Trout season officially opened this past weekend on Michigan’s inland waters. (Michigan Department of Natural Resources)

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources releases a weekly fishing report highlighting Michigan’s waterways for anglers.

Here is the weekly fishing report for the Upper Peninsula:

Upper Peninsula

Little Bay de Noc: Smallmouth bass anglers reported good-sized fish and fair fishing. Anglers reported that the sun’s high position in the sky during the late morning into afternoon hours was favorable for smallmouth. Yellow perch anglers reported mixed results, with the majority having trouble getting enough satisfactory bites. However, anglers reported catching a few and seeing some schools on sonar units.

Munising: The boat launch was open and boat anglers were successful targeting coho salmon trolling the bay. Boat anglers have also reported a few nice sized rainbow trout and splake. Anglers fishing off the Anna River mouth have been picking up a few coho salmon and rainbow trout with spawn and casting spoons working the best.

Keweenaw Bay: Anglers reported fair numbers of coho salmon with an occasional steelhead being caught when trolling stickbaits and spoons in the upper portion of the water column. Whitefish anglers and those jigging for lake trout reported a slow bite.

Traverse Bay/Portage Entry: Anglers reported fair fishing when trolling spoons and body baits for both lake trout and brown trout nearshore. Anglers also reported the occasional coho salmon being caught. Shore anglers reported slow fishing.

Ontonagon River: Docks are now in the water at the Ontonagon Marina boat launch. Over the past week the river saw very low fishing efforts. River conditions continued to improve slightly.

Ontonagon/Silver City/Union Bay: Docks remained out of the water at the Silver City launch. The launches in Ontonagon and Union Bay were both open, with docks in the water. The fish cleaning station located at the Ontonagon Marina had yet to be opened for the season. Fishing efforts from these ports increased greatly, especially near Union Bay. Angler reports showed catches of coho salmon, brown trout, and steelhead. These fish were primarily caught by those trolling in shallow waters. Shore anglers fishing Union Bay also had some luck catching a mix of the same species.

Black River Harbor: Amenities at the harbor remained closed from the winter offseason. Fishing efforts increased greatly over the past week. Anglers fishing from boats reported catches consisting primarily of coho salmon and brown trout. Coho salmon and brown trout were also caught in low numbers from the harbor breakwalls.

St. Ignace: Over the weekend, smelt dippers obtained their limits at the Carp River mouth. The river’s temperature began to exceed 44 degrees. There was very limited steelhead fishing pressure. The Carp River was very high and moving quickly. There was still snow on the roads heading toward the power lines and McDonald’s Rapids. The Carp River campground was accessible for fishing.

The Pine River was accessible for shore fishing at the M-134 overpass bridge, but the DNR boat launch had not been installed. There was one boat launch in at the City of St. Ignace launch area, but the cleaning station was closed.

Grand Marais: The coho salmon bite was excellent for boat anglers trolling West and East of the break wall with the occasional rainbow trout caught as well. Anglers fishing off the breakwall did well targeting coho salmon with a few lake whitefish in the mix.

Les Cheneaux Islands/DeTour: The ice finally left Hessel Bay and Cedarville fishing pressure was low.

Marquette: Steelhead finally started moving back up the rivers. There were a few more coho salmon caught out on the break wall and near the Shiras power plant. A few brown trout and steelhead were also caught on the breakwall this week.

The Carp River produced a few more steelhead. If fishing around the mouth was not productive, anglers moved further up the river; a few fish were reported past the prison and near the Marquette Mountain area. The Chocolay River was reported by anglers as slow.

In the bay, the coho bite heated up significantly this week, with the average per boat increasing from three last week to six. There was also an increase in fish size, with several 20-inch coho salmon caught while trolling shallow water. There were many brown trout caught while trolling around the Chocolay River mouth to Whetstone Creek.

Au Train: The Brownstone boat launch was accessible. Coho salmon and steelhead started going up the rivers again, and coho salmon fishing was very good this past week. Many coho salmon were caught by surf anglers and by those fishing from shore and near the river mouth at the launch.

Manistique: Steelhead anglers that batted the high water had limited success. One or two bites per trip was common. Anglers used beads or spawn.

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 waters temperatures, but those heading out should not overlook spinners or small shallow diving crank baits 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 under cut banks.

To learn more about fishing for trout in Michigan, check out these links highlighting the specific species.