Fishing the Detroit River

Detroit River, MI

I'm in Michigan for a week and decided to do some fishing with my grandparents. On Saturday, June 18th, we went over to Elizabeth Park in Trenton, MI. Elizabeth park is near the free bridge going over to Grose Ile Island. There is a walkway that runs along the coastline that locals frequently fish from using dead or live bait. There are two tackle shops nearby, so resupplying is not an issue. I decided to try out some lure fishing from the shore and see if I can get any luck without using live bait. I started with a crank bait that I had purchased the day before at a nearby tackle shop. It was a rattler and I expected to catch something on it...

After about twenty minutes using the crankbait without any luck, I decided to mess around with a soft plastic worm that was on a weedless jig head. It's a dark brown color, almost black with a high-action tail. I casted it out about twenty feet from shore and started slowly reeling it in, bouncing it against the rocks on the bottom. About halfway back, I got a very weak bight but realized I had hooked a fish. I reeled in and discovered I had caught a little silver bass. Silver bass are very common in the Detroit River at this time of year, and can be caught either from shore or on a boat. The Detroit River is also very famous for its walleye, but the height of that season is earlier in the year from March to May, but you can still get lucky into the early Summer.

We later headed further into Elizabeth Park where a small creek can be fished. I saw a lot of people bait fishing but virtually no one lure fishing, and I soon found out why. I tossed in a spinnerbait and on the first cast I get caught on underwater weeds. I managed to pull it to shore, thinking it was just a fluke. I tossed it in again, only to get it caught on a log this time, never to pull it back out. So if you find yourself in Detroit or down river of Detroit this Summer, do some shore fishing, but I believe bait fishing is what will get you your luck unless you have a boat. And don't do any lure fishing in Elizabeth park either! Good luck to you all, and keep those rods bending!