Gull Lake 2021

[Hardwater1109]

Try Facebook market. Usually lots of options on there.

[fishin4smelt]

Fished Northend last night. We ended up with 192. The bite was not fast and furious but was steady most of the night. The snow is a pain to pull sleds out, but well worth the trek out...Tim.

[Hardwater1109]

Fished second bay Saturday night with my brother and other fishing buddy. We ended up with 216 on the ice. Steady all night and solid through the water column. My brother sight fished a few later into the night! Most were small, but good eaters. Great to see them back in decent numbers.

[smeltbuster]

Been fishing almost every night. 26 of the past 32 nights. Fishing Baseline rd. & been having lots of 70-80 fish nights. Tues. night was a new PB for me 165 ! The shore ice is starting to go out. 4' or so from dry ground right now. 2-3" of slush  but not too bad of a walk. Been fishing a long way from others & it is paying off. The "More the Merrier" attitude is not for Gull if you want to catch a good # of smelt.  A few friends have been doing the same(getting away from the crowd) & have really seen a huge jump in #s of fish caught. With the warm weather,we dont have too many nights left. As for my smelt flies, I am trying to keep them stocked in shops close to Gull.Your best bet for getting them is Ken's sport shop in Delton, Gull Lake market on the north end & Capt. Mo's on south bay. Smitty's in Battle Creek also. If you want some Gull Lake smelt, you better get on the ice, Quick !

[smeltbuster]

Shore ice Wed. night was about the same. Someone put a pallet in the water to help folks get on the ice w/ out getting wet feet. THANKS !  I will remove it when it is no longer useful. The slush turned to water & it was freezing real nice about 11:00 p.m. Wed. night. Ended the night w/ 103 smelt. My fishin partner had 56. If anyone found a jig box straight out from Baseline rd., either very late Tues. night,or on Wed.,please let me know. A guy on another page lost one Tues. night & I am trying to help him get it back. Ice is still fine for foot traffic. Leave the machines at home or you will bust up the shore ice & no one will be able to get out. Hoping for at least 3 more nights of fishing the north end & Baseline. Also heard that 2nd. bay is still producing fish but it has turned into a big party area on certain nights.

[smeltbuster]

 PLEASE BE CAREFUL, I WENT THRU THE ICE @ BASELINE RD. !   Tonight I was following the same trail out that I have been using for a week. Walked it at about 11:00 p.m. last night. I was about 4 houses south of baseline rd., about 50' depth.,roughly 200 yds. from shore. The ice went out from under me & I went up to my crotch. No cracking, no warning. It was a soft spot from a spring. I did mark the hole w/ a small tree branch. I always have one in my sled. Stuck around the launch for a while after I got loaded up to warn others. They went out anyways. Would have been my 29th. trip in 35 nights this year. 

[Bassslayer87]

Glad you got out safe! I went through at union lake south of Battle Creek last year and its not fun. Are you done for the year Smeltbuster?

[smeltbuster]

Glad you got out safe! I went through at union lake south of Battle Creek last year and its not fun. Are you done for the year Smeltbuster?

NO !  I am going to attempt 2nd. bay tomorrow night. if it gets cold & I can get someone to go w/ me,I will attempt Baseline again. It was a freak thing that happened. I will have a floatation suit next year.

[Bassslayer87]

I hear ya about the suit. I'd like to get one myself. Think I'm going to get ready to hang the ice gear up after Saturday morning.  I'm getting the fever to get the boat out. Lol

[Smeltman]

I am so glad you made it out safely. I was in shock when you called and told me. I remember a couple of slushy spots last weekend out there.  A warm sun and wind, will destroy the ice. Be safe

[Fish Killa]

Bad news Smeltbuster, glad you are ok. I was out of Baseline last night but I stayed on the main trail and then followed an old snowmobile trail to deeper water. Had a soft spot under my feet next to one of my holes that developed after I set up. Went home with 34 smelt and 5 perch. Most likely the last trip at Baseline.

[Chuck Smith]

Anyone fish the 2nd bay last night? Fished Baseline last night but bite was slow (for us at least). After reports of soft spots and smeltbuster going thru  my nights at baseline are done.  Not worth swimming this time of year. 45 degrees, sun and wind forecast ice will start going fast.

[smeltbuster]

Just to let ya all know, I am done Smelt fishing for the year. I was extremely Lucky last night. Sad to see that its almost over, but very happy to see that some folks can learn from my mishap. If you go,please be careful. I ended my season w/ 1,817 smelt that I caught. That is a great season as far as I'm concerned. Most of my smelt are given to folks that cant fish or to folks that drive a long distance to fish w/ me. The folks that cant fish, get their smelt cleaned & bagged.  Its a Win-Win for a everyone !  Stay Safe out there !     Phil

[btoenges]

I have a question on how big the lakers get in Gull Lake?  I figure you smelt guys would know.

Thanks

[smeltbuster]

I have a question on how big the lakers get in Gull Lake?  I figure you smelt guys would know.

Thanks

Years ago they got up to 20 lbs. or so,but not now. Most are brood stock that get planted now days. They run between 27"-31". The heaviest one we have caught in the past few years was close to 15lbs., most are under 8lbs.. One of the biggest problems w/ the lakers being so skinny is the fact their stomachs are usually full of artificial baits. I caught a 30"er this past summer that weighed right around 7 lbs. & it had 6 Senko worms in it, & 1  Smelt. The brood stock fish are lazy & those baits that are discarded by bass fishermen are just floating ,down by the thermocline.An easy meal for them.In early spring the # of plastics laying on the bottom is very easy to see.Many are NOT biodegradable. In the past 5 or so years we have caught 4 pike that had plastics in them. It is a real problem in Gull & I am sure other lakes too.Unfortunately the problem is not going to go away, especially when there are 4-6 tournaments every week on Gull. Also,it is not just fishermen causing the problem, 3 yrs. ago my son caught a Laker that had part of an Adult sex toy in its stomach ! True Story !

[smeltbuster]

Even though Gull is wide open, Bob & me managed to catch 101 Smelt last night on my Toon. Pretty much the same tactics as ice fishing, but you need a calm night & 2 anchors.You also cannot move around a lot as it makes it hard to see the bites. Ran the green light 6' down. All the fish we caught were at least 50' down in 92' of water. Marked very few high fish. I know its not ice fishing,but it was fun !

[Doeslayer]

Smelt fishing open water was sonething i was always curious about.... Were youbstill using ice rods for the sensitivity?

[smeltbuster]

Smelt fishing open water was sonething i was always curious about.... Were youbstill using ice rods for the sensitivity?

Yes. You have to be very still. If the boat moves it makes it tough to see the bites. If you are on FB, check out the "Michigan Smelt Fishing " page. You can scroll down through the posts & get some ideas. I have posted a ton of info on that page, along w/ several pics. I also have a short video on how I tie my smelt rigs.

[Doeslayer]

Got rid of facebook during the trump amd hillary election and never looked back.... Too much whining and crying for me...

[Fish Killa]

Got rid of facebook during the trump amd hillary election and never looked back.... Too much whining and crying for me...

I agree but Facebook groups have their place and are very useful for ice fishing. But even that has gotten to be a bit of bickering over nothing.