I spent  a few days last week in the UP of Michigan and got the chance to do some fishing. One day we chased panfish with only limited success. I did manage to learn some new water though and spent some time on the ice with friends.
I spent another day and a half setting Tip Ups for Northerns on a lake in the Hiawatha National forest. This area was my stomping grounds as a kid so it was fun to get out and enjoy the country again.

Michigan regs changed in the past year or two and now allow for 3 lines per angler and 2 hooks per line. This meant the party of 5 of us could put out a dozen tip ups and still have a couple rods in hand for panfish. The panfish bite was slow with only one perch being landed on day one. The northern bite however was excellent. On day one we had 15 flags landing 8 fish in the 20-25 inch range and broke off a couple fish that felt much bigger. The fish were obviously active. They were tearing line off the spools. Several fish had half a spool out with in 30-40 seconds of the flag going up. One fish bit threw the heavy fluorocarbon leader just like they do so often in open water.


                            Jackie lands a nice one.

We had our spread starting in about 3 feet of water going out across a channel of 20+ feet and then back up onto a point with some milfoil and pencil reeds in 4 or 5 feet of water. On day one every tip up produced at least one bite even though the depth ranges varied so widely. On day 2 however the shallower lines produced best.


                        Old fashioned but still effective!

Most guys would never think to put out baits in 3 feet of water under 20 inches of ice. They should! This is not the first time we have had success in very skinny water. The action can be fast and furious as big Northerns get up in shallow water looking for an easy meal. The second day we got only 5 flags but landed 4 fish in the 23-34 inch range. We pulled the set in mid afternoon to pack up and head home after a nice fresh fish fish fry for lunch.


                              This 11.5 lb prespawn female took a golden shiner and lots of line

All in all a great couple days. We released most of the fish to hopefully catch next year. Only a couple weeks left in most states to get out and chase toothy fish so get out there now before you have to put the tip ups away for another year.