Don't know of any new lakes but you have Belleville getting stocked again and Diane and Hudson are pretty productive lakes right now. I'm not sure what happened to Ovid. It was phenomenal in its early years but has really dropped off the last couple years. Will can prolly give you a guestimate of the fish/acre there. Really though if you have the boat for it and aren't too intimidated by big water LSC and the Detroit river are where it's at.
"Mayhem" said:
Don't know of any new lakes but you have Belleville getting stocked again and Diane and Hudson are pretty productive lakes right now. I'm not sure what happened to Ovid. It was phenomenal in its early years but has really dropped off the last couple years. Will can prolly give you a guestimate of the fish/acre there. Really though if you have the boat for it and aren't too intimidated by big water LSC and the Detroit river are where it's at.
What part of the river do you fish for Muskie? I've heard of guys catching them all through the river, even as low as Trenton channel.
I have an older 18'6" bass boat with 150hp Mercury Blackmax, I'm assuming that is is enough boat to fish some of the stuff closer to shore. Don't know if I trust it enough to hit stuff miles from shore but then again I have a buddy that fishes for smallies from a stand-up paddle board out there. Thinking about getting out there at dawn on friday, any idea on how busy it might be?
Ovid was stocked at too high of a density for a few years. That's why the fishing was spectacular. The stocking has been decreased since those radical numbers. That, coupled with the fish going over the dam, and natural mortality has brought the number of Muskies per acre back to where it probably should be. Remember, as an apex predator, muskies should be the lowest in density. I think there were probably more muskies than bass for a couple years there. 😯
All said on Ovid is true, plus there is some anecdotal evidence/belief that there may have been a disease outbreak that reduced the musky numbers as well. Such occurrences are a natural check/balance when populations get out of whack, and for a period there is no question there were too many muskies in Ovid.
Plus add in higher than average harvest rate from casual/pan fisherman, along with the escape rate thru the dam (which was substantial- especially when the population was at its highest).
So what does that leave us with for a fish/acre estimate? A pretty wild guess would be somewhere in the 2.5+/acre range right now. A big reason they are generally tougher to find in there is they do not have concentrate on any structure or any area of the lake much at all- the whole thing is comfortable with access to food. Everywhere
Thanks for the info, I'm from the Brighton area and I'm trying to figure out where to focus my efforts. I know that LSC is a given, and we have fished Hudson and Ovid with no success. I don't expect fish every time we go out but we haven't seen a fish this year. We fish bucktails (8's and 10's), bulldawgs, believers, you name it, it's been difficult to stay positive, but somehow we stay at it. Also on the lake map of Ovid provided at the launch it shows stump fields in two areas of the lake but I was unable to locate them with electronics. Are these just stump fields that have eroded with time and are non existent or am I looking for something smaller?
"rcollen0404" said:
Thanks for the info, I'm from the Brighton area and I'm trying to figure out where to focus my efforts. I know that LSC is a given, and we have fished Hudson and Ovid with no success. I don't expect fish every time we go out but we haven't seen a fish this year. We fish bucktails (8's and 10's), bulldawgs, believers, you name it, it's been difficult to stay positive, but somehow we stay at it. Also on the lake map of Ovid provided at the launch it shows stump fields in two areas of the lake but I was unable to locate them with electronics. Are these just stump fields that have eroded with time and are non existent or am I looking for something smaller?
We located a few stumps yesterday in the "stump fields" but it wasn't anything like what we see in Winyah. Actually saw a few randoms sticking out of the water about 100' from shore.
Yeah the stumps aren't anything to write home about- I think I remember even seeing something on sonar like once, and have only hooked one a couple times. Needless to say, I don't think they factor into musky life much at all.
Unfortunately, Brighton is in a tough spot for musky prospects now or in the foreseeable future… Consider it price to pay to be "close" to LSC I guess. I wish there were a couple smaller inland options for the population base to take advantage of in SE though, it is a shame.
That said- you can do just fine in your boat most days on LSC. Many many people with similar boats do there. Might take a little water and not be able to rip wide open everywhere, but nothin too serious. As far as the river, if you just concentrate on learning the Belle Isle area, you will do well and have plenty to chew on for a while!!
"rcollen0404" said:
I have an older 18'6" bass boat with 150hp Mercury Blackmax, I'm assuming that is is enough boat to fish some of the stuff closer to shore.
Mine is just shy of 18' with a 115. I've been in every bit of American water, and have made runs clear across the lake in 3+ footers mostly at WOT. But, some say I'm a little crazy sometimes too… 
I was raised on a boat. Literally. Ever since I was 3, we have had a boat, and we used to spend every waking moment on it just about. You just have to respect the lake, know your boat and its capabilities, and play the waves right.
I've heard that Woodland lake in Brighton supposedly holds Musky, naturally I presume since I haven't seen any stocking activity in the last 15 years. There are some large Northerns in that lake but haven't heard of any Musky caught recently. My SE Michigan lakes book also says that woodland has a small population of Musky.
As far as the river is concerned, Ive heard of guys catching some monsters out there targeting walleye. What is the preferred method? Large jigs, trolling, gliders?
Although there is always a Jurassic Park-like chance that "life found a way" realistically you should write off any musky chances in Woodland. What the average fisherman (hearsay) and the lake books fail to grasp is the difference between tiger and pure muskies. Woodland got tigers back in the 70s-80s, and it's remotely possible it got pure muskies back in the 50s-60s (but I don't think so).
The big question to me is why wasn't the Huron River and every swimmable connected lake full of muskies (before dams)??? Might say something about the spawning habitat requirements of our LSC broodstock fish that scares me, but who knows…?
Another lake which would seem to be a good candidate for musky stocking is Kent Lake near New Hudson. It has alot of the characteristics of Ovid and some nice shallow bays which would be good spawning areas. It already sustains a good walleye population and plenty of other forage fish. It also has a 10mph speed limit so you don't have all of the yahoos out there on jet skis. It is a metropark so I dont know if that plays a role but would be awesome seeing as its ten minutes from my house.
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