Curly's Photo and Fishing Blog
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Free Fishing Weekend
This coming weekend, Saturday June 13th and Sunday June 14th will be Michigan’s annual Free Fishing Weekend. Both resident and non-residents can fish without a license on these two days however all the regulations that govern fishing in Michigan will still apply. For a list of statewide fishing events on this special weekend, go to http://www.michigan.gov/dnr. Warmer weather and less wind will greatly improve fishing success around the state.
Cold temperatures and strong winds continue to hamper fishing efforts. Bass and bluegill are on the beds mainly in the southern sections of the state as the northern sections are still too cold. Anglers are catching walleye and northern pike. Warm weather is on it’s way.
Sturgeon Joe at Otsego Lake is saying the perch and walleye fishing has been fair on Otsego Lake.
Dave at Four Season Party Store in Houghton Lake says off of Long Point the walleye bite is still good when they can get out.
Saginaw Bay - Walleye continue to hit near the Spark Plug, off the mouth of the Saginaw River, off Jones Road, and near the Callahan Reef. Down near Quanicassee, it appears the fish are moving up towards Sebewaing and Bay Port where anglers have caught good numbers in about 15 feet of water in the Slot and outside the islands. Closer to Caseville, anglers are heading south to the Slot off Sand Point or the weeds in Wildfowl Bay for excellent catches of walleye.
Mullett Lake - Smallmouth bass were caught near the drop-offs when using spinners, tube baits or jerk baits. Walleye, northern pike and rainbow trout have also been caught.
Bluegills are still a week away from being on the beds in Northern Michigan
Lake Margrethe near the Grayling area is giving up fair to good catches of walleye in 15-18 feet of water. Live leeches and drift fishing seems to work well. Pan fish and blue gill are hitting in good numbers on wax worms, Chubby Jigs and live bait. Small mouth bass are biting in shallow waters on most inland lakes in Crawford County.
Higgins Lake - Anglers are going out for perch but no reports had come in. Try the usual spots such as up near the North State Park, and around the Sunken Island.
Houghton Lake - Walleye anglers are doing well when trolling or drifting in 6 to 8 feet of water with crawler harnesses and leeches or crawlers. Those using Hot-n-Tots have also taken a few fish. Northern pike were caught but the fish are small. Crappie were hitting on minnows along the west side of the lake in Muddy Bay.
Lake Charlevoix - Anglers were catching perch and bass. Try trolling along the weeds for bass. Shore anglers caught perch off the docks. The water is warming up so it should be a good time for the kids to target rock bass near shore.
Burt Lake near Alanson is producing good amounts of crappie near the north arm despite the chilly temperatures. Crawlers and floating jig heads seem to be working well. Pike and musky are active near the mouth of Crooked Lake. The Michigan Walleye Tour takes place on Burt and Mullet lakes this Saturday and Sunday. For details call 231-929-5590.
Lake Bellaire - Water temperatures were in the low 60’s. Walleye fishing was slow but fish were caught in the evening when trolling near the Grass River outlet, the Intermediate River inlet and between the Narrows and the access site at Eckertly Road. Most are trolling crawler harnesses, jigs, leeches or rapalas in 10 to 30 feet of water. For smallmouth bass, anglers are casting spinners, tube baits, stick baits and grubs in 3 to 12 feet of water along the west side of the lake, near the flats, and along the drop-offs on the north side of the lake. Northern pike were caught near the Intermediate River in 8 to 10 feet of water. Rock bass have also been caught.
Lake Skegemog near Kalkaska is producing bass and pan fish on wax worms, night crawlers, sucker and perch minnows. Elk Rapids Dam has some nice blue gill fishing available. Guernsey Lake has decent trout activity.
Portage Lake - Bass fishing continues to be good throughout the lake, though the recent cold temperatures pushed the fish back out into deeper waters. Largemouth bass were caught around the channel rocks. The panfish are also out deep, try 25 to 35 feet of water. Walleye have been caught at night and lots of northern pike have been caught along the weeds during the day. Try trolling small spoons and crawler harnesses along the drop-offs and near the channel.
Manistee -The better fishing continues to be near the Ledge when using blue or green spoons 50 to 100 feet down.
Ludington - Ludington anglers will find that the blue gill are bedding on Hamlin Lake as well as most inland lakes in the area. Crawlers and worms seem to work well. Off of Ludington, Lake Michigan is producing Kings in 100 feet of water and anglers fishing 50-60 feet down are finding decent results with Blue Dolphin and Wonder Bread spoons. Bass are in good numbers when using spinners or tubes. The Pere Marquette River is producing nice counts of Brown, Brook and Rainbow trout east of Custer.
Brevort Lake near Allenville and north of St. Ignace is producing walleye and anglers are doing well when they can get out. Wind, rain and chilly temperatures limited angling activity this week but the weekend is looking up.
Manistique anglers are dealing with chilly temperatures and rain this week, but when anglers can get out the fishing is good on Indian Lake for decent counts of walleye.
Little Bay De Noc - Water temperatures are still in the mid 50’s, which makes for slower catch rates. A few walleye were taken north of the Narrows but more fish were found near the Second Reef in 20 to 35 feet of water. Those trolling at night with crank baits or crawlers found fish in the shallows between Garth Point and the Center Reef. Perch anglers have been struggling. A few jumbos were caught off Saunders Point when jigging crawlers in 30 feet of water. Sub-legal walleye were also caught. Good smallmouth bass action especially near the mouth of the Ford River and along the shoreline off Gladstone, Garth Point and Strawberry Island. Anglers are casting crank baits, crawlers and tube baits.
Big Bay De Noc - Walleye were caught especially in the north end of the bay when trolling or drifting crawlers in 8 to 20 feet of water. Bass were caught near Ogontz when trolling or drifting crawlers in 6 to 10 feet of water. Smallmouth bass were on the beds in South River Bay and some perch were caught in 8 to 12 feet of water in Garden Bay.
Grand Marais - Whitefish action remains fair. A northwest wind still produces the best results. The better fishing has been in the early morning or just before dark.
Cedarville and Hessel - Northern pike action has been good in shallow waters when casting stick baits along the weed beds. The Moscoe Channel was the hot spot and smaller fish were caught in Cedarville Bay. Pier anglers at Hessel have caught smallmouth bass and northern pike. Look for splake in the deeper waters.