Curly's Photo and Fishing Blog
Great Ice
We have great ice on most the shallow lakes with many deeper lakes freezing also.
Lake Margrethe has good ice and fishing has picked up this week with pike and walleye.
Houghton Lake - Recent rain melted the snow and ice is forming. Anglers are fishing for walleye off the north shore and in the East Bay. Bluegills and pike are being caught in the weed beds off the south shore.
Saginaw Bay - Ice fishing for perch off Palmer Road near Standish was good but did slow last weekend. Heavy rain and strong winds may have compromised ice conditions around the Bay, so anglers are advised to proceed with great caution. Test the ice before you go. Anglers continue to fish in marina basins at Linwood, Sebewaing, and Caseville; sometimes on the ice and sometimes through the ice while sitting on docks.
Crooked Lake - Was starting to ice over and may support angler traffic by the weekend. Try walleye fishing in the shallow waters only off the north shoreline.
Traverse City - Both the East Bay and the West Bay have open water.
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 - Arctic weather conditions have limited fishing. A few more anglers have ventured out on lake however caution needs to be used. It would be wise to stay in the shallow waters until the lake has more time to produce good ice.
Lake Cadillac - Has ice but not too many anglers are venturing out yet. Those that do will want to be safe and stay in the shallow waters. Rain melted the snow, and that should help the freezing process.
Lake Mitchell - Has ice; however anglers should avoid the deep areas. Fish the weedbeds in the coves for pike and bluegills.
Upper Peninsula:
It is slow overall for anglers attempting to fish Indian Lake. Temperatures hovering around three degrees has anglers staying off the lakes. By the weekend ice fishing should really get underway.
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 has an average of 5-7 inches of ice on the north end and anglers are pulling in a few good sized walleye on minnows. One angler this morning caught an 11-pound walleye.
North Manistique Lake - Ice shanties have started to pop up as anglers are catching some walleye.
South Manistique Lake - Anglers are catching the bigger walleye here. Fish measuring 25 to 29 inches have been caught on tip-ups with minnows. Find the edge of the weedbeds in 5 to 15 feet of water.
Northwest:
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.
Traverse City anglers are still awaiting some safe ice at this point. The temperatures have fluctuated too much and ice should not be considered safe at this point.
Rain has caused limited angling around the Frankfort area and has affected the ice as well. Be very careful stepping on to any lake. The Betsie River is poor for steelhead due to adverse weather this week.
Skegemog Lake near Kalkaska still has questionable ice. Some anglers are attempting to go out, but the ice should be treated as unsafe due to fluctuating temperatures this week. A few anglers reeled in some walleye on minnows.
Near the Gaylord area, the Jordan and Au Sable Rivers are slow this week with only a few steelhead being caught with flies.
In the Cadillac area, the ice varies tremendously on both lakes Cadillac and Mitchell depending on the location you plan to fish. Ice is in layers and some sections are 8-9 inches thick and in other spots the ice can be very thin with averaging 2-3 inches. Plenty of pike, limits of crappie but the walleye and perch activity is far and few and not too many blue gill are biting.
Hamlin Lake near Ludington is giving up a few blue gill for anglers fishing near the shoreline edge. The ice continues to thicken, and by next week should be ready for ice fishing.
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.
No angling action taking place on Chippewa Lake just yet due to very thin ice. Anglers are getting out on Haymarsh Lake State Game area and pulling in some nice blue gill and perch.
Around the Baldwin area, the ice is still not safe just yet, but the snow is gone and the lakes are freezing up nicely.
Near the Grand Rapids area, angling action is pretty much at a minimum this week, thanks to adverse weather and changing ice conditions. Some anglers are getting on the very small lakes, but overall anglers are waiting for safe ice. Some of the rivers are still giving up a few steelhead on spawn.
Northeast:
Anglers will find good ice overall, but activity is very minimal.
Foote Dam Pond near Oscoda is giving up a few pike and walleye. Anglers are using tip-ups.
Houghton Lake has good ice registering up to 10-inches in sections. A few walleye can be pulled in near the north shore and east bay, while pike and pan fish are more active near the south shore.
Higgins Lake the south-end is froze with some venturing out this weekend.
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