The weather is expected to warm up this weekend with temperatures making it into the high 50’s. With the weather warming up, ice conditions will start to decline making it extremely dangerous within the next week.
Gull lake has been producing great numbers of smelt. Anglers have had success jigging a Hali Jig rigged with spikes in 30 to 60 feet of water.
The warm weather over the last week helped with the bluegill bite. Jigging Small Light-Colored Ice Jigs rigged with spikes seemed to work the best. Anglers found most of the fish in 5 to 12 feet of water.
Pike fishing started to decline this week. Those targeting pike in shallow water struggled to find good shoreline ice safe enough for fishing.
The warm weather has pushed steelhead up the river. Light fishing pressure was reported on the St. Joseph and Kalamazoo river.
Tip of the Week:
With ice fishing coming to an end it is now time to prepare for open water season. A key tip for making sure your first trip on open water goes smoothly is to make a checklist in preparation.
Here are a few things that will help your first trip go smoothly:
- Double check line for abrasions and frays
- Organize and label your tackle boxes
- Double check motor/batteries are working properly on your boat
- Sharpen/replace any treble hooks or worm hooks that may have rust from the winter
- Double check all rods for broken tips, broken eyelets, or cracks in the blank
- Organize rod and reels setups with colored tape or colored rod sleeves to easily recognize which setup is used for what technique. This process can make rigging before a trip much faster.
