Be careful on Little bay de Noc !!!

[Kevin Lee]

Just a quick note to anyone thinking about coming up to Little Bay de Noc in the near future. A barge came into the bay all the way to the Payne and Dolan dock in Gladstone. So there is an open channel that runs right up the middle of the bay through the narrows at Gladstone past Saunder's Point then west to the dock. So please everyone, be careful. The way the forcast looks, it will be awhile before the channel is safe to cross. Just trying to help folks avoid making a big mistake. Other than the channel, there is good ice from Kipling north to Rapid River. Most areas north of Gladstone having 6-10 inches.

[SUPERTROLLER]

Kevin, I'm coming up to LBdN Jan. 16th/17th with a big group of friends. Can you give me a website that has current ice conditions for that area? Also any tips on what we need to bring would be very helpful. Should we plan to jig exclusively or do you guys also set tip-ups? Any help is appreciated.

[Jeremy S.]

www.sallmarresort.com

[Kevin Lee]

Supertroller,
Just go www.baysdenoc.com and click on the fishing reports page and look for ice reports. Or you can call me at 906-474-6918 if you want. Right now, there is good ice (6-10 inches)if not more in some areas north of Gladstone. As always, you will want to be careful around the rivermouth areas at the north end. Other than that, I haven't heard of any bad areas north of Gladstone except at Saunder's Point where the tug/barge went through. From Gladstone south, the ice varies alot from as little as 3 inches in some spots to well over a foot. But many of the areas with thicker ice are spots where the ice got pushed up many times before freezing for good and is very weak ice. Mostly frozen slush and chunks of broken up ice pieces. Good luck on your trip...

[SUPERTROLLER]

Thanks to both you and Jeremy for the websites. I'd still like to know more about what to bring up there though. We've got about everything we'll need (I hope) but I'd appreciate any information you can give about lure sizes, colors, line test recommended, set-ups..... you know, just general stuff that works for you guys. This way we can make sure to bring what we need without bringing all kinds of stuff we don't need. Such as: "Do you guys ever use slip bobbers and minnows?",, "How deep should we expect to fish at this time of the year?". Thanks again for your help guys.

[Kevin Lee]

Supertroller,
The wife and I were out a couple days ago. The day didn't exactly go as planned. Got a late start to begin with. It is a long story. But anyway, we only caught one keeper walleye and a gazzilion baby walleye between 5-12 inches. There is an abundance of small walleye out there again this year. But what I wanted to tell you was that all the fish came on the #5 orange Jigging Rapala. Eventhough it turned out to be many small ones, that was the only color they would hit, so take it for what it's worth... Oh, and Rapala actually calls the color gold and flourescent red I think (GFR). But I think it looks more orange. Other favorite colors of ours are firetiger, chartreuse, and glow (white). And lately, a friend of ours has done best with clown. The #5 and #7 are our favorite sizes for the jigging Rapalas. And we never tip them with bait either. Think it screws up the action too much. Usaully keep the rapalas about 2-3 feet off botttom. We always set tip-ups while jigging. But get 90% of the fish jigging. If you set tip-ups, set them atleast 4 feet off botom. And 6-10 feet off bottom if you have them set on a steep drop-off. Have caught many "pigs" setting the tip-up only 12-15 feet down in as deep as 40 feet of water. Don't think the fish are suspended though. It's just the water is so clear now that they will see the bait and come up for it if they are hungry. Of course we usually have 6-8 inch suckers on when fishing this way, so they might see them a little easier than smaller minnows. Goes back to the "eyes on top of the head" theory.Hope this helps some. And good luck on your trip...

[SUPERTROLLER]

Thanks Kevin. Sounds like a good tip on the bigger suckers,,, maybe that will keep the smaller Walleyes away better on our tip-ups. Thanks also for the info on the jigging raps, I'm sure all the colors will work at some time but I'd hate to be out there without the right color for that right day! Got to get some orange ones now! LOL. I've got some smaller oranges but not the 5's and 7's. Maybe I'll wait and buy them up there and support the local bait shops when we'll buy our minnows though. That would make me feel better since I'm originally a Flivver and a couple of the guys coming along are from Wells. They'll know where we can get anything we'll need.