Northwest Area Fishing Report
Cold weather and snow have water temperatures plummeting on Grand Traverse Bays, as well as the inland lakes. We are still fishing the rivers as ice is starting to form on smaller shallow bodies of water.
On the open water, rivers have been fishing reasonably well. Not a huge amount of steelhead around this year, but the ones we’ve seen are large, making for an exciting time to be on the water! Spawn bags or jigs tipped with wax worms have been the ticket lately as the scent seems to help tempt bites in the cooling river water temperatures.
For those who are brave enough to get out in a boat, the walleye bite on the bigger inland bodies of water has been good. Late season walleyes can bite aggressively in low light conditions, and this year is no exception. Shad or minnow shaped baits trolled get the most attention, but spoons or jigs tipped with bait ripped off the bottom get their share of bites as well from this excellent tasting fish. Grand Traverse Bays hosts some great whitefish fishing when the winds allow boats to get out safely. Steep breaks tend to concentrate these tasty and hard-fighting fish, and the effort getting out can be well worth it.
As for hard water, in preparation for the ice fishing season, it’s always wise to look over the gear that we’ll be taking with us out onto the ice. Nothing like making the effort to get out to ice fish and then to find out that something isn’t working properly or something’s missing. Even though the weather is chilly, it’s still easier to make preparations at home than on the ice in the heat of the moment.
Things to check over would be safety gear; augers working properly and blades replaced or sharpened; batteries charged for flasher or sonar units; ATV and snowmobile batteries charged and the motors running properly; shanties being free of holes or patched as necessary; heaters working well and propane tanks refilled or replaced; the line on ice reels inspected; rods are in working order with light bite detectors replaced as necessary and the list goes on! Despite this lengthy list of “things to do” before hitting the ice, it’s far better to attend to these little things now than getting out onto the ice only to discover something’s amiss.
The first ice of the season can be extremely exciting, and the bite can be tremendous, but anglers should always take caution as early ice conditions can frequently change.
[easy-social-share]