Muskie out of Lake Margrethe
Northwestern Michigan
Leroy- Reports are guys are getting out and gills are biting with good pike action Call Eye’s Have It for latest info 231-768-5653
Baldwin- The little lakes around Baldwin are safe and pan fish has been fair. Call Baldwin Bait @ 231-745-3529 or Ed’s Sport @ 231-745-4974
Big Glen- Open Water. Fishhook@ (231) 256-9496
Little Glen- Has ice and maybe the perch will start biting the perch are biting Call Fishhook@ (231) 256-9496.
Lake Leelanau: North Lake Leelanau has ice, South Lake Leelanau is froze with 5 to 8 inches of ice and fair walleye, perch and pike. Call Fishhook@ (231) 256-9496 for latest info
Manistee Lake by Kalkaska- Good fishing this week with perch, pike, walleye and a few gills in the canals ice is 10 to 15 inches Call Jacks Sport Shop 231-258-8892
Spider Lake and Arbutus- 10 to 12 inches of ice with pike and pan fish biting, a huge pike was caught out of there last week Call Roy’s General Store @ 231-946-5633
Lake Dubonnet- Lots of fisherman fishing this lake with great pike action with some pan fish
Duck Lake: Lots of fisherman off of Strawberry Point and the penisula
Green Lake: I got report today that the lake has tighten up again last night, but then we got snow today but the reports I got is that the ice is safe again. They are catching smelt during the day today the ice is 3 to 5 so be careful but quite a few guys out today. Spikes and waxworms on Hali Jigs
Long Lake: They are fishing the whole lake with the better bite off of Cresant shores. They are catching nice perch but lots of short walleye. Call MC Sports @ 231-933-6158
Skegemog- Has completely froze over and lots of people are walking out also quads a driving with many shanties on the lake. Call Jack’s Sport Shop@231-258-8892
Fife Lake- Has ice and a few big pike have been caught, along with perch There was a bunch of guys off the access site today. They have the big rock fishing contest there Saturday Call Lakeside Party @ 231-879-4346
Portage Lake- They were out in force today on Portage with a awesome perch bite as a big school has moved in from Lake Michigan. Many limit catches with perch running up to 14 inches. Call Osborne’s@ 231-889-3775
Hamlin Lake- Has safe ice and many out and about catching fish . Call PM Expeditions@ 231-425-8913 or Hamlin Grocery@(231) 843-2058
Bear Lake- Has 12 to 15 inches of ice today with a few getting out catching pike. Osborne’s@ 231-889-3775
Lake Missaukee- Has safe ice with a good crappie, gill and pike bite. report 10 to 15 inches of good ice with pike and gills are biting good Call Miller Corner@ 231-839-0440 or Hopkins Outfitters@ 231-839-FISH (3474)
Cadillac and Mitchell- Has Safe Ice!!!!, Lake Cadillac they are fishing off the causeway and it has looked like a city on the ice this week Call Pilgrim Village for latest info@ 231-775-5412
Pentwater: Pentwater Lake is froze and the perch fishing has been great also a few pike. Pentwater Angler has a contest Saturday Call Pentwater Angler for the latest info@ 231-869-5357
Whitehall: White lake has ice with good pike and perch bite today. Call armstrongs@231–894-6753 or Johnson’s Outdoors @ 231-893-6688
Betsie River: Continues to produce some steelhead.
Big Manistee River: Is fishable and should have a fair to good number of steelhead including some fresh fish. Many are fly fishing below Tippy Dam.
Little Manistee River: Is producing steelhead and the occasional brown trout however the river will close to fishing on January 1st and will reopen on April 1st.
Pere Marquette River: Should still have some good steelhead fishing. Those fly fishing seem to catch more fish.
Crystal Lake a few guys went in the drink Tuesday so be careful.
Northeast Michigan
Lewiston- Both East and West Twin are froze and perch, pike and walleye are biting Call Mid Lakes Market @ (989) 786-3227
Mio- Mio Pong has froze and a few are getting out on the lake. Call Jig’s Bait Shop@ (989) 826-3467
Lake St. Helen- Fishing has been good with 10 to 15 inches of ice lots of pike, with pan fish on the bite with a few walleye being caught. Call Macomb’s Tackle Box @ 989-389-2100
Pratt Lake and Wiggins Lake– has safe ice and many have been doing good on pan fish and pike. Call Chappel Dam@ 989-426-7503
Wixom and Sanford Lake- Reports are the lake is safeand fisherman have been getting out on the shallow bays catching crappie, gills and pike. Call Sanford Sport Shop@989-687-5161 or Sandy’s Market@ (989) 435-9688
Secord Lake has had a great bite this week Sandy’s Market@ (989) 435-9688
Fletcher’s Floodwaters- Those using tip-ups caught some nice pike. Crappies were taken on minnows, wax worms or spikes. Call Bill’s @989-742-4874
Black Lake- Has 6 to 9inches of ice and a good walleye bite Call Parrots Outpost for the latest ice conditions (989) 733-2472
Mullet Lake- Has been good for perch the last few days call Mullet Lake Party store@ (231) 627-4644 or Topinabee Market@ 231-238-9578
Burt Lake: Perch and walleye fishing has been good. Call Pat & Gary’s Party Store 231-238-6776
Grand lake and Long Lake- Both lakes are safe and fisherman are venturing out catching perch and pike, Call Bucks@ 989-595-2121
Otsego Lake- The ice is safe and many shanties are on the lake. A few sturgeon have been caught off the State Park and good perch, pike and a few walleyes on Otsego Lake. Perch fishing has been fair on Bradford, chub Lake trout fishing has been good. Call Northern Sports@ 987-448-2014
Lake Margrethe- The lake is completely froze with 10 to 15 inches of ice and good fish being caught. There are quite a few shanties on the lake. Call Skip’s Sport @ 989-348-7111
Higgins Lake- Has from 6 to 8 inches of ice and the ice looks great today as they missed the snow storm South-end of the lake there are lots of shanties on the lake with great pike and perch right now. Good Lake Trout, pike and perch. The south end report of limit catches of perch. Smelt fishing has been slow . Call Phoniex Park 989-821-7220 or Sports Barn 989-821-9511 for latest ice conditions
Houghton Lake- Ice fishing is on Good pike, perch and walleye. Dave @ 4 season says off of long point good perch and walleye are being caught
Lyman’s has started putting their shanties out call them for your resevations@ 989-422-3231 Also Dave @ Four Season Party Store has his Shanties out and said last night they did good on the walleyes and pike. Call him @ 989-422-5230.
Angelos Party Store also has shanty retail call him @ 989-202-4422 ask for Lou.
Korbinski’s also rents shanties and has a full line of bait and Tackle call Rod@ 989-366-9500
Lake Avalon: In Montmorency County is producing a few bigger splake.
Alpena: The boat ramps are frozen in. A few perch were caught in the harbor.
Au Sable River: The ramps are usable. Steelhead were caught from Foote Dam all the way down to Oscoda and the mouth. Boat anglers are back drifting plugs or casting spawn.
Tawas: Was producing good numbers of decent size perch in 12 to 15 feet of water in the bay. Perch were also caught inside the State Harbor. Walleye were a little deeper in 15 to 20 feet of water and hitting at dawn or dusk. Those spearing have taken a few pike.
Au Gres River: Anglers were catching sublegal walleye and a few perch.
Rifle River: Is under a flood warning. Anglers may want to avoid the river until water levels have a chance to recede.
Upper Peninsula Report
Newberry- Has good ice on most the small lakes with pike biting fair.
Munuscong Bay –Dan’s Resort in Pickford reports : Is slower than usual with deep snow and scattered areas of slush. Ice formation east of Roach Point remains variable so extreme caution needs to be used. Walleye fishing has slowed for those fishing in 3 to 5 feet of water. For perch, most are jigging or still-fishing with minnows.. Call Dan’s Resort @ (906) 647-8753
Manistique– Ice is forming good on Indian Lake and Big Manistique and they look to be fishing this weekend Call Top O Lakes Sport@ 906-341-5241
Lake Gogebic: Walleye fishing was good for those jigging rapalas or using tip-ups near the weed beds in 7 to 11 feet of water.
Imp Lake: In Gogebic County had good splake fishing.
Chicagon Lake: In Iron County had fair catch rates. A few walleye were caught after dark by those using tip-ups with sucker minnows in 10 to 15 feet of water. A few keeper size perch were taken along the edge of the weed beds during the day. Lake trout were caught by those jigging spoons in 30 feet of water on the west side. No whitefish to report yet.
Iron Lake: In Iron County was producing some bluegills however many were small. Most are using small jigs tipped with wax worms. The pike action was steady but many were small. Crappie fishing was slow. Those that found them only had a small window right at dark to catch them. Small minnows worked best.
Groveland Mine Ponds: Have good ice. Island Lake, East Lake and West Lake are all producing bluegills, perch and black crappie. Anglers are using tip-ups or jigging with minnows and wax worms in 8 to 12 feet of water. The fish caught were smaller at 6 to 8 inches.
Lake Antoine: Had good ice conditions. Bluegills and yellow perch have been caught by those jigging wax worms or minnows. A few walleye were caught on the south end in 15 feet of water. Try tip-ups with large shiner minnows. A couple large and smallmouth bass were caught however bass season is closed. Those spearing have taken northern pike on the north end.
Little Bay De Noc: Ice conditions improved however anglers still need to use extreme caution near the Escanaba ship docks and south to the Lighthouse because the area is dangerous. Snowfall has made for easier travel on the ice. Walleye anglers had fair catches in the evening with tip-ups and minnows in 20 to 30 feet of water near the Second and Third Reefs. Off the Terrace Bay Inn, anglers were jigging rapalas in 30 to 35 feet. Perch fishing was better throughout the bay. Try minnows or wigglers in 14 to 23 feet of water near Kipling, 10 to 20 feet off Garth Point, or 30 feet between Gladstone and the “Narrows”. No whitefish reports as of yet but it will not be long as ice conditions continue to get better.
Cedarville and Hessel: Cedarville has good ice. The perch fishing in Musky Bay was good however catch rates tapered off. Anglers have been harvesting nice catches of perch averaging 9 inches in 10 feet of water. Perch fishing at Hessel was slow. Most were using mousies, minnows or wigglers in 10 feet of water.
FISHING CONDITIONS ON LAKES CADILLAC AND MITCHELL
Snowmobilers, start your engines! Finally have a couple of inches of fresh snow, with more predicted every day for the next week. Should be a descent accumlation by the weekend.
There’s no shortage of ice either. Both Cadillac and Mitchell have a minimum of 6 to 12 inches of good, clear ice. Ice fishermen are happy to drive their quads and snowmobiles back and forth to their favorite spots. Temperatures are predicted below 10º this week – more ice. Better ice. Spuds are for safety. Hand augers will work. Power augers may add to your life span.
Keeper size bluegills and sunfish are finally being caught. Good numbers mixed with crappie are coming from the Causeway area on the west side of Lake Cadillac. Fish 12′ of water using red spikes and small jigs.
Hard core walleye anglers are doing best on Lake Mitchell. Light line tip-ups baited with medium size minnows account for most. Local anglers fish with a tip-up or two and jig a spoon or Rapala on a third line. The walleye will tell you whether they want the minnow or jigging bait.
Pike fishing has been good on both lakes. No one blinks at 30 inch pike any more. Excitement begins in the 35/36″ range. There have been that many. Hammer handles are still common but it’s a numbers game.
Crappie numbers and size are improving. Mitchell and Cadillac have equally good numbers. Walleye anglers accidentally catch the 12/13/14 inchers on tip-ups. Limit catches are mostly crappie, a few gills and maybe a desent perch or two. Crappie out number the other panfish.
Southeast Lower Peninsula Fishing Report
Lake Erie: The Metro Park Marina and the Banana Dike were good spots for perch and bluegills, if the ice holds. Be especially careful around the edges. Any remaining ice near Bolles Harbor is not safe.
Lake St. Clair: Finally got some decent ice but the warm rain will soften the shorelines, open up the pressure cracks, and muddy up the waters. Anglers need to use extreme caution especially around the shoreline, docks, pressure cracks, and areas where there is a current. Watch for soft spots.
Saginaw Bay: Was wet, slippery, sloppy and miserable. Conditions should improve by the weekend as much colder temperatures return. Before the drastic change in weather, perch fishing at Palmer Road was slow. Walleye anglers heading out a couple miles were getting fish. There was a lot of walleye activity about three miles off Erickson Road and near the Spark Plug off Linwood. Anglers need to use extreme caution as there are several pressure cracks between the shore and the fishing spots. There was a lot of perch activity at Quanicassee off Vanderbilt Park but catch rates were spotty. Those after walleye caught fish out near the Slot and beyond. From Sebewaing to Bay Port, anglers were after perch and pike just off the Mud Creek access site in Wildfowl Bay. Anglers need to watch where they are going because there were some spots with open water. Pike spearing was just getting started. Those fishing in the harbor and marina at Caseville caught some perch on live minnows. At Port Austin, some were pike spearing inside the harbor.
Saginaw River: Record high temperatures this week will make for dangerous fishing especially with a big push of water from the rain and snowmelt coming down. Walleye fishing was good before the front moved in. Ice anglers were out in force with over 250 shanties between Saginaw and Bay City. After sorting out the small ones, anglers were still going home with at least a couple walleye. A few bigger perch caught near the mouth.
Tittabawassee River: Had no activity. There was too much ice to launch a boat and not enough to walk on.
Southwest Lower Peninsula Fishing Report
No ice fishing reports this week for the inland lakes. They may still have ice however it is not safe ice. Significant snowfall by the end of the week will not help. Anglers would be wise to wait and give the returning cold temperatures a chance to shore the ice up again.
St. Joseph River: Anglers should find steelhead near the mouth and the dams.
Kalamazoo River: Near Allegan is under a flood advisory. Those looking for steelhead and walleye should use caution.
Grand River at Grand Rapids: Has high water levels. The Rogue River below Rockford is under a flood advisory.
Grand River at Lansing: The weather has been good for those looking to catch steelhead, walleye or pike. Most are fishing near the dams. Use caution and try to find a solid surface to fish from as the banks may not be stable.
Looking Glass River: Is under a flood advisory.
Maple River: Is under a flood advisory.
Muskegon River: Water levels are up and will most likely keep rising till the end of the week. Those looking for steelhead need to use caution. With the muddy water, try using bright colored flies or jigs.