Houghton Lake 6/20/15

Houghton Lake 7 FOW

  

Fished on the Northwest side of Houghton Lake on Saturday evening.  We fished from 7:30pm - 10:45pm and caught 9 walleyes with 4 keepers and some nice pan fish while trolling in 7 FOW.  The bite was good all evening trolling crank baits.

Good Luck...

Houghton Lake 

Manistique Lakes Fishing Trip

South Manistique Lake 11 FOW

We spent two weekends up in Curtis fishing Big Manistique Lake and South Manistique Lake with the kids and friends.  The weather didn't cooperate most of the time, but we still had a great time at Curtis.  We stayed a Pine Bluffs on both weekends which was great and made a new friend.  Mick the owner of Micks Bait shop was great and very helpful.  She has really improved the store and has about everything you need.  www.facebook.com/micksbaitshop 

The fishing report summary:

Big Manistique Lake was good on the South side of the lake along the break in the evening and in the weeds during the day. Most of the fishermen on the lake were fishing with jigs and spinners drifting close to the bottom.  We found most of our fish in 10 to 12 FOW hanging around the 6 foot mark. Our best bite was on scatter raps on boards run back 20 to 28 foot.  The pike action made the planner boards lots of work, but it was worth it.  The best fish we caught on the big lake was 19 inches and the average fish was 14 7/8 inches. 

South Lake was about the same as the big lake but we found more pike and bigger walleye on both trips to the lake.  We caught walleyes on the East side of the lake, both bays, and the South end.  The wind dictated our fishing locations on all trips and limited our exploring. 

Good Luck....

South Lake Walleyes

Morning catch Big Lake

Scatter Rap Double 

Big Lake walleye on the south shore

Great view at Pine Bluffs

Casting Scatter Raps at the break

Manistique Lakes Walleye

Trolling the South Lake

Broken Scatter Raps Day 1

Houghton Lake 5/2/15

Houghton Lake

First fish of the year.

Houghton Lake 10 FOW 

Headed up to the lake at 5pm and fished till dark.  Warm weather is really making the fish come to life.  We started out in 11 FOW on the West side of the lake and found bait fish and pike.  We worked the area until dark and ended up with five walleye.  Best action was over the weeds in 10 FOW using inline boards with thundersticks 5 foot off the board.  Inline boards are a lot of work in pike country but they paid off on this trip.

Good Luck....

Houghton Lake 5/1/14

Ed & Joe Houghton Lake 

Houghton Lake 11 FOW North Shore

Had a great time fishing with Ed and Joe on Friday.  We started our trip at 10am on the North shore trolling in 8 to 12 FOW.  The bite got better as the sun came out and then shut down at at noon.  We moved west and stopped along the way to jig a few areas and never hooked a fish.  At 3:00pm we started trolling and ended on the South shore at 7:00pm where we found lots of pike and bass.  Overall we had a great time fishing and scouting the lake on a beautiful day.  

Houghton Lake 4/29/15

Houghton Lake 

Fished Houghton Lake with the dogs on Wednesday from 9;30pm - to 1pm and had a great time.  We started out on the South shore and hooked three undersized walleye quickly  East of the boat launch in 8 FOW.  Right when the fishing got good the wind kicked in and pushed us back to the North side of the lake.  We ended up with four keepers, four undersized walleyes and a few pike in the mix.  Like opening day my best action was on natural colors.  Getting fish by moving and checking weed areas. 

Good Luck.....

Houghton Lake South Shore fish inspection

Macy waiting for something to happen

Houghton Lake 2015 Opener

Houghton Lake North Shore 11 FOW

Catch and Release Pike 11 FOW 

Opening day was cool and windy, but it was a hundred percent better then last year.  We only made it our for the afternoon and headed to the north shore to break the wind.  The fish we found were scattered and in 8 to 11 FOW all on natural colors.  We hooked some nice pike and three walleye from 4pm to 7pm.  

Good Luck....

Steelhead Report - Until Walleye Season is open on Houghton Lake...

Spring is the time of switching from hard water fishing (ICE) to lakes and streams.  While we are waiting for the Walleye season to open up at Houghton Lake... Let's Pause for some Steelhead River Action.

For more tips, links and updates on the Steelhead Action visit:

http://misteelhead.blogspot.com/2015/04/rogue-river-rockford-april-4-2015.html

Houghton Lake 2/28/15

Houghton Lake

Fishing Crew

Had a great time fishing on Houghton Lake.  We headed out of the South launch at noon and checked areas in 10 to 12 FOW as we headed north.  The fish didn't cooperate and we ended the day with zero fish.  We saw a few walleye today on the camera, but they weren't interested in eating.  

Good Luck...

Saginaw River 2/27/15

Saginaw River 17 FOW

Saginaw River Fishermen

Fished the Saginaw River on Friday.  Started out in Bay City at the Cass boat launch and fished till 11:30am only hooking one small walleye.  Marked lots of fish in 25 to 27 FOW, but no action.  Moved to Saginaw at noon and setup in 17 FOW and found lots of fish.  Fished six hours in Saginaw and saw hundreds of walleye on the camera moving through, but could not get them to bite.  Overall report hooked four fish with two keepers on my trip.  When the bite returns the river is going to be a lot of fun.

Good Luck....

Saginaw River 17 FOW

Houghton Lake 2/13/15

Went out on a morning trip to Houghton Lake on Friday the 13th.  Started out at 7:30am from the west launch and headed out into 12 FOW to scout around for a new fishing spot.  After three hours of looking around I found a promising area in the weeds.  The wind and weather got bad around 1pm and the bite slowed up.  I fished until 4pm and called it a day after the bite came to a complete stop.  I did not hook a walleye on my morning trip, but the time spent scouting out new areas will pay off when the weather improves.

Good Luck...

Houghton Lake 1/31/15

Houghton Lake West Shore Tip Up Walleye 10 FOW

Saturday afternoon we fished the West shore from 2pm -6:30pm in 10 FOW.  The bite was very good from 3pm to 4pm and then it dropped off.  The perch in the area kept our tip up flags up and kept us busy resetting.  Overall we caught one keeper walleye, a perch, and a few throw backs.  Had a fun time fishing and having dinner on the lake.

Good Luck...

Houghton Lake 10 FOW

Houghton Lake 1-31-15

Houghton Lake 1/30/15

Houghton Lake 10 FOW Tip Action

Fished Houghton Lake out of the West launch this morning. I was late getting out to my fishing area because I got stuck in a big slush area driving out in the dark.  The wind and getting soaked in the slush kept me from scouting today, so I settled for an average spot.  The bite was slow and tip up action was the most productive.  Hooked my first fish after nine and my second keeper at 1:45pm on a tip up while packing up to head home.  If you head out of the West launch you will find an ice wall that is a bit difficult to get over and some hidden slush pocket.  

Good Luck....    

Houghton Lake

Houghton Lake Tip Up Walleye 10 FOW

Houghton Lake Lots of Wind 1-30-15

Houghton Lake West Launch

Saginaw River 1/29/15

Saginaw River Cass Boat Launch 27 FOW

Stopped at the Cass Boat Launch after work and fished in 27 FOW straight out of the landing.  Caught fish number one dropping my line down minutes into the trip.  The bite was great from 4:30pm to 5:00pm and then it picked up just after dark for a bit.  I caught fish on bottom early and then closer to dark the bite was up at 16 to 18 feet.  Lots of fish on the camera and sonar, no monsters.  Caught three fish over 15 and six undersized fish.

Good Luck....

Saginaw River Cass Boat Launch 27 FOW  

Saginaw River

Saginaw River 1/27/15

Saginaw River

Saginaw River Walleye 38 FOW Slick Jig

Fished the Saginaw River across from the Double Tree Hotel after work today.  Setup in 38 FOW at 4pm and fished till dark.  The best bite was from 4:20pm to 5:30pm on slick jigs tipped with a full minnow.  Marked fish from the bottom up to 20 FOW.  Hooked two fish that were keepers and five that were undersized.

Good Luck....

Budd Lake 1/24/15

Budd Lake 

Saturday afternoon we made a trip back to Budd Lake to try and find a big walleye.  We started at the South end of the lake and fished up the West shore without much luck.  While scouting we found a few pan fish for dinner which made the trip great.  The pan fish were in 18 to 23 FOW on the bottom. Saw lots of fishermen on the Southeast shore and on the point.

Budd Lake 18 to 23 FOW

Sunday morning we made our annual trip to Arnold Lake.  We scouted and fished from 9am to 3pm without any success.  In the morning we started out at the boat launch and drilled the East shore from 10 to 55 FOW and only found a few very small perch.  Then we worked around the South shore and back along the West shore using the camera, sonar, and fishing without any luck.  At noon we headed to the deepest part of the lake and found nothing.  On our way around the North end we found life when we were checked by the DNR officer cutting across the lake on his way to Long Lake.  Overall, Arnold is not the lake it was in the late 80's.  The lake association has started planting fishs which should help in the year to come.

Arnold Lake - Drilling lots of  holes on the sunken Island.

Good Luck....

Houghton Lake 1/17/15

Houghton Lake North Shore 11 FOW

Houghton Lake North Shore Tip Up Walleye 11 FOW

Made it out on Houghton Lake for the first time this year and had a great time.  We fished on the Northeast side of the lake straight out of the launch to avoid some of the tip up town traffic.  After a lot of scouting we found a good weed area in 11 FOW.  We caught fish on jigs and tip ups from 2pm till dark.  Hooked seven walleyes with only 3 keepers.

Good Luck...