Fish
Fire
Hike
Bird
Traverse City sits at the base of Grand Traverse Bay, a deep arm of Lake Michigan that splits the Leelanau Peninsula from the mainland. The bay itself holds one of the best smallmouth bass fisheries in the Midwest. The rivers that feed into it, the Boardman, the Betsie, the Platte, run steelhead and salmon on seasonal migrations. And the open water of Lake Michigan supports a charter fleet targeting lake trout, chinook salmon, and coho.
Three fisheries, all within 30 minutes, each with its own gear, technique, and character.
Grand Traverse Bay, Smallmouth Bass
The bay is the centerpiece. Grand Traverse Bay's clear, cold water and rocky bottom create ideal smallmouth bass habitat, and the fishery has become one of the best-known smallmouth destinations in the country.
Smallmouth bass in the bay average two to four pounds, with fish over five pounds caught regularly and occasional smallmouth pushing six. They hold on rocky points, boulder fields, and gravel bars in 5 to 25 feet of water, and they fight with an intensity that belies their size, long runs, acrobatic jumps, and a stubbornness that makes them hard to land on light tackle.
The fishing peaks in two windows: late May through June during the spawn, when fish move shallow and are visible over the gravel in clear water, and September through October during the fall feed, when smallmouth bulk up before winter and hit aggressively. Tube jigs, drop shots, and ned rigs are the conventional standards. Fly anglers throw crayfish patterns and clousers on 6-weight rods.
Sight-fishing for spawning smallmouth in the crystal-clear bay, spotting a four-pound bass on a gravel bed in six feet of water and dropping a tube right on its nose, is a visual experience more commonly associated with bonefishing than bass fishing.
The Rivers, Steelhead and Salmon
The tributaries that empty into Grand Traverse Bay and the nearby Lake Michigan shoreline are the migration highways for steelhead and salmon.
The Boardman River flows right through Traverse City and receives runs of steelhead in spring (March through April) and chinook and coho salmon in fall (September through October). The lower river is accessible from downtown, and the upper sections wind through forested hills with good wade-fishing access.
The Platte River south of town is famous for its coho salmon run, one of the most concentrated runs in Michigan. The Platte River Fish Hatchery on the lower river manages the run, and in September the fish stack in the river in numbers that have to be seen to be believed.
The Betsie River near Frankfort offers steelhead in spring and salmon in fall through a beautiful northern Michigan setting, smaller water, less pressure, and consistent runs.
Steelhead fishing on these rivers is a wading game, reading the current, swinging flies or drifting spawn bags through the pools and runs. Salmon fishing in fall is heavier, bigger rods, bigger fish, and bigger crowds at the popular holes. A 20-pound chinook in a river barely 30 feet wide is a violent, unforgettable fight.
Lake Michigan Charters, Open Water
The charter fleet out of Traverse City, Frankfort, and Leland runs Lake Michigan for the open-water species that the rivers and bay can't offer.
Lake trout are the year-round foundation. They hold along the deep thermal breaks, 60 to 120 feet in summer, and are caught by trolling with downriggers. Fish average five to ten pounds, with lakers over 15 caught every season.
Chinook salmon are the summer and fall highlight. Fish in the 15- to 25-pound range chase bait along the thermocline, and the fight of a big chinook on a charter rod, long screaming runs and powerful head shakes, is the signature Lake Michigan experience.
Brown trout cruise the nearshore water in spring and fall, often within a mile of shore. April and May brown trout fishing, targeting the big fish that cruise the warm-water plumes near river mouths, produces some of the largest trout of the year.
When to Go
- March–April: Spring steelhead in the rivers, brown trout nearshore on Lake Michigan
- Late May–June: Smallmouth bass spawn in Grand Traverse Bay, the visual fishing peak
- July–August: Lake Michigan charters for chinook and lake trout, bass in the bay
- September–October: Salmon runs in the rivers, fall smallmouth bass, the best all-around window
