Fishing Report

Fishing for chinook, steelhead, and some coho has been good in front of the piers and along the shore up to Point Betsie with most fish being caught in 30 to 110 feet of water. A good number of chinook have also been caught trolling inside the harbor near the Coast Guard Station. Salmon have been caught on both piers and the wall in the early mornings on krocodiles and wobblers. At the M-22 Bridge chinook are being caught by drifting spawn, and fish continue to be caught as far up as the Homestead Dam on spoons, spawn, and spinners.

Perch fishing has been steady. Crayfish and crawlers are producing some of the bigger catches in 50 feet of water off the narrows. Smallmouth bass fishing has been great on Little Glen Lake. Trolling for lake trout in over 100 feet of water has been producing some nice catches as well.

Salmon have moved into the river system. Anglers are reminded of the spawning closure that will close the river to fishing on October 1st, and will remain closed through the end of November.

Fishing for chinook salmon has been good around North Manitou Island and off the First Bank, with most fish in the 8 to 12 pound range. Salmon have moved into the harbor where casting has been producing chinook early in the morning. Body baits such as thunder sticks and rapalas have been working best. Lake trout fishing has been slow at best.

A good number of salmon are being taken as a large number of fish moved into the river over the past week. Most anglers drifted spawn bags or casted glow-in-the-dark spoons in the morning or evenings.

On West Bay, anglers continue to catch good numbers of chinook salmon while trolling the mouth of the Boardman River and by the Red 8 Buoy. Spoons and Hootchie Mamas with green or flies trolled 30 to 50 feet down in 60 to 90 feet of water produced the most action. On East Bay, boaters continue to catch fair numbers of salmon along the Wall on the south bank of Old Mission Peninsula while trolling baits 30 to 50 feet down in 60 to 110 feet of water. Smallmouth bass action is also good on East Bay using spinners, jerk baits and tube baits along the Old Mission Peninsula by Old Mission Harbor.

Salmon are still being caught in Lake Charlevoix off Whiting Point to the old power plant, with some fishing at the mouth of the Boyne River and Horton Bay. Anglers have also been targeting salmon in the Ironton Channel and the Coast Guard Station near Charlevoix. Trolling spoons and J-plugs 22 to 80 feet down in 25 to 100 feet of water are producing catches in the 10 to 15 pound range. Perch anglers continue to do well in Oyster Bay, Two Mile Bay and near the Charlevoix Yacht Club in 10 to 25 feet of water using minnows and nightcrawlers. Smallmouth bass fishing has slowed. Anglers have been using artificial worms and tubes, fishing in 15 to 22 feet of water near Horton Bay and the Ironton Channel.

Large numbers of salmon are showing up in the river.

The lower river is full of fish and they should be moving up towards the dam. Anglers are using pearl colored or fire tiger flatfish, spinners in pink and orange, and spawn bags.

Both pier and boat fishing has slowed. Boat anglers are fishing about 120 feet down in waters 80 to 200 feet deep for salmon. Blue, green and yellow spoons have been working well.

Coho salmon have made it to the point where the Grand River and the Red Cedar River meet. Fish were caught on spoons and spinners. Other good spots to fish are near Grand Ledge and Lyons. Fair to good fishing for crappie, bluegill, rock bass and sunfish when using small rubber baits tipped with a wax worm.

Good numbers of salmon can be found up near the Sixth Street Dam. Spawn or flies have worked best. A few brown trout and steelhead have also been caught in the last few days. Salmon were caught when drifting Hot-n-Tots off the bridges. Walleye fishing was slow with only a few fish taken up near the dam. Catfish are still hitting strong.

Boat and pier fishing has been slow. Anglers are fishing 80 to 200 feet deep with salmon being caught at 120 feet. Blue and green spoons or flies have worked well in the morning, switching to yellow as the sun gets brighter.

There are fish in the river, however, they are not real active. Chinook salmon are the predominant fish, with a few coho and brown trout being taken. The best area is at the mouth of the Paw Paw River where it comes into the St. Joe, using jigging spoons. Boaters are using Hot-n-Tots and flat fish from the mouth to Berrien County Sportsmens Club. Large numbers of fish are at the dam, with few being taken by drifting spawn and flies.

Pier fishing is fair for chinook salmon, with most of the fish caught at night. Those trolling are catching chinook in 100 to 150 feet of water.

Some salmon have been spotted in the river.

Perch fishing is still good when boats can get out. Best fishing is in 30 to 40 feet of water.

Pier fishing for perch has been slow and the fish are small. A few chinook, walleye, channel cats, pike and smallmouth bass have been caught.

Salmon are being taken while trolling near the mouth as fish are just starting to enter the river.

Action has been slow for both lake trout and salmon. Anglers targeting salmon have been fishing in front of the pier heads early in the morning. The best baits have been J-plugs in chrome, pearl, or green patterns. Pier anglers have been catching salmon on glow spoons or body baits in the fire tiger pattern. Offshore anglers have been fishing for lake trout in 90 to 120 feet of water. Bluegill fishing is good in the backwaters and ponds.

Boat and shore anglers are still fishing the river for salmon. Construction continues on Fletcher Street and may cause the Second Street Bridge to be closed at times. Anglers can still access the river by using the launch on Ford Street. The Ninth Street Bridge will be closed until November. Shore anglers may have difficulty accessing their favorite fishing spot up near the dam.

Fishing has been fairly slow. Only a few river anglers have caught fish. Boating anglers fishing closer to the river mouth had more luck.

Salmon are being taken off the pier in early morning just before sunrise. Most anglers fishing off the end of the pier are casting into the waters on the north side. Walleye have been caught along the Shelf, which is about halfway out to Middle Island and runs parallel to shore. Try trolling 18 to 20 feet down in waters 20 to 30 feet deep for walleye, lake trout and steelhead. Good trout and salmon fishing on the east and northeast sides of Middle Island. Try 60 to 70 feet of water with spoons or small plugs. The Sink Hole located just off the Lighthouse is also a good place to fish for salmon, lake trout and walleye.

There is good fishing in 30 to 60 feet of water using spoons, J-plugs, bombers and attractors. Best colors have been white, green, blue, and black and white. Use anything that glows when fishing early or late. Reef runner body baits off planer boards have been working well. The best areas have been straight out from the Can and south toward Stoneport. Fish are also being taken off North Albany Point as well as north of the big lighthouse.

Fish are staging off Swan Bay and the river. Fish waters up to 60 feet deep using planer boards with one or two colors of lead. Good lures have been J-plugs, bombers, flashers like the Hootchie Mamas and spoons. The best colors are white or pearl, green with a black ladder back, green splatter, purple splatter, silver, and blue. Use anything that glows when fishing early and late. Fish waters 50 to 60 feet deep straight out or north towards Forty Mile Point using spoons or early summer fishing techniques.