Check before you fish

The DNR’s weekly Lake Michigan fishing report website takes some of the intimidation factor from fishing the big lake. The rewards of keeping updated are worth an angler’s time.

The website, http://www.in.gov/apps/dnr/fishing/dnr_fishingreport, provides weekly reports on fishing conditions and success on Lake Michigan. The website also contains updates about fishing tributaries in northwest Indiana as well as many of the state’s other public waters. Weekly updates are also available on a voice fishing hotline, (219) 874-0009.

The website recaps the previous week’s fishing activities and success as well as general information about the Lake Michigan fishery. Data comes from creel surveys done at the various ports along Indiana’s shoreline, as well as from shore and stream anglers.

“Indiana has historically had the earliest and some of the best spring fishing around Lake Michigan,” said Brian Breidert, DNR fisheries biologist for the area. “Spring fishing can change on a moment’s notice as can weather, so investigating conditions before you travel is key to success.”

Each spring as Lake Michigan warms after ice-out, catches of coho salmon, brown trout and the occasional lake whitefish ring in Indiana’s fishing season. As the waters continue to warm, forage fish such as alewife move into the shallow end of the lake, attracting chinook salmon, steelhead and lake trout.

Breidert said providing updates helps anglers know when to fish and what baits and colors are most successful.

The combination of easily available updated information, improving weather, and variety and size of fish make Indiana’s Lake Michigan area a prime spring fishing destination, even for those who’ve never been there before.

“Spring is an awesome time to come to Lake Michigan to try something new,” Breidert said. “Planning prior to the trip can reward anglers with big dividends and trophy-caliber fishing opportunities. New anglers can become hooked for life after just one successful trip.”

Adding fishing excitement in the area, the spring steelhead migration is underway on the St. Joseph River. A fishing voice hotline, (574) 257-8477 (TIPS) is available through April, and again during summer into fall.