Benzie and Grand Traverse County

The ice fishing report in Northern Michigan is looking very positive. Most of the inland lakes in the area have consistently safe ice for anglers to venture out on. Our guides have been busy scouting and guiding anglers on a daily basis. Being that we have not seen the “arctic blast”, that we experienced the past two years, our guides have been focusing on smaller bodies of water. Walleye, Pike, Perch and Bluegill have been our main target species. It has been very nice to get out on good safe ice the past couple of weeks and we are very optimistic for February and March. Below is a list of lakes and their current ice conditions.

Long Lake in Benzie County has formed 5-6 inches of solid ice. The Pike have been active on a fairly regular basis. You definitely have to pick the right day and barometric pressure. High-pressure days with sunlight have been good. The perch have been small and not very active.

Bass and Otter Lake have also formed 4-5 inches of good blue ice. The snowfall from the past few weeks has made it difficult to walk or tow a jet sled on both lakes. The pan-fish bite has been decent at first and last light. Pike in Bass Lake have been fairly slow but most anglers have had decent tip-up action on the shallow side of the breaks.

Big Platte is 100% frozen. SFM had guides scouting the ice today. It is not recommended to fish as of right now. The shoreline has not formed good ice. 50-60 yards from the shoreline the ice is 3-4 inches. There is currently 2-3 inches of snow on the surface of the ice. Once the shoreline thickens the lake should be ready to fish.

Upper Herring Lake has formed a good base of ice. Most areas have 4-5 inches of good ice. The Walleye fishing has been productive based on the time of day and weather patterns. Successful tactics have consisted of jigging and setting tip-ups. The best depth has been between 16-19 feet of water. The Perch have been small but active.

Ellis Lake, Lake Dubonnet, Spyder, and Arbutus Lake have 4-5 inches of ice. Each of these lakes has a fair amount of snow accumulation, which is creating slushy walking conditions. There have also been several reports of spotty ice conditions because of the snowy conditions. Caution should be taken when venturing out on Spyder and Arbutus. Blue Gill action has been fair on Spyder Lake and the Pike fishing is steady on Lake Dubonnet with most of the Pike being small, 12-20 inches.

Long Lake in Grand Traverse County has frozen 100%. Unfortunately the ice thickness is very inconsistent and unsafe. Crescent shores boat Launch has 3-5 inches of ice with 6-7 inches of snow. This has created a very slushy ice surface and has added a lot of weight to the ice. The ice off of Long Lake Peninsula is very unsafe and inconsistent. SFM highly recommends that all anglers avoid fishing on Long Lake.

Skegemog Lake is offering some great Perch fishing and safe ice conditions. The perch have been very active in 15-17 feet of water. Wigglers and minnows have been working very well. Average size has been 6-8 inches with the occasional fish reaching the 10-11inch mark.

We at Sport Fish Michigan look forward to many safe and successful days during this 2016 season. With that in mind, we encourage all anglers to take this report as reference and not as a guarantee. Ice conditions change with the weather patterns. It is always good to use your best judgment and always check the ice with a good spud and a friend! Tight lines and look forward to fishing with you!

Benzie and Grand Traverse County

Finally! Northern Michigan is getting some consistently cold temperatures. With the major storm front we are also accumulating quite a bit of snow. With the recent snowfall, the ice that has formed has been half blue ice and half frozen slush. Sport Fish Michigan has been continuously scouting ice conditions in hopes to hit the hard water ASAP. As of today, January 12, 2016, the ice report is as follows.

Long Lake in Benzie County has formed 4-5 inches of solid ice. The snow has not had a chance to settle on the surface due to high NW winds coming off of Lake Michigan. This had made for good walking and fishing conditions. Northern Pike are starting to travel the shallow breaks and flats.

Bass and Otter Lake have also formed 2-3 inches of good blue ice in the past two days. Total, they both have roughly 4 inches as of this afternoon. However, 1 inch of the ice formation is frozen slush. Recent snowfall has covered both lakes with 3-5 in of snow making walking and towing portables a little more of a challenge.

Big Platte Lake has recently formed ice on roughly 90% of its surface. It is very close to being completely frozen. It is still very unsafe and should not be fished until it has a bit more time to gain in ice thickness.

Lower Herring Lake has formed no ice as of yet. Being so close to Lake Michigan, and with the recent high winds, the lake has been extremely rough. With this week’s cold front we are hoping to at least get 100% coverage perhaps by as early as this weekend. It may be fishable with safe ice as early as next week.

Upper Herring Lake, however, does have ice coverage. In fact, one ice angler was spotted near the launch earlier this afternoon.

Arcadia Lake is also frozen, just south of Frankfort in the town of Arcadia. This can be a nice option for northern pike, lake-run yellow perch, bluegills as well as walleyes. It is uncertain just how much ice is on Arcadia, so caution should be taken as with all early-ice opportunities.

Ellis Lake, Lake Dubonnet, Spyder, and Arbutus Lake have 3-4 inches of ice. Each of these lakes has 3-5 inches of snow accumulation and should be navigated with caution. Bluegill action has been fair on Spyder Lake and the Pike fishing is steady on Lake Dubonnet.

Long Lake in Grand Traverse County has formed quite of bit of ice in the past three days. Long Lake has areas with open water and the ice that has formed is very thin and inconsistent.

We at Sport Fish Michigan look forward to many safe and successful days during this 2016 season. With that in mind, we encourage all anglers to take this report as reference and not as a guarantee. Ice conditions change with the weather patterns. It is always good to use your best judgment and always check the ice with a good spud and a friend! Tight lines and look forward to fishing with you!