Outdoor News Daily

Ice conditions in the southern half of the Lower Peninsula have deteriorated quickly. Any remaining ice is not safe. Those looking to ice fish will want to head to the northern half of the Lower Peninsula or the Upper Peninsula. The inland walleye, pike and muskie season will close on March 15th.

Southeast Lower Peninsula

Lake Erie – Has open water for the most part. Any remaining ice is not safe and should be avoided.

River Raisin – Has high water levels.

Huron River – Water levels are still high and muddy. Anglers are catching steelhead between the coffer dam and Flat Rock when using black and orange floats with spawn. Walleye have started to run up into the river.

Detroit River – Water levels are up and ice is still coming down. Boat anglers need to use extreme caution and watch for winds out of the east. Boat anglers are launching at the Metro Park launch and heading up to Gibraltar to fish the canals.

Lake St. Clair – There is no safe ice and the water is very turbid due to runoff. Most of the boat ramps are accessible however the skid piers are not in yet. Fishing should improve once the waters start to clear up.

Port Sanilac – There is no safe ice to report.

Port Austin – There is no safe ice to report.

Saginaw Bay – Ice conditions on most of the Bay have deteriorated. Persistent onshore winds have driven ice onto the beach in the Linwood area. The piles of ice are as high as some of the houses. Elsewhere, shore ice is bad for at least a good half mile offshore, and the only anglers going out are using air-boats. Ice fishing on the bay is pretty much done for this winter.

Tittabawassee River – Is not fishable due to high water levels and floating ice. The boat ramps are also flooded.

Saginaw River – Is full of floating ice. The water levels are up and the boats ramps are flooded. Anglers will have to wait for the water levels to come back down before the river will be fishable.

Pigeon River – At Caseville is packed with flow ice.

Southwest Lower Peninsula

New Buffalo – Word has it pier anglers are taking some coho and brown trout.

St. Joe – Has open water in the channel and around the piers. Anglers might want to try fishing crawlers off the bottom for brown trout or spawn for coho.

St. Joe River – All the fish ladders are now open. Walleye and steelhead fishing has been good however the water levels are up so use caution. A few suckers have also been caught.

Kalamazoo River – Anglers are taking fair to good numbers of steelhead and walleye below the Allegan Dam.

Grand River at Grand Rapids – Water levels are extremely high and fast. Boat anglers will need heavy anchors so they do not get into trouble. Good steelhead fishing off the east wall with limit catches reported when using pink and chartreuse yarn, spawn or flies. On the west side, anglers are using peach cobbler wobble glows with a #12 treble hook with 3 chartreuse beads. Boats are trolling small dipsey divers with floating rapalas that have the front two hooks taken off to prevent snagging. Look for walleye off Fulton Street and the college wall. Good steelhead action on the west side of the river when using spawn under a bobber, choker bags or crawlers.

Grand River at Lansing – All the fish ladders are open except for the one at the Webber Dam, and that should be open by the end of the week.

Looking Glass River – No pike activity to report due to the high water levels.

Maple River – Has high water levels.

Reeds Lake – There is no safe ice to report.

Muskegon – Pier anglers have started to catch steelhead when the ice is out.

Muskegon Lake – Conditions are no longer safe for ice fishing.

Muskegon River – Is high and muddy however this is still a good time to land a couple steelhead. Try spawn, yarn, flies or floating rapalas.

Northeast Lower Peninsula

East Twin Lake – Has light fishing pressure and moderate catch rates for perch. The ice is holding however conditions are deteriorating in the warm weather. There is a lot of water on top of the ice. Anglers will want to use extreme caution and watch out for predrilled holes as water is draining and making the holes bigger. Be sure to wear cleats for easier travel.

West Twin Lake – Has better fishing pressure with moderate to fair success on perch and walleye. Some days were good while others have been very slow. Anglers using a perch minnow with a tear drop have caught the most fish. Walleye anglers are using a rapala minnow in perch colors.

Au Sable River – Some steelhead have been caught at the mouth and up near Foote Dam.

Higgins Lake – Still has ice however anglers should not be taking cars or trucks out on the lake. Smelt have been caught in 15 to 20 feet of water south of the west side boat launch during the day and along the west shoreline in the evening. Pike are hitting on tip-ups with smelt as bait in the areas where smelt can be found. A few lake trout are still being caught and some rainbow trout have been caught in shallow waters up by the Conference Center when using wigglers. Look for the bigger perch in shallow waters once the weather stabilizes.

Houghton Lake – Still had good ice but a couple areas had broken shoreline ice. Walleye action was still good along the north shore, East Bay, and the Middle Grounds. Shiners with Swedish Pimples or rapalas produced fish. Pike continue to hit on tip-ups with sucker minnows or golden shiners. Anglers are still waiting for the bluegills to come in.
Northwest Lower Peninsula

Elk Lake – Only had a few permanent ice shanties still on the lake. Lake trout ranging from 10 to 30 inches were caught off the Whitewater Park when using minnows and jigging Swedish Pimples in 80 to 140 feet of water. Lake herring were caught near the town of Kewadin and in Spencer Bay in 20 to 50 feet of water when using wax worms or spawn. Whitefish anglers were heading out after dark and fishing in 50 to 60 feet of water near Elk Rapids. Only one walleye was caught near the park in 90 feet of water.

Skegemog Lake – Still has lots of anglers looking for perch off the Baggs Road access site and in the northwest portion of the lake near the narrows. Try 10 to 15 feet of water with minnows, wax worms, mousies, or wigglers. For pike, use minnows in 12 to 15 feet of water around the flats. Panfish activity has increased over the last week near the access site with bluegills, pumpkinseed, and rock bass caught.

Traverse City – Both the East Bay and the West Bay reported ice fishing however strong winds could knock the ice out of the bays at anytime. Extreme caution needs to be used.

Boardman River – Anglers are catching steelhead.

Glen Lake – Still had ice. The perch have started to move off Inspiration Point. On Little Glen, the perch were hitting good along the south, southwest end of the lake. Try minnows in 12 to 14 feet of water. Recent snowfall has produced about 4 inches of slush on the lake.

Crystal Lake – Ice conditions were holding however strong winds in the forecast this week could take the ice out. Use extreme caution and keep the cars and trucks off the ice.

Green Lake – Still had ice and fair to good smelt fishing.

Betsie River – Some steelhead have been caught when using spawn or wax worms.

Lake Cadillac – The ice is still holding and it looks like anglers will be able to enjoy at least one more weekend of ice fishing.

Lake Mitchell – The ice here is also holding, so anglers should be able to find some pike and panfish.

Manistee River – Water levels are high but catch rates for steelhead should start to improve as the high water brings in more fish. Wading will be difficult.

Hamlin Lake – Bluegills were caught off the Wilson Hill Park in 12 feet of water. Try wax worms on pink or yellow jigs just off the bottom. A few crappie can still be found off Lincoln Road in 29 feet of water. Try lively minnows hooked in the back and fished 6 to 8 feet off the bottom.

Ludington – Had open water around the piers for steelhead fishing.

UPPER PENINSULA

Keweenaw Bay – Lake trout, herring, coho, whitefish and perch action was slow. A few bigger fish were caught off the Big Reef in 150 to 180 feet of water but anglers will need to move around until they locate a school of fish. Smelt were caught between Baraga and Bucks Marina for those fishing between dusk and midnight.

Marquette – Ice conditions here are poor! Cohos and chinook were being caught by the big and little bubbler when jigging cut bait and bucktail jigs. Herring and whitefish action was slow. The Lower Harbor also has poor ice as much of it is honeycombed and the holes are not freezing. Proceed with caution on any ice in the harbors.

Menominee – Ice conditions are changing by the day, so anglers need to know the area before venturing out. In the bay, the ice within one half mile from shore is holding but has slush on top. Anglers are mainly jigging for perch with or without natural bait in 10 to 20 feet of water. No big numbers and the fish were small. A couple lake whitefish and some smelt were also caught.

Menominee River – Still had ice near Sixth Street. A few perch and some smaller walleye have been caught when jigging different colored jigs alone or when adding a piece of minnow or wax worm in 12 feet of water. Lots of trout anglers have started to show up. Some are wading while others are fishing the open waters from the ice near the Hattie Street Dam. Some nice brown trout have been caught near the dam, Boom Island and Stephenson Island. These anglers need to use extreme caution when depending on the ice to cross over to the islands as the ice has been changing daily. Try using spawn, yarn or any color rapalas. Fish were caught off the catwalk on the Hattie Street Bridge. A few walleye are still being taken on the Wisconsin side in the early morning or late evening. Be careful on the ice!

Little Bay De Noc – Warm temperatures created some soft edges but overall the ice was holding. Use caution when traveling along the southern areas of the Bay. Good numbers of fish were marked however fishing was fair. The best walleye catches were reported off the Escanaba River when jigging rapalas and minnows in 30 to 36 feet of water and off the Center Reef when using tip-ups in 33 to 50 feet of water. Perch anglers did well when jigging minnows in 10 to 14 feet of water at Kipling. Several 14 inch fish were taken. Pike action was fair to good in the Escanaba Harbor when spearing and at Kipling when spearing or using tip-ups with sucker minnows in 8 to 23 feet of water. Anglers have one more weekend for walleye.

Munising – Ice conditions are holding in Au Train Bay, Trout Bay and Munising Bay. Trout Bay has hit-or-miss coho action. Those able to catch them have taken some limits when jigging cut bait. Some are heading out past Trout Bay for lake trout though no fish were recorded. Use extreme caution if you head out north of Grand Island as the ice out there can change rapidly! Slow fishing off the Anna River and the City Dock. Sand Point produced a few small whitefish, splake, coho and smelt.

Munuscong Bay – Anglers targeting walleye and northern pike have until the end of the week as the season will close on March 15th. Currently, the walleye are scattered with catch rates fluctuating daily for those jigging or still-fishing in 3 to 5 feet of water.

Cedarville and Hessel – Perch in Hessel Bay have moved towards the east end where anglers are using wigglers in 6 to 12 feet of water. Perch are also hitting along the east end of Musky Bay.

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