Tag Archives: ice

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.