Curly's Photo and Fishing Blog
Fishing is Slow in Most Places
It seems that most places are reporting a slow fish bite on lakes that have had ice since December. Along Lake Michigan it seems perch are running up the rivers to the first lake and they are being caught in places like Manistee, Portage Lake, Betsie Bay, White Lake, Muskegon Lake and Pm Lake.
Lake St. Helen - Still has good ice. Look for pike and walleye in the First Lake. Look for bluegill in the south end of the Third Lake.
Wixom Lake has a great crappie bite
It seems Saginaw Bay is the place for walleye - Those fishing off Pine River and Palmer Roads reported good walleye action with some limits taken when going out 2 to 5 miles and fishing in 10 to 20 feet of water. Walleye fishing was good from Erickson Road and Linwood south to Bay City in 14 to 21 feet of water. Evenings were best. From Thomas Road, anglers are going all the way to the shipping channel and doing well in 24 feet of water. Some walleye were taken at night in 8 feet of water off Vanderbilt Park. Nice perch were caught near Spoils Island on the right day. The marina at Sebewaing was giving up small perch, but some bigger ones were caught at Geiger Road and Mud Creek. The fish were good size but not in large numbers. A few perch were caught in the harbor at Caseville.
Higgins Lake has great ice, perch fishing and lake trout are biting, but smelt still slow with 50 a night a good night. Most are off Big Creek for Smelt but no great reports yet. Perch are running small so lots of sorting this week but I have heard of some jumbos also out of shallow water around the weeds.. Call Phoenix Park Party Store 989-821-7220 or Higgins Lake Sport 989-821-9517 for the West side. Sport Barn 989-821-9511 for the south-end of Higgins Lake .
Green Lake is slow for smelt
Crystal Lake has a good perch and still a great smelt bite this week off of Lobb Rd.
Frankfort has a good perch bite on Betsie Bay along with some nice pike being caught.
Portage Lake by Manistee report a great perch bite still with minnows working best. Also the walleye have started to bite with some nice hogs being caught. Also Manistee Lake reports a good perch bite as they got a perch run from Lake Michigan.
Anglers heading out onto Houghton Lake ,many are going off off Lymanville where the pike action has been fair. The best areas to try and catch walleye are along the north shore, on the east bay or by the middle grounds. Walleye fishing is still very good with very few panfish being caught.
Little Bay De Noc - Ice conditions remain good and travel on the ice has improved with the snow settling. With the close of walleye season, anglers have switched over to whitefish. Fair to good catch rates were reported just off Sand Point when jigging spawn, wigglers and minnows in 63 feet of water. Those fishing off the Terrace Bay Inn were also catching fish in waters 40 feet deep or more. A few nice perch were caught off Saunders Point when jigging wigglers in 30 feet of water..
Muskegon Lake - Perch have been caught on the west end of the lake.
White Lake by Montague has a great perch bite, call Johnson’s Outdoors for the latest bite. 231-893-6688
Otsego Lake by Gaylord reports slow going this week but bigger perch being caught also a few walleyes. They have the sturgeon shanties back out and are seeing a few with a 42 incher caught and released as they have to be 50 inches.The ice is holding up on Burt, Crooked and Pickerel lakes near Alanson, where the perch, pike and walleye action is good.
Burt Lake - For walleye, try the weedbeds in 20 to 30 feet of water in Maple Bay. Some nice perch were caught on the north end of the lake. Perch bite is giid off of Maple Bay with wigglers working good.
By Alpena, fishing fair on Grand and Long lakes. Anglers using minnows as bait are catching good numbers of perch and walleye. Fletcher’s Floodwaters - Is producing good numbers of pike up to 10 pounds. As for panfish, mostly bluegills and pumpkinseed sunfish were hitting in the upper end of the reservoir. They ranged from 5 to 8 inches., and they have a contest this weekend.
Out of the Boyne City area, the perch, pike and walleye action on Walloon Lake is fair to good. Anglers on Deer Lake are catching a few bluegill. Both waxworms and wigglers are being used as bait. Thumb Lake is producing fair splake fishing.
Long Lake by Traverse and Lake Leelanau have slow reports of walleye this week.
In the Kalkaska area, the perch fishing is good on Lake Skegemog. Crappie and walleye fishing is slow on Manistee Lake. Anglers on Fife Lake are pulling a few perch and walleye through the ice.
Gladwin Counties has good ice with good reports of panfish and pike biting
Lake Missaukee - Still has a good gill bite.
Upper Hamlin Lake - Is a good place for bluegills and crappie.
Lower Hamlin Lake - Walleye were caught in 20 to 30 feet of water when jigging minnows.
Big Glen Lake - Perch fishing has been good but don’t forget about the lake trout and rainbow trout. Some are catching bigger perch on tipups using greys and blues.
Pere Marquette Lake - Perch are hitting on minnows and wigglers. A few pike were taken on tip-ups.
FISHING REPORT
Upper Peninsula:
Activity in Copper Harbor is slow this week due to very cold temperatures. The ice remains very good.
In the Escanaba area Little Bay De Noc has been quiet this week since the walleye season is closed in the U.P. Some whitefish are being caught in Escanaba harbor. Anglers are averaging two to five per trip and using minnows and salmon eggs for best results. Perch activity is also limited this week on Escanaba harbor with the best location near Kipling. Wigglers and small minnows are working well. The ice is solid and clear this week.
Fishing is slow to non-existent this week in the Manistique area mainly due to the heavy snow out on the ice making it difficult for anglers to get around.
Fair activity taking place on Munuscong Bay, anglers are catching decent amounts of perch on minnows.
Cedarville Lake, anglers are using wigglers to pick up some fair perch.
In the St. Ignace area fishing is extremely slow. The ice is still over a foot thick and minimal snow cover.
Northwest:
Boyne City anglers are finding very limited catches of walleye this week and it is slow for perch as well. The ice remains solid but the frigid temperatures this week are the main cause for angler’s inactivity.
In the Frankfort area, fair fishing taking place for trout, perch, smelt and whitefish. Best baits include minnows, wigglers, wax worms and jigs. The best location this week is near the southwest side of Crystal Lake and fishing in 80 to 100 feet of water.
Around the Kalkaska area, Lake Skegemog is producing good quantities of perch on minnows and small blues. Twin Lake is giving up smelt when using Haley jigs with wax worms. Torch Lake is producing decent amounts of whitefish and lakers on spawn, grays and glow sticks.
West:
Around the Muskegon area, the fishing is good. Anglers are taking limits on perch however plenty of sorting is required. Several baits are working well that include mousies, wigglers and wax worms. Perch seem to be very active near the west end of the lake, around the sand docks and the yacht club. Steelhead are becoming active and heading up the river. Anglers tell AAA that they believe it will be a good steelhead season. Pike continue to be active on the east half of the lake near 2nd Street. Anglers are finding good results with golden shiners.
In the Ludington area, the ice remains a solid one foot thick. Steelhead are starting to move in the Pere Marquette River, however other types of fishing is slow. On Pentwater Lake decent catches of perch and northerns on wigglers and minnows are doing well. Hamlin Lake the angling activity has been slow but starting to pick up on blue gill and crappie.
Near the Baldwin area, pan fish and blue gill continue to be fair on most of the local inland lakes. Steelhead are beginning to move up river.
Southwest:
In the Three Rivers area rain has pretty much put a halt on angling action this week. The ice remains safe, but has at least two inches of water covering it.
Kalamazoo anglers will find some decent blue gill and perch fishing taking place on Gourd neck, Gunn, Gull, Norris and Cedar lakes.
Around the New Buffalo area the fishing has been almost non-existent this week due to rain and fluctuating temperatures.
Northeast:
Around the Oscoda area, the ice fishing is still good on Van Etten Lake for perch. Wax worms, wigglers and minnows are working well. Steelhead are starting to pick up. Cooke and Foote Dam ponds are producing good amounts of perch when using wigglers or wax worms. A few walleye have been caught in Tawas Bay this week.
Near the Houghton Lake area fishing overall is slow to fair. The ice is still solid and safe. Manistee Lake is producing decent crappie and blue gill.
Higgins Lake is giving up fair amounts of perch and smelt.
Angling activity on Lake Margrethe is slow to fair for walleye and perch. Best location for the perch is the south end of the lake.
Otsego Lake is producing fair quantities of perch.
East:
In and around the Linwood area, anglers are finding good activity with walleye on the Bay when using jigs, spoons or minnows. Good action from Erickson Road all the way to Bay State Park and fishing in waters 12-18 feet deep. Perch action is decent on the Saginaw River this week.
In Bay City, some small fish varieties are being reeled in using a mixed bag of bait including Rapalas, do-jiggers, and cleos. The better fishing is for walleye in the Saginaw River and Saginaw Bay. The top locations again this week are nine to 10 miles off of Thomas Road, near Callahan Reef in 14 feet of water, and three to eight miles off of the State Park.
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