Catch and Immediate Release

 

I have been enjoying early season bass fishing in mid-Michigan.  In Michigan, from now until May 28, bass fishing is catch and immediate release only. To me, this means as soon as you catch a bass, you shouldn't diddle around measuring it or weighing it, or doing more than a quick photo.  Instead, put that bass back in the water!

 

 

So far this spring, I have been enjoying fishing for bass at several of our mid-Michigan ponds and lakes.  The place where I have found the most luck lately is at Hawk Island Park on the south side of Lansing.  The technique that I have found most productive at this lake, even with the cold water, is a reaction bait know as the square-bill crank bait.  This may seem weird to some people, as typically, ice-out bass are caught on finesse baits, but I have found if you work a square-bill slow enough, it can be just as, if not more productive, than finesse baits.  With the water being so clear and cold at ice-out, you want to keep your presentation natural and on the smaller side.

 

Again, the fish this time of year are still not extremely active, so you do not want to use a bait that requires too much energy for them to chase down, or that could even spook them.

 

 

 One more tip for people heading out this time of year is to fish shallow, because the bass are trying to warm up, and they are also getting ready to spawn.

 

 

Although there might still be cold temperatures out there, and while conditions can be challenging, spring bass fishing is still a lot more fun than staying at home!

Joseph on Thin Ice

 

 

A friend of mine suggested that people who go ice fishing now, in the last days of February around Lansing, should wear a life preserver.  With that in mind, I will share information about what may have been my last ice fishing trip of the year, at least near DeWitt, which was to Park Lake near Bath.

 

 

 

 

On my previous 2016 trip to Park Lake, I only caught some small blue gills.  In mid-February, I went back to Park Lake and wound up over a number of larger fish.  The fish we were seeing were all at around 8 to 10 feet deep toward the western end of the lake, and they seemed to be very active.  One thing I did notice is that usually crappie suspend over the gills, but this time, the blue gills were suspended over the crappie.  The crappie were more bottom-oriented.  Although the fish appeared active, any time I dropped down a spoon, the fish would scatter, so I downsized my presentation to a small tungsten jig tipped with three red spikes.  Because the fish were so active, I would jig to call them in, and then pull the jig about a foot over them and wait for them to race up and bite. 

 

 

 

Throughout the day, I caught a number hand-sized gills and a nice, 11-inch crappie. 

 

 

 

It's possible there still might be ice fishing locally this winter, but time is starting to run out.  I often do a northern Michigan ice fishing trip in March, but we'll see if it's safe, or if I'd be on thin ice!

 



Joseph on Ice

This weekend was the first weekend I was able to get out on the ice.  In this post, I will talk about fishing in two local lakes here in Clinton County.  Although people may be wondering if the ice is safe, ice thickness at Park Lake and Muskrat Lake is about six inches.

I started off my weekend fishing at Park Lake in Bath.  This was also the first weekend I got to use my Lowrance Elite 4X Chirp ice fishing machine.  We started our day by drilling holes in 8 to 20 feet of water.  The only fish we were marking were in 17 feet of water, so that is where we set up and camped out for most of the day.  On the fish finder, I could see a huge school of fish, but unfortunately, they only turned out to be three-to-five inch perch and blue gills.  My technique for that day was a small tungsten jig tipped with one red spike.  Although the fish were small, they were quite finicky, which I think is due to the colder weather we have had recently.  The first day I got out, I was only able to catch three small fish, but it was worth it to be out on the ice the first time this year and to break in my new fish finder.



 

 On the second day of my weekend, I was able to visit Muskrat Lake with some friends.  Most of the lake is shallow, and it can be described as bath tub-shaped, with very little in the way of drop off points;  for that reason, I set up shallow on a mud flat.  I managed to land several keeper Michigan gills.  One thing I have noticed is that the fish are very picky, and that they want a stationary presentation, or a very slight jigging movement.  Again, I used red spikes that I nipped very slightly on the end.

 

 

 

I'll look forward to seeing everyone out on the ice this winter!

 



 







The Pike Before Christmas

'Twas the night before Christmas,

And all through the Glass, 

Not a creature was stirring,

Not even a bass.

To Bridge Street in DeWitt

I rode with a clatter,

And cast in a line

To see what was the matter.

Then what to my watering eyes

Should appear,

But a nice, hefty pike

Toward my minnow drew near.

He fought hard,

He fought fast,

But I got my wish,

I reeled in my line and landed the fish!

I put him back in the Glass,

And he swam out of site,

Saying "Merry Pikemas to all,

And to all a good bite!"

Pre-ice bass

Despite some difficult weather conditions, I have had some success fishing in the second half of November at the North Lansing Dam along the Grand River in the Old Town area of Lansing.

Although water temps are probably just a little above freezing, I have still managed to catch a few bass.  My rig for this has been a fairly heavy split shot, running down to a size-4 live bait hook.  My best technique has been lip-hooking a gold shiner and letting it drift in the current naturally.  Although the bass I have caught have not been huge, they fight harder than many fish do this time of the year.

 I have also heard reports of pike being caught in Old Town, but have not recently caught one there myself.  Fishing has been a little hit or miss, but with good bait and consistent tactics, you should have some success at the North Lansing Dam!

The Pike of November Remembered

This weekend I went fishing for pike in the Looking Glass, although by this time in the year, my success with esox luscious (northern pike) starts to fade. 

I started the day fishing all the pools with cover near-by, but did not get so much as a follow, nor did I see any pike. Through the course of the day I did not have any luck, and that lasted until I got to my last spot of the day, under the Bridge Street bridge at DeWitt's Riverside Park.  My spirits were dwindling as I fished this spot for about 20 minutes with nothing happening.  Then, the idea of trying to catch a smallmouth popped into my head.  I tied on a 3 1/2 -inch green pumpkin tube, and started to poke around.  It wasn't long until I had what I first thought was a very nice smallmouth.  After fighting it for about 15 seconds, however, I realized it was my old friend, the northern pike, and a nice, 24-inch specimen at that.

Two things surprised me about this pike:  one was how cold it was when I picked it up, and two, why it had hit a small little tube intended for smallmouth.  It was basically a bonus fish for me, since I thought I wouldn't be catching anything!

Unfortunately, this might have been the last pike I'll catch before hardwater season- and it's time to starting thinking about that!

Snotrockets of October

Snotrockets are not something from your nose, but, actually, the northern pike.  The reason they are called snotrockets is because they are extremely slimy and because they can move as fast as rockets.

This fall, I have been having extremely good luck fishing for northern pike in the Looking Glass, right here in DeWitt.  I am not going to lie- pike fishing here is not like shooting fish in a barrel, but the local fishing has been much better than it has been in recent years.

The trick right now is to move around if you do not see any pike or have any pike hit in the first 30 minutes at a location.  Because water levels are so low, and the water is so clear, I think if you aren't catching pike within the first half hour, then it's time to move on.

Because the river is low this fall, the best fishing spots are places that have access to pools or relatively deep water.  Two of these places are 1) behind the DeWitt Fire and Rescue station at McGuire Park, or 2) in downtown DeWitt at Riverside Park.  Pike numbers are up!  And honestly, the pike seem to be more aggressive, perhaps because of the lower water or mild fall we have been having. 

Bass fishing hasn't been too bad, either, but most of the bass I have been catching are fairly small, and other Looking Glass anglers I chat with say this as well.

My main pike rig this year so far has been very simple- an 8 to 12 inch thin, rubber coated wire leader and a strong wire wide-gapped hook.  I have just been using live suckers this year and liphooking them.  Many of the pike I have caught have been very chunky in the 26" to 30" range, and hopefully, I will be hooking into more before hardwater season starts!