Fishing Season Opens May 15

Muskellunge, Northern Pike & Walleye Fishing Seasons in the Upper Peninsula Opens May 15, 2014

Any parent, grandparent or adult who has tried to take young children out angling knows you need to find some fishing action without too much delay. Accomplishing that will make it an enjoyable and lasting outing. For open water season,pan fish fishing is probably the best option available locally. If you are taking several children, and unless you have a larger boat,it is good to consider a shore fishing option.This allows the kids to run around when they lose interest between bites. Iron County has several options for shore, pier, and boat fishing that are good choices for a youth fishing day. Iron County’s best lakes for abundant bluegills and sun fish are Runkle, Glidden,Indian, Fire and Fortune Lakes. Some shore fishing opportunities are available at Runkle, Glidden and First Fortune Lakes. Runkle Lake has a fishing pier and some public shoreline at Runkle Lake Park that are available to fi sh for numerous pan fish and it is a good choice for very young anglers. Runkle Lake also has a boat access site. Glidden Lake State Forest Campground provides both shore fishing because the entire shore-line is state owned, and it has boat access. First Fortune Lake’s best shore fishing is accessed through the Bewabic State Park. A fishery crib reef is located in easy casting distance from the shore of the point just north-east of the bathing beach. Numerous DNR surveys and personal snorkeling reveals tha the crib reef is heavily used by pan fish and bass. Indian Lake has limited shore fishing opportunities although boating access provides easy access to an abundant pan fish population. Three fisheries crib reefs are also located in Indian Lake that make good locations to catch pan fish and bass. Fire Lake’s only practical access is by boat although its small size makes a small boat a reasonable choice to fish from. As water temperatures warm near 70 degrees, bluegills start bedding/nesting. They are very vulnerable during this period and anglers should be encouraged to maintain the fishery by not over harvesting the larger male bluegill that take the role of guarding the nest of eggs and fry. Fisheries research reveals that the large bluegills, especially males, maintain the quality of a lakes bluegill population size structure. With that in mind, fly fishing with small ant imitations is an excellent way to introduce novice fly anglers to that sport. Bluegills are just starting to stage for bedding or limited nesting on some northern bays that warm sooner than main lake areas. If you get your young angler into nesting fish you should en-courage them to selective harvest. You should not take larger bluegills, but can keep and eat the medium (less than 8 inch) fi sh. Lake Ottawa is another lake to consider in Iron County. This lake has a U.S. Forest Service fishing pier and is a good place to catch smallmouth bass, rock bass, and occasionally perch and walleye. Anglers should note that Lake Ottawa is restricted to catch and release fishing for bass. Bass Lake , just off M-73, is also a good fora small boat for pan fish and some shore fishing opportunities are available at the US For-est Service public access site. Fortune Pond , just west of Crystal Falls,has a handicap accessible DNR/Wildlife Unlimited fishing pier and is currently stocked with rainbow and brook trout. Water clarity is excellent so fishing early morning and evening is most effective. Water clarity allows you to see the bottom at about 40 feet deep at the end of the pier. Caspian Pit , just east of Caspian near the Iron River, is also stocked with rainbow trout and has a city of Caspian fishing pier at the access site.

Fishing.