@Travel Marquette
DNR Fishing Report
May 1, 2024
The Michigan DNR Hunt Fish app gives you a mobile path to buy and store hunting, fishing, ORV and snowmobile licenses and permits, report harvests, access regulations guides and get the latest outdoor recreation updates. The app is a one-stop shop for:
- Buying hunting and fishing licenses and trail permits.
- Reporting deer or fish harvests.
- Looking up regulations and downloading guides and summaries.
- Finding your license history, including point and chance balances.
- Checking out maps with multiple layers, showing features such as shooting ranges and boat launches.
- Getting timely notifications from the DNR.
Enjoy the outdoors, get your licenses, read regulations summaries and more, all on the go. Find it now in the App Store and Google Play store for Apple and Android devices.
All anglers 17 years of age and older are required to have a fishing license.
Little Bay de Noc: Perch fishing began to slow down, although anglers who were able to find and stay over schools of fish reported limited success. Minnows, worms and small jigs were hit on the bottom of drop-offs near the narrows.
Manistique: Steelhead and trout were reported to have been caught in the river, along the bank and in boats.
St. Ignace: Anglers reported catching lake trout in 110 to 140 feet of water off of Mackinaw Island, when trolling with flashers and Spin-N-Glos as well as jigging with cut bait. The best colors were reported to be whites, silvers, pinks and greens.
Ontonagon River: Very few boats made it out on the river due to reoccurring inclement weather. Reports suggest that few to no fish were caught.
Ontonagon/Silver City/Union Bay: Harsh weather conditions kept fishing efforts from these ports low. Reports show that coho salmon and brown trout were caught in low numbers as weather permitted. Overall, anglers reported a slow bite.
Black River Harbor: Some anglers had luck in finding coho salmon in low numbers while fishing from shore. Strong winds and rain greatly limited boat access to the lake.
Marquette: Boat anglers reported that numbers of coho salmon in the lower harbor were declining; however, some anglers were able to catch a few. Very few boats made their way into the upper harbor, and they found no success. Anglers also reported catching a few Chinook salmon and lake trout in the lower harbor. Trolling orange moonshine glow lures was good for Chinook salmon. Most fish were caught in 8 to 20 feet of water and closer to shore.
Au Train: The smelt were reported to have started moving up the rivers, with the coho right behind them in the lake. Anglers reported that there were good numbers of coho salmon and steelhead being caught while trolling or casting. Most fish were caught in 8 to 20 feet of water and closer to shore. Blue and silver spoons seemed to do well for coho salmon. Fire tiger or bright orange and gold Rapalas worked well for brown trout and steelhead out by the northwest side of the island and close to shore by the river mouths.
Fishing tip:
Fishing tip: Trout season has arrived!
Trout season officially opened this past weekend on Michigan’s inland waters, and early season fishing can be quite good. Many anglers successfully swear by dead drifting worms this time of year due to the cold spring water temperatures, but those heading out should not overlook spinners or small, shallow-diving crankbaits either.
Worms are deadly in the early season, but lure fishing can also be very effective at bringing up big fish from their hiding spots under logs or undercut banks. To learn more about fishing for trout in Michigan, check out these links highlighting the specific species: