Southwest Lower Peninsula
Grand River at Grand Rapids: Anglers are still getting the occasional steelhead but the fishery is just about done. Walleye fishing will pick up in about a month. Those fishing the backwaters and bayous have caught panfish.
Muskegon River: Water temperatures were up into the 40’s. Anglers continue to catch steelhead and brown trout.
Northeast Lower Peninsula
Overall: The water is still very cold and fishing has been on the slow side. Everything is behind schedule this year so anglers will want to plan for it.
Ocqueoc River: Fishing pressure slowed. There were no reports of any steelhead caught. Some suckers were taken on worms at the access site.
Au Sable River: Was warming fairly quickly and temperatures were in the low 50s. Steelhead and a few white suckers were caught when drifting spawn, beads, wax worms and nymph or yarn flies. Those casting plugs have also taken steelhead. Actively feeding fish can still be taken from the holes. Streamer flies and plugs should become more effective as the water warms and fish begin to drop back. Walleye and smallmouth bass were caught in the lower river casting crank baits or drifting minnows.
Black River: Anglers targeting steelhead were casting spoons or floating spawn bags. The skid pier is in.
Northwest Lower Peninsula
Overall: Higher water levels made trout and steelhead fishing a little more difficult. There are still plenty of steelhead around, but the action will be winding down soon with the warmer temperatures.
Petoskey: Is ice free and the breakwall was mainly clear of ice and snow. Anglers were targeting steelhead at the mouth of the river, on shore as well and on the D Pier. There were a couple steelhead and some suckers caught down here as well. Planter brown trout were still hanging around the area and being caught. Most were using spawn, wigglers and worms.
Bear River: Was flowing high and fast and a lot of steelhead came up with the high waters. Anglers were hooking a good number of fish at the dam but they were hard to land because of the high water. Many ripe females were caught recently. A lot of suckers were also caught at the dam. Anglers were using mainly spawn, flies or artificial eggs.
Traverse City: Smallmouth bass were caught in the East Bay near Acme. Lake herring and a few lake trout were caught around Deepwater Point. In Elk Rapids, lake trout were caught by those trolling out from the harbor. On the Elk River, steelhead fishing picked up at the dam for those using spawn in the early morning. In the West Bay, lake herring and lake trout were caught when jigging out from the mouth of the Boardman River and north of Bryant Park. Early morning was best. Perch fishing in Northport slowed. On the Boardman River, a couple nice brown trout and some steelhead were caught early morning.
Upper Peninsula
Overall: The lakes in the western part of the Upper Peninsula are now ice free and the streams were within the banks and dropping. Trout fishing in the streams has been good and there should be some good fishing on the inland lakes as it warms up.
Marquette: Fishing was very slow. Ice has been moving in and out of the bay making it impossible to fish some days. Those trolling the Upper Harbor or jigging on the bubblers struggled to get a couple coho. Splake and coho were caught at the mouth of the Chocolay River. Not many steelhead were caught on the Carp and the Chocolay Rivers. The fish had not shown up yet as the runs are behind this year.
Munising: The ice is out and the docks are in at the public launch. There is still some ice floating in the bay so boat anglers should use caution. Anglers were mainly fishing near shore in the Bay Furnace area and at the Anna River. Water levels on area streams are low. Catch rates were hit-or-miss but a few splake and coho were taken on spawn or when casting spoons and stick baits.
Grand Marais: The ice here is pretty much gone except for the ice on the last section of the pier. Conditions could change as there is still substantial ice floe out in the lake which could blow back in. The area had moderate fishing pressure with most boat anglers taking fair to good catches of coho, brown trout and steelhead when trolling east of the port and near the mouth of the Sucker River. Most are using stick baits in shallow waters less than 30 feet. Pier anglers caught coho and brown trout. The brown trout are a young year class and have a missing adipose fin. Those targeting whitefish caught a couple Menominee. Shore anglers at the mouth of the Sucker River caught a few coho and steelhead on spawn.
Two Hearted River: Was about two feet higher than average for this time of year, however the water was not turbid which means it is dropping.
Newberry: All the area inland lakes in Luce County will be open water by the end of the week. Snowpack in the woods from Newberry to Lake Superior was 99.9% gone with only a few snow piles and drifts left. County Road 423 to the river mouth was good except for one spot about a mile north of County Road 414 which had a large drift and water hole which should be gone by the weekend. County Road 414 from County Road 407 in Pine Stump to the east at County Road 500 was in great shape.