Finding Ice & Fish

[Lost_Peninsula]

For Christmas I got the 6 year old his own ice fishing gear. Saturday (01/11) is my birthday and I am planning on taking the little guy on his first ice fishing trip. I have been searching the net for both good ice and fishing. We will be leaving out of Toledo. I want to stay within 150 miles of Toledo. Anyone have advice? Thanks in advance,
Richard.

[gunrod]

Metro Beach has been producing dinks with a couple of keepers mixed in but would keep a youngster interested. Also Kent Lake and Lake Chemung are producing catches with alot of small ones.

Search the boards and you will see some success stories. Good Luck and welcome.

[Lost_Peninsula]

Thanks for the information. I have been doing alot of reading on this forum. This is by far the best ice fishing forum I have found. It looks like we will be going to Lake Chemung. I have never been there but its only 75 miles and it looks like there has been good fishing and ice so far. I will be taking US-23 north all the way, is there any bait shops on the way? I will pass Cabella's at exit 17 in Dundee but I do not know what time they open. I also do not have a depth finder for ice fishing. How is the structure on Lake Chemung? Should I get a depth finder ? Using mapquest it looks like I get off on exit 58 take Lee to Whitmore and Whitmore to E Grand River, is this correct? Are there signs marking public access? Not too many questions huh
:)

Thanks,
Richard

[chad 1]

Well I am too far to give any info but welcome to the site!!

chad1

[Hunt4Ever]

Lost Pensula,

Take 23 North to 96 West and exit 96 at the Grand River exit. Take a right on Grand River and go about 3 or 4 miles. Hughes road will be on the right at a light, next to Wilson Marine. take a right on Hughes road and go about a quarter mile, the boat launch is on the left. On the weekends parking is at a premium. All I ask is that you don't double park. It has happened a few times already and some guys are getting real mad. Lots of talk about calling police and tow trucks.

The catch is straight off the boat launch or to the right of the boat launch. I am a minnow man myself, but I only fish for the crappies. Waxies work well on the gills, try two or three on any standard ice lure.

The bite has been good lately, although it is sure to turn off sometime. I'll be out there this weekend.

Good luck and welcome to the site.

Just remember, we like the reports of how the fishing is so post your results, good or bad.

[Lost_Peninsula]

Thanks for all the information. I'm off to buy a FL-18, never heard of them before this site. Spent too many days on unfamiliar waters catching nothing. Still need info on bait store along way if you know of any. Thanks for all the input and I will post the results.
Richard.

[Lost_Peninsula]

I want to thank gunrod, chad 1 and Hunt4Ever for their input and help to make this a great weekend for me. If it wasn't for this site I would have never found Lake Chemung and would have still not owned a FL-18. Jason (my girlfriend's 6 year old son) and I arrived at Lake Chemung at 7AM. Bad news is we had no bait and the bait shops don't open until 9AM in the area. We had no choice but to wait. By 10AM we had bait, and had our shanty set up and we were fishing. This was the first time Jason had ever been ice fishing and it was my 1st time ever using a flasher. The FL-18 is so easy to use the 6 year old had mastered it and found his own "sweet spot". We started out using minnows and had a few small nibbles but no fish. Around noon after catching no fish but seeing them on the flasher I decided to try a wax worm. Bam it wasn't even 1 minuet and I had my 1'st gill. I switched Jason from minnow to wax worm and he also started producing. Some were too small to keep but it was still fun. Then we noticed our flag was up on our pop up we had rigged with a chub. (btw, in Toledo when you get shiners they are minnows with shiny scales, other wise they are called just minnows and that would be a golden colored minnow. I learned at Dick's when I asked for 8 dozen shiners that in that area shiners are pike chubs :) .
We pulled in a 26" pike. Needless t say this site and its great members made our weekend. With the current temperatures I feel Luna Pier will be safe by next weekend for walleye fishing. I will post my results if it is. With the FL-18 I know I will produce. Thanks for all the help!!!!!!!!! You made our weekend!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/527/4911Jason_PIke1.jpg

[gunrod]

Fantastic. Glad I could help put that smile on the young man.

Let us know on those walleyes. I take it those walleyes are through the ice. Let us know, you may have a group of MS.com'ers willing to meet up.

[Hunt4Ever]

Lost_Peninsula,

I'm glad we could help. I think it is great when you can get a kid into fishing. Kids spending time with their parents is really a wonderful thing.

I was out there also, so was perchjerker. I hit the crappies right off the start, around 9:00am when I got there. I managed to bring one up a little bigger than 11 inches. I cought about 20-25 keepers and only kept 6.

If you want action, right now this is the place.

Let us know about the walleyes. I'm sure a group of us would love to get in on some of that action.

[mickey]

That picture is priceless. Thanks for sharing. Great job and glad you had fun.