Captain Ron Dohm Jr. from Sport Fish Michigan gives us his latest Michigan fishing report for June 28th, 2024.
Michigan Fishing Report: 6-28-2024
Fishing has been fantastic up here in Northern Michigan and the bites are really heating up. Lake trout, salmon, walleye and more have all been fishing well as summer arrives.
Michigan Fishing: Lake Trout
Vertical jigging for lake trout has been awesome on the Grand Traverse Bay. We’ve been catching fish in the 90 to 140 feet of water. As the water continues to warm up those fish may push even deeper. Look for schools of alewives in those depth ranges and the lakers should be mixed right in there chasing the bait.
If not finding schools of alewives fish tight to bottom and near structure because the gobies are always around. We’ve had a lot of success using a 1-ounce hair or tube jig. Plenty of fish are being caught with some bigger ones mixed in.
Michigan Fishing: King Salmon
Frankfurt, Leland, Manistee, and Glen Arbor ports have all had great salmon bites. Most anglers are having success out deep in over 100 feet of water. There are plenty of year three to five year old fish being landed. Take advantage of your depth finders to find the thermocline and ultimately the fish.
Most anglers have been using down riggers, lead core, and other trolling weights to get down to depth. Everyone has their own hot color or bait right now so good to start with a variety and narrow it down from there.
Michigan Fishing: Inland Walleye
A lot of the inland lakes have had a good walleye bite. Early in the morning or late in the evening has been most productive time to catch fish. Fishing along the deep weed edge that’s newly formed has been the best area to produce bites. That has typically been between ten and eighteen feet of water. Slip bobbers with a leech or half a nightcrawlers is been the go to tactic.
Michigan Fishing: Smallmouth Bass
The inland lakes and Grand Traverse Bay have been fishing very well with the summer water temps. Smallmouth bass can be caught on topwater baits early in the morning and late in the afternoon. Throwing a prop bait or popper will entice those aggressive surface strikes. Throughout the day bass can be caught on ned rigs or tubes on deeper rock structure.
