Curly's Photo and Fishing Blog
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Perch are biting in Northern Michigan
All the rain we had last weekend has pushed lots of salmon up the rivers. The cooler weather has turned on the perch also as lake water is cooling down. Walleye fishing has been slow. Pike fishing is picking up the last few days with suckers working best.
Perch runs have started in many places and we will keep you updated as we find out where they are biting. I heard of some big perch coming out of Bay De Noc in the flats with wigglers working best if you can find them.
Big Glen the perch are biting with wigglers being the best bet.
West Grand Traverse Bay has been hot the last few days.
Crystal Lake has been good also for perch with some ten inchers being caught.
Lake Leelanau is reporting nice perch being caught on the south-end of the lake.
Lake Margrethe has a perch run also with nice perch being caught this week on minnows.
Lake Charlevoix is reporting perch have started biting off the Ironton Ferry with minnows working best.
Skegemog Lake - A lot of bass anglers are still taking fish in the flat between the Torch River and the Baggs Road Access, off Fairmont Drive and near the Narrows. They are using lures and natural baits such as crawlers and leeches in waters 3 to 20 feet deep. Some nice 21 to 25 inch pike were caught and bluegills can be found in 10 to 12 feet of water.
Little Bay De Noc - Walleye action was spotty but fish were caught off the First Reef when trolling crawlers in 10 to 16 feet of water and in the flats near Brach’s Cabins. The Black Bottom produced a few fish however more fish were marked to the south around the East Bank in 14 to 26 feet of water. Good perch fishing in the flats out from Brach’s Cabins and off Gladstone Beach when fishing the drop-off. Excellent smallmouth action around Hunters Point.
Big Bay De Noc - No walleye to report this week but the smallmouth bass anglers are just getting started around Snake Island. Only a few catches to report so far but the fish were big. Most are drifting minnows 15 to 25 feet down along the break. Perch fishing was fair off the southern end of Ogontz when jigging worms in 8 to 14 feet of water. Salmon season is winding down off Fairport. A few chinook were still being caught on spoons 40 to 60 feet down in 100 to 120 feet of water.
Higgins Lake - Few anglers have been out as many have turned their attention to bird hunting. Those fishing have managed to catch lake trout and perch. Those hunting are doing well for woodcock.
Houghton Lake - Cooler nights have the northern pike biting. Minnows and large crank baits are taking fish. Walleye action remains steady.
Portage Lake - Good numbers of panfish are still being caught in the deeper waters on the east end of the lake. Good walleye and pike fishing. The walleye bite is better at night and the pike are hitting on small spoons and body baits throughout the day.
St. Mary’s River - Has good numbers of pink salmon between the Power Plant and the tour boat docks. Anglers are casting or jigging Swedish Pimples and spoons. Good walleye action in the early morning when trolling a bottom bouncer with a crawler harness and blades. Some nice yellow perch were caught in the weedbeds across from the ferry dock on Neebish Island. Good smallmouth action off the southeast corner of Sugar Island in 20 feet of water.
De Tour - Chinook and lake trout are still being caught in the shipping channel. Green and blue spoons worked well. Walleye are still being caught around Peck Island, Rutland Island, Scott Bay and north of the city launch. Off Drummond Island, perch were caught in 6 to 8 feet of water near Ashman Island and Harbor Island.
Cedarville and Hessel - Fishing has been slow but chinook can still be found 50 to 80 feet down when using hammered silver spoons with chartreuse or black. Small orange and gold spoons also caught fish.
Saginaw Bay - Perch have been caught around the Spark Plug and near Buoys 15, 16 and 18. Some nice perch were taken from the weedbeds on the edge of the Callahan Reef in 8 feet of water and about two or three miles northwest off the mouth of the Quanicassee River. A few walleyes were caught on a crawler harness in the Slot however anglers were doing more fishing than catching.
AAA FIshing Report
Upper Peninsula:
Munuscong area anglers are doing fair on Cedarville for a few walleye. The St. Maryâ??s River and Raber Bay is giving up good counts of salmon and walleye. Popular baits include crawler harnesses and wax worms and the colors working best are chartreuse, yellow, blue and purple.
Off of Drummond Island a few bass can be had around Scott Bay, and Maxton Bay is giving up a few perch on minnows. Walleye activity has slowed on all of the lakes this week, probably due to weather pattern earlier in the week.
Anglers fishing near St. Ignace are catching plenty of salmon off of the docks on Lake Huron, and the salmon are on the move towards the Carp River. Salmon activity is on the rise.
Copper Harbor anglers started to get back out on the water. The temperatures warmed up enough that the black flies came out in force creating good conditions for fishing lake trout in the evening hours.
On Lake Gogebic in the Bergland area, walleye and perch have moved from the deeper waters to the weed beds. Night crawlers seem to be working ok.
In Marquette, recent rain and strong weather patterns has brought fishing to a temporary lull.The water is high, and has cooled down tremendously. As the weather stabilizes the fishing will improve, but it may take some time for fish to become active once again.
Escanaba angling activity has slowed, partly due to various hunting seasons starting up this week. A few salmon are being caught in the Ford and Escanaba rivers. Decent angling action taking place for big fish on Big Bay DeNoc, where anglers are trolling in 25-40 feet of water and fishing on the bottom. Walleye remain active south of Escanaba.
Northwest:
Anglers around Boyne City and surrounding areas are finding good numbers of salmon moving from Lake Charlevoix toward the Boyne River. Salmon are also being caught in the channels off of Petoskey on the Bear River. Salmon are starting to pick up around Charlevoix, on Medusa Creek. Popular baits include casting spoons, jointed Rapalas and Storm spawn. Walloon Lake and Lake Charlevoix are giving up decent counts of bass on live bait and artificial baits. Lake Charlevoix is also producing good numbers of perch in 42-50 feet of water using perch minnows.
Anglers around Frankfort are finding good salmon action now that the weather has cooled down. On the Betsie River, anglers are using single hooks with Bead-Head Wooly Buggers, egg sacks with fly sucking leeches, and squid, glow green and chartreuse spinners. Platt River anglers are fishing the surf with a variety of lures and spawn. Crystal Lake is producing a few walleye on wigglers but anglers will need to move around for the nice size ones. A few trout are being caught as well.
The Cadillac area has had its share of rain and wind recently limiting activity, but anglers that are getting out are doing well on crappie out of Mitchell Lake on minnows. Lake Cadillac is producing decent catches of pike and large mouth bass using artificial baits, rubber worms and Sinko baits.
Around the Alanson area, salmon are biting on the Betsie River. Big perch in the 11-inch range are hitting on Burt Lake, and pan fish are active on Crooked Lake. Crawlers and minnows are working right now.
In Kalkaska all of the inland lakes are doing great for small mouth bass. Fish are feeding now that the weather has changed. Lake Skegemog the pan fish are starting to become active.
Gaylord anglers are finding fair to good conditions for trout fishing on the Black and Sturgeon rivers. The best time to fish is during the warmest part of the day. Popular baits include terrestrials and streamer patterns. King salmon are being pulled from the Boyne and Jordan rivers on spawn bags and egg fly patterns using fly rods. Walleye activity is good on Otsego and Bradford lakes, and Lake Michigan.
Traverse City anglers are finding good fishing opportunities abundant. Excellent action on Big Glen Lake and the west end of Traverse Bay for perch on wigglers. Salmon activity is good on the Boardman, Manistee, Pere Marquette and Betsie rivers, and the east and west end of Traverse Bay. Anglers are finding good results with spawn and bait rigs with yarn. Inland lakes are improving for bass now that the air and water temperatures have cooled and fall fishing patterns are causing the fish to bite! Hot baits include tubes, Cray fish imitators and spinners.
West:
Great fishing is the rule in the Baldwin area. Anglers are finding very good action for salmon on the Pere Marquette River, and getting good results using lures, spoons and spawn. The River water is high and the color is good. Most inland lakes are doing very well for blue gill.
In the Ludington area, a cold front causing water temperatures to dip into the high 30â??s has pushed the salmon right where the anglers want them. Off of the Ludington State Park salmon activity if very good on the Big Sable River on single hooks. Excellent salmon action is taking place on the Pere Marquette River. Lake Michigan is also good for salmon but they are scattered. Anglers are finding best results near the north pier when casting spoons or spawn. A few perch have been pulled in.
Muskegon fishing is very good. The mouth of Lake Michigan just off of Muskegon Lake is very good for salmon action as well as Muskegon Lake and fish are headed towards the Muskegon River. Most salmon can be located around pier heads and near the sand docks and the west end by the channel. Jigging is producing good results. Anglers are using a variety of bait including Swedish Pimples, local spoons, little Cleos and spoons in silver, blue, and any glow color seem to be working well.
Around the Chippewa Lake area, angling is very slow due to rain and weather conditions.
Northeast:
Cheboygan area anglers will find perch action picking up on Burt and Mullet lakes. Perch in Mullet Lake are running larger than past years with nice fish in the 10-inch plus range, and out of Burt Lake a usual mix of nice to jumbo. Perch shiners are slim in the bait shops right now but should become available shortly. Some pike action picking up on the lower Black River and upper Black Lake. Anglers are opting for in-line buck tails, large minnow baits and spoons still have a place in the mix. The Black River also holds some nice muskie for skilled or lucky anglers. Salmon action is good for boaters off of the Cheboygan Light pier head. Anglers with good trolling ability can pick-up half a dozen fish for a morning or evening bite. J-Plugs and favorite spoons are doing the job. Wolverine, Moonshine and Stinger spoons are favored in the area. Throw in a Spin Doctor and fly mix or a bait head with herring and you have the bases covered. Fish are running larger than last year and while numbers are yet to push up the river they are very close.
Grayling anglers fishing on Lake Margrethe are finding a few walleye on crawlers and jigs with a leech. Small sized blue gill and few bass are being caught.
In Oscoda, Van Etten Lake is producing plenty of perch, a few walleye and pike. Rapalas are doing the trick on walleye. Cooke Dam Pond is giving up nice amounts of blue gill on wax worms, and minnows. Foote Dam Pond is offering up pike, perch and walleye, with minnows and wax worms working well. At the mouth of the AuSable River little Cleos are working well on salmon and on the River spawn work best. The AuSable is also giving up decent catches of small mouth bass and walleye.
Higgins Lake is good for jigging lake trout on Swedish Pimples. Fishing for rock bass is great and anglers are reeling in a few perch. Best selling bait, minnows and crawlers.
Houghton Lake is giving up some walleye in the evening hours when trolling with crank baits, and crawler harnesses with bottom bouncers. Pike are spotty but becoming more active due to cooler water. Large crank baits and big pike minnows are working well.
In the Au Gres area, weather affected fishing activity the last few days but today the perch action is back to excellent. Anglers are heading straight out on Saginaw Bay and fishing in waters 35 to 40 feet deep. Only a few walleye are biting.
East:
AAA Tip: Sanford Lake west of M-30 in Midland County under US-10. Due to construction on the bridge, boat traffic underneath will be limited to a single channel now through the winter months. The channel will be clearly marked but may vary.
Bay City anglers are just starting to get back out to fish today due to adverse weather conditions and rough water the last few days. Perch are hit or miss at the mouth of the Saginaw River, near the first Spark Plug and around Linwood. Walleye are scattered and hard to get right now.
Bay Port anglers have had there fair share of rain and rough waters causing for slow angling activity. And the Bay Port public access launch is closed as well causing for additional inactivity. Action should start improving by the weekend as the weather pattern changes for the better. Anglers getting out are finding that fish are in deeper water and anglers need to work hard to find them. Linwood area, walleye activity is slow, salmon action is decent out of Lake Huron and some perch are being caught in 19-21 feet of water, however anglers are having to work hard to find the fish.