St. Joseph River Fishing Report

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This page was last updated on NOV 29 2010 02:28 P.M.

St. Joseph River
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Description:


The St. Joe River and its tributaries drain approximately 2,600 square miles in southwestern Michigan and 1,685 square miles in northern Indiana. Located primarily in Elkhart and St. Joseph counties, the river is home to thirty-six species of fish, as of a 1989 DNR survey.Angling opportunities are available for a number of sport fish including smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, channel catfish, rock bass, walleye and bluegill. The lower 13 miles of the river from the state line upstream to the Twin Branch Dam also provides steelhead and salmon fishing.




Fish


Brown 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 brown trout has a white mouth, teeth and gums and some orange or red spots on its sides. This trout also has some spots enriched with light blue and a caudal fin margin that is square with no spots on the upper or lower lobe.

Bait: NA
Depth: Na


Comments about fish:

A total of 12 brown trout were counted moving past the South Bend Fish Ladder this fall. Brown trout are rare in Indiana's stretch of the St.Joe River with only a few fish passing South Bend each fall.
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: NA
Depth: NA


Comments about fish:

A total of 405 chinook salmon have been counted moving past the South Bend Fish Ladder. The fall chinook salmon migration is over.
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: NA
Depth: NA


Comments about fish:

A total of 265 coho where counted moving past the South Bend Fish Ladder. The coho salmon migration is over.
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: spawn,
Depth: winter holding areas


Comments about fish:

A total of 882 steelhead trout were counted moving past the South Bend Fish Ladder this fall. The steelhead migration is way down from previos years and will unfortunatley be the worst migration on record since the fish ladders opened in 1994. The steelhead that are in the river now will remain in the river until next spring.

Comments about body of water:


A total of 1,564 salmonids were counted moving past the South Bend fish ladder this fall. The fall migration has ended and this will be the last website update until the steelhead migration starts in March, 2011. For additional trout and salmon fishing information contact our fishing hotline at 574-257-TIPS (8477).