MILLE LACS East – The wind has limited fishing activity and only a few walleye anglers headed out last weekend and early this week. Look to the sand in 16 to 20 feet during the day or the rock points and shorelines at night with crankbaits. Muskie, smallmouth and northern pike reports also have been limited, mainly due to a…
Chain: Walleyes are good in current areas such as bottlenecks of the bridges, most being caught on fatheads or nightcrawlers. White bass good at Marie and Bluff on small spinners. Muskies are consistent on bucktails or jerkbaits around main lake points. Crappies are good in channel areas on small jigs tipped with small fatheads or spikes. Bluegills good around weed…
ASHLAND AREA Finally the salmon are starting to show up, but not in huge numbers. Fish managers think the overall numbers may be down this year. Trollers say the salmon are good-sized. People are trolling on the first break at about 20 feet. Most are trolling crankbaits and spoons. Some fly fishermen have been successful with streamer flies. Smallie fishing…
LAKE MILLE LACS East – Anglers are finding numbers of small walleyes on the 16- to 22-foot sand during the day. Look for the trolling bite at night to start picking up on the rock reefs and points with the next full moon. Muskie activity has improved on the shallow rocks, smallmouth bass remain an easy catch, and there are some…
East Jordan Area A few walleyes are being caught on Lake Charlevoix, and a good panfish bite has been reported by anglers fishing on the Ellsworth Chain of Lakes, but fishing pressure has been light. The early goose season was good, and the regular season should continue to be good. Grouse and woodcock hunting has been good, with respectable bird…
East Branch Clarion River (Elk County) — The delayed-harvest stretch was fishing well, with trout taking terrestrials such as beetles and flying ants. Curwensville Reservoir (Clearfield County) — Yellow perch, bluegills and pumpkinseeds also were hitting on butter worms and pieces of red worms. Channel cats were hitting crawlers and chicken livers in the evening hours. Spring Creek (Centre County)…
LAKE MILLE LACS East – Walleyes continue to hit crankbaits during the evening hours and at night on the shallow rock reefs, while the day bite has been more inconsistent. Live bait, crankbaits, or plastics will turn smallmouth bass on the reefs as well. A few muskies are being seen on the deeper weedlines along the north end and sucker minnows…
Chain: The panfish bite is very consistent. Fish small jigs tipped with spikes or waxies under a slip float. Fish the weedbeds and set your depth to just above the weeds. The largemouths have moved into the channels and the heavy mats of weeds. Fishing a scum frog or other weedless bait has been producing some good bass as well…
ASHLAND AREA Chequamegon Bay fishing was tough last week due to storms rolling through the area, dirtying shorelines and blowing out the streams. Anglers were catching smallies in deep water on suckers, while walleye anglers trolled crankbaits over weed beds. Outside the bay, brown trout and steelhead are starting to show up at the mouths of the Sioux and Onion…
LAKE MILLE LACS East – Walleyes are hitting crankbaits at night on the rock reefs in 6 to 12 feet. During the day, these reefs will produce smallmouth bass on a variety of presentations. Muskie reports have been limited, but northern pike continue to hit spinnerbaits or sucker minnows in the bays and north-end weedlines. Johnson’s Portside (320) 676-3811 West –…
East Jordan Area Salmon fishing has been good off the pier heads on Lake Michigan, on spinners and spawn. A few fish have moved through Lake Charlevoix and into the Bear, Jordan, and Boyne rivers. Walleye fishing has been fair in the south arm of Lake Charlevoix. Panfish action has been good on the Bellaire Chain of Lakes, and bass…
Cowanesque Reservoir (Tioga County) — Don’s Tackle Shack reported Aug. 28 that numbers of bass up to 6 pounds were hitting on creature baits, crankbaits and drop-shot rigs. Lake Hamilton (Tioga County) — Don’s Tackle Shack reported that nice numbers of panfish were hitting on waxworms, mealworms and live minnows through Aug. 28. Colyer Lake (Centre County) — The Pennsylvania…
LAKE MILLE LACS East – During the day, walleyes are hitting slip bobbers and leeches on the 12- to 20-foot rocks, and at night, crankbaits are working on the 6- to 12-foot rocks. Catching smallmouth bass remains easy on the 3- to 6-foot rocks and muskies are starting to show up on the shallow reefs. Some big northern pike are being…
Lake Michigan: Slow fishing for perch and smallmouth bass are hitting live pond crabs. A few Chinook salmon were reported at 63rd Street. The perch fishing has been on and off from the shore up north. The city is a different story. Casting spinners with softshells or shrimp near the weedbeds seems to be the presentation of choice. The fish…
ASHLAND AREA Fishing remains stable on Chequamegon Bay. Smallmouths are in deeper areas. Use suckers. Some days allowed sight-fishing in shallower water with plastics, minnows, crankbaits, or flies. Walleye anglers are slow-trolling crawler harnesses and crankbaits in deeper water. Anglers casting spoons and spinnerbaits along the breakwall and the Ashland shoreline are catching northern pike. Trout and salmon anglers are…
LAKE MILLE LACS East – Walleyes are hitting spinner rigs during the day on 12- to 18-foot rocks, while slip bobbers and leeches are best on the mud flats in the evenings. Trolling has worked for pike on the 12-foot weedlines, as are sucker minnows in the bays over 8 to 16 feet. Trolling has been best for muskies on the…
East Jordan Area Panfish action remains very good on Lake Charlevoix. Bluegills and crappies are hitting leaf worms and wax worms fished in 6 to 10 feet of water. Walleye fishing is heating up in the south arm of Lake Charlevoix. Bass fishing has been very good, with spinnerbaits and tube baits producing the best results. Salmon fishing has been…
Cowanesque Lake, Hammond Lake (Tioga County) — Don’s Tackle Shack reported Aug. 15 that this 1,085-acre reservoir was fishing well with largemouth bass hitting on crankbaits, dropshot rigs, creature baits and jigs, and green pumpkinseed, black and blue, and black and red the go-to colors. Bass sizes were mixed up to 5½ pounds, with a number of fish over 3…
LAKE MILLE LACS East – Drifting sucker minnows on the 10- to 15-foot weedlines in most bays has produced northern pike. Smallmouth bass are hitting tube jigs or crankbaits on the rock piles in the southeast corner of the lake and the weedlines on the north end have been best for muskies. Walleye reports are limited during the day, but the…
Lake Michigan: Yellow perch are spotty. Northeast winds and thunderstorms have affected the perch fishing. If summertime weather holds up, perch should be hitting both for boaters and shore fishermen. Chinook are very deep. Fishermen are going to the north and south reefs. North reef is better, fishing in 175 to 220 feet of water. Bigger kings and lakers are…
ASHLAND AREA In Ashland, trout and salmon trolling is excellent from Long Island to Outer Island to the flats and everywhere between. Anglers trolling crankbaits are catching brown trout on the first breaks in early morning and on the rocks around the islands during the day. In deeper water, lake trout are abundant for anglers trolling spoons and Spin-N-Glos (hot…
