Sport Fish Michigan Fishing Report

Sport Fish Michigan December 2015 Angler Magazine Report

Posted on December 8, 2015 by admin

December is upon us, and our hard-water ice fishing season is still seemingly a far way off for many bodies of water. With a much milder El Nino winter, it seems that there is still be much more open-water fishing to be had here in northern Michigan. Rivers will stay open, unlike the past two winters, and big bodies of water like Grand Traverse Bays will almost assuredly remain open as well.

Grand Traverse Bays in early winter can be an awesome place to wet a line when the weather cooperates. Lake trout season is still closed out on the Bays, but there is still some great yellow perch action to be had, and whitefish will be moving shallow as well. For perch anglers, Deep Water Point on East Bay is always a go-to spot. Wigglers or minnows are the top choices out here on the Bays, but sometimes a jigging spoon can really help to attract fish that are spread out. Personally, I like a jigging spoon with a dropper chain tipped with a couple of wigglers or a small piece of minnow to call in fussy fish. Very often it’s a small jigging cadence that gets fish to move in closer, and then a dead-stick approach to tempt bites. Many perch anglers opt to use their ice fishing electronics for this style of fishing because it is immediate feedback on how a fish is reacting to our offerings. And don’t be surprised when a big Grand Traverse Bay whitefish or lake trout gobbles up your perch rig. Whitefish love a vertically jigged Swedish pimple or a small Jonah Jig. Wigglers work well at times, also, but whitefish can be so tricky in hooking when using wigglers, that sometimes it’s better to look for other techniques.

Steelhead on the rivers are still a great option in December, before the dead of winter truly sets in. Last year, winter hit us in November and didn’t let up. This year, water should be flowing well throughout the winter if we do indeed have the El Nino year that is predicted. Spawn bags can work wonders on Lake Michigan tributary steelhead, but don’t forget about small jigs tipped with wax worms. The old Jig and wax routine can be truly deadly on winter steelhead when fished under a float. And if there are trout in the system? They love a good wax worm too!

Inland lakes probably won’t see too much ice in December, with the exception of the smaller lakes in the middle of the state. Lakes closer to Lake Michigan will be protected by the big lake, tempering air temperatures. This means that anglers can still get out in a boat on many bodies of water. Yellow perch are the target of choice for many anglers, and the techniques that work on the Bays work well here too. The flash of a minnow can really trigger aggressive feeding responses from big perch this time of year, and with fishing pressure low, these fish are often very willing to bite.

Fishing Report April 23, 2015

Posted on April 23, 2015 by admin

Having just returned from a very productive trip down to the Detroit River for some walleye jigging, now is a great time to discuss some of the particulars that make that fishery such an incredible one, and how anglers curious about fishing the Detroit River can get a head start towards success.

With a DNR-estimated 10-12 million walleye running up the Detroit River to spawn, this urban setting transforms into a true world-class fishery. Not only for perfect eater-size walleyes, but for trophies, too. Fish over 10 pounds are fairly common in early April, and there are numerous fish over 12 and 13 pounds caught every year.

Once the ice floes from Lake St. Clair subside in early April, walleyes begin to swim upstream from Lake Erie. This is the big fish time, and anglers in the know target giant walleyes during the first 2 or 3 weeks of April. The last portion of April, and through the first couple of weeks of May, is the time to target numbers as well as eaters. Eaters are generally sized between 1 and 4 pounds. These fish swarm the river once slightly warmer water begins flowing in late April.

To catch these awesome eating fish, anglers tend to employ one of 2 basic methods. Handlining is a staple for many seasoned veterans. This technique covers lots of water, keeping lure presentations in the strike zone almost the entire time. What we at Sport Fish Michigan love is vertical jigging. Jigging the Detroit River is simple in principle, but much more complicated in the intricacies that make this technique so deadly.

Generally speaking, jigs between half an ounce and an ounce are used to bounce along the river bottom while slipping down-current. The river is full of rocky snags, and bouncing the river’s bottom vs. dragging the bottom is critical to not snagging. Braided line is also a must for us, since the diameter of the line is far less than that of monofilament or fluorocarbon. It also allows for much more sensitivity, and anglers can feel each thump of the bottom affirming bottom contact, which is important information. Without this feedback, it’s all too easy to let the jig accidentally drag along the bottom, inevitably resulting in snags.

Successful jigging motions can vary from day to day, but the rule of thumb tends to be small, short jigs, about 6 inches in height. With braided line, a 6 inch jigging motion moves much closer to 12 inches under the water. Small jigging motions allow for more contact with the bottom, where the walleyes hug in the river current. Additionally, a small jigging motion keeps the bait in the strike zone more of the time than does a longer jigging motion. There are times, however, that walleyes will want a longer jigging motion. Experimenting each day will let anglers know what will trigger the fish on any given day.

Sport Fish Michigan Captains tend to use similar tackle. Through trial and error, we have refined our techniques and tackle preferences to put our customers on the best fishing setups that we can. I prefer 8-10 pound braided line. If the water has a clarity of more than 2 feet, I also like to use a short fluorocarbon leader, about 2-3 feet or so. Walleyes typically don’t have time to inspect a bait closely due to the river’s current, so braided line tied directly to a jig is fine in most instances, but there are times that I am convinced that a short leader can lead to more bites.

The use of a treble stinger hook on my jigs is a must, as walleyes will often strike short. Part of the reason for this is because walleyes don’t have a lot of time to look at a bait as it comes down in the swift river current. Using a stinger hook will help to hook these short-biters.

Anglers use a variety of soft plastics on their jigs. While there are many different baits that will work, the 2 that I tend to use more than others are the Wyandotte Wonder worm and the Lunker City Fin S Fish. I have also used various paddle tail style baits with great success as well. Early in the spring, when waters coming out of Lake St. Clair are cold, I like to also tip my jig with a 3-4 inch minnow. I also use water temperature as a guide to whether to use a minnow on my jig or not. With water under 50 degrees, I am a firm believer in the use of a minnow. This was proven time and again this past week as a successful tactic. Waters were 44 degrees, and bites seemed to be almost immediate when we had a minnow. When we did not have a minnow on our jigs, bites were very few and far between.

The Detroit River is a big river with lots of flow. Navigating through heavy boat traffic is something anglers must be conscious of before launching. This is also a shipping channel, and freighters and freighter wake are common. Make sure to have all of the boat’s safety equipment onboard and in good working order before getting out onto the river. And, as always, take care, be safe, and have fun on the water!

Michigan River Fishing Report 08.26.14

Posted on August 26, 2014 by admin

Salmon and Lake Trout Trolling

Frankfort

Frankfort’s salmon fishing has been hit or miss lately for most of the charter boats. Salmon have shown up in waves, and when they do, they have been incredibly snappy, with lots of happy customers and anglers alike. Meat rigs and spoons are the keys to getting salmon to go, and first light and last light have been the hottest times to be on the water. Anglers arriving after first light have often missed the best salmon bite. Kings continue to dominate the salmon catches, but a few coho are being caught as well. By far, the most consistent fishing has been the lake trout fishing, with lots of big fish coming boat-side. And with a diet consisting more and more of gobies, the lake trout meat is a beautiful orange hue, very closely resembling that of salmon. Lakers are being taken both close to bottom and suspended. Anglers targeting “the bank” have done well when the salmon are around, but many are making the run to fish west Platte Bay to specifically target the lakers.
Capt. Andy Odette

Leland

Leland’s fishing has been an up and down roller coaster much like Frankfort’s. When the pockets of king salmon have come through, the fishing has been stellar. The recent few days of hot steamy weather has shut things down salmon-wise a bit more than anglers would prefer, after several days of hot fishing. Lake trout fishing has been curiously inconsistent as well, but what fish are being caught have been dandies. Fishing tight to bottom has been the most productive, but targeting suspending fish has also scored fish throughout the day.
Capt. Brady Anderson

West Bay

West Bay in Traverse City has been mostly consistent the past several days. The hot weather the past few days has pushed the fish deeper, but the salmon are still staged around the “hole” near the mouth of the Boardman River. Trollers have done well when hitting the first light of day. Lake trout fishing remains awesome, fishing suspended fish in about 80 feet of water. Not only are fish seemingly plentiful, they are running fairly large, too.
Capt. Brady Anderson

East Bay

East Bay salmon fishing has been consistent lately, but not fast and furious. Charter boats are getting anywhere from 2-5 fish a trip, but are hoping for better numbers of king salmon to move into the system in the upcoming days. Lake trout fishing remains red hot, with lots of big fish coming to the boat. Targeting suspended fish is the key, and 80 feet down seems to be the best depth right now. As always, when fishing for king salmon, the hottest bite is either the first light of day or dusk right before last light in the evening.
Capt. Adam Collett

Salmon and Lake Trout Jigging

Platte Bay

Platte Bay is still fishing reasonably well for lake trout. There are lots of smaller sub-legal fish in the system, which means that when these schools are found, it can be nonstop action. Even the smaller 16-18 inch trout pound an ounce and a half jig incredibly hard. For targeting larger keeper-size fish, the deeper breaks have been the ticket. Coho salmon are starting to show, just not in great numbers yet. The forecast has some north wind for the next couple of days, and that may be all that’s needed to bring in more of these awesome fish where we can target them with jigging techniques before they get up shallow in their staging area just outside the mouth of the Platte River. Fishing in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is a special opportunity, and with such a wonderful backdrop of the Dunes and the Manitou Islands, who couldn’t help but love to fish out on Platte Bay?
Capt. Ben Wolfe

West Bay

Jigging for lake trout has been great the past couple of weeks. Fish are mostly deep now that summer is finally here in earnest. The past few days of hot weather has really made it pleasant to be out on the water. Lakers have been scattered depth-wise, but the best jigging bite has been in 105-120 feet of water. Use 1-2 ounce jigs to target lakers that deep. Salmon are starting to show up in the “hole” near the mouth of the Boardman River, meaning that jigging action for king salmon should be heating up soon. Jigging spoons up to 3 ounces are the keys to getting bit by the big king salmon that roam these waters.
Capt. Brady Anderson

East Bay

Jigging for East Bay for lake trout has been stellar lately. Of course, not every day can be a banner day, but the action has been great overall. Not only are numbers of fish coming to the boat, but the average size has been tremendous as well, with quite a few fish in the 6-8 pound range. The best bite for our trips has been in 105 plus feet of water. Early in the day, we have been able to get good numbers of fish in as shallow as 80 feet as well. As the day progresses, we have moved deeper, as the trout have moved to deeper water as well. We have even been able to target suspending fish by either dropping our ounce and a half size jigs down to them, or reeling up quickly through the water column, triggering aggressive bites from the suspending fish. There’s nothing quite like reeling up from the bottom quickly only to watch the rod double over as an aggressive lake trout grabs the jig as it comes by! Whitefish have also been caught on occasion, adjacent to the lakers, in 100 plus feet.
Capt. Ben Wolfe

Michigan River Fishing

Big Manistee River (Lower)

King salmon are starting to show up on the Big Manistee River, and angling pressure is increasing as well. Although there aren’t big numbers just yet, the recent rain should pull more fish into the rivers, and the north winds predicted for the next couple of days, although not predicted to be high, should bring some more fish into the staging areas of Manistee Lake. Trout fishing remains excellent, despite the late August date! Small spinners have produced well on recent guide trips, and 50 fish days are still possible. Although most of the fish are small 10-12 inches, they are scrappy and a lot of fun to catch. Larger fish in the 16-18 inch range are also being caught, mixed in with the smaller ones. Bass fishing on the Manistee has been tougher lately. Soft plastic jerkbaits have been the ticket for the smallies in the river the past few days, as have been weighted flies resembling minnows.
Capt. Ben Wolfe

Betsie River

King salmon have started to run the river, and what fish are in the river are mostly above the Homestead dam. The heavy rains yesterday should bring more fish into the low portion of the Betsie, below the dam. The fish are bright chrome and feisty, so beefing up on leader material is a good idea. Early salmon will absolutely chase a streamer when presented well, and watching a bright chrome king salmon chase a fly in shallow waters like the Betsie is tough to beat! Some of the best stretches are reached by boat, but then can be waded easily.
Capt. Jeff Mallory

Platte River

There haven’t been any cohos that have run up the Platte to speak of, but there are still walleyes in Loon Lake, in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. With the summery weather the past few days, tubing and kayaking action on the Platte has picked up, so anglers should be watchful for tubes, kayaks and canoes. Labor Day weekend will be busy if the weather is nice, so it may be best for anglers to go early in the day if they plan on getting out before the crowds.
Capt. Jeff Mallory
Michigan Smallmouth Bass Fishing

Grand Traverse Bays

Smallies are mostly deep these days, as the summer pattern is here in earnest. Drop shot rigs are the top producers when fishing this deep, and baits resembling gobies are working the best. Deep water here means fishing down in 30 plus feet of water. Windy weather helps to get fish active up shallower, and lures like spinnerbaits can work well when the wind is howling. The past several days have been hot, and while there has been some breeze, it has not been windy enough to really even try to target shallow fish. The deeper fish have been scrappy and fun to catch for guide trip customers. While the average size is a respectable pound and a half or so, there have been a reasonable number of fish in the 3-4+ pound range to make for extremely happy clients, despite the fact that it is late August.
Capt. Ben Wolfe

Northern Michigan Inland Lakes

Most of the inland lakes are fishing tougher than we would like. Lots of weeds makes fishing tougher still, as lure choice plays a role in that baits must get down through the weeds to the deeper waters where the bass roam in the summer. Early mornings can still be topwater time, fishing over the weed edges. Points, inside turns and humps adjacent to deep water are the keys to success on the inland lakes, and don’t be surprised when a pike or two lashes out at bass baits ripped through the weeds.
Capt. Ben Wolfe

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