Walleye and post-spawn bass heat up across Michigan as June arrives

What's Biting

What's Next

With a full moon peaking June 1, the next 48 to 72 hours offer some of Michigan's strongest low-light feeding windows of the month. Walleye, notoriously moon-sensitive, should be most active at first and last light through early next week. Jason Mitchell Outdoors has been focusing on shallow-trolling walleye presentations, a technique that lines up directly with full-moon surface-feeding behavior common across Lakes Erie, Huron, and Michigan. Target walleye along sand-to-gravel transition edges in nearshore zones, and work the lower Grand River's deeper holes and bridge-piling seams after dark.

Bass anglers should expect the post-spawn transition to continue deepening over the coming week. Tactical Bassin notes that fish are spreading from spawning areas to nearby offshore structure: isolated flats, humps, and windward points are all in play. Their post-spawn report highlights chatterbaits and swimbaits for the active reaction bite, with neko rigs and drop shots for fish that have settled into a slower mode. Heading into June, Tactical Bassin frames it well: 'Whether you like to fish shallow or deep, there are exciting options for you this month,' with topwater, bottom contact, and power fishing all on the table as post-spawn bass scatter.

On the Grand River itself, 3,260 cfs is workable but full. Anglers should expect stained water below Grand Rapids and fish holding tight to current breaks: fallen timber, bridge pilings, and inside bends where current slackens. As summer base flows return (typically 1,500 to 2,500 cfs at this gauge), clearer water and tighter presentations will pay off more. Check the live USGS gauge reading before launching if water clarity matters to your approach.

Smallmouth on the river's rocky stretches and the Lake Michigan nearshore are likely just finishing their spawn right now. Jason Mitchell Outdoors' shallow-smallmouth content this season aligns with the classic late-May/early-June post-spawn scatter: fish moving from gravel beds to nearby rocky points, rip-rap, and current-break structure. Tubes, finesse swimbaits, and drop shots are the go-to presentations for the next week or two.

Context

Late May into early June is one of Michigan's most productive transition windows across the Great Lakes and its inland river systems. By the first of June, most warmwater species, including walleye, bass, and northern pike, have either completed the spawn or are finishing up, triggering a brief but often intense post-spawn feeding recovery. On a typical schedule, Great Lakes nearshore surface temps reach the upper 50s to low 60s (F) by early June, pushing walleye from post-spawn staging into active summer feeding mode.

The Grand River's 3,260 cfs reading sits comfortably within the normal late-spring range for gauge 04119000. A typical early-June flow on the Grand runs between 2,000 and 4,500 cfs, and the river usually clears and drops toward summer base flows of 1,500 to 2,500 cfs through the month. At current levels, color in the water downstream of Grand Rapids is expected and normal, not a signal of an unusual runoff event.

Great Lakes Now has noted ongoing policy discussions around Michigan's walleye harvest in the Great Lakes, underscoring how central walleye remains to the state's fishery identity. The Grand River's smallmouth bass population is a signature resource for the region, and the corridor from Lowell downstream through Grand Rapids historically produces consistent post-spawn smallmouth action in June as fish disperse from gravel-bar spawning areas to nearby current-break structure.

No significant cold-water anomaly or unusual runoff event appears to have disrupted the 2026 spring season based on available reporting. The MI DNR Weekly Fishing Report has published regular updates through May 27 without documented alarm conditions, suggesting the season is tracking on or near a normal schedule for this time of year.