The fishing trip today took place at Lake Bailey, just a few miles west of Copper Harbor. Earlier this week, the word at the bait shop was that a gentlemen had caught a fair amount of very, decent sized perch out at Lake Bailey. Ten plus inches! This was very exciting news since I have never had much luck fishing for perch because they always ended up being tiny.
Upon my arrival, there was evidence around the boat launch of other people who had been here to fish, but nobody appeared to be out on the lake. I followed some old tracks looking for a spot indicating some serious action. I walked to the end of the tracks and found several spots that looked like holes in the ice, so I tried my luck.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Trouble Finding Fish?
Need Maps or Depth Charts? If your looking for a quick way to find some information on a lake there are two fairly convenient places to check!
Check out the DNR website for a list of lakes by county with their respective depth charts. Another spot to check would be your local library. Recently, I visited Michigan Tech's library and found that they actually have a large section of depth charts for local lakes that you can review and even scan onto the computer if you wish.
By using these maps, you can get a better idea of the lake and where the fish may be residing at any time of the year. Good luck and happy fishing!
Check out the DNR website for a list of lakes by county with their respective depth charts. Another spot to check would be your local library. Recently, I visited Michigan Tech's library and found that they actually have a large section of depth charts for local lakes that you can review and even scan onto the computer if you wish.
By using these maps, you can get a better idea of the lake and where the fish may be residing at any time of the year. Good luck and happy fishing!
Monday, January 16, 2012
Ice Fishing Saturday 1/14/12
On my last post I mentioned that I was going to head north this weekend to check ice conditions and hopefully get out to fish.
Ice Report: Copper Harbor looked a bit sketchy. It was thin and it still looked like there were a lot of floating ice chunks. Hopefully it will be frozen over soon. Lake Fanny Hooe is frozen solid, with good ice that was several inches thick. Lac LaBelle also has good ice. Bit of a slush layer on top but very solid underneath. The same goes for Gratiot Lake.
That being said, how about the fishing? Fanny Hooe proved to be a bit discouraging, but I was not there terribly long. There weren't any bites, but I wasn't in the best spot either. Lac LaBelle was a bit more exciting. Within about ten minutes of setting up, I had a nice pike on the line. It was a bit small to keep but other than that it was a very nice fish. Sadly though, I must have missed most of the morning action because there wasn't another hit until round lunch time, which turned out to be a tiny perch.
Later that afternoon, my girlfriend and I headed to Gratiot Lake to hopefully have a little more success. She predicted that we would get a walleye that night and that we did! It was the only fish we got, but it was very exhilarating. Hopefully in the coming weeks, the stories on the ice will be much longer and more exciting!
Ice Report: Copper Harbor looked a bit sketchy. It was thin and it still looked like there were a lot of floating ice chunks. Hopefully it will be frozen over soon. Lake Fanny Hooe is frozen solid, with good ice that was several inches thick. Lac LaBelle also has good ice. Bit of a slush layer on top but very solid underneath. The same goes for Gratiot Lake.
That being said, how about the fishing? Fanny Hooe proved to be a bit discouraging, but I was not there terribly long. There weren't any bites, but I wasn't in the best spot either. Lac LaBelle was a bit more exciting. Within about ten minutes of setting up, I had a nice pike on the line. It was a bit small to keep but other than that it was a very nice fish. Sadly though, I must have missed most of the morning action because there wasn't another hit until round lunch time, which turned out to be a tiny perch.
Later that afternoon, my girlfriend and I headed to Gratiot Lake to hopefully have a little more success. She predicted that we would get a walleye that night and that we did! It was the only fish we got, but it was very exhilarating. Hopefully in the coming weeks, the stories on the ice will be much longer and more exciting!
Thursday, January 12, 2012
First Ice...Out to Fish
I finally got settled in after my return to the U.P. and was definitely excited to get out and fish. The ice in Keweenaw Bay was non existent on my drive up, but Chassel looked like it had good ice and there were several people out fishing. I got down to Lake Linden on the 9th to find good ice but heavy winds. It wasn't very enjoyable, not to mention that I didn't get anything on tip-ups or a perch rig. Looking forward to venturing North this weekend towards Copper Harbor.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Finale on Fishing in '11
A Northern Pike Fiesta
The fall of 2011 brought great prospects for fishing. I had recently taken up fly fishing and my girlfriend was anxious to get out with me to explore and fish. However, the first few weeks were not as good as I hoped. The lingering summer heat seemed to be turning the fish away from our lures or we were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Finally though, some cooler weather began to make it's way through the Keweenaw and our luck began to improve. We took our new canoe out on some of the lakes in the Twin Lakes area and found decent stashes of bluegill and bass. We had a big bass that lingered under a dock at Emily Lake. We called her "big mama." But other than that, nothing big yet.
Finally we decided to explore farther North into the Copper Country. One afternoon, I journeyed out to a little lake that is off U.S. 41 maybe a mile. It is a neat little spot next to some logging roads, hard to get to and not much access for anything bigger than a canoe. Some old roommates and I had visited this lake once before but only found one small perch. However on my way out to deeper water, I actually saw a small pike swimming away through some lily pads. Things had just got a bit more interesting.
The fall of 2011 brought great prospects for fishing. I had recently taken up fly fishing and my girlfriend was anxious to get out with me to explore and fish. However, the first few weeks were not as good as I hoped. The lingering summer heat seemed to be turning the fish away from our lures or we were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Finally though, some cooler weather began to make it's way through the Keweenaw and our luck began to improve. We took our new canoe out on some of the lakes in the Twin Lakes area and found decent stashes of bluegill and bass. We had a big bass that lingered under a dock at Emily Lake. We called her "big mama." But other than that, nothing big yet.
Finally we decided to explore farther North into the Copper Country. One afternoon, I journeyed out to a little lake that is off U.S. 41 maybe a mile. It is a neat little spot next to some logging roads, hard to get to and not much access for anything bigger than a canoe. Some old roommates and I had visited this lake once before but only found one small perch. However on my way out to deeper water, I actually saw a small pike swimming away through some lily pads. Things had just got a bit more interesting.
Welcome to Fishing the U.P.
Hello everyone and welcome to my new blog. I started this blog in response to my growing love for the outdoors, fishing, and all my stories that are beginning to pile up. I moved to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan a few years ago when I came here for college. Living in the heart of the Keweenaw Peninsula has led me to find so many amazing places while out on numerous fishing adventures. Being here has inspired me to share my experiences with people who love the outdoors and love to fish.
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