Remember all that new ice fishing equipment you bought last year? You know, the propane- powered ice auger, jigging rods and tackle that sat in the corner of the garage all winter while you waited for safe ice to form – ice that never came for most of southeast Michigan.
Well, if the meteorologists at the National Weather Service (NWS) have it right, you just might get a chance to use it this winter.
After last year’s unusually mild weather, the NWS is forecasting a return to more typical winter weather patterns with temperatures at or slightly below normal and normal snowfall patterns.
And in southeast Michigan, “typical winter weather patterns” typically means safe ice by the end of the year.
But if ice anglers learned anything from last winter, it’s that ice conditions in southeast Michigan are notoriously unreliable and if fishing year-round is the goal, anglers should keep an open mind and adapt to whatever conditions Mother Nature dishes out.
In southeast Michigan, this often means taking advantage of one of the many winter open water fisheries within easy driving distance.
For anglers looking for walleye, one of the best winter locations is the Saginaw River. Last winter, open water was the norm on the Saginaw and coincided with one of the best walleye bites in recent memory. This year the river seems to be filled with even more walleye with one notable difference - most fish are undersized. Anglers are catching dozens of walleye per outing but only one in twenty is legal sized. But don’t despair, more and larger walleye are filtering into the river as the season progresses.
Another winter open water fishery to consider while waiting for safe ice to form - or in case it doesn't - is one of southeast Michigan’s steelhead streams. Oakland County’s Clinton River and the section of the Huron River near Flat Rock remain ice-free and provide anglers with a decent shot at a steelhead without driving hours to one of northern Michigan’s more traditional steelhead fisheries.
One problem that may complicate winter open water fishing this year is extremely low water levels. Already, many Lake St. Clair ramps have closed as a result of low water conditions making launching difficult, if not impossible.
Low water is also affecting the Saginaw River with some ramps becoming unusable for larger boats and making the two primary Saginaw River tributaries – the Shiawassee and the Tittabawassee –nearly unfishable.
With last year’s weather all but washing out the entire ice fishing season anglers may be tempted to take unnecessary risks to get a jump on ice fishing this season, but patience can’t be emphasized strongly enough.
Every winter a few anglers die when they push the envelope and venture out onto unsafe ice, travel alone without checking ice conditions, or cross pressure cracks that can separate or heave during high winds.
Ice thickness and weather conditions can change quickly so anglers should always carry an ice spud to test ice thickness ahead of where they’re walking and use a compass or GPS when venturing onto large bodies of water.
The first snow and cold snap of the season has anglers scrambling for ice fishing gear and sharpening augers. But just in case the forecasts are wrong and last year’s unusually mild winter is repeated, southeast Michigan anglers have some great open water alternatives.
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