Walleye fishing in Lake Michigan

In Lake Michigan, walleye peak January–June and October–November and are around year-round, spawning in March–April, according to Fish Scouter's month-by-month season calendar. January: Green Bay and Bays de Noc ice walleye.

1. JanuaryPeakGreen Bay and Bays de Noc ice walleye.
2. FebruaryPeakIce fishing peaks on the bays; coho may show off Indiana. Walleye at dusk on Green Bay; shore-cast the Indiana warm-water discharges if the lake is open.
3. MarchSpawningFox River run at De Pere.
4. AprilSpawningCoho and browns nearshore; peak steelhead run. Troll shallow along the Illinois and Indiana shore; drift spawn in the Michigan rivers.
5. MayPeakKings show in the south; smallmouth stack in Door County. Troll the spring kings off St. Joseph and Grand Haven; Sturgeon Bay smallies pre-spawn — catch-and-release early season.
6. JunePeakSmallmouth on the beds; perch on the piers; salmon go offshore. Door County and Grand Traverse Bay smallies; perch from the southern piers; follow the temperature breaks for salmon.
7. JulyAround
8. AugustAround
9. SeptemberAround
10. OctoberPeakTail of the run; browns and steelhead follow; Green Bay muskie. Steelhead behind the salmon; big browns in the harbors; Green Bay's trophy muskie season.
11. NovemberPeakFall steelhead, browns on the piers, whitefish run. Spawn bags in the river pools; whitefish into the Menominee and the harbors.
12. DecemberAround

The salmon lake: open water to 900 feet with kings and coho over the thermocline, the river mouths and pier heads of Michigan's west coast where the runs stage, the shallow southern end where the spring coho come in, and Green Bay — a walleye, pike, muskie, perch and whitefish fishery all its own.

Fish Scouter charts 434 lake, 75 reservoir spots in the Lake Michigan map area — the kinds walleye hold on.

• Minnows (fatheads, shiners)Hooked lightly through the lips or behind the dorsal on a #6 to #2 hook under a slip bobber for crappie, perch and walleye; a big golden shiner on a 2/0 to 4/0 for largemouth, pike and stripers.
• LeechesHooked once through the sucker end on a #8 to #4 hook under a slip bobber or on a live-bait rig — walleye and smallmouth can't leave them alone.
• NightcrawlersWhole on a #6 to #2 hook under a bobber or on a bottom rig; threaded on a spinner harness drifted for walleye. The bait that catches everything in fresh water.

• Leader10–20 lb fluorocarbon
• Hook#2–3/0
• Jig head1/8–1/2 oz
• Braid10–30 lb

Feeds in 34–78°F water, best at 55–70°F.

All about walleye · Lake Michigan, the whole year