Week of July 5, 2025
Summer patterns are locked in
Early July finds West Michigan firmly in its midsummer groove. Water temps on inland White Lake are hovering in the mid‑70s, while the near‑shore band of Lake Michigan outside the White Lake channel is sitting in the upper 50s with the thermocline about 55–75 feet down. That temperature break is the highway for salmon right now, and weed‑edge shade is the ticket for bass inside the lake. Here’s what local anglers – and DNR creel clerks – are seeing this week, plus the tactics that are turning fish.
White Lake: weed‑edge bass & bonus pike
- What’s biting: Largemouth bass to four pounds headline the show, with northern pike and keeper bluegill filling the gaps.
- Where to look: Target the outside edge of milfoil and cabbage in 4–10 feet before sun‑up, shifting to brush piles or dock shade once the lake slicks off.
- Best presentations:
- 3⁄8‑oz bladed jig (black‑blue or green‑pumpkin) tipped with a 4″ paddletail – burn‑stop‑twitch around wood to make it hunt.
- Wacky‑rigged 5″ stick worm or a 3″ Ned rig when the sun gets high and fish slide deeper.
- Hollow‑bodied frog at first and last light across the pad fields.
- Panfish bonus: Bluegill and perch are stacking outside marinas, cleaning up spent mayflies. Suspend a tiny chartreuse tube or piece of crawler under a slip‑bobber in six to eight feet and keep the kids busy.
Lake Michigan: scattered kings, coho & steelhead
Charters running from the White Lake channel south to Muskegon report Chinook and coho salmon spread from 90–150 feet of water, with the most consistent action 40–90 feet down on the temperature break. A few steelhead are cruising higher in the column, and lake trout are hugging bottom.
- Starter spread:
- Two wire Dipsy divers pulling 8″ white flashers with green flies (set on #2, 150–180 feet out).
- Two 300‑copper lines and one 5‑color leadcore loaded with magnum orange/green spoons.
- Downriggers parked at 55 ft and 65 ft; mix glow spoons pre‑sunrise, metallics after the sun pops.
- Speed tweaks: If marks scatter, bump to 2.8–3.0 mph and shorten Dipsy leads – scattered kings often react to a fast spoon.
Prime bite windows
- Dawn (5:30–9 a.m.) – Topwater frog and chatterbait bite for bass; kings and coho pounce on spoons in the top 60 ft.
- Late morning – Slide inside docks on White Lake with a wacky rig; drop salmon gear an extra 10 ft in the column.
- Evening (6–9 p.m.) – Bass and pike prowl weed edges again; steelhead ride the warm surface layers – run one orange spoon 25 ft down.
Quick gear checklist
- White Lake: 7’ medium‑heavy bait‑caster, 15–20 lb fluorocarbon, bladed jigs, 5″ stick worms, frogs.
- Lake Michigan: Diver rods with 30 lb wire, 300‑copper or 5‑color leadcore, mag spoons (orange/green), 8″ white flasher + green fly, white dodger/peanut for trout.
Regulations & safety reminders
- Black bass open season: possession through Dec 31; 14″ minimum, five fish daily.
- Salmon/trout: five total, no more than three lake trout.
- Digital licenses stored on the DNR Hunt Fish app are legal proof on the water.
- Holiday boat traffic stacks rollers in the channel—wear that life jacket.
Tight lines out there, and if you score a big one, tag @CatchMarkCommunity so we can share the photo!
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