Saginaw Bay walleye were caught while trolling crankbaits at Linwood in 20 feet of water, at the Old Dumping Grounds, at the Sparkplug in 24 feet and in the Crib in 18 feet of water. Yellow perch were caught while shore fishing at Finn Road. There were a lot of small 5-to-8-inch perch caught. Yellow perch anglers were fishing from Quanicassee to the Fish Point area. Some anglers were catching a lot of perch, but many were small in size and anglers needed to sort through fish to get larger ones to keep. Anglers were also fishing the bay for perch with better size, but less numbers. Anglers should move around to locate a school of perch in 7 to 9 feet of water.
Au Gres Area boat anglers were catching a few lake trout out near Whitestone Point while trolling body baits in 15 to 20 feet of water. A few suckers were caught in the river off crawlers.
Pine River perch fishing was slow out near the mouth of the river, but there were some good catches of perch off minnows at the end of Palmer Road and at Eagle Bay Marina.
Outer Saginaw Bay:
Caseville small perch were caught in the harbor. Pier anglers were casting artificial baits for lake trout, but overall fishing was slow.
Singing Bridge Access, Fishing was slow, and the water was high and muddy.
Oscoda, Lake Huron 0nly a few boats made it out into the lake as the ramps were not put in yet. A few anglers were having luck on the pier catching mostly steelhead and a few Atlantic salmon and lake trout. Most anglers were having luck with using spawn bags or minnows. Others were having luck while casting spoons of various colors and patterns.
- Au Sable River fishing has hit and miss. The water temperature was low, only being around 36°F. Anglers reported drifting spawn bags or running beads. Some anglers had success with drifting wax worms.
Tawas Area boat anglers were catching a few brown and lake trout out near Tawas Point while trolling body baits in 10 to 15 feet of water. Pier anglers were catching a few lake trout and walleye while casting body baits.
- Gateway Park fishing was slow, but there were a few suckers caught while fishing crawlers.
Fishing Tip: Spring is a great time for targeting steelhead
The month of April is often a perfect time to fish for steelhead in Michigan’s rivers. Did you know our state is thought to offer some of the best steelhead fishing in the country?
A variety of techniques can be used to fish for this aggressive species; including live bait, artificial lures and flies. Rivers across Michigan provide access for steelhead fishing. Some better-known rivers include the Betsie, Grand, Little Manistee, Manistee, Manistique, Pere Marquette and St. Joseph rivers in the Lake Michigan watershed; the Au Sable River in the Lake Huron watershed; the Huron River in the Lake Erie watershed; and the Huron and Two Hearted rivers in the Lake Superior watershed.