Ice is finally starting to form in the southern portions of the state but has quite a bit to go. Elsewhere activity is starting to really pick up.

Southeast Lower Peninsula

Lake Erie: Panfish limits were being caught at Lee Road Marina while those targeting walleye had some success in the dumping ground east of Bolles Harbor. Anglers trolled in 21 to 24 feet of water. Walleye were also found in Brest Bay, along with heading east to the Ohio/Michigan boundary straight line east from Bolles Harbor.

Detroit River: Anglers were picking up some yellow perch and a few walleye in the lower part of the Trenton Channel.

Lake St. Clair: Ice is forming quickly with nightly cold temperatures. There is one to three inches of ice in the canals and marinas. Main lake bays were mostly frozen over, but the thickness was varied. When temps finally dipped below freezing heavy winds blew in so some slush and pieces of ice headed back into the bays. Anglers should use extreme caution. In the open water on the southwestern end anglers were catching limits of walleye by boat and some anglers had success catching perch from shore. Those on the ice were using live worms and minnows in the early morning and starting to see decent numbers of panfish and perch.

Saginaw Bay: Recent weather has made ice here iffy and there was some open water.

Saginaw River: Had a slow fishing period due to ice flows and the launches icing in. Some anglers on the river were catching walleye anywhere from 13 to 24 inches.

Sebawing: Activity was slow with only a few pike and perch caught, plus some small bluegill.

Tittabawassee River: Also saw a slow fishing period due to ice flows and the launches icing in.

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Southwest Lower Peninsula

Overall: This area still doesn’t have much safe ice but may be fishable by next week.

St. Joseph River: Continues to produce steelhead. Meanwhile, in the lower portion boaters were catching some yellow perch.

Kalamazoo River: Was also continuing to show steelhead, especially while trolling crankbaits or drifting spawn. A few fish were caught below the Allegan Dam. Meanwhile, some pike were caught near Albion.

Grand River at Grand Rapids: Also had a few steelhead around, especially by the 6th Street Dam.

Muskegon Lake: Boat anglers were doing well for yellow perch.

Lake Macatawa: Those in boats here were also doing a nice job finding the perch.

Muskegon River: A few steelhead were still turning up.

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Northeast Lower Peninsula

Burt Lake: Fishing pressure was increasing, slow to moderate catches of walleye and yellow perch were reported.

Otsego Lake: Recent weather reduced angling activity. Anglers that were out were targeting walleye with minnows. Fish that were kept ranged from 12 to 18 inches.

Higgins Lake: The ice is starting to come around but is still thin in many spots.

Houghton Lake: Better reports are starting to come in, with some anglers catching walleye and northern pike.

Lake St. Helen: Was producing good catches of northern pike and some nice panfish. Caution should still be used with the ice found here.

Fletchers Floodwaters: Nice size pike were reported, anglers weren’t catching many bluegill though.

Tawas: Anglers were starting to ice fish, but no success was reported yet. Walleye have been found in the bay.

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Northwest Lower Peninsula

Overall: Most areas still don’t have fishable ice, especially those inland waterbodies closer to the big lake as warmer temperatures have hampered things.

Lake Missaukee: Very busy with anglers catching panfish, northern pike and walleye.

Lakes Cadillac and Mitchell: Also very busy with anglers taking walleye, pike and panfish.

Thumb Lake: Anglers were having success fishing for perch and splake.

Bass Lake: Was showing a lot of activity for northern pike. The crappie harvest has looked promising with multiple reports coming in of fish over 10 inches.

Manistee River: Still had a few steelhead reported.

Hamlin Lake: There was six inches of ice out of Wilson Hill Park but anglers should avoid walking west out of the launch as there was open water there as of Sunday. Those targeting panfish out of Wilson Hill Park did well. Limits or near limits of bluegill, and some nice size crappie, were caught. Anglers reported an abundance of under size yellow perch in the area. Small jigs tipped with a wax worm worked best. Those targeting pike had to sort through undersized fish to find anything legal to keep.

Pere Marquette Lake: Boat anglers were catching yellow perch.

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Upper Peninsula

Overall: Pretty good ice everywhere on the east end. All lakes are ice covered and there was a lot of traffic through the weekend on area lakes. Lakes near Newberry had a lot of angler traffic for panfish with some success, but the bit overall was slow.

Munising Bay: This area just recently froze, and a few anglers were heading out off the Anne River. Ice was thin and those venturing out should use extreme caution.

Little Bay De Noc: Ice conditions were improving with colder temperatures, but heavy snow cover made travel hard for many. Ice from the head of the bay south to the “Narrows” was five to nine inches thick and snow covered. The “Narrows” and areas around Butler Island have new ice and should be avoided. Although walleye catches were fair at best through the head of the bay, the best catches were reported in Gladstone out in the channel. Anglers jigged rapalas with minnows in 30 to 34 feet. Perch anglers reported good catches. Best catches were out from Brach’s Cabins in 16 to 18 feet using minnows or wigglers. Also out in the Kipling flats in 30 to 35 feet. Some limits of perch were reported. The northern pike bite was good also in Kipling. Best bets were using tip-ups with sucker minnows in 10 to 23 feet.

Big Bay De Noc: Was producing some large walleye.

Munuscong Bay: Slow action for yellow perch but there was a lot of activity. Walleye were being caught as well.

Schoolcraft County: Inland lakes here had steady fishing with a variety of fish being caught; including panfish, yellow perch, walleye and some pike.

Cedarville and Hessel: Yellow perch were starting to pop up and ice conditions were improving. Pressure was starting to pick up with those better ice conditions. Ice was about 10 inches with some spots at 12 inches or more. Anglers were catching perch between eight and 10 inches with wax worms and wigglers in 12 to 18 feet in Hessel Bay. Anglers were also catching splake this past week, but there were no confirmed harvests. Anglers spearing in Musky Bay got a few pike up to 26 inches in 12 feet of water.

Brevoort Lake: Anglers were finding northern pike, walleye and yellow perch. Try the east end of the lake with minnows.

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Fishing Tip: Finding panfish through the ice

Have you been attempting to target panfish during your ice fishing trips this winter, but aren’t having much luck? Consider the following things.

Are the panfish sticking to shallow or deep depths? Are they hanging out in the weeds or on the rocks? Are they suspended or are they hugging the bottom?

Due to the weather much of the state has experienced recently, panfish are likely to be in deeper water to find more oxygen. Keep that in mind when you look for them!

Also keep your presentation efforts in mind. A popular effort includes putting a jig on the bottom and using a twitch-pause-twitch routine with it.

For more information on winter fishing in Michigan, visit Michigan.gov/fishing.

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Note: This report is intended to give you an idea of what is going on around the state. Updates come from Fisheries staff and Conservation Officers. With more than 11,000 inland lakes, the Great Lakes and thousands of miles of rivers and streams, not all locations can be listed. However, it is safe to say if a species is being caught in some waters in the area, they are likely being caught in all waters in that section of the state that have that species.