Post by sam on May 26, 2011 13:40:58 GMT -5
This page was last updated on MAY 26 2011 12:22 P.M.
Lake Michigan
For more information about the lake please click on the lake name above.
Description:
N/A
Fish
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: Sthingys
Depth: East: Up to 210 FOW West: Up to 75 FOW
Comments about fish:
Earlier in the week, nice catches of cohos & kings were caught outside the “ditch” at Portage Marina & along the Inland Steel Wall at the EC Marina. Since then, all activity has moved offshore, especially in the MC & Portage area. Anglers have reported a pretty good steelhead & chinook bite anywhere from 16-20 miles offshore in water depths up to 210 FOW. Sthingys have been the top producing lure. Anglers will need to experiment to find the hot fishing zones as they change almost on a daily basis when you are fishing that deep. Anglers launching their vessels out of EC report coho & king action N to NE of the gong in water depths to 75 FOW. Kings have shown a preference for sthingys fished 42-58' down while cohos been hitting D/F combos anywhere from 26-40' down.
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: D & F combos, sthingys
Depth: West: Up to 75 FOW
Comments about fish:
See chinook salmon report.
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: Sthingys
Depth: Within 5' of bottom
Comments about fish:
See Chinook salmon report.
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: Sthingys
Depth: Lake : Up to 210 FOW
Comments about fish:
See chinook salmon report for boat action. No shore action to report this week in southern LM. Water visibility has been poor most of the week. Area tribs are high & muddy. No reports of skamania steelhead entering the creeks as of today. Water temp of Trail Cr at Friendship Gardens was 58F°.
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
Depth: Up to 18 FOW
Comments about fish:
Once again, unfavorable lake & weather conditions prevented many smallmouth bass anglers from fishing LM this past week. Once nearshore water visibility improves, anglers can expect smallmouth bass action to pick-up. Look for smallmouth bass to congregate on man-made structure or rocky rip rap around Hammond & EC Marinas. With surface water temps in the lower to middle 50’s nearshore, anglers need to slow their presentations down. Over the past couple of weeks, anglers have stated the top producing lures include tube jigs that resemble gobies & crankbaits fished slowly in and around rocky areas.
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: 42-55 FOW
Comments about fish:
A few nice size yellow perch were caught out front of Mt. Baldy & the mouth of Trail Creek in MC earlier in the week; however, action has slowed & yellow perch have scattered with turbid nearshore waters conditions. The perch were caught on minnows.
Comments about body of water:
Surface water temp in the harbor at MC is 58°F. June 4-5, 2011 is Indiana’s Free Fishing Weekend. All Indiana residents will not need a fishing license or a trout/salmon stamp to fish in Indiana waters. Just a reminder to all anglers that a portion of Trail Cr & the E Br of the Little Calumet River will be closed to all fishing from April 1 through June 15. This closure allows recently stocked fish to safely migrate downstream to LM. The closed season applies to: The E Br of the Little Calumet River in Porter Co. from US 12 upstream to US 20 & Trail Cr from the Franklin Street Bridge upstream to US 35.
Lake Michigan
For more information about the lake please click on the lake name above.
Description:
N/A
Fish
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: Sthingys
Depth: East: Up to 210 FOW West: Up to 75 FOW
Comments about fish:
Earlier in the week, nice catches of cohos & kings were caught outside the “ditch” at Portage Marina & along the Inland Steel Wall at the EC Marina. Since then, all activity has moved offshore, especially in the MC & Portage area. Anglers have reported a pretty good steelhead & chinook bite anywhere from 16-20 miles offshore in water depths up to 210 FOW. Sthingys have been the top producing lure. Anglers will need to experiment to find the hot fishing zones as they change almost on a daily basis when you are fishing that deep. Anglers launching their vessels out of EC report coho & king action N to NE of the gong in water depths to 75 FOW. Kings have shown a preference for sthingys fished 42-58' down while cohos been hitting D/F combos anywhere from 26-40' down.
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: D & F combos, sthingys
Depth: West: Up to 75 FOW
Comments about fish:
See chinook salmon report.
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: Sthingys
Depth: Within 5' of bottom
Comments about fish:
See Chinook salmon report.
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: Sthingys
Depth: Lake : Up to 210 FOW
Comments about fish:
See chinook salmon report for boat action. No shore action to report this week in southern LM. Water visibility has been poor most of the week. Area tribs are high & muddy. No reports of skamania steelhead entering the creeks as of today. Water temp of Trail Cr at Friendship Gardens was 58F°.
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
Depth: Up to 18 FOW
Comments about fish:
Once again, unfavorable lake & weather conditions prevented many smallmouth bass anglers from fishing LM this past week. Once nearshore water visibility improves, anglers can expect smallmouth bass action to pick-up. Look for smallmouth bass to congregate on man-made structure or rocky rip rap around Hammond & EC Marinas. With surface water temps in the lower to middle 50’s nearshore, anglers need to slow their presentations down. Over the past couple of weeks, anglers have stated the top producing lures include tube jigs that resemble gobies & crankbaits fished slowly in and around rocky areas.
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: 42-55 FOW
Comments about fish:
A few nice size yellow perch were caught out front of Mt. Baldy & the mouth of Trail Creek in MC earlier in the week; however, action has slowed & yellow perch have scattered with turbid nearshore waters conditions. The perch were caught on minnows.
Comments about body of water:
Surface water temp in the harbor at MC is 58°F. June 4-5, 2011 is Indiana’s Free Fishing Weekend. All Indiana residents will not need a fishing license or a trout/salmon stamp to fish in Indiana waters. Just a reminder to all anglers that a portion of Trail Cr & the E Br of the Little Calumet River will be closed to all fishing from April 1 through June 15. This closure allows recently stocked fish to safely migrate downstream to LM. The closed season applies to: The E Br of the Little Calumet River in Porter Co. from US 12 upstream to US 20 & Trail Cr from the Franklin Street Bridge upstream to US 35.