Ice Fishing Report - Crystal Lake - 2/27/26 and 2/28/26
This was a whirlwind trip and not really a true search and destroy up north trip. But instead get some fishing in while I could on a family trip up north. I would get my opportunity for burbot on Friday 2/27 and then some lake trout time the next day. The weather was going to be less than ideal for my quick trip. Friday night I got out much later than I was hoping. Temps were comfortable but the wind was wicked. We had a big melt during the day and the ice was covered in water but there was a ton of good ice. I never paid too much attention to it but over a foot for sure and maybe as much as 16 inches in spots. The lake should be able to handle some warm weather before the end of the season.
I did not make the long walk to where I was hoping to go but did get to set up on a proven area. I was already into burbot time when I got set up and I’ll be honest I was feeling rushed and just not that prepared. That window right after dark is usually one of the most productive for me. Activity was light but I finally marked one that didn’t bite then 5 minutes later picked up my first fish of the night. I had just moved to that spot so I was thinking it might go down. It cooled off as fast as it started. I did pick up one more and lose one more on another set of holes. I could sit in this area and maybe grind out another fish or I could go on the move. I already had a couple fish so I was happy about that but if I stay and grind…I’m never going to find one of those special spots. Well I never found it and eventually I got sick of the wind and called it an early night. Both of my fish came on Moonshine Shiver minnows on this trip. One in 81 feet of water and another in 74 feet of water. I need a lot more time up there to really be efficient at the burbot fishing but it is always fun to learn a thing or 2.
Saturday after I got the girls to Crystal Mountain, I made my way to Crystal Lake again. This would be a lake trout mission day with some daytime bottom pounding for burbs mixed in. I was planning on going off of Lobb Rd to some good lake trout stuff we found the year before. However Parking was pretty full and there were just too many dudes for my liking. Conditions had drastically changed from warm and wet to 22 degrees, windy, and all hard ice out there. I was planning on traveling light with just my Ice Armor Delta suit and no shanty. So finding an area of the lake further west with a lot less activity and doing some exploring seemed like a good idea to me. If I caught them great, if not I had gotten my lake trout fix on Grand Traverse Bay for the winter. The good news was that I found a pile of them. No they weren’t big but it was a lot of fun. I think the bigger fish seem to be more solitary and shallower. But I had a mega wad of smaller lakers in 115 to 164 feet of water. I had a few holes that they just wouldn’t leave no matter what. Crystal Lake lakers are so much different than GTB Lakers. I catch so many more keeping the bait low and just jigging vs making them chase all over like I would on the bay. Not that they won’t chase sometimes but they just don’t seem to commit all the way. On many of the other places I’ve fished, if you don’t take it away from them they lose interest. Unfortunately I found these fish at the tail end of their feed and while it was fast and furious for awhile when they shut down, they shut down hard. I had been using a 1 ounce P-Line Laser Minnow in glow green tiger but when things got really bad. I found out I could still catch one every once in awhile on a tailspinner or a bondy bait. I’m glad to have those in my box of tricks now.
While this wasn’t the most productive couple of days on the lake. I did walk away with some beautiful trout fillets and we had poor mans lobster with the burbot for breakfast on Saturday. It was something unique for the in-laws and nephews to try, they are burbot fans now. Crystal Lake is not nearly as exciting as Grand Traverse Bay but it really is a fun place to fish. Hoping to make it back one more time this season!