Upper Peninsula
Little Bay De Noc: Ice conditions improved with the cold temperatures, moving anglers as far south as Portage Point. The Portage area was still considered dangerous. The head of the bay had drifted snow cover. The pressure cracks are large and were noticeable, but may become covered with additional snowfall. Caution needs to be used. Walleye fishing picked up, with fair to good catches reported near Portage Point when jigging rapalas or using tip-ups with minnows in 30 to 50 feet. The Escanaba Power Plant area, Gladstone Bay as well as the Second and Third Reefs produced fair catches using the same in 27 to 50 feet. Pike were speared in the Escanaba Yacht Harbor using live decoys in 10 feet, and a fair to good number of pike were caught off the Escanaba Beach in 25 feet with minnows. Perch anglers reported spotty catches but good enough to keep anglers interested. The best action was still along the Kipling flats, with wigglers or minnows in 27 to 50 feet. The numbers are fewer, but the size of the fish has made up the difference. No one is targeting whitefish, but several had been caught in the channel in Gladstone Bay when targeting walleye.
Cedarville and Hessel: The shanties that were on the east side of Musky Bay were no longer there, so not sure if ice conditions were unsafe or if anglers just moved. From Hessel, fishing pressure picked up as anglers were getting perch up to 11 inches when jigging spikes, wax worms and wigglers in 12 to 17 feet. No word on splake; however, anglers did see a couple legal-size pike.
Iron Mountain Area: There was up to 12 inches
of ice on some of the smaller lakes in the area. Anglers are catching lots of
panfish and northern pike on Sawyer, Antoine and Cowboy lakes.
A few walleyes and some really nice northern pike have been taken at Badwater.
Lake Gogebic: Fishing
has been fair to good. Walleyes continue to hit sucker minnows on tip-ups, and
jigging spoons and Rapalas fished in 10 to 15 feet of water. Reports
are mixed with excellent fishing one day and slow fishing the next. Others are
finding fish in 24 to 28 feet of water. Perch action has picked up with some
nice catches being reported. Anglers are working 22- to 28-foot depths with wigglers,
spikes, and waxies on small ice jigs, or small jigging Raps and spoons. Ice
conditions are good with snowmobile and some ATV travel in most parts of the
lake.
