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 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

Budd Lake Fishing Contest 2/19/12



Dennis & Chachi 

The 2012 Frost Bite Open Fishing Tournament had a big turnout and a great day for ice fishing. My nephew Chachi and I got on the lake at 6:45am ready to fish. Our first stop on our way to registration was at Riches sleeper shanty to meet up with Millais and Rich for the tournament. They moved their shanty to the South shore Saturday night after a two day stay on Houghton Lake. The sleeper shanty experience has added another level to ice fishing all together. Fishing started at 8am and we were setup on South shore along with lots of other fishermen. Things went well early and we hooked all of our pan fish by 9 am. Then we worked the rest of the day trying to find a walleye or a pike to complete the stringer. Everyone in our team and as far as I could see fished hard without ever producing a fish. It turned out to be one of those days and we ended up hooking lots of pan fish, but no big fish. At weigh in no walleyes were caught and the winning team of Mark Reinkee and his wife won the tournament with 9 lbs, one pike and a 10 pan fish. Another fun even made possible by Kens Landing and the Harrison Chamber.

Rich and Chaci fishing 12 FOW

Great ice fishing weather

Pratt Lake Fishing Report 1/27/12



Pratt Lake Gills

 

The original Friday fishing plan was to head over to Lake Cadillac, but work issues kept us close to home.  We made the best of our situation and drove over to Pratt Lake to try our luck. Mark and I started looking for fish on the South East side of the lake at noon and found lots of bass and sunfish.  We worked our way around the lake and found bass and pan fish in 10 to 18 FOW in most areas we checked out.  We took advantage of the gill fishing and caught a limit while we searched for walleyes.   Overall we caught lots of average sized gills and had a busy time with our tip ups unhooking bass and pike.  No walleyes hooked on this trip, but we did see two nice ones on the fish camera.  The ice conditions were good with seven to eight inches everywhere we fished. 

Lake 13 Report:  Friend of ours have limited out on gills and big perch on the last four trips out to Lake 13. 

Good Luck...

Lake 13 Farwell Michigan

Ice Fishing Tackle

I stopped at Northwoods last night and picked up a few additions to my ice fishing tackle.  Mark and I are planning on fishing Lake Cadillac on Friday and will be testing out the perch pattern.  If you are looking for good deals on fishing gear check out Northwoods in Pinconning, it's one of our favorite places to shop.

Live Forage Minnow Trap Fish-Fry Minnow 1/8 oz

Live Forage Minnow Trap Fish-Fry Minnow 1/4 oz

Lindy Darter Natural Perch 2"& 1 1/2"

Salmo Chubby Darter Gold Yellow Perch 2" 3/8oz

Houghton Lake 1/14 - 1/15

First walleye of the day.  Lindy Slick Jig

We fished the East Bay of Houghton Lake on Saturday and Sunday.  The ice conditions were better then expected after all of the warm weather last week.  We found 8 to 9 inches of ice in all of our fishing area this weekend.  Saturday we headed out one mile and fished along the West shore of the East Bay in 8 to 10 FOW.  The fishing action was ok at best and we ended up hooking two walleyes, one bass, and a load of small pike.  The best bite started at 3pm and ended by quarter to five.  Both of the walleyes we landed were hooked on Lindy Slick jigs tipped with small blues.  Sunday started out slow and cold.  At the start of the morning we added about 25 new holes in 10 FOW and setup to do some ice trolling.  The first round only produced one small pike and a few weeds.  After a break and a quick warm up in the shanty I made a second at pass at10am and found the fish active the bite very light.  The net result was three missed fish and two hooked walleyes lost at the hole.  We fished hard the rest of the day and monitored our tip ups only to end up hooking a few small pike.  I talked to several fishermen on Saturday and Sunday that were fishing closer to Burger King and they reported small pike and a few walleyes.  Overall we had a great time enjoying the cold weather and hunting for walleyes with our friends.  If the cold weather continues this week we will be moving out of the East Bay and heading West to fish better walleye areas. 

Good Luck...

 

Slick Jig

Mark with a catch and release bass hooked on a tip up 8 FOW.

Riches new creation.

Jason with his very first fish caught through the ice.  26-inch
pike hooked on a tip up in 10 FOW.



Warming Up

First fish hooked in the new shanty.

Ice Trolling Setup