Curly's Photo and Fishing Blog
Fishing Should be Good this Weekend
Many lakes in northern Michigan still have ice but hope it will be gone by this weekend
Crappie are running south of M-55 as most have open water. Also report a few suckers are running the rivers with crawlers and worms.
It looks like spring fishing has finally begun, at least in the Lower Peninsula. Some waters around the state are muddy due to recent rains and strong winds. Warm weather by the end of the week should make for some good fishing.
Houghton Lake is open and the crappie fishing has been great in the canals this week.
Sanford Lake and Wixom Lake has been good for crappie and gills.
Steelhead fishing is picking up , but most my good reports have been on the little and big Manistee River for steelhead. Hearing some fish are in the Two Heart River this week.
Traverse City - A few boats are making it out on the West Bay and searching for steelhead and perch. Most of the launches still have some ice. The East Bay is ice free so boat anglers are out looking for steelhead, whitefish, and brown trout. Also reports Suttons Bay is open and has a good perch bite with wigglers and minnows working best. Perch fishing has been gresat on both bays this week with wigglers working best.
Cadillac the crappie have started to bite with limit catches over the weekend.
White Lake - There are still a lot of perch being caught in front of the old Post Office, where the lake meets the channel, and off the northwest point nearest the channel.
AAA Fishing Report
Upper Peninsula:
Lake Gogebic still has good ice however temperatures are on the rise in the area. Anglers are doing well for perch on wigglers. Some of the inland lakes around Bergland are giving up crappie and blue gill.
Marquette anglers are finding that the river systems off of Lake Superior are not really producing any fish just yet due to the cold water, still a chilly 36 degrees. However, anglers trolling in 25-feet of water on Lake Superior are pulling in some decent Coho with hard baits.
Angling is slow overall in the Escanaba area. No action on the Bay yet and there is open water south of Gladstone. The Big Cedar River is giving up some brown trout and splake. Anglers are doing well trolling with Rapalas and Storms in 8-15 feet of water along the shore.
Indian Lake has one large chunk of ice still floating but that isnâ??t stopping anglers in small boats from going out to it and fishing for perch.
The Manistique River has all the gates open and fishable. Anglers are drifting with spawn for steelhead action. Smelt dipping is starting to pick up and 3 a.m. seems to be the best timeframe at this point.
Off of Sault Ste. Marie the Bayâ??s still have ice on them and perch action is hit or miss. A few anglers are attempting to put boats in, but overall angling seems to be in a transition period.
Anglers are still ice fishing in the Munuscong area. Good perch action on Munuscong Lake using minnows and teardrops. So far no smelt dipping taking place in the area.
Around Drummond Island, Whitney Bay still has ice fishing taking place and anglers are reeling in some perch. The ice is starting to show signs of deterioration.
Off of Cedarville perch are hitting on teardrops with a wiggler.
Around St. Ignace the ice is deteriorating particularly around the shoreline, out in the middle the ice is good but getting to it can be rough. Overall, activity is very limited at this point.
Northwest:
Alanson anglers are finding fair to good action for steelhead off the break wall in Petoskey. The Pigeon River is good for sucker fishing with night crawlers. Crooked and Pickerel lakes both have open water and Burt Lake is partially open.
Around the Traverse City area, Suttons Bay is giving up perch and cisco off of the deep water points. Overall the bite is fair to good with wigglers. The Betsie River is giving up nice counts of steelhead, while the Boardman is currently slow. Crystal and Big Glen lakes are producing a few perch.
Action is picking up around Frankfort where steelhead are starting to really move. Anglers are Finesse fishing and yarn balls, spawn and night crawlers are also working well. The Platte River is slow with a few steelhead on the move and suckers are hitting on anything.
Around Kalkaska, Skegemog Lake has some fair to good activity for perch on wigglers and minnows. Steelhead activity is rated fair to good for Elk Rapids Dam and the Boardman River when using jigs with wax worms.
Gaylord anglers finding decent action for steelhead using spawn on the Boyne, Jordan and Sturgeon rivers. Plenty of catch and release fishing is taking place on the Black, Au Sable and Manistee rivers.
In the Cadillac area, fair to good crappie fishing is taking place off of the causeway and city docks using minnows.
West:
Off of the Ludington pier and the Pere Marquette River the steelhead and brown trout are on the move and anglers are getting good results with spawn. Suckers are also active on worms. Pan fish are moving into the shallow waters of Hamlin Lake and activity is picking up. Perch are hitting on wigglers and minnows on the Pere Marquette Lake, Pentwater Lake and White Lake.
Anglers are finding good action in and near the Baldwin area, much improved over last week. The Manistee River up to the Tippy Dam has very good steelhead activity. Small stone flies, Hex and Nuke egg patterns are working well. The Pere Marquette River is low and crystal clear and giving up steelhead in the early morning hours and before dark. Day fishing isnâ??t so great the fish seemed to be spooked due to the low water. Browns are found in the deeper holes behind the steelhead and spawn type patterns seem to be working well. Wolf Lake has a few bass to be had. Big Bass Lake is giving up a few perch on wigglers and wax worms.
Anglers in Muskegon are anxious to see the cold, wet and windy conditions leave the area. Lake Michigan is producing plenty of steelhead for some great fishing off the break wall using spawn bags. An occasional brown trout is mixed in. The west end of Muskegon Lake is the best spot for some perch action. Anglers are getting up to two dozen fish per boat, but sorting is also necessary. A variety of baits seem to be working that include; spikes, mousies, wigglers, minnows, cut bait and eyeballs. Fishing in 42-29 feet of water in the front channel to the yacht club is a good location.
Chippewa Lake anglers again this week are doing very well for specks throughout the channels. Minnows are working well. Bigger fish are starting to move in.
All around the Grand Rapids area the inland lakes are picking up for crappie and blue gill. The Grand River near the Sixth Street Dam has great steelhead action as well as the smaller rivers in the area. Near Ionia, Morrison Lake is producing decent perch and near Whitehall, White Lake is also giving up decent perch opportunities. Off of Lake Michigan anglers are doing well fishing from piers for walleye using Rapala Husky Jerks and Countdown Rapalas.
Northeast:
Alpena angling is fair to good for steelhead near the Ninth Street Dam and Thunder Bay River. Fair action for walleye during the evening hours is taking place off of the break wall using Rapalas.
Around Oscoda more fish are moving into the Foote Dam Pond since all the ice is gone. The Au Sable River is fair to good for steelhead activity with spawn, wax worms, wigglers and flies working well.
Lake Margrethe near Grayling is overall slow for perch activity using minnows, but the pan fish are starting to come into the shallows. Most rivers and streams are starting to pick up for steelhead action on spawn and flies.
Houghton Lake is back in action with some decent crappie and blue gill fishing. The canals are the best locations and using minnows and wax worms.
Still no angling activity for Higgins Lake, the ice is still floating around.
Action is good around Au Gres for walleye off the break wall and near the mouth of the Au Gres. Boating activity is picking up as well. Good results taking place with Rapala Deep Downs, Rapala Floaters in size 13 and 18, Rapala Husky Jerks in size 12 and 14 and bombers. Steelhead action is good at the Singing Bridge and East Branch of the Au Gres River. Spawn, small Cleoâ??s and small Rapalas in size 7 and 9 seem to work fairly well. The Rifle River has some good sucker fishing with crawlers, yarn and sponge doing the job.
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