Michigan Fishing
Michigan is home to Four of the Great
Lakes and Outstanding Walleye, Salmon and Trout
Fishing. Find detailed information on Michigan Fishing, Lake Michigan Fishing,
Michigan Fishing Resorts, Michigan Fishing Charters, Michigan Salmon
Fishing, Michigan Campgrounds, Michigan Fishing
Reports and
More
Michigan is known around the country as a prime destination for World
Class Salmon and Walleye Fishing. With incredible fishing lakes like:
Lake
Michigan,
Lake
Erie,
Lake
Gogebic,
Houghton
Lake,
Lake St Clair and
Higgins
Lake, you are sure to catch
your limit on these and most Michigan Lakes. Spend your fishing vacation at one of our great
Michigan
Fishing Resorts and you will
find it's a place worth coming back for again and again. There is also
great
Michigan Lake Property for sale throughout the
state, so you can find your Dream Lake Home. Camping at
Michigan
Campgrounds is also a popular choice for a
fun Michigan Fishing vacation. Make sure to get your
Michigan
boat licence to
safely navigate the MI Lakes. Whether you enjoy
trophy fishing or just a relaxing vacation, you will find
beautiful Michigan Lakes throughout the state.
Michigan
Ice Fishing Report
A few ice
anglers have started to venture out on the area lakes. Many of
the small, shallow lakes and shallow, wind protected bays have
between 3-6 inches of ice. Do not venture out over the main
bodies of deep lakes as many of these areas just recently
froze. Avoid areas around springs or near current. Be sure to
check with your local bait shop for current ice conditions. If
venturing out to unfamiliar areas, use a spud bar to check the
ice as you walk out, wear safety picks, bring a throw cushion
with rope attached and a friend. Anglers looking for more
consistent ice should head north.
Bluegills
will be found near mid depth weed beds. A spring bobber, No.
1- No. 2 test line and No. 12 to No. 16 sized ice jigs must be
used to entice gills. Spikes, wax worms, mousies and wigglers
work best for live bait. Moon Jigs, Ratfinkees, Marmooskas and
Skandia tungsten have been the preferred jig styles. Ice
plastics such as Wedgies, Duppies or Micro Nuggies dressed on
a 1/100th oz. ball jig have also worked well.
Crappies will
be most active during early morning and evening hours. Tip
downs or "dead-sticking" with a No. 14 treble hook baited with
a small fathead, rosy red or Lake Shiner minnow has worked
best. An ice jig baited with a wiggler, wax worm, or ice
plastic also effective. For aggressive crappies try using a
small jigging spoon such as a Lil Cecil, Frostee, Forage
Minnow or small Swedish Pimple.
Northern pike
most active around shallower weed beds. Tip-ups rigged with a
fluorocarbon leader, No. 6 or No. 4 treble hook and baited
with a large golden shiner or medium sucker has produced the
most action.
Walleye
fishing will be best during dark hours. Shallower weed flats
will produce the most fish. Tip-ups rigged with a fluorocarbon
leader, No. 10 or No. 12 red or glow treble hook and baited
with a medium golden shiner or large lake shiner minnow will
work well. Jigging with a Jigging Rapala, Darter, Swedish
Pimple or Buck Shot spoon tipped with a piece of minnow will
attract aggressive walleyes.
Walleye in Lake Gogebic
normally hold close to weedbeds,
dropoffs, and best in areas with
both features. They usually move towards the edge of deep
holes as the water warms. The hungry post-spawn walleye
respond to a variety of baits and methods, while jigging along
edges becomes one of the most popular techniques later in the
season. Try 1/4 oz jigs with minnows early in the year, and
leeches later in the year.
Weeds and small drop offs are the only structure this lake has
to offer, causing walleye to collect in dense pockets. In the
spring, before there are many weeds, trolling the shallows
with crankbaits provides the best opportunity for big
catches. The shallows on the east side of the lake, around
the
CutRiver, is a good place in early summer.
After the weeds get thick, pitching a jig or slip bobber
tipped with a leech into weed pockets is a good bet. Try the
weed pockets in Prudenville throughout summer.
Portage
Lake is a consistent producer
of big walleyes that remain active throughout the summer,
partially because it can be tricky to pull fish out of the
dense vegetation and structure. Lake Portage provides good
protection from anglers and other fish, as well as a plentiful
food source, to allow many of them to reach trophy size.
Jigging is the best way to get a hook in front of Portage Lake
walleye once the vegetation arrives. The best setup is a long
rod with a strong backbone to jerk those trophy's above any
weeds and brush they could use to snap your line.
Pitching a jig tipped with a worm or leech into a weed pocket
and twitching it until it settles to the bottom is a proven
technique.
This lake holds a lot of walleyes, with 6-10
pounders being fairly common.
This, combined with structures
well-suited for trolling, make it easy to locate and catch big
walleye. In springtime and early summer, target gravel
bottoms near drop offs. The warmer the water gets, the deeper
the fish go, holding to reef areas across the lake. Several
good reefs are on the west end of the lake, averaging about 12
feet deep and surrounded by areas that drop to 40-60 feet.
Casting or trolling crankbaits across the reefs is a good way
to hone in on active fish, starting close to the bottom and
working towards the surface.
Hit
big dropoffs, like those around
Murphy’s and Hasting’s Points,
near the middle of the lake. A deep hole in
RobbinsBay, in the
southwest portion of the lake, holds walleye throughout the
middle of the day. Night fishing is another good way to
find relaxed walleye feeding. They are likely to be in the
shallows, making them vulnerable to casting and trolling with
shallow running crankbaits and spinners.
Michigan Walleye Fishing Tips
1.
Look for primary and secondary points that jut
out into deep water and also humps, underwater islands, rock
bars and dropoffs. Steep breaks or sudden depth changes near a
channel are hotspots for jumbo walleyes in summer and fall.
2.
Normally, a
slow, steady retrieve is best for casting crankbaits to
walleyes. If that doesn't work,
try moderate and even fast retrieves. Also, experiment with
the stop-and-go approach: Reel a
few turns on the handle and suddenly stop. Wait several
seconds; reel again. This jerky action is
sometimes the key to a heavy catch.
3.
When fish are
deeper than 15 feet, consider vertical-jigging. Position your
boat directly over the
structure or a spot where you've pinpointed fish or baitfish
on the sonar. Lower a spoon or jig to
the depth that fish are holding, or slightly above that; then,
begin pumping the rod tip up and down anywhere from 6 to 24
inches. Be sure to lower the rod tip just fast enough so that
the lure falls freely, but no slack forms in the line. Strikes
will often come on the drop, and if too much slack gets in the
line, you won't be able to detect the subtle hits or set the
hook quickly enough.
4.
On spring and
summer nights, walleyes often head to the shallows after
sunset. A thin-minnow plug from 4 to 6 inches in length is
best, but shallow-diving crankbaits can also produce well.
Cast and retrieve these slowly and steadily over shallow
points, reefs, humps, and the edges of islands.
5.
For daytime
summer walleye fishing, key in on these favored types of
structure: reefs, primary and
secondary points, humps, rock bars, flooded timber and
depressions in the main lake. Also pay
attention to inlets and outlets where the current can attract
baitfish and walleyes.
