Curly's Photo and Fishing Blog
We Are Still Ice Fishing
The ice has survived but the deeper lakes that just froze over lost and are wide open.
Lake Margrethe by Grayling is still good for walleye and pike. Walleye are on a great bite with blues and sucker working best. Lots of fisherman heading out. Call Skips Sport for more info @ 989-348-7111. They are saying 4 to 7 inches of ice today
Little Bay De Noc - Ice conditions were still favorable in the northern parts of the Bay only. Several very large ice breaks have formed pushing walls of ice up so be on the lookout. South of the Escanaba River, the shipping channel is open so conditions are dangerous. Warm weather this week could cause some problems, so extreme caution needs to be used. Walleye anglers were taking fish near Kipling when jigging minnows with glows just off the bottom in 30 to 40 feet of water. The better catches were reported near Gladstone out near the break when fishing 6 to 10 feet off the bottom in 28 to 40 feet of water. Perch anglers had mixed results with most reporting very good numbers of small fish. Try jigging wax worms in 28 to 36 feet of water near Kipling and the Narrows. Those spearing northern pike have taken several nice fish in the Escanaba Yacht Harbor when using 8 inch suckers in 6 feet of water.
Otsego Lake by Gaylord reports a good walleye bite also with some perch being caught. They took the shanties off of Otsego Lake so no Sturgeon Fishing. The ice is holding up on Burt, Crooked and Pickerel Lakes near Alanson, where the perch, pike and walleye action is good.
By Alpena, the ice held up through the warm spell earlier in the week on Grand and Long Lakes. Anglers using minnows as bait are catching good numbers of perch and walleye. Anglers on Fletcher Pond are catching a few crappie and pike.
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.
Around Manistique, Indian Lake was covered with water earlier in the week due to all the melting snow. The anglers who are wandering out on the lake are catching a few perch.
Green Lake the ice went out with just some shore ice.
Ice conditions in much of the Lower Peninsula have deteriorated but anglers in the Upper Peninsula are ice fishing. Warm temperatures have increased the steelhead action in many of the rivers however anglers will need to use caution because of the high water levels.
Long Lake by Traverse and Lake Leelanau have good reports of walleye this week ice is ok once you get past shore
Higgins Lake ice went out.
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. We still have safe ice but be careful .
I’m hearing most are staying off the ice around Gladwin, and Harrison. Wiggins Lake ,Sugar spring is good for pike and bluegill, also Secord Lake reports a good crappie and pike bite. but be careful of changing ice conditions.
Burt Lake near Alanson is producing fair to good perch fishing. Minnows are working well as bait in water about 40 feet deep. Perch and walleye fishing is good on Crooked Lake in water about 20 feet deep.
Houghton Lake has a good bite with walleye off of Flint Rd. Lymanville has good ice around his shanty, pike have been biting very good
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. Ice is still good
Hamlin Lake near Ludington very slow with nobody going out after the rains
Spider Lake - Anglers are ice fishing for panfish.
Fife Lake - Has anglers ice fishing for walleye off the launch site on the North end of the lake. Try tip-ups for pike along the East shoreline, This is a lake to keep your eye could get real hot when they can get to the island. Ice is ok
The ice is holding up on Burt, Crooked and Pickerel Lakes near Alanson, where the perch, pike and walleye action is good.
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.
Little Glen Lake - Slow this week, but a great perch bite on Loon Lake the last two weeks, but it seems to be winding down this week. The ice on Loon Lake is bad with Little Glen ice is OK
Upper Peninsula:
Out of the Copper Harbor area, anglers casting lines into the harbor from shore or docks are reeling in a few splake.
Lake Gogebic is producing good perch and walleye fishing. The perch are hitting on wigglers near the ??mud flats? in water up to 25 feet deep. The walleye are hitting on both jigs and tip-ups in water up to 12 feet deep.
By Negaunee on Teal Lake, the perch and walleye action ranges from slow to fair. The perch, pike and walleye action on Lake Independence is spotty, at best.
In the Gladstone area, the walleye fishing is fair on Little Bay de Noc. The perch action ranges from slow to fair. Anglers on Escanaba Harbor are catching an occasional perch, pike or walleye.
Around Manistique, Indian Lake was covered with water earlier in the week due to all the melting snow. The anglers who are wandering out on the lake are catching a few perch.
The warmer weather really cooled off the fishing activity near Sault Ste. Marie.
On Munuscong Bay, the perch and walleye fishing is fair. The ice that is left is shaky, so remember to check the thickness of the ice around you.
Anglers around Drummond Island are catching an occasional perch or pike.
And at Cedarville, the perch and walleye action ranges from slow to fair. Anglers need to be very careful on the ice that remains on the bays around Cedarville.
Northwest:
The ice is holding up on Burt, Crooked and Pickerel lakes near Alanson, where the perch, pike and walleye action is good.
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.
Around Traverse City, the warm weather from earlier in the week is forcing anglers to stay off the local lakes. Along the Boardman River the steelhead fishing is fair.
By Frankfort, the steelhead fishing is fair on the Betsie River. Anglers fishing from boats on Crystal Lake are reeling in a few perch. Early mornings are the best time to be out.
In the Kalkaska area, the perch and pike fishing is fair on Lake Skegemog.
Anglers need to be very careful on the ice that remains on Otsego Lake by Gaylord. The walleye fishing on the lake is fair.
And at Cadillac, the crappie and pike fishing is good on both lakes Cadillac and Mitchell. The best time to be out for the crappie seems to be between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. The bluegill, perch and rock bass fishing on the lake is fair. Just a word of advice for anglers going out on the ice, be sure to wear creepers. All the warm weather from earlier in the week left the lakes very slippery.
West:
By Ludington, the bluegill and walleye fishing is fair on the upper end of Hamlin Lake. Anglers along the Pere Marquette River are reeling in a few steelhead.
The White River near Whitehall is producing fair steelhead fishing.
Around Muskegon, the warm weather earlier in the week coaxed a few anglers to dump their boats into Muskegon Lake, where the pike and walleye fishing is fair. The northerns are hitting during the day, the walleye at night. The ice is very shaky on Snug Harbor on Muskegon Lake, but the anglers who do venture out on the ice are catching a few bluegill. The steelhead action on the upper end of the Muskegon River is fair.
Anglers on Chippewa Lake are spearing a few pike through the ice.
And at Baldwin, due to the poor ice conditions created by the warm weather earlier in the week, fishing activity this week is slow.
Southwest:
Due to the poor ice conditions created by the warm weather earlier in the week fishing activity this week in the Holland and Benton Harbor areas is slow.
Around New Buffalo, anglers along the Galien River are reeling in a few steelhead.
By Kalamazoo, ice-fishing activity is on hold due to the poor ice conditions. However, anglers along the St. Joseph River, below the Berrien Springs Dam are catching a few steelhead. Same story on the Kalamazoo River near the Allegan Dam.
And at Three Rivers, due to the poor ice conditions fishing activity this week is slow.
Northeast:
By Alpena, the ice held up through the warm spell earlier in the week on Grand and Long lakes. Anglers using minnows as bait are catching good numbers of perch and walleye. Anglers on Fletcher Pond are catching a few crappie and pike.
Out of the Grayling area, anglers on Lake Margrethe are catching a few perch, pike and walleye. The walleye are hitting on various jigs or tip-ups. The northerns are being caught with tip-ups or spears. Anglers will have to sort through the perch that are caught to find any worth keeping.
Van Etten Lake near Oscoda is producing some very good perch and pike fishing. Anglers on Cooke Dam and Foote Dam ponds are catching a few bluegill, perch, pike and walleye. The steelhead and walleye action on the Au Sable River is fair. With no safe ice, fishing activity this week on Higgins Lake is slow.
Houghton Lake does have some ice safe enough to walk on, and the anglers heading out are catching good numbers of pike and walleye. The bluegill fishing on the lake is also improving.
And at Au Gres, the perch action ranges from slow to fair on Saginaw Bay. There is very little ice on Saginaw Bay that is safe enough to fish on.
East:
Most of the shore ice along Saginaw Bay near Linwood disappeared earlier this week, and that has left fishing activity in the area slow.
Due to the poor ice conditions, fishing activity this week is also slow in the Bay City and Bay Port areas.
Lexington Harbor is covered by a thin layer of ice. Anglers venturing out on the ice are catching an occasional brown trout, perch or steelhead. Anglers need to be very careful on the ice, especially near the docks where bubblers are being used.
And at Port Huron, there are only a couple of people fishing from boats on the St. Clair River, those anglers are catching a few steelhead and an occasional walleye. Anglers casting a line in the river from shore are reeling in a few steelhead by the mouth of the Black River. The 40th Street Pond is producing fair panfish and pike fishing.
Central:
Anglers on Stevenson Lake near Mount Pleasant are catching a few bluegill. The pike action is fair on Deerfield Lake. The warm weather from earlier in the week has created some shaky ice conditions on the local lakes.
Out of the Lansing area, anglers are casting lines into the open water of the Grand River hoping to reel in a few catfish or walleye. The best fishing is found below the major dams on the river. The warm weather earlier in the week melted away most of the ice on the local lakes and put all ice-fishing plans on hold.
And at Jackson, the poor ice conditions created by the warm spell earlier in the week has melted away any hopes anglers had of getting out on the local lakes.
Southeast:
Around Fair Haven, now that all the ice has melted away, fishing activity is at a standstill.
Along the western shoreline of Lake St. Clair, fishing activity is limited. A few people are fishing off docks or along canals.
On the south end of the Detroit River, the perch action is fair from shore or off docks. The Huron River near Rockwood is producing fair steelhead fishing.
And at Monroe and Belleville, due to the poor ice conditions created by the warm weather earlier in the week fishing activity this week is slow.
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