Ice Fishing Report - 1/29/26 - Muskegon Lake

Finally, a Muskegon Lake ice fishing report! A little break in the weather with temperatures in the teens and zero wind meant it was time for a trip. It is amazing how pleasant it can be with no wind, regardless of the temp. This was a quick midday excursion and a scouting mission for the weekend. I had heard some good reports so I was pretty hopeful the perching was going to be good.

I always start the year at the sand docks as I feel there is a big concentration of fish on the west end of Muskegon Lake and then it spreads out throughout the winter. The crew divided and conquered and what we found was surprising. Fish were big, cooperative, and spread out. We all got limits in 3 different locations varying from 45 feet to 35 feet. No one was on the mega school but it was just steady action from a really good quality of fish.

Clam Speed Spoons tipped with spikes did all the work for me. It was a lot of getting their interest and then deadsticking. The Jason Mitchell Meat Stick rods paired with Clam Frost braid do such an amazing job at picking up those bites and getting a good hookset into the fish. A lot of slow reeling while feeling big headshakes up to the surface, it is always fun when you can’t just muscle them up. It was hard to leave them biting on such a short trip but I can’t wait to get back for more.

Honestly this is about as good as it gets with ease of access and quality fish. I don’t think it will last long because it is going to get a lot of pressure this weekend. I’m hoping the fish will get pushed around and form some big schools further out into the lake. From what I saw Muskegon Lake is machine ready. We had both a snowmobile and a snowdog, I’ll be running the quad this weekend. 8-9 inches of ice with bare spots and also some pretty good drifts. I did not find any real slush but I’m sure there are some spots lurking out there. As always use caution on Muskegon Lake especially in areas with old decaying lumber and methane pockets.

If this was any indication this is going to be a great winter for perch fishing on Muskegon Lake!