NORTHEAST LOWER PENINSULA

Alpena/Thunder Bay River: In the Thunder Bay River, the steelhead were reported to be done for the year. Anglers targeting northern pike, smallmouth bass, and walleye had success throughout the river when using spinner baits, crank baits, and drifting crawlers. A number of bullhead and rock bass were also caught. Those fishing closer to the pierhead had good success on northern pike, as well as smallmouth bass and the occasional Atlantic salmon. Boat anglers targeting walleye had hit-or-miss success when fishing waters 14 to 20 feet deep. A few fish were caught on crank baits near Sulphur Island in the evenings and early mornings. Boat anglers trolling the shipping lanes and toward Northpoint caught a few walleye, freshwater drum, lake trout, and Atlantic salmon. Bright-colored spoons worked well for trout and salmon in depths of 25 to 40 feet deep. Crawler harnesses were starting to be effective for walleye and catfish throughout the bay. The waters around Thunder Bay Island gave up decent numbers of lake trout and Atlantic salmon, with some Chinook salmon mixed in. The most targeted depths were 50 to 80 feet of water, with fish scattered throughout the water column. Orange, green, and watermelon spoons worked well for trout and salmon, along with dodgers and Spin-n-Glos.

Rockport: Lake trout were abundant from Middle Island all the way to Stoneport in depths of 20 to 80 feet of water. Bright-colored spoons fished high on planer boards worked well for both trout and salmon. Gold/green, chartreuse, and orange were good colors for Atlantic salmon and steelhead, while dodgers and Spin-n-Glos in white and chartreuse fished close to bottom worked well on trout. With cold water temperatures, fish were still scattered throughout the water column.

Rogers City: Lake trout were reported to be abundant, and anglers did well once they were able to locate the fish. Good places to fish were reported to be up the lake toward the state park and 40 Mile Point or south toward Adams Point and Swan Bay. The best depths were around 30 to 70 feet of water. Anglers were deploying a variety of techniques, such as lead core, dipseys, and downriggers, and were running lines all through the water column for the best results. Anglers also reported using dodgers with Spin-n-Glos and spoons. Good colors were greens, oranges, blue, yellow, and other bright colors.

Ocqueoc River: The steelhead were reported to be gone. Anglers reported doing well on smallmouth bass when casting small spinners and body baits.

Harrisville: Lake trout fishing remained strong when using spoons and Spin-n-Glos in 30 to 50 feet of water. Spoons with vibrant colors and a silver back seemed to produce the best results. Mixed in with the lake trout were a few Atlantic salmon and a steelhead caught when targeting the middle to upper section of the water column.

Oscoda/Au Sable River: Anglers still had some success walleye fishing the lower river and off the pier. Casting crank baits and drifting crawlers produced the best results. A few Atlantic salmon were caught off the pier using minnows or casting spoons, with the best colors being orange/gold and blue/silver. Lake trout and a few coho salmon were caught when trolling spoons in 50 to 70 feet of water. Steelhead fishing below Foote Dam began to die down. Fish that were still around were mostly caught while bottom-bouncing flies.