Winter Fishing In Hamlin Lake
(Late December Thru February)
Usually By The First Of January Each Year
There Is Enough Ice On The North Bayou To Fish For Pan fish
And Spear For Northern Pike
The fish are usually  pretty sluggish when the water gets cold.  A general tip is work your baits very slowly and be patient.. Also,  the water is cold, switch to minnows.  Either a plain hook tipped with a minnow or a jig tipped with a minnow.  A shanty or wind screen is almost a must on Hamlin Lake on most winter days.  Being so close to Lake Michigan and being such a large lake with many wide open areas, the wind is usually very chilling.

Northern Pike:   Pike can be taken on the edge of the shallow water weed lines and on the edge of the shallow water drop-offs.  Fishing pike usually means using minnows (shiners, suckers) either with a hook or a jig.  You can catch them with rod and reel or with a tip-up.  If you like to spear, pike can be taken by spear in the same locations.  Either live suckers or decoys can be used as bait.

Recommended artificial baits:  Large Jigging Rapalas, lead head jigs, Swedish Pimples, Hopkins Spoons, decoys..

Recommended live bait: shiners, suckers.

Walleye:   Jigs worked on the drop-offs seem to work the best.   I recommend tipping your jigs with shiner minnows.
A small to medium size Walleye Flyer Jig by System Tackle has been a very good jig for me the last few seasons.  I tip them with a shiner minnow, but you can use them plain also.  If you can't find these jigs anywhere, see me around the resort and I would be happy to open the shop up to sell you a few.  A small to medium size Rapala Jigging Minnow also works well.  Both the perch and the natural(silver) minnow colors have worked well for me.

Recommended artificial baits:   Hopkins Spoons or Swedish Pimples, Walleye Flyer, Jig-a-low, Mite-e-brite, Feather Flasher , Fuzz-e-grub type jigs.

Recommended live bait: Shiners, creek minnows.

Large & Small Mouth Bass:   Generally, the bass can be found in the shallow water weed beds or on the edge of the shallow water drop-offs.  You can catch them on minnows or large wax worms, but jigging with artificial baits usually works better.

Recommended artificial baits:  Jigging Rapalas, and small dressed jigs tipped with minnows

Recommended live bait:  Medium size shiner minnows.

Crappie:   You can catch crappie in the Bluegill areas fishing with wax worms, corn bores and spikes during the early part of the ice fishing season.  Usually right at dawn and again right at dusk is best.  I prefer waiting until February and fishing 18 to 24 ft. of water on the North side drop-off in Upper Hamlin Lake at night  There, I use a small treble hook (size 12 to 16) tipped with a small shiner minnow beneath a small slip bobber.

Recommended artificial baits:  small ice fishing jigs, small jigs with spinners

Recommended live bait:  wax worms (bee moth), spikes or corn bores and small shiner minnows

Bluegill:  The most common method used to catch bluegill through the ice is by using a small ice fishing jig tipped with a wax worm, corn bore or spike. You can either tight line them or use a small float or a spring bobber.  Usually in 4 to 10 ft. of water around weed beds is best.  At first ice, the mouth of Indian Pete Bayou on Upper Hamlin Lake is a popular spot.  Other popular spots are the South Bayou and the center of the mouth to the North Bayou.  From mid January on, the most popular spots are in the middle of Upper Hamlin Lake just north and east of Wilson Hill Park and in the South Bayou on Lower Hamlin Lake. Try fishing for both suspended and bottom feeding fish.
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Recommended artificial baits:  small ice fishing jigs:.

Recommended live bait:  wax worms (bee moth), corn bores, spikes
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Perch:   During early ice on, Perch can be caught at both the edge of the shallow water weed beds (6 to 12 ft.) and on the edges of the steep drop-offs.  I find typically, after the first couple of weeks of ice, however the bigger Perch seem to school up in the deeper water(16 to 45 ft.) of the steep banks.  Some spots to try is straight off the Middle Bayou in about 30 to 45 ft. of water and off the North Bayou in 12 to 30 ft. of water.  I like to fish small jigs tipped with minnows, but plain hooks and minnows will also work.

Recommended artificial baits:  1/32 or 1/16 oz. jigs, small Rapala jigging lures, small Swedish Pimples, small Hopkins Spoons.

Recommended live bait:  shiner minnows, wax worms(bee moth)

Special Note!  Please remember that Walleye must be 15" to keep.  Also, if you can't eat the fish you catch, throw them back.  Don't leave them on the ice to die.

Special Note #2:  Those of you who spear, remember not to spear bass and walleye.  There is no such thing as spear and release.