IRON MOUNTAIN — Black bear hunting opens Wednesday in both the Upper Peninsula and northern Wisconsin.

Dogs are prohibited during the first five days of the U.P. hunt. Wisconsin takes a different approach, allowing hunting with the aid of dogs only for the first week of the season while banning dogs Oct. 6-12.

Midtown Bait & Tackle in Channing serves as a Michigan bear registration station. “We’re a central location for the Amasa, Gwinn and Carney units,” noted owner Bob Kennard. Hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily but closed Sunday.

Michigan Department of Natural Resources customer service centers and certain field offices will remain on a three-days-per-week schedule — Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays — until at least Oct. 4.

The three-day schedule for these facilities has been in place since July 20. Offices had been set to reopen to the public five days a week after Labor Day, prior to new coronavirus advisories and recommendations.

The affected customer service centers include Baraga, Escanaba, Marquette and Newberry. Field offices with the same public availability include Crystal Falls and Norway.

Michigan deer hunting starts Saturday, Sept. 11, with the weekend Liberty Hunt. Participants include veterans with disabilities, other individuals with specific disabilities, along with youth ages 16 and younger.

At Whisler Outdoors in Florence, Wis., Fay Whisler said trout anglers were reporting a heavy bite. A few small crappies were also caught, she said.

The Michigan DNR reported this Upper Peninsula activity:

Ontonagon: Anglers found lake trout in 80 to 120 feet of water with spoons.

Union Bay: Lake trout were very active with the average fish coming in between three and five pounds but there were some 10 to 15 pound fish caught. Typical water depths that performed well ranged from 100 to 150 feet of water.

Black River Harbor: Anglers were finding good numbers of lake trout while using spoons in 100 feet of water. A few pink salmon were caught as well.

Big Traverse Bay/ South Portage Entry: Salmon and lake trout were caught out from the South Entry Canal as well as up in Big Traverse Bay. Salmon and lake trout were caught while trolling in depths of water ranging from 80 to 140 feet of water. Fish were found near the top and bottom of the water column. Shore anglers caught northern pike as well as bluegill and rock bass.

Marquette: Good numbers of lake trout were caught. Limits were caught during the fishing tournament. However, very few salmon were caught. Some brown trout and small steelhead were also caught.

Little Bay de Noc: Walleye anglers were experiencing good fishing. Anglers were reporting catches when trolling around Minneapolis Shoals and other areas in the bay with baitfish concentrations. Some anglers were spotted trolling north of Gladstone. Perch anglers were having mixed success. Trolling with crankbaits and crawler harnesses performed well.

Big Bay de Noc: Smallmouth bass anglers fished around the islands and on the shallow side of the drop offs. Most adult Chinooks made the trek towards Manistique. Soft plastics used close to the bottom were productive. Anglers should try looking for rock structure as many smallmouth bass were found in the rocky areas.

St. Ignace/Les Cheneaux: Anglers were catching lake trout and Chinook on the back side of Mackinac Island. They were also catching pink salmon by Lafayette Point off of Bois Blanc Island.