Houghton Lake, MI

[Lazy Ike]

We're thinking of a trip to Houghton Lake, MI. I know that the weeds were killed last year. We have never fished there before. Can anyone share details to help plan a trip. My wife & I practice catch & release with a very occasional eater. We're interested in sm mouth, eyes & pike. Leads on lodging & ramps etc would be great too. Thanks.

[Tom (mich)]

I competed in the MWT event on Houghton several weeks ago. All the millfoil is gone, so I'd recommend trolling a generic crankbait like Shad Raps or Tots. You'll sift through literally dozens of small northerns to get a few walleye, but the action will be fast and furious. I'm only aware of the DNR launch on the south shoreline, which is excellent.

[Capt. Paul]

Any crankbaits will take pike, the DNR killed all the weeds,(only supposed to be the millfoil, but they all got hit) last year, and the pike are eating everything in site. You can plan on 6-10 pike for every walleye if you are trolling.

[chamookman]

Capt.Paul- I thought it was the Lake ***. that applied the weed killer not the DNR. Can You set Me straight? Either way, it`s going to take quite a while for the Lake to rebound.:( Thanks for the reply. Bob WC#253.

fished wmwc tourny several weeks ago 40+ pike one day did not matter what we used live bait or cranks.dnr launch on west side of lake is a good one as is south launch.you will catch fish!

[jake]

i just returned from a week on houghton lake. we got out to fish 4 times and two of those were only 2-3 hours. the heavy weeds that were choking the lake the last 3 or 4 years are history. the native weeds are returning, whether it stays this way or not is any bodys guess. i spent most of my time trolling the breaks in the east bay. in aprox. 18 hours of fishing our 2 man boat netted (i'm estimating) 11 walleye, 60 pike, 4 largemouth, 8 smallmouth, a dozen perch, 1 bluegill and 1 burbot. most of the eyes came on spinners and bouncers. i would have run cranks more but i could keep from having the pike hit them. we stayed at songers and i'd recomend them to to all who are planning a trip there. they have a few vacancies to fill for the summer. the number is 989-366-5540. there are 3 good dnr ramps and a couple more private ones at marinas. have fun!

[Capt. Paul]

Jake, are you sure you caught a burbot in Houghton lake? Its only 25 foot deep at the most, and not all that clean, a burbot is a deep, cold water fish that I am not sure could live in that lake.

[jake]

i've been vacationing at houghton lake for over 18 years. i get 1 of these about every 3 years or so. i was told they were burbots. houghton is the only lake i've caught them in and i've never had a chance to have one identified by a biologist.

[Tom (mich)]

Burbot and dogfish look pretty similar. Both are ugly. There were many dogfish taken incidentally during the MWT event. Could have been that. Hope you didn't eat it.

[Lazy Ike]

Thanks to all for the input.