Fishing Report: Colder water temperatures lead to a change in course
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MUSKEGON, MI — The waters around the Muskegon area have been getting colder, and the fish have taken notice.
Bill Funk, owner and operator of Shoreline Service Bait and Tackle, said water tested Tuesday found to be in the 49-degree range.
Large brown trout from this past week caught with Great Lakes Guide Service. (Courtesy of Kyle Buck)
Funk said anglers have been seeing some salmon in and around the Muskegon Channel, and he hopes they stick around there for the next month before fall begins.
"They go into the channel where it's warmer. The salmon prefer 55 degrees and they will look for that," Funk said. "When the whole world goes crazy like that, they start thinking about fall production and look for those warmer waters."
Normally, the surface is 60–70 degrees, forcing those in search of salmon to look in deeper waters. This year that hasn't been the case.
Volume-wise a lot of the lake has been in the high 40s and low 50s, Funk said. This has caused some of the fish to go to the shallower waters.
"That's very cold water for shallow waters in July and August," Funk said, "but we've been catching walleyes in the channel using spoons, and people fishing on the weed line on the north side have been catching walleyes with crawlers."
However, not everyone has been seeing salmon.
Kyle Buck of Great Lakes Guide Service said the fish have not been biting in his parts.
"Fishing has been really tough the past week. The water is extremely cold," Buck said. "There has been a few fish in close to shore, but good numbers of salmon are just not around."
The key to the fishing right now is finding the warmer water and fish up high, Buck said. Doing this resulted in a catch of a really nice brown trout this week weighing in at 22 pounds.
"There are tons of bait fish in shallow (waters), but hardly any Kings with them which is sort of scary," Buck said. "Let's keep our fingers crossed they are just in another part of the lake at this point and not that their population is just that low."
Across West Michigan
According to the weekly fishing report from Michigan's Department of Natural Resources, Muskegon has been producing a lot of trout and steelhead.
Anglers are trolling spoons in the top 30 feet of waters 90–120 feet deep around the first set of commercial nets which can be found from Muskegon south to Hoffmaster State Park. The DNR recommended fishermen try mini or regular spoons, and hot colors that proved useful were UV, mixed veggie, orange and blue.
In Muskegon River a few trout have been spotted for those interested in fly fishing. Smallmouth bass fishing was good for those using crawlers, leeches and crayfish in the same area.
Those fishing across from Stoney Lake in Whitehall did well, the DNR said. The lake turned over and water temperatures were cold so fish were caught in the top 35 feet.
Lake trout were suspended, while chinook and steelhead could be found at the same depths, when meat rigs were used.
During the Coast Guard Festival in Grand Haven, anglers have been fishing up to 70 feet down in 75 to 175 feet. Most fish were caught on orange, green or blue spoons, the DNR said, including those using a white spinnie with a green fly or yellow meat rigs.
Perch fishing was hit-or-miss along the mud line in front of the north pier and in the perch holes in Grand Haven. Pier anglers used shrimp and alewife – however, catch rates for steelhead were very slow because of the warm water.
Tony Wittkowski is a staff reporter at MLive Muskegon Chronicle. Email him at twittkow@mlive.com and follow him on Facebook and onTwitter.
MUSKEGON, MI — The waters around the Muskegon area have been getting colder, and the fish have taken notice.
Bill Funk, owner and operator of Shoreline Service Bait and Tackle, said water tested Tuesday found to be in the 49-degree range.
Large brown trout from this past week caught with Great Lakes Guide Service. (Courtesy of Kyle Buck)
Funk said anglers have been seeing some salmon in and around the Muskegon Channel, and he hopes they stick around there for the next month before fall begins.
"They go into the channel where it's warmer. The salmon prefer 55 degrees and they will look for that," Funk said. "When the whole world goes crazy like that, they start thinking about fall production and look for those warmer waters."
Normally, the surface is 60–70 degrees, forcing those in search of salmon to look in deeper waters. This year that hasn't been the case.
Volume-wise a lot of the lake has been in the high 40s and low 50s, Funk said. This has caused some of the fish to go to the shallower waters.
"That's very cold water for shallow waters in July and August," Funk said, "but we've been catching walleyes in the channel using spoons, and people fishing on the weed line on the north side have been catching walleyes with crawlers."
However, not everyone has been seeing salmon.
Kyle Buck of Great Lakes Guide Service said the fish have not been biting in his parts.
"Fishing has been really tough the past week. The water is extremely cold," Buck said. "There has been a few fish in close to shore, but good numbers of salmon are just not around."
The key to the fishing right now is finding the warmer water and fish up high, Buck said. Doing this resulted in a catch of a really nice brown trout this week weighing in at 22 pounds.
"There are tons of bait fish in shallow (waters), but hardly any Kings with them which is sort of scary," Buck said. "Let's keep our fingers crossed they are just in another part of the lake at this point and not that their population is just that low."
Across West Michigan
According to the weekly fishing report from Michigan's Department of Natural Resources, Muskegon has been producing a lot of trout and steelhead.
Anglers are trolling spoons in the top 30 feet of waters 90–120 feet deep around the first set of commercial nets which can be found from Muskegon south to Hoffmaster State Park. The DNR recommended fishermen try mini or regular spoons, and hot colors that proved useful were UV, mixed veggie, orange and blue.
In Muskegon River a few trout have been spotted for those interested in fly fishing. Smallmouth bass fishing was good for those using crawlers, leeches and crayfish in the same area.
Those fishing across from Stoney Lake in Whitehall did well, the DNR said. The lake turned over and water temperatures were cold so fish were caught in the top 35 feet.
Lake trout were suspended, while chinook and steelhead could be found at the same depths, when meat rigs were used.
During the Coast Guard Festival in Grand Haven, anglers have been fishing up to 70 feet down in 75 to 175 feet. Most fish were caught on orange, green or blue spoons, the DNR said, including those using a white spinnie with a green fly or yellow meat rigs.
Perch fishing was hit-or-miss along the mud line in front of the north pier and in the perch holes in Grand Haven. Pier anglers used shrimp and alewife – however, catch rates for steelhead were very slow because of the warm water.
Tony Wittkowski is a staff reporter at MLive Muskegon Chronicle. Email him at twittkow@mlive.com and follow him on Facebook and onTwitter.
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