Curly's Photo and Fishing Blog
Summer is Here
Finally summer is here and we have temps in the 90’s. Gills are on the beds and it will be short lived as they will spawn in a hurry and move out as water temps are rising fast. Fish are biting with the warmer weather.
Sturgeon Joe at Otsego Lake is saying the perch and walleye fishing has been fair on Otsego Lake with bass fishing great.
Dave at Four Season Party Store in Houghton Lake says off of Long Point the walleye bite is still super and the weather has been perfect the last few days with leeches working best.
Saginaw Bay - Walleye were caught in 5 to 7 feet of water on the Callahan Reef, 4 feet off Linwood, 10 feet off the Kawkawlin River and 7 to 17 feet in the Slot off Sebewaing and Bay Port. Try the weed beds south of the tower on Sand Point. Good catches of channel cats in 3 to 4 feet of water off Sebewaing. Caseville anglers are taking their boats to Sebewaing or Bay Port.
Mullett Lake - The weather and the fishing have improved. Anglers trolling for walleye have been using a crawler harness with leeches or crawlers, crank baits or Hot-n-Tots. Anglers are taking good catches of perch, pike, bass and even some rainbow trout.
Burt Lake - Walleye have been caught on stick baits and bottom bouncers. Some fish were taken high in the water column and others at 25 feet.
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 - Perch have been caught in 40 feet of water and rock bass can be found in 25 to 40 feet of water.
Houghton Lake - Bluegills are finally on the beds. Anglers are catching walleye, pike and bass in 4 to 8 feet of water near the weed beds and along the drop-offs.
Lake Charlevoix - Perch have been showing up in shallow waters. Walleye anglers did well on cloudy days or at night when trolling minnow baits.
Lake Bellaire - Walleye pressure remains steady with anglers catching fish ranging from 14 to 18 inches. Early morning and evening were best when trolling near the Grass River, drop-offs on the north end of the lake or between the Narrows and Eckertly Road. Try a crawler harness, jig and leech, or rapalas in 10 to 50 feet of water. For bass, try casting spinners, tube baits, stick baits or crawlers in 3 to 31 feet of water along the west side of the lake. Perch were caught in 4 to 15 feet of water in the northwest arm and near the Intermediate River. Rock bass are hitting on crawlers in 3 to 5 feet of water.
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.
Elk River - Smallmouth bass and freshwater drum are hitting on crawlers or leeches.
Boardman River - Bass fishing is starting to heat up with good action in the morning near the mouth and steady action throughout the day just below the Union Street Dam when using leeches, crawlers or plastic baits.
Lake Leelanau - Bluegills are finally on their beds and bass fishing has picked up. Look for pike along the weed beds in shallow waters. Anglers are catching walleye and this is a good time of year to catch rock bass.
Long Lake by Traverse City has been super for walleye this week with leeches working best.
Lake Missaukee - Pan fishing improved and lots of pike have been caught with bass and walleye biting on leeches.
Portage Lake -Has good bass fishing near the sailboats and the channel. Those trolling are picking up a mix of small walleye and pike. Lots of small perch, rock bass and some crappie have been caught in 15 to 22 feet of water. The panfish bite is still slow, but the Mayfly hatch is done so look for catch rates to improve.
Manistee -Boat anglers fishing off the Shelf are still taking trout and salmon. Anglers are fishing the top 60 feet at various depths. A few scum lines were found by those venturing out towards deeper waters. Green and orange spoons were still the top producers. Pier anglers were still picking up the occasional chinook or brown trout when casting spoons.
Ludington - Boats fishing between the Bathhouse and Sable Point have found trout and salmon in 100 to 180 feet of water. Try green or blue spoons with green flies. A few fish were still hanging around the harbor.
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 -Walleye catches were still down in the upper parts of the Bay but getting better south of the Ford River. Those trolling at night near the Second Reef caught fish, but the better fishing was the area around the “Fingers” when trolling crank baits and crawler harnesses in 14 to 38 feet of water. Smallmouth bass were caught near the Ford River, Garth Point and the Terrace Inn. Most were casting crank baits or tube baits in 4 to 8 feet of water..
Big Bay De Noc - Fish are starting to become more active and walleye anglers are catching them from the “Boot” south to Ansell’s Point. They are trolling or drifting crawlers in 14 to 30 feet of water. Good smallmouth action around the Bay when casting crank baits and jigs along the weeds. At Fairport, the better fishing has been in the evening when trolling artificial cut bait about 85 feet down in waters 125 feet deep. They have caught chinook and steelhead..
Grand Marais - Catch rates for whitefish were sporadic with a few caught in the early morning and at night. Lake trout action was good with limit catches reported.
Cedarville and Hessel -Has excellent pike fishing. The water has begun to warm and the pike are hitting on stick baits in 5 to 12 feet of water. Perch and smallmouth bass are hitting in limited numbers. The fish are scattered throughout Cedarville Bay, Moscoe Channel and the east end of Hessel Bay. Herring are in McKay Bay in 10 to 15 feet of water. Anglers are using flies or wax worms.
Good angling taking place all around the Baldwin area. Howes and Big Bass lakes are producing good blue gill numbers on wax worms, wigglers, crickets and Hula Poppers. Big Bass Lake is also giving up good counts of perch on minnows. Anglers are pulling in good numbers of small mouth bass in the 5-6 pound range consistently and Jitterbugs and Hula Poppers are popular. The Pere Marquette, Manistee and Muskegon rivers are providing nice trout action for fly fishing in the early morning and late evening hours.
Near Grayling Big Bear Lake is great for lake trout and thanks to the Hex hatch should be good for the next week or so. The Au Sable and Manistee rivers are both producing nice numbers of trout and the Hex hatch is helping anglers there as well. Frog, Section 1, Bradford and Blue gill lakes are all producing fair amounts of blue gill within the shallow waters. Manistee Lake has some nice crappie fishing taking place and Bear Lake is fair for bass and trout. Anglers on Lake Margrethe are pulling in some nice numbers of blue gill while the walleye activity has slowed because of the Hex hatch.
Next entry: Barred Owl
Previous entry: Summer is Here