Curly's Photo and Fishing Blog
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Fishing Report for Northern Michigan 6/12/08
It is the start of summer season as school is out and kids are on summer break, now we need the weather to break and have nice weather. Gills are finally on the beds and many limit catches this week of big gills.
Grand Traverse Bay they have found the whitefish in sixty feet of water and have been using wigglers but that will be done as the season is closed. Many will use preserved wigglers or whitefish jigs.
Lake St. Helen has started to see gills on the beds and that will be great by this weekend.
Good activity around Boyne City, where trolling in the south arm in 15-25 feet of water is great for bass, walleye and pike. Body baits, leeches and crawlers are working well. A three-day trout tournament will take place this weekend around Charlevoix. Be sure to register before 8 pm on Thursday by calling 231-547-9054.
Little Bay De Noc - Walleye anglers did better in the southern section from the Escanaba River to Breezy Point. Good action from Portage Point to Breezy Point when trolling crawlers or crank baits. Most fish were over 20 inches and caught at night. Some are fishing in 18 to 20 feet of water out near the Black Bottom. Good smallmouth action south of the Day’s River and near Garth Point. Use spinners or crank baits in 4 to 6 feet of water. Perch fishing should pick up soon.
Brevoort Lake - Anglers are still catching walleye. Walleye are hitting on crawlers.
Manistique still has cooler temperatures in the 50â??s and 60â??s and only a few anglers are getting out. Walleye and bass are decent.
Skegemog Lake - The surface water is 65 degrees. Look for smallmouth bass in the southern end of the lake, near the marsh, the Torch River and the access site. On the north end of the lake, check out the Narrows while using tube baits, crank baits, spinners, and crawlers in 3 to 15 feet of water. Walleye fishing was slow, but those targeting bass and muskie have caught a few. Pike have been caught between the Torch River and the marsh.
Big Glen Lake - The warm weather has turned out some really nice catches. Smallmouth bass are hitting bright spinners along the shoals. Some northern pike have been caught. Rainbow trout are moving into shallow waters to feed. Try casting silver rapalas.
Around Grayling, The walleye are biting on Lake Margrethe with Pike fishing sporadic on inland lakes and river fishing is fair to good with live bait, Hendricksonâ??s, and flies.
Hamlin Lake - continues to provide good action for blue gill on the upper end, as well as walleye when using crawlers.
Lake Charlevoix - The steelhead are running late into the season due to the cold weather, and a few brown trout have been caught. Bass fishing has been good with plenty of fish either spawning or cruising the flats. Try tube baits, crank baits or worms. Walleye are turning up along the drop offs, emerging weedbeds, or where there is a current. Rock bass and other panfish have been caught.
Saginaw Bay - Has excellent walleye fishing off Pinconning, Linwood, out near the Spark Plug and the Callahan Reef. Most are using harnesses, but some are starting to use Hot-n-Tots. Anything with silver is working. Excellent walleye fishing was reported from the Slot at Quanicassee to Bay Port in 12 to 15 feet of water. Bass fishing is good in 3 to 5 feet of water in Wild Fowl Bay.
Upper Herring Lake - Walleye have been caught when trolling during the day and early evening. Good numbers of both large and smallmouth bass have been caught when casting along the edge of the weedbeds and the drop offs.
Long Lake - The walleye are hitting on crawler harnesses after dark. Also Lake Leelanau has reported in with a good walleye bite. Warmer weather walleye will hit leeches real good
Portage Lake - Anglers are reporting excellent catches of large and smallmouth bass, rock bass and northern pike. Walleye are still being caught at night, but a few anglers have reported catching some smaller fish during the day when trolling.
Muskegon Lake - Boat anglers are catching walleye at night. Both boat and shore anglers are catching bass and bluegills.
Whitehall - Has good walleye fishing off the pier. Most anglers are picking their spots before dark and fishing most of the night. A few salmon have been caught when trolling. The lake trout were found in shallow waters.
East & West Twin Lakes by Lewiston -Walleye were caught when trolling, drifting, or jigging with crawlers, minnows or leeches near the drop offs. Bass are hitting on artificial baits or crawlers in the shallows.
Houghton Lake - Bluegills are starting to move into the shallows, Also great walleye fishing this week, but many are short.
Tittabawassee River - The lower river continues to produce very good walleye fishing around the Center Road access site. A lot of smallmouth bass have been caught and released and a lot of white bass have been caught.
Lake Missaukee - Has good pike fishing. Look for bluegills on the beds.
Upper Peninsula:
In the Copper Harbor area, bass, perch and walleye are being pulled in and in good numbers on worms and flies. Splake activity continues to be decent on the Harbor as well.
Near the Bergland area, Lake Gogebic is giving up some small sized walleye on minnows, and a few perch on night crawlers. Bass are active near the shoreline when using leeches and spinner bait.
Escanaba anglers are seeing more action now that the water is getting warmer. Walleye action is improving south of Escanaba on crank bait and crawler harnesses. North of Gladstone walleye are biting on crawler harnesses.
Manistique still has cooler temperatures in the 50â??s and 60â??s and only a few anglers are getting out. Walleye and bass are decent.
Near the Sault Ste. Marie area fishing is good with good size walleye doing well just about everywhere, including around Brimley and on Munuscong Lake.
Near St. Ignace the fishing action for salmon is really picking up off of DeTour Village and Cedarville. A few Coho and Atlantic salmon have been caught when trolling with J-plugs or spoons, and drifting using crank bait or crawler harnesses is also doing the trick.
On Drummond Island Scottâ??s Bay is giving up decent walleye on crawlers, and Potagannissing Bay is giving up plenty of pike and bas on chubs, spoons and crawlers.
Northwest:
Alanson angling has improved this week and good action is taking place for walleye and perch on minnows and crawlers for Crooked, Pickeral and Burt lakes.
Good activity around Boyne City, where trolling in the south arm in 15-25 feet of water is great for bass, walleye and pike. Body baits, leeches and crawlers are working well. A three-day trout tournament will take place this weekend around Charlevoix. Be sure to register before 8 pm on Thursday by calling 231-547-9054.
In the Frankfort area, fishing is decent on Herring Lake as well as the Betsie and Platt rivers for rainbow and brown trout. Fish are biting on wooly buggers, night crawlers and silver spinners. Crystal Lake is great for good quantities of perch when fishing in waters 30-40 feet. In the Great Lakes larger fish are being caught and good amounts of trout as well as steelhead.
Inland lakes throughout the Kalkaska area are producing fair amounts of blue gill that are just starting, walleye on jigs, as well as bass and pike on tube baits.
Around Gaylord, some rivers are washed out this week due to plenty of rain, but the weekend will be good as the waters subside. Otsego Lake is great for walleye and small mouth bass when trolling and using Rapalas. Bradford Lake is also producing good numbers of bass. Every stream is giving up plenty of trout and anglers are finding good results using brown drakes and grey and brown cadis.
In the Cadillac area, anglers on Mitchell and Cadillac lakes are limiting on crappie, the blue gill are on the beds and huge quantities of bass and pike are hitting. A tournament this past weekend yielded 715 bass, a good indication of how great the bass fishing is.
West:
In the Ludington area, Hamlin Lake continues to provide good action for blue gill on the upper end, as well as walleye when using crawlers. Lake Michigan is hot for salmon action in 100 feet of water using a variety of spoons.
Off of the Muskegon area, salmon activity is picking up with anglers finding best results in 100 to 200 feet of water and using flashers and spoons, a few Coho are being caught when trolling and using flashers. Mona and Muskegon lakes are decent for walleye fishing and around the various marinas blue gill are abundant.
Anglers on Chippewa Lake are catching plenty of fish this week with pike, bass, walleye and blue gill very active.
Baldwin received so much rain this week that the angling activity has slowed immensely. Activity should pick up by the weekend.
Southwest:
Holland anglers are at a stand still due to rain and several storms hitting the west side of the state this week. The majority of the rivers are washed out and no fishing is taking place at this point.
Good action in Benton Harbor out on Lake Michigan where kings, Coho, steelhead and lakers are abundant in 60-135 feet of water. A variety of baits are working well that include blue veggie, killer dolphin, coyote spoons, blue goose and freakinâ?? veggie. King salmon will strike at large profile lures while Coho will not.
Around New Buffalo, anglers are catching jumbo perch on minnows when heading straight out on Lake Michigan and only going out about 30 to 35 feet. The Galien River is producing good quantities of crappie, bass, and blue gill. Crawlers are working well.
Angling action is kicked up around the Kalamazoo area for a variety of fish. Gull Lake is great for small and large mouth bass using wacky rigs and tubes. Austin Lake is producing nice numbers of bass as well. Pan fish are doing well on all inland lakes, especially blue gill on beds. No stream fishing this week since many rivers and streams were washed out with the high rain levels. Lake Michigan is producing nice numbers of salmon and steelhead in 85 to 135 feet of water. Down riggers with spoons are getting good results.
In the Three Rivers area, all of the inland lakes are providing great fishing opportunities for anglers, particularly for blue gill and crappie when using red wigglers.
Northeast:
Around Oscoda, fishing is great for a variety of species. The AuSable River, Cooke and Foote Dam ponds are giving up good numbers of pike, bass, blue gill and walleye. Pike are biting on sucker minnows, bass on top water baits, blue gill on wax and leaf worms on ice jigs, and walleye on crawler harnesses.
Action has slowed a bit in the Grayling area due to rain and weather conditions this week. Anglers getting out on Lake Margrethe are reeling in a few blue gill on crawlers, worms and foam spiders.
Higgins Lake is giving up a few rock and small mouth bass on leeches and night crawlers. Overall fishing is a bit slow due to windy conditions.
Houghton Lake anglers are getting out despite the recent rain and when they do the fishing conditions are great for walleye and blue gill. Leeches and night crawlers are really working well.
Near Au Gres, the best fishing is for walleye on Saginaw Bay in waters 30 feet deep, crawlers are getting good results. Catfish action is great off the break walls.
East:
Linwood anglers continue to have good success with walleye on Saginaw Bay in waters up to 17 feet. Bottom bouncers are working well and crawler harnesses. Carp and gar are active in the shallow waters.