02-06-2010, 12:14 PM
[font "arial, helvetica, sans-serif"][#00e010]Weekly Fishing Report[/#00e010][/font]
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[font "Arial, Helvetica"]Thursday, February 4, 2010 [/font][font "Arial, Helvetica"]Recreational Fishing Report
517-373-0908[/font][font "Arial, Helvetica"]![[Image: fish_reportmap2_23340_7.gif]](http://mi.gov/images/fish_reportmap2_23340_7.gif)
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[url "http://www.coastwatch.msu.edu/"][font "Arial, Helvetica"][#000000]Great Lakes temperature map[/#000000][/font][/url]Ice continues to build especially on most of the inland lakes however anglers are still reminded to use caution. Stay away from any pressure cracks because many of those areas had open water not even a week ago. Also stay away from river mouths and creeks due to unsafe ice. The panfish bite continues to be slow. Pike action has been good and perch anglers are sorting out the small ones. Some of the trout lakes are now producing lake trout and rainbow trout.
Southeast Lower Peninsula
Lake Erie - Has ice for foot traffic only. Brest Bay is producing some walleye. Try jigging rapalas, Swedish Pimples or small Cleo's tipped with minnows and stinger hooks. Those fishing off the Banana Dike caught some jumbo perch, pike and a few walleye while those fishing closer to the seawall at Metro Park Marina caught perch and bluegills. Detroit River - Airport Bay continues to produce perch and some limit catches were reported. Perch were caught in the canals around Gibraltar. Up at Wyandotte, anglers are seeing perch on their cameras however the bite was slow. Lexington - Is producing a lot of small perch along with the occasional 9 to 11 inch fish. Try minnows, spikes or wax worms. A couple steelhead were also caught on the same bait. Port Sanilac - Ice anglers fishing the south end of the harbor caught a couple nice brown trout on minnows. Saginaw Bay - Ice conditions remain extremely variable. Expansion cracks are active at many locations and anglers should not cross them. Colder weather has caused thin ice to form over previously open water. This ice is not thick enough to be safe. Anglers should avoid any area that recently had open water. No action near Pinconning because of pressure cracks. At Linwood, some are heading out to 18 feet of water however watch for the active pressure cracks and newly frozen ice which is not safe. There's fishing activity out near Spoils Island, but anglers need to use extreme caution. A good number of pike have been caught by open water anglers in the channel by the Hot Ponds and Tietz Drain. There is a pressure crack out there that nobody should try and cross. Slow fishing off Sebewaing with only a few perch caught in the marina and the river but decent catches of perch were reported off Rose Island in 4 to 6 feet of water. A lot of small perch caught off Geiger Road. Bluegills were caught in the cuts and marinas between Sebewaing and Bay Port. At the Mud Creek access site, perch were caught on hook and line and those spearing took some pike. Saginaw River - Most fishing activity has been between the Independence Bridge and the mouth. Anglers are warned to use extreme caution as the ice was not good along that stretch. One angler did go through the ice out by the mouth. Bay City, Zilwaukee and Saginaw did not have much in the way of fishing activity. Tittabawassee River - Colder weather has caused shore ice to form, so boat access is almost impossible. Southwest Lower Peninsula
St. Joe River - Those looking for steelhead will find fish below the Berrien Springs Dam. Try spawn or spinners. Kalamazoo River - Trout anglers are taking steelhead in the lower river. Van Auken Lake - Is producing some perch and crappie. Pike have been caught by those setting tip-ups or spearing. Gun Lake - Yellow perch action continues off the west side near the park. Gull Lake - Smelt and lake trout anglers are doing well. Grand River at Grand Rapids - Boat and shore anglers will want to pay close attention to ice coming over the dam. Steelhead have been caught near the dam when bouncing spawn bags, floating spawn or using jigs with wax worms. Walleye have been caught on both sides between Wealthy Street and the dam. Try husky jerks size 12, bucktail jigs, twister tails or a jig and minnow. Reeds Lake - Pike are being speared on the east side in 6 to 10 feet of water. Perch were hitting on minnows and wax worms in 30 to 40 feet of water. For crappie, try 10 to 15 feet down in 35 to 40 feet of water. Some bluegills were caught on red and white spikes or mousies fished just off the bottom in 30 to 45 feet of water. Muskegon Lake - Anglers should avoid the area between Cottage Grove and Laketon Avenue due to thin ice. Anglers should stay off the west end of the lake as there was open water there a few days ago. Pike have been caught between Hartshorn Marina and Fisherman's Landing or the southeast corner between Grand Valley and the boat launch. Do not go out at night if you are not familiar with the lake. Shallow water in the northwest corner is a good spot for bluegills. Perch anglers are taking fish but lots of small ones are also biting. Wait for that slow bite to reel in the bigger fish. Muskegon River - Steelhead are still being caught up near Bridgeton. Try spikes, minnows, wax worms or spawn. White Lake - Pike have been taken from the north end. Perch were in deep water in the central and west sections of the lake. Northeast Lower Peninsula
Mullet Lake - Fishing remains consistent. A few nice perch were caught on minnows in 10 to 45 feet of water, but many were small. Those targeting pike have not had much luck with spearing or still-fishing. Some have started to target lake herring. Burt Lake - Ice anglers have started to catch a few walleye. Anglers should stay away from the large pressure crack between Colonial Point and Cedar Point. This area had open water last week and the ice that has formed is not safe. Au Sable River - Some nice steelhead have been caught. Higgins Lake - Smelt have been caught in the evening when fishing about a foot off the bottom in 40 to 50 feet of water. Lake trout and whitefish were hitting on minnows fished on the bottom in 85 to 120 feet of water. Those fishing the shallow waters near the Conference Center have caught rainbow trout on wigglers. Pike were taken by those spearing or using tip-ups. Perch can be found along the drop-off in 20 to 40 feet of water but many were small. Houghton Lake - Anglers should keep all motorized vehicles away from the mouth of rivers and creeks as some have gone through the ice. Walleye have been caught over the Middle Grounds and in the East Bay near Denton Creek. Most are jigging rapalas. Pike are hitting on tip-ups with large shiners. They are deeper so try fishing two feet off the bottom in 8 to 10 feet of water. Crappie were caught by the Cut River. Tawas Bay - A few walleye were taken in 20 to 25 feet of water. Perch fishing is still slow with almost no keepers. Pike spearing picked up a bit over the last week as the water cleared up. Au Gres - Ice had started to form off the mouth of the river however it was not safe ice. Down in Wigwam Bay, walleye were caught in 5 to 7 feet of water however nobody is crossing the pressure cracks. Perch have also been caught. Au Gres River - Anglers are still catching lots of small walleye in the lower river. Northwest Lower Peninsula
Traverse City - Still has no ice. It is possible the bays will not freeze over this year. Lake Leelanau - Walleye are being caught in the south lake. Crystal Lake - The ice continues to build however anglers are still waiting to get out to deep water and fish for lake trout, whitefish and smelt. Green Lake - Ice fishing continues and smelt are hitting at night. Try Hali jigs or teardrops with wax worms or spikes. Cedar Lake - Ice anglers are doing well on pike when using tip-ups with large minnows. Those targeting smelt are fishing day or night with teardrops or Hali jigs with spikes and wax worms. Lake Missaukee - Has been good for bluegills. Lake Cadillac - Ice anglers continue to catch walleye, pike and crappie. Try the smallest jigs with a single spike and not much movement. Those with cameras are seeing panfish however they were not interested in biting. Lake Mitchell - Has been good for pike and a few crappie. Look for bluegills when fishing near the coves on the west side of the lake. Manistee River - Those fly fishing below Tippy Dam have caught steelhead. Pentwater Lake - A few perch were taken in the southwest corner.
Upper Peninsula
Keweenaw Bay - Ice has formed again however extreme caution needs to be used because ice thickness is not uniform. There is open water from Sand Point to the north and thin ice was reported out from the Pump House. A few anglers are fishing from the Baraga Marina south to the head of the Bay. They have caught lake trout, coho, brown trout, herring, perch and smelt. Green Bay - With improved ice conditions anglers were jigging inside the marina for yellow perch. Good numbers were caught however many were small. Trout were seen by those using tip-ups but the fish were not biting. Menominee River - Anglers are targeting walleye and trout in open water near the Hattie Street Bridge on the Michigan side. A few brown trout were caught on blue and silver rapalas or plugs. The fish are mature and had nice color. Anglers are targeting walleye through the ice on the Wisconsin side of the dam. Late afternoon and evenings were best when jigging different colored rapalas with or without minnows. Small yellow perch and bluegills were taken near Menekaunee along with small walleye and pike off Boom Landing. Little Bay De Noc - Ice conditions improved slightly as temperatures dropped however many dangers still exist and caution must be used at all times. Pressure cracks have caused problems and ice thickness varies. Anglers are advised to stay north of the Terrace Bay Inn due to extremely dangerous conditions to the south. Catch rates for walleye and perch dropped over the last week due to changes in the weather and no snow cover. Those traveling by foot will want to use creepers. The better walleye catches were out from the Terrace Bay Inn when jigging rapalas with or without minnows in 25 to 35 feet of water. Smaller fish were caught in the Narrows when jigging rapalas or using tip-ups with minnows in 25 to 33 feet of water. Perch reports were mixed but those jigging minnows or spikes in 14 to 17 feet of water did manage to catch fish on the Second Reef and along the head of the Bay when jigging minnows in 13 to 19 feet of water. Whitefish anglers did well off Gladstone when jigging dead minnows in 35 to 40 feet of water. Munuscong Bay - Catch rates slowed however some nice walleye were still being caught in 18 to 20 feet of water near the channel or west towards Grassy Island in shallow waters 4 feet deep. Many are jigging with minnows. Cedarville and Hessel - Those fishing Musky Bay have caught small pike and perch in 12 to 14 feet of water. The occasional legal size perch was also caught. Hessel Bay was slow but those able to locate fish did manage to catch some big ones. Anglers are using minnows, wigglers and wax worms. Red and white were hot colors. [/font]
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[font "arial, helvetica, sans-serif"][font "Arial, Helvetica"][/font]
[font "Arial, Helvetica"]Thursday, February 4, 2010 [/font][font "Arial, Helvetica"]Recreational Fishing Report
517-373-0908[/font][font "Arial, Helvetica"]
[/font][url "http://www.coastwatch.msu.edu/"][font "Arial, Helvetica"][#000000]Great Lakes temperature map[/#000000][/font][/url]Ice continues to build especially on most of the inland lakes however anglers are still reminded to use caution. Stay away from any pressure cracks because many of those areas had open water not even a week ago. Also stay away from river mouths and creeks due to unsafe ice. The panfish bite continues to be slow. Pike action has been good and perch anglers are sorting out the small ones. Some of the trout lakes are now producing lake trout and rainbow trout.
Southeast Lower Peninsula
Lake Erie - Has ice for foot traffic only. Brest Bay is producing some walleye. Try jigging rapalas, Swedish Pimples or small Cleo's tipped with minnows and stinger hooks. Those fishing off the Banana Dike caught some jumbo perch, pike and a few walleye while those fishing closer to the seawall at Metro Park Marina caught perch and bluegills. Detroit River - Airport Bay continues to produce perch and some limit catches were reported. Perch were caught in the canals around Gibraltar. Up at Wyandotte, anglers are seeing perch on their cameras however the bite was slow. Lexington - Is producing a lot of small perch along with the occasional 9 to 11 inch fish. Try minnows, spikes or wax worms. A couple steelhead were also caught on the same bait. Port Sanilac - Ice anglers fishing the south end of the harbor caught a couple nice brown trout on minnows. Saginaw Bay - Ice conditions remain extremely variable. Expansion cracks are active at many locations and anglers should not cross them. Colder weather has caused thin ice to form over previously open water. This ice is not thick enough to be safe. Anglers should avoid any area that recently had open water. No action near Pinconning because of pressure cracks. At Linwood, some are heading out to 18 feet of water however watch for the active pressure cracks and newly frozen ice which is not safe. There's fishing activity out near Spoils Island, but anglers need to use extreme caution. A good number of pike have been caught by open water anglers in the channel by the Hot Ponds and Tietz Drain. There is a pressure crack out there that nobody should try and cross. Slow fishing off Sebewaing with only a few perch caught in the marina and the river but decent catches of perch were reported off Rose Island in 4 to 6 feet of water. A lot of small perch caught off Geiger Road. Bluegills were caught in the cuts and marinas between Sebewaing and Bay Port. At the Mud Creek access site, perch were caught on hook and line and those spearing took some pike. Saginaw River - Most fishing activity has been between the Independence Bridge and the mouth. Anglers are warned to use extreme caution as the ice was not good along that stretch. One angler did go through the ice out by the mouth. Bay City, Zilwaukee and Saginaw did not have much in the way of fishing activity. Tittabawassee River - Colder weather has caused shore ice to form, so boat access is almost impossible. Southwest Lower Peninsula
St. Joe River - Those looking for steelhead will find fish below the Berrien Springs Dam. Try spawn or spinners. Kalamazoo River - Trout anglers are taking steelhead in the lower river. Van Auken Lake - Is producing some perch and crappie. Pike have been caught by those setting tip-ups or spearing. Gun Lake - Yellow perch action continues off the west side near the park. Gull Lake - Smelt and lake trout anglers are doing well. Grand River at Grand Rapids - Boat and shore anglers will want to pay close attention to ice coming over the dam. Steelhead have been caught near the dam when bouncing spawn bags, floating spawn or using jigs with wax worms. Walleye have been caught on both sides between Wealthy Street and the dam. Try husky jerks size 12, bucktail jigs, twister tails or a jig and minnow. Reeds Lake - Pike are being speared on the east side in 6 to 10 feet of water. Perch were hitting on minnows and wax worms in 30 to 40 feet of water. For crappie, try 10 to 15 feet down in 35 to 40 feet of water. Some bluegills were caught on red and white spikes or mousies fished just off the bottom in 30 to 45 feet of water. Muskegon Lake - Anglers should avoid the area between Cottage Grove and Laketon Avenue due to thin ice. Anglers should stay off the west end of the lake as there was open water there a few days ago. Pike have been caught between Hartshorn Marina and Fisherman's Landing or the southeast corner between Grand Valley and the boat launch. Do not go out at night if you are not familiar with the lake. Shallow water in the northwest corner is a good spot for bluegills. Perch anglers are taking fish but lots of small ones are also biting. Wait for that slow bite to reel in the bigger fish. Muskegon River - Steelhead are still being caught up near Bridgeton. Try spikes, minnows, wax worms or spawn. White Lake - Pike have been taken from the north end. Perch were in deep water in the central and west sections of the lake. Northeast Lower Peninsula
Mullet Lake - Fishing remains consistent. A few nice perch were caught on minnows in 10 to 45 feet of water, but many were small. Those targeting pike have not had much luck with spearing or still-fishing. Some have started to target lake herring. Burt Lake - Ice anglers have started to catch a few walleye. Anglers should stay away from the large pressure crack between Colonial Point and Cedar Point. This area had open water last week and the ice that has formed is not safe. Au Sable River - Some nice steelhead have been caught. Higgins Lake - Smelt have been caught in the evening when fishing about a foot off the bottom in 40 to 50 feet of water. Lake trout and whitefish were hitting on minnows fished on the bottom in 85 to 120 feet of water. Those fishing the shallow waters near the Conference Center have caught rainbow trout on wigglers. Pike were taken by those spearing or using tip-ups. Perch can be found along the drop-off in 20 to 40 feet of water but many were small. Houghton Lake - Anglers should keep all motorized vehicles away from the mouth of rivers and creeks as some have gone through the ice. Walleye have been caught over the Middle Grounds and in the East Bay near Denton Creek. Most are jigging rapalas. Pike are hitting on tip-ups with large shiners. They are deeper so try fishing two feet off the bottom in 8 to 10 feet of water. Crappie were caught by the Cut River. Tawas Bay - A few walleye were taken in 20 to 25 feet of water. Perch fishing is still slow with almost no keepers. Pike spearing picked up a bit over the last week as the water cleared up. Au Gres - Ice had started to form off the mouth of the river however it was not safe ice. Down in Wigwam Bay, walleye were caught in 5 to 7 feet of water however nobody is crossing the pressure cracks. Perch have also been caught. Au Gres River - Anglers are still catching lots of small walleye in the lower river. Northwest Lower Peninsula
Traverse City - Still has no ice. It is possible the bays will not freeze over this year. Lake Leelanau - Walleye are being caught in the south lake. Crystal Lake - The ice continues to build however anglers are still waiting to get out to deep water and fish for lake trout, whitefish and smelt. Green Lake - Ice fishing continues and smelt are hitting at night. Try Hali jigs or teardrops with wax worms or spikes. Cedar Lake - Ice anglers are doing well on pike when using tip-ups with large minnows. Those targeting smelt are fishing day or night with teardrops or Hali jigs with spikes and wax worms. Lake Missaukee - Has been good for bluegills. Lake Cadillac - Ice anglers continue to catch walleye, pike and crappie. Try the smallest jigs with a single spike and not much movement. Those with cameras are seeing panfish however they were not interested in biting. Lake Mitchell - Has been good for pike and a few crappie. Look for bluegills when fishing near the coves on the west side of the lake. Manistee River - Those fly fishing below Tippy Dam have caught steelhead. Pentwater Lake - A few perch were taken in the southwest corner.
Upper Peninsula
Keweenaw Bay - Ice has formed again however extreme caution needs to be used because ice thickness is not uniform. There is open water from Sand Point to the north and thin ice was reported out from the Pump House. A few anglers are fishing from the Baraga Marina south to the head of the Bay. They have caught lake trout, coho, brown trout, herring, perch and smelt. Green Bay - With improved ice conditions anglers were jigging inside the marina for yellow perch. Good numbers were caught however many were small. Trout were seen by those using tip-ups but the fish were not biting. Menominee River - Anglers are targeting walleye and trout in open water near the Hattie Street Bridge on the Michigan side. A few brown trout were caught on blue and silver rapalas or plugs. The fish are mature and had nice color. Anglers are targeting walleye through the ice on the Wisconsin side of the dam. Late afternoon and evenings were best when jigging different colored rapalas with or without minnows. Small yellow perch and bluegills were taken near Menekaunee along with small walleye and pike off Boom Landing. Little Bay De Noc - Ice conditions improved slightly as temperatures dropped however many dangers still exist and caution must be used at all times. Pressure cracks have caused problems and ice thickness varies. Anglers are advised to stay north of the Terrace Bay Inn due to extremely dangerous conditions to the south. Catch rates for walleye and perch dropped over the last week due to changes in the weather and no snow cover. Those traveling by foot will want to use creepers. The better walleye catches were out from the Terrace Bay Inn when jigging rapalas with or without minnows in 25 to 35 feet of water. Smaller fish were caught in the Narrows when jigging rapalas or using tip-ups with minnows in 25 to 33 feet of water. Perch reports were mixed but those jigging minnows or spikes in 14 to 17 feet of water did manage to catch fish on the Second Reef and along the head of the Bay when jigging minnows in 13 to 19 feet of water. Whitefish anglers did well off Gladstone when jigging dead minnows in 35 to 40 feet of water. Munuscong Bay - Catch rates slowed however some nice walleye were still being caught in 18 to 20 feet of water near the channel or west towards Grassy Island in shallow waters 4 feet deep. Many are jigging with minnows. Cedarville and Hessel - Those fishing Musky Bay have caught small pike and perch in 12 to 14 feet of water. The occasional legal size perch was also caught. Hessel Bay was slow but those able to locate fish did manage to catch some big ones. Anglers are using minnows, wigglers and wax worms. Red and white were hot colors. [/font]
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