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Thursday, January 20, 2005 Recreational Fishing Report
Inland lakes around the state have been forming ice, but caution still needs to be used when traveling on any ice. Many of the rivers are running high and fast with ice flows that are creating ice jams. Ice conditions on spring fed lakes as well as areas with strong currents will not have safe ice.
Southeastern Lower Peninsula Colder temperatures are producing some ice on Lake Erie, but anglers need to use extreme caution. Some are starting to fish near the marina and off the launch site at Metro Park. Perch fishing has been slow, but anglers did report taking some large fish in the evenings. Around Brest Bay, some ice has started to form, but most anglers are only fishing close to shore, as even the canals are not frozen. High water levels have slowed the fishing along the Huron River. High water levels along with fast moving water will cause the steelhead to retreat to the deeper holes. Once the water levels start to recede, anglers should find fair to good steelhead fishing. No anglers to speak of along the Detroit River. While most of the river is open, most anglers are avoiding the river due to the strong surge of ice flows. At Lake St. Clair, the water is very turbid with unsafe ice conditions around much of the lake. The best ice at the time of this report is in the extreme north end of the lake, just out from the Fair Haven DNR launch site. Anglers are using jigs with minnows in 4 to 5 feet of water for perch. A few anglers were fishing off M-29 out from the Raft Restaurant for perch, but the fish were small. Another good place to fish is out from the Bouvier Bridge Marina that is to the north of the restaurant. Water depths vary in this area from 4 to 9 feet deep because of the channel. Minnows and wax worms have worked best with limited catches reported. A few walleye were caught in the northwest end of the lake on jack spoons or minnows. Anglers could be seen on the Clinton River, but caution needs to be used as the ice cover is still not safe. At Saginaw Bay, a few small perch have been caught off White’s Beach. Those seeking walleye have caught fish in 10 to 12 feet of water in the evenings off Linwood. Walleye fishing should pick back up off Thomas Road when ice conditions improve. Heavy rains last week put the Saginaw River and the Tittabawassee Rivers over their banks, and now the rivers are full of ice flows. The launch ramps are frozen in. All anglers can do is wait for the flood waters to pass downstream and the rivers to freeze over. Many of the small shallow lakes in Southeast Michigan once again have ice cover, and anglers reported fair to good fishing for bluegills. Southwestern Lower Peninsula At the port of St. Joe, there have been no anglers fishing along Lake Michigan, as the piers are iced over and shore ice is preventing anglers from surf-casting. The St. Joe River is running high and fast. Ice flows along the river along with frozen ramps are preventing boat anglers from launching. Anglers should wait for the waters to recede before they resume fishing activity along the river. High water levels along with poor ice conditions have kept anglers off the Kalamazoo River. Those seeking steelhead should wait until water levels have come down. Anglers are urged to stay off the Grand River. The current ice conditions are poor due to strong currents caused by the high waters levels. Ice flows are turning into ice jams and causing flood conditions along the river. Inland lakes in the area are starting to produce fair to good fishing. Anglers can be found in the channels on Lake-of-the-Woods near Decatur and Van Auken Lake in Van Buren County. Crappie have been caught on minnows in Big Smith Lake near Dowagiac. Anglers were reported on Lake Ovid at Sleepy Hollow State Park. Slow fishing with few anglers out in the Jackson area. At Muskegon, few anglers have been out due to cold temperatures. Muskegon Lake is now iced over, but anglers should still use caution when traveling on the ice. Avoid the areas around the Center Channel as the tug boat continues to travel across the lake and break up the ice. Perch and bluegill can be found off the North State Park. Some nice sunfish have been caught around the marinas. Brown trout and northern pike have also been caught. Northeastern Lower Peninsula Fair to good fishing was reported in Grand Lake. Anglers are reminded that they have a responsibility to respect our natural resources when fishing. This means it is important to carry out everything you carry in. Please help keep the area on the ice as well as our waters clean. Perch ranging from 6 to 10 inches have been caught, with most anglers throwing the smaller ones back. The channel northeast off Grand Island was producing the best catches. This spot is easily accessible from the Highland Pines Road to Garity Road access site. Anglers are fishing right off the bottom in 14 to 16 feet of water with tip-ups and blue minnows. Those fishing in the bay between North Whiskey Point and South Whiskey Point reported good catches in waters up to 14 feet deep. Very few walleye have been caught in recent days. One large fish was taken in 10 feet of water just on the edge of the weed beds that run along the shoreline on the west side of the lake about one half mile from Warren Creek. Good numbers of northern pike have been spotted through the holes in the ice, but the bite has been slow. Near Alpena, few anglers have been out fishing because of the high winds and cold temperatures. The Thunder Bay River is iced over, but anglers should use caution when venturing out. A few walleye have been caught in Hubbard Lake. Near Oscoda, no anglers have been on the Au Sable River as the ramps are all iced in and ice flows were reported in the river. Fair to good ice fishing was reported on Van Etten Lake, Cedar Lake and the back waters of Foote Dam. At Tawas, perch fishing has been slow near the State Docks. Pike spearing has also been slow, with most activity in 10 to 12 feet of water. Walleye fishing has been slow with the better catches coming in 15 to 20 feet of water in the evening. Brown trout fishing was slow with a few fish caught off Jerry’s Marina. Near Au Gres, anglers were fishing the Au Gres River. A few small walleye were caught from the State Dock downstream to the mouth. On Higgins Lake, the lake trout fishing continues to be very good with limit catches reported. Perch fishing has been slow. The colder weather did slow fishing on Houghton Lake. Northwestern Lower Peninsula Ice fishing continues in this region of the state, but anglers still need to use caution when traveling on the ice. High winds and cold temperatures did slow the fishing on most lakes. Crooked Lake and Pickerel Lake are good choices for walleye and northern pike. Smelt can be found in Green Lake and Cedar Lake. Anglers are starting to fish Skegemog Lake. Skim ice was reported in both Bays at Traverse City. Anglers should avoid the area, as ice conditions are not safe. Most all the launch sites are now iced in as well. Anglers continue to fish for steelhead in the Boardman River. Fish have been caught in the holes on spawn. At Manistee, anglers are taking northern pike on tip-ups in Manistee Lake. Most are fishing the canals and along the bays. Not many anglers along the Manistee River, as ice flow are hampering fishing conditions. Some steelhead may be found up near Tippy Dam. Northern pike and walleye are starting to hit in Portage Lake. Some nice bluegills have also been caught. Anglers can be found on both Lakes Cadillac and Mitchell. Cold temperatures did slow fishing a bit, but anglers were still able to catch some northern pike, bluegill and crappie. Panfish can still be found in Lake Missaukee. Closer to Ludington, anglers are catching northern pike on tip-ups. Fair to good fishing remains on Upper Hamlin Lake. Anglers are starting to fish on Chippewa Lake in Mecosta County. Upper Peninsula Not many anglers could be found in the Upper Peninsula this past week, as cold temperatures and strong winds kept most off the ice. Fishing for northern pike has been good on Lac Vieux Desert. Yellow perch, bluegills and pumpkinseed make up the mixed bag of panfish. A few walleye have been caught in Lake Gogebic on sucker minnows. Hagerman Lake, Sunset Lake, and Way Dam have been producing fair to good catches of walleye on tip-ups with sucker minnows. Bluegill fishing has been good on the Cisco Chain-of-Lakes. Trout fishing continues to be very good even with the colder weather. This is a good time of year to take advantage of the year long fishing opportunities on the Type B, C and E inland lakes that are open to fishing all year. Anglers are still taking some nice splake on minnows or small jigs with wax worms on Imp Lake. Low angler activity was reported on Peavy Pond. A large walleye was caught in Lake Mary. Not much has changed on Little Bay De Noc, and anglers still need to use caution when on the ice. While angler activity was down, the better walleye fishing continues to be in the evenings on the north end of the Bay as well as in Gladstone Bay. Perch fishing did slow with the colder weather, but some jumbo perch were caught off Garth Point in 12 to 15 feet of water. Over at Munuscong Bay, good walleye fishing was reported when fishing on the bottom in 4 to 7 feet of water with jigs and minnows. Some jumbo perch along with an occasional northern pike and burbot have also been caught. Anglers need to use caution and stay away from the shipping channel, as ships are still running and breaking up the ice. At Cedarville and Hessel, some perch along with an occasional northern pike have been caught on wax worms and wigglers fished just off the bottom. |
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