IRON MOUNTAIN — Grouse hunting is on the upswing as cover starts to dissipate, but reports are mixed on the number of birds.

Hunters in Wisconsin are saying birds are scarce, but some areas of Dickinson County are producing, said Ken Dabb at Whisler Outdoors in Florence, Wis.

Archery deer hunting, meanwhile, remains relatively slow.

Water temperatures have dropped and the walleye have gone deep, Dabb said. A 43-inch musky catch was reported at the Florence shop, along with some follows and swipes, but no monster catches.

Perch and crappie action has been good, with minnows the preferred bait, he said.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources will host the third meeting of the Chronic Wasting Disease Response Plan Committee from 8 a.m. to noon Wednesday via Zoom. The committee is comprised of a group of stakeholders representing conservation, business and hunting organizations and tribal governments.

No registration is required to attend, and a recording of the meeting will be posted to the DNR website. The meeting ID is 819 2699 5880. For those not using Zoom, the call-in number is 312-626-6799.

The Michigan DNR reported this Upper Peninsula activity:

Ontonagon: Anglers were catching lake trout but having to put in some time to catch them. The average size was between 2 to 4 pounds with a few coming in around 10 pounds. Depths were ranging between 50 and 100 feet.

Union Bay: Anglers were catching lake trout. A small number of Chinook and brown trout were also caught. Fishing depths were between 60 and 100 feet while running spoons.

Black River: Boat anglers were catching lake trout in about 100 feet of water while trolling spoons.

Keweenaw Bay: Anglers were reporting lake trout, coho, rainbow trout and Chinook catches out of Keweenaw Bay. Anglers were having success with salmon both shore fishing beaches and river mouths. On boats, anglers were catching coho and rainbow trout while trolling in shallow water. Fish seemed to be coming off the water in the mornings more than in the afternoons. Salmon and steelhead coming out of the lake were also beginning to develop their run colors.

Munising: Pier and shore anglers were catching coho and steelhead. Some splake were also caught. Anglers were having the best action with spawn sacs or casting with orange/gold cleos or spoons.

Grand Marais: Shore anglers off the mouth of the Sucker River reported a few steelhead catches.

AuTrain: Anglers shore fishing off the Rock River caught a few small steelhead. Boat anglers were mainly catching lake trout and steelhead.

Big Traverse Bay/ South Portage Entry: Anglers coming off the water were mostly reporting lake trout catches from fishing in waters of medium depth. Some salmon and trout were caught from the break wall and piers. Most fish were caught on spoons of green and blue color. Most anglers were having luck around the lighthouse at the mouth of the South Portage entry canal.

Little Bay de Noc: Perch anglers reported a significant slowdown but were still catching small numbers. Anglers were drifting or setting anchor in front of Kipling. Walleye anglers continued to struggle but remained optimistic that as the fall turnover approaches action will improve. Anglers were trolling crawler harnesses or jigging with minnows or soft plastics.

Big Bay de Noc: Smallmouth bass anglers were having success when fishing in deeper waters. Anglers fishing in areas around 25 feet of water produced some fish. The southern portion of the Garden Peninsula and the drop offs in Ogontz were the preferred focus areas.

St. Ignace/Les Cheneaux: Fishing efforts slowed down in both ports. There were a few Chinook swimming up into Nunns Creek but the majority of salmon were done. There were a few smallmouth bass and pike caught around Haven Island.