(Terri Castelaz/Daily News photo) Hunter Reynolds of Kingsford, left, and Keith Johnson of Quinnesec fish off the pier at Strawberry Lake in Norway on Friday. Anglers should expect changing weather over the weekend, including a chance of thunderstorms through Sunday night.

IRON MOUNTAIN — The Ottawa National Forest Visitor Center in Watersmeet has reopened after a pandemic closure that was extended due to lack of staff.

Summer hours for the center at the intersection of U.S. 2 and U.S. 45 are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

“We greatly appreciate the communities and visiting public understanding as we worked to overcome staffing difficulties,” said Tony Crump, acting forest supervisor.

The center sells recreation passes, interagency passes and permits during its open hours. Staff is available to help answer questions about the forest, vacations, and more at 906-358-4724 or go to www.fs.usda.gov/ottawa.

A total of $250 million in federal relief funding has contributed to improvements at state parks across Michigan, including two in the Upper Peninsula, said Ron Olson, Department of Natural Resources Parks and Recreation chief.

At Straits State Park in Mackinac County, the upper campground is slated to reopen around July 20. The project includes two new toilet and shower buildings. Replacement of the sanitary lift station will come later.

Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park in Ontonagon County is seeing a number of upgrades, including renovations to the visitor center, headquarters building and park road, all of which should reopen in late September. Work on the Summit Peak parking lot is slated for late September. Ski hill, visitor center and campground electrical improvements are planned in the future, Olson said.

The work is funded through the American Rescue Plan Act.

Northern pike were being caught in the Peshtigo River in Marinette County, along with the occasional bass, according to the Wisconsin DNR. Topwater lures were popular. A few walleyes were caught in the Menominee River on crawlers or leeches fished on floating jig heads.

The Michigan DNR reported this Upper Peninsula activity:

Little Bay de Noc: Anglers reported mixed results for perch, with some reports of quality fish being caught, using baits repelled by gobies. Walleye anglers reported slow to fair fishing. Anglers that did contact fish were near the river mouth and “black bottom”.

Big Bay de Noc: Anglers fishing out of Nahma reported good smallmouth bass fishing.

Fairport: Salmon anglers were catching some fish but reported mixed results. Conditions during dawn and dusk lowlight “prime time” had a significant impact on the day’s catch, as most of the fish harvested were caught during that bite window.

Manistique: Salmon anglers reported fair to good fishing. Spoons and flasher fly combos were productive.

Keweenaw Bay/Huron Bay: Anglers had luck trolling for lake trout, brown trout, coho and Chinook salmon this last week. Most anglers were fishing with spoons and fish were caught throughout the water column. Reports coming off both bays indicated fish were feeding mostly on smelt. Most salmon and trout were caught in the earlier hours of the day but some fish were caught heading into the evenings as well. Anglers should try trolling during the early and late hours while fish are feeding up in the water column.

Big Traverse Bay/South Portage Canal: Anglers were targeting both salmon and trout this last week with lots of luck. Anglers who were targeting salmon mostly found Chinook salmon and coho while other anglers found most of their luck with lake trout. Fish were found both below 150 feet and above 80 feet in the water column. Both jigging and trolling were effective methods however trolling took the lead. Most fish were caught on artificial lures and were caught during the morning hours when the sun was low.

Les Cheneaux/Detour: Anglers in the Les Cheneaux area were picking up a few herring in McKay and Prentice bays, however it was short lived. There were also a few perch and pike caught off the pier at the Hessel marina. Leaches were the key to catching the perch right now. In the Detour area, anglers were picking up lake trout while trolling spoons in the flats and catching a few Atlantic salmon and Chinook salmon around the lighthouse.

Ontonagon River: Some heavy rains over the past week caused dirty water and lower visibility in the river. In spite of these conditions, anglers were able to find some walleye when jigging combinations of artificial lures with natural baits. Some anglers also had success trolling, but it seemed that jigging had been the preferred method of most. Fish were caught at all times of the day.

Ontonagon/Silver City/Union Bay: Fishing efforts out of these ports picked up a bit over the past week due to the holiday weekend. Reports varied greatly as it seemed anglers were able to find fish in almost all depths of water. Successful boat anglers regularly brought in catches consisting of lake trout, coho salmon, brown trout, and the occasional Chinook salmon. The times of catches seemed to vary throughout all hours of the day, with early mornings perhaps being a bit more productive. Some recent storms in the area resulted in slightly limited opportunities to access the lake.

Black River Harbor: While the harbor was quite busy this past week with public recreation, the fishing efforts was quite low. Anglers who made their way onto the lake had some success in finding lake trout and coho salmon. Fish were caught at many different depths while trolling artificial lures. Water flowing from the river was stained brown as a result of recent heavy rains.

Pine River: The walleye bite on the Pine River appeared to have slowed down for the time being. Most boat anglers did not catch many walleye. Anglers reported catching a few freshwater drum, bowfin and pike while targeting walleye.

Carp River: Anglers reported that fishing at the mouth for walleye and pike was poor.