Portage onekama

[jasburrito]

We did our annual all balls fishing trip. I Caught 100 plus on friday. Kept these 30 bigger ones. The lake is a great fishery. Also saw 13 pound walleye and a super jumbo perch. Had a blast. Thnks

[icefishman]

Very nice catch!

[Bucket Rump]

Very nice!  Was up there for the first time on Saturday and really like what that lake has to offer.  Didn't do nearly as well as you did, but we will be going back!

[BenR73]

Heading up for the weekend on Friday.  Any words of wisdom? Depth? Area?

[Bucket Rump]

Heading up for the weekend on Friday.  Any words of wisdom? Depth? Area?

We fished toward the west end in water from 27' to 15' as the "hot tip" we got were for those depths.  Started by fishing the northwest corner where the underwater point goes from about 7' and drops off quick - caught a few perch there, but nothing to brag about.  Ended up fishing off the south shore and had a couple flags - one bass and one decent pike.  Water was clear enough to see a jig 15'+ down and ice was 12"+ thick - was told to stay away from the channel on the far west side as ice is thin to non-existent there.  Fishermen were setup all over the lake, but most were over on the western side edging just to the south - quads and snowmobiles were both out there.  Not sure what Sunday's wind storm has done to the ice...

[Moldman52]

Where do you all stay when fishing Portage lake?

[Bucket Rump]

Where do you all stay when fishing Portage lake?

Manistee isn't far and would be the biggest nearby town.  Onekema is a small town right along the lakes shore - not sure if there's lodging there or not.  There's a bait shop in town right across the street from one of the boat launches.

[matt93pgt]

How's the snow on top of the ice?

[BenR73]

We styed at the Travelers Motel off 8 Mile Road.  It is a half block away from the lake and main drag around it.  Not much to brag on but after being on the ice all day a warm room and comfy bed was all I needed.  That's where we are staying this time around too.

[Moldman52]

Last time we stayed in the area I think the place was the Portage Lake Motel, new owners then and they were great. We open water fished for perch and did well. Getting minnows was a problem, had to drive out of town to highway and wait till they opened at 8 a.m. The lady working there counted minnows one at a time and had names for everyone of them if you know what I mean.

[BenR73]

We had a good weekend.  Fished Friday evening, all day Saturday, and Sunday until 1. Grilled venison burgers out on the ice for lunch (that got guys attention). Perch were not cooperating real well.  Lots of dinks or lookers.  My buddy did catch a BIG walleye on Sunday mid-morning that made the trip even more worth it, his PB.  we will visit again and keep trying to figure it out.

Hey BucketRump, thanks for the south shore tip, it produced the biggest perch and the walleye above!

[Bucket Rump]

Fished Portage again on Saturday.  Still plenty of ice with 18"+ where I set up and quite a few fellow fishermen were out on the lake, too.  Ended up keeping 15 nice perch this trip ranging between 9"-13" - lip hooked minnows on 4mm tungsten jigs worked best.