| Weekly Fishing Report | |
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Thursday, February 3, 2005 Recreational Fishing Report
Angler activity around the state has picked up due to warmer temperatures. Anglers should still use caution especially when fishing the deeper lakes, or areas with currents. Fish should become more active this week with the warmer weather.
Southeastern Lower Peninsula It has been a struggle to find keeper size perch in Lake St. Clair. Some large fish were caught when jigging Rapalas in 9 feet of water off Metro Beach. Small perch were caught near Gino’s and the ramp at 11-Mile Road. No walleye reported. Some large perch were caught in front of the barracks at Selfridge in 5 feet of water as well as near Cotton Road and the Salt River. Anglers need to watch out for the pressure crack which extends from Cotton Road down past Selfridge. Fish have been caught on mousies, minnows, spike and soft beads. Fish were caught behind both the Sheriff’s Office and the DNR Office. Fishing in northern Lake St. Clair was slow. Light numbers of fish have been caught in shallow waters 3 to 6 feet deep using teardrops and minnows. Other productive methods include Swedish Pimples, Ken’s Spoons or fire-tiger Rapalas. Anglers are jigging them right off the bottom. Fish were caught in 3 to 4 feet of water just south of New Baltimore at Brandenberg Park and off Fair Haven. Slow fishing reported in the St. Clair River. At Lexington, anglers are taking good numbers of brown trout. Small Cleo’s in blue and silver or chartreuse and silver, tipped with a wax worm, small minnow or wiggler have caught fish. In Oakland County, anglers have caught splake in shallow waters 2 to 3 feet deep on Maceday Lake. A few lake trout and rainbow trout were caught when jigging in deeper waters. On the west side of Saginaw Bay, good walleye fishing from White’s Beach south to the Bay City Recreation Area. Water depths are 8 to 11 feet at White’s Beach and 20 to 25 feet in the Black Hole off Erickson Road. Jigging spoons baited with minnows or minnow heads in the evening worked best. On the east side, perch fishing was spotty. Fish were caught in 6 to 8 feet of water off Bay Port and Mud Creek. Anglers fishing near Caseville are reminded that lake trout season is closed. Word has it that a good number of anglers are catching lake trout and calling them splake. Anglers can legally keep lake trout over 24 inches long when they are fishing the Pigeon River or the Pinnebog River, as both of these are Type 3 streams. Remember that the rivers stop at the shoreline of Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron, not way out near the end of the pier at Caseville. On the Saginaw River at Bay City, some nice walleye have been caught near the Independence Bridge. Walleye have been caught all the way from the mouth up to the Saginaw area. Most fish were taken when jigging Rapalas with minnows in the evening. The Tittabawassee River is not fishable at this time as there is too much ice for a boat, but not enough ice to walk on. Southwestern Lower Peninsula At St. Joe, no anglers fishing Lake Michigan as the piers are iced in. Ice flows along the St. Joe River have shut much of the fishing down. A few walleye and steelhead have been caught at the dam in Berrien Springs. Most anglers are now fishing the inland lakes. Magician Lake and Round Lake reported fair to good fishing for panfish. Van Auken Lake is still producing good catches of bluegill and crappie. On the Grand River near Grand Rapids, ice flows have shut down fishing at the Sixth Street Dam. There have been reports of an ice jam from Portland all the way to the lake. There is open water in the Lansing area. Anglers are fishing for walleye from the west bank near the North Lansing Dam and near the dam at Moore’s Park, now that the water levels are down and fishable again. Fishing on the area inland lakes has been inconsistent. Many have reported that the fish seem to bite in windows of time. You may find a spot where the fish are biting, and within half hour to an hour, the bite shuts right down. Fish have been caught in all depths from right off the bottom to just a foot or two under the ice. Fair to good bluegill fishing was reported on Lake Ovid at Sleepy Hollow State Park. Fish have been caught straight out from the beach as well as off the Island in waters 8 to 12 feet deep. Bluegills have been caught in Muskrat Lake, but many are on the small side. Crappie have also been caught. Use small jigs or teardrops with minnows or wax worms. Good fishing was reported in Jackson County. Black crappie, walleye, northern pike and bluegill have been caught in Portage Lake. Walleye, northern pike and redear sunfish were caught in Vineyard Lake. Muskegon Lake is producing fair to good catches of bluegills. Anglers are fishing in 6 to 8 feet of water with teardrops and wax worms or jigging with wigglers. Northern pike continue to hit on tip-ups with sucker minnows. Walleye and perch fishing was slow. A couple steelhead were caught on the Muskegon River just below Newaygo. Fair perch fishing was reported on White Lake. Northeastern Lower Peninsula Anglers are fishing for walleye on Black Lake and Mullet Lake. Perch fishing has been slow. Northern pike are hitting tip-ups and jigs with large minnows. On Grand Lake, the perch have been slow and small. Fish the channel northeast of Grand Island, and straight out from Highland Pines Road. Anglers are using tip-ups and fishing down 12 to 13 feet in 14 feet of water. Perch have been caught south of North Whiskey Point in 12 feet of water. Walleye and northern pike fishing was slow. The Sportsmen’s Club just dropped a 10’ x 10’ fish shelter just off North Whiskey Point. They used a chainsaw to cut a large square hole in the ice. Anglers need to use caution and avoid the area that is marked with three large pine trees. Closer to Alpena, anglers should be targeting the Thunder Bay River, as good numbers of steelhead were reported. Fishing on Long Lake has been slow. A couple walleye have been caught south of Grass Island. Northern pike fishing was slow, and the perch are small. Good walleye action was reported on Beaver Lake. Those seeking panfish reported good fishing at Fletcher’s Pond. A few walleye have been caught on Hubbard Lake. Perch fishing has been slow in Tawas Bay. Northern pike spearing was slow as well. Those seeking brown trout are marking good numbers of fish, but the bite has been slow. Brown trout anglers are catching and releasing quite a few lake trout, as the lake trout season is closed. Near Au Gres, anglers have been venturing out about a mile off the mouth of the Au Gres River and catching walleye in 25 feet of water. A few walleye have been taken through the ice on the Au Gres River, but many of the fish are sub-legal. Northern pike have been speared south and west of Point Au Gres. Perch fishing has been slow. On Higgins Lake, anglers are taking smelt on wax worms after dark. Perch have been caught off Evergreen Park and Sunken Island in 35 to 45 feet of water. Many of the fish are running on the small side, so anglers will need to do some sorting. Lake trout have been caught on tip-ups set about a foot off the bottom in 100 to 120 feet of water. Live or dead smelt fished right on the bottom also caught fish. Whitefish have been caught on wigglers, wax worms, minnows or a single salmon egg in 90 to 100 feet of water. Rainbow trout have been caught on wigglers in front of the Conference Center. Anglers reported good numbers of northern pike from Houghton Lake. Walleye catches were slow, but some large fish have been caught in 8 feet of water off the weed beds. Crappie are hitting on minnows, and bluegills on wigglers and small minnows. Northwestern Lower Peninsula At Traverse City, both the East Bay and the West Bay have open water. No angler activity to report, as most anglers are now ice fishing the inland lakes. Steelhead fishing has been good in the Boardman River. Elk Lake has been good for lake trout when using Swedish Pimples or Sand Kicker Jigs. Whitefish have been caught on wigglers and Swedish Pimples in 55 to 70 feet of water. Caution should still be used when fishing the large inland lakes, especially the deep ones. This would include Crystal Lake, where the center of the lake still has open water or unsafe skim ice. Lake trout have been caught on large tube jigs or Swedish Pimples. Whitefish are in 50 to 70 feet of water. Fair to good numbers of smelt have been taken. Perch fishing was slow. Smelt can be found in Cedar Lake and Green Lake. Lake trout have been caught in Big Glen Lake. Most fish were taken on large tube jigs or Swedish Pimples when fishing near the bottom in waters 85 to 120 feet deep. Perch can be found in both Big Glen and Little Glen Lakes. Anglers are taking good numbers of northern pike using tip-ups in Manistee Lake. Those spearing are doing well in shallow waters along the weed beds. No reports this week on the Big Manistee River. Anglers are catching walleye, perch and northern pike on Portage Lake. Good pike fishing continues on Lakes Cadillac and Mitchell. Near Ludington, northern pike have been caught in Pere Marquette Lake using tip-ups with minnows in 20 feet of water. The lower stretch of the Pere Marquette River is frozen. Bluegill fishing on Upper Hamlin Lake has been fair to good. Crappie have been caught after dark. Walleye have been caught in Lower Hamlin Lake when jigging spoons and minnows in 15 to 20 feet of water. Upper Peninsula Perch fishing on Lake Gogebic has been touch and go, but some nice fish have been caught. On Lac Vieux Desert, good catches of northern pike were reported on tip-ups. Good northern pike fishing on Squaw Lake. Good fishing was reported in both Peavy Pond and Michigamme Reservoir. Some nice walleye have been caught in the early mornings in 8 to 15 feet of water with sucker minnows 5 to 7 inches long. Ice conditions near the Michigamme River are poor and dangerous. Anglers should avoid the river. Along the Menominee River, anglers have caught bluegill and crappie in 4 to 10 feet of water. Anglers are still-fishing or jigging wax worms or minnows. Northern pike have been taken when jigging minnows in 8 to 10 feet of water near the launch site at 18th Street. This area has good weed beds, which attract pike. Near the Grand Rapids Dam, northern pike were very active from the Dam upstream one half mile. Use the access site at the Dam, located on the Wisconsin side of the river. Extreme caution needs to be used both above and below the dam, as there is no safe ice to report. On Little Bay De Noc, anglers reported good ice formation from the Terrace Inn north up to Garth Point. Many anglers have moved south of Aronson Island out to Portage Point, but the ice varies greatly in this area. Several anglers have broken through the ice in various locations. Walleye fishing has been spotty, but should improve by the weekend. Fish were caught when jigging minnows in 22 to 35 feet of water on the Second Reef just south of Aronson Island. Others are jigging minnows 20 to 35 feet down along the break. Splake were caught in 25 feet of water. Lots of small perch caught near Butler Island. Jumbo perch were caught when jigging large perch minnows in 4 to 6 feet of water. A few whitefish have been caught when jigging in 65 to 75 feet of water off Sand Point. North of Sault Ste. Marie, whitefish catches were good in the waters of Mosquito Bay and Ashmun Bay. Watch the channel ice due to the occasional Coast Guard traffic. In Munuscong Bay, good catches of walleye were reported on jigs with minnows in shallow waters up to 5 feet deep. Some large perch have been caught, but the fishing was slow. A few northern pike have been taken east of Grassy Island and near the rock pile just north of Pine Island. In Raber Bay, those spearing have taken good numbers of herring along the southern end of the Bay. Whitefish have been caught right off the bottom along the north end. Angler activity has picked up near Cedarville and Hessel. Some perch have been caught in Musky Bay. Good numbers of northern pike have been caught while perch fishing. Wigglers, wax worms and small minnows worked best. A few small perch were taken from the Moscoe Channel. Watch for thin ice around the points. |
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