Fishing the Bays de Noc

If you fish, you may already know this corner of Lake Michigan by reputation. Gladstone sits on Little Bay de Noc. Big Bay de Noc is around the Stonington Peninsula. The two bays make one broad fishing area, but they do not fish exactly alike.

Walleye may get the most attention. A precise population estimate can get stale quickly, so the better signal is the DNR’s continuing field work. In 2025, crews tagged walleye in Little Bay de Noc and sampled both bays. Those surveys help track walleye, yellow perch, smallmouth bass, northern pike, lake sturgeon, and other parts of the fish community.

The smallmouth bass fishery is the less obvious part of the story. A 2014 DNR feature followed a Bassmaster championship in Escanaba and recorded the agency’s view that the bays held unusually strong smallmouth fishing. That is a dated snapshot, not a promise about today’s bite, but it explains why bass boats now share water long associated with walleye.

For a newcomer, public launches ring both bays, and fishing platforms sit along the lower Escanaba River. Winter anglers also use Little Bay de Noc for walleye and yellow perch. Before keeping fish, check the current Michigan fishing regulations; Little Bay has location-specific walleye rules. Conditions and fish populations change, but the DNR keeps surveying this water, which is a better guide than any frozen trophy count.