| Weekly Fishing Report | |
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Thursday, January 13, 2005 Recreational Fishing Report Anglers will need to use caution on most ice in the lower portions of the state, where warm temperatures along with rain and strong winds will deteriorate the ice quickly. Watch for offshore winds when fishing the large bodies of water. Most inland waters to the north reported fair to good ice conditions.
Southeastern Lower Peninsula Lake Erie has no safe ice. Warming temperatures this week along with heavy rains will only deteriorate any remaining ice. The good news is the cold air will return to the state by Thursday afternoon and into the weekend. The forming of new ice should produce some good walleye fishing as anglers were starting to report good catches in Brest Bay and off Stony Point before the big thaw. Good fishing continues along the Huron River. Some fresh chrome steelhead have been caught in the Rockwood area. Those fishing Labo Park have caught some nice fish casting Cleo’s and crankbaits or floating spawn and wax worms under a bobber. Some walleye have also been caught. A few boats were fishing the Detroit River, but ice flows have kept many off the river. Water levels will continue to run on the high side with melting snows and rain in the forecast. In Lower Lake St. Clair, fishing has been fair. A large portion of the lake is open, and anglers need to use extreme caution when traveling across any remaining ice. Smaller perch have been caught in the basin off Metro Beach, and in the canals near Jefferson Road and 11-Mile Road on minnows or wigglers. A couple walleye were caught just off the DNR ramp, which is located just north of Crocker Road on Jefferson Road. Yellow perch, bluegill and pumpkinseed sunfish have been caught out from the ramp at Fairhaven. Most fish were caught in 5 feet of water on a jig with a minnow or a teardrop. Along Saginaw Bay, a few perch anglers were fishing in 2 to 5 feet of water off Palmer Road. Walleye along with a few steelhead and whitefish were caught off Thomas Road in 11 to 15 feet of water. Good perch fishing was reported out from Mud Creek. Anglers are a mile or two out and fishing between North Island and Heisterman Island in 3 to 5 feet of water. Mornings are best with beads, wax worms and minnows. Slow fishing at Caseville. Some northern pike, catfish and walleye were caught near the Hot Ponds. There have been a few boats on the Saginaw River where ice conditions are poor and fishing has been slow. Southwestern Lower Peninsula Unsafe ice conditions were reported in Southwest Michigan. Forecasted warm temperatures along with rain will deteriorate the ice quickly. At the port of St. Joe, a few anglers are surf-casting from the beach for steelhead. On the St. Joe River, boat anglers have caught some steelhead below the dam at Berrien Springs. Walleye have also been caught on jigs with minnows. Boat anglers fishing the Kalamazoo River have caught some steelhead. Some are trolling while others are casting Cleo’s in chartreuse and chrome. Floating spawn or wax worms under a bobber has also worked well. Not much to report on the Grand River at Grand Rapids. Boat anglers may want to try for steelhead up near the Sixth Street Dam. Walleye can be found when jigging off the wall. Unsafe ice conditions were reported around Lansing and Jackson. Avoid areas with open water and deep slush. The Grand River is open, and some anglers have been fishing with crawlers for walleye near Moore’s Park. Use caution on the river as water levels will be high with rain in the forecast and melting snow. At Muskegon, excellent steelhead fishing was reported in the Muskegon River where water levels are still a bit high and muddy. Anglers will find the fish holding in the deeper holes when the cold weather moves in this weekend. Some boat anglers were fishing for bluegill and northern pike in Muskegon Lake. The North Branch of the White River near Hesperia is usually good for steelhead. Northeastern Lower Peninsula Slow fishing was reported in this region of the state. Near Alpena, a few brown trout have been caught in the Thunder Bay River. Try fishing the deeper holes near the Ninth Street Dam. Ice fishing seems to be in full swing on Grand Lake. Most anglers are fishing off the public access sites located south of the DNR launch site, off Highland Pines Road, off US-23, and in Black Bass Bay. Good numbers of smaller perch have been caught, with the occasional 7 to 10 inch fish reported. Anglers are using a minnow with a tip-up or jigging a foot or so off the bottom. Some are fishing off the north tip of Grand Island in about 12 feet of water, or south of Whiskey Point. Anglers in Black Bass Bay reported slow fishing for northern pike. Those spearing have been using golden shiners and perch decoys with no luck. A few walleye have been caught from the channel northeast of Grand Island using tip-ups with minnows. The fish can be found 13 feet down in 14 feet of water. Anglers are reminded to keep watch for tagged walleye and northern pike. On Long Lake, perch fishing has been slow and most of the fish are running on the small side. Those fishing are using primarily perch minnows. A couple walleye have been caught using tip-ups or still fishing just south of the County Park. Perch can be found in Fletcher’s Pond, and anglers should try Hubbard Lake for walleye. Near Oscoda, some steelhead were caught in the Au Sable River, when fishing up near Foote Dam. Most are drifting or floating spawn. At Tawas, light numbers of smaller perch have been caught off the State Pier. A few brown trout have been caught on tip-ups. Some are jigging off the State Pier and near Jerry’s Marina. Spearing for northern pike has been fair. Walleye have been caught in the Au Gres River using spoons or minnows. Very good lake trout fishing was reported on Higgins Lake, with some limit catches reported. Most anglers are fishing the south end of the lake, as the north end still reports some unsafe ice. A few perch have been caught on minnows and wigglers. Walleye fishing has been fair on Houghton Lake and Lake Margrethe. This is a good time to try some of the smaller inland lakes for bluegill. Northwestern Lower Peninsula While anglers are starting to venture out on some of the larger inland lakes in the area, anglers are reminded to use extreme caution due to variable ice thickness. Panfish can be found in the shallow waters on the north end of Burt Lake. Walleye and northern pike can be found in Crooked Lake and Pickerel Lake. Good walleye fishing in Lake Leelanau. While only a few perch have been caught in Long Lake, anglers reported some large fish taken. Good numbers of walleye have been caught, but many are running on the small side. Green Lake and Cedar Lake are producing the smelt. Use caution on Green Lake as there is still some open water out towards the middle. In Cedar Lake, anglers are fishing straight off the launch site. Spikes, wax worms and minnows have worked best. As of this report, open water remains in both Bays at Traverse City. In the East Bay, boats are fishing in 200 feet of water for whitefish. The better fishing has been near Elk Rapids when jigging Swedish Pimples. Steelhead can be found in the Boardman River. Anglers are fishing the deep holes from the mouth up to the dam with spawn and wax worms. In the West Bay, a few perch were caught in 20 to 40 feet of water. Steelhead can be found in the Betsie River when open water can be found. At Manistee, excellent steelhead fishing was reported in the Manistee River, but few anglers have been out taking advantage of this fishery. Some are fishing near Tippy Dam, while others are floating spawn and wax worms in the lower section of the river above M-55. Boats are catching steelhead in Manistee Lake when still-fishing with spawn. Northern pike fishing has been very good on Lakes Cadillac and Mitchell. Good numbers of panfish have been caught in Lake Missaukee. Good numbers of steelhead can be found in the Pere Marquette River, but again few anglers have been out on the river. In Pere Marquette Lake, anglers are taking northern pike on tip-ups in 5 to 8 feet of water. On Upper Hamlin Lake, bluegills are hitting on wax worms while northern pike have been taken on tip-ups with golden shiners. A few walleye have been caught. Fishing is starting to pick up on Lower Hamlin Lake for walleye and perch. Upper Peninsula Ice is forming in the Upper Peninsula and the fishing has been good for all species of fish so far this winter. Good numbers of northern pike have been caught on Lac Vieus Desert on tip-ups with minnows. Perch and bluegills have also been caught. Good numbers of bluegill have been caught on the Cisco Chain-of-Lakes. Trout fishing has been good on area lakes with Imp Lake producing nice catches of splake on minnows or small jigs with wax worms. Night and evening fishing for walleye has been good on Stanley Lake and Hagerman Lake when using sucker minnows. Way Dam has been producing some walleye catches during the day. On Little Bay De Noc, very dangerous ice conditions exist throughout the Bay, so anglers need to use caution when traveling on the ice. There is open water around the Escanaba Yacht Harbor and south into Green Bay. Out from the Terrace and north to the head of the Bay the ice is variable. The best walleye fishing has been in the evenings. Gladstone Bay has been the most active with anglers jigging in 20 to 30 feet of water. The larger fish have been caught across from the Day’s River in 18 to 21 feet of water. Good numbers of small perch around Butler Island in 6 to 20 feet of water. Jumbo perch were reported off Garth Point in 13 feet of water and out in Gladstone Bay in 25 feet of water. Last Friday, a coal ship went through the Bay and docked off Saunders Point. The ship left a large break that travels the full length of Gladstone Bay and the surrounding area. Anglers need to use caution and avoid the areas where the ships come through. Closer to Newberry, the fishing activity has been fair. Anglers reported catching walleye on Big Manistique Lake, while others are starting to spear northern pike. Walleye fishing has been slower on South Manistique Lake. Perch fishing has been slow on most area lakes. Small northern pike are starting to bite in East Lake. The St. Mary’s River is still open, as the Coast Guard is still breaking up the ice. At Munuscong, perch have been caught on small minnows in 4 feet of water. Walleye fishing was fair. Near Cedarville and Hessel, ice conditions are extremely unsafe in the area around the Middle Entrance, and anglers should avoid this area. In Musky Bay, perch have been caught off the bottom in 12 to 14 feet of water. Good pike fishing was noted when using small perch minnows. |
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