Tag Archives: ice fishing

SFM Ice Fishing Report 02.04.16

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Benzie, Grand Traverse, Manistee, and Wexford County

Despite the late start to our 2016 ice season, Sport Fish Michigan has had a very busy and successful January. Clients have had the opportunity to capitalize on some excellent Perch, Pike, and Walleye action. Unfortunately, the recent warming trend has made ice conditions on most lakes a bit dangerous! Looking at the forecast we are fairly confident things will lock back up and create even better ice conditions than what we had prior to this warm spell.

Long Lake in Benzie County is still in excellent shape. The warm weather has melted all the snow on the ice surface and has refrozen making things very slippery! The Pike have been active. Tip-ups baited with Golden Minnows have been most productive. The Perch bite has been slow with a lot of small perch hanging around the shallow weed flats.

Upper Herring Lake has been hit or miss. Anglers have mostly been targeting the Walleye bite in the late evening. Fire Tiger Jigging Raps tipped with a minnow head has been a good technique. 15 to 19 feet of water has been the main feeding zone for most fish. Pike have been fairly active, cruising the steep breaks and shallow flats. Tip-ups have baited with big Blues have been most attractive.

Ellis Lake, Lake Dubonnet, Spider, and Arbutus Lake have been hit with many inches of lake effect snow. Combining the recent warm up with a large amount of snow, this has created inconsistent and dangerous ice conditions on all of these lakes. Anglers have still managed to find fishable conditions and are having success with Bluegill, Pike, and Crappie. We ask that all anglers use your best judgment.

Long Lake in Grand Traverse County is still 100% frozen. The ice is very unsafe and inconsistent. Recent snowfall has added even more weight and created very slushy conditions.

Skegemog Lake has recently had some excellent Perch fishing. Most anglers have had a lot of success fishing minnows in 15 to 20 feet of water on light fluorocarbon perch rigs. The Perch have been running in size-oriented schools. 8 to 10 inch Perch have been the norm with some anglers finding some much larger fish.

Portage Lake in Manistee County has been great. Before the recent warm up, Portage Lake had some of the best ice conditions in Northern Michigan. The ice thickness has ranged from 7 to 10 inches of good blue ice. Active Perch have been feeding from 15 to 35 feet of water. Jigging small tungsten tipped with wax worms and fishing perch rigs with big blues has been most successful. Anglers have had no problem finding 7 to 10 inch perch. There have been some very big Perch caught on Portage this past month and we are hoping for many more! Walleye action can be found in 25 to 40 feet of water during low light conditions. Angler’s techniques have varied, but most have been using Jigging Raps tipped with a minnow head. Walleye have not been coming in large numbers, but the ones being caught are very mature.

Lake Mitchell and Lake Cadillac both present good safe ice conditions. Anglers are finding good numbers of Bluegill and Crappie on both lakes. The Crappie bite has been better in the evening with good action after dark. Bluegills on Lake Mitchell have been consistent. Anglers finding weeds, structure change, and isolated depressions have had the most success. For Pike, bigger sucker minnows on tip-ups and spearing have taken most of the larger fish.

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!

SFM Ice Fishing Report 01.23.16

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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!

SFM Ice Fishing Report 01.12.16

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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!

SFM Ice Fishing Report 01.04.16

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Yes! Its early January and the guides at Sport Fish Michigan are all chomping at the bit to hit the ice. As we all know, it has been a very mild winter thus far in Northern Michigan. However, with the latest cold snap things are gradually starting to materialize. We have had guides out doing ice checks the past few days in both Benzie and Grand Traverse County. All of the smaller inland lakes seem to show similar ice conditions; in Benzie County, Long Lake, Otter, Bass, and Little Platte have 90-100% ice coverage. Each lake seems to have between 1-3 inches of ice. However the ice coverage that has formed is not solid blue ice. Recent snow accumulations and wind create what a large majority of ice that anglers like to call "Honey Comb" ice. This is not as strong as normal clear ice, as there are pockets of air in it, creating the cloudy ice. Despite the warming temperatures expected later this week, this type of ice is a great start in forming a good solid base for the 2016 season. In Grand Traverse County, Lake Dubonnet and Cedar Hedge are both showing the same ice conditions as listed above. If the weather continues on the path it is on, we could be hitting the ice as soon as early next week.

First ice in Northern Michigan is a great time to take advantage of early winter Perch and Bluegill action. Shallow water flats and gradual drop offs into deeper portions of our Northern inland lakes present a great opportunity for all pan fish species. Another active species to target this time of year is Northern Pike. Pike love to cruise the drop offs and weedy flats during first ice. Tip-ups with shiners and sucker minnows generally are the go to for this presentation.

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 a 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 we look forward to fishing with you!

Ice Season Preparation

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It’s almost Thanksgiving, and we are still a long ways off from the hardwater season here in northern Michigan. Like many other ice fishing fanatics, I can’t wait to get back out onto the ice, but just because we may not have fishable ice for a while doesn’t mean that there aren’t things we can do to get ready to hit the ice when we do get it. Preparation for the ice fishing season to me is much more than just drooling over the ice fishing catalogs and tackle and the local tackle shop. It may be a bit different for those that don’t run a busy ice guide service like I do here at Sport Fish Michigan, but the basic plan is still the same. I put together a checklist that can rundown so that I don’t forget anything.

One of the first things that I like to make sure that I do is to check all shanties. By this, I mean that I pull out the Otter Outdoors flip-over style shanties as well as the new Otter Outdoors pop-up style shanty. On a nice dry day, I will set up each shanty, inspecting it for any damage from storage or the previous season. It’s much easier to apply patches or make repairs when the weather is more mild and dry than when the wind is whipping and the snow flying. And oftentimes, most patches need warmer weather for the best adhering anyways. While the shanties are up, I also inspect them for anywhere that may become an issue during the season. Spots that get a lot of wear and tear or pressure points are likely spots to have fabric failures, and it’s far easier to attend to this type of preventative maintenance now rather than later. I look at the ice anchors as well, to make sure that they aren’t bent or dull. And I also check the lines that tie to the anchors, looking for weaknesses or frays.

Before putting away my Strikemaster ice augers in the spring for storage, I always make sure that I “summarize” them by adding a fuel stabilizer to the fuel tank. I then run the motor for a few minutes to make sure that the stabilizer is all through-out the system. Now in the fall, when I check them, I run them for a few minutes, making sure they start easily. A few hard starts now makes for easy starts on the ice. If the blades need to be sharpened or replaced, I do that now when my fingers aren’t frozen from the cold. I also look at the spark plugs to make sure they aren’t fouled or dirty. A good spark plug can make all of the difference on a cold winter’s day. Of course, if the auger isn’t working, I can take it into the repair shop now when I have time on my hands and can afford to wait. There’s nothing like an ice auger failure when you’re out on the ice. For us here at Sport Fish Michigan, we love our Strikemaster augers for their reliability and cutting ability, but because we have customers on the ice every day of the season counting on us, we always have a backup on hand for each guide trip. Just in case!

Now is also the time to recharge all of the batteries that may get used. Batteries for portable ice electronics are great at keeping a charge, but I still like to top it off. I always put away my batteries with a full charge (which is also recommended by the manufacturers), but sometimes a battery does go bad, and replacing a dead battery now will prevent a load of frustration later. And for those that use battery powered ice augers, it’s the same thing as far as charging them to make sure that they work properly.

All of our Sport Fish Michigan ice guide customers get a heated shanty to fish from, and on my fall checklist is to check the heaters. I fire each one up to make sure that it works properly. I also make sure that I have plenty of propane cylinders to get me started.

Vehicles are a huge part of our operation, as each guide customer is transported to and from their shanty when it is safe and applicable to drive a vehicle of some sort on the ice. For us, we use a few different vehicles. For most of our guide trips, Sport Fish Michigan transports its customers in a 6 person Polaris Ranger Crew. This makes ferrying our customers out to the shanties and back a breeze. Sometimes, however, the snow is deep enough that we have to use snowmobiles to transport our guests. Before the ice season, I make sure that all of the maintenance on our snowmobiles and the Polaris are all up to date.

The fun part of getting ready for the hardwater season is playing with tackle. I go through my tackle looking for hooks that need to be replaced or sharpened as well as lures or jigs that were put away improperly. In the heat of battle out on the ice, it’s easy to toss a jig or lure into the wrong place. By at least starting the season all organized, I can reasonably hope that I will cut down on the time it takes to hunt down that lure that is going to be “the ticket.” Sport Fish Michigan targets a large variety of species under the ice, and we have tons of lures, jigs, jigheads, plastics, live bait rigs and whatnot to keep track of. A rig that we use for jigging lake trout is probably not the same one that we use to catch perch or steelhead through the ice.

One thing that I am very persnickety about is the line that is on each reel. This is a component that is all too often overlooked by many anglers. The line is our only connection to a fish, and is one that I am not willing to sacrifice or compromise on. I replace any line that looks like it has seen better days, or where there may be an issue. Whether it is a tip-up spool or a rod/reel combo, I make sure to inspect each one. My Sport Fish Michigan guide customers are counting on me to have everything in working order. There are enough things that we can’t control on a guide trip, but having good line is one thing that I can control.

Chasing fish under the ice is hard enough as it is, but with a few easy items on a checklist, at least some of the frustration can be headed off. An afternoon dedicated to making sure everything is in top working order in the fall can lead to who knows how much less frustration when out on the ice and things stop working properly. I’m just as excited about getting out onto the ice as the next ice fanatic, and Sport Fish Michigan has lots of guided ice trips on the books already, and with some pre-season work, we will have everything rigged and ready when the ice forms.

SFM Ice Fishing Report 03.11.15

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Due to heavy amounts of snow and recent warmer temperatures, ice deterioration is making venturing out onto the ice difficult and dangerous. Inland lakes are experiencing ice melt at shorelines, and slushy conditions exist.

Sport Fish Michigan strongly recommends staying off ice due to these unsafe conditions.

The U.S. Coast Guard is urging people to use caution on Great Lakes waterways due to warmer temperatures and unstable ice.

http://www.kare11.com/story/weather/2015/03/10/coast-guard-offers-thin-ice-warning-for-great-lakes/24690639/

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2012/01/west_michigan_ice_cover_too_th.html

Michigan Ice Fishing Report 01.11.15

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Winter is back, and wow is it back with a vengeance! With temperatures in the low teens during the day and single digit lows for the past week, ice production is in full force. The strong winds have wind chills well below zero, and with the recent blizzard, it’s safe to say that it truly feels wintry out. How’s that for the new year!

The lakes in northern Michigan have fully frozen over, but there isn’t safe ice on all bodies of water just yet. A couple of the larger lakes, like Crystal Lake near Frankfort, as well as lakes close to the Lake Michigan coast have just frozen over, as the big lake moderates temperatures more than most people might think. The high winds have also hindered ice production. Despite ice on just about every other lake, Crystal Lake finally froze completely over just last night. A few ice anglers have ventured out onto the southeastern corner of the lake, where ice has been present for several days.

Just a few miles away, Big Platte Lake is entirely ice covered, and ice is safe due to the very cold nights and days. Big Platte is known for its big walleyes, and anglers are anxious to get out to target these tasty fish.

South and North Lake Leelanau are both ice covered. There are reports of permanent ice shanties on South Leelanau near the Michigan DNR boat launch at Bingham Road. The fishing for both perch and walleye has been pretty good from the reports of things.

Close to Interlochen, Duck Lake and Green Lake are ice covered, and reports are that fishing is decent. These lakes haven’t been frozen for that long, so caution should still be taken.

In the Traverse City area, Long Lake has over 6-7 inches of good clear ice in most spots, and the walleye bite has been very good with lots of flags for tip-up anglers. Spider Lake and Arbutus Lake are also safe to venture out onto and the fishing reports have been favorable.

Even West Grand Traverse Bay had skim ice on it yesterday. Today’s high west winds likely broke that apart, though. Ice anglers are dreaming of a repeat of last year when we were able to fish the frozen bays until late March.

In the Kalkaska area, Fife Lake is frozen solid and anglers have been targeting pike. Manistee Lake also has 6 inches of ice with more on the way.

Hamlin Lake, down in Ludington, has been frozen for a few days and the fishing has been good for pike, walleye and panfish. Some portions have only recently frozen, so caution should be the rule when fishing.

Houghton Lake is ice covered, but the strongest ice has been in the south end, where the hard north winds have pushed the ice.

Lake Mitchell and Lake Cadillac have lots of safe ice, with 10-12 inches, but fishing reports have been spotty at best, despite the many anglers that have been out. Lake Cadillac has a lot of permanent shanties on it just like normal.

Lake Missaukee, near Lake City, is fishing very well for pike, with over 10 inches of ice in most spots. The Arctic blast has brought that tally to over a foot in some spots.

With temperatures forecasted to remain below the freezing mark for the next week, things look great for having safe ice on all bodies of water. With many lakes sporting over 6 inches, it won’t be long before snowmobiles and ATVs become the common vehicle transporting ice anglers. Generally here at Sport Fish Michigan, we like a little more ice before driving vehicles out onto the ice, but that day should be just around the corner. Take care as always, and stay high and dry!

Michigan Ice Fishing Report 11.20.14

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It’s November 20th, and we already have ice forming in northern Michigan! The past few cold, wintry days have seen some ice being produced on some of the smaller bodies of water. While there is no safe ice to venture out onto yet, it’s beginning to look like we will have some early ice to play on shortly.

Of course, this weekend will be warmer with rain in the forecast, so that may melt some of the ice. But if there’s ice already forming on lakes like Little Glen Lake in Empire, that means that the water temps are cold enough to freeze again quickly even if the rain melts it away.

The recent deluge of snow has significantly cooled water temps on all of the northern Michigan bodies of water, and here at Sport Fish Michigan, we are counting the days until we can safely get out for some much anticipated ice fishing!

March 12, 2014

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Ice Fishing Report:   Current ice conditions are still safe for the most part, with many vehicles being driven out onto the ice still. This past weekend saw dozens of pickups, SUVs and even a convertible out on Grand Traverse Bays, where ice was about 16 inches thick. While the ice is still mostly safe, the warm temperatures early in the week made for some softer, slushy conditions, but there was still over a foot of drill-able ice on the Bays. The current cold snap should have the slush freeze back over, as there is little to no snow on top of the Bays. Where there is snow covering the ice, expect slushy traction. With high winds expected, as always, caution should be taken when traveling or fishing near any pressure cracks. Inland lake ice is thicker than is the ice on the Bays, but this recent sunny, warm weather has the snow atop the ice somewhat slushy. The mid-week cold temps may not freeze the slush where there is snow insulating it from above. Snowmobiles and ATVs are the normal vehicles seen out on the inland lakes, but this slush could change that quickly. As always, a conservative approach should be taken when venturing out onto the ice.

GT. Bay:
Fishing has been very good as of late.    The whitefish bite out on Grand Traverse Bay has been a little hit or miss, but when they can be found, the bite can last most of the day.   Lake trout and burbot action has been hot through the ice as of late.  Burbot are spawning, and it has been fun cashing in on the hot bite for this excellent eating fish.   Rumors are being heard that there has been a good yellow perch bite in parts of the bay, with big perch being caught.   Anglers scoring these jumbos are pretty tight-lipped about the exact locations, but the normal spots are likely the best bets.   This past weekend was windy, but with a shanty to help break up the wind, the fishing was excellent for many anglers, with almost anything dropped below the ice.

Inland Lakes:
Fishing has been good on several of the inland lakes for late-ice walleyes.   The typical tip-up and jigging setups have been the the keys to these table-side favorites.   Yellow perch have been a bit tougher to come by in good numbers, but every day is different, and as the schools move through the break lines, it’s possible to score well with a variety of baits.   Whitefish and lake trout have been a bit more stingy as of late, but action is expected to heat up again before ice-out.    Smelt on several of the inland lakes known for their smelt fishing like Crystal Lake has been good.   Anglers have been able to catch quite a few of these fan favorites.