Curly's Photo and Fishing Blog
Please Support The Sport Shop Selling Certified Bait.
Houghton Lake- Many Sport Shop have opted to not sell certified bait but negative bait that can be used in inland waters, but the bad part is some bait wholesalers are selling bait caught out of positive water as negative water. So be sure you have clean certified bait and make sure they put the certified lot number on your receipt.
Fishing Report
Lake Margrethe by Grayling is real good for walleye and pike. Walleye are on a great bite with blues and sucker working best.
White Lake has been good for perch and pike the last few days with golden working best for pike.
Otsego Lake by Gaylord reports a good walleye bite also with some perch being caught.
Long Lake by Traverse and Lake Leelanau have iced over and will be ready in a few days for some good walleye fishing.
Higgins Lake is wide open and will be a couple of weeks if things stay cold.
Lake Skegemog by Kalkaska has good ice and they are just starting to get out to the perch grounds, seeing lots of big perch on there cameras but there waiting for blues that just good certified to sell yesterday.
I’m hearing of some good ice around Gladwin, and Harrison. Wiggins Lake there is very good fishing with limit catches of gills and crappie. Muddy Bay on Wiggins lake has started with a few fish being caught.
Black Lake went over and has about three inches of ice and many will be fishing this weekend.
Houghton Lake has a good bite with walleye and pike with some crappie mixed in
Lake Missaukee - Ice fishing is on and anglers are catching panfish off of Green Rd, Most are the size of your hand or 7 to 8 inches but limit catches.
Upper Peninsula:
Along Copper Harbor, anglers on docks are reeling in a few splake. Lake Gogebic is producing fair to good walleye fishing. The best ice is found on the north and south ends of the lake. Most of the walleye being caught are hitting on minnows hooked to the end of a tip-up. By Marquette, the walleye action is good on Teal Lake. Anglers will have to sort through the fish that are caught to find any keepers. The pike fishing is fair on the Greenwood Reservoir.
Around Gladstone, the walleye action is good on the north end of Little Bay de Noc. The marble eyes are hitting on both jigs and tip-ups. Anglers getting out on the Escanaba Harbor are catching a few perch and pike.
Out of the Manistique area, anglers are just starting to get out on Indian Lake to do some perch fishing.
And at Drummond Island and St. Ignace, fishing activity is slow this week due to the lack of safe ice.
Northwest:
Anglers are starting to get out on the ice covering Crooked and Douglas lakes near Alanson. The ice-fishing action is just starting, so reports are limited on how the fishing action is.
The lakes near Boyne City are beginning to freeze over, and by the weekend there should be a few people out on parts of Walloon and Deer lakes.
By Traverse City, anglers dropping a line through the ice on Glen Lake are catching good numbers of perch. Minnows are the preferred bait. A few perch and walleye are being caught on the south end of Long Lake.
In the Frankfort area, the perch fishing is fair on Arcadia Lake. Only foot traffic is able to get out on the lake at this time.
Out of the Kalkaska area, anglers are beginning to chop holes through the ice on Fife, Manistee and Skegemog lakes. The perch action on Skegemog is fair.
Winter-like temperatures are helping to make ice on Bradford and Otsego lakes near Gaylord. By the weekend, anglers should be able to start getting out on parts of those lakes. Access will be limited to foot traffic only.
And at Cadillac, the pike fishing is very good on both lakes Cadillac and Mitchell. Most of the northerns being caught are hitting on tip-ups. Lake Missaukee is producing fair bluegill fishing.
West:
Lincoln Lake near Ludington is producing fair bluegill and pike fishing. The gills are hitting on jigs tipped with a spike or mousy. The northerns are hitting on tip-ups. About 50-percent of Hamlin Lake is covered with ice. Anglers able to get out on the ice that is covering the lake are catching a few bluegill, pike and walleye.
In the Whitehall area, the steelhead fishing is fair along the White River.
By Muskegon, the pike fishing is fair on the east end of Muskegon Lake. Anglers are casting for the northerns from shore or from a boat during the daytime. At night, anglers able to drop a boat in the water are reeling in a few walleye. The upper section of the Muskegon River is producing fair steelhead action.
Chippewa Lake is covered by some solid ice, and the pike action is good on the lake. The panfish and walleye action is fair.
And at Baldwin, anglers are just beginning to venture out on the lakes covered with ice and feedback is too limited to put a report together.
Southwest:
By Holland, much of the ice on the local lakes is unsafe, so fishing activity this week is slow.
In the Benton Harbor area, anglers along the St. Joseph River are reeling in a few steelhead.
Fishing activity this week is slow by New Buffalo.
Due to a lack of safe ice on the lakes around Kalamazoo, fishing activity is slow.
And at Three Rivers, the bluegill fishing is fair on many of the smaller lakes where anglers are able to get out on the ice. Both spikes and mousies are being used as bait.
Northeast:
Out of the Alpena area, anglers are catching a few perch through the ice on Grand Lake. The best area to fish is on the north end of the lake.
On Lake Margrethe by Grayling, anglers need to be very careful because the ice thickness varies on the lake. On the west bay, the walleye action is pretty good. The walleye are hitting on both jigs and tip-ups.
By Oscoda, the perch fishing ranges from fair to good on the backside of Foote Dam Pond. Van Etten Lake is producing fair to good perch, pike and walleye fishing. Anglers on Cedar Lake are catching a few bluegill and perch.
Due to the lack of safe ice, the fishing action is slow on Higgins Lake.
Houghton Lake is producing some good walleye fishing. Anglers are dropping jigs through the ice and evenings are the best time to be out. The pike fishing ranges from fair to good and the panfish action is slow.
And at Au Gres, the perch action is fair on Saginaw Bay near the mouth of the Pine River. Try using a jig tipped with a minnow.
East:
Around Linwood, the ice along the shoreline is pretty good. The perch fishing is fair, anglers will have to sort through the fish that are caught to find any keepers.
Out of the Bay City area, anglers are catching a few perch through the ice near Mud Creek, the Quanicassee River and north of Bay City. Anglers wading out and casting lines into the ??hot pond? are catching a few walleye.
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