Curly's Photo and Fishing Blog
Snow Has Hurt Ice
Snow has hurt the ice north of M-55 as we have lots of slush with a couple of inches of ice.
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.
The snow has hurt the ice with very few going out on the ice in the Gaylord and Grayling area
If you plan on heading out, remember to check the thickness of the ice in front of you with a spud and let someone know where you will be fishing and when you plan on returning.
Upper Peninsula:
The ice-fishing season started around Marquette and on Lake Gogebic prior to all the snow from earlier this week. However, now that the lakes are covered with slush and snow, access for foot traffic on the lakes is limited for anglers.
Anglers on Little Bay de Noc, north of Gladstone, are starting to get out on the bay. Being that people started fishing through the ice on the bay just a couple of days ago, there are no accurate reports on how the perch, pike or walleye fishing is going.
All the snow that the eastern half of the Upper Peninsula received earlier in the week has put a stop to the ice-fishing action that had started in the Manistique, St. Ignace and Sault Ste. Marie areas.
Northwest:
With no safe ice, fishing activity this week is slow in the Alanson and Boyne City areas.
Around Traverse City, the steelhead fishing is fair along the Boardman River. In the Frankfort area, anglers venturing out along the Betsie and Platte rivers are catching a few steelhead.
By Kalkaska, very few people have been out. However, anglers by the Elk Rapids Dam are catching an occasional steelhead.
Out of the Gaylord area, the steelhead fishing ranges from slow to fair on sections of the Boyne and Jordan rivers.
And at Cadillac, fishing activity is slow due to the lack of safe ice on lakes Cadillac and Mitchell.
West:
Out of the Ludington area, anglers surfcasting along the Lake Michigan shoreline near the mouth of the Pere Marquette River are reeling in a few steelhead. The steelhead fishing is fair on the river. Anglers on the piers along Lake Michigan are catching a few whitefish.
By Muskegon, Muskegon Lake is producing fair perch and walleye fishing, when the weather allows anglers to get out. The perch are hitting on spikes and minnows, the best time to be out for the walleye is at night. Anglers are catching a few walleye along the Muskegon Channel. On the Muskegon River, the steelhead fishing is fair. In Baldwin, fishing activity is slow this week on Chippewa Lake due to unsafe ice.
Northeast:
Due to a lack of safe ice, fishing activity this week near Alpena and Grayling is slow.
The Au Sable River is producing fair steelhead and whitefish action for anglers near Oscoda. A few perch are being caught by anglers on Cooke Dam Pond and Van Etten Lake.
Some ice is starting to form on both Higgins and Houghton lakes, but there is nothing that is safe enough to get out on and do any fishing.
And at Au Gres, the cuts and marinas along Saginaw Bay are producing fair bluegill, crappie and perch fishing.
East:
Around Linwood, anglers are starting to catch a few perch on the cuts and marinas along Saginaw Bay.
By Bay City and Bay Port, some skim ice is starting to form on Saginaw Bay, nothing that is safe enough to get out on and that is keeping fishing activity slow this week.
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