Curly's Photo and Fishing Blog
Were thinking of Ice Fishing
We had a dusting of snow wednesday and a few small ponds were froze today. Deer are starting to get into the rut, with more success reported this week for the bowhunter.
Windy and wet weather over the last week did keep most anglers on shore. The salmon runs are pretty much done with the remaining fish very dark in color. The rivers have started to fill up with steelhead and whitefish are being caught in Lake Huron and the northern waters of Lake Michigan. The inland lakes are producing some good catches of pike, walleye, perch and big bluegills.
AAA FIshing Report
Upper Peninsula:
Itâ??s cold in the Manistique area, and since the salmon season is over, very limited angling activity is taking place. Most anglers are just waiting for first signs of ice.
Munuscong Lake and Raber Bay are giving up fair to good catches of walleye, perch and pike. Anglers are using live bait with good results. The cold weather is helping the bite.
Sault Ste. Marie anglers seem to be in a transition mode and the angling activity is very slow.
Drummond Island anglers are only finding a few perch this week between Maxton and Scott bays using minnows. Overall angling is sluggish due to weather conditions.
Windy conditions have slowed fishing opportunities off of the St. Ignace area. A few perch are hitting on Brevort Lake near Cedarville. Anglers are using minnows for best results. Salmon run is over.
Lake Gogebic has fair to good walleye fishing when using sucker minnows in 8-10 feet of water. Perch action is fair and most anglers are using a jig head with a sucker minnow for decent results.
Off of Marquette, Lake Superior is a slow go for anglers fishing for whitefish, salmon and lake trout. As the weather conditions improve angling opportunities should get better.
Escanaba has some good walleye fishing taking place on Big and Little Bay De Noc during the daytime hours, night crawlers are doing the trick. A few perch are hitting on minnows. The Ford and Rapid Rivers are still giving up a few Kings on spawn, but the season is coming to an end quickly.
Northwest:
Around Alanson, the perch action is good on Burt and Mullett lakes using walleye minnows. Crooked and Pickerel lakes are giving up a few perch.
Traverse City angling is slow this week.
Near Boyne City, perch action is good on minnows on Walloon Lake and Lake Charlevoix. King salmon activity is fair to good on the Boyne and Jordan Rivers, spawn works best. Good walleye action using Rapalas taking place on Lake Charlevoix.
Throughout the Frankfort area, all inland lakes are doing well on pan fish. Small streams are giving up fair to good numbers of steelhead and rainbow trout. The mouth of the Platte River is producing fair to good quantities of Coho on spawn and Cleoâ??s.
In Manistee, the Big Manistee River is producing good counts of steelhead on spawn. Anglers fishing off of the beach and piers are also doing well for steelhead.
Near Kalkaska, walleye action is good on the Manistee Lake using minnows. Steelhead are hitting in good numbers on the Manistee River when anglers use spawn.
In the Gaylord area, a few King Salmon are still biting on spawn and Cleoâ??s on the Boyne, Black and Au Sable rivers. Inland lakes are slow for trout and fair for bass and pike. Rapalas and crank baits are working best. Big Bear Lake is producing good numbers of perch on minnows.
Around Cadillac, activity is really slow overall with the exception of good steelhead action on the Manistee River. Spawn is working well.
Off of Ludington, Lake Michigan is producing good catches of steelhead on spawn near the break wall. Other than that, not much activity taking place.
No angling activity taking place around Chippewa Lake due to cold and windy conditions.
In the Baldwin area, Kings are hitting on streamers in fair to good numbers on the Pere Marquette River. Salmon went back out to the lake, but steelhead are doing well in the lower section off the pier and fair in the river. Steelhead activity is improving daily and should be great by next week. Egg patterns, tiny combination nymph patterns and number 16 hooks are working well. The water is clear and low. Most inland lakes around the area are producing fair quantities of blue gill on leaf worms. Thanks to cool temperatures blue gill fishing is very good on Big Bass Lake and Putnam Lake. Big Bass Lake is also giving up some fair catches of perch, however small in size.
Grand Rapids anglers are finding great steelhead action on the Grand River. Fishing near the 6th Street Dam is best when using spawn.
Off of Muskegon, Lake Michigan is providing fair to good catches of steelhead and salmon when anglers fish in 80-feet of water with best results taking place in the top 40. Perch action is good on Lake Michigan using minnows and wax worms in 40-feet of water. Muskegon Lake is producing good catches of pike on Rapalas and Husky Jerks, and the walleye activity is good at night using stick baits. White Lake is also good for walleye at night on stick baits. The Muskegon River is rated fair to good for steelhead hitting on spawn.
Northeast:
Around the Oscoda area, good catches of salmon and steelhead continue just below the Foote and Cooke Dams. Spawn is working well. Van Etten Lake is giving up nice perch numbers on minnows. And the mouth of the Au Sable River is good for walleye fishing.
Angling activity in the Grayling area is slow due to adverse weather conditions.
Higgins Lake anglers canâ??t get out on the water due to adverse weather causing three and four foot waves.
The Au Gres River is giving up a few perch on minnows and the East Tawas Dock is producing a few whitefish.
Cheboygan area anglers seem to be on hold, angling is in a transition mode.
Next entry: Bosque Beckons
Previous entry: Not Much Fishing