Gull Lake 2021

[WaterfowlNut!]

Tough night for my wife and I as well. We fished the second bay and caught 14 fish. Marked plenty of fish just couldn't get them to bite.

[Smeltman]

Boy I'm glad I didn't go then. I figured their would be a lot of people free fishing weekend and all.

[smeltbuster]

There was about 20 shanties off Baseline tonight. It was a tough bite, I ended up w/ 87 . I also walked farther than anyone else tonight, looking for the bigger smelt. I did not find them, but for about 1/2 hr. I had one of the hottest bites I have ever seen on Gull !

[sparky13]

How much ice is there and what are the snow/slush conditions?  Any machines on the lake yet?

[moose49017]

I did my yet this season last night at Baseline.  65! Still knocking some rust off.
They were steady for me but never on fire.
Dang they are tiny...

[Bassslayer87]

My wife caught this smelt. It was a little over 6"!

[Smeltman]

That is the size we are looking for. Were you on the north end of lake or south

[wmu1989]

Are you guys using any kind of strike indicator? Also, how do you tie the drop loop?

[Bassslayer87]

Baseline

[WaterfowlNut!]

[smeltbuster]

Are you guys using any kind of strike indicator? Also, how do you tie the drop loop?

I'm using a 58" Patriot ultra light rod. No spring bobber needed. As for the drop loop I just tie a double overhand knot (Surgeons knot) & try to keep it no longer than an inch. I space my flies about 10" apart. As for fishing tonight; Smelt jr. let me fish w/ him. He had 54, I had 123. He wanted to try something,just to prove that you can catch these small smelt if you pay attention. He was using a regular ultra light 4' spinning rod spooled w/ 10 lb. test & was using #14 smelt flies.  Granted,I caught more than twice as many, but he did pretty good. Tried to get him to use one of my rods ,but he wanted to see what he could do. WaterfowlNut , glad I got to meet you, hope to see you out there again soon.

[WaterfowlNut!]

Great to meet you and your son as well! Thanks for the advice and I will surly meet you out there again.

[Fish Killa]

For those of you that are new and feeling intimidated by the set up. I use my ultralite spinning rod 26". No strike indicator, one glow hali and no other hooks. Tip it with two spikes and do just fine. Just a lantern will work if you don't have a submersible light. Or find a fellow fisherman with a light and ask if he minds that you set up 10 yards away. Honestly the fish are not hard to find. On a calm 30 degree evening you will find plenty of company surrounded by there lanterns, set up with out all the fancy gear and shanties. They key is you need to either see or feel the bite.

[Wgorby]

If anyone was walking off the lake on Baseline last night and wondering what idiot left his lights on, that was me...😖
Nothing like getting back to a dead battery at 11:30!!! 😂 And to whomever you were that gave me a jump after you came off the ice, thanks again if you’re on here!! I definitely appreciate it!

I parked on the opposite side of the road from ya around 6:10pm Friday night....noticed your LED bar was on.  Sorry about that.....plus side is you lit the road for the walk back for everyone that left prior to you.  Fishing was terrible for me as well.  Only caught 6 of those french fry size smelt.  Talked to Smeltbuster 30yds away and his graph was lit up like a Chirstmas Tree.  I do not have a green light that bright and that's what me and my bro figured the issue was.  Oh well....always a good time on Gull.

[rgp198328]

Anybody gonna be out tonight? Thinking about going over and testing my luck. How's the north end coming along?

[dutch3376]

I parked on the opposite side of the road from ya around 6:10pm Friday night....noticed your LED bar was on.  Sorry about that.....plus side is you lit the road for the walk back for everyone that left prior to you.  Fishing was terrible for me as well.  Only caught 6 of those french fry size smelt.  Talked to Smeltbuster 30yds away and his graph was lit up like a Chirstmas Tree.  I do not have a green light that bright and that's what me and my bro figured the issue was.  Oh well....always a good time on Gull.

I was in the shanty right by Smeltbuster. My light was broke and he was kind enough to let me sneak in on the edge of his light once he made sure my flasher didn’t interfere with his. He offered me plenty of pointers, but i only managed 30 of the little guys. Thanks again SB!!
And I’m glad the light was at least useful for people and not a nuisance.

[smeltbuster]

Took the night off from fishing to tie a bunch of flies. For any of you that want to know how I tie my smelt rigs, I posted a video on a FB page"Michigan Smelt fishing". It is my 1st. attempt at a video, so go easy on me ! Posted it because I get a ton of people wanting to know how I do it. It is very simple once you do it a couple of times.  Also, I have to agree w/ what "Fish killa" posted earlier. A simple set up works just fine. Seeing the light bite of smelt is the key to catching them.Have plenty of light on your rod tip & watch for the slightest movement. Hold onto your rod at all times or rest it on a bucket w/ your hand on it.

[rgp198328]

There was a pretty solid bite last night. Left with 20 but spent my time teaching the wife how to catch the lil boogers. What a wild surprise at 9 when we flipped the shack to head home.

[Bassslayer87]

My setup for smelt is a very light tipped short ice rod. Then I tie 2 very small Marmoska jig up the line above a Halis jig. Tip all of them with a spike.

[DR.SPECKLER]

Although im not a pro,my setup is a 30" ht  ice blue with a inline reel with 2 size 18 hooks with a hali on bottom that i have switched out the  stock hook with a size 18 hook.i hold my rod the whole time and never set it down until i pack up.theres been a few night where i catch them with no bait on the hook even.smelt have great eyesight im thinking.

[smeltbuster]

Although im not a pro,my setup is a 30" ht  ice blue with a inline reel with 2 size 18 hooks with a hali on bottom that i have switched out the  stock hook with a size 18 hook.i hold my rod the whole time and never set it down until i pack up.theres been a few night where i catch them with no bait on the hook even.smelt have great eyesight im thinking.

He catches lots of Smelt, too !

[semp]

Is baseline rd open to get a quad on or is the not ice not worthy

[smeltbuster]

Is baseline rd open to get a quad on or is the not ice not worthy
[/quote I personally would not trust it. There are some thin spots out there. Guys were running snow dogs last week end.

[dutch3376]

How is the walking after the snow that came this week?

[WaterfowlNut!]

Any good ideas on where a guy might find some old downhill skis in the battle creek kalamazoo area for a decent price?

[Uncle Muck]

Three Lakes, close to Gull. I met a couple of gentlemen this evening and one mentioned issues with beaver's on these lakes.  I would like connect with him if he is on this forum.

[smeltbuster]

How is the walking after the snow that came this week?

There is about 8"-10" of powder puff snow off Baseline rd. not a terrible walk but it could be easier !  Pretty good trail going staight out. Did see Tracks from snowmachines but no sign of quads on the ice. The ice is sketchy in spots on the north end, Use caution & common sense. Smelt jr. & me fished together tonight  & ended up w/ 114. The body count would have been much higher, but I let him use my rod so he could try to catch up ! Had fun & fishing w/ him again tomorrow night.

[3300]

Any good ideas on where a guy might find some old downhill skis in the battle creek kalamazoo area for a decent price?

Call Goodwill stores and check with ski slopes.

[WaterfowlNut!]

I called a couple local goodwills neither had any and one of them told me I was the 3rd person to call and ask. Must be some other folks are looking to make a sled..

[MoJoRisin]

For skis try craigslist