Fish
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Ludington sits on the Lake Michigan shoreline where the Pere Marquette River meets the big lake. The town has earned its reputation as the number-one salmon port in Michigan, and the fishing calendar follows the migration: salmon and trout fatten in the open water of Lake Michigan through spring and summer, then push into the Pere Marquette and other nearby rivers to spawn in fall.
The result is two distinct fisheries that hand off to each other as the seasons change, charter fishing on the lake from April through September, and river fishing from September through spring. Between them, you can fish 12 months a year.
Lake Michigan Charters, Spring Through Fall
The charter fleet launches from Ludington's harbor and runs Lake Michigan for the full roster of salmonids: chinook salmon, coho salmon, steelhead, lake trout, and brown trout.
Spring (April–May): The season opens with brown trout. These fish cruise the nearshore water within a mile of shore, attracted to the warm-water plumes at river mouths. April brown trout run big, "football" browns of five to ten pounds, thick and heavy after a winter of feeding. Trolling spoons and stickbaits in 10 to 30 feet of water along the temperature breaks produces the best fish of the year.
Summer (June–August): The fishery diversifies. Lake trout are the consistent target, holding along the deeper thermal breaks in 60 to 100 feet. Steelhead appear on the deep scumlines and thermal barriers, running hard and jumping repeatedly. Chinook salmon build through July and August as fish stage offshore before their fall river migration, August chinook are at peak fighting weight, and 20-pound fish are standard.
Early Fall (September): This is the transition. Thousands of mature chinook and coho mass off the river mouths, staging for their upstream push. The charter fishing is at its peak, boats trolling the staging areas encounter dense schools of aggressive fish. Then, almost overnight, the fish turn upriver.
The Pere Marquette River, Fall Through Spring
The Pere Marquette is one of the most famous steelhead and salmon rivers in the Great Lakes system. It's a mid-sized freestone river with a gravel bottom, clear water, and a gradient that creates textbook holding water, deep pools, long runs, and riffles that fish use as staging areas during the migration.
Fall (September–November): Chinook salmon lead the run, pushing upstream in late August and September. Fish of 15 to 30 pounds fill the pools, and the fishing is intense, heavy rods, big spawn bags or streamers, and powerful fish that have earned every ounce of their weight. Coho salmon follow in October, smaller but more acrobatic. Steelhead mix in with the salmon and continue running into November.
Winter (December–March): The Pere Marquette is one of the few Michigan rivers that supports winter steelhead fishing. The fish hold in the deeper pools and runs through the cold months, and catching a chrome steelhead on a snowy January morning is a defining Michigan fishing experience. The river's flow is dam-regulated enough to remain wadeable even in winter.
Spring (March–May): The spring steelhead run peaks in late March through April. Fresh fish push upstream from Lake Michigan, chrome-bright and aggressive after months in the big lake. This is the PM's most popular season, the fish are willing, the weather is improving, and the competition for water with other anglers is real. Popular runs fill up fast on spring weekends, so plan to arrive early and stake out your water.
Summer (June–August): The river holds resident brown and rainbow trout through summer. The fish are smaller than the migratory runs but the river is beautiful, uncrowded, and productive for dry-fly and nymph fishing. The PM's hatches, Hendricksons, sulphurs, and hex, bring trout to the surface and draw fly anglers from across the Midwest.
When to Go
- April–May: Brown trout on Lake Michigan, spring steelhead on the PM, the two fisheries overlap
- June–August: Lake trout and chinook on charters, resident trout on the river, hex hatches
- September–October: The main event, salmon and steelhead stacking in the PM, staging fish offshore
- November–March: Winter steelhead on the Pere Marquette, the quiet season with big rewards
