Curly's Photo and Fishing Blog
Thursday, January 01, 2009
The New Year Fishing Report
While the warm up melted much of the snow making for easier travel on the inland lakes, caution still needs to be used as we lost some ice with the rain and strong winds. Ice thickness varies depending on your location. Always use extreme caution and be sure to take a spud with you to test the ice before you go.
Otsego Lake has been good for walleye and perch with some undersize sturgeon being caught also. Call Sturgeon Joe @ 989-732-5866
Lake Margrethe has good ice and fishing has picked up this week with pike and walleye. Call Skip’s Sport Shop @ 989-348-7111 for the latst info
Houghton Lake - Walleye fishing has been good along with pike hitting hard. CAll Lyman’s @ 989 422-3231â?¨for the latest fishing report.
Saginaw Bay - here is only shoreline ice to fish as strong winds blew most of the ice into the outer Bay. Perch and a few pike are being caught along the shoreline and in the marinas in about 3 feet of water. Be careful near any outlets due to the high volume of runoff.
Crooked Lake - Has ice and many are getting out to their favorite spots, walleye have been biting.
Traverse City - Good angling action near Traverse City on Long Lake and most inland lakes for walleye, blue gill and pan fish. Minnows, wax worms and spikes are popular. Anglers need to check the ice before attempting to walk on the ice.
Little Glen Lake - Anglers are starting to fish for perch and pike along the weedbeds.
Betsie River - Those willing to brave the cold could very well hook into an occasional steelhead.
Lake Missaukee - Lots of fisherman out this weekend catching gills and pike with ice conditions great.
Lake Cadillac - Good to excellent fishing conditions for pike on Mitchell and Cadillac Lakes. Anglers are using tip-ups and spearing. Good action for crappie in the day and evening hours. Perch activity is good but plenty of sorting is necessary to find the keepers. Blue gill action is slow. Both Mitchell and Cadillac lakes have good ice ranging between 7-10 inches.
Lake Mitchell - Has good ice also with lots of fisherman heading out after panfish and pike.
Indian Lake by Manistique has a good perch and walleye bite this week. South Manistique Lake - Still has good walleye action when jigging or using tip-ups. For those spearing, try the southeast side between the access site and Norton Island in 5 to 10 feet of water.
Brevoort Lake - Anglers are ice fishing for walleye and pike. The pike are hitting on tip-ups with minnows and the walleye are hitting on jigs with spikes or minnows. Some nice bluegills have also been caught.
Munuscong Lake has decent ice at this time but the temperatures are extremely cold. A few brave soles are getting out and fishing for perch using minnows and reeling in some good sized fish.
Around St.Ignace a few anglers are getting out on Christiansen Bay and pulling in a few perch and walleye on minnows.
Lake Gogebic near the Bergland area is giving up a few walleye, pike and perch on minnows. However it has been so frigid that most anglers are staying indoors. Ice shanties are appearing on the north and south ends of the Lake as anglers are getting geared up for ice fishing this weekend.
Little Bay DeNoc for smaller sized walleye, and fair action for perch that range between 10-14 inches. The ice is 10-12 inches thick, solid and clear. Anglers are using jigging minnows with good results.
Near the Alanson and Boyne areas, Burt, Crooked, Pickeral, Mullett, and Walloon lakes are all freezing up nicely, as well as most of the rivers and parts of Lake Charlevoix. Ice fishing should be able to commence this weekend; however anglers should use extreme caution when attempting to walk out on any body of water.
Hamlin Lake near Ludington is giving up a few blue gill for anglers fishing near the shoreline edge. Thge ice is good with many going out and trying there luck
Muskegon Lake had open water as of yesterday, but with the cold temperatures that have moved in the lake is starting to freeze over. Anglers are starting to gear up for ice fishing soon.
Higgins Lake the lake is froze and some were out on the lake today fishing perch.
AAA Fishing Report
Upper Peninsula:
Around the Manistique area, Indian Lake is producing good counts of walleye and perch on minnows.
Spoons, and tear drops with a minnow are working well for anglers fishing Munuscong Lake. Fair action for perch and walleye is currently taking place.
St. Ignace anglers are finding fair to good luck for blue gill on wax worms and spikes on Brevort Lake.
Near the Copper Harbor area, good numbers of walleye are biting on Lake Fanny Hooe and Medora Lake. The harbor still has open water.
Near the Bergland area, sucker minnows are working well on walleye for anglers fishing Lake Gogebic. The hot spots are near the north and south ends of the lake.
Bay De Noc near the Marquette area is giving up good counts of walleye. Independence Lake is producing fair quantities of perch. The popular bait is a glow-in-the-dark moonshine jigging Rapala used mainly on walleye and pike.
Good activity in the Escanaba area on Little Bay De Noc for smaller sized walleye, and fair action for perch that range between 10-14 inches. The ice is 10-12 inches thick, solid and clear. Anglers are using jigging minnows with good results.
Northwest:
The ice is good around the Alanson area for the majority of inland lakes and anglers are getting out to fish, but so far no one species is making its mark.
Good angling action near Traverse City on Long Lake and most inland lakes for walleye, blue gill and pan fish. Minnows, wax worms and spikes are popular. Anglers need to check the ice before attempting to walk on the ice.
Arcadia Lake near the Frankfort area is producing good numbers of pike, perch and blue gill on live bait. Portage Lake is a bit slow this week.
Kalkaska anglers can expect good fishing on Manistee Lake and Guernsey Lake for perch, pike, blue gill and walleye. The ice is safe and anglers are using minnows, wigglers, wax worms, spikes and Hali jigs with good results.
The Boyne and Jordan rivers near Gaylord are giving up a few steelhead on spawn, but overall the activity has been slow due to the up and down weather patterns. Otsego Lake anglers need to use extreme caution on the ice.
Good to excellent fishing conditions for pike on Mitchell and Cadillac Lakes. Anglers are using tip-ups and spearing. Good action for crappie in the day and evening hours. Perch activity is good but plenty of sorting is necessary to find the keepers. Blue gill action is slow. Both Mitchell and Cadillac lakes have good ice ranging between 7-10 inches.
West:
Ice around the Ludington area is sketchy at best; anglers need to use extreme caution. The ice is good in the middle of Hamlin Lake. Blue gill, crappie and walleye are decent on the upper portion of Hamlin Lake, but the perch activity is hit or miss. The Pere Marquette Lake is producing good size northern and anglers are pulling them in on frozen smelt. Be careful of the ice, may not be safe.
Very good fishing taking place on Chippewa Lake, anglers are limiting on blue gill. Crappie and pike are also very good. The ice is six inches thick and the top three inches is very clear, no snow covers the ice at this point. Anglers are using quads to get out on the lake. Jigs with wax worms and spikes and minnows are popular baits.
Around the Baldwin area, the high winds this week blew the water out of the rivers and the ice is not safe. The weight of the snow is pushing down the ice and water covers the ice making it slushy. It is hard to determine safe or unsafe ice.
Muskegon Lake has some decent perch action on the southwest corner of the lake and near Wilcox Road near the yacht club 40-50 feet from shore. Best action is in 25-feet of water. Near the northwest corner by the State Park anglers are pulling in some specks and blue gill in 2-4 feet of water. Overall though, the ice has deteriorated and large open pockets of water exist. Anglers need to use extreme caution and know where they are at all times.
The warm weather has deteriorated most of the ice on the inland lakes surrounding the Grand Rapids area. Two feet of water covers most of the ice at this time, and the ice is not safe. Cooler weather has moved into the area and the ice is starting to re-freeze. By the weekend if the frigid temps stay good fishing will resume.
Northeast:
Ice registers six inches on Lake Margrethe and anglers are pulling in fair numbers of perch while walleye fishing. Walleye and pike action range fair to good when fishing early in the afternoon and at night. Swedish pimples, airplane jigs and jigs with Rapalas are working well.
Houghton Lake lost a few inches of ice due to the recent warming trend, but overall the ice is still 8-9 inches thick, however due to the high winds numerous cracks are in the ice and anglers need to use caution. Good activity taking place on the north shore for walleye on blue shiners and pike are active on the east bay on golden shiners and suckers.
Higgins Lake has an average of 2-5 inches of ice but only a few anglers are attempting to get out. Cooler temperatures are moving into the area and activity should be much improved by the weekend.
Some ice can be found at the mouth of the Au Gres River but anglers need to use caution. The cuts and channels have decent ice and fishing for blue, crappie, and perch is decent on minnows.