Trout and salmon continue to stream up the St. Joseph River, but panfish may be making the most news. According to area baitshop operators, bluegills redear and perch are moving shallower and the anglers finding them are catching good sacks.
The perch fishing on Wawasee keeps getting better and its been good on Tippecanoe, too, said Jim Housman of the Tackle Box in North Webster. Theyre catching a lot of big redear at Tippy and Waubee as well. The fish are moving into the bays.
Darrin Schaap of Clear H2o near Edwardsburg says perch fishing is improving on southern Michigan lakes, too, and that everyone who is fishing for bluegills has been doing well.
Its time to start stocking up the freezer, he added. Crappie fishing is picking up, too.
Bonnie Kelley of Kelleys Bait in Lakeville said panfishing has been remarkably good on lakes near her shop.
A lot of fish are coming in 5 to 7 feet just off the pads, she offered. Wax worms seem to be best.
Housman said muskie fishing remains good and getting better. Lake Webster and Tippy seem to be the best bets, but said a 52-incher was caught last week from nearby Loon Lake.
There have been quite a few 49 inchers caught, he said. Most of the fish are coming on live suckers fished near the boat. Anglers are casting lures, drawing the muskie that follow to the boat, and when they do the figure 8 with the lure in the water, the fish see the sucker and attack it.
The upper St. Joseph is full of steelhead and salmon although angler success has been moderate at best, according to Dick Parker of Central Park Bait in Mishawaka.
The river looks good, the flow is decent and I suspect the salmon are on the beds, he added. A few fish are being caught, but not the numbers that we expect to see this time of year.
Lake Michigan biologist Brian Breidert said current fish counts of those trout and salmon passing through the South Bend ladder arent available due to mechanical problems last week. However, as of Oct. 15, 3,787 steelhead, 1,069 coho and 171 kings have been counted. In all likelihood, those numbers especially steelhead - have climbed the past week.
Mike McNulty of Midway Bait in Osceola said steelhead fishermen are catching trout on inline spinners, spawn and egg-sucking leech flies tipped with wax worms.
And the bluegill fishermen are doing pretty well, too, he noted. The fish are schooling around the mouths of the channels. Wax worms and wigglers are working best.
Bryan Williams of Trailhead Mercantile said trout and salmon action has been winding down on the lower river although Michigans winter-run steelhead have begun to appear.
The salmon were on the beds heavy in Niles last weekend but theyre starting to die off, he said.
After the kings spawn, they turn black and die.
Bass fishing has been spotty as the fish are beginning to transition from summer to fall haunts. It wont be long before they start prowling weed edges and the flats looking for baitfish.