Houghton Lake West Shore Fishing Report

Mark with a nice crappy on a TD 7 Taildancer

Mark & Danny Walleye White Flicker Shad

9am Walleye West Shore 9 FOW

We made a morning trip up to Houghton Lake to try out a few West shore fishing areas.  At 6:20am we headed out of the west launch one mile and started scanning in 8 to 10 foot of water looking for fish.  We found that the weeds on the West side of the lake are thinned a bit in areas making it possible to troll parts of Walleye Alley.  This area gets lots of fishing pressure and is not normally a location we fish, but when you mark fish suspended at 6 foot you have to try it out.  Fishing was slow at first and we took an hour or so to figure out a troll path around the thick weed areas.  We finally started trolling at 8am and to our surprise the bite was very slow.  After lots of change ups we finally found a setup that got down to the fish.  We found fish but didn't find repeat action.  We would hook a walleye then star pattern the area without hooking up on a second fish.  It turned out to be one of those days where you worked hard and waited for each fish.  Overall we hooked six walleyes 15 to 16 inches, two nice crappy, two undersized walleyes, and a few pike by 12:30pm.  The best action was from 10:30am to noon and the best colors were black / silver TD 7 Taildancer back 50 feet, white Flicker Shade back 30 feet all trolled at 2.1 mph.   We saw lots of fishermen on in Walleye Alley Friday morning which kind of confirms that fishermen are probably catching fish in the area.  I'll be out again next Friday and will be heading to the north shore.

Good Luck...

Last fish of the trip 11:50am West Shore

Houghton Lake Walleye Opener 2012

Calm water at 7:00pm

We had a great time fishing Houghton Lake on the walleye opener.  The morning was cold and the NE wind made fishing a little challenging.  Working with the wind we fished the South shore from the Limber Lost to the Heights  targeting 5 to 7 FOW along the weed edges.  We started out by trolling a slower presentation at 1.6 to 1.8 mph with TD 5 tail dancers, thunderstick jr, and 3-inch bombers without any luck.  On our second run we changed to TD 7 tail dancers and Berkeley flicker shads trolled at 2.0 to 2.3 and hooked four small pike and then a walleye at 11:20am.  We hooked our second walleye at around 2pm in 6 FOW South of the Elks Club on a white thunder stick and then the bite stopped. 

At 3:00pm we headed to the boat launch to cook lunch and meet up with the rest of the fishermen.  The reports were all the same.  Cold water, floating weeds, and a slow bite.  Out of five boats only two walleyes were hooked and not much else.  Our friend Joe who guides for Cal Stier's www.nofishnofee.com had a slow day on the south shore, but did note that they found walleyes in the channels while pan fishing on Friday. 

We started our afternoon fishing trip at 4:30pm and continued fishing the South Shore.  The wind died off and the water temp held at 48 F the rest of the afternoon but the bite never improved on the South shore.  We hooked two walleyes at 7:40pm and that was it.  After fishing all day we hooked four walleyes and a lot of small pike.  The weather and floating weeds didn't help, but overall it was great to be back on Houghton Lake. 

Good Luck...

Afternoon walleyes South Shore 6 FOW

Houghton Lake East Bay Ice Fishing Report



Mark with his first walleye of 2012.  Caught on a tip up 8 FOW.

We had a great time fishing on Houghton Lake Friday.  The weather was a little to nice for this time of the year, but it made for a pleasant day on the ice.  Mark and I parked at the beach and walked out about a mile into the East Bay.  The first spot we checked out was in 10 FOW West of the drop off.  We spent an hour looking over all of the holes with the camera and didn't find any structure of fish.  Next we moved West and checked over an old waypoint in 7 FOW and found a dead weed bed.  On our third move we found a fishing spot in 8 FOW that had what we were looking for.  After spending over two hours scouting we got setup and fishing by 10:30am.   Fishing action was good all day.  Overall we hooked two walleye, eleven pike, and lost three fish. On the camera we saw a few very nice perch and lots of pike. The best action was on tip ups fished 14 inches off the bottom.  


Most of Houghton Lake is froze up now but ice conditions are not real good.   In the East Bay we found 5 to 7 inches of ice everywhere we drilled holes. 

Good Luck...
 

Mark and Gary with two HL walleyes

Houghton Lake



Houghton Lake

So far we have hooked 8 pike and saw two nice perch on the camera.  Today were limited to the east bay but happy to fish....   About 7-inches of ok ice and a great day.

Houghton Lake

First flag of the day. 

Houghton Lake Fishing Report



Early morning catch.  Jeff and Bruce with an 18.5 walleye
and a big crappy.  Caught drift fishing with leaches.

 Lots of fishermen hit Houghton Lake over the Memorial Day Weekend looking for walleyes. The weather was on and off all weekend which kept a lot of fishermen grounded, but the guys who got out on the water caught fish.  The water clarity is remarkable these days and you can now see bottom in 8 FOW which is not the norm for Houghton and is changing the fish patterns. 

Trolling is working well just before dark in 7 to 9 FOW and white is still our best color.  The best bite is now happening on slip bobbers and leaches / minnow fished in the weeds 8 to 12 FOW.  

We have not be out fishing as much we would like this year because lots of start ups at work and bad weather conditions on the open days.  I'll be out this Thursday / Friday and will report back.

Good Luck...

Houghton Lake Fishing Report 5/7/11



Houghton Lake Walleye

 We got out fishing for a few hours this afternoon (12 - 4pm) and hooked and released two walleyes trolling on the South Shore East of the Elks.  The water has warmed up to 55 F, so the bite should start getting good.  We worked our way in close to shore today and found lots of minnow on the sand which is a great sign.  I'll be out this week to fish the 6pm to 10pm time in shallow to see how many walleyes we can find in close to shore.

Good Luck....