Great Lakes Fishing Report & Forecast, September & October 2021

Published: Friday, September 3, 2021

Thanks to local feet on the ground and valued partnerships with state Departments of Natural Resources, Great Lakes Scuttlebutt is proud to bring you a look into upcoming Great Lakes fishing opportunities!

Lake Superior

Fall fishing on Lake Superior and its coastal streams is a great time to enjoy the resident coldwater fish. The month of September is when migrating fish such as salmon and brown trout start congregating off river mouths and nearshore rock humps, in water shallower than 50 feet, prior to spawning. Flashy blue/silver, hammered purple, or green/silver spoons or stick baits that mimic bait fish will be the tackle of choice. Most success occurs during the morning and evening hours.

As the weather conditions cool during the month of October, salmon and brown trout will migrate into area streams and rivers occupying deep holes in the lower river early in the month and then gradually moving up to gravel spawning sites. Steelhead begin to make their way into Lake Superior tributaries in mid to late October. In the city of Marquette, some great fishing can be found off the lower harbor breakwall and around the “black rocks” area north of town. Anglers seeking whitefish and menominee should also concentrate on piers and breakwalls in Marquette and Grand Marais using waxies, single eggs, or worms.

Lake Michigan

As the seasons change, so does the Lake Michigan fishery. The waters begin to cool with shorter daylight triggering the urge of salmon and trout to move nearshore. Coho and Chinook salmon congregate in bays and river mouths preparing for long journeys upriver to spawn. One of the largest congregations of coho salmon in the Great Lakes occurs in Platte Bay where thousands of adult salmon swim around before running up the Platte River. Boat anglers can troll and jig for salmon in 20 to 50 feet of water throughout the bay. Areas to find Chinook salmon nearshore include Manistique, Charlevoix, Traverse City, Frankfort, Manistee, Ludington, Grand Haven, and St. Joseph. The salmon will run early in the northern ports and later in the fall in the southern ports. Lake trout and brown trout also move nearshore in late fall providing shallow water access to these fish from small boats and from the piers.

Lake Huron

Fall is an excellent time for anglers to capitalize on the diverse fish species available in Lake Huron. In September, anglers can look for pink salmon in the St. Marys River. Although this is an “off” year for this species, enough pink salmon have deviated from their typical 2-year life cycle that there is generally a pink salmon run in the river every year. There should also be a good run of Atlantic salmon for ports such as Oscoda and Alpena. Lake Huron is supporting a good number of 2-year-old and 3-year-old fish, and the fall runs at these ports should pick up in October and peak by early November. Walleye will also begin congregating back in inner Saginaw Bay as water temperatures cool during the fall season. Moving further south, anglers will be able to target coho salmon near Port Hope, Harbor Beach, and Port Sanilac. Atlantic salmon can also be targeted near Lexington Harbor, another location which is stocked annually.

Lake St. Clair & Lake Erie

Sometimes the fall season is overlooked but it can provide some great opportunities to catch fish before the weather gets too cold. In Lake Erie, the walleye and yellow perch move back into shallower waters in Michigan and are feeding aggressively before winter. Walleye can be caught trolling body baits like Bandits or Flicker Minnows. For yellow perch, the preferred method is to use a perch spreader baited with minnows, preferably emerald shiners. Walleye populations on Lake Erie are near record highs, as well as good numbers and sizes of yellow perch so fishing should be good. Fishing opportunities for walleye and yellow perch on Lake St. Clair show similar patterns, with good catches during fall. Lake St. Clair has a more diverse fishery, too, including good opportunities for largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, and muskellunge.

Brought to you by the Michigan DNR. Don’t miss the boat on fishing Michigan’s waters! Get your Michigan fishing licenses online at www.Michigan.gov/DNRLicenses.

Lake Erie

Throughout the fall, Lake Erie’s angling opportunities continue as walleye move back to the western basin where they will stage throughout the winter until spring spawning season. Although charter boat captains, recreational anglers, and biologists have known for years that many walleye migrate east in the warm summer months and return as the temperatures cool, it wasn’t until recently that researchers were able to track it. Unlike bird migration, fish migration is not something we can physically see. Today, researchers use technology to see where fish are moving throughout the Great Lakes.

In 2010, the Great Lakes Fishery Commission with funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative established GLATOS, the Great Lakes Acoustic Telemetry Observation System, which is a network of fisheries biologists and researchers from the U.S. and Canada who study fish movement and behavior to inform fisheries management. GLATOS encourages researchers to collaborate and help the public learn more about Great Lakes acoustic telemetry projects and their contribution to fishery research and management.

In the past 10 years, biologists have implanted thousands of fish across the Great Lakes with acoustic tags. The acoustic tags emit a signal that is detected by the hundreds of stationary receivers that listen for tagged fish as they swim throughout the lake. Once the information is collected and analyzed, it provides biologists the ability to see fish migration patterns. Dr. Jason Robinson, aquatic biologist for New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, used this system to create an animation showing the migration of tagged walleye throughout Lake Erie from April 2016 to March 2017. If you harvest a tagged fish, please call the phone number listed on the tag to report your catch. GLATOS will continue to help biologists learn more about Lake Erie’s ecosystem and how to sustainably manage its fish populations to ensure a healthy fishery for future generations.

Brought to you by the Ohio DNR. If you have not been fishing on Lake Erie and do not have a boat or the experience needed, there are over 700 licensed charter boat captains in Ohio. Depending on the time of year, you can find a guide who will help you cast for walleye, troll for steelhead, catch tasty yellow perch, or try your hand at ice fishing. Visit www.wildohio.gov for more information on fishing Lake Erie.

Lake Ontario

September and October are magic times of year! The bullies have shown up in big numbers and rule the shore line of the Eastern basin. They also rule the mighty Salmon and Oswego rivers.

If you are a boat angler, these fish will be in tight and near the mouths of the Oswego and Salmon River. Flasher flies and jplugs are the ticket—really anything to make them mad. The river will be flooded with anglers from Port Ontario to Pulaski to Altmar. It truly is the last stand for the mighty king salmon.

This is also the time of year that walleyes start showing up in Chaumont Bay to run the Black River. They will sit in the bay for ice fisherman until spring.

Then, let’s not forget the St. Lawrence River. This is musky and walleye time if you can endure the weather this time of year! Another great hot spot is the Oak Orchard River where giant brown trout start to make their yearly run.

Hope you all have a great time fishing! It’s a great family activity so please take kids fishing with you.

Brought to you by Captain Ed Monette of Cannonball Runner Fishing Charters. www.cannonballrunner.com