Michigan fishing guide Ron Dohm Jr. of Sport Fish Michigan gives his latest Northern Michigan fishing report on May 5th, 2024.
Northern Michigan Fishing Report: 5-5-2024
The fishing has been great in Northern Michigan. The water temperatures are still pretty cold and the best bite has often been in the afternoon as those water temps increase from the morning.
Anglers can expect the fishing to get even better as the water temperatures continue to rise.
Smallmouth Bass: Northern Michigan Fishing Report
The smallmouth bass bite has been great on most of the inland lakes in Northern Michigan. All of the fish are prespawn and are heavy.
Look for smallmouth bass on shallow rocky reefs and points. Focus on depths between four and ten feet of water. Water temperature is key this time of year. Look for rocky structure with the warmest water. That is where the biggest schools of smallmouth bass are going to be.
Anglers can catch smallmouth bass on jerkbaits, hair jigs, and on ned rigs. Whatever bait you choose to use you will want to work it slow. Slower presentations have been working the best.
Natural colors have worked best for the hair jigs and ned rigs, but bright colors like orange and clown have worked best when using jerkbaits.
Grand Traverse Bay: Northern Michigan Fishing Report
The Lake trout bite has been fantastic out on Lake Michigan. Heavy spoons and jigs has been the best way to catch them.
The fish are still deep and can be found on reefs and flats in over one-hundred feet of water.
The cisco bite is also starting to heat up on Lake Michigan. Anglers can catch cisco that are suspended between eighty and one-hundred feet of water.
It won’t be long now until large schools of cisco move into the shallow bays and can be caught in the bays.
Small flashy spoons have worked best.
