First time to the bay.

[lost finn]

Hi, my fishing group and I for the last 6 years have come to the UP in September to fish, everything from perch to salmon. For the last 5 years we have fished the St. Marys river from Drummond Island to Sugar Isle. This year we're excited to be coming to Little Bay de Noc and have been doing a lot of studying, map buying and reading the last 3 years of Septembers reports here.

We will be staying in Gladstone on the upper bay, the structure on the bay looks great and trolling a rig into some of these slots looks a bit challenging, I've read that a lot of the fishing here is done drifting or anchoring with jigs or with chubs. I'd like to have a try at all the different technques, mostly I run in-line boards and 5 colors of lead line out the back.

So the big questions.
Are the depths on the Hot Spot map correct?

Any shallow rock piles in the middle of nowhere I need to know about, I do run a fishfinder/chartplotter with maps, but things come up fast.

Any nets in the bay, I do want to do some night trolling?

Night fishing, should I run closer to shore, or is it mostly find the fish in the evening and just keep fishing them and that location. Do the fish in the flats move in the evening into thinner water?

I have a box of Thunder Sticks and floating Rapalas, do I need to get the extra wiggle of Salmo's, Deep Husky Jerks and Reef runners? I know I'll be visiting Chris when I get there, to pick-up the hot lure.

Mostly bodybaits or should I be running crawlerharnesses/BB's to?

Favorite color? I read a lot about purple up there.

Normal VHS radio channel followed.

Is 1 mph a good start ? Higher? Lower? 1.2 works well here.

For walleye,the upper bay, between the towns, or the lower bay.



Thanks for your time , Hope to hear from some of you.

See ya the 8th
Duane the lost finn

[nitecrawler128]

Lost Finn,
I haven't been out in a few weeks... engine problems:(... so I'm not much help with the current walleye bait/speed preferences (it can change day to day). All I ask is PLEASE, DO NOT make the tourist mistake of launching from Kipling and heading straight off the docks... you will not have a lower unit anymore!

[JBovay]

Unless it really picks up over the next week, the walleye fishing in the far north end has been really slow. As far as night fishing, I don't think any of the neighbors have been out much after sunset. With the lower water levels, it is more treacherous up that way too...even partially floating deadheads. I think your best bet will be from Kipling and further south. The bait shop should have some more recent info when you arrive.

[The Bait Shop Guy]

Okay, here we go -


Are the depths on the Hot Spot map correct?
It's as good a map as any. Depths are pretty close to what's shown. Just slow down when running in areas with less than 5 FOW on the map.


Any shallow rock piles in the middle of nowhere I need to know about
As mentioned before, beware of the rock reef that runs Northeast from Butler's Island. There's a green buoy marking the end of the reef. The other main area to watch out for is the sand point that sticks out into the bay, south of the Days River. The breakline along the East side of the bay comes up extremely fast, but is very visible during the day.


Any nets in the bay
There may be some DNR nets in the bay. They are moved every couple days, and marked with orange buoys. Try to scout your fishing area during the day to avoid them.


Night fishing, should I run closer to shore, or is it mostly find the fish in the evening and just keep fishing them and that location. Do the fish in the flats move in the evening into thinner water?
Generally speaking, shallower is better, (less than 15 feet,) but weeds can be a issue. Right now, the better night fishing has been south of Escanaba, between the Ford and Cedar Rivers.


I have a box of Thunder Sticks and floating Rapalas, do I need to get the extra wiggle of Salmo's, Deep Husky Jerks and Reef runners?
Really depends on how deep you want to fish. All of the above will work on the bay. Reef Runners and Deep Husky Jerks are the most popular baits around here.


Mostly body baits or should I be running crawler harnesses/BB's to?
During the day in the bay, it's mostly harnesses, with some cranks. After dark, it's all cranks.


Favorite color? I read a lot about purple up there.
Tough to beat purple up here for cranks. Firetiger, and clown are good, too. The water in the upper bay is stained from the rivers dumping in, so bright spinner blades in chartreuse, orange, and pink can be really productive. Plain old silver, copper, and gold are always good. Throw out an assortment and let the fish tell you what they want.


Normal VHS radio channel followed.
68.


Is 1 mph a good start ? Higher? Lower? 1.2 works well here.
Generally, under 1mph for harnesses, 1.5 to 2 for cranks. Whatever works for you at home will probably work here, to. Go with what you've got confidence in.


For walleye,the upper bay, between the towns, or the lower bay.
Really, all of the above. Most of the people we see are fishing south of Gladstone. Most of the fish they are catching between Gladstone and Escanaba have been in the 15 to 20 inch range,(lots of short fish, and perch, too.) The bigger fish are being caught between the Ford and Cedar Rivers, and the shoal areas south of Stonington Peninsula. Those fish are more in the 20 to 25 inch range, with a good shot at one in the 25 to 30 range.

Good luck. Please let us know how you do.

[lost finn]

Hi to All and thanks for the for the replys.

Just got back last night from our week of fishing.

I liked the Gladstone area, its real convenient. We saved over $300 by not doing our typical over purchasing of food, we did run the grocery store out of Carolans pretty quickly.

The weeks weather was a little rough as the wind came at us from every direction, hiding behind the Days river sand bar anchored was a regular occurrence for another group at the resort. The 2 big boats roughed it out and power trolled thru thru the waves, the cabin supplied boat stayed in the sheltered areas and got out towards the freighter dock when the wind behaved.

We were very surprised by the catch rate as it was very low, For the week we caught 8 keeper pike , half dozen perch and only one walleye. Our biggest Pike was over 39" but most ranged in the 28" area, the walleye was just at the minimum.

A survey of the fish cleaning table trash cans didnt indicate anybody at the resort was doing well.

Anyway its always fun to fish, we made the best of it. The folks in town were very cordial. It was nice to meet The BaitShop guy. Chris, you do lot to keep this site active, Thanks.


Thanks,, Lost Finn