good ice fishing lakes near marquette?

[northern45]

hey just moved up to marquette from down state lansing area. looking for any tips on some good hard water to try out up here. anything will help im from down state so everything is new up here.

[killitandgrillit]

Your in luck man! I've been fishing the UP for several years now, and I know some really decent spots...eyes, perch, pike, bluegills...there is alot of fishing to be done around here, lots of lakes, but one thing you'll notice (I know I did when I moved here from Wisconsin) is that the lakes are not as abundant with fish. You really do have to work to get your catch.

You should check out my website (upwoodsnwater.com). It's the slow season, when everyone is hunting- but in winter, it gets pretty darn busy. Alot of the guys are really helpful and will provide exact baits, times, locations, etc. I also do a number of trips each year, and we organize people from the site to meet up and fish. A few of the guys with information worth listenting to- CP, Kodiak, Genopg, and of course, me (yeti).

We'd be more than happy to hook you up into our group- we usually fish together at least once or twice a month. Oh ya, and welcome to da UP!

[SleePac]

Witch Lake - http://www.dnr.state.mi.us/SPATIALDATALIBRARY/PDF_MAPS/INLAND_LAKE_MAPS/MARQUETTE/WITCH_LAKE.PDF

This lake was featured in a recent magazine....the talk was that it was good winter time fishing.  Marquette County.

Can any locals comment on the winter time fishing quality?  Species?  Hot spots....that you're willing to share ?

[northern45]

thanks yeti i will definitly be hitting you up on some spots in the winter. another question for ya down state we arnt normaly fishing hard water untill the end of december just woundering when ice is normally safe up here. the web site looks awesome good job on that.

thanks for the info
northern

[killitandgrillit]

Northern- Generally, we are not fishing until the third week in December- last year it was longer because of early heavy snow. Let's hope for a quick cold snap starting the first week in December , continuing for at least 2 weeks, and no snow..many of the lakes around here are spring fed. I normally dont feel safe going out on spring fed lakes until there's a solid 4" of ice- 8" if I'm taking a snowmobile or ORV out.

Witch Lake- Yes, it's decent fishing. I dont know that I'd call it a "hot spot" persay, but decent fish come out of it. It's stocked with a nice variety of fish- Walleye (Bay De Noc strain), Lake Trout, Brook Trout, Splake, along with the usual counterparts- bluegill and perch. None of the stocks are recent- looks like the DNR has either decided it's self sustaining, or given up on it.