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Pike, walleye opener Sunday

Outdoors report

Registration open for DNR’s Becoming an Outdoors Woman …

IRON MOUNTAIN — Northern pike and walleye season opens Sunday on Upper Peninsula Great Lakes and inland waters as Mother Nature dials back on a May heat wave.

A high near 70 is predicted for Sunday and even cooler weather is expected through the week.

“People are getting ready,” Bob Kennard said Friday at Midtown Bait & Tackle in Channing. “They’ve been buying bait and it looks like we’ll have a nice (opening) day.”

In Wisconsin, walleye anglers were out in high numbers in Marinette County over the weekend, concentrating on the lower Peshtigo and Menominee rivers.

“Various tactics were working, but jigs with minnow or crawlers seemed best,” the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources said.

Northern pike were also providing action. Anglers had success jigging with minnows and pulling three-way rigs with stick baits.

The Michigan Natural Resources Commission on Thursday approved a regulation change regarding lake trout and splake in Lake Huron. It affects only the lake trout management unit of MH-1 in Lake Huron, which includes the major ports of DeTour, Cedarville, St. Ignace, Mackinaw City, Cheboygan and Rogers City.

The daily possession limit is now two lake trout and splake, in any combination. The limit was reduced because last year’s recreational harvest exceeded its limit by 20%.

Registration is open for the Becoming an Outdoors Woman summer program June 3-5 in Marquette County. Sponsored by the Michigan DNR, instruction in more than 20 types of activities will be offered, including kayaking, wilderness first aid and survival, lake fishing, mountain biking, canning and preserving wild game, shooting sports, boating, basic and advanced land navigation and introduction to bird hunting with dogs.

Class information and registration materials are available online at Michigan.gov/BOW.

Upper Peninsula Recreational Off-Road ATV Riders, or UPROAR, will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Big 10 Sports Bar & Grill in Quinnesec.

The DNR reported this activity in the U.P.:

Little Bay de Noc: Yellow perch anglers reported fair to good success. Anglers were mostly targeting deep water areas in the upper bay using worms and minnows.

St. Ignace: A few lake trout were caught in Lake Huron. Anglers should try trolling artificial baits adjacent to river mouths as the trout were reportedly feeding heavily on smelt.

Manistique: Steelhead fishing improved. Anglers were catching steelhead when drifting beads primarily, but some were caught on spawn. Suckers were in the river in good numbers.

Keweenaw Bay/Huron Bay: Anglers were finding luck trolling around Sand Point and near the head of Keweenaw Bay when searching for salmon. Anglers were able to catch steelhead and coho in good numbers in and around river mouths as well. Walleye numbers appeared to be in good shape with reports of quite a few catch-and-release walleye coming from Huron Bay. Some anglers were finding success casting lures for salmon and steelhead in nearshore waters north of the Sand Point Lighthouse. Anglers should try natural baits in near shore waters and artificial bait in deeper waters while trolling.

Traverse Bays/ South Portage Canal Entry: Better weather conditions have led to an increase in fishing pressure. Anglers were catching coho, Chinook salmon, brown trout, rainbow trout and lake trout. Most successful anglers were trolling while they brought in fish and of those many were using artificial baits. Most fishing pressure was taking place in waters shallower than 50 feet. Some anglers found success specifically jigging for lake trout in deeper waters. Try using silver, blue, or white lures in shallow water for chances at Chinook salmon and steelhead.

Munising Bay: Boat anglers were mainly fishing for coho and the occasional lake trout. There were good catches of coho and some splake. Anglers were mainly trolling stick baits with best luck in morning.

Grand Marais: Whitefish pier anglers reported slow to fair catches with best catches reported in the morning. The best action was on single eggs. A few coho were reported off the pier.

Marquette: Anglers on the Carp River had some success catching steelhead and coho from the river mouth. In the Chocolay River, anglers reported catching steelhead and brown trout. Boating activity was up, and anglers reported catching Chinook and coho salmon offshore near the mouth of the Carp River. Near the break-wall, anglers reported catching lake trout, brown trout and coho. Drifting spawn or beads in the Carp River and Chocolay River had the most success. Anglers casting from the mouth of the of the Carp River were using spawn and crawlers which had the most success. Try trolling offshore near the mouth of the Carp River, or near the break-wall using spoons or flickers.

Au Train: Anglers were successful catching steelhead in the Rock River, and coho salmon from the mouth of the Rock River. Boat anglers reported catching coho and Chinook salmon east of the Brownstone boat launch near the Au Train River.

Les Cheneaux/Detour: Anglers were catching a few splake off the pier and within Hessel Bay. There were many of last year’s stocked splake being caught averaging around the 18-inch mark.

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