# Houghton Lake (michigan) - maps/info/advice



## HOUSE

Hey guys, 
I'm going up to Houghton lake (Michigan) September 10th and was wondering if anyone reading this has any fall-fishing tips for me. I searched the forums and found a bunch of good advice, just nothing from fall. Here is my research so far, please add anything that might help. 

We're going to be there for 3days and will be targeting walleye, pike & bass. I think I'll have most of my friends bounce leeches a foot off the bottom under slip bobbers/lindy rigs, while I throw some crankbaits and spinners. I'm going to target the drop offs where the lake slopes from 12' to 8'around the weedbeds, and hopefully cast perpendicular to the weeds and run my lures along the outside edge. I've never used marker boueys but they sure sound like the will help mark the points.

It looks like there are 4 main weedbeds in the lake. North shore, Middle grounds, South shore, and South East. I found a good map here: 
http://cms.houghtonlakechamber.org/uploads/map1.jpg
and here: http://www.fishweb.com/maps/roscommon/houghtonlake/index.html

I was thinking the EAST side of the lake will be the best place to stay, giving us access to the middle grounds and southeast weedbeds. Since it's mid-September, though, I just don't know if the fish will be moving more shallow in the fall to bulk up for the winter. Just south of the middle grounds, there looks like there is a 4 foot underwater mound that might be a good place to hit if there are weeds around it on the drop off slopes. I also see a 12 foot channel between that 4ft point and the southeast weedbeds that might also be a good place to troll. I've never trolled before, I was thinking we might let out 3 poles with 60feet of line (2mph) and use 6-8ft diving cranks behind it or spinning crawler harnesses? We might skip the trolling if the weeds are bad, but it sounds like it might be fun to try up there.

Questions:
Do you think I should target the deep water in the "East Bay" on the south east that late in the season? Should we try the north shore weed bed since it is more shallow up there? I'll have a cheap fish finder with me, I just don't know if it will show us anything other than the depths. I'm not experienced in reading them for fish arches. Also, with all of the weeds, what should I expect to see on the fish finder?

Thanks in advance for any tips. I read a post on here about bait shops...I'll ask the Lyman's guy for advice when we get there, and avoid that Karpinki guy that sounds like a real jerk!

Thanks again!

-House


----------



## FISHIN 2

Check out www.michigan- sportsman.com. they have alot of info. Also, the locals like a place called, Lymans bait. Their website is www.lymans.com, they're located on the SW corner of the lake, by the weedbeds on the south end. Also, if your looking for some good grob, go to old rte 27, on the SW corner of the lake and turn north at the light, the place is 1/4 mi on your right, great buffet style restaurant. Check out roscommon county maps on mi-lakes, also, crawford county maps on that site too. Lymans has a descent map on their site also. Got a place to stay already ? If not let me know, got a friend that we stay with every March ice fishin, Called Busters Resort. Nice little cabin, On the lake, 50 foot out the back door !!!!It's located on the east shore on 8403east houghton lake drive, 48629, ph, 989-366-1600, tell him Mike from Ohio sent ya, guys name is duane. have fun. Also, nice lake 15 mins away too, to the north, called higgins lake, perch, lake trout, and whitefish. maybe a few smelt too !!!Have fun, it's 5-1/2 hr drive for me !!!!


----------



## HOUSE

wow Fishin2, thanks for the great information man. I'll definitely check out that restaurant and call your friend. We were thinking about going with Zager's Sportsman Resort & Marina, but it really depends on which part of the lake they are on. I'll have a party of 4 and probably need to rent two 14ft fishing boats up there. I don't think I want to fish from a pontoon boat, do I?


----------



## little guy

Houghton is a good lake for fishing. You should do well with the strategy you have planned. Lots of pike and bass, some walleyes.

Good luck and let us know how you do!


----------



## FISHIN 2

Not really sure about a pontoon boat. Alot of em up there though. Houghton lake is a shallow lake. There are a few holes deep, not too many though. Zaegers is on the same side of the lake as Busters is. They have cabin and boat rentals too I believe.Just not as nice. Busters resort is about a mile north of Zaegers on the lake. Large cabin has all the amenities, including a jaccuzzi tub. Cabin has 3 bedrooms, large kitchen, cable tv, large wrap around couch that pulls out making 4th bed. Not sure of boat rental there, but ya might ask. Might check this link out;http://cms.houghtonlakechamber.org/
hope ya have a good time.Tell duane you want the winter rates !!!!!Alsmost forgot, Zaegers is called sportsmans retreat, on Rawson Ave, that's on the east side off e. houghton lake rd. middle of the lake in latitude on the east side. Busters is on the east side where the finger starts out on the east side, lymans is on the SW corner of the lake, very shallow there 3-5 ft, 1000 yds off shore


----------



## Reel Thing

Here's a couple of maps


http://www.fishweb.com/maps/roscommon/houghtonlake/index.html

http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-30301_31431_31560-67610--,00.html

George


----------



## HOUSE

Thanks for all of the advice guys. I've drawn up a tentative game-plan for the lake. I think I'll start in the southeast and move to the middle grounds, following the 8' drop offs and points.

The one question that I still have not found answers to online is where the fish will be come mid-September. I'm hoping the bass will be actively feeding in "fall mode" and the dog days of summer are gone. I don't know if this will influence the depths which I should be fishing. Perhaps they will be more shallow than in the summer. Any ideas?
Also, In the process of looking for that answer, I came across a pretty cool article that you guys might enjoy reading if you are into bass: http://www.umpquavalleybassmasters.com/bassbook.htm


----------



## NewbreedFishing

warehouse, u should be good to go with those dates. that far up into michigan the evening temps will drop the overall lake temp. right into the fishes comfort zone. I would guess the bass would be shallower then 12' in most cases and def. throw them into fall feeding mode. 

suspending jerkbaits/cranks around the weedlines could be the best lure IMO for multispecie.

strike king 'wild shiner' suspending (phantom/blue or olive/black)
fat free shad cranks
northand willowleaf 'reed runner' spinnerbaits are awesome if your fishing thick weeds. my favorite colors for northern waters are black/orange and lime/chart. 

you also have Fletchers pond nearby 
good luck:B


----------



## HOUSE

Thanks NewBreed,
I found pics of the lures you suggested. I'll add them to my Bass Pro shopping list hehe. I might bring some white spinners along as well for the pike. I've heard the lake is full of perch, so I'm also bringing FireTiger colors with me. I don't know if topwater will work up there in the Middle Ground where it comes up to 4', but I'm going to try a few Zara Spooks since they are so much fun to fish. Other than that, I'll probably stick to cranks and spinners. My favorite lure so far that I've bought for the trip is the Berkley Flicker Shad in a sunset color...it just looks killer!

I'm not sure the best way to find the edges of the weed lines though. I've never used marker buoys before, and I'm pretty new to reading my fishfinder. That should be the biggest challenge.

I'll stop bugging you guys now, as you probably can see I'm pretty excited for the trip! 

Thanks again!
-House


----------



## NewbreedFishing

thats the ticket WAREHOUSE!!

Jerk and pause that wild shiner and you should get pummelled :B
The phantom blue and olive colors are unbeatable


also learned that the purple/pink hue's in the crankbaits work best in northernwaters. i am not really convienced on the sexyshad colors yet.

the weedlines should be very visable above water but the bouy markers never hurt. make sure you wear some good polorazid shades.

the big 3/4oz reed runner spinnerbaits would be good to troll over the weeds but i like to cast the tandem colorado/willow 1/2oz. (chartruese/lime & black and orange) model because they ride high and snake thru the weeds perfectly. I can also watch them all the way back to the boat for strikes.

One more suggestion pick up a few Stanley BUZZITS (black) we were killing them up at lake st. clair on those. I found them at tackle warehouse online.


----------



## HOUSE

okay, I posted in the michigan-sportsman forum and summarized everything I know about Houghton Lake thanks to you guys, (Newbreed/Fishin2 especially) and all of the other posts I could find online. Here is my finalized Houghton Lake research, thanks again for everyone that contributed to it! I wont bug you again until after my trip 

HOUGHTON LAKE:
I'm heading up to Houghton Lake Sept 10th for a 3-day trip and I've been doing a lot of research on the lake. I'd like to post it all here and see what you guys think. I searched all of the previous posts on this forum and several others, I'm hoping this will save some other Houghton Laker's some time and possibly give them some new ideas.

MAPS:
+ I made a Google map of the lake with many of the surrounding cabin rentals and bait shops (with contact information):
-Search for "HOUGHTON LAKE, MI (fishing)" and you should see my map.
+ Best topographical map I found:LINK
http://cms.houghtonlakechamber.org/uploads/map1.jpg
+ Second Best map: LINK
http://www.fishweb.com/maps/roscommon/houghtonlake/index.html
+ If you want to buy a good map:LINK
http://www.lakemap.com/ProductImages/papermaps/michigan/higginshoughtonmap.jpg
+ Lymans on the lake has good information regarding fishing on the lake, their website is here:LINK
http://www.houghtonlakefishing.com/index.html
+ I found a guy that keeps a good blog about his fishing trips to Houghton Lake with some good pictures:LINK
http://houghtonlakewalleye.blogspot.com/
+ I also found some live webcams of the lake:LINK
http://houghtonlake.info/
+ Michigan-Sportsman.com forums: my Houghton lake post: LINK
http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/showthread.php?p=3298224#post3298224

As to fishing tips/advice:
I labeled the spots I fished on my last trip, mainly focusing on the middle ground weedbed and the south east shore on the map from my last post below:









From searching the forums I have found the following information: (some of you might even recognize your own tips, thanks!)

Houghton Lake has lots of options for different types of fishing. Trolling, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, live baits...all can be very effective. The lake has numerous weedbeds that seem to hold both bait fish and game fish. The lake is known for good bass, pike, perch, and walleye fishing.

Most of the online advice seems to recommend fishing 6-10 foot depths around the weedbeds, especially along drop-offs where the water changes depths rapidly. Someone suggested "fishing where the wind blows shallow to deep on the edges of the large main lake weedbeds". I'm guessing the wind blows food particles and bait fish over the weedbeds and the predatory bass/walleye/pike ambush them on the down side of the weeds. I've had good luck up there anchoring parallel to a drop where the depth changes from 6' to 10' and casting along the outside edge of the weed line. A fish finder really helps, but locals say that you can usually see the tops of the weeds with polarized glasses by mid summer.

I usually go up there to target walleye, so I have summarized some of the great walleye tips I've found online below:
1) -Jigs: Pitch jigs baited with leeches or minnows along the deep weed edges. Most people seem to prefer the East Bay & the Middle Grounds, while the South Shore weedbed seems to get a lot of boating traffic and pressure. Since walleye are light-sensitive, concentrate on the last 1.5 hours before dark, and early morning.
2) -Slip bobbers/leeches (or carolina rigs) parallel to the weedlines. "Shop around for leeches 4 bucks a doz. on the lake."
3) -Suspending jerkbaits/cranks: "cast parallel to the weedlines, great for multispecies."
-Recommended lures: Strike king 'wild shiner' suspending (phantom/blue or olive/black)
4) -Swim baits: "Cast over the thick weeds in 6-10fow."
5) -Spinners "if you have the time to invest in finding an area with just the right amount of weeds that the wind will allow you to fish. If fishing in the weeds, use a split shot and silver spinner with 1 hook and 1/2 worm. 8 to 10 fow."
-Recommended lures: Beetle Spins, White terminator spinner, Reed Runner Spinners: 3/4oz good for trolling over weeds; 1/2oz (chartreuse/lime & black and orange) "because they ride high and snake through the weeds perfectly. You can also watch them all the way back to the boat for strikes."
6) -Trolling/Drifting: Someone reported catching better in the hours before nightfall.
- Recommendations: "Black and silver crankbaits were the color of the night, all trolled at 2mph, between 25 and 60 feet back. North shore advice: 8 to 10 feet of water. Speed was 1.8 to 2.2. Tail dancers, deep diving t-sticks, matzuo tourney cranks in browns, coppers, purple, blue and silver, all between 26 - 62 feet back."
-"Try drifting with leeches and slip bobbers out by the middle grounds or walleye alley"
-"...Trolling late summer is more of a pain than its worth (weeds)...u can always throw beetle spins or small spinner baits while you're watching the floats."
-"Drift and cover water when you can, bring at least 2 big drift socks and 2 good anchors, it is windy out there."

*PIKE TIPS:
-One spot mentioned several times is along the East shore, north of the transition between the two basins. Where this point sticks out, the depth slowly falls from 4' to 8' well off shore. Shallow diving crankbaits like floating minnows should produce here on a slow troll.
-Lure Suggestions:
1) Black bucktail mepps with a rainbow blade. size: 5-7 inches long, (use a 12" steel leader).
2) Johnson silver spoons in the 1/2oz size with a white curly tail on them. They are supper weedless and have great action. Forum Post:
3) Hot 'n Tots, 1/4 oz.

*BAIT ADVICE: "If you want leeches or crawlers (maybe even minnow but I don't think so) go to the dry dock which is only a few miles west of Harvey's on county 100. Little party store that is run by an older guy. He will spill his guts on what people tell him. They are also way cheaper than Korbinski's. Shop around for leeches 4 bucks a doz. on the lake." Also, several people have commented on bad experiences with Korbinski. I can speak from personal experience that I, too, was not very impressed with his attitude. Lyman's on the south side was extremely friendly and helpful on the other hand. I have yet to try Zager's Sportsman Resort & Marina on the east side, but I'll swing by there this year and see what they are like.

On an unrelated note, I came across an article in Bassmaster magazine talking about "Michigan Mayflies" that sounds interesting. According to the author, the Mayflies can be found on Houghton Lake and Lake St. Clair sometime in Mid-June. I'm a big fan of great topwater action and have put this on my calendar for next year. Has anyone reading this thread ever seen the mayflies up there in June? The author suggests using the following gear:
-Strike King Coffee Tube 3.5inch Honey Color. 10pound braided line with a 4foot, 8pound fluorocarbon leader. 3/0 straight-shank worm hook through the tube.
-Look for surface swirls and make a quick/accurate cast. Twitch a few times, let sink to bottom, repeat. Follow up bait: soft plastic jerkbait (shad) with same jerk/let fall retrieve. Bring a pancho or mask + lots of bug spray.

Okay guys, that's all I've got on Houghton Lake! Let me know if I can add anything more to my database, I'll update it again after my trip in two weeks!

-House


----------



## NewbreedFishing

A+ on your homework there Warehouse 
I will copy and paste this info into a word document in my Michigan folder for future ref. I found that Mayfly article as well and was actually @ lake st. clair this past spring as the mayfly hatch was just starting up....with the water being so clear in those lakes i could see the smallies doing just what was discribed. We would see an occasional swirl in 12-15' of water so I believe that pattern would really play out toward the middle-end of june. 
Cheers and Good luck on your trip, will be anxious to see your results.


----------



## Alwsfishin

We used to go up to Houghton 30+ yrs ago for pike. We'd use softball size bobbers and 6" live bait, the bobber would start dancin then it would take off. We wouldn't set the hook till the bobber went under, we fished in weedbeds in 8 to 12 fow. Lot of fun!


----------



## HOUSE

Well, I survived my trip up to Houghton Lake! I say "survived" because we were greeted with 20mph winds and a nice cold front moving in when we got there  Tough fishing, but we still managed to put quite a few in the boat.

We stayed at Songer's Resort on the east shore. I was very impressed with the friendliness of Mr. Songer and his wife, Jill. I plan on going back to stay there next year. They hooked us up with two 14" boats with 9.9hp motors, as well as a handful of helpful tips for our fishing adventures.

With the strong winds blowing north to south, we started each day by fishing the middle grounds and moving south with the wind at our backs. We struggled to keep the boat straight with our 50hp trolling motor and had to resort to using our outboard to keep the boat straight when we trolled or drifted leeches through the weeds. We caught quite a few <20" largemouth and smallmouth bass in the mornings and after dinner here. The winds made it difficult to cover as much area as I had intended. I put the spots on the map below which we hit during the trip.
As to the tackle, Newbreed, I have to give you credit... all of the lure suggestions worked great. I actually caught a bass on the shad colored Bomber "fat free shad" crankbait on my very first cast! I couldn't find any openings to cast the jerkbaits without getting snagged, so I was afraid to fish them. I used white spinners in the weeds for the most part and caught a few bass on them.

We didn't have much luck with big walleye or pike. Over the 4 days we caught 5 small walleyes and only 1 pike, all on leeches bottom bounced under a slip bobber. I thought I found a perfect location to find them in the southeast bay. I labeled it with a red square on my map. This area has a flat 4' sandbar that drops to 13' suddenly, plenty of weeds, and the wind was blowing into the slope. We trolled it back and forth but didn't have much luck. We did have luck with the bass in the streams that feed into the southeast bay however.

To my surprise, we also had luck fishing off of our pier at night in the shallow water. Our cabin was close to a weedbed offshore that held pretty good fish. A guy staying at our cabin actually pulled in a 19" walleye and a monstrous 30" pike from the shore here! The pike looked like a freaking barracuda, lol.

We took one day off of Houghton Lake to go fish a nearby Reedsburg river/dam located off of I-55. People reportedly catch pike and walleye near the dam, but we only caught bluegill. Almost all of the lake is covered with lilypads. My friend and I walked around the entire lake throwing weedless topwater frogs but didn't catch any bass or pike. It was mid-afternoon and very windy, so I don't know if they are in this lake or not...sure looked like they should be.

Overall it was a fun trip. The weather made it very difficult, but I felt great every time we caught a fish because we really worked hard at it. I had hoped for some keeper walleyes or pike, but at least we were able to catch some bass and panfish. I think next year we'll go in the warmer spring or summer months, and I'll definitely go back to Songer's Resort.

Thanks again for everyone that chipped in with advice!

-House


----------



## NewbreedFishing

as wide as that lake is i bet it was hard fishing thru those strong winds.
glad you fought back and made it happen. did you happen to fish the bays that had heavy winds blowing into them? the pike may have been loaded up in an area like that. some of the nastiest weather is when i have done my best pike fishing.


----------



## HOUSE

NewbreedFishing said:


> as wide as that lake is i bet it was hard fishing thru those strong winds.
> glad you fought back and made it happen. did you happen to fish the bays that had heavy winds blowing into them? the pike may have been loaded up in an area like that. some of the nastiest weather is when i have done my best pike fishing.


Yea man, I hit up that south east bay on day 2 thinking that the wind might stir up some action there. We fished the drop off where that 4' sandbar falls to 13', and then I fished every damn weedbed in that cove with everything from leeches to crankbaits to spinners...no pike wanted anything to do with us. When we fished the creek outlets down in that cove, however, we hit the bass pretty hard. I also found an awesome 20' hole down there just off one of the river inlets that produced good smallmouth.

Walmart sells a great topographical map of the lake for $8 bucks that showed this hole and other good spots that seemed to work pretty well. I took a picture of the map:


----------



## 1MoreKast

I am bringing this topic back to life for a minute if anyone can chime in. 

Last couple years I've been driving up there from NE Ohio. I usually take my boat and camping gear for a nice getaway camping/fishing excursion. The fishing on Houghton is wonderful. Never had a bad experience or fishless days on Houghton. Next trip is May 18th - 21st. Almost here! 

My dilemma is: I've decided I don't want to tow the boat up there this year. I'd rather have the stress free trip up and back down without worrying about your typical roadside trailer problems. My rig is on the older side and I'm willing to leave the stress at home. However, having a boat on Houghton makes the fishing experience much better. I'm just having a hard time doing homework on boat rentals. I called a couple places and some of the phone numbers are outdated or not available from what I've found online. I will be with 3 other fisherman. If possible it'd be nice to have a boat capable of holding all 4 of us with the equipment. Choice two would be to split up in two boats.

Has anyone had experience with renting fishing boats up there? How were the amenities? Depth/fish finders? Electric trolling motor? I know that could be asking for much but if it's an option I'd take it! I'm also plenty fine and more than appreciative with having a standard 12-14' V bottom with smaller outboard. Price isn't much of a concern. Just looking to put fish in the boat!

Thanks all....


----------

