Ice Fishing Wrap Up

One trip fishing for big fish up north and it sort of deflates my interest for panfish. However, I did still need to round up some ciscoes in Muskegon Lake and I had a couple perch trips left in me.

The perching was more of the same on Muskegon but I will say I ended the year with my biggest limit of the season. There are a couple that got away that day that really are going to haunt me. While I’d love to continue getting some Lake Michigan perch in the boat it seems like they have moved on out for the season.

I really got more familiar with the ciscoes over the last couple trips. I’m not sure if they were making their way to the west end of the lake too but I really saw some interesting stuff. One day they were cruising so close to the bottom of the ice I was sight fishing them in 50 feet of water. The next I could seemingly do no wrong and landed 5 in one trip. We are all thinking that might be the modern times Muskegon Lake world record for number caught in a day. It will be exciting to see what the genetic work reveals about the cisco that are turning up around all the ports.

We ended the season with an old fashioned private lake beat down. Although the challenge level is about as low as it gets, it was good to get out and fish with a couple good buddies and my dad. It was a quick hitter trip with fast action and great weather. The only bummer was Mabel had a little cold so she had to sit this one out. Either way it was a great end to the season. Well almost, I do have one more burbot trip in me

In the mean time things have been ramping up for bass fishing. I had a chance to talk about electronics at the Zeeland Fishhawks club meeting last week. I was amazed at how many kids they had show up and I really enjoyed the opportunity to talk. This weekend we’ve got the Ultimate Fishing Show in Grand Rapids. I’ll be in the Johnson Outdoors booth talking Humminbird, Minn Kota, and a little bit of Cannon. Stop by and see us to check out the new units and ask us any questions you might have!