IRON MOUNTAIN — With Michigan’s firearm opener less than two weeks away, archery hunters are finding more success and deer are reportedly in full rutting behavior.

Doug Whisler at Whisler Outdoors in Florence, Wis., said a couple of eight-pointers were taken. John Grier at Whispering Pines Outpost in Breitung Township also had a report of an eight-pointer.

“The deer are moving around quite a bit,” Whisler said.

Wisconsin’s nine-day gun season opens Nov. 23. Michigan’s 16-day firearm hunt starts Nov. 15. Daytime highs are expected to be in the 30s to low 40s through most of November, forecasters say.

A local trapper harvesting a coyote that weighed 50 pounds, Grier said, nearly double the average size.

Chilly weather has slowed local fishing and most anglers are now waiting for ice, he added.

Brown trout have moved into the lower Menominee River, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. A DNR fish survey on Oct. 23 resulted in 30 brown trout sampled and the largest was 34 inches.

Whitefish are beginning to show up in Green Bay tributaries and Rhinelander area anglers were reporting good action on muskellunge using brook trout color patterns.

The Michigan DNR reported the following Upper Peninsula activity:

Copper Harbor: Had a good number of pier anglers. Those using natural and artificial baits caught a lot of small splake along with a few decent ones. It was pretty much a guessing game as you waited for schools of fish to swim by and hope they would bite. Eagle Harbor had no reports from boat or shore anglers.

Keweenaw Bay: Boat and shore anglers continued to catch coho, lake trout, splake, steelhead and brown trout. Traverse Bay anglers were also catching lake trout, steelhead and brown trout when trolling. A couple coho were caught by shore anglers. A reminder to boat anglers to be aware of the research buoys just north of the launch in Traverse Bay. These buoys are tracking lake trout movement on and around the reef. Releasing any lake trout with a dorsal tag will help research efforts. A few anglers ventured out on Huron Bay where they caught coho and steelhead. Fish continue to make their way up the Falls, Silver and Huron Rivers where the better catches came after the rain.

Marquette: Those targeting steelhead and lake trout reported slow fishing as few boats were able to pick anything up. While most have pulled their boats from the marina and have begun winterizing, those that stick around into November should be able to get some nice spawning lake trout along with the occasional coho or steelhead if the weather cooperates. River fishing was slow with only a couple coho and steelhead caught in the Carp and Chocolay Rivers. Water levels were a bit high but fishable.

Little Bay De Noc: Fair walleye catches were reported with most anglers north of the “Narrows”. The best action was along the Kipling Reefs during the day when trolling stick baits or jigging crawlers in 30 to 34 feet. Night anglers were trolling stick baits in 18 to 22 feet. A few larger fish were caught but most were in the 16 to 20-inch range. Perch anglers reported fair catches just north of the “Narrows” with minnows in 30 to 35 feet and along the reefs at Kipling with minnows or crawlers in 20 to 25 feet.

Manistique River: The salmon run is pretty much over although the occasional jack was being reported. Many were targeting steelhead, however few were landed because of the fast water. Most were fishing the “Bass Hole” where the waters were wadable. More strikes were reported upriver near the bridges, but few were landed. Most were using beads or spawn. This will be the last report for the Manistique area this year.

Munising: Had few anglers. A northeast wind produced a few catches of steelhead, splake and coho on spawn or when casting spoons. Fluorescent orange was the hot color. Those trolling for coho had no luck. Shore anglers caught a couple steelhead in Bay Furnace when using spawn. Those fishing from the Anna River dock landed a couple coho or splake when casting spoons or using spawn.

Grand Marais: The only anglers were fishing at the mouth of the Sucker River. They did manage to catch a couple steelhead on spawn.

Raber: Walleye anglers reported surface water temperatures of 55 degrees at the mouth of Carlton Creek which is 3 miles south of the Raber Boat Launch. Walleye were caught at the mouth of Maude Bay when trolling crank baits with planer boards 40 feet back and 16 feet down.

Detour: Good catches of walleye were reported around Sweets Point just 2 miles north of Detour Village. Walleye up to 23 inches were hitting a black and chrome 8-inch crank bait 8 to 12 feet down just off the break. Early morning or late evening were best.

Cedarville and Hessel: Strong east winds kept perch anglers on shore. The water has been stained which caused the perch to go out to deeper water.