Post by sam fisherman on Aug 19, 2011 13:56:13 GMT -5
This page was last updated on AUG 18 2011 02:24 P.M.
Lake Michigan
For more information about the lake please click on the lake name above.
Description:
N/A
Fish
Channel catfish
Description:
The channel catfish has a smooth scaleless skin and barbels on its face resembling cat whiskers. The barbels help the channel catfish taste and feel objects and enable it to locate food in dark and turbid water. The channel catfish has 24-29 rays in its rounded anal fin. The caudal fin is deeply forked and the fish has dark spots on its sides when young.
Bait: Nightcrawlers, shrimp, commercially prepared catfish bait
Depth: Bottom
Comments about fish:
Anglers have been catching channel catfish off the Portage Lakefront Park Pier, the MC Lighthouse Pier & in the MC harbor on nightcrawlers, pieces of shrimp, or commercially prepared catfish bait fished right on the bottom.
Chinook salmon or king salmon
Description:
Members of the pacific salmon family, the chinook or king salmon and the coho salmon can be found in Lake Michigan and its tributaries in northern Indiana. Pacific salmons do not feed during spawning, but will strike a lure during their runs. Cohos will spawn in the fall in their third year of life and die, while chinooks will spawn in the fall, winter or spring in the fifth year of life, allowing them to grow larger. The chinook or king salmon teeth are set in dark gums, with black spots on the back and both lobes of the square caudal fin. The chinook or king salmon has 15-17 anal fin rays and averages 30 pounds though some can reach over 100 pounds.
Bait: Magnum sized spoons, bodybaits
Depth: Up to 115 FOW
Comments about fish:
Warm nearshore water temps have pushed trout & salmon into deeper waters over the past week. Anglers are reporting a mixed bag of steelhead, kings, cohos & lakers in water depths ranging from 90-115 FOW with most of the action occurring around the thermocline which is fluctuating between 55-75' down. Spoons, D/F combos & bodybaits have all been effective lures for catching late summer salmonids. If you decide to target lake trout, keep your lures within 10' of the bottom. No chinook salmon action reported in the creeks.
Coho salmon
Description:
Members of the pacific salmon family, the chinook or king salmon and the coho salmon can be found in Lake Michigan and its tributaries in northern Indiana. Pacific salmons do not feed during spawning, but will strike a lure during their runs. Cohos will spawn in the fall in their third year of life and die, while chinooks will spawn in the fall, winter or spring in the fifth year of life, allowing them to grow larger. The teeth of the coho salmon are set in light color gums. The coho salmon has black spots on the upper lobe of a slightly forked caudal fin with 12-15 anal fin rays.
Bait: Spoons, bodybaits, D/F combos
Depth: Up to 115 FOW
Comments about fish:
See chinook salmon report. It's still to early for salmon to migrate Indiana's tributaries.
Lake trout
Description:
Ever popular among Indiana anglers is the trout family, which includes the brown, lake and rainbow or steelhead trout. Many fisherman can be spotted on the shores during spawning season when the trout begin their runs into the tributaries. The lake trout has a white mouth, teeth and gums, a caudal fin that is deeply forked and a body color that is light to dark gray with light spots.
Bait: Spoons
Depth: Within 10' of bottom
Comments about fish:
A few lake trout have been taken in 90-115 FOW out of East Chicago and north of Michigan City in Michigan waters.
Rainbow or steelhead trout
Description:
Ever popular among Indiana anglers is the trout family, which includes the brown, lake and rainbow or steelhead trout. Many fisherman can be spotted on the shores during spawning season when the trout begin their runs into the tributaries. Rainbow or steelhead trout have a white mouth, teeth and gums and small black spots on their backs, sides, and caudal and dorsal fins. The caudal fin margin of the rainbow or steelhead trout is square and the fish has 9-12 anal fin rays.
Bait: Lake: Spoons, Bodybaits Pier: Shrimp, spoons Tribs: Shrimp, egg sacks
Depth: Lake : Up to 115 FOW
Comments about fish:
See king report of LM action. No action reported by shore anglers this week. Action picked up midweek in Trail Cr with most of the action occurring in the middle/upper reaches. Salt Cr anglers report fish are scattered throughout the system. No action reported in the E Br. Anglers catching steelhead recently stated that shrimp, N/C, spawn bags & marshmallows have been the top producing baits fished just off the bottom through the deeper holes & runs. Anglers have also had luck on size #1 or #2 spinners with silver or brass blades in clear water while slightly larger spinners with orange blades have been producing in the dirtier water.
Smallmouth bass
Description:
Sunfishes include some of the best-known fish in Indiana. Bluegill, redear sunfish, black and white crappie, largemouth, spotted and smallmouth bass are all members of the sunfish family. The last rays on the dorsal fin of the smallmouth bass are separated from the rest of the fin. Also, the upper jaw does not extend beyond back of eye, as it does with the largemouth bass. The smallmouth bass commonly reaches 3-4 pounds.
Bait: Tube jigs, crankbaits, minnows, worms
Depth: Up to 12 FOW
Comments about fish:
SMB action continues to be good along the southern shorelines of LM. Anglers should continue to target the W side of LM where abundant cover is available. Portage boat anglers should try along the “ditch” & off the Port of IN breakwall. An often overlooked area to fish for bass is the W Br of the Little Cal. Prior electrofishing surveys indicated good populations of LMB in that system. Top producing lures include tube jigs that resemble gobies, crankbaits & small spinnerbaits. Shore anglers are enjoying pretty good action for bluegills, rock bass & SMB off the fishing platforms at Hammond & EC Marinas & at the Port of IN. Live bait such as worms, crickets & minnows have been the top producing baits.
Yellow perch
Description:
Indiana anglers have long since sought perch for their tasty flavor. The yellow perch, walleye and sauger are members of this popular family. The yellow perch ranges from 6 to 12 inches long and up to one or two pounds.
Bait: Minnows
Depth: Up to 37 FOW
Comments about fish:
Yellow perch anglers are having very little luck over the past several days. Strong N winds late last week churned up southern LM & scattered the perch. Only action reported to the creel clerks was a few 8-10 inchers caught out-front of the condos in MC in water depths to 37 FOW. Anglers stated that minnows were the most productive bait. No shore action reported to the clerks.
Comments about body of water:
Water temp in the harbor of MC was 73 F°. As of this morning, Trail Cr is exhibiting average flows with clear water conditions in the upper reaches to stained conditions in the lower areas. Salt Cr is running much the same. The E Br Little Cal is exhibiting turbid water conditions especially in the lower reaches. Widely scattered rain showers are predicted for the region over the upcoming weekend which may impact stream flows & visibility. Water temp of Trail Cr at Friendship Gardens was 71° F. Expect similar water temps in the W tribs.
Lake Michigan
For more information about the lake please click on the lake name above.
Description:
N/A
Fish
Channel catfish
Description:
The channel catfish has a smooth scaleless skin and barbels on its face resembling cat whiskers. The barbels help the channel catfish taste and feel objects and enable it to locate food in dark and turbid water. The channel catfish has 24-29 rays in its rounded anal fin. The caudal fin is deeply forked and the fish has dark spots on its sides when young.
Bait: Nightcrawlers, shrimp, commercially prepared catfish bait
Depth: Bottom
Comments about fish:
Anglers have been catching channel catfish off the Portage Lakefront Park Pier, the MC Lighthouse Pier & in the MC harbor on nightcrawlers, pieces of shrimp, or commercially prepared catfish bait fished right on the bottom.
Chinook salmon or king salmon
Description:
Members of the pacific salmon family, the chinook or king salmon and the coho salmon can be found in Lake Michigan and its tributaries in northern Indiana. Pacific salmons do not feed during spawning, but will strike a lure during their runs. Cohos will spawn in the fall in their third year of life and die, while chinooks will spawn in the fall, winter or spring in the fifth year of life, allowing them to grow larger. The chinook or king salmon teeth are set in dark gums, with black spots on the back and both lobes of the square caudal fin. The chinook or king salmon has 15-17 anal fin rays and averages 30 pounds though some can reach over 100 pounds.
Bait: Magnum sized spoons, bodybaits
Depth: Up to 115 FOW
Comments about fish:
Warm nearshore water temps have pushed trout & salmon into deeper waters over the past week. Anglers are reporting a mixed bag of steelhead, kings, cohos & lakers in water depths ranging from 90-115 FOW with most of the action occurring around the thermocline which is fluctuating between 55-75' down. Spoons, D/F combos & bodybaits have all been effective lures for catching late summer salmonids. If you decide to target lake trout, keep your lures within 10' of the bottom. No chinook salmon action reported in the creeks.
Coho salmon
Description:
Members of the pacific salmon family, the chinook or king salmon and the coho salmon can be found in Lake Michigan and its tributaries in northern Indiana. Pacific salmons do not feed during spawning, but will strike a lure during their runs. Cohos will spawn in the fall in their third year of life and die, while chinooks will spawn in the fall, winter or spring in the fifth year of life, allowing them to grow larger. The teeth of the coho salmon are set in light color gums. The coho salmon has black spots on the upper lobe of a slightly forked caudal fin with 12-15 anal fin rays.
Bait: Spoons, bodybaits, D/F combos
Depth: Up to 115 FOW
Comments about fish:
See chinook salmon report. It's still to early for salmon to migrate Indiana's tributaries.
Lake trout
Description:
Ever popular among Indiana anglers is the trout family, which includes the brown, lake and rainbow or steelhead trout. Many fisherman can be spotted on the shores during spawning season when the trout begin their runs into the tributaries. The lake trout has a white mouth, teeth and gums, a caudal fin that is deeply forked and a body color that is light to dark gray with light spots.
Bait: Spoons
Depth: Within 10' of bottom
Comments about fish:
A few lake trout have been taken in 90-115 FOW out of East Chicago and north of Michigan City in Michigan waters.
Rainbow or steelhead trout
Description:
Ever popular among Indiana anglers is the trout family, which includes the brown, lake and rainbow or steelhead trout. Many fisherman can be spotted on the shores during spawning season when the trout begin their runs into the tributaries. Rainbow or steelhead trout have a white mouth, teeth and gums and small black spots on their backs, sides, and caudal and dorsal fins. The caudal fin margin of the rainbow or steelhead trout is square and the fish has 9-12 anal fin rays.
Bait: Lake: Spoons, Bodybaits Pier: Shrimp, spoons Tribs: Shrimp, egg sacks
Depth: Lake : Up to 115 FOW
Comments about fish:
See king report of LM action. No action reported by shore anglers this week. Action picked up midweek in Trail Cr with most of the action occurring in the middle/upper reaches. Salt Cr anglers report fish are scattered throughout the system. No action reported in the E Br. Anglers catching steelhead recently stated that shrimp, N/C, spawn bags & marshmallows have been the top producing baits fished just off the bottom through the deeper holes & runs. Anglers have also had luck on size #1 or #2 spinners with silver or brass blades in clear water while slightly larger spinners with orange blades have been producing in the dirtier water.
Smallmouth bass
Description:
Sunfishes include some of the best-known fish in Indiana. Bluegill, redear sunfish, black and white crappie, largemouth, spotted and smallmouth bass are all members of the sunfish family. The last rays on the dorsal fin of the smallmouth bass are separated from the rest of the fin. Also, the upper jaw does not extend beyond back of eye, as it does with the largemouth bass. The smallmouth bass commonly reaches 3-4 pounds.
Bait: Tube jigs, crankbaits, minnows, worms
Depth: Up to 12 FOW
Comments about fish:
SMB action continues to be good along the southern shorelines of LM. Anglers should continue to target the W side of LM where abundant cover is available. Portage boat anglers should try along the “ditch” & off the Port of IN breakwall. An often overlooked area to fish for bass is the W Br of the Little Cal. Prior electrofishing surveys indicated good populations of LMB in that system. Top producing lures include tube jigs that resemble gobies, crankbaits & small spinnerbaits. Shore anglers are enjoying pretty good action for bluegills, rock bass & SMB off the fishing platforms at Hammond & EC Marinas & at the Port of IN. Live bait such as worms, crickets & minnows have been the top producing baits.
Yellow perch
Description:
Indiana anglers have long since sought perch for their tasty flavor. The yellow perch, walleye and sauger are members of this popular family. The yellow perch ranges from 6 to 12 inches long and up to one or two pounds.
Bait: Minnows
Depth: Up to 37 FOW
Comments about fish:
Yellow perch anglers are having very little luck over the past several days. Strong N winds late last week churned up southern LM & scattered the perch. Only action reported to the creel clerks was a few 8-10 inchers caught out-front of the condos in MC in water depths to 37 FOW. Anglers stated that minnows were the most productive bait. No shore action reported to the clerks.
Comments about body of water:
Water temp in the harbor of MC was 73 F°. As of this morning, Trail Cr is exhibiting average flows with clear water conditions in the upper reaches to stained conditions in the lower areas. Salt Cr is running much the same. The E Br Little Cal is exhibiting turbid water conditions especially in the lower reaches. Widely scattered rain showers are predicted for the region over the upcoming weekend which may impact stream flows & visibility. Water temp of Trail Cr at Friendship Gardens was 71° F. Expect similar water temps in the W tribs.