≤ Consider using a fluorocarbon leader, which will be practically invisible to any pike. ≤ Keep your bait lively by using both a well-aerated bait container and very sharp hooks to minimize injury. ≤ Consider using something flashy with your bait, such as a small spinner blade, to ...

ONAWAY — Hope springs eternal on Black Lake in February. In single-digit temperatures on a Feb. 5, morning, about 600 fishermen and women on Black Lake in Presque Isle and Cheboygan counties peered into watery rectangles, hoping to be among the lucky few to take home one of the state’s ...

“I ain’t seen the sunshine since I don’t know when.” — Johnny Cash On this chilly afternoon, there wasn’t much I could tell the gusting wind that it didn’t already know. It seemed to be everywhere at once. From the top of a bare ridgeline down through the white pines along ...

Upper Peninsula ≤ Les Cheneaux/Munuscong Bay: Anglers were still targeting perch in the Hessel and Musky Bay areas, however they were mostly catching small fish. There were also a few lake trout and splake caught in Wilderness Bay. Anglers in the Munuscong Bay area were catching a few ...

Trout fishing through the ice can be quite fun, if you use the proper techniques. Consider the following: ≤ Tip-ups: Certain species of trout, particularly brown trout, really gravitate to tip-ups as they linger in shallower water. Consider your depth if you do this type of fishing. ≤ ...

MARQUETTE — If you find the place in Marquette County on a topographic map, you’ll see an old, dirt roadway doglegging off a county road for a short distance. You can then follow the forest route to where the Black River rolls slowly through the swamps and tag alders, as dark as ...