Curly's Photo and Fishing Blog
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Warm Up
January Thaw has started with fishing still good on many lakes. They got out on Green Lake last night and caught a few smelt and they were big.
Many are catching smelt on Cedar Lake by Traverse along with brown and rainbow trout along with some nice pike. Loon Lake is still producing perch but not in the numbers when first reported. Long Lake and Lake Leelanau are producing good walleye with tip-ups and greys working best.
FISHING CONDITIONS ON LAKES CADILLAC AND MITCHELL
FROM PILGRIM VILLAGE FISHING SHOP
Welcome to Michiganâ??s January thaw. Warm temperatures and rain are melting the snow. Bad for snowmobilers and skiers. Ice fishermen arenâ??t in trouble yet. Currently thereâ??s still 8 to 10 inches of clear ice. Itâ??s sloppy on top. Wear rubber boots and creepers are a must. Old holes are open so in popular places augers are not necessary. There is a cold front moving back in on Wednesday.
Fishing has been great until the warm front arrived. Believe in the barometer. Currently it has slowed but weâ??re still catching our share. Itâ??s just not as predictable or easy as it was. Once this front stabilizes fishing will be as good as it was.
PANFISH - Crappie and gills moved from the slab piles on the east side of Cadillac. Now theyâ??ve started along the weed beds in front of the High School to the old Naval Armory. Following the panfish, good pike are coming from this area also. The west side of Cadillac, Causeway area is still a good spot for crappies. Day fishing has been slim but they seem to turn on late afternoon. Red spikes have been out fishing small minnows in this area. The coves on Mitchell have slowed. Those doing best are hole hopping. Catch 2 or 3 from a hole then have to move to another. Canâ??t seem to find one hot spot. Fish are scattered. On either lake the best fishing has been late afternoon until dark. Red spikes have been working best, but waxworms or mousees catch their share.
WALLEYE - Fish 10 to 12 foot depths. Swedish Pimples, medium minnows on lite line tip-ups and Rapalas are working. Colors vary with each report. Mitchell seems best.
PIKE - Pictures tell the story. Lake Mitchell is waking up. Finally, seeing 30 inch class pike coming from the coves. However Cadillac is still giving up the largest but fewer numbers. The west end of Cadillac has slowed. So many trophy pike were taken from here; some local anglers have moved to the weed line west of Kenwood Park and are back into great pike.