IRON MOUNTAIN — Peak fall colors are expected this weekend — along with near-wintry temperatures — as both anglers and hunters go afield.

“A lot of people are fishing for musky right now,” said Doug Whisler at Whisler Outdoors in Florence, Wis., mentioning a catch-and-release of 41 inches.

Northern pike, have been hitting spoons, spinners and the occasional sucker. Walleye action has been spotty, Whisler said.

John Grier at Whispering Pines Outpost in Breitung Township said crappies are biting on waxworms.

“There’s a few guys getting birds now,” he said, though cover remains dense. “They’re flushing a lot anyway.”

Grier has registered 26 black bear so far. He told of a hunter who discovered his harvest half-devoured after being unable to find it before nightfall. “Coyotes or wolves,” Grier noted.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources reported the following Upper Peninsula activity:

Copper Harbor: Had very few boats out. Pier anglers caught splake, but many were undersize. Most were using spawn, worms and smelt as well as spoons, spinners and crank baits. All methods had moderate catch rates but finding legal size fish took time. Eagle Harbor had no boat anglers. Those fishing off the wall caught nothing.

Keweenaw Bay: Was producing salmon, lake trout and splake for boat anglers fishing in shallower waters. The number of fish in the Falls, Silver, and Huron Rivers is low with the warmer weather. Look for more fish as temperatures cool and after it rains.

Marquette: Few anglers were out. With the cooler temperatures and rain last week, local rivers saw a good push of salmon, but the run was short lived. A decent number of coho along with some steelhead and brown trout were picked up in the Carp and Chocolay Rivers and a few Chinook and coho were caught in the Dead River. More rain should bring more salmon.

Little Bay De Noc: Walleye anglers reported fair catches at the “Black Bottom” when trolling stick baits in 20 to 28 feet and off Kipling when trolling or jigging crawlers and stick baits in 14 to 30 feet between the First and Second Reefs. Perch fishing was fair around Butler Island with crawlers and minnows in 6 to 19 feet. Creel numbers were low, but some nice jumbo perch were caught. Salmon were seen near the mouth of the Escanaba River earlier this fall, but no catches were reported and there has been little fishing activity.

Manistique River: The fall run here has been better than expected. Very little in the way of coho and pink salmon but the steelhead, brown trout and Chinook numbers have been good. While brown trout have been caught since early spring, the steelhead just showed up last week. Most were fishing between the bridge and the lower dam while casting spawn, beads, crank baits or yarn. Last week ended strong and this week could be the peak so anglers should get out there or you could miss it.

Munising: A few boats were trolling between the Anna River and Sand Point however the only fish caught were small splake. Water temperatures were still in the low 50’s. Anglers targeting the thermocline and fish that were suspended had no luck. Shore anglers fishing Bay Furnace caught coho, splake and steelhead predawn when using spawn. Pier anglers at the Anna River caught coho and splake. The fall colors were at their peak this week.

Grand Marais: Had few boats but shore anglers were surfcasting with spawn. Those fishing near the mouth and up into the Sucker River reported slow catch rates with only a couple steelhead and coho taken.

Two Hearted River: The coho salmon run picked up a bit. The heavy rains a week ago helped bring more fish into the river. Water level should be recede this week.

Sucker River: Had a very light salmon run. The action was slow out from the mouth on Lake Superior as well.

Raber Bay: Walleye fishing was good at Carlton Creek located 3 miles south of the boat launch. Fish the mouth of Carlton Creek and the weed beds. Target 8 to 12 feet with orange and chartreuse crank baits in the early morning or late evening. Excellent northern pike action when trolling the north shore of the bay and east to Point Auxfrens with chrome or copper spoons with a red eye.

Drummond Island: Anglers reported good catches of yellow perch. Best areas to fish were in Scott Bay between Rutland and Peck Island.