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Bass, big bluegills highlight early summer fishing action

Outdoors report

A largemouth bass cruises just under the surface at Six Mile Lake in Dickinson County. This one was monitoring the many dragonflies as they mated and then came down to deposit eggs in the water; it managed to jump up and grab a number of the insects as they hovered. (Betsy Bloom/Daily News photo)

IRON MOUNTAIN — Bass are biting most everywhere while bluegill and crappie action has been steady as the summer fishing season gets into full swing.

“Bass fishing is really good,” said Doug Whisler at Whisler Outdoors in Florence, Wis. Jumbo leeches have worked best, but plastic worms or other baits have also been productive.

Bluegills in the range of 10 inches have been caught, mostly on worms and at varying depths.

“Fishermen have been finding crappies still on their beds in some places,” Whisler said. “Walleye have been small and so have the northern.”

Overall, he added, fishing action continues to be good.

Aquatic Invasive Species Awareness Week runs from Sunday through July 4.

“Everyone has a part to play in helping prevent the spread of invasive species,” said Kevin Walters, aquatic biologist with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. Public awareness about the impacts of harmful, nonnative aquatic plants and animals is critical to protecting Michigan’s ecosystems, tourism and economy, he added.

Boating enthusiasts are reminded that it’s the law in Michigan to:

— Remove all aquatic organisms, including plants, from watercraft and trailers before launching or transporting.

— Remove all drain plugs and drain all water from bilges, ballast tanks and live wells before transporting a watercraft.

— Dispose of unused bait in the trash, not in the water.

Wisconsin requires boaters to remove aquatic plants and animals and drain water from vehicles, boats, trailers and equipment upon removal from the water and to remove aquatic plants and animals from any vehicle, boat, trailer or equipment before placing it in any water of the state or transporting it on a highway.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources reported this Upper Peninsula activity:

Ontonagon: Fishing pressure has continued to drop again over the past week with some stormy weather and dispersal of fish. Catches of lake trout were spotty out of both Ontonagon and Union Bay. Anglers finding fish and staying on pods did well but there were also several boats with zero to one fish. Lake trout have been the most prevalent fish the past week with the occasional brown and coho coming in as well. Trolling has been occurring anywhere between 20 to 120 feet with trout being caught in all depths on spoons and other artificial lures. The Ontonagon River was starting to clear up and anglers picked a few more walleye jigging, trolling and drifting.

Keweenaw Bay: Anglers had the most luck fishing in Keweenaw Bay while trolling for lake trout and jigging for lake whitefish. Most of the fishing was done in waters deeper than 50 feet. A few coho and rainbow trout were also caught in Keweenaw Bay this week. Fishing pressure was slow in the Falls and Silver Rivers. Some shore anglers had luck near the mouth of the Traverse River.

Au Train: Anglers are still bringing in some decent catches of lake trout. They seem to have moved in shallower waters. Anglers caught some nice ones close to shore.

Marquette: Decent catches of lake trout were brought in. Anglers report catches in shallow water. A few browns and a coho were brought in.

Munising: Fishing pressure continues to be low, with boat angler effort directed towards Manistique and Fairport for kings. A few boats have been out for lake trout and doing quite well, not always limits but most anglers are catching a few. Best areas again to fish are towards White Rocks, Wood Island Reef, Grumps Hump and Big Reef. Some anglers have tried bobbing with limited success — best luck is trolling with flies near bottom near the breaks around 120 to 180 feet. Anglers fishing Big Reef have been fishing the edges in around 80 feet or less. Pier anglers have been catching a few nice splake around 18 to 20 using mainly fresh spawn however action has been intermittent.

Grand Marais: Pier anglers continue to do well with limits as long as winds are from the northwest. Action slows down considerably when winds are from the south.

Little Bay de Noc: Smallmouth anglers are catching fish at the mouth and in the Ford River. Walleye anglers are having a tough time but some reports of success. Limited numbers being caught around Portage Point and out of the Whitefish River when trolling or drifting crawler harnesses. Perch anglers that went out of Kipling and Gladstone had some success. Shore anglers at the Whitefish caught perch. People that fished the dock and shoreline at Gladstone caught perch and rock bass.

Big Bay de Noc: Smallmouth fishing has been good. Catch rates have been mixed throughout the bay. Those that headed out of Nahma and Ogontz found most fish out deep near structure, although some were also caught in the shallows along the shore. In Fairport, some Chinook salmon are being caught.

St. Ignace/Les Cheneaux: The bite has continued to be very slow. There are still few pike and walleye being caught in both the Pine and Carp rivers. Anglers are still catching perch in the Les Cheneaux areas, but are struggling to get the bigger ones to bite.

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