July means summertime, and this brings lots of crowds to northern Michigan. Whether it’s to enjoy the summer weather, or to visit the National Cherry Festival, the Sleeping Bear Dunes, or to fish one of the many lakes or rivers, we are happy that summer has finally arrived, bringing with it happy vacationers.
For those that are lucky enough to fish either West or East Grand Traverse Bays, there will be fantastic fishing in store for the month of July. Cool water temperatures in the bays mean hot fishing to the anglers. Lake trout action has been phenomenal, with the majority of the catches coming from trolled lures and baits. The standard lake trout rigs like spoons or spin-n-glows work wonders. For suspending fish, planer boards have been the ticket. Jigging action is picking up, and with the abundance of baitfish, the lakers can be easy to find once the clouds of baitfish can be located. Jonah jigs and Elk Rapids jigs are great options to try for vertical jigging lake trout. Salmon should start showing up in July, and reports are in that the first few have already been caught. This bodes well for the summer salmon fishery that Traverse City has.
Charter boats out of Frankfort started to get nice king salmon by mid-June, and July means that this port will once again be red-hot for salmon. The early morning and the dusk bites have been the times to be out on the water, chasing these fish, which are running big again this year. Water temperatures are still cold, but the catches have been encouraging for the remainder of the summer. The 18-20 pounders in July are going to be true bruisers come mid-August, setting up for another awesome summer with lots of fish stories and happy anglers!
Platte Bay has still been good, with lake trout action around the reefs. Brown trout were still hanging round the Platte River mouth in late June, and even though these fish have now moved offshore, they likely aren’t too far away. Longnose gar are close to shore, as they come in to spawn, and those willing to target these toothy critters are in for a fun battle on light tackle or on fly.
Bug hatches on the area’s rivers have been more or less on schedule, and there have been lots of brown drakes and mayflies this year. For the fly angler, the mayfly hex remains the king of bugs, and northern Michigan fish seem to lose their often timid nature when these insects hatch. Mostly fished at night, or early first-light, dry fly action can be heart-stopping during the hex hatch.
Summer also means an increase in drinking while boating for many pleasure boaters, so caution is always a good idea when heading out on the lakes or rivers. It’s a great time to be out on the water, but please be safe!
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