Michigan Fishing Report - Printable Version +- Fishing Forum (https://bigfishtackle.com/forum) +-- Forum: Michigan Fishing Forum (https://bigfishtackle.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=364) +--- Forum: Michigan Fishing General (https://bigfishtackle.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=36) +--- Thread: Michigan Fishing Report (/showthread.php?tid=315765)

Michigan Fishing Report - lonehunter - 03-08-2007 [font "Arial, Helvetica"]Thursday, March 8, 2007 [/font] [font "Arial, Helvetica"]Recreational Fishing Report[/font] [font "Arial, Helvetica"][/font] [url "http://www.coastwatch.msu.edu/"][font "Arial, Helvetica"][#000000]Great Lakes temperature map[/#000000][/font][/url] The season to take walleye, northern pike and muskellunge on the Lower Peninsula inland waters will close on March 15th. Anglers are reminded that ice shanties placed upon waters in the northern sections of the Lower Peninsula must be removed by midnight on March 15th. Warm temperatures and rain in the extended forecast should turn up the walleye and steelhead fishing. Southeast Lower Peninsula Lake Erie - Anglers are reporting about 10 to 12 inches of ice, however warm temperatures and rain by the weekend could weaken the ice in many areas. Walleye have been caught in Brest Bay when jigging rapalas and minnows in 19 feet of water. The fish are running small, but are still keepers. Those fishing around the marinas have caught bluegill and perch. Huron River - A couple steelhead were taken in the deep holes around Rockwood. Detroit River - Is experiencing some medium to slightly heavy ice flows that reach all the way down to Wyandotte. A southeast wind will keep the ice up against the shoreline and prevent access to boat anglers. Perch fishing has been good in the lower river in both Michigan and Canadian waters. Be ready to sort out the small ones. So far, boat anglers are launching at Gibraltar. Saginaw Bay -Rain and strong winds have made ice conditions extremely dangerous. Strong southwest winds blew a lot of the ice out of the inner bay and created large pressure cracks. There have been reports of several driving their ATV's and snowmobiles into open water at various locations around the bay. Saginaw River - The ice is deteriorating by the minute. Several anglers and one ATV went through the ice near the Coast Guard station and others have gone through near some of the bridges. Recent heavy rains have raised the rivers and increased the current under the ice. Rain and snow have created slushy conditions so the ice is now deteriorating from both the top and the bottom. Tittabawassee River - Has open water, but the boat launches are still iced in. Southwest Lower Peninsula St. Joseph - The piers are still iced up as of this report. St. Joesph River - It sounds like the river is now open from Berrien Springs down to just short of the mouth. Good steelhead fishing continues for boat anglers when using Hot-n-Tots or flat fish. Shore fishing was fair to good but has not been consistent. Walleye fishing should pick back up before the season closes. Kalamazoo River - Boat and shore anglers have caught steelhead up near the Allegan Dam. Lake Macatawa - Perch action has picked up. Try using minnows, wax worms or spikes in Big Bay and Pine Creek Bay. Try both bays for pike when using tip-ups with large sucker minnows. Grand River at Grand Rapids - Walleye fishing has started to heat up when fishing off the East Wall in the early morning or late evening with minnows, bucktail jigs, paddle tails and twister tails. Good steelhead action was reported when using Wobble Glows. Peach and glow-in-the-dark with pink dots were good colors. Pink and white spawn bags have caught fish when dead drifting with a 6 to 8 foot leader or when floating under a bobber. Rogue River - Anglers are fishing up near the Rockford Dam. Waters below the Childsdale Dam are iced up. Cranberry Lake - Has good pike fishing and the crappie are hitting one hour before light or one hour after dark. Reeds Lake - Pike have been caught on the east side of the lake. Perch are in 15 to 30 feet of water near the sunken island. Bluegills are 8 feet down in 12 feet of water. Lake Ovid - A few crappie have been caught at night. Northeast Lower Peninsula Alpena - Ice conditions on the bay are not safe. Thunder Bay River - A good number of people are fishing the lower river for several species including perch, walleye, steelhead, brown trout, and whitefish. Ice conditions on the river are spotty. Hubbard Lake - Walleye have been caught in 50 to 60 feet of water even though catch rates have slowed. One angler got his limit when fishing along the southwest corner of the lake. Jigging with minnows seems to be working better than tip-ups. No perch action to speak of. Van Etten Lake - Has been very good for perch fishing. Try using minnows or wax worms on the southwest side of the lake near the YMCA Camp. Au Sable River - Steelhead have been caught in the lower river down towards Foote Dam when using wax worms or spawn bags in the deeper holes. Rain in the forecast should produce better catch rates. Tawas Bay - Perch are still hitting in the bay, however anglers need to use caution and pay close attention to wind direction. Ice conditions straight out from Jerry's Marina should not be considered safe. Higgins Lake - Lake trout fishing has been very good when fishing just off the bottom in 90 to 100 feet of water. Whitefish have also been caught on wax worms and wigglers. Rainbow trout are hitting on wigglers in front of the Conference Center. Smelt fishing continues to improve off the North State Park and Big Creek. The better fishing has been in the evening when using spikes or wax worms. Perch are still hitting off Flag Point and Point Detroit. Houghton Lake - Still has ice with about a foot of snow on top. Snow drifts and slush are making travel across the ice more difficult. Those that can get out are still jigging for walleye and using tip-ups for pike in 6 to 12 feet of water. Bluegill fishing should pick back up soon. Northwest Lower Peninsula Lake Charlevoix - Anglers are still reporting good ice however there are a few areas near shore with open water because of springs or inlets. A couple walleye were caught near the city of East Jordan. Fish ranging between 18 and 28 inches were taken when jigging or still-fishing with blue and gray minnows, golden shiners, and Swedish Pimples in 15 to 30 feet of water. Northern pike were also caught. Perch were caught off Young State Park and in Dutchman's Bay when using perch minnows, blues and wigglers in 25 to 60 feet of water. Whitefish anglers have done well off of Hemmingway Point in 60 to 70 feet of water using spawn. Fish measuring 18 to 22 inches have been caught. Walloon Lake - Ice anglers are targeting perch. Try fishing out from Kuhn's Cove in the southern basin for cisco. Traverse City - Anglers are fishing in the West Bay, but caution needs to be used. Most are staying close to shore near the mouth of the Boardman River while jigging for lake trout and whitefish. Try using white Swedish Pimples. Green Lake - Smelt numbers are down, but a few fish are still being taken on wax worms or spikes in 40 to 60 feet of water. Skegemog Lake - Anglers are catching perch though many are running small. Crystal Lake - Has lots of snow and slush on top of the ice which is making travel difficult. Perch fishing was slow. Portage Lake - Good perch fishing continues along the weed beds in 12 to 18 feet of water. Look for fish on the south end of the lake between the mouth of the channel and Eagle Point. Manistee River - Steelhead fishing slowed with the return of arctic temperatures, but warm weather by the weekend should produce some good opportunities as there are plenty of fish in the river. Lake Cadillac - ? Perch and crappie were caught off M-115, but the catch rates have dropped. Minnows in 8 to 12 feet of water worked best. Lake Mitchell - Pike are still hitting off the Boy Scout Camp when using tip-ups with blues, golden, or sucker minnows in 6 to 10 feet of water. Walleye have been caught out in the middle of the lake using the same baits. Upper Peninsula Copper Harbor - Strong winds have broken up some of the ice. Splake anglers fishing between the main shore and Porter Island are catching 12 to 26 inch fish when using smelt tails or minnows in 8 to 12 feet of water. Little Bay De Noc - Has lots of snow, which is making it difficult for anglers trying to retrieve their ice shanties. Foot travel is best as vehicles are getting stuck or breaking through the ice. Now that walleye season is closed, anglers are targeting perch and whitefish. Perch have been caught in 10 feet of water off Kipling and whitefish anglers are doing well when jigging minnows or spawn in 70 to 85 feet of water off Sand Point. Ice conditions in this area can become unstable quickly, so anglers need to use caution. Munising - Heavy snows are producing slush on top of the ice. Anglers have reported that the ice was holding inside the bay, where many are targeting whitefish and splake. There is still no sign of coho. The ice near the small town of Christmas has blown out, putting an end to ice fishing for lake trout. Munuscong Bay - Yellow perch have been caught on minnows in Fowler's Bay. Cedarville and Hessel - Anglers are still fishing the bays, however Musky Bay continues to be the best spot when using wax worms and wigglers. Re: [lonehunter] Michigan Fishing Report - davetclown - 03-09-2007 [size 1]I got out for the afternoon today, for my efforts I pulled in 3 ten inch crappie and a gill... I could have gotten more... I was more intrested in a devise that another angler came out with, simmilar to a slammer.... he was attempting to get set off on a gill, I gave him a couple minnows in hopes of seeing it get tripped by a crappie... end results, he got stripped of his minnow. the little 9-10 inch crappie in the surounding water may not be enough to set his rig off, I sugested he do a dead weight test, just to see how much weight it would take to trip the trigger mec... it seemed sencitive enough when setting the rig... but one never realy knows unless vast amount of testing is done.... [/size] [signature]