By Louie Stout
Yes, there’s fishable ice.
Yes, guys are catching a few fish.
But no, not every waterway is safe to walk across.
That’s the consensus we got with random phone calls to bait shops.
Most of the fishing has been done on channels or smaller wind protected lakes. Ice thickness has ranged from 2-4 inches.
“Several channels around here are fishable,” said Steven Syzymczak of Clear H2o Tackle near Edwardsburg, Mich. “It varies from lake to lake, but I’m hearing there’s around 3 to 4 inches. Some guys are getting out on Eagle and say there’s 2-3 inches there.”
He cautioned anglers that no waters in the area are “crazy thick,” and you should use a spud to check ice as you venture out.
Szymczak said that the bigger fish are being caught on tiny plastics fished on tungsten jigs, but livebait is working as well for all sizes of fish.
“Bait supply has been very good,” he added.
Steve Yoder at the Tackle Shack in Middlebury had similar things to say, noting that backwater and channel areas are getting the most attention, but he wasn’t sure what was being caught.
“We’re telling anglers to avoid areas of the lake where there is or has been current,” he added. “I would imagine a lot of ponds and smaller lakes have a little more ice than the larger ones.”
In the Kalamazoo area, Shaun Olinger said some lakes have 3 to 4 inches, but not all of them.
“We got a bunch of snow (18 inches) up here so it’s taking longer for the lakes to lock up,” he said. “Guys are getting on the channels for sure, but everything is still hit or miss with a lot of slush on top.”