Anyone been up to the north channel?

[hoagie29]

I like to fish there and don't want to make a wasted trip. I take my two sons with me most of the time and want to be sure that it is safe before we go. Any bit of info will help. Thanks.

[Oakridge]

I don't know how true it is, but I talked to a man on the ice yesterday that told me that all of the property surrounding the North Channel has been purchased.  The DNR was there yesterday and cleared the channel.....no more parking, no more walking across dry land to get there......

He told me that there were a LOT of people on the channel yesterday and the DNR made them all leave.....

Again, this is rumor......I am just telling you what the man told me.....I have no first hand knowledge.

[crappie66]

I don't see how they can make people leave the ice, it is a public lake, but I can see them enforcing the parking and cutting through yards issue.  From my experience fishing there the homeowners were always nice and friendly, sometimes coming out to talk.  I can understand the homeowners getting upset though about people parking along the road and cutting through their yard, leaving cigeratte butt, candy wrapper, bait container trails through their yards and along the street, not to mention empty lantern propane tanks on the ice.  I never parked down by the turn around (mouth of the channel) and cut through the empty lots, I always parked on the side of the road at the end of the channel and walked the hundred or so yards to the good fishing areas.  If parking is the problem I am sure you can find somewhere to park and make the short hike back onto the channel, and I am sure you may find a homeowner willing to let you park in their drive if you offer a few dollars, money talks, more than likely how they got the DNR to come out and supposedly run people off.  As usual one or two bad apples ruins it for the rest.

[hoagie29]

I like to fish there and don't want to make a wasted trip. I take my two sons with me most of the time and want to be sure that it is safe before we go. Any bit of info will help. Thanks.

thanks for the info. I'll get ahold of the DNR to see what the scoop is.

[]-[0||0W]

that would be a real bummer if i couldnt fish that channel this year

[crappie66]

If you are going to fish it, you better get there soon.  The fishing is generally good early ice, after that it isn't really worth a damn.  The big schools of 14 to 16 inch crappie are caught not long after there is safe ice.  If the crappie are there you will see them no more than a couple feet under the ice cruising back and forth.  Minnows won't do the trick, you might get a crappie or two on minnows but ice flies catch a majority of the crappie.

[Fisherben]

While fishing the kettle on Saturday I heard the rumor about the north channel and decided to look into it on the way home. I drove past the end of the channel where everybody parks and there were a lot of no tresspassing signs. It was obvious that people had parked there and walked across to the channel and there were no vehicles left at 5:30 pm so I would say this is not a rumor.

[fishingguru]

This is no rumor. I was there Sat. morning and the dnr chased everyone out if they trespessed to get on the channel. He said that right now he is not issuing tickets but soon they will. He was there all day running people out that were parking along the road. Luckily I have a place to park and there was only one other guy there durning the day. Sunday by buddies went there and the same thing happened He showed up in the morning and made everybody leave. He also said that the home owners were complaining and that is why he has to run people off. So unless you have a place to park you are going to get run off.

[scroungydog]

It's a shame that a ignorant, incompetent, and downright irresponsible few have to ruin it for the respectful majority. This doesn't suprise me in the least. Last year I observed 2 guys park across from these houses towards the end of the channel, walk right along a property line, thru a construction site, where unable to access the channel where they wanted to, and proceeded to walk along the seawall, in front of 2 houses, backtracking, until they found safe ice!! If I would have been the property owner this wouldn't have made me to happy. These guys were both old enough to know better. In a day when it's hard enough to find access to the ice, why jeopardize what little is left?? Don't mean to vent, but it's no suprise!!!  Everyone needs to be responsible and respectful so what little privileges we have left can be preserved!!!

[fishingguru]

Another thing the dnr officer committed about was that one morning a home owner was having coffee and playing with his kids and an icefisherman took a leak right in front of him and his kids. This is the kind of stuff that give us a bad name and why we lose places like this to fish. If people would just use their heads and respect other people things wouldn't be this bad.

[big pond]

I am a property owner on a lake in Kosciusko county.  When I bought the property it was brought to my attention that although I maintain it down to the waters edge, the last five feet is public access.  Even though I had to pay $5000.00 to have a sea wall and 4' sidewalk put in, I cannot keep anyone from fishing off of it or off of my pier.  With that being said it does not excuse the slobs that leave there trash on the ice or in surrounding areas.  People who smoke must not view there butts as trash and unsightly as I have seen mounds of these left behind when they are done.  It's up to everyone of us to keep each other in check and if you see someone blemishing our image, then by all means call them up on there conduct.