Gull lake 2017/2018

[netminder34]

Hey guys, I dont fish Gull for smelt but do fish a couple lakes farther north for them.  The bite has been way off there also, fished hard for 3 nights over the weekend and we caught a few but averaged maybe 5 an hour.  I know it is better than what you are seeing but, we did see lots of fish coming and going on the electronics as it sounds you have been also, just not biting.  Dont give up just yet.

[dfishman]

Anyone been out to check how the ice held up after the recent warm up?

[smeltbuster]

I am going to check the ice ,either Wed. or Thurs. Afternoon, at as many access points as possible. Hoping to get out on the north end ,Thurs. night. I will post what I find. May see if Smelt Jr. can check the north end, sooner.

[smeltbuster]

Smelt Jr. reported to me , that the north end was open, over to the boat launch .  That was, as of very early this morning.   I'll try & check things out on Thurs. P.M.

[PikeSlayer93]

Any word on the ice on first and second bays? I'll try to check today after work If no one else checks it

[smeltbuster]

2 guys on south bay, right now. I am going to go out & try to check the ice in a couple of hrs..   Watching the grandson today , so I'm kind of limited on how far out I can check .

[smeltbuster]

I started checking Gull at 11:15 a.m., here is what I found.  3 guys on the Bible Conference, 1 guy off Ross Twp. park, 1 guy on the "Hogsback". I talked to a guy that was just coming off the ice at Baseline rd., & he told me that he had walked out to the west side of the deep water, almost across the lake ! He said the ice was anywhere from 3" - 6" & that it was good hard ice. I checked the North end & the ice is Garbage at the boat launch area, BUT, if you go over to the beach area 30 yds. to the west, it seems to be a bit better. I walked out about 50' from shore & had about 3"-4" of ice, but everytime I hit it w/ my spud, the ice below shattered. When I was almost through, all the ice around me Cracked like a window pane. Yes, I got outta there ! It probably is OK, but I would tread lightly, & use common sense. (I will not be going out there, anytime soon). South bay had a few guys on it & the ice at 2nd. bay was good, out to the end of the docks. No sign of anyone fishing there, lately. I may try 2nd. bay tonight, if I don't try another spot, ( got an invite to fish in another spot). IMHO, if you want to try for smelt, I would go on at, 2nd. bay, or  Baseline & be very careful, use a spud .The shore ice is in ok shape, so try & be careful, not to bust it up for others.

[Iceassin]

I won't be going to Gull this year (no plans to at this point ) but I want to thank you anyway Smeltbuster, for going above and beyond in taking the time to check the conditions of the lake and giving the details you do. Double thumbs up my friend. 

[marakey]

Yes, thank you smeltbuster for your great reports, they are very much appreciated.

[smeltbuster]

Thanks for the Kind words, they are greatly appreciated ! Just trying to do my part to help others out. There are way too many jerks on the internet, I don't want to be one of them . As for the fishing tonight: The pizza was hot , the beer was cold & the company in my shanty was 2nd. to none ! I got to fish w/ the best smelt fisherman that ever set foot on Gull (my opinion ) , The Legendary "Bob" & his sidekick /friend , Ed , were my fishin buddies tonight. To make a long story short, 2nd. bay, 64 FOW , fished till 10, Not a single bite for any of us & very few marks on the Vex. Had 1 other party come out for about an hr. & they left. As of 6:10 p.m. I did not see anyone go out at Baseline ,or the north end. Our original plan , at 4:30 p.m. ,was to fish Baseline, but when I got there, a 1 1/2 ' pressure crack had opened up about 15 yds. from shore. We went to plan "B".  I hope no one drove to Baseline rd. , to go out, sorry if you did, but it was solid at 11:30 a.m.  .  The wind & warm temps did a # on the ice. The shore ice even got bad. We had a fair amount of rain while we fished. I'm kinda , maybe , sorta , thinkin that 2nd. bay will still be ok on Sat ., as for Baseline & the North end, If you want to go for a dip in the lake, it might be a good time! I do believe that the smelt population is not what it was  a couple of yrs. ago. Smelt lakes can get pretty complicated at times & I think Gull  has some issues. 

[Smeltman]

Thanks Smeltbuster,  I now know where not to go tonight. That report continues to discourage me from coming down again  . Maybe with those guy's you might have done something on the north end, besides drink beer and eat pizza 

[smeltbuster]

Thanks Smeltbuster,  I now know where not to go tonight. That report continues to discourage me from coming down again  . Maybe with those guy's you might have done something on the north end, besides drink beer and eat pizza        Hey, we did more than pizza & beer (2 fer me, that's my limit), we fished & we never gave up trying ! Fishing w/ Bob, is a HOOT ! The guy can turn  a slow fishing trip into a great trip ! After seeing the weather report for the next week, I am hopeful that we can try it again. a FB friend of mine, that is also on here, asked me today, how many trips before I give up ? At least 1 more  .  No Smelt still beats watching reruns of NCIS, Castle, Bones, etc.,.... Just don't tell my wife that 

[stevenmang85]

Quad went through the ice yesterday. For some reason they thought it was a good idea to drive around the north end of the lake, lol.... Some people.... they did make it out, and they did already recover the quad.

[DaveSS1]

Thanks Smeltbuster,  I now know where not to go tonight. That report continues to discourage me from coming down again  . Maybe with those guy's you might have done something on the north end, besides drink beer and eat pizza        Hey, we did more than pizza & beer (2 fer me, that's my limit), we fished & we never gave up trying ! Fishing w/ Bob, is a HOOT ! The guy can turn  a slow fishing trip into a great trip ! After seeing the weather report for the next week, I am hopeful that we can try it again. a FB friend of mine, that is also on here, asked me today, how many trips before I give up ? At least 1 more  .  No Smelt still beats watching reruns of NCIS, Castle, Bones, etc.,.... Just don't tell my wife that 

Don't give up.  Why it does appear that the die-off did in have a great impact on the smelt population, I cant believe that it killed off all the smelt.  I think we will see the real impact later this season as fish start to stage in their pre-spawn locations.  It is concerning that smelt aren't being found in the bellies of predator fish though.  I know Higgins went through a dive in the smelt population but during the past few years all the pike and lakers still had them in their stomachs...time will tell.

[Iceassin]

Don't give up.  Why it does appear that the die-off did in have a great impact on the smelt population, I cant believe that it killed off all the smelt.  I think we will see the real impact later this season as fish start to stage in their pre-spawn locations.  It is concerning that smelt aren't being found in the bellies of predator fish though.  I know Higgins went through a dive in the smelt population but during the past few years all the pike and lakers still had them in their stomachs...time will tell.

From all the reports I've heard, most of the noted smelt lakes have started slow this winter but they are starting to pick up...still hope for Gull. Maybe not the numbers we've seen in the past, but they're not all gone.

[smeltbuster]

As soon as we can get back out on the north 1/2 of the lake, we will. Hoping for Thurs. night. I will be checking the north end & Baseline rd. , probably Tues. or Wed.,  Cold weather should lock it back up. Fished another B.C. local lake today for perch, bite was slow but there was still 6"-7" of hard ice .

[PikeSlayer93]

Any word on the north end?

[smeltbuster]

Just got done checking the ice. Baseline rd. 2 wacks w/ the spud . Several pressure cracks.  The North end:  Totally unable to get on the ice ,anywhere in the park. I could not even get to good ice without getting wet, at least up to my waist. I thought w/ the cold temps, it might be OK ,but it is not. I don't even know if it will be OK tomorrow. I will have Smelt jr. check it in the morning.  Seen 1 guy on the Bible Conf., did not check 2nd. or south bays. Really bummed , I was hoping to fish tonight .

[wmu1989]

"There shall be no smelt harvested this year from the north end", so saith the God of Fish

[smeltbuster]

"There shall be no smelt harvested this year from the north end", so saith the God of Fish

    Can I at least still try ?

[Fish Killa]

"There shall be no smelt harvested this year from the north end", so saith the God of Fish

It's karma from all the people trashing the place for years and years. 

[wmu1989]

    Can I at least still try ?

   keep on keeping us in the know!!!

[PikeSlayer93]

Fished the South Bay last night, had 6-7 inches of ice depending where you were at. Had 6 flags and 2 on my dead stick in my shanty... again obviously not smelt fishing lol but of all the pike I have cleaned this year I have yet to find any with smelt in their stomachs. I always used to hear about the pike in this lake eating smelt.... now that I’ve cleaned more than a fare share I can say they eat more of each other than they eat smelt.....

[smeltbuster]

Pikeslayer93, sounds familiar !    As for an updated ice report; Smelt jr. said that the North end & Baseline rd. are still unsafe, as of this morning. He tried to get out fishing at both spots & could not do it. He is currently on 2nd. bay fishing for pike & Lakers. 6"-7" of good ice out there.

[PikeSlayer93]

How did smeltjr end up doing out there? I had 7 pike today... no keepers

[GpaPerchEye]

I think we need to start making more efforts to thin out the predators on Gull. That's one of my 2018 resolutions, and am close enough for it to be semi-convient. But need advice.

[Smeltman]

Well DNR will not plant any smelt it is to costly for them to do   . So we need to do what we can to protect them. I hear of many pike being taken which is a good start. Smeltbuster has a good idea, but it's up to the DNR to make it happen. As long as everything is done by the rules.

[smeltbuster]

Pikeslayer 93, I don't know how he ended up, sorry. I had  a lengthy phone conversation w/ Brian Gunderman  this past Tuesday . He is the Unit Manager in the Plainwell DNR office. They are  well aware of what is going on w/ Gull. He also was interested to hear about some of  the things that we have noticed over the years. I can tell you that there will be NO Laker Plants this year, according to him. We as anglers need to assist them with info on the smelt situation. Most importantly ,the spring run in Prarieville  creek. I'm also sure that they would like to know if anyone is actually catching any smelt. I seen a post on FB today about a guy who said that the fishing is very slow this year & the best he has done in 1 night was 108, & that he considered that to be a slow night.  .   GpaPerchEye, as far as removing Pike from Gull this next year. They are usually EASY to catch . I am not going to give all the details here, this is for ice fishing. I am however , more than willing to share info. Even though the pike are skinny, the LM & SM Bass are very healthy. They all pretty much have empty stomachs, though, wich has raised some questions. I do have my own ideas about what should be done, but I am not a fisheries biologist. Keeping a positive & open line of communication w/ the fishery guys is the best thing that we can do. One more thing: Wilsonmi, is a member on here & works for the DNR. He has done an excellent job keeping us informed on this thread & I want to thank him for doing so. He can do a much better job explaining things than I can. As for fishing the North End & Baseline rd. , as soon as I can get out there w/ "BOB" , you will get a very detailed report of our trip. I hear lots of stories of guys slaying smelt but never see the results (its always,...last night), many of you know BOB, he is pretty much the best guy to determine if there is catchable #s of smelt in Gull.      Stay tuned !

[smeltbuster]

Just got a call from Smelt jr. , he checked the ice at the North End about 4:30 p.m. & said that it is still unsafe. said he walked out about 20' off the beach & his spud went through w/ 1 wack. He did see some guys fishing a few hundred yds. to the east of the creek (out in front of the White boat house) , & he is pretty sure that they got on at Baseline rd. . He is pretty sure that the north end will be OK in a few days. He is watching it closely, as he wants to fish it, this week-end. As for his trip on 2nd. bay, this past Saturday, he had 1 flag, & no fish. He was fishing deep water for Lakers.  I will keep ya posted on conditions !

[GpaPerchEye]

Anyone going to try North end tonite or tomorrow night ? I'd like to give it a go, but with the expected conditions, I'd like to have someone to hold the other end of the rescue rope !!