[shametamer]

well having fished all of them many times..and had property on milakokia.. south mani always seem to have the greater variety of fish..walleyes run small on gogebic(take it from me i have fished the walleye tourney there many years..lol) the perch grow big.....DNR hasnt figured it out in 50 years of trying. milakokia gives up nice fish..the eyes are weed related often lying on top of the larger clumps of submerged weed.. it has it all ..all these curtis lakes are sand or rock shore(except ruby bay on milakokia..lots of rich black muck)..mostly sand..north mani is the toughest fish..it was like a sterile bowl for years..DNR is constantly trying to improve..but when you do hook fish they are generally nice size... big mani is the most hit n miss..eyes and perch abound..some years its great some years it often feels barren. and the size of big mani..pays to have a substantial boat.as you often have to run a ways and she can get the roughest of all the 5 mentioned... you have other options around curtis as well..millecoquins,indian,dollarville flooding and lots of smaller bodies.. i have seen many changes since the 60's..seems this eastern portion of the u.p. was fished hard and many places never came back...gogebic at far west end has about remained the same over 5 decades... if you are looking for a limit of eyes ..i would run over to brimley state park.the bay on the big lake gives up a bunch when they are in..its about 60 mile....hey is it true? that alaskans kind of look at northerns like we look at carp?..trash fish...lol

 

[johnIV]

well having fished all of them many times..and had property on milakokia.. south mani always seem to have the greater variety of fish..walleyes run small on gogebic(take it from me i have fished the walleye tourney there many years..lol) the perch grow big.....DNR hasnt figured it out in 50 years of trying. milakokia gives up nice fish..the eyes are weed related often lying on top of the larger clumps of submerged weed.. it has it all ..all these curtis lakes are sand or rock shore(except ruby bay on milakokia..lots of rich black muck)..mostly sand..north mani is the toughest fish..it was like a sterile bowl for years..DNR is constantly trying to improve..but when you do hook fish they are generally nice size... big mani is the most hit n miss..eyes and perch abound..some years its great some years it often feels barren. and the size of big mani..pays to have a substantial boat.as you often have to run a ways and she can get the roughest of all the 5 mentioned... you have other options around curtis as well..millecoquins,indian,dollarville flooding and lots of smaller bodies.. i have seen many changes since the 60's..seems this eastern portion of the u.p. was fished hard and many places never came back...gogebic at far west end has about remained the same over 5 decades... if you are looking for a limit of eyes ..i would run over to brimley state park.the bay on the big lake gives up a bunch when they are in..its about 60 mile....hey is it true? that alaskans kind of look at northerns like we look at carp?..trash fish...lol

Gogebic does have smaller walleyes. I fished it and S.Manistique for walleye and have to say, Manistique is pretty dead compared to Gogebic today. My buddy and I fish Gogebic annually for the opener week or following week and get our daily limit easily. We cull all day and keep only 17"+ fish most days. Either way we catch a two man limit everyday we're there that are 15-19". Small, yes but still a limit. Too me, the catching part is the important part not the size of the fish for the most part. Sure I'd love to pick up a few 22-25" fish but It won't happen in Gogebic. I'll fish Saginaw Bay or Bay DeNoc if I want bigger fish. The Gogebic experience is so nice just because I can count the number of boats all week I'm there on one hand most years. Manistique had boats stacked in all the typical hotspots on the lake.

 

[AKhunter]

well having fished all of them many times..and had property on milakokia.. south mani always seem to have the greater variety of fish..walleyes run small on gogebic(take it from me i have fished the walleye tourney there many years..lol) the perch grow big.....DNR hasnt figured it out in 50 years of trying. milakokia gives up nice fish..the eyes are weed related often lying on top of the larger clumps of submerged weed.. it has it all ..all these curtis lakes are sand or rock shore(except ruby bay on milakokia..lots of rich black muck)..mostly sand..north mani is the toughest fish..it was like a sterile bowl for years..DNR is constantly trying to improve..but when you do hook fish they are generally nice size... big mani is the most hit n miss..eyes and perch abound..some years its great some years it often feels barren. and the size of big mani..pays to have a substantial boat.as you often have to run a ways and she can get the roughest of all the 5 mentioned... you have other options around curtis as well..millecoquins,indian,dollarville flooding and lots of smaller bodies.. i have seen many changes since the 60's..seems this eastern portion of the u.p. was fished hard and many places never came back...gogebic at far west end has about remained the same over 5 decades... if you are looking for a limit of eyes ..i would run over to brimley state park.the bay on the big lake gives up a bunch when they are in..its about 60 mile....hey is it true? that alaskans kind of look at northerns like we look at carp?..trash fish...lol

Thank you Shametamer. That is one of the most broad coverings of my topic. I truly appreciate your input. I don't need a limit every day, I just want some decent fishing. I am leaning towards S. Mani., although property is being scooped up this past year everywhere. We watched some nice properties sit for a year or two and now most are gone quickly. We weren't ready to buy then and now it is getting tough.
Yes, most Alaskans view northerns like carp, mostly in the mid state area. Fish and game has killed out lakes here on the Kenai, trying to eradicate them. The native villages and less accessible areas view them as a food source and rely on them along with other species.
Knowing what you do about the lakes through the years, if you wanted to move back on a lake in the area, where do you think you would buy?

 

[AKhunter]

Gogebic does have smaller walleyes. I fished it and S.Manistique for walleye and have to say, Manistique is pretty dead compared to Gogebic today. My buddy and I fish Gogebic annually for the opener week or following week and get our daily limit easily. We cull all day and keep only 17"+ fish most days. Either way we catch a two man limit everyday we're there that are 15-19". Small, yes but still a limit. Too me, the catching part is the important part not the size of the fish for the most part. Sure I'd love to pick up a few 22-25" fish but It won't happen in Gogebic. I'll fish Saginaw Bay or Bay DeNoc if I want bigger fish. The Gogebic experience is so nice just because I can count the number of boats all week I'm there on one hand most years. Manistique had boats stacked in all the typical hotspots on the lake.

Thanks JohnIV. Gogebic was our first choice until my wife saw the sandy beaches of the Curtis area. I appreciate your input. We intend to fish lots of lakes at first. After I get to the point of getting too old and not wanting to trailer every where is when we will fish the most on our home lake.

 

[johnIV]

Thanks JohnIV. Gogebic was our first choice until my wife saw the sandy beaches of the Curtis area. I appreciate your input. We intend to fish lots of lakes at first. After I get to the point of getting too old and not wanting to trailer every where is when we will fish the most on our home lake.

If you don't pick up anything by the middle of May, give a few places a try. It's gonna be tough to beat Gogebic for pure quiet and solitude while fishing. Manistique is much further east and does offer great all species fishing. Definitely a better all around fishery that Gogebic. It's kind of like a Upper Peninsula Houghton lake. Never know what you'll catch on a cast or drift. Gogebic will 95% be either a walleye or bass. I once caught a very large rainbow trout while drifting S.Manistique. Very surprising catch.

 

[Curt]

You mention catching a rainbow. Some time ago (may have been in the 90"s but not sure) prior to winter carnival a local anglers club would create an enclosure under the ice that consisted of a circular net and rainbows were then released within this enclosure. Children were then allowed to fish for them. Any fish that remained after the event were released. I caught one once during the summer while fishing for walleyes and pike and I know of two others that were caught.

 

[johnIV]

You mention catching a rainbow. Some time ago (may have been in the 90"s but not sure) prior to winter carnival a local anglers club would create an enclosure under the ice that consisted of a circular net and rainbows were then released within this enclosure. Children were then allowed to fish for them. Any fish that remained after the event were released. I caught one once during the summer while fishing for walleyes and pike and I know of two others that were caught.

Yep drifting for whatever. Nightcrawler harness over weed beds. Kind of an odd location too.

 

[shametamer]

Thank you Shametamer. That is one of the most broad coverings of my topic. I truly appreciate your input. I don't need a limit every day, I just want some decent fishing. I am leaning towards S. Mani., although property is being scooped up this past year everywhere. We watched some nice properties sit for a year or two and now most are gone quickly. We weren't ready to buy then and now it is getting tough.
Yes, most Alaskans view northerns like carp, mostly in the mid state area. Fish and game has killed out lakes here on the Kenai, trying to eradicate them. The native villages and less accessible areas view them as a food source and rely on them along with other species.
Knowing what you do about the lakes through the years, if you wanted to move back on a lake in the area, where do you think you would buy?

 

[shametamer]

if..i wanted to buy on a lake in the eastern u.p. i think i would go millecoquins...as i assume..lol(i know makes an A$$ out of me)i could figure out the walleye bite,pike are always good,smallies as a lot travel from lake michigan in the spring are big. panfish and other species are relatively plentiful. you could run into a cold water species in either spring or fall as the millecoquins river is traveled..it has only one public launch and no campgrounds..is a little off the beaten path..so most of the time boat traffic is minimal..lake is shallow(but weedy) so fish are easily accessible and i find her a delight to cast..with many areas to do so..more so than the other in line 4..north,big,south and milakokia.....indian is fished down pretty good never really came back neither did the three near gulliver..they are having the same issue up at autrain..lake nawakwa is fished down badly..eyes are smaller tough to come by...caribou lake(almost bought a resort there) at far eastern end is a pleasant lake..but fishing not what it once was..muskallonge on superior shore has a big campground and not the prospects for big fish it once produced, grand sable..is pretty much a barren bowl..makes north mani look like a fishermans paradise...lol..smaller bodies are all hit n miss..i would be remiss not mentioning brevort..it has campgrounds and the birds that flock to the artificial pier will drive you crazy( stone pier part of DNR trying to restore the fish prospects)..probably best in this area for muskie.it does have reasonable eyes and decent perch....
in the central u.p you have floodings with little to no cottage availability..all are great fishing..greenwood res.,michigamme res. ,peavy pond..and dead river basin(hoist dam,and it does have cottages around)..but really dont have sandy beach areas.
in the western u.p. gogebic as mentioned..bond falls(if you could get an owner to part with their place..as naterra land deal was nixed so about 9 homes on the flooding is it)..cisco chain..offers everything,but it is heavily used by both mich and wisc.fisherman.but did produce mich record musky at one time.and is one of few michigan INLAND lakes that has produced larger eyes in 9 lb bracket.. lac vieux desert is good fishing most of lake in wisconsin... all of the lakes 6/7 hundred acres and under are rather cyclical..even up in the keewenaw..up by baraga there is otter lake..rather unique as it has a big population of unfishable sturgeon..lol along with pike,walleye and crappie as the greater amount of the species.
my understanding..the old voelker acreage is being sold off bit by bit..it once covered thousands of acres..the lakes within are practically virgin..if you could find a plot on one..you would have great fishing for years to come(south of marquette). p.s....how could i forget lake independece uip in big bay..some of the most gorgeous sunsets and storm fronts you will ever see..large..master angler size pike..good walleye and lots of big perch and a few other species as well..far off the beaten path..i would call it farwest central or far east western u.p. andit is on lake superior rim

 

[AKhunter]

Shametamer, wow. Thank you for all of that info. You have opened my eyes to other possibilities.

 

[piketroller]

If you really want sandy beaches, look at places around Hessel and Cedarville. Technically not inland water, but with all the islands, points, and protected bays, it’s much more like a chain of lakes than the big water until you actually go out to the big water. Bass, pike, perch, herring, a few walleye, plus the cold water stuff if you want it.

 

[AKhunter]

If you really want sandy beaches, look at places around Hessel and Cedarville. Technically not inland water, but with all the islands, points, and protected bays, it’s much more like a chain of lakes than the big water until you actually go out to the big water. Bass, pike, perch, herring, a few walleye, plus the cold water stuff if you want it.

Thank you for the info

 

[johnIV]

Thank you for the info

Well at this point it sounds like you got a hell of a busy summer.

 

[tito]

I am leaning towards S. Mani., although property is being scooped up this past year everywhere. We watched some nice properties sit for a year or two and now most are gone quickly. We weren't ready to buy then and now it is getting tough.

You wont see that if not not looking for it but thats how it is now. A friend in real estate says he had the best year ever last year for what ever reason its hot. Lots of signs around me last year because of the turnover I mentioned half were pending by memorial day. By the forth all pending what was left. Only ones that sit are the very overpriced ones and even some of them that sell I got to shake my head. You also have to consider if your a snowmobiler as some areas have a high concentration of downstate sledders on weekends. Some people are bothered by lots of motors running even though we have noise limits some dont pay attention to it