NORTHEAST LOWER PENINSULA

Alpena: Warm water pushed in, which seemed to slow the salmon bite. Those trolling early and late in the day had success on coho and Chinook salmon with a few Atlantic salmon mixed in. Spoons and plugs in green, orange, copper, and black were productive. Decent numbers of steelhead were found in deeper water. Short lead cores and long lines worked best, with gold and orange spoons having best results. Anglers reported no success in finding active walleye. Smallmouth bass were found near Grass and Sulfur Islands in 10 to 15 feet of water. Small spinnerbaits in yellow, white, and chartreuse had good results, as did natural colored tube jigs.

Thunder Bay River: Chinook and coho salmon have drawn the most attention from anglers. Boat anglers reported decent catches on magnum spoons and j-plugs throughout the river. Blacks, greens, and oranges were all productive colors. Shore anglers had success drifting spawn and casting rattle traps, body baits, and a variety of spoons. A few pike were caught near the walking bridge on large spinnerbaits as well as the occasional smallmouth bass. Catfish anglers reported very little success while fishing crawlers and cut bait.

Rockport: Anglers reported good catches of steelhead, coho salmon, Chinook salmon, and lake trout in 70 to 100 feet of water. Cool water was once again in the area and fish were scattered all through the water column. Spoons in watermelon, black/green, golds, and chartreuse worked best. Dodgers and Spin-n-Glos fished near bottom took most of the lake trout, with greens and chartreuse being the most productive. A few walleye were found south of Middle Island in 30 to 40 feet of water. Natural-colored crank baits, as well as purples and pinks, had the best results early in the morning and late in the evenings. Anglers reported a few Chinook salmon at first light near Bell Bay in 20 to 30 feet of water with limited success. J-plugs in blue/white, black/green, and glows were most productive.

Rogers City: Anglers reported good fishing and were catching a mixed bag consisting of young Chinook salmon, steelhead, lake trout, and the occasional Atlantic salmon and walleye. Anglers were fishing anywhere, but the key was to locate the large amounts of bait and fish near those areas. The best depths were from 50 to 80 feet of water and spreading lines throughout the water column produced the best results. Lead cores, downriggers with sliders, and dipseys all worked well. Spoons were reported to have been the best bait to use, and good colors were reported to have been greens, blues, oranges, chartreuse, white, black/white, and glow stuff early and late. Flashers with Spin-n-Glos or meat fished close to the bottom was also reported to have worked well on lake trout.

Harrisville: Coho salmon were caught by anglers offshore in 40 to 60 feet of water pulling spoons throughout the water column. A few pink salmon and walleye were caught in 70 to 130 feet of water when trolling spoons. Anglers fishing the harbor were catching a few coho salmon while casting sliver/blue and gold/orange three-quarter ounce Little Cleos, along with large Mepps/Blue Fox in-line spinners. Skein, along with wax worms on a jig, also caught coho salmon under a float four to six feet down. A few Chinook salmon were caught by anglers casting spoons and J-13s in the early hours of the morning and just before dark. Walleye and pike were caught by anglers casting for salmon in the harbor.

Black River: Anglers reported a decent first push of coho salmon into the river. The warmer weather this week made it challenging for anglers to get the fish to strike. However, they were there. A few coho salmon were caught by anglers casting Little Cleos and No. 4 pink Blue Fox in-line spinners. There were also Chinook salmon present in the river with a couple being caught on Thundersticks in vibrant color patterns.

Hubbard Lake: Yellow perch anglers reported catching fish in 25 feet of water on both the north and south ends. Anglers were catching perch in the nine- to 12-inch class using crawlers and minnows.