fish and ice report for Jan 8th

[wapak ice dawg]

I did the grand tour of the lake today, started at coldwater creek, only guy there, had 1 on left around 8 am, went to andersons,  caught several gills no size, only guy there, went to harmons, behms, duck foot, then back to the sail boat club, all the same, caught gills, nobody there. I didn't stay long at most of the places, water clarity in some were stained ,others were clear. I punched a ton of holes ,if they marked fish I gave it a try, if not I moved on. Still the worse thing about Grand Lake, only 1 bait shop left standing( if you know of 1 let me know) . Ice thickness went from 10 inches to pucker factor, I tried to walk up Coldwater Creek towards the highway to fish for crappies, thank god for spud bars, went from 6" of solid ice to 1 punch with the spud and I bout fell through the ice, I left a big NOT on the ice to warn people of going any further west. I only saw 2 other guys and they were on the main lake east side. I tried to venture out on the main lake west side but being by myself and the ice real shitty on the main lake I came back to shore. All I can say, don't  let  cold weather fool you and think we have good ice all over, it's just not the case!

[fishin crazy]

Thanks for the ice report! I am new to this forum and hope I am going to like this as well as another site I use? I fish lake Erie in the summer and I get a lot of info. from that forum its great, it really can help catch fish up there after you sort out the B.S. Its great to share I have been thinking about going to the lake tomorrow ,this will help. If I do I will post a report myself. I really like that you left a message in the snow for others that the ice was not safe up Coldwater Creek.    
Thanks again and stay safe!

[wapak ice dawg]

I've ice fished both Indian and St.Marys a bunch, they both have good points and bad ones, Indian , you'll find parking can be an issue unless you live on the lake, the lake rats over there pride themselves in being able to hide from outsiders, truth be known most aren't hiding just parking in places where they probably shouldn't. (some of them) . St. Marys , you'll find is probably the easiest lake to access for pretty good fishing, the only down side, you get the guys who pull up and watch you fish and decide if they want to join you from the car, if you're on them and they see you, you'll get company.  The biggest downside to St. Marys besides the algae bloom is , there is only 1 bait store, if you're planning on being on the lake at sun up, either buy your bait the night before or you'll wait until 8 am when they open , and they don't carry spikes. But you can't blame them, when the bloom hit, nobody fishes the lake during that period. Stay safe , and if you see one of my post, I will tell you like it was

[Jawbreaker]

Thanks for the report.

[perchguy]

there are two bait shops in ST.Marys,the old carryout around the corner.they have spikes but they don't open till 8:00.

[perchguy]

ice dawg ,talk to you at coldwater creek yesterday morning,thanks for info on ice.sorry about the bad fishing.

[Pinnacle]

Ice was 10 inches at Andersons, fish slow though. few gills

[fishin crazy]

Just wondering if anybody has been out in the main lake or is the ice not safe?  Looks like everybody is staying in the channels?

[polarbear]

Had a buddy go out last night at coldwater creek he had 2 nice fish in the six pound range and lost 4 at the hole. He said they were biting short. Just thought I would give a up date. Good fishing

[panfishnut]

Did the dnr say if its safe or not to eat the fish out of St. Marys?

[toadfish]

panfishnut,
State has tested the flesh of several species of fish from Grand Lake and detected no toxins related to the algae.  Even Lake Erie has consumption advisories but mainly related to mercury and PCBs.

[Pinnacle]

Fished this afternoon. a little slow but a few keepers. still good 6-8 inches

[panfishnut]

Thanks toadfish. Me and a buddy came up last week and kept a few but then we heard that we might not want to eat them. I hate to waste fish so just want to make sure. I'm going to cook them up tomarrow.

[Salmonid]

St marys is the most heavily tested watershed in the state, if there was a problem, the EPA would be all over it....

We eat fish year round never a problem and I fish all the catfish tourneys there all through the bloom and the fish don't mind if you can handle fishing water the color of pea soup. LOL  Best fishing of the year for us has been in the worst of the blooms and I have bass tourney guys tell us the same thing.

I was talking to the  Outdoorsman bait shop today they have spikes and waxies but open at 8:00 am, he told me always a couple guys waiting for him to open.

Im also trying to figure out ice thickness for a trip up this weekend, I need to know what main lake looks like, looking for crappies and I have nice spot in mind, only a 15 minute walk from the parking area.


Funny what Waupak said about the armchair guys always watching from the cars, laziest batch of folks I ever seen, LOL  we will get some nice cats from the boat during tourneys and have then hop out of the car after watching us, and cast within a few feet of our boat after seeing us land a big channel cat.. We love to catch and let go right in front of them, maybe a 4-5 lber and watch and listen to them bitch and moan that we wouldn't drive over to give it to them, ha ha

Anyways , let me know what the ice is like from this week....

Salmonid