IRON MOUNTAIN — With Michigan’s ruffed grouse season still in its first week, hunters are reminded that the Upper Peninsula boasts 13 of the state’s 19 Grouse Enhanced Management Sites.

These are intensively managed walk-in accessible hunting areas that offer a trail for those who prefer an easier walk, as well as a chance to adventure off the trail.

Most GEMS are located within DNR-managed state forests, though some are on U.S. Forest Service lands or on private lands enrolled in Commercial Forest programs. Locally, there are GEMS just west of Ralph and 10 miles north of Iron River.

More information can be found at https://www2.dnr.state.mi.us/publications/pdfs/ArcGISOnline/interactiveMaps/gems/.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources said anglers on the Peshtigo River were seeing an increase in perch catches. Minnows seemed to be best bait with a few limit catches reported. Northern pike, white perch and smallmouth bass were also being caught while perch fishing.

The Michigan DNR reported this Upper Peninsula activity:

Little Bay de Noc: Anglers fishing the Escanaba River and near the river mouth reported catching coho salmon on crankbaits, spinners, as well as using salmon spawn. Slow to fair perch fishing was reported. Anglers had success on perch rigs near Kipling, The Narrows, and near Aronson Island. Those perch fishing reported schools being chased around by northern pike. Anglers reported limited success when targeting walleye. Smallmouth anglers caught fish on the bottom and on top of drop-offs.

Big Bay de Noc: Smallmouth bass anglers reported fair fishing. Smallmouth bass began to transition to fall patterns and were targeted in areas with deep water access. However, some anglers reported success fishing near shore area vegetation. Perch anglers reported slow fishing.

Keweenaw Bay/ Huron Bay: Anglers reported fair to good numbers of salmon being caught. They caught coho salmon and pink salmon while trolling spoons and flasher/flies in the upper portion of the water column. Anglers also reported fair lake trout fishing while trolling in 70 to 120 feet of water.

Munising: Boat anglers targeting salmon caught a few coho salmon in the bay but reported the bite to be very slow. Boat anglers did well targeting lake trout by trolling and jigging west of Grand Island. Anglers also had some success catching coho salmon and splake while fishing off the Anna River mouth, with spawn being the most effective bait.

Marquette: Anglers reported another great week of weather and success, both trolling and jigging for lake trout. Numerous boat anglers caught their limit or came close to it. Lake trout were still caught consistently north of White Rocks in 120 to 160 feet of water. Anglers trolling from northwest of the White Rocks out toward north of Granite Island continued to do well in both deep and shallower waters. It seemed that most of the fish were finally starting to move into shallower water as the water temperature decreased. Lake trout fishing remained strong, but it appeared that salmon numbers had decreased with the rising temperatures in both the lake and rivers. Coho salmon were caught in both the Carp and Chocolay rivers, as well as in the lake off the Upper Harbor Lighthouse, out toward Black Rocks.

Ontonagon/Silver City/Union Bay: Ontonagon experienced fairly high levels of fishing effort over the past week. Efforts from Union Bay and Silver City were even stronger. Recent angler reports included good numbers of lake trout catches. Occasional catches of coho salmon and Chinook salmon were also reported, though less frequently. Reports suggested that anglers had the best luck when trolling in water depths of approximately 100 feet.