Curly's Photo and Fishing Blog
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Lake’s have Slush this week
Reports this week is lake are in bad shape with slush and quads are sitting on shore. Hopefully it will settle tonight and freeze.
Higgins Lake has great ice, perch fishing and lake trout are biting, but smelt still slow with 50 a night a good night. Very few anglers off the West Access Site for Smelt but no great reports yet. Call Phoenix Park Party Store 989-821-7220 or Higgins Lake Sport 989-821-9517 for the West side. Sport Barn 989-821-9511 for the south-end of Higgins Lake .
Green Lake is low for smelt
Crystal Lake has a good perch and still a great smelt bite this week off of Lobb Rd.
Frankfort has a good perch bite on Betsie Bay along with some nice pike being caught.
Portage Lake by Manistee report a great perch bite still with minnows working best. Also the walleye have started to bite with some nice hogs being caught. Also Manistee Lake reports a good perch bite as they got a perch run from Lake Michigan.
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. Walleye fishing is still very good with very few panfish being caught.
Little Bay De Noc - Heavy snow is once again causing travel problems for some motorized vehicles. Anglers are marking good numbers of fish however cold temperatures have them dormant. Those out fishing report favorable ice north of Sand Point. Walleye anglers reported mixed results as some did well while others were struggling. The better fishing continues to be near the Center Reef when using tip-ups 2 to 3 feet off the bottom in 30 to 40 feet of water. Evenings are best. Fair results off the Terrace Inn in Gladstone when jigging or using tip-ups in 35 to 40 feet of water, in the shallow waters near the Day’s River and up near Garth Point. Steady whitefish action in 65 to 70 feet of water off Sand Point. Perch were caught on wigglers in 11 to 17 feet of water near Kipling and in 25 feet of water near the Escanaba River.
Muskegon Lake - Perch have been caught on the west end of the lake.
White Lake by Montague has a great perch bite, call Johnson’s Outdoors for the latest bite. 231-893-6688
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.
Burt Lake - For walleye, try the weedbeds in 20 to 30 feet of water in Maple Bay. Some nice perch were caught on the north end of the lake. Perch bite is giid off of Maple Bay with wigglers working good.
By Alpena, fishing fair on Grand and Long lakes. Anglers using minnows as bait are catching good numbers of perch and walleye. Fletcher’s Floodwaters - Is producing good numbers of pike up to 10 pounds. As for panfish, mostly bluegills and pumpkinseed sunfish were hitting in the upper end of the reservoir. They ranged from 5 to 8 inches., and they have a contest this weekend.
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 but slush is bad on the lake.
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.
Gladwin Counties has good ice with good reports of panfish and pike biting
Lake Missaukee - Still has a good gill bite.
Lake St. Helen reports a good gill bite with waxworms working best.
Upper Hamlin Lake - Is a good place for bluegills and crappie.
Lower Hamlin Lake - Walleye were caught in 20 to 30 feet of water when jigging minnows.
Big Glen Lake - Perch fishing has been good but don’t forget about the lake trout and rainbow trout. Some are catching bigger perch on tipups using greys and blues. Lots of snow this week with up to 20 inches the last two days.
Pere Marquette Lake - Perch are hitting on minnows and wigglers. A few pike were taken on tip-ups.
Upper Peninsula:
On Manistique Lake the fishing is slow with a few walleye and perch being reeled in.
Munuscong Bay is producing good numbers of walleye, perch and pike. Anglers are finding best results using wigglers, wax worms and tear drops.
Lake Gogebic is giving up decent numbers of perch on wigglers and walleye on suckers. A few pike are being pulled in during the evening hours.
In the Escanaba area, good size walleye are the rule especially when using sucker minnows on tip-ups and some good perch action on wax worms. Little Bay De Noc is producing fair quantities of walleye using tip-ups and minnows.
Musky Bay near Cedarville is producing fair amounts of perch and pike on minnow and wax worms.
St. Ignace fishing continues to be slow for perch and walleye. The ice remains in good condition and is at least 15 inches thick.
In the Munising area some whitefish and perch are being caught. Anglers are finding best results using minnows, spawn and wax worms.
Northwest:
Around the Frankfort area smelt are biting off of the south side of Crystal Lake and plenty of perch are abundant in waters 20-45 feet deep near the east end. Anglers are using minnows and wigglers for best results.
In the Traverse City area anglers are catching some whitefish in both the West and East Bays. Big Cedar Lake is decent for trout and some smelt in the deeper waters.
In the Alanson area fishing remains slow with limited catches of whitefish and walleye.
Lake Cadillac is giving up some decent pike on tip ups, and good perch on tip ups with golden shiners. Lakes Cadillac and Mitchell are producing good crappie fishing. Minnow and spikes are the baits of choice.
West:
In the Muskegon area decent amounts of perch are being caught on Muskegon Lake and the crappie action remains good near the northeast corner. Action on the Lake is good for perch in deeper waters. Pike is also good in waters 8-20 feet deep, while shallow water is producing excellent catches of walleye on Rapalas.
Southwest:
Inland lakes and rivers in the Kalamazoo area are decent for catching a few perch.
Angling action in the New Buffalo and Three Rivers area is basically at a standstill due to the weather in the past week.
Northeast:
Tawas Bay anglers are catching a few perch, walleye and pike.
Van Etten Lake in the Oscoda area is producing decent perch and walleye. Anglers are finding best results using wigglers, spikes, mousies and wax worms.
Higgins Lake continues to be a hot spot this week for perch in 30-60 feet of water on minnows and spikes. Trout action is good fishing in waters 90 feet or more and using grey shiners or minnows. Smelt action is picking up.
East:
Anglers fishing on Saginaw River and Bay need to use caution when venturing out on any ice. Some heaving and cracks are noticeable causing open sections of water. Walleye action is good towards the evening hours. Walleye activity is decent near Linwood and the Bay City State Park.