Spring 2010

Well here we are again into a nice Michigan winter. Mid December started the ice fishing on Lake Somerset. I saw a few people out even though I thought the ice was a bit on the light side. I also think I'm becoming more of a wimp when it comes to ice fishing -- always hoping for a nice "warm day" to go out! I guess that comes with age?

I thought late fall brought on some of the best walleye fishing that I've seen so far. I was averaging a couple walleyes every trip out. Most were in the 17-24 inch range, with a few short ones. They certainly made for some nice fish dinners. I was also surprised that walleyes were the only fish I caught on these late afternoons to dark trips. Jigs with leaches and twister-tails seem to work best.

Although I haven't been out ice fishing -- I've been talking to some of the fishermen. Most say the panfish are very plentiful, but on the small side. A few have reported some after-dark crappie action. It appears quite a few pike are being caught on tipups with minnows. I've heard of few that were around 36 inches. An occasional walleye seems to be included in many catches. It seems that there are more ice fishermen on the lake than in the past? I hope the fishing action keeps up.

This past year we stocked about 1,000 northern pike fingerlings in June. In October we stocked 1,150 walleye fingerlings. Our fish supplier gave me a call in late October and asked if I was interested in some left over walleyes for free!! Need I say I jumped on the offer. That same day he showed up with an additional 350 walleye fingerlings which we put in the lake. (These fish were apparently ordered by someone who never showed up to pick them up, and he needed to empty his tanks the next day!) Do you know that our fish stocking goes back to 1984 (as far as I can determine). The record is on our website should you ever wonder what we stocked over the years (see the link at the bottom of the right column). I am also working on a listing of fish species found in the lake which I will post on our website.

In 2010 I may try some perch again to see if it makes any difference in our perch fishery. Seems like there are lots of small perch in the lake -- but they never seem to get any bigger than 5-6 inches -- so putting more may be a waste of resources. I also plan to stock more walleyes in the fall.

As always -- hope we have good fishing in 2010. If you have a question, comment, or a picture -- send it to me at grausch@comcast.net.

George Rausch