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SFM Ice Fishing Report 12.22.16

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Benzie, Grand Traverse, Wexford County, Antrim, and Manistee Counties

Ice fishing season is approaching very fast in northern Michigan! It is so exciting to see most of the inland lakes in the area making ice in late December. Mid December provided very cold temps, which had us pointed in the right direction, but now with the warming trend, things are at a standstill in ice formation. All of the lakes listed in this report are lakes that we have had a chance to check in the past few days, we will be adding more lakes to report as time progresses. We ask that all anglers take nothing for granted and use extreme caution when getting out on the water this upcoming week.

Taking all of the recent variables into consideration, and with the forecasted warming trend coming in this next week, anglers should use extreme caution. Most lakes listed in this report have 3-5 inches of snow on the surface; with the warm weather ahead this will make for worsening ice strength and very slushy, wet conditions. The condition of each lake listed below will definitely get more unsafe after the forecasted warm front.

Long Lake in Benzie County has formed 3-5 inches of ice. With high winds this past week the ice in some areas is thicker than others. The pike have been found in 7-10ft of water on top of, and adjacent to, weed beds and flats. Spearing has been slow, however, tip-up action has been fair with presenting golden minnows and smaller suckers 1-2ft off bottom.

Green Lake in Grand Traverse County has recently produced 100% ice cover. It is definitely not safe to fish, but it is great to see 1-2 inches of good blue ice form on such a fantastic lake this early in the season. We are hoping for cooler weather in the next week or so to continue to build ice on this body of water. First ice for smelt, perch and large pike can be productive on this particular body of water.

Long Lake in Grand Traverse County has 100% ice coverage. As many of you know, it is very protected by the wind so the recent snowfall has had quite an impact on the ice surface. With only 2-3 inches of ice and large amounts of snow, we caution all anglers to stay off the ice until better conditions with thicker ice arrive.

Skegemog Lake in Antrim County has 2-3 inches of ice coverage off of the south shore access site. This is another lake we are very happy to see freeze so early in the season. Skegemog is an excellent lake to target first ice perch feeding in the shallow weed flats. Anglers using blues, tungsten jigs and wax worms will have great success. We are looking forward to getting out on Skegemog as soon as safe ice conditions persist. Skegemog is NOT safe to fish at this current time.

Portage Lake in Manistee County has made 2-3 inches of ice coverage. Being so close to Lake Michigan, heavy west winds have kept most of the snow off of the ice’s surface. We encourage anglers to wait for colder temperatures and thicker ice before venturing out on Portage. Portage Lake provides excellent perch, walleye and pike fishing for anglers to take advantage of.

Lake Mitchell and Lake Cadillac have both formed 3-5 inches of ice; anglers have been on both lakes for the past week. From what we are seeing and hearing, ice off Kenwood Park on Cadillac seems to have the safest ice. Crappie and pike are being found in 15-25 ft. Anglers fishing Mitchell have been sticking strictly to Big Cove, crappie and blue gill action has been hit or miss this past week. We stress that all anglers use extreme caution when hitting these two lakes.

We at Sport Fish Michigan look forward to many safe and successful days during this 2017 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 we’re looking 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.