Eastern U.P Michigan?

[John K]

Looking at a business venture in the U.P that might cause me to relocate.Can anybody pass on some general information on the availabe fishing on the inland lakes such as,Brevort,Munscong and Trout.Also,other than Big and Little Bay de noc on the western side,what is availabe for walleye and other species in the Great Lakes on the eastern side of the U.P and northern Michigan.Thanks in advance John K.

[old fire guy]

Brevort Lake has one of the largest man made spawning reefs constructed especially for walleye. The population contains a good balance but that also means not a lot of small fish. BDN and LBDN are world class walleye fisheries. Late fall on LBDN produces a lot of Michigan "trophy class" 23"+ fish. Couple the fishing opportunities with the mediterranean climate (few below zero days) and you have 'da UP! Truly God's country.

[mudpuppy]

John K ,
The St. Mary's River system from Whitefish Bay all the way past Drummond Island is good walleye , perch , musky , pike country . Also has good runs of Salmon (pinks , Atlantics & Chinook) & steelhead . Have some friends that own a cabin on the river . Plan on making a couple trips up there this year myself .

[RickK]

Hey Mudpuppy,...do they really catch Atlantics there? I wondered how/if they "took", I understand they have put Atlantics in Erie but haven't heard how they were doing.

[mudpuppy]

RickK,
It's big flyfishing sport up there at Sault Rapids in May/June . Guess they're pretty finicky feeders , nymphs & streamers & such . The occassional "incidental" catch by trollers . Down state near Kalamazoo , MI , the DNR planted a few in Gull Lake . Deep clear lake , ice fishermen couldn't keep them off their hooks while fishing bluegills & pike . Couldn't keep them period (out of season) . Lake Charlevoix in N.W. lower MI also has them . Didn't know about the Erie plants though .

[RickK]

Thanks Mudpuppy,...BTW ever hook onto an Atlantic? Actually I never have hooked onto a landlocked Salmo salar,...but I have done so with the sea run ones in Me and WOW!,...I have caught Kings and Steelheads in the Salmon River in NY and it was also a battle but nothing like the Atlantics,...I'm not sure what a "pink" is,..that must be a local term (?) Sockeye?

[mudpuppy]

RickK,
Pink Salmon are from the west coast , plantd in L. Superior 40 or so years ago . If you go to www.steelheader.net , find the search engine , then look in Web Metasearch , there's a good article on page 4 called : The Salmon of New York . Tells about "pinks" coming down from Superoir plants . Also tells of all the other species .

[mudpuppy]

Forgot , type in "Pink Salmon" in search .

[BD]

Lake Independance west of Marquette has some nice walleye, smallmouth, perch and northern. The eyes will not be huge but there are some big bass in the timber and some nice northern also. Perkens Park is part of the county park system. There is a nice campground there and your campsite fee covers the launch fee as well. Also there is a bath house with showers and indoor toilets. It's a very good place for a family trip. If you saw the movie "Anatomy of a Murder" it not only was filmed there but the story the movie was based on happened there. The hotel from the movie has been restored. You can also stay there or at one of about a half dozen housekeeping cabins on the lake. My own choice is the campground. I beach my 14ft. Lund and just push it out when I'm ready to fish. There was also some good lake trout fishing at "Stannard Rock" on Superior. You will need a big boat if you want to go out that far on the big water though.

Lake Gogebic is also an excellent walleye lake. It's been a few years since I have been there but there was a good motel on the north end, an excellent resort and a campground on the west side, and some other facilities on the south end.