Ice season is in full swing on many of the smaller lakes in Grand Traverse, Antrim, Benzie, Leelanau, and Kalkaska counties. This is typically a great pan fish month although reports have been mixed on catch success with the weather being the biggest factor. The wind and snow is limiting the mobile angler from staying on keepers and decreasing the motivation to keep drilling.
Look for areas of the lake with a little wider contour bands going in a horseshoe type bend, I like the inside and outsides of these areas, if you have weeds all the better, try to stay mobile and aggressive. Keep hoppin holes, plastic baits, and ice jigs topped with waxworms, spikes or mousies which should all work. Wigglers can be deadly on blue gills as well.
Tip-ups work great on pike and walleyes this time of year and ice anglers can take full advantage of the three allowed lines. A couple of tricks for this approach is and to add to your success is to mix up your baits and depths, both with live and dead baits suckers, spot-tails, blues and goldens. What you will probably find out is that one particular bait will outshine the others.
All hail the perch and walleye! The next level lakes are freezing fast. Long Lake in Grand Traverse, Leelanau, Hodenpyle Backwaters, Skegmog, Clam, Intermediate will all be the next to go and provide ice anglers with great opportunities at multiple species.
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