By: Capt. Ben Wolfe
As late fall gives way to early winter, there are a lot of things that we are excited about at Sport Fish Michigan. For river anglers, late fall/early winter steelheading can be a tremendous time to be on the water. The crowds are low, and the fish often bite several different presentations extremely well. For traditional gear anglers, spawn bags can really ignite a bite during the chilly, dark days as the scent from salmon eggs can get fish into a feeding mode. Beads presented under a float or indicator can also pay huge dividends, as smaller presentations can often be the ticket if fish are fussy. Brown trout in river systems will often prefer these smaller bead presentations when fished along holding waters and seams in the river currents. As the waters cool, fish are less apt to move far to take baits, and thoroughly working a run or hole can be crucial to finding where the fish are holding. Fly anglers fishing streamer or egg patterns can do very well this time of year as fish are still looking for a pre-winter meal.
Open waters still have some excellent fishing opportunities during this pre-ice period, and anglers willing to brave the cold can be rewarded with some outstanding catches. Yellow perch both on Grand Traverse Bays and area inland lakes are heavily feeding, and having a variety of baits can be the difference in getting bites from the jumbos and just catching the smaller biters. Perch can switch from one offering to another more easily than we would like, but having everything from minnows to wigglers to small pieces of shrimp and even small jigging spoons can be crucial in figuring out what the jumbos are willing to bite on.
Pulling out the ice fishing equipment this time of year for a pre-ice inspection is often much more comfortable now than looking over shanties and running augers when the temperatures are bone-chilling, and the snow is flying. Charging electronics batteries to ensure that they will hold a charge is another good thing to check when taking stock of the ice equipment. Before our boats are winterized and put away for the season, one thing that we at Sport Fish Michigan like to do is to transfer GPS waypoints that we may have from our Humminbird electronics to our Humminbird ice electronics. Waypoints that we find during the warmer months can often produce big for us through the ice, and transferring these now is just one of the things that we try to do as we prepare for our guide season.
Late fall and early winter fishing can be exceptionally rewarding and fun. Get out, have fun on the water, and most of all, stay safe!
Capt. Ben Wolfe
Sport Fish Michigan
(877) 442-4294
www.sportfishmichigan.com
