Lake Charlevoix
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Lake Charlevoix Fishing Reports
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Reports from all past years within a 60-day time frame
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Fall
Technique
Soft Swimbaits (Sm/Md)
Structure
Points
Forage
Perch
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Fall
Technique
Drop Shot
Structure
Baitfish
Forage
Minnows
Water Temperature
68°
The fish were much trickier than I'm used to for Northern Michigan. They weren't shallow yet like you would expect them to be, as we're not quite that far into the fall yet. But the fish are changing daily. Without livescope, they were nearly impossible to catch, and even those that had it struggled. The fish were out in 42ft of water specifically in one of our areas and we caught them all the way out to 60, but 40 ish was the sweet spot. They were in areas with seemingly no structure, that wasn't too far away from dropoffs and such. But these fish are sitting 50-60 yards away from these dropoffs and points. They are just chasing baitfish. We struggled to catch fish we were seeing, so we doubled the length of our dropshot leaders to about 3 feet, and upgraded to half ounce weights. Trolling motor on high, pitching our baits at suspended fish and fish on the bottom. You would watch them dart right at your bait and it was over
Omnia Community Member
Bronze Ambassador
9/4/22
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Fall
Technique
Drop Shot
Structure
Baitfish
Forage
Minnows
Drop off anywhere between 15-26 bait balls under them green
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Fall
Technique
Bladed Jigs
Structure
Docks
Forage
Minnows
Skipping docks was on fire all day long
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Summer
Technique
Spinnerbaits
Structure
Ledges
Forage
Bluegill
Spinnerbait off drop off in 40' Water
Species
CatfishSeason
Summer
Technique
Finesse Jigs
Structure
Points
Forage
Minnows
Water Temperature
75°
So apparently mega cat fish up north are predatory now? Caught this giant channel cat submerged 15’ down in 30’. Flicked the guppy head at it and strolled it above it getting a nice reaction and an aggressive bite.
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Spring (Pre-Spawn)
Technique
Damiki Rig
Structure
Baitfish
Forage
Minnows
Water Temperature
36°
Water temps are still below 40, and the fish are schooled up in isolated pods. Bites are few and far between until you find the larger school
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Spring (Pre-Spawn)
Technique
Soft Swimbaits (Sm/Md)
Structure
Ledges
Forage
Alewife
As the ice states to finally melt, the smallmouth have moved up closer to the 10-30 foot range feeding on Alewife. These fish are constantly moving chasing bait but when you find one you'll find more. Keep bait in the middle of the water column and reel bait in at a slow retrieve.
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Spring (Post-Spawn)
Technique
Soft Swimbaits (Sm/Md)
Structure
Open Water/Basin
Forage
Minnows
Water Temperature
68°
There are still some stragglers up on bed and the occasional big post spawner roaming up shallow, but the vast majority of fish have entered their post spawn funk. Targeting bass around structure and on the secondary flat below the drop off lead to the most fish. Light lines, finesse swimbaits and throwing a drop shot lead to the most fish. Using the nishine Erie 115 MD paired with mega live helped to find some more active fish too
