GreatMich.com Fishing Report and More....

What are you useing for bait on your tip-ups, how deep are you fishing. I have fished coho off of the Autrain with jigs and cut bait, in sometimes 2 or 3 ft. of water under the ice. Interested in trying steelies in southern UP river mouths thruogh the ice, but not sure how. Any info. would be appreciated.

Spawn Bags on tip ups work best for the big steelhead use a 12 or 14 trebel hook and a light split shot put the bag right on the bottom. I am fishing in about 3 to 5 feet of water right now so shallow is good. Wigglers on tear drops works very good also or tip a 14 trebel hook with two wigglers. You have to be out there before daylight and have your holes drilled and be ready for a run at daylight. The fish hit the shallow water early looking for food. I do not recommend using a gas auger in shallow water as the steelies spook easily. The bite time changes too on Saturday they bit as the sun came up. Sunday I did not get a hit until 9:30 then they hit hard until 11:30. I expect with a little runoff this weekend will be good.

Thanks for the reply and information, very helpful.

yooperriverrat have you been on the ice trying for steelhead? I had some more luck last weekend look at the pictures on page one. It won't be too much longer and the rivers will be opened up. I do extremely well on yarn flies once the rivers open up. Around the St Ignace area the steelhead usually hang in there until about June first. Within 50 miles of St Ignace there is super good fishing on at least a dozen streams & rivers. I am more than ready to go get them too. The big steelie in the pictures is an 11 pound male already spawned out.

Got the gear all ready to go yesterday!!!! New line, hooks, sinkers do not want to lose fish due to weak line or bad hooks. I am going out for steelheads through whatever ice I can find this weekend. I will be posting some pics.

The new year is here and the ice is ready!!!!!!!! I just pulled the first chromer through the ice and what a chromer. I got a 14 pound 34" steelie on 01/16 he took a spawn bag fished off of the bottom on an ice rod. It took all of 40 minutes of blood sweat and tears to get this one to the hole. I could not believe it when he was on the snow side of the ice. What a way to start out the ice fishing season.

I saw that 14lb steelie of yours in the photos section. What a beauty! congrats.

Thanks Wes, We have been catching steelhead on a regular basis now. Most of them running between 7 & 10 pounds. I cannot fish during the week as I have to work. I sure do like going out on the weekends and setting up for them. In a week or two they will be coasting prior to spawning and you get a workout then chasing tip ups.

do you catch them all on tip-ups? on our lakes here they use a product called the "slammer"