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Thursday, January 6, 2005 Recreational Fishing Report
Ice fishing opportunities can be found around the state, but anglers need to use extreme caution. Snow cover will insulate and prevent the forming of new ice. Stay clear of any areas with open water, and watch for changes in wind patterns, especially on a large body of water. To make your trip on the ice a safe one, remember to use the buddy system and always wear a life jacket.
Southeastern Lower Peninsula Ice conditions around this part of the state deteriorated with the recent warm temperatures. No safe ice to report on Lake Erie. Heavy snowfall on top of current poor ice conditions will further delay the formation of safe ice. Anglers will want to use extreme caution. The Huron River is open and ice free. Steelhead have been caught below the dam at Flat Rock when drifting flies or spawn. Anglers have caught some nice fish when floating wax worms under a bobber. The Detroit River is open and ice free. Anglers with small boats may be able to launch if they can find an access point. Recent rains have made the waters muddy and the current is swift. Lake St. Clair has open water, but the ramps are iced in. It will be sometime before the areas with moving water like Anchor Bay will freeze again. A few were seen fishing around the cuts and canals. Those fishing off Decker’s Landing have caught small perch. Bluegills are hitting on wax worms and crappie on minnows. Both the St. Clair River and the Black River are ice free. On Saginaw Bay, ice conditions are pretty sloppy. A few perch had been caught off Palmer Road and near the mouth of the Pine River before the big thaw. A few anglers are still trying for perch at Pinconning and inside Hoyle’s Marina, but extreme caution must be used. Some excellent perch fishing was reported just north of Sebewaing off Geiger Road in 3 to 4 feet of water. A few walleye were taken off Thomas Road on Cleo’s and Swedish Pimples. Both the Saginaw River and the Tittabawassee River have open water. Some boat anglers have caught a few walleye up near the Dow Dam on jigs and twister tails. Southwestern Lower Peninsula The St. Joe River is ice free, but water levels are running a bit high. Fishing pressure has been very low from Buchanan to Berrien Springs. Fishing has been slow with only a couple steelhead caught when drifting spawn or flies. Slow fishing continues on the Dowagiac River. Open water was reported on the Kalamazoo River, but water levels are still running high. Boat anglers might be able to carry in and launch small boats for steelhead fishing as many of ramps are iced in. Low angler activity was reported from Holland to Grand Haven. Unsafe ice along the shoreline of Lake Michigan has prevented anglers from surfcasting and fishing off the piers. Slow fishing was reported in the Grand River at Grand Rapids because of high water levels. Unsafe ice along the shoreline at Muskegon has hampered fishing. No boats have been able to launch from Muskegon Lake as the launch sites are iced in. Open water was reported on the Muskegon River. The lower river is running high and muddy. Those fishing the upper stretches have caught some steelhead up by the dam at Newaygo. Most of the inland lakes in this region are reporting unsafe ice conditions. It will take a couple weeks of good cold weather to produce ice again. Additional snowfall this week will only insulate and prevent the forming of new ice. Northeastern Lower Peninsula There is some ice to report in this region of the state, but anglers will need to use caution when traveling on any ice. The warm temperatures did cause a honeycomb effect on some ice covered lakes. Additional snowfall will insulate existing ice, and prevent new ice from forming. Anglers are reminded to use the buddy system and wear a life jacket. Near Alpena, thin ice was reported close to shore along Lake Huron. Anglers need to use caution as strong winds can blow the ice out quickly. Along the Thunder Bay River, some steelhead and brown trout have been caught up near the Ninth Street Dam. While some sections of the river have ice cover, anglers need to remember that the ice over moving water with strong currents is very unpredictable. Caution must be used. Inland, ice shanties are starting to pop up on Grand Lake. It may be a good idea to wear ice cleats for easy travel across the lake. Anglers are starting to fish in Black Bass Bay. Perch have been caught when jigging or using tip-ups with minnows. Anglers are using the access site off US-23 and taking good numbers of perch in the 6 to 9 inch range. Perch can also be found suspended halfway down in 15 feet of water off Whiskey Point, and northeast of Grand Island using the access site at Highland Pines Road. On Long Lake, anglers have started to catch perch, but the fish are running on the small side. A few walleye have been caught near the drop off by the County Park. Perch have been caught in Fletcher’s Pond. Walleye are starting to bite in Hubbard Lake. Near Oscoda, steelhead can still be found in the Au Sable River. Northern pike and walleye have been caught up near Foote Dam. Bluegill and northern pike have been caught in the Tawas River. Anglers are ice fishing on the Lower Au Gres River. Some legal walleye have been caught, but many fish are running on the small side. Some nice catches of northern pike along with a few walleye were reported from both Houghton Lake and Lake Margrethe. Bluegill fishing has been spotty. Lake trout along with a few perch have been caught on Higgins Lake. Caution needs to be used and check the ice as you go along, as some areas on the lake are still unsafe. Northwestern Lower Peninsula Melting snow in this region of the state has actually frozen over making travel on the ice tricky. Anglers may want to wear some sort of ice cleat for easier travel across the ice. Walleye have been caught near the deep hole off Colonial Point in Burt Lake. Walleye and perch have been caught off Maple Bay. Crooked Lake and Pickerel Lake have fair to good walleye and perch fishing. Near Traverse City, boat anglers are still catching some perch in both the East Bay and the West Bay. The fish have been caught in 40 to 70 feet of water. Both Bays are ice free. Steelhead have been caught in the Boardman River. Inland, anglers need to still use caution and test the ice as you go along. Bluegill and walleye have been caught in Lake Leelanau and Long Lake. Good numbers of smelt have been caught in Green Lake when fishing the north end of the lake off the State Park. Near Manistee, anglers are taking northern pike on tip-ups in Portage Lake. Open water was reported on the Big Manistee River. Angler activity has been light, but some steelhead have been caught up near Tippy Dam. Near Cadillac, anglers are doing well for northern pike on Lake Mitchell and Lake Cadillac. Tip-ups with sucker minnows have worked best. At Ludington, shore ice has kept anglers off the piers. Northern pike have been taken along the shoreline on Pere Marquette Lake. Open water was reported on the Pere Marquette River. The water is running high and muddy from recent rain and snowmelt. Those fishing Upper Hamlin Lake have caught bluegills and northern pike. Lower Hamlin Lake is producing some fair catches of perch and northern pike. Hackert Lake was good for crappie, bluegill and northern pike. Upper Peninsula Anglers are ice fishing in this region of the state. The warm spell melted the snow off the inland lakes and produced more ice. The last report was no slush or deep snow on the lakes. As always, anglers should still use caution when traveling on the ice. Remember to use the buddy system and always wear a life jacket. Good bluegill fishing was reported on the Cisco Chain-of-Lakes near Watersmeet. Glow jigs tipped with spikes or wax worms worked best. Good numbers of bluegill and yellow perch have been caught in the traditional panfish waters. Walleye action has been good using tip-ups with sucker minnows. Try the darker stained waters in lakes or reservoirs during the day and clear lakes after dark. Hagerman Lake and Way Dam Reservoir are two good examples. Fair to good fishing was reported on Little Bay De Noc. Perch and walleye have been caught small minnows and wax worms. Anglers are reminded to avoid these areas: the mouth of the Days River, the area between Saunder’s Point and Hunters Point, waters near the mouth of the Escanaba River, and straight off Portage Point as these are all areas which harbor unsafe ice conditions. Closer to Newberry, walleye are biting in South Manistique Lake. Anglers are also fishing for panfish on Twin Lake. Fishing out on Munuscong Bay has been slow with only a few northern pike caught on tip-ups. Perch have been caught on jigs with minnows. Very few walleye have been caught at this point. |
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