MARCH

Well March is upon us and the spring fever is starting to well up inside us. This time of year we start looking to the rivers that are open or that are starting to open up. Walleyes this time of year with each warm front are moving up to the dams.

 The Kalamazoo River in Allegan county is one that is open year round and in Feb. you can catch 10 - 30 fish a day but you are hard pressed to get 5 keepers, but in march it all turns around the last 2 weeks of the season. The bigger fish start making their way to the dam and your keeper percentage goes way up with some in the 7-9 lb range showing up towards the last few days of the season.

The Grand river up near Grand Rapids also has the same increase in migration this time of year and the 2 weeks before the close is a great time to pull that 10+ out of the stretch with in a mile of 6th st. dam.

For those of you willing to travel, Saginaw river on the east side of the state is really heating up and will stay that way till the season closes.

If you are looking for some big ones the Detroit river and St, Clair river are usually open and though won't provide high numbers of fish the ones you get will be big. Play it safe, watch the ice flows and get out there and pop a few before the season closes.

APRIL

It is almost spring here in Michigan, the walleye season is closed except for the Great lakes and Detroit river. The early part of the month is Detroit river time! The big females are moving up the river and the males will not be far behind. The first week of April is big fish time on the river jigging and Handlining are the preferred methods. Although  you may not get many fish the size will make up for it, fish in the 10 - 12lb. range are not uncommon. Starting the second through the third weeks of the month the fishing greatly improves with the numbers increasing and the size decreasing slowly. These 2 weeks in the middle of the month are your best times to get a limit as well as some fish in the 8-10 lb. class.  As we get to the last week of the month the fishing can be tremendous with 20 to 40 fish days (most in the 2-5lb. range) very attainable. Lake Erie also this time of year is picking up. It seems to get better as the month goes on and can be a little more hit and miss then the river. The area from the Detroit river mouth along the shore all the way to the Toledo Lighthouse can be a trollers heaven when the water is not to muddy. The best part of this is that some days you may be the only boat out there.
Over on the west side of the state, Lake Michigan can give up some fish along the shoreline off of Muskegon and White lakes. Trolling in front of the river mouths and Channels can be productive. This can be hit or miss but if you hit it right you can get some big fish in the 8 - 11 lb. class. Please remember to have fun catching them but please release the big ones to spawn again next year and take the smaller ones home for the table.
Most walleye water is closed till the last weekend in April  but there are a few opportunities to get a line wet before the opener and sharpen up your skills and get the dust off your rods before the rest of the waters open up.

MAY

May, what a month, this is the start of the full Michigan season. Where to start? How about where we left off. The Detroit river is overlooked this time of the year once the season opens around the state, and the fishing can be fantastic. Most of the fish are males that are staying in the river looking for the last of the late spawners, and with the females all but gone the males will  concentrate on feeding. You can pull sometimes 30 to 50 fish a day during the first 3 weeks of May before they head out to lake Erie. Moving over to the west side of the state the Kalamazoo river is usually good this time of year. the channel area all the way to the 196 bridge can produce numbers as well as some big fish. Trolling cranks upstream or drifting and jigging will all produce. The Grand river will just start picking up the 2nd week and continue to be good well into the summer with the lower part of the river from Eastmanville down being the best bite. moving up the coast, Silver lake is a good overlooked lake for walleyes during May and is not heavily pressured. Trolling cranks in 10 to 15 ft of water produces well here. Lake Erie on the east side of the state will be hopping come the last week of the month into June just about anywhere in the Michigan waters. See you in June and good luck.

JUNE

June is here and with comes the warmer water. Lake Erie is in full swing with lots of smaller 15 to 22" fish available in Michigan waters. As the weather warms up you may have to buy a Ohio license to stay on the bigger schools as they head east. Lake Macatawa will start taking off with the spoon and trolling bite towards the end of the month. Muskegon Lake will also start picking up as the month wears on trolling harnesses and hot-n-tots during the day and rapalas after dark. The Kalamazoo river will start giving up fish all month long with trolling the channel up thru Saugatuck and drifting with crawlers up stream. The Grand river at this time will be going strong with alot of fish being taken from Indian Channel all the way to the nursing home in Eastmanville. 

JULY

July is Muskegon Lake time after dark. This time of year the walleyes seem to switch over to nocturnal feeding habits and the night fishing gets better every week. Saginaw bay will be hopping in July as well both the inner Bay as well as the outer bay. In the inner bay try off Pinconning or Sebawing, and in the outer bay try the Steeples or the flats south of the little charity island. Lake Macatawa will still be producing fish both trolling and jigging spoons. But look for that east wind to really get them going. The Grand will slow down some but there will still be a lot of fish available.  Lake Erie will be going good yet but you will probably be in Ohio water.

AUGUST

Where do all the fish go in August!!?? Well lets start with the drowned river mouths along Lake Michigan. This is the month when the night time trolling bite will start to pick up. The water is warmer and the fish will start changing to a nocturnal feeding pattern. All the lakes along the western shore of Michigan will produce walleyes upwards of 10 lbs. after dark, especially after an east wind brings them in from Lake Michigan. trolling Rapalas and shad raps long lined behind the boat is the method of choice. Saginaw Bay will be going strong also out of Pinconning and Standish as well as out by Buoy 1 &2.Trolling Hot&Tots and crawler harnesses will do the trick here. Most of the time the local fisherman and Charters will show you where the fish are buy creating a pack of boats out in these areas. But remember the fish do move from day to day so you may have to wander a bit to find them. Lake Erie fishing will probably be slowing down somewhat and the fish will most likely be in Ohio waters till Oct. but you can still get out to the fish because this month is considered the least windy of them all.

SEPTEMBER

Well, we are getting closer to the HOG bite in Michigan. This month is probably the one month that is the toughest for walleye fishing across the state unless you fish after dark on the drowned river mouths. Muskegon,White, Manistee and Macatawa are just starting to prime up for the fall. The walleyes will still be quite weather oriented and hard to find. Towards the end of the month the night time is the right time with those big fish starting to go on their feeding binge. Wait for those 2 or 3 days in a row of stable weather and any of the lakes mentioned. Lake Erie and Saginaw Bay can still produce some fish but it is slower than normal.

OCTOBER

WOW it is fall already. The lakes should be turning over and the big fish are coming into the drowned river mouths of Lake Michigan. The walleyes will be gorging themselves with forage getting ready for the winter. Muskegon, White and Macatawa will be hit or miss during this month depending on the turnover. Trolling after dark with Floating Rapala's or Husky Jerks will work the best. Some live bait presentations will work during the daytime hours on the deep ledges adjacent to shallow feeding shelves. Lake Erie will be picking up along the Mich. shoreline as long as the wind does not muddy it up to much. and The Saginaw river as well as the Titabawassee should be picking up steam as we near Nov. Jigs and minnows will do the trick here.

NOVEMBER

This month is one of my favorites the fish will be going strong in the drowned rivers after dark and the daytime jig bite will going on everywhere else. This is one of the best months for a trophy walleye to hang on the wall. Saginaw river and the titabawassee river will be hopping by now from the Bay all the way to the Dow dam. Lake Erie along the Michigan shoreline will be going well trolling Shad Raps and Storm Deep Jrs. behind boards in 10 to 14' of water. The area in front of Sterling state park is a good spot. Fish will also be present at the base of most dams in the west Mich. area, a jig and minnow combo will take these fish. Night trolling this time of year is not for the cold blooded dress warm and get out there, the big ones are there.

DECEMBER

This month can be hit or miss for open water fishing in Mich. If the weather holds warmer than it can be very productive. The drowned river mouth lakes can give up a lot of big walleyes during the month of Dec. especially after dark. Trolling bigger baits like the #18 Floating Rapala or the # 14 Husky Jerk can land you a monster. The fish are feeding heavy getting ready for the winter. The rivers near the man made dams or natural dams can congregate numbers of male fish that can be a riot to catch because of the shear numbers that can be present. Jigs and minnows will be the best bait at this time.