Fishing Report

Good fishing continues this week with a number of chinook salmon taken in waters 50 to 110 feet deep. Boat anglers are heading both north and south of the pierheads. Pier anglers are drifting spawn for trout and salmon in the early mornings.

The fish are here and making their way towards the river. Boat anglers are taking trout and salmon in waters 60 to 120 feet deep. J-plugs and spoons in green and white, blue or anything that glows have caught fish. Watch for the trout and salmon with the missing adipose fin. Pier fishing has been slow except for the few fishing showing up in the early morning or late evening. Anglers have been jigging off the short pier with live bait.

Just got a fresh run of salmon in the river. Anglers have done well up near the Sixth Street Dam when using egg flies, spoons, spinners, and spawn bags in the early morning or evening. A few coho, steelhead and brown trout have also been caught. Walleye have been caught west of the fish ladder in the Pole Hole. Anglers will find very good northern pike action in the backwaters.

Fish have been in 70 to 120 feet of water and are moving in closer with the rain and north wind. Fish have been hitting J-plugs and flies in blue or green and white. Coho are now starting to show up. Many of these fish are missing the adipose fin, which means they have a microscopic coded-wire tag implanted in the head. Anglers need to examine their fish closely. Pier fishing is slow until the salmon show up at the pierheads. Casting green spoons or fishing with alewife and shrimp will produce fish, when they are chasing baitfish around the pierheads.

Boat anglers are catching some nice perch in 40 to 60 feet of water. Salmon fishing continues with mostly chinook taken in 60 to 100 feet of water. The majority of fish caught were taken in 85 feet of water.

There is good movement of summer run steelhead and chinook salmon going through the ladder at Berrien Springs. Try drifting small spoons, egg flies or spawn. Good numbers of bass have been caught along the weed beds and areas with good structure.

Chinook salmon and lake trout have been caught from the Shipping Channel to the #3 Green Can and around the Lighthouse. Salmon have been averaging 4 to 12 pounds with a few up near 18 pounds. Anglers are using lime flies, lime squid, spoons or silver J-plugs. Yellow perch are biting at Squaw Island, Pigeon Cove, Harbor Island and Yacht Haven. Anglers are fishing 15 to 20 feet of water using worms and minnows.

Boat anglers have caught a few coho when running spoons about 28 feet down in 40 feet of water. In Traverse Bay, lake trout were hitting off Big Louie's Point and several miles out on the east side of Big Reef. Anglers were trolling spoons 80 to 140 feet down in waters 100 to 150 feet deep. A few limits were taken. Those jigging for lake trout were having a tough time due to rough seas and strong currents.

Anglers are catching some nice bluegills and crappie in 30 to 40 feet of water using crawlers, wax worms and minnows. Decent catches of bass were taken near the piers and on the edge of the weed beds in the early morning and evening hours.

Walleye have been caught when drifting crawler harnesses in 9 to 12 feet of water. Northern pike fishing has been slow but should improve with the cooler temperatures. Good numbers of large rock bass have been caught on worms.

Perch have been caught along the drop-offs in 35 to 40 feet of water around the entire lake. Good perch fishing was reported north of Sunken Island when using perch rigs with perch minnows. Lake trout have been caught when trolling spoons or plugs. Rumor has it that brown trout were spotted in shallow waters south of the DNR Boat Launch. Smallmouth bass continue to bite, and good numbers of rock bass have been caught.

Has excellent perch fishing when the north winds are not blowing. Some nice large fish have been caught in 35 to 45 feet of water near the Shipping Channel and off the Hotel. Some have reported catching perch in waters 25 to 30 feet deep. A few walleye were caught south of Point Au Gres.

Anglers have caught fair to good numbers of lake trout along with the occasional chinook salmon. The better action has been between 50 and 100 feet of water using dodgers with cut bait. A few smaller boats have been fishing out in front of the pierheads early in the morning for chinook.

Cold water is here. Good fishing in the shallows 30 to 60 feet deep off Stoneport, North Bay, near the Lighthouse, and straight out from the harbor. Use the same techniques and lures as the anglers at Rogers City, except here spoons have been working better. Look for structure and bait fish.

Rain along with winds from the east, southeast have caused the lake to turnover, and surface temperatures are in the mid 40's. This would be a good time to fish Swan Bay as cold waters are close to shore. Most are using downriggers, planer boards and dipsey divers. Try using spoons, plugs, flies and squid in white, black or glow. Some are trolling in waters 30 to 120 feet deep, but the better fishing has been in 30 to 60 feet of water in the early morning as the salmon are chasing baitfish in the shallows.

Reported fair perch fishing all week out near Buoys 18 and 22. A few walleye were taken when trolling crawler harnesses or still-fishing with crawlers off the second Spark Plug. Slow action off Sebewaing due to the weather. A few perch were taken in 12 feet of water near Lone Tree Island. At Caseville, a few perch were caught off Oak Point.

Those fishing between the Blue Water Bridge and Marysville have caught walleye when drifting crawler harnesses. Shore anglers have also done well when fishing off the rocks near the bridge and off the wall. Bass anglers reported fair to good action when fishing along the weed beds.

Walleye have been caught at the mouth of the river near the Canadian Border waters and just south of Horse Island in 12 to 14 feet of water. Those jigging with brown rubber worms or leeches have caught fish ranging from 17 to 21 inches. Perch anglers are fishing the southern portion of the river near the mouth as the cooler weather should push more fish into the river. Try fishing southeast of the Metro Park Channel and around Sugar Island. Bass have also been caught on tube baits, live crayfish and imitation gobies. Look for areas with structure such as the Dumping Grounds.

Walleye fishing in the central basin has been very good. Fish have been caught on the sandbar between Vermilion and Lorain, eight miles out north of the Cleveland E. 72nd Street lighthouse in 58 to 62 feet of water, 10 to 12 miles north-northeast of Geneva in 70 to 72 feet of water, and 10 to 12 miles north-northwest of Ashtabula in 70 to 72 feet of water. Fish have been caught on worm harnesses or spoons colored in black/purple, white/red, purple/black, and copper, trolled with dipsy divers or jet divers off planer boards. Fish are suspended and anglers are fishing down 30 to 50 feet.

Yellow perch fishing is improving in the central basin with good catches reported one-half to two miles off Vermilion, Lorain and Avon, five miles north of the Cleveland E. 72nd Street lighthouse in 51 feet of water, five miles out around the Cleveland Crib in 50 feet of water, two to three miles north of Ashtabula in 48 to 55 feet of water, and two to three miles north of Conneaut in 48 to 55 feet of water. Fish have ranged from seven to 11 inches. Perch rigs with shiners fished near the bottom produce the most fish.

Smallmouth bass fishing has been excellent on Ruggles Reef between Huron and Vermilion, and along the shoreline from Fairport Harbor to Conneaut in 15 to 29 feet of water. Fish have been caught on goby color tube jigs, goby color drop shot rigs, jigs tipped with minnows or leeches, or by trolling crankbaits.

The best white bass fishing has been one-half mile north of Eastlake CEI power plant. Anglers are using agitators with white, yellow and green twister tails. Shore anglers are catching white bass at the Eastlake CEI, Mentor Headlands lighthouse, Wildwood State Park, Rocky River, Avon Lake and Lorain piers using agitators with white, yellow and green twister tails or small spoons.

Fishing effort directed towards walleye has greatly decreased as western basin anglers are switching to perch fishing. With limited reports the best areas have been along the Canadian border from Middle Sister to West Reef and around islands-area reefs. Drifters are using mayfly rigs or weight forward spinners, while most trollers are using worm harnesses or spoons with jet or dipsy divers.

Yellow perch fishing is improving in the western basin and should continue to improve as we head into fall. The best areas have been "B" and "C" cans of the Camp Perry range, west and northwest of Green Island, Niagara Reef, one to two miles southeast of Kelleys Island, and northeast of Kelleys Island shoal. Perch spreaders with shiners fished near the bottom produce the most fish.

Smallmouth bass should start moving shallower as water temperatures drop heading into fall. Fish rocky drop-offs and reefs around the Bass Islands and Kelleys Island, along with nearshore areas from Catawba Island to Sandusky Bay, to find active fish. Tube jigs and drop shot rigs with goby imitations are the most popular set-ups for smallmouth.

Good numbers of walleye have been caught near Pearl Street and behind the Museum. Walleye have also been caught at night in the shallow pocket waters. A few salmon have been caught on spinners and spoons below Wealthy Street. Rain in the forecast could push more fish into the river. Some 35 to 40 inch northern pike have been caught on sucker minnows when fishing the pocket waters just outside the current. Catfish can be found in the deeper holes.

Anglers are starting to catch salmon on spawn and flies. Fish have been spotted as far up as Custer already.

Also has very good fishing for chinook and coho. Anglers are trolling with spoons or plugs in waters 50 to 100 feet deep both north and south of the pier in the early morning or at dusk. Pier anglers are having luck casting in the morning for chinook. A few northern pike have also been caught.

Fish have started to move up into the river. The tubes at Stronach are producing good numbers of fish. Anglers are reminded of the spawning closure from September 1st through November 14th from a point 300 feet downstream from the DNR weir to Manistee Lake.

Has been very productive. Good numbers of chinook have been caught first thing in the morning or at dusk in the top 50 feet of waters 60 to 100 feet deep. A few fish have been caught in the middle of the day in much deeper water. The coho are just starting to show up.