Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and it is the only one that is located entirely within the United States. The lake is located within the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin. Lake Michigan is known for its excellent salmon, trout and perch fishery, however, the smallmouth bass fishing just keeps getting better. For those that have started targeting smallmouth bass on Lake Michigan, they are finding lots of 4 to 5 pound smallies with even bigger fish being reported.
What You Need To Know
Spring Coho Salmon Run
Coho move from the south part of the lake north in the early spring. Anglers do very well fishing for coho in the spring and they don’t have to go very far offshore to find them. This is the time of year when Indiana and the southern ports in Illinois and Michigan are at their best.
Summer Sets In & So Does the Salmon Fishing
When summer temperatures arrive, the salmon will move offshore as they seek out cooler water temperatures and schools of bait fish. King and coho salmon will both be found in deeper waters, however, the King salmon will usually be found down deeper, while the coho are known for being higher up in the water column. Charters troll large distances as they search for bait and schools of salmon.
The Bays are Home to Some Spectacular Fishing
On Lake Michigan, you have Green Bay, which is home to some awesome walleye fishing. Green Bay is also home to Door County, where you can target walleye and smallmouth bass in the bay, then head off the other side to target salmon and trout. Bays de Noc are home to an excellent walleye and smallmouth bass fishery. Grand Traverse Bay is home to one of the best smallmouth bass fisheries in the midwest. We have websites that cover all of these sections so just click on the links to learn more about fishing the bays.
There Are So Many Awesome Rivers With Annual Spawning Runs
You can find rivers and streams on both sides of Lake Michigan that are home to some awesome fishing for salmon and trout as they move into the rivers to spawn. In the spring and fall, steelhead and brown trout are available on many tributaries. The fall is also when the coho and big chinook salmon can be found in the shallow water as they move up the rivers to spawn.
