Curly's Photo and Fishing Blog
Fishing Winding Down
It seems fishing is winding down with rain and cooler weather hitting. Hunting should start picking up soon with bucks start getting into the pre rut.
Photo above is of Munising Falls
AAA Fishing Report
Upper Peninsula:
AAA Tip: The Manistique Lake boating access site is closed now through October 27 for repair and dredging.
Good fishing is available all across the Upper Peninsula however the various hunting seasons seem to have attracted a lot of anglers this week.
Manistique River continues to provide great fishing for steelhead and salmon. Good results when anglers use spawn or Cleoâ??s.
Sault Ste. Marie anglers are finding fair action for walleye using jigs and minnows, while the salmon and King action has only a few left in the St. Maryâ??s River.
Munuscong Bay area, the St. Maryâ??s River and Raber Bay are giving up fair catches of small mouth bass and walleye.
Great angling activity around Drummond Island particularly on Scott and Maxton bays. Perch are hitting in good numbers on minnows in 10-15 feet of water. A few pike are biting on minnows on rigs.
St. Ignace a few King salmon are biting on Nunnâ??s Creek and the Carp River. Spawn bags seem to be working well and casting with smaller spoons. Fly fishing is decent with eggs sacks and darker colored flies.
Lake Gogebic continues to produce good counts of walleye in the evening hours in 8-10 feet of water and when anglers use sucker minnows. Perch action is good in 12-feet of water and near the weed beds using crawlers.
In the Marquette area, Lake Independence is providing fair catches of walleye on jigs and minnows. The salmon runs have seemed to slow down but a few Kings are still being caught. Spawn, flies, Cleoâ??s working decent.
Little Bay DeNoc and Big Bay DeNoc near Escanaba are producing nice numbers of walleye, small mouth bass and perch. Walleye are hitting after dark on crank baits. A few small mouth bass are biting on tube jigs and chubs, while good activity for perch when anglers use minnow rigs.
Northwest:
Around the Traverse City area Long Lake is producing good numbers of perch on minnows. The east and west arms of the Grand Traverse Bay is giving up fair to good counts of whitefish and lake trout. Fair activity is available for King Salmon on the Boardman River and spawn seems to be a popular choice.
Near Boyne City, Walloon Lake is producing good catches of perch and walleye on minnows. The Boyne and Bear rivers range from fair to good for King Salmon activity with best results using spawn and Cleoâ??s. Lake Charlevoix anglers are reeling in good quantities of perch on minnows and wigglers.
Around Alanson, anglers can expect good fishing conditions on Burt, Crooked and Pickerel lakes for perch and walleye. Minnows are working well.
Good perch action in the Frankfort area on Big Glen Lake and Crystal Lake, minnows and wigglers are doing the trick. A few steelhead can be found in the mix when anglers are fishing for Kings and Coho on the Betsie and Platt rivers. Fair to good activity exists for salmon with anglers using flies, spawn and spinners.
Good angling activity throughout Kalkaska. Worms are working well on good numbers of blue gill out of Lake Skegemog, Torch and Elk lakes when fishing in deeper waters. Lake Bellaire is giving up nice counts of walleye on stick baits and the Elk River Dam is great for salmon fishing with spawn.
In the Gaylord area, good trout action on open areas on streams near the Black, Manistee, and AuSable rivers. King Salmon action is good using spawn on the Boyne and Jordan rivers. Mullet, Otsego, and Bradford lakes have some good perch fishing with minnows working well.
Lake Cadillac has good crappie activity off of the city docks. Anglers are finding that minnows are working with good results.
Off of Manistee, Lake Michigan salmon action has slowed due to warm temperatures. Kings and steelhead are hitting in fair to good numbers on the Big Manistee River.
West:
Excellent King Salmon fishing continues near Baldwin. Big numbers of clean fish are being caught in the lower Pere Marquette River and the Tippy Dam. Water clarity is very good. Kingâ??s are ranging between 20-40 pounds. To avoid foul hooking a fish, anglers are using very large flies in sharp colors. The bolder and uglier the better, this way the fish will either hit it or go around it. Spawn and crank baits are working well.
Blue gill are doing well on most inland lakes on wax and leaf worms. Howes Lake is ranging from good to excellent for blue gill and perch. Each day fishing conditions improve as the water gets cooler. There are lots of fish, but small in size.
Near Grand Rapids, Wabisis Lake is doing very well for blue gill and crappie, as well as most inland lakes in the area. Minnows, wax and leaf worms are getting good results. Thornapple River near Ada is giving up good catches of walleye on Rapalas and minnows. Salmon and steelhead are hitting on flies and spawn in good numbers on the Muskegon River.
Northeast:
Anglers in the Cheboygan area saw the last push of fresh Chinooks move up the Cheboygan River eight days ago. It looks like fishing now will be mostly dark spawners. Fish are not as willing to bite as they were earlier. Drifting yarn and eggs is still taking some fish. Fish are set-up on gravel where ever it is present in the river. There are some first reports of steelhead downstream from spawning gravel. Perch fishing continues to be good on both Mullet and Burt lakes. Nice perch minnows are available in the bait shops now. Trout streams in the area are producing some fall fish. Muddler minnow patterns are taking resident browns and rainbows. The Sturgeon and Pigeon Rivers are good bets.
Around Alpena the Grand Lake, Hubbard Lake and Thunder Bay River all are producing good numbers of perch. Anglers are using minnows for best results. Salmon action is good around the Ninth Street Dam and anglers are finding that spawn and Cleoâ??s are working well.
Oscoda fishing conditions are good for pan fish, perch, and salmon. Spawn, flies, and Cleoâ??s are popular on salmon on the Au Sable River. Minnows are doing the job on perch out of Van Etten Lake, and worms work well on good quantities of pan fish on both Cooke and Foot Dam Ponds.
Angling action is fair to good in Grayling where anglers are taking perch and walleye on minnows out of Lake Margrethe.
Houghton Lake has fair to good fishing conditions this week for walleye, pike and bass. Minnows are the bait of choice and anglers are fishing off the weed bed edges and in 6-8 feet of water.
Higgins Lake is giving up good numbers of perch on minnows in 20-30 feet of water, and anglers are pulling in a few lake trout in the mix.
Around Au Gres the perch activity is fair to good on Lake Huron when using minnows. Near the mouth of the Au Gres River salmon action is fair to good with spawn and Cleoâ??s continuing to be the bait of choice. Lake Huron is slow for walleye.
AAA Tip: Sanford Lake west of M-30 in Midland County under US-10. Due to construction on the bridge, boat traffic underneath will be limited to a single channel now through the winter months. The channel will be clearly marked but may vary.
Next entry: Eagle Harbor Lighthouse
Previous entry: Lake Ann Fall Colors