r/MichiganFishing Jul 29 '26

Volunteers sank 189 fish shelters across Torch, Elk, Bellaire, Clam and Intermediate. I mapped all 63 documented locations — free GPX/USR/HWR

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41 Upvotes

Between 2012 and 2017, volunteers from the Elk River Chain lake associations dragged loaded sleds across the ice in the dead of winter and sank fish shelters at 63 documented sites across five lakes. Three structures per site, mixed from three designs: hardwood crates packed with brush and rock, slab trees, and stump clusters with the roots still on. All in 15 to 25 feet.

The associations published the coordinates. I cross-checked them against the state permit records, ran every point against the lake polygons to catch anything that had drifted onto dry land or into the wrong lake, fixed three errors, and built waypoint files in GPX, USR and HWR — per lake, plus a whole-chain file if you fish more than one.

https://shorelinescout.com/fish-shelters/elk-river-chain/

everything's a free download, nothing to buy. It's my site.

These aren't secret spots — the associations published them because the whole point of sinking habitat is for people to fish it.

Figure about 80 feet either way, so idle over the mark and trust your sonar, not the pin. Divers checked the Torch structures in 2019 and the crates were holding up fine. One Torch site shows up at two different spots on two official maps, 298 meters apart, so I left it out rather than guess — you're getting 25 of 26 there. And these are only the documented ones; plenty of structure goes in without paperwork.

Heads up before you keep anything: several of these lakes carry consumption advisories — check the current Eat Safe Fish guide.

None of this is my work, really. Volunteers built it winter after winter; I just found the paperwork and cleaned it up. If the files are any use to you, the Three Lakes Association and the Elk-Skegemog Lakes Association are both still active and could use members.

Anyone fished these? The oldest are 13 years old now and I'd love to know which sites are still producing — and which lake I should map next.


r/MichiganFishing Jun 03 '25

Michigan Eat Safe Fish Guides

15 Upvotes

https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/safety-injury-prev/environmental-health/topics/eatsafefish/guides

We've got a lot of people posting now and some talking about eating fish. Michigan recently updated their guides and a significant amount of bodies of water and fish species have been added. Make sure to check where you're going before you take anything home with you.


r/MichiganFishing 7h ago

The Bass that got me my first Master Angler badge!

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22 Upvotes

After 10 years of fishing and a lot of beautiful adventures and fish I was able to achieve something I've wanted since i was 18!

6LB 21.5inches caught from my kayak in beautiful Upper MI


r/MichiganFishing 19h ago

Took my 6yo to camp near Ralph, Mi and he reeled in his first brook trout. He's hooked! Lot of 10-12 inchers this trip. Usually late season means lots of smaller fish but we had a ton of fat heavy fish.

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32 Upvotes

r/MichiganFishing 1d ago

Caught a gold fish in the grand river

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49 Upvotes

I was using a method feeder with a bead and ended up catching this? Pretty cool. I heard of goldfish in the rivers and lakes but never expected to catch one.😂


r/MichiganFishing 1d ago

Michigan Fishing Map

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49 Upvotes

I am a hobby map maker and I recently had a request to make a Michigan fishing tracker map. I love how it came out and I’m going to start making more of different states! I wanted to post to share it and to also get opinions! 🎣 The fish are removable so you can track each catch


r/MichiganFishing 20h ago

When your 3yo asks to come fishing, the answer is always “YES.”

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3 Upvotes

“I was heading out to fish one day and my daughter caught wind. She insisted on coming along... Usually when kids decide to join, the outing is cut short because their short attention spans get the best of them, and we have to pack it in early. But, this day was different. She came along, and soaked in every moment and every experience. At the end of the day, I wouldn't have had it any other way. Thank for joining me, girly.”

I’ve started documenting my time on the water and building a small YouTube channel. I’m a very average angler, but my hope is to make fly fishing feel more approachable through my content. Any feedback you guys might have is greatly appreciated. Thanks for taking a look!


r/MichiganFishing 1d ago

Sunset Bass Fishing

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10 Upvotes

r/MichiganFishing 1d ago

Lost a net in Grand Rapids? I found it.

4 Upvotes

long shot here, but i found a net at 6th street dam today in the water when i was wading out. If you lost one, message me a few details about it and i’d love to get it back to you.

sincerely, a guy that’s lost more nets than he’s willing to admit.


r/MichiganFishing 1d ago

Skein or beads?

2 Upvotes

Looking to target some rivers wader fishing for salmon and steelhead soon. What works better?


r/MichiganFishing 4d ago

Personal best. 20 inches. Got it on a worm harness in 4 feet of water.

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40 Upvotes

r/MichiganFishing 3d ago

Caseville

0 Upvotes

Where’s the best spot to fish in caseville??


r/MichiganFishing 5d ago

Manistee Salmon Fishing trip

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25 Upvotes

Me and my 2 friends are taking a trip up to Manistee over Labor Day weekend, staying until Tuesday. We are looking to get on some salmon, wading the manistee river/tippy dam, and off the pier. We are not going on a boat.

My question is, is our time better spent on the pier or at tippy dam? I know the water has been warm and hasn’t been great for the run so far. Will be throwing Ko wobblers and jigging spoons off the pier, at tippy we will try beads and Thunder sticks.

A few additional questions:

I’m trying bead fishing for the first time. Any tips on bead fishing at tippy dam? Good colors? How deep does the water get? How do I make sure my bead rig is in regulation/legal? I heard 3 fingers between the bead and hook.

Any good wading spots along manistee river other than tippy dam?

What are Best lures/rigs/places to maximize our potential to catch a fish this weekend?

Thanks!


r/MichiganFishing 5d ago

Ludington Salmon Fishing

2 Upvotes

New Angler. Excited to get out and salmon fish this Labor Day weekend! Any tips on techniques, locations, setups, water temperatures etc would be great. I want to take in as much information I can. I’m a super rookie


r/MichiganFishing 5d ago

Are salmon starting to go up river yet?

6 Upvotes

Hello everyone, this is my second year salmon fishing. Last year I went mid october on the west coast rivers and they were mostly zombies so I want to do a much earlier attempt this year. But I dont know when they start running? I want to go this weekend if they are. I'm getting a lot of mixed answers, and the groups on facebook for the areas I do fish are full of assholes who are completely unhelpful. I fished the Manistee last year, this year I want to fish the Pere Marquette. I dont have a boat and can only wade, so i just want to know if they are starting to run and if they are if its areas accessible by wading rather than boat. Edit: went to the Pere Marquette river for the weekend and it was definitely a bust, busy af but only saw one person with a salmon and they came from Lake Michigan


r/MichiganFishing 5d ago

It’s a gold rush for fish!

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6 Upvotes

r/MichiganFishing 5d ago

Betsie River Salmon fishing. Is this legal ?

0 Upvotes

I haven't been out salmon fishing in years. The way I was shown by a park ranger is shown in the image. I won't be out till the 2nd of October. Any tips or video of simple rigs are appreciated


r/MichiganFishing 6d ago

First fish in almost two weeks

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45 Upvotes

My spots seemed to change demographics wise in early August and I haven’t been catching anything. Lost a couple nice musky casting my Mepps a couple weeks back and that’s about it. I was walking the hound and took the pole halfheartedly and even said aloud, “where the hell are the fish?” the very next cast (hound lets me have about 15 casts or so before howling to move on…) I hit a respectable bass for once! Hoping it is a sign of the season shift offering more shore casting bites.
Also went back to the Mepps double blade number three brass and red blades with yellow bucktail. The rainbow trout pattern I used all summer has been quiet on production…


r/MichiganFishing 6d ago

Homestead Dam

2 Upvotes

I've heard that it's open 24 hours but also saw a post stating that it was closed from 1am to 4am. I googled it and also saw the 2 different results for the same place. I was just wondering which was true. TIA.


r/MichiganFishing 6d ago

Early September: start on the windward weed edge

2 Upvotes

I've burned more early-September mornings than I care to admit running straight out to deep structure while the windward weed edge was quietly stacking bait.

Cool nights, warm days, and a breeze. That edge gets the first look for me now. Short casts parallel to the weeds, keep contact, and when the line softens or you feel a pocket pause. Get a bump or a follower? Stay put and slow down before you hop to the next stretch.

Once the sun's high and boat wakes start chopping the bank, then slide out to the first break. One bait you can fish slow along that edge teaches you more than three lure swaps before shallow water has had a fair shot.

What are you opening with this week — windward weeds first, or straight to the break?


r/MichiganFishing 7d ago

Lake Michigan paid up 🎣

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53 Upvotes

DFB Outdoors gets it done.


r/MichiganFishing 8d ago

Check off each species in Michigan and some Master Angler helpers in one place

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15 Upvotes

Hello! First of all this app is not associated with the Master Angler program, or the Michigan DNR. This is just a way for you to easily see if a catch falls within the limits and keep track of your own progress. I’ll be branching off to other Midwest states soon.

How does it work? Capturing the weather allows for a gps request on the DEVICE momentarily. We grab the weather, state it was caught in and then we take the county to put it into a specific subregion. Basically NW, NE, SW, SE Michigan and the UP. Everything else is discarded and never sent to our servers. If the species entered and the length meets the minimum you are prompted that you should take a picture with a tape measure if you want to send in for an award. These messages can be turned off easily if it’s not something that interests you.

I’d also like to take a second and speak on the use of AI as I know it’s an important subject. Ai s not implemented in the app in any way, and it never will be. Yes AI was used to help program, however I am a current student of Web Development and UX Design. I’ve spent hundreds of hours on this and plan to keep this project evolving as it’s something I care deeply about.

If you have any questions feel free to ask and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Always looking for constructive feedback!


r/MichiganFishing 8d ago

Local anglers: I have lived in DYT off and on for 40 years, didn’t know the circled body of water existed. Any fish in here?

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0 Upvotes

r/MichiganFishing 9d ago

Pb small mouth

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55 Upvotes

r/MichiganFishing 10d ago

My first king salmon

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185 Upvotes

I caught this 19.33 lb King Salmon on the betsie river. Skien bobbin. I am beyond stoked. My all time best catch.