Higgins Lake Perch

[Bry]

This is my first visit here. Nice forum you have here. Hope to be able to exchange some fishing tips. I will start by sharing this one.

Ive had great luck on Higgins over the last week. Three of us caught 100 perch last Sunday in the 8-10 inch range. Wednesday two of us caught only 42 with the size a bit smaller.

Yesterday we had to search a bit to find them. We finally hit the jackpot in 20ft of water. Three of us caught 86 in the last two hours of the day. Never kept a fish under 8 inches. Many fish of 10 inches or more.

More of the same this mourning. Basicly the same area(20ft). Caught 90 in three hours before my partner had to leave. We would have easily reached our three man limit in another hour or so. Fish seemed to get bigger as the mourning went on. Several perch in the 12 inch range.

All spots mentioned were off the west shore access. I used a no.4 swedish pimple tipped with a waxworm. The others used bottom rigs with tear drops and wigglers. My bigger spoon produced better fish.

Best tip I can give. Drill lots of holes. Dont stay where the fish arent biting. If you find them,call your buddies and drill more holes in that area. More lines keep the school aroung longer. When they move on,split up and go find them again. Probably a good idea for one guy to stay put. They usually return to the same area.

[Steve]

Wow, thanks for the great tips. It great to get the reports from The Great White North. Enjoy our forums!

[severus]

Has anyone heard anything about the perch fishing on Muskegon or White lakes? Just curious...

[kingfisher 11]

Bry I am heading up there Wednesday. I usually fish the NE corner and do pretty good. I use the swedish pimple with a minnow head and I put a dropper up about 10" with teardrop and wiggler. I set tipups along the drop offs and you never know what your going to catch. It will be my first trip up there this year.


[This message has been edited by kingfisher 11 (edited 02-14-2000).]

[Bry]

Good luck kingfisher! Im also planning a Wednesday trip up there. Heck,its worth a days vacation for a nice mess of perch. We will probably head for the North Sunken Island again.

You said NW corner of the lake? We have fished a spot,known by locals,as the Evergreen. Named after the store on the North end. Caught some good perch in about 60ft of water.

[kingfisher 11]

Bry, I know where you are talking about. I fish east of the island in about 25ft of water. What kind of ice is up there?

[Bry]

There was 10-12 inches where we were at. Plenty of pickups were roaming the lake,although recent snow accumulation has made it more challenging. Sounds like another 3-5 inches of snow today,so I expect to start seeing more slush.

By the way,our first trip of the year was on the west side of Treasure Island,straight out from Point Comfort. We had heard of limit catches in 16ft of water. Unfortunately we couldnt locate the fish and went home with a mere 6 perch.

[kingfisher 11]

That was where I was planning on going too. I may want to reconsider, the sunken island is about a mile from shore. I don't plan on driving my 4x4 truck up there so it would be a long walk. Sunday when we got all that snow I was out about 1-1/2 in Saginaw Bay. I found myself pulling a couple of 2 wheel drive vehicles off the ice. The slush got real bad after we got about 5 inches in about 4 hrs. This was on top of the 7 or 8 inches already there.

[Bry]

Looks like Im gonna cancel todays trip to Higgins. Forecast calls for Northwest winds at 15-25 MPH. Not very comfortable fishing conditions on a big lake like Higgins. I do have a nice portable 4 man clam,but Id rather be hole jumping in the open.

[kingfisher 11]

Bry,
I went today, the weather shut them right down. I only caught about 15 fish and they were not very big, the biggest was 9.5 inches. You picked a good day not to go. I talked with several guys who had fished the last couple of days and they did real well until today. I fished the sunken island, we ended up fishing around 18 ft deep and we could see them on the bottom. They would swim up and just look at the bait and turn away. We tried wigglers, wax worms and Minnows. The minnows worked if they were alive. I moved all over, fished from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, long day when your not catching fish.
Good luck

[Bry]

Kingfisher,I guess you missed it by one day. My father went Thursday and got his limit. Caught 12 fish in one hole. Moved about 50 yards and caught 38 more. Never went more than a minute without a bite. Again,fishing in 20ft on the sunken island. Perch are the hardest fish to figure out. Hopefully they will be hungry Sat mourning when I go.

[kingfisher 11]

Bry, It had to be the weather, it was my worse trip there yet. I am thinking about making a trip back to Sincoe Lake, I have not been back since they asdded limits. I just got to get a couple guys together now so we can split the gas and a room.

[Bry]

Had another good mourning at the Sunken Island. My father and I got our limit in three and a half hours. Most fish ran between 8-10 inches. Dad kept a few around seven.

Weather was fine. No wind to speak of. Planning on a return trip Sunday.

[kingfisher 11]

Thats the way it has been for me all year, should have been here yesterday. Did you have to move around very much? Were they still driving Trucks out on the ice? I would have went today but my son had a basketball game. I think I will try the Sag. Bay tommarrow. It should be a good day tommarrow the weather is suppose to be real warm.

[Bry]

Yes,there were alot of trucks out there today. In fact,the most Ive seen all year. We chose to go out on an ORV. Had to fight a few drifted patches on the way out.

Yes,we did move around a bit. We drilled about 10 holes in the same general area. Two of those spots produced the majority of our catch. Theres one thing Im starting to notice out there. Our more successful spots seem to be over heavier weed growth. So,if you start snagging a green or two,it might be a good sign.

I know what its like to follow kids in sports. My kids are all involved. Luckily they are done now until Spring. Then its off to the ball field. Good luck on the bay!

[kingfisher 11]

Bry,
Thanks for the info, let me know how you did Sunday.
Bob

[Allen Glore]

Bry, I was just reading an article on this lake and the lake trout fishing in my Feb. issue of Michigan Fishing&Hunting. Is it as good as they say it is. If so, must be some really good fishing.

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AlleninAlaska

[kingfisher 11]

Allen, the trout fishing is very good. Lake trout can run up to 30 lbs., big rainbows and a lot of brown trout. When I perch fish I set tipups and you never know what you are going to catch. They catch quite of few of the lakers in the 20 lb range.

[Allen Glore]

Kingfisher, thanks for the info. I am trying to make plans for my next family visit back in Michigan and can't quite decide if it should be deer season or wait until later and get in a chance to do some icefishing. These decisions are always tough to make when a person is a fishing and hunting fanatic.

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AlleninAlaska

[This message has been edited by Allen Glore (edited 02-20-2000).]

[Bry]

I missed the trip yesterday. Wife wasnt feeling good. However,my dad and brother in law caught 91 in 3-4 hours. Again they had to search for them before finding the hot hole. Good sized perch again.

As for trout fishing....I have seen some nice ones taken. Personally I havent tried it through the ice. Wouldnt mind trying it though.

Allen,you can make it a combination trip and visit at deer season. I know for a fact that they catch some nice Browns in shallow water all through November. Fish right off shore or trolloing the shallows.

[Bry]

Took the day off for another trip to Higgins. So much has changed sinse Saturday. The foot or more of powdery snow has been reduced to a little slush and bare black ice. Still plenty of ice for snowmobiles and quads.

Anyway,many shanties were moved,including my best reference point. We did manage to find the approximate area we were fishing. We also must have fished the whole Sunken Island. Didnt matter,the perch had lockjaw all mourning. We caught only four perch. Saw one other guy with two. Everyone else was constantly moving trying to find fish. I know they were down there,but just werent eating.

Stopped at Budd Lake in Harrison on the way home. No perch there either,however we did catch a half dozen keeper gills. Witneesed a somewhat rare phenomenon. While fishing in 50 degree temps,we heard the rumble of thunder slightly to the north. For at least a half hour. Now,Ive been on a million ice trips,but I dont recall fishing near a thunderstorm. Wierd!

Planning another trip Saturday. Hopefully they will get their appetite back again.

[kingfisher 11]

Bry, I fished Higgins today also. I walked over 2 miles looking for fish. I ended up back in the area I usually fish. I fished the drop offs along the west shore off Saginaw Rd. They were in the weeds, once I found the right spot it was worth it. I put the cordinates in my GPS. I fished into the afternoon, the morning was pretty good and then it slowed down. After the thunder and the rain went thru, they really turned on, and real big ones.I culled fish, I thru some nice ones back that I would have normally kept. Three guys next to me left with 135 fish, I got my limit.
No flags on the tipup, usually I catch a brown or laker.
Lake was sloppy and the edges are starting to go, lots of ice out in the lake.

[Bry]

Thats good news kingfisher! I guess I should have went a little farther north,eh? I just figured they werent biting. Its hard to believe that the fish could could just leave an expansive area like the Sunken Island.

This is a good lesson learned. Next time,I will try another area before giving up hope. Where do you park when fishing in that area?

[kingfisher 11]

I parked on Saginaw ave, it is one way. I go in by a gas station it use to be BP now I believe it is Marathon. You can park on that rd. or drive down as close to the lake you can get then turn south, this will take you to Saginaw rd.
You may still be able to see the tracts next time you go out, they all head sw from here. It is .87 of a mile to where I fished, there was about 4 shanties there yesterday. The depth of the water we were in was around 25 - 30 ft. I tried but everything for bait and minnows were the best, a few years ago wigglers were the ticket.
I was thinking about going to Simcoe next week, my oldest boy has the week off from schoool. The way the perch were in Higgins yesterday I just may hit that several times in the next week. The most I can bring back from Simcoe is 100 fish, my son and I can do that each day if we hit it right.

update!
I stopped by the lake this afternoon to check out the ice stituation. Its amazing what has changed in the last 24 hrs. I could only see about 150 yds out (fog), the snow and water was all gone and the edges were open. I was able to step on the ice in my street shoes. It won't last long, I think once you get on the ice it will be in good shape, the fishing will be great until it goes. That's where we will be this weekend.

[This message has been edited by kingfisher 11 (edited 02-24-2000).]

[Bry]

Im just wondering if there will be safe ice Sat. mourning. I had planned a trip with several coworkers. Hate to drive an hour up there for nothing. Please let me know if you get near the lake today. Thanks.

[kingfisher 11]

I will not be able to check it today, I have to work in the Cadillac area. I'm sure it will still be ok, I'am planning on going this weekend also, I'm not worried yet. My worst trips are always the one when I take someone for the first time, its hard to explain you limited out yesterday and now you can't buy a fish.

Good luck

[Bry]

Kingfisher,made the trip Sat.mourning with three friends. The ice was solid as a rock. 10 inches or more. The only problem was the texture was rippled and slippery as **** . I had a tough time walking from one hole to another. Good thing we had a quad and trailer for our longer moves.

Anyway we started on the Sunken Island. Came up with only 4 fish in 2-3 hours. Hard to believe all those perch moved out. With your advice in mind,we took a scouting trip farther up the West shoreline. We ran into a small group of fisherman about 3/4 of a mile north of the access site and about 1/4 mile off shore. They were catching fish in about 20 ft of water.

We picked up our comrads and returned to drill some holes. Fish were biting fairly well. Ended up with about a 100 between the 4 of us. No doubt,we would have doubled that if we had found the place earlier.

The wind was gusty at times. In fact,I was cold in just jeans and a raincoat. On shore,it felt like a warm day in May. What a contrast! Didnt make a return trip today,as I have a Little League meeting to attend. I fear that I wont have another chance before the ice goes out. Todays howling wind and a continued warm forecast wont do us any good. Oh well,even if it was the last trip,it was a helluva good year up there. Keep me posted on conditions.

[kingfisher 11]

I went today and between 3 of us we ended up with about 140 fish. The edges were bad when we came off, once you got on the ice it was good. My son wants to go back tomarrow, If we do I will take my waders to get on the ice. The wind was terrible, you did not dare live your shanty or it was gone. If I can make a couple more trips this year I will have a good mess of fish, so far we have ate everything I have caught. If I go again I will keep you posted.

[Bry]

Four of us are planning a trip Tues. mourning. Im thinking the ice will be good. And we intend on catching massive amounts of perch. Even if we have to search every corner of the lake. Well,thats the plan anyway.

[kingfisher 11]

The ice should still be there although you may have trouble getting on it. I should figure my ice fishing is just about done. I don't like cleaning small fish anyway. I like cleaning and eating walleye much better. And I really enjoy my steelhead fishing, I may try fishing more out of my boat this year just to stay away from the crowds. Believe it or not my wife likes walleye better than perch and thats all I keep hearing from her when are you going to get me some walleye. Once the Saginaw river opens and the water clears up I will go back to that.
Let me know what the ice situation is, maybe I will make a trip up ther Wed. If you want to email me I will try to pinpoint exactly where we have been fishing on Higgins.
bking@carboloy.com

[Bry]

Five of us made the trip out this mourning on a quad and trailer. Ice was solid all the way to shore at the West access site. However,many parts of the West shoreline were unaccessable. In fact to the north of us,there was enough open water for a man to be paddling his canoe. No joke,he was out there!

The ice we fished on was down to about 6-7 inches and solid. On the way in,I noticed some patches of jagged ice,for lack of a better term. You know,the kind of stuff you see when the ice is going out.

Fishing was fair. They were biting terribly lightly. We could see the fish down there,but they were not aggressive. Also the size was down. I kept lots of fish that would have been throwbacks last week. All told we probably kept 125-150 fish. We didnt try other parts of the lake due to ice conditions.

I wouldnt recommend a friend to venture out there. I only saw 4 other people on the lake. Although it may be possible to walk out for another day or two,I dont believe its worth the risk for mediocre fishing. If you do go,be very careful,and stay the heck away from the immediate shoreline. By the way,I can still email my locations if you are interested. Take care.

Bryan Umphrey

[kingfisher 11]

I figured It was getting almost inacessable. I might as well start putting my ice fishing stuff away and get out my steelhead gear. Well at least you did not come home empty handed.
When most of Saginaw Bay ice is gone and you get shelve ice around the edges (East or NE wind will cause this) the perch school there and the fishing is unbelieveable, you may have to where waders but you are only fishing in 1-1/2' of water.

Bob