Fishing report: Individuals seeking West Michigan fish have found them - The Muskegon Chronicle

Kyle Buck of effective Ponds Guide Service submitted this photo of his clients fighting three seafood simultaneously. (Led/Kyle Buck)

MUSKEGON, MI – Because the bestseller states, seek and also you shall find.

Fish have moved father in the West Michigan shoreline during the last week but continue to be caught, the Muskegon area's fanatics from the sport.

"The fishing continues to be excellent earlier this week, the very best we view to date this summer time," stated Kyle Buck of effective Ponds Guide Service. "We're catching good amounts of four-year-old king fish (finally) with a lot of coho included.

"We've also saw seafood still being caught in Muskegon funnel and lake yesteryear couple of days," Buck ongoing. "Once the water turned a week ago the fish turned up within the funnel and you will find still some inside milling around even just in the nice and cozy water."

Dallas Guptill of Snug Harbor Outfitters stated the moving target has become in 70 to 110 ft water in Lake Michigan near Muskegon. He suggests setting blue-and-eco-friendly fishing lures in a depth of 30 ft for the reason that area.

"On friday, there is a 24-pounder which was drawn in 85 ft water,Inch Guptill stated. The boat that arrived that large seafood reeled in seven from nine seafood that bit throughout that specific fishing outing.

In Lake Michigan near Whitened Lake, Tim Courneya, an worker for Johnson's Outdoors situated in Montague, states the fish are found in 70 ft water using a number of fishing lures: meat rigs, spoons, and J-plugs.

Bits and pieces

On Whitened Lake, Bluegill are now being caught in 10-15 ft water, Courneya stated. Bass will also be being caught. A couple of walleye are now being caught by motorboats reading with crawler harnesses within 20-25 ft water.The Michigan Department of Natural Assets is marketing maps it's readily available for inland anglers. The DNR keeps online maps of two,700 of Michigan's greater than 11,000 inland ponds in addition to maps to help fishermen in finding waters which contain trout and fish and also the rules that apply particularly to individuals waters. New maps just added this season include Designated Trout Streams Maps for that Lower and upper peninsulas. Sportsmen for Youth's Youth Day is approaching fast. It will likely be held 9 a.m. to three p.m. Saturday, Sept. 6 in the Muskegon County Fairgrounds, 6621 Levels Ravenna Road near Muskegon. About 40 outdoor organizations will have exhibits for kids: a trout pond with 1,000 trout readily available for kids to trap, a boy scout village, a mountain climbing wall, archery trap, virtual fishing machine, taxidermy, wild birds of prey display, reptile display, ATVs to ride on and more. This season the Hawg Trough will show a a presentation of native seafood. You will see workshops on fishing by Mark Martin, Chris Noffsinger, Shaun Sowa, Todd Sokloow and Mike Schneider during the day. You'll also have demos through the fire and EMT models. The big event is free of charge and available to the general public. This can be a family-friendly event, only youth -- 17-year-olds and under -- may take part in some occasions.  The very first 2,500 youth with the gate will get a totally free T-shirt and lunch. For more details, go to the group's website.  For our hunting buddies: The 2014 Lake Effect Chapter of Michigan Duck Predators Association holds a Youth Waterfowl Day Saturday, August. 23 in the DNR Headquarters in the Muskegon Condition Game Area, 7600 E. Messinger Road in Twin Lake. Registration starts at 9:30 a.m., with occasions scheduled 10 a.m. to two p.m. A totally free lunch is going to be held at noon. One lucky youth will win a drawing for any fully-fitted waterfowl search. To learn more, go to the group's Facebook page.

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Michigan <b>fishing</b>: Walleye biting on the Bay

Walleye, pike and muskellunge season for the Upper Peninsula Great Lakes, St. Mary?s River and the inland lakes will open on May 15

. Bass anglers enjoying the early catch and release season in the Lower Peninsula are doing very well. The opener for the Upper Peninsula is May 15.

SOUTHEAST LOWER PENINSULA
Lake Erie: Catch rates were slow for walleye. The majority of anglers are starting to troll harnesses with inline weights. Some fish were caught near the Dumping Grounds and in front of Sterling State Park when trolling or jigging in 16 to 18 feet of water. Until the water cleans up, anglers will want to stay in 12 to 18 feet and fish throughout the water column.

Huron River: Has lots of white bass being caught. Good smallmouth bass action as well but all these must be released immediately. Walleye have been caught in the evening up near the Flat Rock Dam. Try pink and black flies. The steelhead run is just about done.

Detroit River: Has very good walleye fishing. Anglers are jigging lead head jigs with minnows or worms. Good colors were green, orange, black, purple or pink. Perch were caught along the south side of the Cross Dike. Very good white bass action as the river is full of them. Smallmouth bass were also caught and released.

Lake St. Clair: Smallmouth bass fishing is heating up. The usual areas like Selfridge, Metro Beach, and off the Mile Roads have all been good.

Clinton River: Had excellent rock bass fishing at the mouth.

St. Clair River: Is good for walleye especially between Marine City and Algonac.

Lexington: Pier fishing has been slow with only a couple bullhead and a few rock bass taken by those still-fishing. Those casting caught the occasional steelhead. For boat anglers, those trolling spoons or body baits caught chinook, lake trout, brown trout and steelhead. The fish were scattered in waters 20 to 70 feet deep.

Harbor Beach: Pier fishing was slow but boat anglers were getting a few trout and salmon in waters 20 to 60 feet deep.

Port Austin: Had rumors of a few walleye being caught.

Saginaw Bay: Had very good walleye fishing between Linwood Road and the Saginaw River. Off Linwood, try crawlers in 18 to 20 feet, crawler harnesses in four to six feet off Kawkawlin, jigging crank baits around Spoils Island or jigging minnows and plastic worms near Consumers. No perch to report. On the east side, the water remains muddy and most of the marinas were not open yet. Quanicassee had no activity as the skid piers were not yet in. At Sebewaing, bass were caught from the channel and in the canals. The marina at Bay Port is still being dredged and the water is muddy. Only a couple boats were out trolling near the sailboat buoys. Bass anglers had fair action out by North Island. At Caseville, those fishing off the wall caught a few walleye. Smallmouth bass were caught and released.

Saginaw River: Many walleye were caught in the lower river.

Tittabawassee River: Had excellent walleye fishing between the Center Street launch and the M-46 launch. Anglers are also catching fish by the Caldwell launch which is near the Gordonville-Mapleton area. Try rapalas or jigging with crawlers.

SOUTHWEST LOWER PENINSULA
St. Joseph: Fishing overall was very slow. Pier anglers are catching a few catfish and freshwater drum on crawlers. No trout or salmon were caught. Boat anglers were struggling to find fish.

St. Joseph River: Water levels are slowly receding. The DNR launch in St. Joe still had some water over the docks. The St. Joe city launch is almost back to normal.

South Haven: Overall fishing was slow. There still seems to be a few fish in 45 to 60 feet of water but the bite was slow. Boat anglers did manage to catch a few lake trout when trolling.

Black River: In South Haven is currently being dredged. Boat anglers need to use caution around the buoys in the river channel because there is a floating dredge pipe hanging under them.

Holland: Boat anglers are starting to catch chinook and coho when trolling in waters 40 to 150 feet deep however 80 to 120 feet was best. The fish are high in the water column. They are trolling spoons in green, yellow, blue and gold as well as green and blue flies with pearl flashers. Pier fishing was slow. No perch to report.

Grand Haven: Dredging is underway at the Island Harbor boat launch. The boat ramps were not in but the launch is open. No word on when the dredging will be done. Chinook and coho salmon are just starting to show up. Boats are trolling in waters 80 to 120 feet deep with spoons. The salmon are high in the water so small lead core is working best. For spoons, best colors were green, blue, yellow and gold. Flashers and flies worked well. Pier fishing is very slow. Some are throwing cast nets for alewife but none were taken.

Grand River at Grand Rapids: Is producing some walleye. Try Hot-n-Tots, body baits or a jig and crawler. Catfish are hitting on live or cut bait.

Grand River at Lansing: Catfish and smallmouth bass are being caught below the dam at Moore?s Park. Anglers should be able to find catfish below any of the dams. Live bait or cut bait works best.

Muskegon River: Water levels were still high and stained but steelhead and walleye are still being caught. Try flies, spawn, wax worms, spoons or body baits.

Whitehall: Very few walleye have been caught from the pier. Anglers were casting body baits with not much luck. Those trolling did well for brown trout in the shallows about a mile or two north and south of the pier. A couple coho were also caught.

White Lake: Boat anglers are still taking good numbers of pike. They are using spinners in four to 15 feet of water.

NORTHEAST LOWER PENINSULA
Cheboygan River: Steelhead and walleye were caught below the dam.

Ocqueoc River: Still had a good number of steelhead. Many were moving to the beds as they prepare to spawn. Fish were caught between the mouth and the lamprey weir. Try the deeper holes and the gravel when drifting spawn bags, flies, yarn or small jigs. Depending on the weather, the run might last another week. A few suckers were caught.

Rogers City: The docks are in that launch ramp however the fish cleaning station was still closed. Boats up to 24 feet were launching with no problem. Catch rates were slow because water temperatures were still just a little too cold. Catch rates will increase once water temperatures reach the mid 40?s. For now, try fishing the shallow waters of Swan Bay and Calcite. Lake trout season is open but there is not much to report. Anglers will have to find the fish. Try fishing shallow, suspended, or just off the bottom in 40 to 60 feet of water.

Presque Isle: The dock is in at the launch site. Those out lake trout fishing had to work hard to catch a few as the water is just too cold. Try cowbells and spin glo?s either suspended or just off the bottom.

Rockport: The docks are in and the gate is open. No boats were out and those fishing off the old dock caught nothing.

Alpena: Those fishing in the bay caught a few walleye between the pier and Grass Island. The fish cleaning station in the marina is now open.

Thunder Bay River: Is still producing a couple steelhead and walleye even though the steelhead activity has slowed down with now that spawning is just about done. Those targeting suckers have done very well.

Harrisville: Boat anglers reported good catches of steelhead in and around the harbor. Spoons and body baits seem to work the best. As of now the water is high enough at the docks to launch most boats. Tandem axel trailers had no problem getting in and out. The channel depth seems to be deep enough, however be very careful as the makers were not in yet and you will need to swing out at the mouth to avoid shallow water. Walleye are starting to make their way into the area. Early morning and late evening were best for those using crawler harnesses or body baits.

Au Sable River: The water is up, making it easier for boats to make their way up and down the river. The water is still muddy but looks to be clearing. Good numbers of steelhead can be found. They are hitting on flies, spawn, wax worms, spoons and body baits. Suckers are also making their way up into the river but walleye were still moving in and out. Those fishing down near the mouth did catch walleye in the late evening when using crawlers, leeches or body baits.

Tawas: Catch rates slowed with only a couple walleye taken in 14 to 16 feet of water off Jerry?s Marina. Most were using Hot-n-Tots or body baits. Pier fishing was slow.

Au Gres: Had good walleye fishing with an average of five to eight fish per boat. Boats were fishing straight as well as north and south of Point Au Gres. Try 15 to 30 feet of water. Pier fishing was slow.

Au Gres River: A few walleye were caught near the Singing Bridge.

NORTHWEST LOWER PENINSULA
Harbor Springs: The dock was not in at the public boat launch. According to the city, the harbor is being dredged so the dock may not be in until May 15.

Petoskey: Pier anglers have caught steelhead on spawn. Some were fishing the ?bobber hole? at the mouth of the river but no fish were caught. A few boats were starting to head out to Bay Harbor for lake trout but no fish were reported.

Bear River: Had good steelhead fishing but the number of fish caught has dropped. The run is winding down. Anglers can still try spawn bags and rubber eggs between the mouth and the dam. Early morning was best. Those looking for suckers should get out now as the river is full of them.

Charlevoix: Fishing was slow. A few were trying the channel for walleye but no fish were caught. Night fishing for walleye should pick up soon.

Lake Charlevoix: Had a lot of boats going out for walleye and perch. Rumor has it walleye were caught on the north end of the South Arm near Holy Island. For perch, they were fishing in front of the Belvedere Club and around Two Mile Point.

Traverse City: Lake trout fishing has been good in the bays. Depths were variable with some caught while jigging in 125 feet of water but others caught when trolling plugs in water as shallow as eight feet. A couple cisco were also caught. Pier and surfcasting were hit-or-miss with the occasional steelhead taken on minnows or spawn bags. Smallmouth bass are being caught and released. Try tube baits in 10 to 35 feet of water.

Elk River: Has a decent number of steelhead. The bite was slow for most but some were able to catch a few fish using fresh spawn or a jig tipped with wax worms.

Boardman River: Steelhead fishing is winding down there is a good number of suckers in the river. A few pike and carp were caught.

Glen Arbor: The boat launch is now open.

Platte Bay: Fishing pressure has slowed. Those trolling spoons caught lake trout and brown trout.

Platte River: Continues to produce walleye and steelhead.

Frankfort: Pier anglers on the north wall were catching a couple steelhead and brown trout on spawn bags. The water is beginning to clear up and anglers can see alewife. Those trolling caught brown trout on UV spoons (not Magnums) and body baits. Black and silver or black and gold were still the hot colors. Lake trout were active in waters over 25 feet deep.

Onekama: Pier anglers targeting brown trout reported hit-or-miss. Catch rates were better when the water was choppy. Try casting spoons, body baits or spawn. Those trolling the shoreline did best north to the golf course and south to Bar Lake in 15 to 22 feet of water with silver and perch body baits.

Portage Lake: Catch rates for the bigger perch have slowed but several small ones have been caught. Try minnows and wigglers. Those trolling for walleye have caught fish ranging five to seven pounds. The water is beginning to settle so bass anglers are having a great time with the early catch-and ?release season.

Manistee: Pier anglers have caught perch on wigglers. Brown trout action was slow for those trolling around the piers.

Manistee River: Anglers continue to take good numbers of steelhead and walleye. They are using spoons, crank baits and flies.

Lake Cadillac: Is producing some walleye. The better fishing starts in the evening and runs through dark. Most are casting floating rapalas from shore. No word on bluegills yet but crappie are starting to hit on minnows.

Ludington: Brown trout action continues to be slow for boat and pier anglers. A few have been caught on black and silver body baits and orange spoons.

Pentwater Lake: Had very few anglers but a couple nice walleye were caught in the channel by those casting body baits. Those trolling Lake Michigan had no success.

UPPER PENINSULA
Copper Harbor: Splake fishing was slow with only a few fish taken. The boat launches are finally open and boats traffic is picking up. The local rivers are still very high and fast making them impossible to fish.

Eagle Harbor: The boat launch is open but catch rates were slow. A few splake and coho were caught off the marina wall.

Keweenaw Bay: A few boats were finally able to get out and start trolling for salmon. The bite was slow but a couple coho were caught. Those fishing off the pier in L?Anse were able to catch a couple fish when the floating pack ice allowed them to fish. No word on smelt in this area.

Falls River: Was fishable. Water levels were still high but starting to come down.

Stannard Rock: Catch rates were fair for those heading out on their first trip. They were jigging for lake trout in 150 feet of water and took one or two fish per hour. Size ranged from 20 to 27 inches.

Marquette: Fishing was slow. Most were trolling crank baits or stick baits for coho but few fish were caught.

Chocolay River: Still had high water levels but steelhead were caught.

Menominee: The mouth of the river was a popular spot for boats to anchor or trolling if there was enough room. Some walleye have been caught but the number has dropped since last week. A few brown trout were also caught. Anglers are jigging with or without minnows, trolling rapalas and crawler harnesses. Early morning and late evening were best. Those that headed south of the mouth also picked up a few walleye. Those trolling off the Cedar River caught brown trout in shallow waters in front of Wells State Park when trolling rapalas or spoons. This area is full of large boulders so anglers must use caution! Early morning was best. Near Stoney Point, a few boats were launching however anglers need to be careful because of shallow water heading out of the launch. It has been flagged. A few walleye and brown trout were caught by those trolling rapalas or spoons in 10 to 15 feet of water.

Menominee River: Shore and boat anglers between the mouth and the Hattie Street Dam picked up some walleye and white suckers. They were mainly casting or trolling Rapalas. Quite a few of the walleye were ripe or spent.

Little Bay De Noc: All the launches are open and the docks are in. The spring perch action is just starting. Good perch fishing was reported off the sand bar near the Day?s River. Anglers are still-fishing with crawlers and wigglers in 18 to 25 feet of water. Perch anglers could be found near Kipling and the ?Narrows? but catch rates were slow. Last year; the best catches were after the Big Bay run which is going on now. Rivers were still high so steelhead fishing was a bit difficult.

Day?s River: Anglers caught steelhead between the mouth and the Golf Course.

Big Bay De Noc: The spring perch run has started with fair to good catches in Garden Bay. Most are using minnows or worms in six to eight feet of water. Boats were averaging 20 to 30 fish and many were nine to 11 inches.

Sturgeon River: Was close to flood stage. Those looking for steelhead will have to wait until water levels come down.

Ogontz River: Suckers are running and catch rates were good.

Au Train: The bay is ice free and the dock is in at the Brownstone Launch. Boat anglers targeting coho caught four to ten fish after five to six hours of fishing. Many had a mix of coho, chinook, steelhead and brown trout. The coho were about 16 inches, steelhead were 20 to 26 and the browns were right around 20. One large whitefish was caught. Most are trolling small crank baits or stick baits between the Brownstone Launch and Au Train Point.

Au Train River: Water levels are coming down but the current was still strong enough to make fishing difficult.

Newberry: Lakes in area are open but some of the access roads still had snow pack on them. Rivers and streams were still high everywhere but conditions will improve as the rivers should come down this week.

Sucker River: Has steelhead.
DeTour: Those fishing Albany Creek have caught steelhead on spawn.

Drummond Island: Has very good perch fishing in Scott Bay and Maxton Bay. Try minnows and leaf worms in two to four feet of water.

Cedarville and Hessel: Some nice splake have been caught off the pier when using smelt or minnows. Those trolling caught also caught fish on blue and silver or purple Cleo?s.

Carp River: Water levels have dropped but there is still a strong current.

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Fall <b>fishing</b> makes Lake Michigan a busy place

Milwaukee's lakefront, scenic threshold to the world's greatest freshwater resource, has a tendency to draw a crowd.

Even as temperatures dipped and summer slipped into fall this week, the harbor was one of the busier places in Brew City.

Sailors from four continents gathered to compete in the Soling Worlds. The fleet of sleek boats and support vessels made a parade-like passage through the harbor gaps each day to and from their open-water course.

At the other end of the spectrum, freighters the length of football fields chugged into and out of our fair port.

And less conspicuous - mostly - a smattering of sport-fishing boats trolled and drifted in the near-shore waters of Lake Michigan.

Eric Haataja of West Allis and I had just embarked on a noon fishing outing from McKinley Marina on Monday when we contributed to a traffic jam in the harbor.

It would be tempting to blame a chinook salmon. But that would fail to acknowledge our intentions.

"We're going to have to follow it," Haataja said, eyeing the dwindling supply of line on my reel as a fish made off for points east.

The helmsmen on a half dozen sailboats nearby noticed the line sizzling through the water and deftly tacked to the south.

Haataja fired up the main outboard on his 19-foot fishing boat and closed the distance to the unseen but considerable force.

"Thank you," Haataja said to the sailors as he slid our boat close to the breakwater and out of the traffic pattern.

It's not a standard point of lecture in boating education courses. But it sure is nice when other vessels are aware of their surroundings and give a sport-fishing boat at least a brief right of way while fighting a fish.

Yes, we intended to hook the fish. No, we didn't want to cause congestion in the harbor. And since it was the first fish of the day, we also didn't want to lose it.

The fish circled the boat and went on several more long runs.

I don't know if scientists have measured the horsepower of an 18-pound chinook salmon, but medium-weight fishing tackle is barely able to harness it.

It took 15 minutes to bring the fish to boat-side. Haataja slid the net under the fish and hoisted it aboard.

The fish, a female, was 35 inches long. In the early stages of a spawning migration, its skin was the color of tarnished silver.

We kept the fish. Its flesh was firm and still very good table fare. And its eggs will be used for bait.

As we reorganized the boat, a pair of fishing boats trolled past us, working the north gap. More sailboats zigzagged through the harbor. And a few shore anglers cast from Government Pier and the Veteran's Park sea wall.

As with attendance at football games and lakefront music festivals, anglers targeting Wisconsin's Lake Michigan harbors in fall can expect plenty of company.

For this, the fish are entirely responsible. Chinook (or king) and coho salmon return to harbors and tributaries in September and October on spawning migrations.

Brown and rainbow (or steelhead) trout are also caught close to shore in fall.

For shore and pier anglers, the concentration of fish presents one of the best opportunities of the year. Boat anglers simply shift their focus closer to shallower waters.

The fall fishery is dependent on stocking in Wisconsin waters. In the Milwaukee harbor, 114,000 chinook salmon fingerlings and 16,135 coho salmon yearlings were stocked in 2010.

The stocking, paid for by license fees and the Great Lakes Trout and Salmon Stamp, occurs in harbors from Kenosha to Door County.

Cuts to the stocking levels are pending to help balance the number of predator and forage fish in the lake. An announcement by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is expected soon on final stocking levels for 2013.

Haataja, owner of Big Fish Guide Service, grew up in Racine and has three decades of experience catching fall salmon.

"One of the best parts of this fishery is it's available to every type of angler," Haataja said, keeping an eye on the graph as he repositioned the boat.

Haataja takes advantage of electronics to locate pods of salmon in the harbor.

"If I'm not seeing fish on the graph, I'll keep moving," Haataja said.

Moving can include fishing. Some days Haataja will troll crank baits on flat lines in the harbor. Others he'll rig up a lead head jig with a soft plastic tail and fish while drifting or slowly trolling.

But Monday we found fish within 5 minutes of leaving the McKinley Marina public boat launch. The spot, near the north harbor gap, was the first we checked.

The water was about 25 feet deep. Fish showed on the graph from 17 to 22 feet down.

This time of year, Haataja said the fish most readily hit crank baits or salmon eggs.

We let the boat slowly bob in the lee of the sea wall while we fished long spinning rods with slip bobbers and #6 hooks. We attached chunks of skein, or salmon roe, to the hook and set the slip bobber to present the bait about 18 feet below the surface.

The skein had been cured with a homemade mix featuring Borax. Commercial recipes are available.

The salmon couldn't resist. After the first fish was landed, Haataja reeled in an 8-pound coho salmon, still bright as a new dime.

Over the next 45 minutes we each landed three more kings between 12 and 20 pounds.

Haataja then dropped me off on the north break wall to oblige a photo request. As he moved the boat into position, two more chinook hit this lines.

I watched as Haataja landed and released both fish.

"The king always returns in the middle of September," Haataja said.

Like the genial crowd of fellow anglers, boaters and sailors in the harbor this week, that's a fall tradition worth celebrating.

Send email to psmith@journalsentinel.com

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Michigan to hold free <b>fishing</b> weekend June 9-10

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan is throwing open its lakes, rivers and streams to free fishing for one weekend next month.

The Department of Natural Resources is holding its annual free fishing weekend on June 9 and 10. Residents and nonresidents of the state will be able to fish without a license, although other fishing regulations will apply.

DNR officials say that Michigan's 3,000 miles of Great Lakes shoreline, 36,000 miles of rivers and 11,000 inland lakes make it a natural place for anglers. Director Rodney Stokes says the state has "some of the finest freshwater fishing in the world."

The state has offered the free fishing weekend annually since 1986.

More information on activities and events is available online at www.michigan.gov/freefishing.

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