Deep-water salmon push holds as walleye work Grand River weedlines

What's biting

What's next

With no NOAA buoy or USGS gauge data reporting for the Grand River mouth in this cycle, we can't pin an exact temperature trend, but early-to-mid July on southern Lake Michigan typically means surface water warming into the upper 60s to low 70s, pushing Chinook and coho salmon into deeper, cooler water during daylight hours. Expect trollers working the thermocline to keep producing, with the best action often coming at first light and again toward dusk.

Walleye and smallmouth bass should stay active in the shallower, warmer water near the river mouth and along adjacent weed edges. Fishing the Midwest's advice to work weedlines and stay versatile is well timed for mid-July, when emerging vegetation concentrates baitfish and the predators that follow them; anglers who haven't added forward-facing sonar or a similar search tool may still do fine working traditional weed edges with jigs and crankbaits, per that same source's budget-conscious take on gear.

The Last Quarter moon this week typically means more moderate, spread-out feeding windows rather than one dramatic dawn/dusk peak tied to a full or new moon. Plan on multiple shorter windows around sunrise and sunset rather than betting everything on one major push.

Regulatory attention is also worth watching: the WI DNR is holding public meetings on smallmouth bass management in Green Bay and northern Lake Michigan, and separately on lake whitefish total allowable catch. Neither changes rules immediately, but anglers targeting smallmouth in the broader Lake Michigan system should expect the conversation around future harvest limits to continue through the season.

For the next two to three days, absent a specific weather signal in today's data, the safest planning assumption is stable summer patterns: check local marine and river forecasts before heading out, target low-light hours for salmon success, and work weed-adjacent structure near the Grand River mouth for walleye and smallmouth through the week. If a cold front or wind shift does move through, expect a short window of improved shallow-water salmon activity as the thermocline gets disrupted, before fish push back deep once conditions stabilize.

Context

Typical for early-to-mid July on Lake Michigan, salmon (Chinook, coho) and steelhead have shifted to deeper, cooler water and are mostly a boat/troll fishery this time of year, while walleye and smallmouth bass activity concentrates nearshore and around river mouths like the Grand River. That seasonal pattern lines up with what's in today's feeds, with no counter-signal suggesting an early or late transition.

The clearest comparative data point available is the WI DNR's note that 2024 was an exceptional year for the fishery: a record 210,000 coho salmon harvested and over 160,000 Chinook salmon, the most since 2012, attributed to strong alewife survival supporting stocked fish. That's a multi-year high-water mark for the fishery generally, though it doesn't tell us how the 2026 season specifically is trending week to week.

We don't have a same-region report from this week or last describing an early or late bite, so we can't say with confidence whether 2026 is running ahead of, behind, or on pace with a typical year. The WI DNR's active public process on smallmouth bass management in Green Bay and northern Lake Michigan suggests that fishery has grown enough in profile to warrant a fresh look at harvest rules, consistent with rising angler interest in smallmouth across the broader lake system. Beyond that, today's available intel doesn't include a direct year-over-year comparison for the Grand River mouth specifically, so treat the outlook above as grounded in general seasonal knowledge rather than a confirmed trend for this exact spot.