7/19/2018 Southeast Lower Peninsula, Michigan Fishing Report

The extremely hot temperatures affected both anglers and fish.  Warm water temperatures are driving the fish to deeper water.  The better fishing has been in the early morning or late evening when the fish come into the shallows to feed.  River and stream fishing has been a challenge due to the lower water levels but bow fishing has been good in these conditions.

Southeast Lower Peninsula Lake Erie:  Limits of walleye were caught in 15 feet off Luna Pier in the evening with stinger spoons.  Limit catches were also taken in Brest Bay and off the River Raisin in 24 to 26 feet when trolling a crawler harness 50 to 65 feet back.  Hot colors were green, chartreuse, lime, copper and purple.  Limits were reported in 18 to 20 feet out near the C-Buoys with crank baits.  Those targeting walleye have also caught white bass, white perch, large channel cats and freshwater drum.  North of the Dumping Grounds, tube jigs, blade baits and spoons were bringing in decent size smallmouth bass.  The Hot Ponds continue to produce lots of channel cats with crawlers or minnows. Those perch fishing in Michigan waters were getting between five to 10 fish.   If you're planning on fishing any of the canals near Lake Erie Metro Park or Point Mouillee State Game Area you can get all of your bait & tackle needs met at  Bottom Line Bait & Tackle.  If you're planning on fishing out of Sterling State Park or the Brest Bay area you can pick up tackle from the nice people at Jeff's Bait & Tackle. Detroit River:  Anglers have caught bass.  Some yellow perch were taken in eight to 12 feet near Sugar Island.  Walleye could still be found in the deeper waters of the shipping channels when hand-lining.     For more public lakes to fish in Wayne County: Click Here!  Wayne County Bait Shops: Click Here Washtenaw County:   Fishing has been slow across the county.  Bass anglers on North Lake, the Portage Lake Chain and Ford Lake have caught large and smallmouth bass but were working hard to do so.  For more public lakes to fish in Washtenaw County: Click Here!  Washtenaw County Bait Shops: Click Here!   Lake St. Clair:  Had excellent walleye fishing throughout the lake with some of the hottest spots being in all three of the channels. Everything from crawler harnesses to crankbaits have taken fish.  Smallmouth bass are getting picked up in deeper water near the North Channel and along Anchor Bay when casting tube baits or drop-shotting in the early morning.  Perch fishing picked up but most of the fish were quite small.  A couple muskie were caught near the Clinton River Cutoff.    For a more accurate report on Lake St. Clair I suggest reaching out to the people at Sportsmen's Direct  as their weekly LSC fishing report is usually far more in depth.  Phone: (586-741-6052) Macomb County Bait Shops: Click Here! Port Sanilac:  Most of the fishing effort was for perch either north or south of the harbor depending on the day.  Depths vary from 15 to 40 feet and many were drifting until they hit an active school of fish, then anchor.  Average catch was 10-30 fish and the size was seven to 11 inches with the occasional 14 inch fish.   Harbor Beach:  Most of the action was for lake trout with boats going straight east or northeast of the harbor to 120 to 150 feet and using spin-glo’s near the bottom.  They were also getting the occasional walleye.  A few were running 20 miles out to the mid-lake reef and taking a good number of lake trout in 190 feet.   Huron County Bait Shops: Click Here! Grindstone City:  Catch rates for walleye were spotty.  Most were fishing in 30 to 45 feet with a crawler harness.  Bass anglers were doing well off Eagle Bay in six to eight feet.     Saginaw Bay:  Fishing in the bay is moving into its mid-summer pattern.  The walleye are moving out to deeper water with the best fishing out in the middle of the bay in 22 to 30 feet from the Spark Plug (Buoys 11 & 12) out to Buoys 1 & 2 at the end of the shipping channel.  Boats from both sides of the bay have been converging on that area.  Walleye were still coming from the Slot especially in the area outside the islands off Bay Port, and a lot of boats were fishing around the buoy off the end of Sand Point.  From Caseville, walleye anglers were trolling around the tip of Sand Point, off Oak Point and the reefs between Caseville and Port Austin.  Most are using a crawler harness but a few were using a flicker-shad or spoons in an effort to avoid catching freshwater drum.  Perch fishing was starting to pick up around sailboat buoys A & B off Linwood with worms or fathead minnows.    For a more accurate report on Saginaw Bay I suggest taking a look at the weekly Saginaw Bay Fishing Report given to you by Saginawbay.com Shiawassee County:   Crappie were caught on Lobdell Lake.  Water levels on the Shiawassee River are extremely low but anglers still caught smallmouth and rock bass.  With summer in full swing there are ample opportunities to get out and fish.  With that in mind I suggest reaching out to the local bait shops in southeast Michigan to verify what your best options are.  Below are links to bait shop listings organized by county:   Wayne County Click Here! Washtenaw County Click Here! Bay County Click Here! Monroe County Click Here! Livingston County Click Here! Ingham County Click Here! Genesee County Click Here! Your area may not be listed within this fishing report so below is a list of links to pages in Southeast Michigan to help guide you to public lakes in your county. Clinton County Public Lakes: Click Here! Genessee County Public Lakes: Click Here! Hillsdale County Public Lakes: Click Here! Jackson County Public Lakes: Click Here! Lapeer County Public Lakes: Click Here! Lenawee County Public Lakes: Click Here! Livingston County Public Lakes: Click Here! Oakland County Public Lakes Page 1: Click Here!  Oakland County Public Lakes Page 2: Click Here! Washtenaw County Public Lakes: Click Here! Wayne County Public Lakes: Click Here!