# Jan 1-4 Ice Report - Up North



## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

Made the trip up to Cadillac area over the long holiday weekend. Left early Friday and headed back at Noon on Monday. Did OK fishing.... but have begun to realize i'm not getting any younger and that i need a snowmobile if i want to keep hitting the bigger lakes up there. There was 5 inches of snow on the ice when i got there and a predicted 1" of snow on Friday night turned into a white out and added 3" instead. Made dragging gear a bit rough to say the least.

Fished Mitchell on Friday afternoon. Hit the deep holes outside of the big cove first hoping for suspended crappie..... nothing but baitfish sized perch. Moved around a little and found a spot with 10 FOW on the edge of a shallow 5' flat with weeds. Started marking fish right away and landed a nice 12" crappie and lost another at the hole. Also caught a small walleye and missed a couple other good bites. Ultra Light Rippin' Rap (Clown) was the lure getting their attention. Then the snow started, bite quit and i gave up for the day.














































Saturday - Walked straight back out to that same spot with a fresh 3" of snow on top. Caught a 15" walleye and 2 keeper perch on the rippin' rap and bite slowed pretty quick. Bounced around a little and added a nice 8.5" pumpkinseed but no other keepers. Took a break and switched over to Cadillac right out in front of downtown. Only even got a couple marks on the flasher and gave up for the day. Awesome sunset walking in.


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## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

Sunday - Drove to Missaukee and walked out from the ramp next to the beach on the East side. I had a GPS point from last year marked i wanted to fish..... 1.2mi from the launch. Never made it to my mark though, the snow did me in. Did make it about 3/4 of a mile (after several breaks) and settled for a spot that looked good on Navionics. Had about 15 FOW with 2' of weeds coming up. Caught several bass, 1 keeper perch, 1 keeper bluegill, an 18" pike and a bonus 22" walleye! Lost 2 other walleye at the hole that i think would have kept. Within minutes of catching the nice walleye, 2 guys motor up on 4-wheelers and talk to me. Said they didn't want to crowd me but were going to fish the area too. Didn't bother me much, but their definition of "crowd me" must be a little different because they set up quite close. Oh well..... public lake so they were more than welcome. At least they stopped and said hi i guess. Bigger fish were coming on a jig & minnow and was getting bluegill on a dropper spoon with a single maggot. The water is VERY clear at Missaukee and couldn't get anything but the 2" perch patrol to follow the rippin rap. I've done better at Missaukee every time i've come up this way but it is a haul over the ice to the spot. I had a couple locals point me to the general area the first trip i ever made up and thankful for the info. Now it is time to research the cost of a snowmobile.

























































Monday - Only had time to fish till noon so went back to Missaukee and fished out in front of the dock off of front street where they sink the pine trees. I could do much more walking after the day before. Only managed one nice crappie and some more dink perch before i called it quits.










I've stayed at the Econ Lodge on the causeway between Mitchell and Cadillac every time i've been up. Not too expensive and can request a ground level floor room if you call to make the reservation. Ground floor has outside access to the rooms and can park right in front of your room. Even has enough light to clean fish on the tailgate. And........ if there is a BC Pizza anywhere near where you go up there, GET SOME!!!! Chicken Parmazetti Pizza has to be one of the best i've eaten.


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## RStock521 (Jul 17, 2008)

Thanks for sharing your trip with us! Great to see you got out on the ice and caught a few fish at least. I'm hoping to make a trip in a few weeks and will have to keep this area in mind.


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## TDD11 (Aug 5, 2015)

Great report Russ! Maybe next year we can time it to network.

Speaking of your "don't want to crowd you" moment - reminds me of Thursday morning... outside of the small cove. 
2 minutes after a school of crappie went through and it was up-and-down action, a guy dragging his gear stops to catch his breath 20 yards from me and I can tell he is watching me closely. I was having the best bite deadsticking - but he starts yelling to me "you have to jig it,.... jig it!, ... you have to jig it" repeatedly. 
Then he walks over, compliments my Lowrance setup but tells me I have the sonar screen setup wrong. "You need to turn on flasher mode, and turn on bottom zoom" Etc. 
"Nah, I have it setup exactly how I want it but thanks. I don't like flasher mode" (sonar and A-scope)
"I can't even see your jig right now, you have to change it. You can't even see your jig"
"I can see it just fine down in the weeds, here it is" - as I jig it to show it moving on the screen.
He then reaches down and touches my screen to change MY settings, but the touchscreen freezes (not as responsive in the cold). Meanwhile, every time he leans in, he is 2 feet from my face, and the toe of his boot is an inch from a rod I had laying in the snow. Every time he leans in he almost steps on the rod.
"You need to jig above the weeds, not in them" and grabs the rod IN MY HAND, and lifts it until it is 2' above the weeds. "This is where you need to be fishing". (At that point in time I had just caught several fish with my jig right in the top of the weed line)
He again brought up the Lowrance settings, said I was in the right area to where he fishes regularly, and that I could come over and watch/learn, as he sat up 50 yards away. He was a nice guy, but did not understand personal space, and interrupted every sentence of mine. Maybe he had a program that worked, but after the first impression/encounter I was not interested in learning from him. I did try to talk my buddies into walking over and barging into his shanty. Lol


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## joekacz (Sep 11, 2013)

TDD11 said:


> Great report Russ! Maybe next year we can time it to network.
> 
> Speaking of your "don't want to crowd you" moment - reminds me of Thursday morning... outside of the small cove.
> 2 minutes after a school of crappie went through and it was up-and-down action, a guy dragging his gear stops to catch his breath 20 yards from me and I can tell he is watching me closely. I was having the best bite deadsticking - but he starts yelling to me "you have to jig it,.... jig it!, ... you have to jig it" repeatedly.
> ...


Good thing you weren't fishing out of your boat,he could told you how to run it. LOL


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## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

TDD11 said:


> Great report Russ! Maybe next year we can time it to network.......


Haven't ruled out another trip up there yet this year. Pretty sure my license is good till March but need to get the new Rec. Pass for parking just in case. Hopefully the ice comes a little more South. If i only have to travel 2 or 3 hours North, that makes things a little easier. If it makes it into Ohio, that would be even better.

I have always read about people building the ski frame (smitty?) to strap a jet sled to.... but can't say that i saw a single person using one up there. Not sure if it would help in that deep of snow or not. I was thinking i needed to cut weight, not add more weight. I honestly could have left my pop-up shanty at the truck since i never set it up. That would have saved me a few pounds. Think i need to put a good thick coat of wat on the jet sled too. Oh well, live and learn.


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## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

I can't believe the guy actually grabbed you rod too! Definitely meet some odd balls out on the ice. Most people are always willing to talk at least but sounds like he wanted to hook the fish and then let you reel them in. haha!!


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## RStock521 (Jul 17, 2008)

TDD11 said:


> Great report Russ! Maybe next year we can time it to network.
> 
> Speaking of your "don't want to crowd you" moment - reminds me of Thursday morning... outside of the small cove.
> 2 minutes after a school of crappie went through and it was up-and-down action, a guy dragging his gear stops to catch his breath 20 yards from me and I can tell he is watching me closely. I was having the best bite deadsticking - but he starts yelling to me "you have to jig it,.... jig it!, ... you have to jig it" repeatedly.
> ...


Wow, you are very patient. That's one of those scenarios where after it happens, you sit there think about what just happened, and you get more mad/annoyed thinking about what you should have said to get him to buzz off. During the interaction, it's just so confusing that you just go along with it. At least that's how those scenarios work for me most of the time lol


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## RStock521 (Jul 17, 2008)

AtticaFish said:


> I have always read about people building the ski frame (smitty?) to strap a jet sled to.... but can't say that i saw a single person using one up there. Not sure if it would help in that deep of snow or not. I was thinking i needed to cut weight, not add more weight. I honestly could have left my pop-up shanty at the truck since i never set it up. That would have saved me a few pounds. Think i need to put a good thick coat of wat on the jet sled too. Oh well, live and learn.


The smitty sled makes a HUGE difference when pulling by hand. I think there's a bunch of videos on YouTube and such on how to make them, it's not too bad. Call local ski shops, they often will give you an old throw-away set of ski's for free that they get on trade-in. I've gotten a few sets that way in the past.


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## 1MoreKast (Mar 15, 2008)

Love your reports Attica! Always a pleasure...happy you got to get out and enjoy some of that ice!


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## TDD11 (Aug 5, 2015)

AtticaFish said:


> Haven't ruled out another trip up there yet this year. Pretty sure my license is good till March but need to get the new Rec. Pass for parking just in case. Hopefully the ice comes a little more South. If i only have to travel 2 or 3 hours North, that makes things a little easier. If it makes it into Ohio, that would be even better.
> 
> I have always read about people building the ski frame (smitty?) to strap a jet sled to.... but can't say that i saw a single person using one up there. Not sure if it would help in that deep of snow or not. I was thinking i needed to cut weight, not add more weight. I honestly could have left my pop-up shanty at the truck since i never set it up. That would have saved me a few pounds. Think i need to put a good thick coat of wat on the jet sled too. Oh well, live and learn.


I'd love to do another trip up there, but I don't know if I will take any PTO for a panfish trip. Ohio extended forecast looks like we may build some ice finally, but it will be 2+ weeks out. Now on the other hand, I will justify taking vacation time for a Saginaw walleye trip. 

I haven't seen anyone using the smitty sleds either, but I see a lot of threads about them on several sites. Guys say that they take 20% of the effort to pull, and most beneficial in snow. This is all 2nd hand info though from iceshanty and a few other sites. Hope to get one built soon, and get snow/ice to test. I bought the skis last year but wanted to make it out of something other than wood. Will just make it out of wood at this point though.

I will try to get one made, and when we get snow, I will use a scale and measure the change in force and let you know. Lol. I saw one youtube video uploaded last week where he did a test, but his tow line was not attached to the tips of the skis - and I read that that is important to do. 



RStock521 said:


> Wow, you are very patient. That's one of those scenarios where after it happens, you sit there think about what just happened, and you get more mad/annoyed thinking about what you should have said to get him to buzz off. During the interaction, it's just so confusing that you just go along with it. At least that's how those scenarios work for me most of the time lol


It definitely caught me off guard, but went on long enough that I overcame the shock while he was still there. I don't know what I would have said or done. Like I said, I think he had good intentions but no sense of personal space.


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## Bprice1031 (Mar 13, 2016)

AtticaFish said:


> Made the trip up to Cadillac area over the long holiday weekend. Left early Friday and headed back at Noon on Monday. Did OK fishing.... but have begun to realize i'm not getting any younger and that i need a snowmobile if i want to keep hitting the bigger lakes up there. There was 5 inches of snow on the ice when i got there and a predicted 1" of snow on Friday night turned into a white out and added 3" instead. Made dragging gear a bit rough to say the least.
> 
> Fished Mitchell on Friday afternoon. Hit the deep holes outside of the big cove first hoping for suspended crappie..... nothing but baitfish sized perch. Moved around a little and found a spot with 10 FOW on the edge of a shallow 5' flat with weeds. Started marking fish right away and landed a nice 12" crappie and lost another at the hole. Also caught a small walleye and missed a couple other good bites. Ultra Light Rippin' Rap (Clown) was the lure getting their attention. Then the snow started, bite quit and i gave up for the day.
> 
> ...


Sounds like a great trip and awesome report! Now tell me about the beer 🍺? Is that a local one to the area or is it one that is local to your home area?


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## Evinrude58 (Apr 13, 2011)

I have a smitty sled and they make a world of difference. Guy would have touched my rod and he would have had a broken hand,


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## John Boat (Sep 23, 2014)

TDD11 said:


> the





Evinrude58 said:


> I have a smitty sled and they make a world of difference. Guy would have touched my rod and he would have had a broken hand,


Smitty sleds are simple to make and a definite plus in snow. I used some redwood I had and it is really light by itself. Put plenty of eyehooks on it for bungees.


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## kit carson (Jan 24, 2016)

Also put on enough rope that your around 10feet in front of the sled and when you drill the tips for the rope run the rope through the hole on the bottom of the ski and knot it on the top, that way when your pulling its lifting the ski tips. 

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## kit carson (Jan 24, 2016)

I make quite a few
















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## fisher person (Jul 2, 2004)

Nice report A.F.
Thanks for sharing. You have me motivated to try up north also. Sucks playing the waiting game here in nw Ohio.looks like you had some nice catches, as always thanks for sharing the info.


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## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

@Bprice1031 - The beer was from Petoskey Brewing which is actually up North of Traverse City. It was an IPA by taste, but not pale at all. Kind of like the New England IPA's i think. It was good. Came in a 4 pack and only 1 made it home. Did get another 6 pack before I left. Grand Armory Brewing Crop Duster. Just had one tonight and it is a good mellow IPA with a little piney bite to it. That was another good thing about the Econo Lodge.... there is a party store right across the street that had a HUGE selection of craft brews. 










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## 21579 (Jan 15, 2010)

You don’t need an expensive, fancy, or new snowmobile for on the ice. I have a 1985 ski-doo Safari 377. Fan cooled and studded track, imho, 2 must haves for an ice fishing snowmobile. Bought it for $500 10 years ago. Machine starts 1st or 2nd pull every time. It’s no looker but all you need! My shanty cost more  Thanks for the report, heading north again this week myself. 2nd trip up this season.










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## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

Going to have to start looking for some skis and make a Smitty and try it for myself I guess. How is the wood attached to the bottom of the skis? Assuming you want to minimize friction so guessing they get countersunk on the bottom. Have to Google it i spose. I do have some tube metal I salvaged from something years ago. Sturdy and not too heavy so it may work for the cross bars at least. 










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## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

@yrick82 - That looks perfect to me! I sure don't want or need a high performance sled. Good old reliable workhorse sound like heaven. I already have a trailler..... The search is on! 

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## Bluegillin' (Jan 28, 2009)

Next time Attica, just tell the guys they can fish next to you but to do so will require them to pull your sled back and take you back to shore on their 4 wheeler


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## DaleM (Apr 5, 2004)

Talk to my brother who lives just north of Alpena Michigan yesterday he said the green lake was producing some great perch and a few walleye already the ice is between seven and 9 inches thick guys have had their four wheelers or side-by-side‘s in their snow machines out on the ice for several days. Long lake just north of Alpena isn’t producing as well but it’s starting to show some great signs of anyone looking to go up that area you might want to check out Grand Lake. Just follow the crowd you can pull off the side of the road several areas and drive right out on the ice. Again as I always say please be careful no matter where you go it only takes a quick moment to have things turn bad. Good luck guys as of right now I’m heading up there in a couple of weeks for four or five days of ice time hopefully it keeps up as it is now and can catch some decent fish


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## Eye Spy (Sep 14, 2006)

Sounds like a good trip! I am planning on a trip with my son over MLK weekend. Hoping to hit Chautauqua but they currently don’t have good ice so we might head to Michigan. I live in Willard; maybe we can hook up on the ice this winter.


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## matticito (Jul 17, 2012)

Nice fish! I'm jealous!!!


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## BIGDADDYDB (Jul 1, 2006)

Just posted about my trip to Cadillac in another thread...I'll second the BC Pizza! I also had the cinnamon desert pizza thing...man I couldn't put it down.


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## joekacz (Sep 11, 2013)

BIGDADDYDB said:


> Just posted about my trip to Cadillac in another thread...I'll second the BC Pizza! I also had the cinnamon desert pizza thing...man I couldn't put it down.


If you don't mind me asking ,what thread did you post your trip on?


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## joekacz (Sep 11, 2013)

BIGDADDYDB said:


> Just posted about my trip to Cadillac in another thread...I'll second the BC Pizza! I also had the cinnamon desert pizza thing...man I couldn't put it down.


Never mind I found it,nice report.


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