By Staff
The recent cold front shut fishing down in many areas of the state. Warm temperatures forecasted for this weekend should help improve conditions around the state.
Pier anglers at New Buffalo are catching freshwater drum and catfish on worms or crayfish all day long. Steelhead and brown trout have been caught in the early mornings on spoons or crayfish. Boat anglers reported decent catches of chinook along with an occasional coho and steelhead. Perch anglers are having a hard time finding fish, and have caught only a few smaller fish.
Near St. Joe and Benton Harbor, anglers had a couple days of excellent steelhead fishing off the piers. Orange spoons and shrimp worked best. Good numbers of freshwater drum and catfish were caught in the evenings using worms on the river side. Boats are bringing in good numbers of steelhead and chinook when trolling with orange lures and some artificial flies in 75 to 100 feet of water.
In the St. Joe River, good walleye fishing was reported from Buchanan to Berrien Springs. Most fish have been caught on crawlers when trolling. Steelhead fishing remains quite good as fair numbers of fish can be found near the mouth of most creeks. Good numbers of walleye have been caught in the early mornings. Water levels are up from recent storms, and boaters should use caution as some boats have been damaged from floating logs. Brown trout and steelhead have been caught on flies in the Dowagiac River. Northern pike have been caught in the Galien River.
At South Haven, steelhead were caught off the north pier in the mornings on shrimp. Perch fishing has been slow with a few fish caught in 40 to 48 feet of water in front of Van Buren State Park. Boats trolling for salmon reported good catching good numbers of chinook in 70 to 110 feet of water on flies and spoons. A few coho and lake trout have also been caught. Fishing on the Kalamazoo River was slow with only a few smallmouth bass and walleye caught. Some large channel catfish have been caught at night on shrimp.
In the Grand River, good numbers of carp and suckers have been caught near the Sixth Street Dam. Catfish are starting to bite and have been caught on chubs, worms and crayfish. Walleye fishing was slow with only a few fish caught when trolling. Near Lansing, walleye have been caught at the Moore's Park Dam on crawlers. Good catches of smallmouth bass, bluegill and rock bass were reported. Large carp have been caught on corn at the North Lansing Dam and catfish are starting to bite again. At Lake Ovid, boat anglers are catching bluegill and catfish. In the Rogue River, a few nice brown trout and steelhead have been caught on crawlers or flies. Good trout fishing continues in Swains Lake, with limit catches reported. Fish are still 15 to 20 feet down in waters 45 feet deep.
From Port Sheldon to Grand Haven, boat anglers reported very good fishing for chinook with an occasional coho and steelhead mixed in. Fish have been caught in 60 to 120 feet of water on Fish-catchers and flies. The fish will be moving out deeper as the waters start to warm up. Early mornings and late evenings have been the most productive when using any lure that glows.
The weekly fishing report is compiled by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. More information on the DNR can be found on their Web site at http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/.