NORTHEAST LOWER PENINSULA

Alpena: Fishing Thunder Bay was a challenge for most anglers. Walleye became difficult to find and were scattered over waters 20 to 40 feet deep. Crawler harnesses seemed to be most productive with coppers, purples, and chartreuse being the best colors. A few Chinook salmon were caught along with coho salmon in the shipping channels and in the 30 to 45 feet of water range east of the turn buoy. Medium and magnum size spoons in green, oranges, and glows saw success. Those running plugs also found success with white, black/green, and chartreuse. Anglers casting from the pier at night reported a few walleye as well as the random Chinook salmon while casting body baits in green, glows, and oranges. A few nice northern pike were also caught.

Thunder Bay River: Boat anglers trolling the river reported the salmon harvest as low. Those who were successful stated that glow spoons and plugs worked best. Near the 9th Avenue dam, a few Chinook salmon were taken while drifting spawn and casting shallow running body baits early and late in the day. Walleye fishing was slow, with only a few caught while drifting crawlers and leeches throughout the river. Anglers reported decent catfish action below the 2nd Avenue bridge while using crawlers on bottom.

Rockport: Weather permitting, anglers did well on lake trout in 100 to 140 feet of water. The waters between Stoneport and Middle Island were all productive. Bait was found in the area and Chinook salmon, coho salmon, steelhead, and Atlantic salmon were all in recent catches. Depths of 40 to 60 feet over 90 to 120 feet of water were good for the silver fish. Dodgers and Spin-n-Glos were the most productive for trout, while spoons in watermelon, black/white, green, and chartreuse worked best for salmon. Atlantic salmon and steelhead were found in the top 30 to 40 feet of water and spoons in orange or copper had the best results.

Rogers City: The salmon were staging off Swan Bay and the best action was before sunup and after sunset. The best depths were reported to have been from 15 to 60 feet of water. Anglers were deploying downriggers, lead cores, dipsy divers, highlines, and copper and covering the water column. Spoons, attractors with flies and squids, meat rigs, j-plugs, and bombers were other popular choices among anglers. Good colors to use were whites, greens, blues, black/white, and glow stuff early and late. Anglers fishing outside of Swan Bay or straight out of the harbor and northwest toward 40-Mile Point were rewarded with a mixed bag consisting of Chinook salmon, coho salmon, pink salmon, lake trout, walleye, steelhead, and an occasional Atlantic salmon. Anglers who fished around the bait fish saw the best results. The best depths were in 50 to 80 feet of water, and anglers were running lines throughout the water column. Spoons yielded the best results, with regular-size and walleye-size spoons to match the size of the food. Good colors were whites, blues, greens, blue/green, black/white, orange, and glow stuff early and late.

Harrisville/Black River: Lake trout were caught in 120 to 140 feet of water running downriggers right off the bottom. Using green Spin-n-Glos seemed to produce the most fish. A few Atlantic salmon were caught out of Harrisville in 90 to 130 feet of water when running spoons 30 to 60 feet down. Walleye fishing was decent when trolling bandits and deep husky jerks in 20 to 30 feet of water

Cheboygan: Boat anglers were targeting salmon near the buoy markers just outside of the mouth of the Cheboygan River in 55 to 70 feet of water, off the southeast side of Bois Blanc Island in 100 feet of water, and in the river near the Cheboygan County boat launch. Spoons, Spin-n-Glos, and j-plugs were all used on downriggers or dipseys. In the early morning and just after sunset, salmon anglers trolling green and orange glow spoons seemed to do best. Chinook salmon, coho salmon, pink salmon, and lake trout were all caught. Walleye anglers saw the most success when using leeches or night crawlers on slip bobbers near the Michigan Department of Natural Resources field office, the pedestrian walkway bridge, or at the dam. Anglers were catching bass, freshwater drum, and catfish using night crawlers.

Hammond Bay: Angler pressure was reported to be low out of Hammond Bay. Those who went out were fishing straight out of the harbor, near the trench, Nine Mile Point, or south towards the biological station. The best depths were reported to have been 60 to 120 feet of water and deploying lines throughout the water column seemed to work best. Spoons were the popular choice among anglers, and good colors to use were greens, blues, yellow, orange, black/white, red/white, and glow stuff early and late.

Oscoda/Au Sable River: A few Chinook salmon seemed to make their way into the lower river, with a couple fish hooked on spoons. There were some walleye caught from the pier using crawlers and jig heads with paddle tails, along with deep husky jerks. Channel catfish angling remained strong in the lower Au Sable River with fish being caught using crawlers and cut bait on the bottom with a pyramid weight.