IRON MOUNTAIN — Hunters are reminded that Michigan offers 13 grouse enhanced management sites across the Upper Peninsula, which are large blocks of land with young forests open to hunting.

GEMS feature accessible walking trails. They also have parking lots with local area information available.

Nearest locations include Gold Mine, 10 miles north of Iron River; Ralph in northern Dickinson County; and Bill Rollo Memorial, about 7 miles south of Gwinn. More information is available at https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/things-to-do/hunting/where.

Locally, grouse hunters were reporting good numbers now that leaves have started to fall, said Fay Whisler at Whisler Outdoors in Florence, Wis.

“Fishing has slowed, but a few small muskie were landed,” Whisler added.

On its Facebook page, Millan’s Custom Butchering Armstrong Creek, Wis., reported a bear processing count of 130 as of Monday. The deer count was 150.

Wisconsin’s online deer harvest summary as of Tuesday showed 26 deer taken in Florence County during Wisconsin’s archery season, including 16 bucks. The crossbow harvest, meanwhile, stood at 55 deer, including 40 antlered.

A total of 48 deer were taken last weekend in Florence County during the firearm youth hunt, with 25 of them bucks. Statewide figures are available at https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/WildlifeHabitat/harvest/deerharvest.html.

Michigan’s new online reporting as of Friday showed 156 deer taken in Dickinson County during the archery hunt, with 96 antlered and 60 antlerless. The Iron County harvest was at 109, including 67 bucks. Michigan summaries are at https://www.mdnr-elicense.com/HarvestReportSummary.

Michigan United Conservation Clubs has encouraged Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to veto House Bill 6354, which removes the authority of the Natural Resources Commission to require reporting of a deer harvest. MUCC, as an alternative, supports language in the original bill that would decriminalize failure to report a deer harvest.

MUCC’s Sept. 29 letter to Whitmer can be found at https://mucc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/MUCC-HB-6354-Veto-Request.pdf.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is hosting a public meeting to gather feedback on the future management of salmon and trout in Lake Michigan. The meeting will start at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24, at Lakeshore Technical College’s Centennial Hall West in Cleveland, Wis.

The public can also attend virtually via Zoom. Preregister at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMvc-2qrDwqHdVyawQirw6SAjmCAcsBSNE8.

The Michigan DNR reported this Upper Peninsula activity:

Little Bay de Noc: Smallmouth anglers were having mixed results. Perch anglers reported slow action this week. Limited success for perch was found near the Days River using worms or minnows. Walleye anglers reported a slow bite, but better fishing is anticipated as water temperatures fall. Anglers fishing the Escanaba River reported some coho activity.

Manistique: Some Chinook salmon were still in the river. Anglers targeting Chinook used primarily skein and beads. Pink salmon fishing was good. Anglers were drifting beads or casting reaction baits. There were some reports of a few steelhead being caught as well as brown trout. Walleye fishing was slow, but a few anglers managed to catch them while pitching jigs.

Marquette: Anglers were catching lake trout with the occasional salmon. Hot spots for lake trout were near White Rocks and Granite Island. Anglers fishing near White Rocks reported fish in waters from 50 to 80 feet of water using bright color spoons. Anglers fishing near Granite Island reported catching lake trout in 100+ feet of water using spoons and flickers. Salmon have primarily been reported coming from near the Chocolay River through Shot Point. Anglers who reported catching coho and Chinook salmon were trolling spoons higher in the water column in 50-plus feet of water. There were increasing reports of anglers catching some coho salmon in the Chocolay River using spinners and floating spawn bags.

Keweenaw Bay/ Huron Bay: Anglers had success with lake trout and some other trout and salmon during the last week. Some anglers reported good fishing north of Sand Point when weather permits, and some anglers reported luck near the head of the bay in Keweenaw Bay. In Huron Bay, anglers reported luck on the north-west shore of the bay as well as in the head of the bay. Most anglers reported their best luck trolling before 11 a.m.

Big Traverse Bay/ South Portage Entry: Anglers reported most of their luck while trolling in the mornings near the canal and further up the shore north. Anglers who were able to get out early caught lake trout and Chinook salmon with some anglers reporting losing other salmon at the boat. Most successful fishing was done in the depth range from 40 to 110 feet and fish were biting slowly throughout those depths. Most fish were caught on spoons and flies. Anglers reported the most success while fishing well before noon.