Wow, That's a jumbo!

Well done Matt! Way to take advantage of a beautiful day! Were you in your kayak...or from shore? I've been thinking about going out in a kayak but the water around here is still very cold!

The current fishing report is much appreciated! It might be an oddball season starting up this Spring due to the wacky Winter we had. The lake trout might end up spending extra time in shallow and close to shore over the next few months. The brown trout should be doing the same. A lot will depend on how fast the water warms up!

Glad you were able to get the boat out for the first trip of the season. I had some routine engine work done on my craft late last Fall and did not get a chance to run it before Winter storage, so I am anxious to put it thru the paces and start fishing soon too!

Good luck on any future coho trips you are able to make happen!

Welcome to the Stage! You are definitely living in a beautiful spot! I pass thru your area quite often during various seasons, and the Jolly Inn always offers up a great meal. If you have room for dessert...those enormous cinnamon rolls will satisfy your craving for something sweet!

The North, Central and South Manistique lakes all seem to harbor good fish populations according to local legends and the folks at Fish and Hunt in Curtis. Maybe they could reveal a few secrets!

The Manistique river has always intrigued me as a place to catch some trophy brook trout, especially the very rural segments! Just bring plenty of bug repellent along!

Northern Pike fishing within the Seney Wildlife Refuge can be a lot of fun too, depending on the time of season. As you know, the fishing is limited to what you are able to reach by casting from shore. If you wear hip boots you can step in a bit farther. Just be careful not to get stuck in the soft mucky bottom!

Good luck once the water opens up. The old punky ice from what formed this Winter should be gone in another 2 or 3 weeks!

I hope that your timing is perfect and the fish are there awaiting your arrival! Enjoy the outing!

The browns should be showing up about now, but catching anything at all will be rewarding!

Thank you for the kind words 40GRIT! There are many many "yakers" on this site, so hopefully some other folks will chime in to this inquiry. There is a lot more to be said....

Trolling, vertical jigging and just drifting around while casting are all possibilities when fishing, and for the most part, any kayak will do the job but some might be more comfortable than others. Staying seated or standing are some other considerations.

One nice thing about sit on top styles (which nearly all dedicated fishing kayak designs are) is that if a person is comfortable with their balance, then being able to stand up is a nice capability. In traditional kayak designs (like narrow touring "rec" kayaks), it is nearly impossible to get up and stand from the seat.

It will be fun to see some future feedback, updates and photos that are generated from this posting by HAEINC.

Welcome to the Stage!

There is some good fishing to be had in both locations you mentioned, and I assume that you have been doing so from shore or possibly via a boat from time to time. Now you want to get stealthy and have fun from a kayak approach. Get ready to enter a world of excitement while fishing from a kayak!

There could be a lot of parameters to cover regarding some good kayak choices, so as opposed to writing a short novel, maybe I can throw out some ides for you to ponder....

1. Consider a used kayak for a first time purchase. That way your initial investment could be more modest as you grow into the routine and see how much you like it, and see if it fulfills your intentions as you had envisioned.

2. Depending on the distances you plan to travel from a launch point, "paddling" a kayak should suffice...as opposed to pedaling or using a small electric motor. That being said, "paddling" a wide styled fishing kayak is a bit more cumbersome than paddling a narrower styled touring kayak that you are still able to fish from. If you enjoy bicycling, then a pedal style kayak might be a better fit.

3. Dedicated "fishing" kayaks will already have been designed with thoughtful dimensions (length, width and draft), features and stability built in...so if your intentions are purely towards fishing...look in that direction instead of getting a generic kayak that would work for both fishing and simple recreational use. A 12' length is a nice target length, and just make sure that it has the weight payload capacity to safely carry both you and all intended gear will still leave you with plenty of unused weight. You do not want the gunnel line to be right at the water line like a submarine ready to submerge!

4. Make sure that you are easily able to load and handle the kayak by yourself without straining your physique. Pick up truck beds work out well, and car topping works too as long as you are able to get safe leverage without hurting your back and shoulders. A small trailer is a consideration too...depending on the weight of the kayak itself.

5. Most dedicated fishing kayak models are what they refer to as "sit on top" styles...whether in a low profile molded seat near the waterline...or in a small elevated chair. Scupper holes in the hull can be left open for easy drainage of water that slips in, or kept plugged to keep the ride a bit drier. Keep in mind that most fishing kayak hulls are designed to be "self bailing"...thus the scupper holes. If you do paddle with them plugged, be very sure that you are able to quickly "pull" them out in case you suddenly take on a big wave or some other form of water surge.

6. Look for a steerable rudder feature via your feet. That makes navigating much easier.

7. Don't get too hung up on brand names. There are a ton of models to choose from. Look for durability and reasonable construction quality and use of solid materials at mounting points (rod holders, etc.).

8. Your paddling destinations will have a very large number of boaters sharing the water with you. Be sure that you stay very visible to boaters, and always wear a PDF...don't just have it stashed on board under a bungee cord. When in a kayak, you create a very small profile, especially when being viewed from the front or behind.

If you are able to share more thoughts on your fishing style and past experiences then others may be able to hone in more specifically on responses back to you.

Good luck...Spring is just around the corner! If I lived closer it would be great to hook up and paddle together, but it's about a 5 hour dive for me to reach the Metro Beach region.

It might be worth driving over to the boat launch just upstream of the Independence Bridge and making some long casts out from shore. The small squared off breakwall next to the ramps protrudes out into the river a fair distance...

Since you are pressed for time, it would save the bother and logistics of launching a boat!

Good luck if you go. I just polished off a 5 pound batch of walleye from farther downstate in the St. Clair River...where the action has been red hot as well!

Well said! Frogs beware once you get to start the lily pad season on the bass! I think your body will thank you as well...saving you from having to muscle the kayak around in the old ways....

Very nice trolly rig you've come up with Andy! Fun to imagine a project out of items you already have on hand!

You are probably correct Bcmech1!

We are in between opportunities this Winter...ice too thin for getting on a lake...and not much open water for being out in a boat. Bank fishing in rivers is about the only thing going!

I have seen a few boats out fishing in Lake Michigan...but launching is tricky because all the docks have been pulled!

It won't be long and our normal fishing routines will return with the coming of Spring!

Ok...good to know that you also use those books! They are terrific...

I do not target walleye very often (just once or twice each year), but when I do it is in South Lake Leelanau. I hook a few, but have never been lucky enough to catch a limit like what is so easily done in Saginaw Bay for instance.

I'm also trolling from a kayak, which limits how far I can reach from the public launches. There seems to be numerous lakes in NW Michigan that have them stocked, but I do not have any first hand information on them.

Welcome to the Stage Michael...

Are you just testing the site to see if there are signs of life out there?

Ahhh...I see. That makes sense.

You never know how a lake will produce on any given day depending on numerous parameters that can affect fishing.

Not sure if you have past experience on those 2 lakes, but something I always suggest to folks is to pick up a hard bound paper copy of a spiral bound book from "sportsmans connection". Their web site is scmaps.com.

Although the content of the books are somewhat dated, they still contain a lot of pertinent information such as lake contours, public access points and historic fish stocking data. They also make suggestions about where to try angling based on local knowledge from fisherman.

Both of these lakes are covered in the West Central Region book, which is one of seven books that cover all of Michigan. The books mostly cover lakes, but some do cover a few rivers as well. Whenever I use this media to start learning a lake, I have always done well and found the material to have been well worth the money spent, which is $25.00 per booklet. I think you can also purchase specific lakes for $2.00 per page via their web site.

Lake Cadillac and Mitchell are covered on pages 48 thru 51. Sometimes I have seen these books in tackle shops and bait shops too. In the electronic age we live in, I find it refreshing to rely on good old fashioned printed materials....

Enjoy your future trip in June! Depending on the timing of the mayfly hatch, it could have a significant impact on the fishing at that time.

Good evening! At this point in the season...regarding ice fishing, I would strongly suggest that you stay off those lakes at this time. They never really got a solid start this year, and after the long 3 week thaw we had the ice has become very unstable, soft, honeycombed and punky. I have even noticed a modest amount of abandoned gear sitting on some lakes this season...which is not a good sign. It tells me that folks went out but retreated in a hurry.

The recent brief drop in night time temperatures might lead a person to think that decent new ice is forming below the crud, but that is not the case., at least in a significant way. Everybody I know around this region has been keeping off the ice.

I stopped at Jay's in Clare, MI a few days ago and picked up a nice ice rod/reel combo on sale, and the floor staff said my timing was perfect because in about a week they are taking all the ice tackle off the floor and gearing up for Spring already...considering that the season in Michigan was basically a "bust" this year.

Although it is possible that things could turn around, I would be extremely cautious this year.