St. Joe River - As of last weekend, a total of 5,065 steelhead have been counted moving through the South Bend fish ladder. The ladder is passing an average of 93 fish per day. Steelhead have moved up on gravel flats to spawn. River temperature was 52 degrees.

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Lake Michigan

The Indiana tributaries of Lake Michigan are in great shape. Low flows are the norm with good visibility throughout the entire stream lengths. Steelhead action has picked up this past week. Good numbers of steelhead are scattered throughout the systems. Steelhead have been observed on redds. Anglers have reported that spawn, shrimp & waxworms have been catching fish. Anglers who like to toss hardware have reported that silver or orange spinners have also been successful. Fly anglers have said that egg imitations and streamers have been producing. Anglers are catching steelhead off the pier and in the harbor of Trail Creek on shrimp under a float.

Be on the lookout for coho salmon with a missing adipose fin. This indicates the presence of a microscopic coded wire tag in the heads of these fish. Data from these tags will help provide needed info for better trout and salmon management in the Great Lakes. If you catch a fish missing only its adipose fin, please record its length, weight and the location where the fish was caught. Freeze the heads and drop them off at the LM Fisheries Research Station 100 W. Water St. Michigan City, IN 46360 or give it to one of our IDNR creel clerks. Water temperature is around 45 in both the harbor and Trail Creek. As of Saturday, a portion of Trail Creek and east branch of the Calumet River will be closed to fishing.