Fishing Report

The action was not fast and furious but some pier anglers have caught steelhead and whitefish. Steelhead fishing may pick back up by the weekend.

Fishing for steelhead did slow, but should pick back up with much colder weather in the forecast. Those fishing the East Branch continue to catch steelhead near the Whitney Drain.

Pier anglers continue to catch whitefish. Early morning or late afternoon was the best times to fish with a teardrop and wax worm fished just off the bottom.

Steelhead, lake trout and whitefish have been caught from the mouth up to the Foote Dam when drifting an egg, wax worm or wiggler.

Pier anglers are catching whitefish off the North Pier in the early morning.

Whitefish along with an occasional steelhead have been caught from the mouth up to the Ninth Street Dam.

The walleye were hitting good with the warmer temperatures. Boat anglers were trolling or drifting. The fishing was good up near Wickes Park with some limit catches reported.

Pier anglers continue to fish for lake trout and whitefish.

Walleye have been caught in the Trenton Channel near the Power Plant and in the Humbug Marina at Gibraltar when jigging with minnows. Yellow perch have been caught around Sugar Island and at the Cross Dike east of Sugar Island. Good perch fishing was also reported in the marinas around Grosse Ile.

A good number of anglers have been out fishing for perch. Fair catch rates were reported off Sterling State Park, but anglers will need to do some sorting and throw the small ones back. Some walleye were also caught.

Higher flows during the past week or so will likely bring a fresh supply of steelhead into the river. Fishing from now through the middle of December should be good from the dam at Flat Rock downstream to Rockwood. Try casting crankbaits, spinners, spoons, and drifting spawn or wax worms under a bobber. Look for the deep holes with large logs and other current breaks. Small boats can be launched off Church Street and downstream of the Telegraph Road Bridge. For shore fishing, try one of the parks such as Huroc Park below the Flat Rock Dam or Labo Park which is east of I-75 on South Huron River Drive.

Lake Erie surface temperatures are in the 40’s.

With decreasing water temperatures, be sure to take extra precaution when fishing on Lake Erie.

Walleye fishing remains hot from Cedar Point to Vermilion, as well as in Cleveland. Water depths have ranged from 25’ to 45’, with some fish coming in shallower water. Crankbaits have been the ticket for both numbers and size, and large fish are being taken on Reef Runners, Ripsticks (try Blueberry Muffin, Blue Hawaiian, Wonderbread, and Mooneye), and Rapala Husky Jerks (Glass colors seem better). Most fish have been caught in the top 10 to 15’ of water. Night fishing success from both piers and boats has been sporadic.

Yellow perch fishing had been spotty. Few catches have been reported as most anglers have either switched to walleyes or finished for the year. Try traditional areas from Catawba to Cleveland. Be prepared to search for fish.

Steelhead fishing has been fair to good in the Vermilion River, Rocky River, Chagrin River, Grand River, Arcola Creek, Cowles Creek, Geneva State Park, Conneaut Creek, and along the Conneaut west breakwall. Shore anglers are using small spinners and spoons, and jigs and maggots rigged with a split shot under a light bobber. Boat anglers have caught steelhead by trolling near the Vermilion breakwall.

Whitefish can still be found in the East Bay. Jigging wigglers or pimples in 60 to 90 feet of water has worked best. Steelhead have been caught near Elk Rapids.

Steelhead have been caught from the mouth up to the dam when floating spawn under a bobber or fishing just off the bottom.

Pier and surf fishing for steelhead has been good on the right day. Fair to good numbers of whitefish have also been caught.

Is still yielding fair to good numbers of steelhead especially between US-31 and the Homestead Dam.

Boats trolling just outside the pierheads have caught some steelhead. Depending on the day, pier anglers have also caught steelhead and whitefish with the better catch rates coming off the North Pier.

Continues to provide anglers with fair to good numbers of steelhead. Boat and shore anglers can be found from Tippy Dam down to Manistee Lake.

A few boats are still trolling just outside the pierheads. Shore anglers are still catching the occasional steelhead and whitefish when floating spawn, wax worms or a piece of crawler under a bobber. Those surfcasting up near the State Park continue to catch fish.

Continues to provide good steelhead fishing, though angler numbers have dwindled.

Good numbers of whitefish have been caught in the channel, but this fishery could be done in the next couple of weeks. The better fishing has been at night when using jigs fished near the bottom.

Still no word on steelhead fishing around the Lansing area. There are fish in the river and anglers should take advantage of the warm temperatures this week to start fishing for some of the resident fish.

Still has good numbers of steelhead in it. Anglers are using a white jig with a wax worm or floating spawn bags in the early morning. You want a good drift to keep up with the current. Some nice brown trout have been caught on spawn bags with 3 or 4 eggs. A couple lake trout were taken on glow-in-the-dark Wobble Glows. Walleye fishing has also been good. Anglers are bouncing jigs with minnows or casting bodybaits. Some nice largemouth bass were caught at Millennium Park when using large shiner minnows.

Boat anglers trolling with spoons have caught some salmon and steelhead. Some nice perch have been caught in 60 to 75 feet of water.

Steelhead action has slowed due to high water levels. Both the steelhead and walleye action should return once the water levels come back down.