Michigan Fishing Report 1-16-2008

[lonehunter]

Please remember to post your last fishing trip on the Michigan Board [] .

Upper Peninsula:[/url]

Lake Gogebic is producing fair perch and walleye fishing. The walleye are hitting on sucker minnows hooked to the end of a tip-up. The perch prefer shiner minnows as bait.

Out of the Marquette area, fishing activity is spotty on most lakes, the exception being Sporley Lake where the splake action is fair.

In the Gladstone area, the walleye fishing is fair on the north end of Little Bay de Noc. Most of the fish being caught are hitting on jigs.

By Manistique, the perch and walleye fishing ranges from fair to good on Indian Lake. Early mornings or late afternoons are the best times to be out.

On Munuscong Bay, the perch, pike and walleye action is fair. Ice conditions are a little shaky, due to the recent warm spell.

Anglers out of Cedarville are pulling a few perch up through the ice by the Les Cheneaux Islands.

And at St. Ignace, the panfish and walleye action on Brevort Lake is fair. The ice on the lake held up well through the January thaw last week.

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Northwest:[/url]

Burt, Crooked and Pickerel lakes near Alanson are all producing fair perch and walleye action. The ice is in good shape on both Crooked and Pickerel lakes, there is some shaky ice on Burt Lake.

Poor shore ice conditions on the lakes around Boyne City has slowed fishing activity in the area.

In the Traverse City area, anglers along the Boardman River are catching a few steelhead. The panfish and perch action is spotty on Glen Lake.

Out of the Frankfort region, the steelhead fishing is fair on the Betsie River. Both spawn and waxworms are being used as bait. Anglers fishing in boats on Crystal and Loon lakes, are catching a few perch.

By Kalkaska, the perch fishing is good on Lake Skegemog. Good numbers of perch and pike are being caught by anglers on Manistee Lake. The walleye fishing is fair on Fife Lake.

Around Gaylord, the pike and walleye fishing is fair on Otsego Lake. Anglers need to be very careful on the ice.

And at Cadillac, the ice conditions vary on lakes Cadillac and Mitchell. There are several areas where the shore ice is in poor shape. Anglers who find a safe path to walk out on the ice will find the pike fishing is very good on both lakes.

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West:[/url]

Around Ludington, the steelhead fishing is fair off the breakwall on Lake Michigan. Spawn bags are being used as bait. Anglers on the upper end of Hamlin Lake are catching a few bluegill. However, anglers need to be extremely careful on the ice following last weeks warm weather.

Out of the Muskegon area, anglers in boats on Muskegon Lake are catching good numbers of perch. Both minnows and spikes are working well as bait. The pike and walleye fishing on the lake is fair. Again, anglers are fishing from boats. Evenings are the best time to be out for the walleye. The best area to cast a line in the water for the northerns is on the east end of the lake. The steelhead action is fair on the lower end of the Muskegon River and off the pier on Lake Michigan.

On Chippewa Lake, fishing is slow this week due to the poor shore ice conditions created by last weeks warm weather.

And at Baldwin, fishing activity is at a standstill with no safe ice found on the local lakes.

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Southwest:[/url]

In the Holland area, fishing activity is at a standstill with no safe ice on the local lakes. By Benton Harbor, fishing activity is slow this week due to all the rain and snow melt from last week that has raised the water levels in the St. Joseph River.

Out of the New Buffalo area, there are some steelhead in the Galien River, but very few people have been out.

Around Kalamazoo, fishing activity is pretty slow. Earlier in the week, some anglers launched their boats in Austin Lake and were catching a few perch. Anglers in boats on Fish Lake reeled in fair numbers of bluegill. The steelhead action on the Kalamazoo River, below the Allegan Dam is fair. The steelies are hitting on Hot-N-Tots, with gold, black and copper being the hot colors.

And at Three Rivers, fishing activity has been slow with no ice on the local lakes. A few anglers dropped boats into some of the lakes at the beginning of the week, but this weekends arctic blast of air will put a stop to any more boats being launched.

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Northeast:[/url]

Around Alpena, the ice covering Grand and Long lakes weathered last weeks warm spell, and anglers on the lakes are catching a few perch and walleye. Anglers need to be careful on the lakes, especially near the open water on the lakes.

Out of the Grayling area, the walleye fishing ranges from slow to fair on Lake Margrethe. The marble eyes are hitting on various jigs tipped with a minnow. The best fishing is found in water 12 to 20 feet deep.

In the Oscoda area, Van Etten Lake is producing good perch and pike fishing. The bluegill and walleye fishing on the lake is fair. Anglers along the Au Sable River are catching a few steelhead. The perch, pike and walleye action is fair on Foote Dam Pond. Anglers on Cooke Dam Pond are pulling up a few bluegill and perch through the ice.

Fishing activity this week is slow on Higgins Lake, which still has plenty of open water and very little ice cover.

Anglers heading out onto Houghton Lake for the first weekend of the 57th annual Tip Up Town celebration are finding fair to good pike and walleye action. The best areas to try and catch walleye are along the north shore, on the east bay or by the middle grounds.

And at Au Gres, anglers are catching a few bluegill and crappie in the cuts along Saginaw Bay. Ice conditions are very poor in the area.

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East:[/url]

By Linwood, anglers are catching a few perch along the cuts and rivers off Saginaw Bay.

Around Bay City, the perch fishing is good on the Quanicassee River. The river is open, and anglers are casting lines in from shore. A couple of people launched boats into the Saginaw River to go walleye fishing.

Fishing activity this week is slow by Bay Port. There is limited ice cover on Lexington Harbor, where the brown trout, perch and steelhead fishing is on the slow side.

And at Port Huron, the steelhead and walleye action is fair, for anglers who are fishing from boats on the St. Clair River. Anglers casting lines into the river from shore are finding the steelhead action is on the slow side by the mouth of the Black River.

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Central:[/url]

Fishing activity near Mount Pleasant is slow this week, due to the poor shore ice conditions on the local lakes.

And at Lansing and Jackson, the fishing action is at a standstill until the local lakes re-freeze. Last weeks January thaw melted away almost all of the ice covering the lakes.

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Southeast:[/url]

The fishing activity this week is slow around Anchor Bay now that most all of the ice has disappeared. Some people fishing from shore along the canals and catching a few panfish and perch. Where there is some ice on the canals, anglers are punching holes through the ice from docks and catching a few panfish.

On the south end of the Detroit River, the perch fishing is fair in the canals and cuts along the river. Anglers are fishing from shore, using minnows as bait. The steelhead fishing is fair on the Huron River, below the dam near Flat Rock.

And by Monroe and Belleville, with no safe ice on the local waterways fishing activity this week is slow.

[lonehunter]

[font "Arial, Helvetica"]Thursday January 17, 2008 [/font] [font "Arial, Helvetica"]Recreational Fishing Report[/font]
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[url "http://www.coastwatch.msu.edu/"][font "Arial, Helvetica"][#000000]Great Lakes temperature map[/#000000][/font][/url]

Ice fishing in the southern sections of the Lower Peninsula is currently on hold until colder weather has a chance to produce good ice again. In the northern sections of the Lower Peninsula, there is some ice fishing taking place, but caution needs to be used. The Upper Peninsula is still sporting some of the better ice in the state.

Southeast Lower Peninsula
Lake Erie - Boat anglers are going out but no reports were coming back in. Some nice bluegills were caught on wax worms or spikes around the Metro Park Marina.
Huron River - Water levels are going back down. Anglers reported fair to good steelhead action when floating small jigs with wax worms or spawn under a bobber. Some are using Hot-n-Tots.
Detroit River - Small boats fishing right along the marina and the docks at Gibraltar were catching some nice yellow perch. Up near the River Rouge, those fishing off the breakwall near Belanger Park have also caught some nice perch when using perch rigs with minnows.
St. Clair River - Higher water levels near the mouth of the Black River helped boat and shore anglers seeking steelhead. A few boats were fishing up near Port Huron for walleye and steelhead.
Saginaw Bay - The waters are muddy. Those inching out near Palmer Road were catching small perch. Look for anglers fishing off the docks inside the Linwood Marina. They're shore fishing for perch at Quanicassee, Sebewaing, and Caseville, but the bigger fish were taken inside the harbor at Caseville when using perch rigs and minnows in the early morning. Carp are biting in the Hot Ponds where the waters are very muddy. A couple small boats trolling out near Spoils Island managed to catch a few walleye.
Saginaw River - A few perch were caught from the docks inside the marina basins on the lower river.
Pine River - Is wide open so anglers might be able to fish from shore.
Southwest Lower Peninsula
Lake Macatawa - Shore anglers were catching bluegills.
Grand River at Grand Rapids - Water levels are starting to come down. Steelhead are being caught on flies, yarn, spawn bags or floating choker bags under a bobber. Walleye are being caught off the East Wall and the Fulton Street Bridge when bouncing a jig with a minnow just off the bottom.
Grand River at Lansing - Bluegills and crappie are being caught in the channels. Walleye and catfish are being caught below the Moore's Park Dam. Fish the big hole located on the factory side of the river or the near the culvert which is about a quarter mile down from the dam. Try using minnows for the walleye and crawlers for catfish.
Reeds Lake - Boat anglers were fishing the open waters near the Fire Station for crappie, bluegills and perch.
Muskegon Lake - Boat anglers are taking perch, pike and walleye. The bigger perch were caught in 45 to 60 feet of water when using spikes, minnows, cut bait or perch eyes. Walleye were caught at night when trolling with orange and gold Husky Jerks. Those trolling crankbaits during the day have caught pike.
Muskegon River - Some steelhead were caught in the lower section
Northeast Lower Peninsula
Grand Lake - Has fair to good walleye and perch fishing, but extreme caution needs to be used. Anglers are hoping the upcoming cold spell with tighten the ice back up.
Long Lake - Ice anglers are still going out but extreme caution needs to be used.
Thunder Bay River - Almost no one is fishing. The river is open but the boat ramp is ice covered. A few anglers were wading below the dam.
Otsego Lake - Trout and bluegills are being caught but the walleyes were slow.
Van Etten Lake - Ice anglers will need to cross about 20 feet of open water along the shoreline before they can even get on the ice. Use extreme caution.
Au Sable River - There are reports of steelhead being caught.
Tawas Bay - Anglers are getting perch in 15 feet of water and some walleyes in 20 feet of water off Jerry's Marina. Walleye were biting at night or in the early morning.
Au Gres - There is no ice on the bay and ice on the river is not safe.
Lake Margrethe - Has fair walleye fishing in the West Bay and around Eagle Point.
Houghton Lake - Walleye fishing has been good with the better catches coming from the Middle Grounds. Pike fishing has been good with a few keepers taken. The shoreline ice is broke up making access to the lake a little more difficult.
Northwest Lower Peninsula
Crooked Lake - In Emmet County reported spotty walleye fishing.
Manistee Lake - In Kalkaska County has good fishing for bluegill, perch, crappie and walleye. Fish the weedbeds on the south end of the lake.
Traverse City - A handful of boats were still going out into the West Bay for whitefish. Swedish Pimples or whitefish jigs still work best.
Long Lake - In Grand Traverse County reports slow fishing. As of this report, there was not a lot of safe ice. Perch and walleye were caught in 30 to 40 feet of water but many were small. The bigger walleye were caught about halfway down in waters 40 to 60 feet deep but the ice out there was questionable. Tip-ups with minnows worked best. Anglers should avoid the north end of the lake because of people going through the ice.
Green Lake - There is no ice to report on this lake.
Manistee River - Steelhead fishing has picked up. Some fresh run fish are being caught as the water levels come back down.
Lake Missaukee - Is still producing good catches of panfish.
Lake Cadillac - Ice fishing is still going strong and the lake is producing good catches of pike and crappie.
Lake Mitchell - Still has ice and good crappie and pike fishing.
Upper Hamlin Lake - Has some open water. Bluegills were hitting on wax worms in 10 to 12 feet of water.
Ludington - Pier anglers caught some steelhead when using spawn bags.
Pere Marquette River - Steelhead were caught up near Scottville.
Upper Peninsula
Lake Gogebic - Yellow perch fishing has been slow.
Copper Harbor - Splake are being caught but success varies from day to day.
Twin Lakes - South of Houghton is reporting fair to good panfish action.
Hagerman Lake - Near Iron River, some vehicles have gone through the ice. Good numbers of walleye are being caught in the early morning or late afternoon. Those spearing for pike have taken several average sized fish.
Iron Lake - Has a good number of anglers on the lake during the day with lots of bluegills being caught. Pike anglers report a good year so far with above average fish being caught. Crappie remains sporadic on the lake as do walleye, with the best walleye fishing taking place well after dark.
Golden Lake - In Iron County reports splake fishing is starting to pick up with several decent fish caught.
Brule Lake - Several anglers are reporting large pike and walleyes being caught. Those spear fishing report lots of activity. Crappie fishing was slow.
Sunset Lake - In Iron County remains an angler's destination. While the walleye fishing has improved, there is a large number of undersized pike.
Stanley Lake - Has very good perch fishing. Those with underwater cameras report seeing large schools of fish which congregate in the deepest part of the lake for much of the winter. Walleye fishing has been good with several fish over 20 inches caught.
Squaw Lake - Just south of Republic is reporting no trophies yet but a number of keeper size pike have been caught. Anglers will want to use caution near any inlets, outlets or springs.
Little Bay De Noc - Warm temperatures and rain from last week caused the ice to break up in some areas, but colder weather is once again firming the ice back up. The better ice can be found north of the Narrows at the head of the Bay but caution still needs to be used especially in the Saunders Point area and along the breaks. Avoid the area around Escanaba because of all the open water. Those fishing out from the Terrace Bay Inn reported unsafe ice. Walleye have been caught but many were on the small side. The best reports were coming from 30 to 40 feet of water near Kipling. Perch fishing slowed except for the all the small fish taken around Butler Island. A few big ones were caught when jigging spikes straight out of Kipling in 23 feet of water. Anglers have marked good numbers of perch and walleye throughout the bay, but the bite has been slow. Those spearing pike around the Escanaba Yacht Club need to use caution.
Big Manistique Lake - Has ice fishing. Fair catches of walleye and jumbo perch are being taken on minnows with tip-ups working best.
South Manistique Lake - Also has good walleye fishing.
Munuscong Bay - Ice conditions are questionable; however, a few anglers are venturing out. A couple nice walleye and some perch have been caught.
Cedarville and Hessel - Northern pike and yellow perch are being caught while jigging with minnows, wax worms or wigglers in 5 to 8 feet of water. Fishing reports from Musky Bay, Moscoe Channel, and Little Joe Island were fair. Use extreme caution near the islands and points.
Brevoort Lake - Walleye and yellow perch have been caught when jigging with minnows or wax worms.