Salmon and smallmouth converge at Grand River mouth for peak June action

What's Biting

What's Next

**The Next 2-3 Days**

With the New Moon exact today (June 16), gravitational pull is at its monthly peak. New moon phases typically push active feeding into the low-light bookends of the day, so first light and last light are the windows to plan around through the weekend. Offshore trollers targeting Chinook should launch early, well before midday sun elevation pushes fish deeper into the thermocline.

**Salmon Trolling Outlook**

Mid-June is when Chinook begin to stage in the thermocline zone off the Grand River mouth as Lake Michigan's surface layer climbs toward its summer peak. Copper line, dipsy divers, and downriggers are the standard mid-lake setup for this phase, with spoons and flasher-fly combos covering the depth range. As surface temps climb through June, presentations will need to go deeper to stay in the thermal band where kings stage. Without live buoy data, exact depth targeting requires on-water probing: start around 40 feet and adjust based on your fish finder's thermocline reading. Coho tend to run shallower than kings and are more reachable on planer boards near the surface if the upper water column has not fully warmed yet.

**Smallmouth Bass Window**

Per Tactical Bassin's Great Lakes smallmouth report this week, fish are aggressive on windblown days and responding to a power-finesse swimbait pairing. Mid-June is classic post-spawn territory for Great Lakes smallmouth: fish that were guarding beds through late May are now off the nests and in active feeding mode. The jetties flanking the Grand River outlet and rocky nearshore structure in 5-15 feet of water are priority targets. Wind pushing waves against hard bottom is an asset, not a deterrent; it stirs baitfish and crayfish and fires up the bite.

**Weekend Planning**

The Grand River outflow creates a baitfish-holding plume where freshwater meets the lake. Target the edges of that plume early in the morning for coho following forage. Southwest lake breezes are typical in June and can make offshore runs uncomfortable by midday. Get out early and have an exit plan if chop builds.

Context

The Grand River mouth sits at the intersection of two reliable June windows for western Michigan anglers: the tail end of the spring steelhead run that peaked with April and May freshets, and the building offshore Chinook trolling bite that carries through August. By mid-June, steelhead have largely moved through the river system and attention shifts squarely to salmon staging in the lake.

The WI DNR Lake Michigan Fishing Report's 2024 season recap provides useful baseline context: last year's Chinook harvest of over 160,000 fish was the best since 2012, and coho came in at a record 210,000-plus. Biologists credit improved alewife year classes for the survival boost, as more forage in the lake means better post-stocking survival for Chinook and coho. Those fish are now maturing through 2026, and age-3 Chinook (the prime trophy size) should be well-represented in the fishery this season.

For smallmouth bass, mid-June is textbook post-spawn timing across southern Lake Michigan. Fish that were on beds in late May have completed the spawn and are in active recovery feeding, which makes them more aggressive and more catchable than during the nest-guarding phase. Tactical Bassin's Great Lakes smallmouth report this week reflects exactly that behavioral shift.

One honest limitation: without live NOAA buoy or USGS gauge data, it is not possible to confirm whether Lake Michigan surface temperatures or Grand River flow are running ahead of, behind, or on schedule for a typical mid-June. A cooler-than-average spring can delay surface warming and push salmon staging a week or two later than historical norms; an early heat wave accelerates the timeline. The MI DNR Weekly Fishing Report is the best weekly ground-truth source for western Michigan conditions before you plan a trip.