| Weekly Fishing Report | |
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Thursday, February 17, 2005 Recreational Fishing Report
Anglers are reminded that this coming weekend is Michigan’s Winter Free Fishing Weekend. For two days only, Saturday February 19th and Sunday February 20th, all fishing license fees will be waived for both residents and out of state visitors. Experienced anglers can not only introduce someone new to the sport of ice fishing but also teach them to become stewards of Michigan’s aquatic resources. Make it a point to get out this coming weekend and spend some time with family members or friends and enjoy Michigan’s great outdoors.
Southeastern Lower Peninsula Anglers are fishing on Lake Erie, but caution must be used. Colder temperatures should start to freeze things back up by the weekend. Walleye have been caught when jigging Rapalas in 20 feet of water in Brest Bay. Those fishing near the Banana Dike off Point Mouillee reported perch and walleye just off the bottom in 20 feet of water. Perch have been caught in the marina of Lake Erie Metro Park. Try using chartreuse or glow-in-the-dark teardrops with small minnows or spikes. The Huron River has open water. Caution should be used as water levels are running a bit high. Steelhead were caught when drifting wax worms or spawn at Rockwood and near Flat Rock. The Detroit River has open water with not much ice coming down. Northern pike and perch can be found in some of the bays. Fishing remains spotty on Lake St. Clair. The fish are active early mornings and at sunset, but shut down in the afternoon. Some 7 to 9 inch perch have been caught on minnows and beads at the ramp on 11-Mile Road as well as the DNR ramp at Ballard and Jefferson Roads. The fish are scattered in 3 to 11 feet of water at Metro Beach. Near Selfridge and Harley Ensign, 7 to 13 inch perch were caught on Rapalas or small jigs in various colors. Anglers need to use caution near the pressure cracks. Bluegill and sunfish have also been caught near Selfridge. Perch are starting to come in around Cotton Road where anglers are jigging wax worms and minnows about one half mile out from the Salt River. Near Fair Haven, some 9 to 11 inch perch can be found west of the DNR launch site when jigging teardrops or small jigs in 8 feet of water. Northern pike were taken a mile or two south of Fair Haven in 3 to 5 feet of water. Spearing in the mornings has been the only way to get them. Around Saginaw Bay, walleye fishing has been fair to good from Standish to the Bay City State Park. Perch can be found southeast of Great Lakes Marina at the Catfish Hole. Off Linwood, anglers are going out about 5-miles to the Black Hole. Fish have been caught 4 to 6 miles off the Bay City State Park in 18 to 21 feet of water. Some walleye along with a few perch have been caught off White’s Beach in 11 to 13 feet of water. Boats are doing better for walleye near the Hot Ponds. Off Sebewaing, northern pike have been speared a half mile out from Mud Creek. Walleye action was spotty in 20 feet of water off the pressure crack. A few brown trout have also been caught. Walleye action slowed on the Saginaw River. A few fish have been caught near the Independence Bridge and Cass Avenue. No reports this week on the Tittabawassee River. In Genesee County, crappie, northern pike and sunfish can be found in Buell Lake, which is located north of M-57 on Genesee Road in the County Park. Crappie and sunfish can be found in Tipsico Lake and Lake Fenton. Lobdell Lake has walleye and perch. In Oakland County, Lake Orion is good for crappie, northern pike and perch. Orchard Lake has crappie, northern pike, walleye and perch. Southwestern Lower Peninsula Pier anglers at St. Joe have caught a few suckers and brown trout, but the fishing was slow. Warmer temperatures did produce some good steelhead fishing on the St. Joe River, however; water levels are now running high and fast. Better fishing should resume once water levels start to recede. Walleye fishing was slow. Anglers have been fishing the inland lakes, but caution needs to be used as warm temperatures and rain have made the ice weak in some areas. Anglers may want to avoid deep lakes, or those with strong currents. Colder temperatures the rest of this week should help freeze things back up again. High water levels have slowed fishing on the Grand River. Anglers at Grand Rapids did catch light numbers of steelhead up near the Sixth Street Dam before all the rain and melting snow. A few walleye were taken off the wall. Closer to Lansing, some walleye were taken on crank baits near Moore’s Park. Though slow fishing was reported by many over the last week, bluegills have been caught on teardrops with spikes in Lake Ovid. Northern pike have caught on Lake Lansing using tip-ups with minnows. Bluegills and crappie have been caught in Morrison Lake and Reed Lake. On Jordan Lake, crappie, perch and bluegill are hitting on pink teardrops with wax worms or wigglers. Most fish have been caught just off the bottom in 30 feet of water. At Muskegon, anglers need to use extreme caution on Muskegon Lake. Warm temperatures and rain have deteriorated ice conditions. Areas to avoid are near the shipping channel and east of the water tower due to strong currents from the Muskegon River. Northern pike have been taken in shallow waters close to shore. The Muskegon River continues to run high. Walleye and small perch have been caught on White Lake. Northeastern Lower Peninsula A few perch have been caught in Black Lake, but the walleye fishing was slow. Mullett Lake has been fair for perch, walleye, and northern pike. Between Rogers City and Alpena, fishing remains about the same on Grand Lake. Anglers still need to use caution when traveling near the pressure cracks. Perch fishing seem to slow, but a few fish were caught southeast of Grand Island. Northern pike continue to bite in good numbers, but many are small. A few perch and walleye have been caught in Long Lake. Northern pike are hitting on tip-ups with sucker minnows along the west shoreline. Anglers fishing the Thunder Bay River have caught a few brown trout and steelhead at the Ninth Street Dam. Drifting spawn or flies worked best. Walleye fishing on Hubbard Lake and Beaver Lake was spotty. Bluegills and crappie have been caught in Fletcher’s Pond. In Montmorency County, splake have been caught in Lake Avalon. Near Oscoda, anglers are fishing Van Etten Lake for sunfish, walleye, and perch. At Tawas, anglers reported fair fishing in Tawas Bay for walleye and perch. Brown trout have been caught near the pier. Northern pike spearing was slow. Near Au Gres, a few walleye were caught in 15 to 30 feet of water beyond the pressure crack. Walleye have been caught in the Au Gres River, but the fish are running on the small side. Anglers on Higgins Lake are urged to avoid using the DNR launch ramp on the west side of the lake, as a good number of vehicles are getting stuck when driving out on the lake. Lake trout can be found in 100 to 120 feet of water. Good smelt fishing in 35 to 50 feet of water along the west side of the lake when using wax worms or wigglers. Good numbers of whitefish have been caught in 90 to 120 feet of water. Use a treble hook with wax worms, wigglers or a single salmon egg. Rainbow trout can be found in shallow waters in front of the Conference Center and Big Creek. Northwestern Lower Peninsula Fishing has been fair to good one day and off the next on both Crooked Lake and Pickerel Lake. Near Charlevoix, whitefish have been caught on Swedish Pimples with minnows or wax worms in Lake Charlevoix. Open water still remains in both bays at Traverse City. In the East Bay, whitefish have been caught in waters at least 230 feet deep up near Yuba. Sand Kicker jigs and Swedish Pimples worked best. Steelhead have been caught on jigs with wax worms in the Boardman River. In the West Bay, anglers have taken fair numbers of perch on minnows and wigglers in 50 to 65 feet of water. Some nice 9 to 12 inch fish have been caught. Closer to Frankfort, lake trout and whitefish have been caught in 50 to 120 feet of water in Crystal Lake. Light numbers of coho salmon have been caught on Swedish Pimples and grays. Perch fishing has been spotty. Smelt can be found in Green Lake, but the fish are small. Big Glen Lake reports fair perch and lake trout fishing. Northern pike have been caught on tip-ups. At Manistee, a few lucky anglers have managed to catch some steelhead in Manistee Lake. Walleye and crappie fishing were slow. Those fishing the Big Manistee River have caught steelhead on jigs with wax worms, small minnows or a single egg. Northern pike have been caught on Portage Lake. Some nice fish have been taken on tip-ups near the channel. Perch have been caught out from the Portage Point Inn when fishing in 50 to 60 feet of water. Lakes Cadillac and Mitchell have been producing good numbers of fish. Near Ludington, anglers have caught bluegills and crappie when fishing at night on Upper Hamlin Lake. Fair walleye fishing was reported on Lower Hamlin Lake when jigging minnows. Northern pike can be found in Pere Marquette Lake near the City Park. Steelhead fishing has been fair in the Pere Marquette River. Upper Peninsula
Anglers were spotted fishing Keweenaw Bay. Most could be found catching coho and herring off US-41 between Baraga and L’Anse. Light numbers of perch along with a few northern pike have also been caught. Walleye fishing has been fair on Iron Lake, Chicagon Lake, Stanley Lake, and Way Dam. Northern pike action has been good on Sunset Lake, Lac Vieux Desert, and Squaw Lake. Northern pike have been caught on Peavy Pond when using sucker minnows on tip-ups or spearing. Bluegills and crappie have been caught in Cowboy Lake. On the Upper Menominee River, those targeting bluegills and crappie had fair success when jigging wax worms or wigglers near Mason Park. A few walleye have been caught near the access sites of 11th Avenue and 18th Avenue. Walleye have been caught off Ansul Island located one mile above the first dam while jigging minnows. Back waters at the Grand Rapids Dam are producing excellent northern pike catches when jigging smelt. Walleye catches slowed a bit on Little Bay De Noc. Anglers can be found near Kipling and Gladstone where about 700 ice shanties have formed a small city on the ice. Walleye and some large jumbo perch have been caught in 26 to 33 feet of water between the Second and Third Reefs off Kipling. Fish were caught in the Narrows just south of Hunter’s Point in 36 feet of water and off Sand Point in 25 feet of water. Perch have been caught from the Red Buoy to Butler Island when jigging minnows in 12 to 26 feet of water. Whitefish anglers are doing well off Sand Point when jigging minnows and spawn in 65 to 80 feet of water. Good numbers of splake were reported about 25 feet down. At Munising, whitefish along with a few splake have been caught. Coho fishing has started to pick up, and should only continue to get better. Anglers are fishing from Sand Point to the Ferry Dock. Unstable ice was reported near the town of Christmas. There is no ice in front of Au Train. Near Munuscong, walleye and perch fishing was fair. Anglers are jigging with minnows in shallow waters 3 to 5 feet deep. Good numbers of walleye and northern pike have been caught, but many are running small. Use caution when fishing near the mouth of the Munuscong River due to the pressure crack. At Raber Bay, anglers are out spearing for herring, but the catch rate was slow. Near Cedarville, perch fishing in Musky Bay has been excellent. Good numbers of perch 7 inches and under have been caught, but some fish are averaging 12 inches or more. Anglers are jigging wigglers, minnows or wax worms, with wigglers working the best. Perch have also been caught in Moscoe Channel and Cedarville Bay.
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