For information on Pere Marquette Lake northern pike, contact Pere Marquette Sports Center at (231) 843-8676.

Portage Lake
Manistee County's Portage Lake is one of those lakes where you really don't know what you're going to catch. The 2,110-acre lake has been producing excellent walleye action for the past several years. Pike topping 20 pounds are taken through the ice every winter from Portage. In addition, Portage holds a good population of panfish.

The east end of Portage Lake is relatively shallow and weedy. That's where you're likely to find some hot first-ice panfish action. Bluegills up to 9 inches and crappies that will stretch from 10 to 12 inches are taken in water as shallow as 3 feet early in the season and gradually move to the 7- to 11-foot dropoff as winter deepens. Teardrops baited with wax worms and spikes excel for the bluegills. The specks prefer small, lively minnows.

Portage is home to some pretty decent yellow perch, too, and winter is the best time to target them. Perch school in the 20- to 50-foot hole near the center of the lake and along the south shore, off Camp Tosebo all the way to the Covenant Bible Camp. Put in your time and you can take a bucket of 8- to 10-inch yellowbellies. Go armed with wigglers, minnows and wax worms.

Both walleyes and some very respectable northerns can be found cruising the 15- to 40-foot depths either side of North Point. Another hotspot is southwest of the public access on the northeast side of the lake. Anglers who suspend big suckers or smelt below tip-ups take the biggest pike. The northerns average 24 to 30 inches, but pike topping 40 inches are taken every winter. Anglers concentrate on the 20- to 30-foot contours for walleyes and use jigging spoons or lures during low-light conditions or after dark. Don't be afraid to try as deep as 60 feet if the shallows don't pan out.

For information on bait shops, accommodations and amenities in the area, contact the Manistee Convention & Visitors Bureau at (888) 584-9860 or online at www.manistee.com.

Lakes Cadillac & Mitchell
Lakes Cadillac and Mitchell are a great place to hedge your ice-fishing bet. The lakes are located across from each other on Michigan Highway 55/115 in Wexford County, allowing easy access to either lake. Each has its own special brand of ice-fishing, though.

Lake Mitchell is home to plenty of northerns. Lake Cadillac has fewer northerns than Lake Mitchell, but they tend to run a little larger. Both lakes have some really nice bluegills in them, but Lake Mitchell might get the vote for numbers. Lake Cadillac has more yellow perch. Lake Mitchell has more crappies. How can you go wrong?

During a normal winter, anglers are on Lake Mitchell well before Christmas. Not last year.

"We really didn't have good ice until the middle of January," reported Steve Knaisel of Pilgrim's Resort and Village on Lake Mitchell. "Things started out kind of slow, but the fishing really picked up in February."

At 1,150 acres big, Lake Mitchell serves up nice catches of winter bluegills for those in the know. Hotspots lie off the mouths of Big Cove and Little Cove. The lake is fairly shallow and weedy, and panfish can be found throughout the water column. Ice-anglers need to work from top to bottom, and vice versa, and drill plenty of holes. Cover ground, find some hot holes, revisit those holes periodically, and you can end up with a nice bucketful of 'gills and sunfish. Crappies will be found in the weeds, too, and often can be caught right under the ice toward dark. Specks topping 12 inches don't raise any eyebrows from Lake Mitchell regulars. Often the crappies of Lake Mitchell can be taken on larva because of their propensity to feed on aquatic insects.

Lake Cadillac produces similar fishing for bluegills as Mitchell, but also gives up some excellent catches of perch. The perch tend to hang in the deeper holes near the center and east ends of the 2,580-acre lake. Most of the perch will run 8 to 10 inches, but 12-inch jumbos aren't uncommon.