Ice Update 2025
How crazy is this that we are actually getting an ice season! We’ve had good temps but this year has come with it’s challenges also. Mainly a lot of snow here on the westside. Ice making was slow and inconsistent on many of the first ice fisheries. By the time those were good enough to really explore that bite was a waste of time. Then on the bigger water we have had a tugboat breaking ice consistently. Essentially cutting Muskegon Lake into 3 pieces and separating all of the good stuff.
The first good weekend of ice was while I was at the Ultimate Fishing Show working for Clam Outdoors. It was fun to work an ice fishing show where ice was forming. It had been awhile for all of us in Michigan. I did make it out one time before I left on some sketchy ice. Very little moving around and because of that very slow fishing. I did catch a couple though and while it was frustrating it was good to get started. Some real ice was being made on the big water since it didn’t have the snow cover. I headed out to Muskegon Lake and haven’t looked back. On our first trip we all got limits after a lot of searching. But then the tug cut us off from those fish since there wasn’t enough ice for big machines yet. We did however have a snowdog with us that day and the ride in was great.
Then we got hit with that crazy cold weather. I had the day off for Presidents day and I wasn’t going to let crazy winds and single digit temps keep me from fishing. I also knew it would likely be unproductive since the perch were tricky to find and moving much wouldn’t be an option. I also put perch tacos on the menu for this week and somehow got lucky to catch just enough. The snowdog also made an appearance and due to some “operator error” it wouldn’t start. It was so windy and snowy the next few days that I don’t think anyone could even see it way out there. 3 days later it finally calmed down and built enough ice for me to go out on the quad and tow “the dragons” machine in.
Since then we’ve done some experimental things searching for lake trout and burbot. Based on what I saw on my Humminbird and all the other burbot I’ve seen on a fishfinder that almost happened. But the lake trout portion was a success and we’ll have to wait for conditions to align to try that again. Walleye experiments have been minimal but they have been a waste of time. Trevor did land an 11.5lb walleye while perch fishing. Once again proof that a Clam Speed Spoon catches literally everything and if you aren’t using those you are missing out. They also have stout enough hooks to battle a walleye that size (and on 4lb Clam Braid) for almost an hour.
This weekend coming up is a big family fishing adventure. I found an epic school of perch for them last night although I doubt they’ll stick around. Hopefully it will be a stark contrast to the last trip where we just setup the Clam X-600 and had a good time. The girls did catch a few but it did not meet their standards for fishing trips. Hopefully this one does. The perch size is a bit of letdown this year but the numbers in this particular location were staggering. That is one challenge with targeting the perch that come in from Lake Michigan is size is very dependent on year classes that had good recruitment.
One bait that has been a surprise this year is the Tikka Flash. I’ve rotated it in on every trip and it ALWAYS gets bit. That surprised me a bit since it has a bigger profile (I’m using the largest one). It’s a got a dedicated rod now and while I’ve mainly used it for perch, it is going to see some other action tomorrow.
For anyone thinking about getting out on the lakeshore. We’ve got great ice conditions, this little thaw cut down on all the snow we had. That snow was a bear to run the quad in, especially towing a snowdog. I’m just really hoping for another good hard freeze to hopefully put us on the ice into March. I don’t get crazy looking at extended forecast but I hope it is just enough to let us out deep on some northern trout/burbot ice. As much as I like to fish for perch and whatever else. Nothing compares to catching things with adipose fins on a giant empty waterbody or a night trip with some burbs on the ice!