The bite has been excellent in Captain Ben Wolfe‘s neck of the woods, whether you’re Michigan bass, panfish, walleye or salmon. One of the most enjoyable fish to chase are those Michigan bass, especially the smallmouth. They are easy to target right now and a fun fight, but don’t as Ben explains, it’s important to treat them with care and get them back into the water as quickly as possible this time of year.

Here’s Ben’s fishing report in it’s entirety:

“We just had a full moon and what that did was pull a lot of smallmouth bass and largemouth bass up onto the flats to spawn. It’s a really fantastic time to catch those bedders that we all love to target and sight fish. But it’s really critical for future generation of our bass population to let those males go to get back on the bed as quickly as possible. I know they are a lot of fun to catch, but let’s let those males get back to the bed to do what they do and protect those nests.

“And same goes for the panfish, crappies and bluegills, let the big bluegills go. They are so much fun to catch, but we need that broodstock protecting those eggs down there. Keep some of the smaller ones for the dinner table, but have fun with it!

“The Detroit River continues to fish really well for walleyes as well as Saginaw Bay if you can get out into the clean water. We have salmon moving around up in the ports of Manistee and Frankfort as well on Lake Michigan. If you’re looking for a captain or guide in the state of Michigan, give us a call or check us out on the web at sportfishmichigan.com”

Whether you’re chasing Michigan bass, Detroit River walleye, great lakes salmon, inland panfish – you name it – Sport Fish Michigan is on the bite. Make sure to check back in next week for another report from their crew. They do an excellent job keeping tabs on the action throughout the state for a multitude of different species of fish on a diverse group of waters.