Lake Michigan, the second largest Great Lake by volume with just under 1,180 cubic miles of water, is the only Great Lake entirely within the United States.  Approximately 118 miles wide and 307 miles long, Lake Michigan has more than 1,600 miles of shoreline. Averaging 279 feet in depth, the lake reaches 925 feet at its deepest point.  The northern tier of Lake Michigan is in the colder, less developed upper Great Lakes region, while its more temperate southern basin contains the Milwaukee and Chicago metropolitan areas. Lake Michigan is the 5th largest lake in the world.

Almost 100 species of fish have been recorded in Lake Michigan, besides its world-class trout and salmon fisheries, the lake also supports substantial commercial whitefish, walleye, large and smallmouth bass, steelhead and yellow perch fisheries.  Lake Michigan Fishing Charters are your best and safest bet to enjoy an incredible Lake Michigan Fishing experience.

Lake Michigan Fishing Report

South Haven - Boat anglers are catching good numbers of chinook salmon when trolling in waters 30 to 80 feet deep. Pier fishing has been fair with summer run skamania hitting on spoons in the early morning. Perch fishing remains good when using minnows in 20 to 30 feet of water.

Grand Haven - Boat anglers are starting to catch a few chinook salmon when trolling in waters up to 150 feet deep. Lake trout were caught shallow while the chinook were caught out deep. Downriggers were set about 55 feet down with spoons such as the Dolphin. Carmel and blue were good colors. Pier fishing shut down due to the lack of baitfish around the piers. Perch were caught south of the port in 50 to 70 feet of water but many were small.

Muskegon - Lots of whitefish have been caught off the pier and along the channel. Anglers have caught some steelhead off the piers when drifting or floating small spawn bags. Orange has been a good color.

Charlevoix - Salmon were taken at various depths when trolling spoons with flies off North Point in the early morning. A good number of fish were taken about 80 feet down and those fish ranged between 7 and 14 pounds.

Traverse City - In the East Bay, those fishing off Dock Road in the early morning have caught some brown trout and steelhead. West winds in this location have improved the fishing. Whitefish have been caught off the white wall along the southern end of the bay. Jigging worked best. Lake trout fishing has been excellent with limit catches taken. Many fish were over 25 inches.

Manistee - High winds have made fishing on the big lake a challenge however a few browns were caught by boat and pier anglers. Some perch were also caught.

Lake Michigan Fishing and Lake Michigan Salmon Fishing