News Segments: Sport Fish Michigan Videos

Today, 9 & 10's Jenny Buechel takes us out onto the ice of Grand Traverse Bay. There, she shows us not just how to ice fish but the best way to catch the biggest prize. Today's "Hometown Tourist" - ice fishing off of Old Mission Peninsula. We're out on East Bay today heading out with Sport Fish Michigan. We're going to see what we can catch out here on Old Mission Peninsula. We'll see you out there. If you've never done it, driving on Grand Traverse Bay is just surreal. The wind is wild, the ice is slick, and the space feels totally infinite. Not to mention - the water is solid. Do you know what our high is today - temp-wise? I think it's 23 or 22. Perfect! Since 1994 it's the first time the bay has frozen two years in a row. For us, it's about a 2-mile ride to our shanty. Our guide today is Captain Ben Wolfe, teaching this first-timer all the ropes of ice fishing. Oh, this is so neat. This year, we're really starting to get going out here on the bay. We're really just excited to start getting into it and really see what's down there. We had a couple of 8-pounders our last trip out, so the potential is very, very good for a really nice fish. The best is yet to come. Exactly. Today... mmm hmm. On a guided tour, your shanty is prepped and ready for immediate fishing. Even the ice holes are drilled. But if you want to cover more ground... So what we'll do is we'll drill a lot of holes in different depth contours really trying to figure out if there's a certain depth that the fish like, and are they keying on it. Our targets today are lake trout, whitefish, and burbot, a freshwater cousin to cod. For bigger fish, we want a little bit of a stiffer action rod that can handle the beefy, larger species. The beefy species... yeah! Exactly. So what we're going to do is put the jig right in the hole and we're just going to let it go. When the pulling stops, we start jigging by popping the rod about a foot up and down. Jig 'til your arm falls off. That's kind of how we like to joke. People like to "get jiggy with it" - all sorts of terrible, awful jokes. But, whatever you're jigging muscle, it's all a waiting game. What happens in the shanty stays in the shanty. Yeah - unless you're on camera. I don't know how to whistle. Not well! My lips are so numb, I don't know if I could, even if I tried. (laughing) No. Maybe the fish are tone deaf! Let's hope so. We jig for hours, but to no avail. Zebra mussels - catch of the day! Fortunately, our neighbors had better luck earlier that morning. So we have a lake trout here, this is a really nice, keeper lake trout. And a really beautiful whitefish. Oh, my gosh... is he still living? Moving?! Is he still alive!?! Yeah. Big catch, or none at all, ice fishing is really all about the experience. You know, it's not a numbers game. The fact that we are out on a bay that very rarely freezes is really a treat. To be able to be out here where, normally, we're only in a boat. For 9 & 10 I'm Jenny Beuchel, your Hometown Tourist.