We apologize for the delay in this week’s report!

Ice fishing continues to the north however waters in the southern sections of the Lower Peninsula are opening-up with the rain and warmer temperatures. Sucker runs should start soon, and steelhead fishing should improve with the warm up.

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Southeast Lower Peninsula

Lake St. Clair: Still had some ice fishing opportunities however there is a lot of open water offshore. The warm-up and rain will increase the risk for pressure cracks to open-up. Any significant wind could break off large areas of ice and prevent anglers from getting back to shore. Catch rates slowed compared to previous weeks. Some very nice pike were taken off the Fairhaven launch and some decent bluegill catches were reported off the Raft Restaurant. Very few perch were caught but those taken seem to like the color red.

Saginaw Bay: The rain and wind storm last weekend did not do the ice any good. There is now open water visible about a half mile off Bay City State Park. Ice quality has deteriorated and will only get worse every day this week as temperatures rise possibly into the 60’s by Thursday. It would not be unreasonable to assume any remaining ice will become honeycombed and unsafe later this week. Ice fishing here is about done and anglers should wait for open water fishing.

Saginaw River: Is muddy, and the water levels are rising so the ice is going fast. No one should go out on the ice! Inland walleye fishing closes this coming Friday (March 15), and it’s unclear whether the ice will break up enough to allow for boat fishing. The marinas and launch ramps may still be ice-locked most of the week, but the ice will almost certainly be unsafe for ice fishing.

Tittabawassee River: The launch ramps at Gordonville and Center Roads were ice-locked. These areas may break up however expect a lot of floating ice to hinder open-water fishing. There is still a lot of ice up the mainstream as well as in the lower Chippewa River that is going to break up and head downstream.

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Southwest Lower Peninsula

Overall: Ice conditions are deteriorating quickly, and many lakes now have open water. A few anglers were still heading out however extreme caution is advised as any remaining ice will become soft and unsafe.

Grand River at Grand Rapids: Anglers were taking a good number of steelhead below the 6th Street Dam. Most are using jigs, spawn, wax worms or flies. A few walleye were also caught however that season closes on Friday, March 15.

Rogue River: Is open water and is producing some steelhead.

Muskegon Lake: Even though the lake still has ice, anglers will need to use extreme caution at this point especially with the rain, strong winds and much warmer temperatures. The shoreline ice is very soft. A strong current from the river will create unstable ice conditions.

White Lake: Had some good perch reports however those heading out need to use caution. Watch for pressure cracks and soft ice around the shoreline.

White River: May be a better option for steelhead fishing as water levels here tend to go up and down much faster.

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Northeast Lower Peninsula

Overall: Ice fishing continues. Watch for pressure cracks to open-up especially with the strong winds.

Higgins Lake: Had good ice but anglers should still use caution around Flag Point and near the creeks. Lake trout continue to hit right off the bottom in 80 to 100 feet. Lots of perch have been caught but many are small. The smelt bite has been good one day and slow the next. The fish were suspended and hitting better at night.

Houghton Lake: Ice anglers were doing better as the bite seems to be more aggressive. Anglers still need to use caution as the pressure cracks are getting bigger and as anglers remove their shanties, watch for the exposed holes including the spearing holes which will open-up even more. The walleye bite was good in eight to 10 feet as well as just past the drop-off in 13 feet. The trick was using a small Swedish pimple and a small minnow. Hot colors were red, nickel blue and orange. A nice batch of crappie were caught in eight to 10 feet on the north end.

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Northwest Lower Peninsula

Overall: Ice fishing continues in this area of the state. Travel on the ice may become difficult as rain and warmer temperatures produce sloppy conditions. Water levels on the rivers may rise quickly so use caution. Not much on steelhead reports. It needs to warm up and stay that way to get the fish moving.

Lakes Cadillac and Mitchell: The ice was still holding. Anglers continue to target pike, walleye and panfish however pike and walleye season will close on March 15.

Pentwater Lake: Perch anglers found fish along the west side. A few crappie were caught along the south end however use caution near the mouth of the river.

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Upper Peninsula

Marquette: Fishing has been slow. Those going out of the Lower Harbor caught a few splake or a couple Menominee however most caught nothing. Night anglers have caught burbot. Most were using minnows for splake and burbot or a single egg and waxworm for whitefish. Those heading out to the “Bubbler” in the Upper Harbor had minimal catches. The lucky ones caught a coho or two along with the odd Chinook or brown trout. Anglers reported large schools of Menominee swimming in the area but had difficulty catching them. As the weather warms, the ice will become very unstable especially near the river mouths. Both the Carp and the Dead River had open water at the mouth. Above the Upper Harbor, there was only a couple hundred yards of ice before it turns to open water.

Au Train: Fishing here was nonexistent. There is nowhere to park or find access because none of the roadside parks or boat launches had been plowed. In front of the Au Train River the ice has been pushed up and the large piles have made access difficult to impossible. Anglers should avoid the area.

Little Bay De Noc: Travel on the ice continues to be a problem. Most were only using snowmobiles due to the deep wet snow. Walleye fishing was slow. Fishing in the Ford River area never really took off this year. The only consistent bite was near the mouth of the Escanaba River and just past the ship docks when jigging rapalas or setting tip-ups with large sucker minnows in 30 to 45 feet. Catch rates for perch improved near Kipling with some nice jumbo fish caught in and around 30 feet. Several nice pike were also taken on tip-ups with minnows in 28 to 34 feet.

Munising: Ice conditions continue to hold. The top six to eight inches in most areas is mainly frozen pack ice. Ice conditions out near Wood Island are mainly pack ice so travel out there is not recommended especially if you are not familiar with the area. Fishing was poor over the last week.

Anglers tried everything including jigging Swedish pimples with or without a single egg, minnow head or smelt. Lake trout anglers also had poor catch rates. The only action to report was the night anglers catching burbot off Christmas and Sand Point or the couple coho caught in Trout Bay. Most were using cut bait or dead minnows on the bottom. Anglers were marking smelt that were suspended but they would not bite.

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Fishing Tip: Targeting walleye at the end of ice season

Walleye are a popular target for many ice anglers, particularly as the season wears on. Pursuing these aggressive fish can be a great adventure, especially if you follow some of these tactics.

Focus on using jigs with spoons or minnows or tip-ups with live bait to see the most success. You might want to use a few tip-ups and then jig around that same area.

Think about the depth of water as well as the time of day. Walleye fishing through the ice usually begins and ends in shallow water areas with deep water more productive during the heart of the winter.

Learn more about walleye fishing during Michigan’s winter by their page at Michigan.gov/Fishing.

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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