# Houghton lake ?



## Anish (Mar 6, 2009)

So, aside from the insanity at Tip up Town, anybody have any luck on Houghton lake lately?


----------



## jimmyhimself29 (Sep 29, 2008)

Im heading out there next weekend and i was wondering the same thing.. i know people do pretty good for eyes' out there but not too sure where and on what i need info to!


----------



## ih772 (Jan 28, 2003)

If you can catch one keeper size walleye per trip out on the ice, you're doing really good for Houghton lake.

Some guys will report that they caught a bunch of walleye, but upon further review you'll find out 95% of them are undersized.


----------



## Lerxst (Feb 2, 2008)

Well I'm going to try my luck all day saturday 1/29 on Houghton it will be my first time on it. My plan is to hunt down some gills/crappie first thing then switch over to walleye mode. If the fishing is good/decent I'm going to hit it again sunday. I'll let you all know how I do.


----------



## Scout 2 (Dec 31, 2004)

Be carefulol out there seen on the news this morning a snowmobile made a dirrect hit on an ice shanty last night.


----------



## Lerxst (Feb 2, 2008)

Scout 2 said:


> Be carefulol out there seen on the news this morning a snowmobile made a dirrect hit on an ice shanty last night.


 
That's not cool...... anyone hurt?


----------



## The Pale Horse (Dec 19, 2010)

I'll be up there tonight until Sunday, but I agree with ih772, if you find some keepers, consider yourself lucky
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Scout 2 (Dec 31, 2004)

Lerxst said:


> That's not cool...... anyone hurt?


Person on snowmobile was taken to hospital. Did not say if anyone was in the shanty


----------



## ih772 (Jan 28, 2003)

Scout 2 said:


> Be carefulol out there seen on the news this morning a snowmobile made a dirrect hit on an ice shanty last night.


 That doesn't surprise me at all during tip-drunk-town.


----------



## Lerxst (Feb 2, 2008)

I'll make sure I have my lantern on and put it outside the shanty if I have to.


----------



## Anish (Mar 6, 2009)

Called Lymans today and the report there is: Pike in the south bay and eyes in the west bay. No reports on pans. 
Word is that this year has been awful for gills and crappy in Houghton.
I'm going over there to fish tomorrow but, not directly on Houghton. Too much insanity for me. 
If a snowmobile hit my shanty, and the driver lived (and so did I), he'd wish he hadnt by the time I was done with him. I'd be p**** if that were my shanty. At the VERY least, I'd be getting a new shanty out of the deal.


----------



## Scout 2 (Dec 31, 2004)

I think it was last weekend that two snowmobile hit head on in front of the LimerLost and a guy from HL was killed. Be careful


----------



## Lerxst (Feb 2, 2008)

Hmmmmmm, maybe I'll resort to plan B then not sure how fun it will be with all the chaos going on let alone the fishing. For the more experienced Houghton Lake guys is this a good weekend to hit a different lake? I really want to fish it but maybe a bad weekend for it.


----------



## jancoe (Jan 24, 2010)

i was out the first weekend way too many sleds and trucks running around. had a truck fly up to our group of shanties and bolt. if i was you i would find another lake to go fish on. typically the second weekend is much more crowded out there due to polar bear dip and because alot of people just dont make it the first weekend so the come the second. lots of drunks out there. i dont know if ill be out there this weekend. that accident happened last sat nite about 7:30 pm i saw all the dnr and cop sleds running back and forth bringing paramedics out on the ice. a two up with two people on it t-boned the other sled and that guy did not make it. they said alcohol was a factor. good luck out there.


----------



## swampbuck (Dec 23, 2004)

The 2 people who hit the shany are pretty messed up........Heres the link/pics

http://www.9and10news.com/Category/Story/?id=280041&cID=1


----------



## The Pale Horse (Dec 19, 2010)

Been out here since 7, 3 pike, 1 perch, lots of snomobiles
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Anish (Mar 6, 2009)

Well I decided to forgoe the excitement. I was going to go over to Reedsburg but we lost the 4w drive in our truck and I wasnt sure if I could get in or out for that matter. So I just stuck to a local lake. Caught one whole 12" bass. Going to try a different lake tomorrow.


----------



## jmatthews85 (Jan 17, 2011)

I was out there last Saturday too and the paramdeics were bringing the guys up by our cabin. One guy was dead instantly. Two came back on strechers. It was way too crazy out there too fish! As far as I'm concerned they are all a bunch of morons. They could barely stumble outta the bar but they could sure fly on their sleds. Thought it was called tip up town not sled fest. We fished sat and sun no luck. The board at the festival looked pretty bare too. Anyone know a good ICE FISHING festival?


----------



## sdion100 (Dec 30, 2009)

the guy that died last week was my dads neighbor! Very sad! Nice guy too. Kind of quiet but always waved to us. My dad actually picked up the snowmobile he was riding from the tow service yard and he was surprised that they charged him $510.00 to get the sled back. The tow service was very unprofessional they basically tossed my dad the Jacket he was wearing and said here dont forget this!! total jerks!! Well If it were me I would stay off of the lake until Febuary!


----------



## Lerxst (Feb 2, 2008)

I didn't get a chance to read up on this thread before I left but I definately made the right choice by not going to Houghton. Pretty sad that stuff like this has to happen when it supposed to be a fun event. Whoever is in charge of this thing needs to make some changes or just cancel it altogether, no life is worth losing for what is supposed to be recreational event.......unbelieveable !!


----------



## Ole Spike (Nov 22, 2004)

Sounds like a real zoo up there. Thought it was bad enough in the summer.


----------



## jancoe (Jan 24, 2010)

went out tonight just for about 2 hours with the wife. she landed her first walleye and i caught a pike. im glad the town is quieting back down. way too many sleds running around with there heads cut off.


----------



## Burksee (Jan 15, 2003)

ih772 said:


> If you can catch one keeper size walleye per trip out on the ice, you're doing really good for Houghton lake....


Hey Ian, we got up early afternoon on Friday and about 3pm I was able to get out and fish. I was up and out your way (MG) and didnt get a nibble until just before 5pm, had school of small perch come thru then "bang" I hooked into something a little bigger, ended up being a 15.5" walleye! For the next half hour I landed 5 others, all undersized then just after getting the call to come home and go to dinner I'm packing up and my dead stick bobber takes off, I set the hook and proceded to land a 16" walleye. As I continue to pack up I'm thinking to myself "It never rains except when it pours", if I could only stay for a little while longer. As I know I wouldnt be going fishing any more this weekend I ended up walking over and giving my two fish to a guy and his son that were near me, I think I saw my two fish on the board at TUT Satuday.... LOL! My daughter on the other hand was quite upset that I gave away the two "tasty walleye"! 

Saturday morning we took a ride around the lake and as mentioned the south shore and east bay were pretty busy areas, we didnt ride the trails at all but did ride the sleds down to TUT for the fireworks Saturday evening, it was very congested to say the least but I have to admit the crowd around the TUT/Fireworks site were all pretty well behaved.


----------



## ih772 (Jan 28, 2003)

Dude, did you bump your head! You gave away some good eaters.


----------



## ert686 (Jan 1, 2011)

Lerxst said:


> I didn't get a chance to read up on this thread before I left but I definately made the right choice by not going to Houghton. Pretty sad that stuff like this has to happen when it supposed to be a fun event. Whoever is in charge of this thing needs to make some changes or just cancel it altogether, no life is worth losing for what is supposed to be recreational event.......unbelieveable !!



The problem usually isn't at the Tip Up Town site. Tip Up Town is a good fun event for all members of the family. They have something for everyone. The organizers do a good job and it really isn't for the drunk crowd. The drunks usually are just the sledheads that come up to ride and get drunk at the bars, terrorizing the town. Lived in Houghton Lake most of my life and the locals really don't care for the influx of drunks other than the bar owners and maybe some businesses. I heard a drunk once tell a local if it wasn't for him, the town would be dead in the winter. Well, sometimes dead activity is just fine. Glad Tip Up Town is here and has been a historical activity. My kids love it, although they are grown now. Don't want to see it go away, maybe just some heavy law enforcement on the drunks like bud bash and maybe we can harness this problem......


----------



## jmatthews85 (Jan 17, 2011)

With the cabin being right next to the LimberLost it was hard to fish there. We went down to the cove on the east side Sunday morning and it was a lot quieter and easier to fish. We didn't have to cross the freeway to get out there. We went to the fishing contest board on Sunday and where were all the fish?? There were tons of shanties out by Lymans both days. I thought I'd see a lot more pike. I catch 'em all the time in the summer out there. Was the board any better the second weekend?


----------



## jmatthews85 (Jan 17, 2011)

The actual site was nice though. I really like the wood carving contests. Those guys were awesome. It was hard not to buy any of their things. When I go back I'm spending more time by the site instead of on the ice. I swear I had 10 guys on sleds ask me where a gas station was!?!!? There everywhere!!! There not hard to find!!! Just try not to run me over!!


----------



## Burksee (Jan 15, 2003)

ih772 said:


> Dude, did you bump your head! You gave away some good eaters.


Yeah, I know... I also knew that not being able to get out for a couple more to make a meal for the three of us was going to create a scenario that most certainly would have resulted in someone losing a finger or two! :yikes: :lol: :lol: :lol:


----------



## sslopok (Aug 24, 2009)

I will be back up on the 11th of Feb. Hope to get into a few! Last time up was slow, 2 pike and 2 walleyes.


----------



## Scout 2 (Dec 31, 2004)

I don't ice fish Houghton Lake but fish it in the summer> Last fall we caught a lot of walleyes in Aug and Sept. On one day 2 of use caught 30 fish but only one was big enough to keep. The rest were a 1/2 to small. This seems to be the case everytime we went out and you would think that next year would be great but year after year it is the same story. Whats happens to these 1/2 short fish.We fished everyweekday in Sept and there was only a couple of days the we managed to get 4 or 5 fish that were legal size for 2 or 3 people fishing. Our biggest to date was a 24 incher.


----------



## dachmation (Jan 20, 2006)

Burksee said:


> Yeah, I know... I also knew that not being able to get out for a couple more to make a meal for the three of us was going to create a scenario that most certainly would have resulted in someone losing a finger or two! :yikes: :lol: :lol: :lol:


"Dude" dont forget Im local, lol and if you ever need to "get rid" of anymoreJust give me a call and I will "share" them with Ian. LOL Sure. HeHe


----------



## Burksee (Jan 15, 2003)

sslopok said:


> I will be back up on the 11th of Feb. Hope to get into a few! Last time up was slow, 2 pike and 2 walleyes.


I'd like to try and get back up the weekend of the 18th-20th, Higgins Lake Winterfest and Free Fishing Weekend.


----------



## Burksee (Jan 15, 2003)

dachmation said:


> "Dude" dont forget Im local, lol and if you ever need to "get rid" of anymoreJust give me a call and I will "share" them with Ian. LOL Sure. HeHe


Hi Mike, I think we'll have to get together and take Ian over to the Spikehorn for a fish dinner. :yikes: :lol: :lol: :lol:


----------



## n4cer26 (Nov 18, 2009)

I got into ice fishing around three years ago when my son was 9 yrs. old. I heard about tip-up town and it sounded fun so we booked a couple nights at a hotel (Best Western which has since closed down). The hotel was loud all night with drunks stumbling up and down the halls yelling, swearing and pounding on doors. I opened the door and there were tons of naked drunk people running around the halls throwing pie at each other. The next morning there was puke everywhere in the halls. I vowed never to go to tip-up town again. My son and I still make an annual ice fishing trip to Houghton but we dont go during tip-up town and we rent a little cabin. We have a blast! All we have caught is undersize pike and perch but it doesn't matter. It's the whole package and being out there with my son. My advise would be to avoid tip-up town at all costs!


----------



## jancoe (Jan 24, 2010)

went to tip up town sunday afternoon. the fish board had probly 8-9 eyes total two nice stringers of big crappies, some dink perch, a barely legal pike.


----------



## sslopok (Aug 24, 2009)

Not very many people take their fish in for weight, measuring. Last year on the last day I caught a decent pike and threw it back. Later went and looked at the board and the pike woulda won I was sure that someone woulda took in a nicer one but...nope
sslopok


----------



## swampbuck (Dec 23, 2004)

The vast majority of locals dont even go to town those 2 weekends, And never to tip up town.:lol:


----------



## jancoe (Jan 24, 2010)

very true swampbuck. this is the 2nd time i went to tip up town in 12 years living here and the only reason i went was to get a peak at the fish board. town winded down fast on sunday so we stopped up there and got a badge in hopes of wining that quad and trailer. and we didnt. darn


----------

