Are you an angler in the Southern Lower Peninsula? Discover where the fish are biting! Read the latest fishing report to find out which fish species are being caught, what baits and lures are working best, and where the hotspots are located.
Here is the latest from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources
The southeastern portion of the lower peninsula is abundant in various fishing opportunities across multiple bodies of water.
On Lake Erie, shallow water near the coal power plant proved fruitful for yellow perch caught through jigging minnows. Meanwhile, walleye were caught with crank baits while trolling near the Sterling State Park beach and nuclear power plant. The latter location also produced steelhead on silver and blue crank baits during sunny days.
Moving to Lake St. Clair, smallmouth bass were caught successfully using a combination of crank baits, soft plastics, and swim baits. Anglers found success closer to shore in 10 to 15 feet of water, ranging from the Nine Mile ramp to the Clinton River Spillway. Additionally, walleye were caught while trolling crank baits and jigging artificial minnows in the Delphine Channel and near Peche Island.
Saginaw Bay proved to be a bit more challenging for anglers, with limited activity in certain areas. Walleye were caught between Quanicassee and Fish Point using body baits and crawler harnesses, while the area cuts and marinas were tried by a few anglers fishing for panfish. Jigging and trolling around Spoils Island caught some walleye, and Sparkplug proved useful
for catching yellow perch in 25 feet of water.
Saginaw River saw boat anglers vertically jigging for walleye near the DNR launch, using both minnows and plastics. Though numbers were not great, averaging around 3 to 6 fish per boat, there was some success. Shore anglers in Bay City caught a few walleye using jigs and twister tails at Veteran's Park. While freshwater drum, channel catfish, and white bass were being caught upstream of Bay City, the latter are beginning to run the tributaries to spawn, although it appears to be early in the season for them.
The lower southwest region offers a range of fishing opportunities, albeit with varying degrees of success.
In Muskegon, brown trout and coho salmon were difficult to come by for pier anglers, while boats trolling in deeper waters between 30 to 60 feet managed to catch a few Chinook salmon using chartreuse and green spoons.
Muskegon River saw most steelhead anglers focusing their efforts upstream of Thornapple launch despite improved water clarity downstream. While angler numbers seemed to be tapering down, there were still enough steelhead being caught. Most anglers drifted beads under a float, although using flies in the same setup also proved successful.
In St. Joe, fishing was generally slow, but boat anglers targeting coho had some success with fish scattered in waters ranging from 10 to 60 feet. Boats also caught some lake trout and occasional Chinook salmon in deeper waters between 60 to over 100 feet using small crank baits and spoons. Pier anglers managed to catch a few coho using spawn fished on the bottom.
Finally, South Haven anglers reported slow fishing, with both pier and boat fishing yielding limited success. While a few lake trout were caught around 60 feet of water, overall conditions were poor and boat pressure was low.