Escanaba river (from shore)

[fonzypoo]

Hey, i took your advice and burrowed my old man's waders and went to the dam.Even with the sun shining down on me you still only have a foot of visiblity.So placing every step carefully on the slippy bottom was key.I almost took a bath a couple of times.But the fishing was pretty good i caught 7 smallies and 3 rockies,the pictures i took were of the ones that had some size. The little ones werent worth getting out of the water to take a shot. i was fishing between the bridge and the dam.well i cant get the pictures on here it tells me that they are too big.

[The Bait Shop Guy]

Good to hear. Glad to help. Pictures have to be under 195kb in size to post. If you can't make them smaller, email them to me and I'll put them up for you. baitshop2@chartermi.net

[The Bait Shop Guy]

Some of Matt's fish.

[The Bait Shop Guy]

Couple more, including the lures he found while fishing.

[fonzypoo]

After getting blown out over by the plant i went back to the escanaba river for another go at those smallies.It sure wasnt as active as the past night.Go figure i brought the bucket this time.There was alot more people there,but it looked like rock bass was all to be caught.I caught 3 rockies and 2 smallies i only kept the 1 small mouth for the dinner table.ill send pic to Mr. Bait Shop Guy to post i didnt figure out how to make pic's smaller yet.

[basshunter49829]

was real good on sunday limited out with in 2 hours pretty slow on monday ended up with 3 was to nasty on the bay for walleyes marking alot of fish probally would of been a good day for walleye if ya coulda kept your boat straight

[fonzypoo]

i been goin out from 730 pm to dark,should i be getting out earlier or this early enough.Or when is prime time to be out fishing the Escanaba river for small mouth?

[fonzypoo]

Went back to the Escanaba River last night and there was no action at all. No keepers caught 1 small mouth and a small pike with these little black spots all over it. Ive seen it before even on the meat of some fish.Are the fish still good to eat if the spots are on the meat too? At the mouth of the river at the boat launch do you have to get a permit to park there for a little while, or is that only if you have a trailer?

[The Bait Shop Guy]

Back to your earlier question, you can expect to catch bass in the Escanaba River at anytime of the day due to the dark, stained water.

The black spots on the pike are caused by a parasite. They are usually just in the skin of the fish, but sometimes are found in the flesh. Cooking the fish kills the parasites and the meat is perfectly safe to eat.

You do not need to have a parking permit for you vehicle at the Escanaba River access if you do not have a trailer.

[fonzypoo]

Attachment 5014well after about 2 hours of rain and walking from dam to bridge i came up with nothing.Then as i was goin to throw in the towel i came up with these lovely fish. Bass= 18 3/4",16" inch: Walleye=23",19",21" After cutting these babies up being soaked to the bone wasnt so bad.

[RudyG]

Looks like the hard work payed off. Way to go!

[SSMACNCHEESE]

Now I know I'm gonna start a fire storm here but when you catch a batch of walleye why keep those awesome fighting bass as table fair? Now I know they are good to eat but wasn't it fun to catch them than eat them? You only get to eat them once but everyone on the river can catch that fish over and over, even in the same day sometimes. Congrats on the nice catch. But don't forget to select harvest once in a while to! I know you weren't holding 5 huge bass but remember just because its legal doesn't mean its always ethical.

[Big Tom]

Good thoughts MacNCheese... Are you inferring our DNR legal limits are unethical?

I C/R all the Smallies I catch as do most fishermen I see on the River and the Bay...but I also believe He has a right to catch his legal limit of Bass and eat them also.

Both Bays de Noc and feeder rivers like the Escanaba are great Smallmouth fisheries. I wish our DNR would put in a slot limit on Smallies to protect these fish...especially the prime spawners over 18"... We could have an even better Bass fishery...

In Chequamegon Bay...argueably the best Smallie fishery in the USA... You are allowed to kill/keep one Bass per day over 23". That has provided me dozens of 18-21" Mega Smallies on almost every trip to Ashland, WI.
We could have that in a short time...and would draw a lot more tourist/fishermen here... JMHO!

[anglr]

I guess it's a matter of perspective and which fish you value most. Some of the the Bass tourney guys come to our local lakes,come up next to you and cast all around you then they then roar off with their 250HP Engines making big wakes going to the next spot where there is usually someone anchored. They tie up the ramp while they weigh their fish & then they release all the Bass that reproduce naturally but keep the Walleye that have to be stocked.

[SSMACNCHEESE]

I guess it's a matter of perspective and which fish you value most. Some of the the Bass tourney guys come to our local lakes,come up next to you and cast all around you then they then roar off with their 250HP Engines making big wakes going to the next spot where there is usually someone anchored. They tie up the ramp while they weigh their fish & then they release all the Bass that reproduce naturally but keep the Walleye that have to be stocked.

Are you kidding, do you go out in the boat much? what the hell does a bass fisherman have to do with pulling up next to you? It doesn't matter where you are or what your catching someone is always going to come up on you if they see you catch a fish.... come on...

[upfish08]

i'm with anglr. yes the tournaments are good for some people, but what about the average fisherman? what do they do for him? also they launch in little bay, run over here to big bay, catch their large fish, then take them on a 20 mile boat ride back to little bay, without spending a dime over here in garden, i think the tournaments should stay over in little bay, because we sure don't want them over here, it does joe sportsman no good at all, hearing about the large amounts of money, going to people that aren't from around here.

[fonzypoo]

Hey, Well lets see here now the last pictured i posted i will explain myself for you Macncheese.(1 and only time) The first fish the smaller bass, was on his way to the big fish tank in the sky by the time big bass came along.And the big bass took a little surgery to get the lure from his throat. I'm not carring a live well around with me just a 5 gallon bucket. Then an hour later when i caught the 1st walleye both bass werent kickin any more. Better to keep them than feed to the seagulls. I like bass just as much as walleyes.Now i do change the bucket water often to keep the fish cold but they dont last very long in there.Then ofcourse the walleyes MmMmMmM. Now tonight i was out there and just for the guys that like the Bass in Da water rather then in Da belly, i threw back two nice 16"er's!!!!And the rock bass..lol.. But i did keep these 21"and 27", Yes 27" walleye!! Now i know ill see this,"well they dont taste good that big", stuff tommorrow but to me and the other 6 people that live here,thats good eats. Oh yeah 1 more thing tonight when i caught that first fish,4 people from across the river seen me.And with in 5 mins and some car horns later,(i assume from the kids jumpin center cement blocks across the highway),I had 2 on one side of me and 2 on the other side.So its not just out on the big water that people will ancher up next to you, once they see fish being caught.To them Fisherman out there saying,"way to go, nice fish". I say, "Thank You", and wish you the same luck.To the other guys i have a question, Didn't your mom tell you, "if you dont have anything nice to say dont say anything"?

[RudyG]

Atta boy fonzypoo.. Nice job and GREAT post!!!

[fonzypoo]

Thanks Rudy and thanks to The Bait Shop Guy i got out there in waders and it seems to make all the difference.I was wondering how long are these walleyes goin to be in the river? Last night they had the dam opened up making for a pretty strong current. Seems like the water level came up about foot too. Does it seem that the fish are more active when the dam is open or close? It's been about the same for me so far. And whos in charge of that out house down there? That things a mess,to say the least. Not even a roll of paper in there. A hook on the door would be nice too,was goin to put one on myself but maybe someone likes getting walked in on while doing your business. Anyways i'm hopin to get back out there again tonight. Might as well cause i dont think the walleyes are going to hang out around there when it gets warmer out.But i could be wrong,as happened once before.lol....

Good Luck tonight everyone!!!

[fonzypoo]

Fishing was pretty slow tonight. I managed to bring 2 keepers home. The dam was still opened right up.The current and water level was the same as last night.

[Big Tom]

I will repost this...

We could have that in a short time...and would draw a lot more tourist/fishermen here... JMHO!

I do NOT advocate bringing any tournaments here at ALL!

Tourists and more fishermen yes... I travel here regularly from Iron Mountain where I own a business also... I generally get gas here, if I need tackle or bait I stop and see Chris (the Bait Shop guy)...always stop for lunch/snack stuff...and grab a burger or pizza after fishing.
Tourism and fishermens tax dollars are critical for the maintenance of the fishery as well as the local economy.

It isn't fishermen at all that have caused the decline in the Walleye Fishery... Pray that Smallmouth don't become a popular restaurant food or they will decline too!

[fonzypoo]

Well i dont have anything to show for last night. Caught 4 or 5 12" smallies,but no keepers. I might have to go over to the g-stone side. Now can you park over there, seen i few trucks right at the top of the dam.Just want to make sure it's allowed dont want to get a ticket or anything like that.

[anglr]

No I'm not territorial. Lakes are like the wild West-open range. Just hope you aren't the kind of Bass fisherman like the one who snagged my anchor line & wanted me to pull anchor to get his lure back or the one who thought it was funny to bounce a spinnerbait off my hull. I've had trollers cross over my lines & foul them up too. Never had any of these problems at the Bay but had a guy tow me back about four miles to Kipling & he would only accept a thanks for his time gas & kindness. I don't have a problem with tourneys, they can bring a lot of revenue to local people in motels,restaurants,gas stations,bait shops & watering holes. I like this site & the people in the Bay area. I don't think there is website or area in the US that is more friendly & accomodating to fishermen. You have fantastic fishing, great guides,resorts,baitshops & boat ramps.

[SSMACNCHEESE]

Don't you think a tournament draws in more tourists? maybe not the day of the tourney but when they see a weight in on TV with huge fish where do you think they are going to plan on taking there next fishing adventure? How can you be for more tourists and fisherman but against tournaments? As for a bass fisherman snagging your ancor rope, I've had "walleye" fisherman do the same damn thing... so what... you tell um thanks for the lure! I just don't see how you can have so much hate for a species specific fisherman.... geez whats next

[The Bait Shop Guy]

OK, it's obvious where this is headed. Thread closed before it gets too carried away.