Curly's Photo and Fishing Blog
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Super Bowl Fishing Report
Fish Hard Before the Super Bowl
Higgins Lake has Locked up with the south-end reporting 6 inches of ice.. Some anglers are going off the West Access Site tonight for Smelt. Call Phoenix Park Party Store 989-821-7220 or Higgins Lake Sport 231-821-9517 for the West side. Sport Barn 989-821-9511 for the south-end of Higgins Lake .
Green Lake is froze over, they are vernturing out with good ice finally.
Portage Lake by Manistee report a great perch bite this week with minnows working best.
Anglers heading out onto Houghton Lake ,many are going off off Lymanville where the pike action has been good. The best areas to try and catch walleye are along the north shore, on the east bay or by the middle grounds.
Little Bay De Noc - Anglers report good ice in the northern sections of the bay and fair to dangerous conditions on the southern sections all the way down to Breezy Point. Heavy snowfalls have made travel difficult. Though walleye fishing was a bit on the slow side, fish were caught when jigging in 18 to 30 feet of water between Gladstone and Kipling. Some were fishing right on the break off Portage Point, but this is new ice on top of very deep waters so extreme caution needs to be used. Walleye were also caught out from the Terrace when fishing about 8 feet off the bottom in 40 feet of water. Perch anglers have done best when jigging minnows or wigglers in 17 feet of water off Kipling. Those spearing northern pike say the action is starting to pick up. Try 6 to 10 feet of water around the Escanaba Yacht Harbor. No whitefish anglers to report at this time..
Otsego Lake by Gaylord reports slow going this week but bigger perch being caught. They have the sturgeon shanties back out and are seeing a few with a 42 incher caught and released as they have to be 50 inches..The ice is holding up on Burt, Crooked and Pickerel lakes near Alanson, where the perch, pike and walleye action is good.
By Alpena, the ice held up through the warm spell earlier in the week on Grand and Long lakes. Anglers using minnows as bait are catching good numbers of perch and walleye. Anglers on Fletcher Pond are catching a few crappie and pike. Fletcher Floodwater is still good for pike but the panfish has been slow.
Out of the Boyne City area, the perch, pike and walleye action on Walloon Lake is fair to good. Anglers on Deer Lake are catching a few bluegill. Both waxworms and wigglers are being used as bait. Thumb Lake is producing fair splake fishing.
Around Manistique, Indian Lake have good ice with snow making things tough going
Long Lake by Traverse and Lake Leelanau have good reports of walleye this week ice is ok once you get past shoreline and the ice is real good out in the middle.
In the Kalkaska area, the perch fishing is good on Lake Skegemog. Crappie and walleye fishing is slow on Manistee Lake. Anglers on Fife Lake are pulling a few perch and walleye through the ice. We still have safe ice but be careful .
Gladwin Counties has good ice with good reports of panfish and pike biting
Houghton Lake has a good bite with walleye out at the middle grounds.. Lymanville has good ice around his shanty, pike have been biting very good
Lake Missaukee - Ice fishing is on and anglers are catching panfish off of Green Rd, Most are the size of your hand or 7 to 8 inches but limit catches. Ice is still good
Hamlin Lake is good with lots going out to try their luck
Spider Lake - Anglers are ice fishing for panfish.
Fife Lake - They have shanties out to the hole by the island and are catching fish this week.
The ice is holding up on Burt, Crooked and Pickerel lakes near Alanson, where the perch, pike and walleye action is good. Mullet Lake has opened up.
Out of the Boyne City area, the perch, pike and walleye action on Walloon Lake is fair to good. Anglers on Deer Lake are catching a few bluegill. Both waxworms and wigglers are being used as bait. Thumb Lake is producing fair splake fishing.
Big Glen Lake - Have not heard any reports so that means the fish are biting as they keep a tight lip if action is good.
Upper Peninsula:
Anglers on Copper Harbor are catching a few splake.
Lake Gogebic is producing fair to good perch fishing. The crappie fishing on the lake is fair and the walleye action is slow.
By Marquette, anglers are starting to catch a few splake on the Lower Marquette and Upper Marquette harbors. Anglers on Independence and Teal lakes are catching a few perch.
Munising Bay is now covered with some ice, and anglers are catching a few splake and whitefish.
Out of the Escanaba area, the walleye fishing ranges from fair to good on Little Bay de Noc. Two of the best areas to fish are out from the Escanaba River and Portage Point. The marble eyes are hitting on both jigs and tip-ups. Anglers on the bay, fishing south of Gladstone are catching a few whitefish in water 25 to 40 feet deep. Try using minnows as bait, placed at the bottom of the bay.
In the Manistique area, the perch and walleye fishing is good on Indian Lake.
Munuscong Bay is producing good perch and walleye action. The walleye are hitting on spoons and jigs tipped with a minnow.
Around Drummond Island, the perch and pike fishing is fair on Scott Bay. The perch are hitting on a variety of baits, most of the northerns are being pulled up through the ice with spears.
And at St. Ignace, the perch and walleye fishing on Brevort Lake is spotty, at best.
Northwest:
Out of the Alanson area, the perch and walleye fishing is fair on Burt, Crooked and Pickerel lakes. Minnows are the preferred bait. Anglers need to be careful on Burt Lake, due to the poor ice conditions.
By Boyne City, anglers on Lake Charlevoix are catching good numbers of perch. Both minnows and wigglers are working well as bait. The perch, pike and walleye action is good on Walloon Lake. The bluegill action on Deer Lake is good, with waxworms and spikes working well as bait.
Around Traverse City, the walleye action is fair on Long Lake. The marble eyes are hitting on minnows hooked to the end of a tip-up. Anglers on some of the smaller inland lakes are pulling a few bluegills through the ice.
In the Frankfort area, the perch fishing is fair on Crystal Lake. Early mornings or late afternoons are the best times to be out. Anglers on Loon Lake are catching a few perch. Along the Betsie and Manistee rivers, the steelhead fishing is fair.
Lake Skegemog near Kalkaska is producing fair to good perch fishing. Anglers on Manistee Lake are catching a few pike and walleye.
The pike and walleye fishing ranges from fair to good on Otsego Lake near Gaylord. Early mornings and late afternoons are the best times to be out. The bluegill and perch fishing on both Bradford and Otsego lakes is fair.
And at Cadillac, the pike fishing is excellent on both lakes Cadillac and Mitchell. The crappie fishing is improving on Lake Cadillac. Both minnows and red spikes are being used as bait, with afternoons being the best time to be out for the crappie.
West:
Pere Marquette Lake near Ludington is producing some very good pike fishing. Most of the northerns being caught are hitting on tip-ups. The bluegill and crappie fishing is good on the upper end of Hamlin Lake. The walleye action on the lake is fair. Anglers along the Pere Marquette River are catching a few steelhead and brown trout.
The perch fishing on Pentwater Lake is very good, with wigglers being the hot bait.
Out of the Muskegon area, the pike fishing ranges from fair to good on Muskegon Lake. The middle and east ends of the lake have the best ice. The perch fishing is fair, a lot of small fish are being caught.
On Chippewa Lake, the panfish action is very good. Minnows are working well as bait. A few northerns are also being caught on the lake. And at Baldwin, the bluegill and perch action ranges from fair to good on most of the local inland lakes.
Southwest:
Fishing activity is on the slow side by Holland. Poor shore ice conditions are keeping many folks off Lake Macatawa. Some anglers from shore or on docks are punching holes through the ice and catching a few bluegill.
In the New Buffalo area, anglers along the Galien River are catching an occasional steelhead.
Around Kalamazoo, the bluegill fishing is fair on Gravel Lake. Spikes are working well as bait. Anglers on Gull Lake at night, are starting to catch a few smelt. Huzzy Lake is producing fair pike fishing. Anglers along the Kalamazoo River, below the Allegan Dam, are catching a few steelhead.
And at Three Rivers, the bluegill and perch fishing is very good on local lakes like Corey and Pleasant. The fish are hitting on a variety of baits.
Northeast:
In the Alpena area, the perch and walleye fishing ranges from fair to good on both Grand and Long lakes. Early mornings or late afternoons are the best times to be out.
Out of the Grayling area, the perch fishing is fair on Lake Margrethe. The best fishing is found on the south end of the lake, in water about 15 feet deep. Early mornings and late afternoons are the best times to be out. The bluegill and walleye fishing on the lake ranges from slow to fair.
By Oscoda, the perch fishing is good on Van Etten Lake. The pike and walleye action is fair on both Cooke Dam and Foote Dam ponds. Anglers along the Au Sable River are catching a few steelhead.
Higgins Lake is finally covered by some ice, anglers are pulling a few lake trout through the ice. Shiner minnows are working well as bait, in water at least 100 feet deep. The perch action on the lake is fair.
Houghton Lake is producing some good pike and walleye fishing. The northerns are hitting on tip-ups, the walleye on jigs. The best walleye action is found on the east bay, north shore or in the ??middle grounds.?
And at Au Gres, the walleye fishing is fair on Saginaw Bay, in water about 25 feet deep. The marble eyes are hitting on minnows hooked to the end of a jig. Along the Au Gres River anglers are catching a few perch.
East:
By Linwood, the perch fishing is fair on Saginaw Bay. The ice has returned and the best fishing is found near the ??black hole? in water about 20 feet deep.
Around Bay City, the walleye fishing is fair on both the Saginaw River and Saginaw Bay. The best fishing on the bay is found out from Thomas Road. The perch fishing on the bay ranges from fair to good, with minnows working well as bait.