Baitman Fishing report

Tobe Clay reports from Houghton Lake Was able to find a couple today! Great start to the season.

❄️ BUC’S DAILY ICE REPORTTuesdayBy the Bait Man⸻⭐ Bait Man’s Morning BriefingBait Man here.We’re just coming out of that Arctic clipper, and honestly, it didn’t help us at all. It made conditions worse. We picked up a lot of snow in the snow-belt areas, and that snow sitting on thin ice is exactly what we didn’t need.Right now, we’re actually looking forward to a short thaw to knock some of this snow down so the ice underneath can start to grow again. Snow on early ice hides weak spots, insulates the ice, and makes everything unpredictable.There are a few places where people are fishing, but you have to spud your way every step.• Houghton Lake — anglers are fishing East Bay and off Flint Road, and they are catching fish, but nobody is using machines. Everything is foot travel only and cautious.• Around Traverse City, Long Lake still has open spots.• I went by Silver Lake and it is open in the middle.• Green Lake has open water.• Duck Lake has open spots as well.• Up north on Otsego Lake, anglers are getting out, but with all the snow, you have to be extremely careful.Right now, the best overall ice seems to be south of M-55, especially around Clare, Harrison, and Gladwin. Those lakes are setting up better than most. Even there, it was a slow weekend because of brutal wind chills, but if conditions stabilize, we could finally see things start to stick by the weekend.Bottom line today — we’re close, but it’s still early ice, and it’s still risky.⸻⭐ Weather ReportNorthern Lower Michigan is starting off cold and mostly cloudy today, with slightly milder conditions tomorrow.Today (Tuesday)Inland Northern Lower Michigan — Cadillac, Boon, Traverse City, and Gaylord corridor:• Morning temps in the upper teens to low 20s• Afternoon highs in the upper 20s to low 30s• Mostly cloudy• Light south wind around 5 to 10 mph, making it feel colderAlong the Lake Michigan shoreline, temperatures will run a few degrees warmer with similar cloud cover. Any snow today should be light and scattered, with no meaningful accumulation for most areas.Tomorrow (Wednesday)• Morning temps in the mid 20s• Highs in the low to mid 30s• Mostly cloudy• Light to moderate wind keeps wind chills noticeableLate Wednesday night into Thursday, a more active system is expected with rain or drizzle and stronger wind, which will be hard on any thin early ice.⸻⭐ Ice Conditions — Bait Man NetworkIce is forming on small ponds, shallow bays, and protected backwaters, but conditions remain very inconsistent.• Skim ice to a couple inches in the coldest, most protected spots• Large lakes and main basins remain unsafe• Snow cover is hiding weak ice and slowing growth• Warmer temps and moisture late Wednesday night will soften existing iceThis is still early-ice, high-risk season.👉 Spud every step👉 Wear picks and a life jacket👉 Avoid inlets, outlets, current areas, and wind-blown shorelines👉 Treat large lakes and rivers as unsafe for foot travel⸻⭐ Live Bait UpdateThe Bait Man is stocked and ready.We are fully stocked with:• Blues• Suckers• Golden shiners• Perch shiners• Wax worms• Spikes• Wigglers⸻⭐ Ice Fishing Tip of the DayTip: Snow Lies. Ice Tells the Truth.Snow makes thin ice look solid. It isn’t.Clear ice grows faster and shows you what’s going on underneath.If you can’t see the ice, your spud bar is your only truth.Little Bay de Noc (Bay de Noc area)Reports from local fishing forums indicate some anglers have been out on Little Bay de Noc with ice in the 4–5-inch range in places, but there are also cracks where a spud goes right through, making it very unpredictable and sketchy. There aren’t broad, consistent reports of safe ice yet — more like spotty pockets that may hold foot anglers in protected zones. Bait Man translation:👉 You might find 4–5 inches in wind-blown, hard areas, but cracks and thin spots are showing up.👉 Do NOT assume the whole bay is safe. Spud test every step if you’re checking it.⸻❄️ South Manistique Lake & Big Manistique Lake (UP — Curtis area)Local chatter (community ice groups) has indicated 3–4 inches of ice where there’s no snow on the Manistique lakes — that includes South Manistique Lake and likely Big Manistique Lake in the Luce/Mackinac area. However, areas covered with snow are only showing 1.5–2 inches, making conditions very mixed and dangerous depending on snow coverage. Bait Man translation:👉 Where wind has swept snow off these lakes you’re seeing 3–4 inches.👉 Where snow sits, it’s too thin to trust without spudding and caution.⸻❄️ Indian Lake (UP)There isn’t direct recent ice chatter for Indian Lake, but based on consistent early sightings across the Manistique lakes group and the fact that Indian Lake (Iron County) is often one of the earliest UP lakes to skin over, the pattern is similar to Manistique — thin ice in protected spots and softer under snow. Bait Man translation:👉 Tentatively, expect roughly 2–4 inches in wind-blown zones and 1.5–2 inches under snow — confirmation pending after hard freeze nights.⸻❄️ Western UP (General Early Ice Pattern)Western Upper Peninsula lakes like Lake Gogebic, Keweenaw Bay, and inland lakes (e.g., Lake Ellen, Lake Emily, etc.) are typically slower to form completely safe ice this early in the season. Based on trends: • Keweenaw Bay — still mostly open water or early skim • Lake Gogebic — likely skim/shoreline ice only • Smaller inland lakes — variable surface ice in sheltered baysNo solid reports of consistent walkable ice there yet — but locals will often report 3+ inches in wind-blown early pockets first before it becomes widespread.Bait Man translation:👉 You’ll see thin, spotty early ice in the western UP first in sheltered bays and wind-blown shelves, but most of the big water is not yet fishable early ice.⸻✦ Quick Reality CheckRight now we’re seeing the classic early freeze pattern: • 4–5 inches possible in wind-blown/pocket ice (Little Bay de Noc, Manistique area) • 1.5–2 inches under snow cover — very risky • Cracks and open spots showing through ice even where thickness was present • Anglers are out checking and tapping spots — not yet widespread fishable ice … See MoreSee Less