Hello all,
The fishing here in Michigan has been good to me so far. Although the only fish that I've really managed to get into have been the largemouths, they have been both plentiful and large. Really can't complain on that front. Since I've been fishing almost every day and they get mixed up, I'll break down my past week by body of water instead of day. I recently bought a kayak up at Dick's in Grand Rapids and I have no complaints on that front - I've taken it out every day for the past four days and it has always behaved admirably. Only thing is that it's a little slow, but that is a sacrifice I am more than willing to make for the traded stability from the dihedral hull.
Kalamazoo River - Floated this river a couple days ago. Didn't catch anything, but I attribute that to the fact that I was more focused on maneuvering and covering water than working over fishing spots. I'm also not a river fisherman, and I'm the first to admit I have very limited experience with working over river structure for fish. I did see them jumping though, and I hear that the Kzoo is an excellent smallmouth river. There are also good catfish and northern; if I am to beat my current pike record this summer then it will come out of either the Kalamazoo River or Gull Lake. The river ultimately empties into Morrow Lake reservoir, which looks like it would be excellent fishing but for the oil spill a few years ago. Due to the oil spill (which is still being cleaned up) and the fact its a river, I don't see fishing the Kalamazoo as much as the local lakes, but it's a nice option to have.
Gull Lake - So many things to say. I got out on Saturday morning with dad before work and we worked over some points that I put us on. I didn't do so well - one largemouth and one rock bass - but dad hooked into three pike in the mid-twenties inch range (plus a snake pike and some more rock bass). Nothing huge but approaching that medium size and a good sign for where we might move up to those 8-12 pound fish that I'm looking for. They would have been good eating size if we had been keeping fish. Gull Lake is ultra clear and gets a lot of fishing pressure, so we were using very natural-looking lures. Dad took most of his pike on the Livetarget perch, an expensive brand name but a lure with a lot of detail put into it.
Eagle Lake - This is a lake in the state park that I work at. Rumor has it that muskie were stocked in it in 2009, but only time will tell. Would be nice if they survived and are big size now. I fished Eagle today in the yak but had no bites - didn't really surprise me, as it is the first day after a cold front moved through. Bluebell skies and high pressure make for poor fishing. I will be going back sometime during better conditions. Supposed to have both bass and pike up to about 6 pounds.
Neighborhood pond - Somewhat surprisingly, the smallest body of water that I've fished here has given up the largest fish. I fish this when I only have an hour or so, or if I'm too lazy to drive somewhere. Only about thirty acres, but has lots of lily pads and supports a very healthy bass population that almost never gets fished. I hooked into a four pounder a couple days ago, and landed a five and a half pounder the day after - the biggest and second biggest bass of my life so far. I wish there were pike (my favorite fish) but I can't complain, and it's really a miracle to have such a little piece of heaven only a hundred yards from my house.
Those are the places I've hit so far, and I'm thinking that they'll be my main destinations for the rest of the summer. There are a few places I want to try at least once - Campbell Lake, Mill Pond, and wade Augusta Creek for brown trout with the fly rod - but no hurry.
I also haven't really been using the fly rod much lately. Most of the bass I've caught have been on spinnerbaits or soft plastics, with a few on spoons and crankbaits. I was planning to on Saturday (my one day of the week that I'm able to get out on the Ranger) but it was just too windy on Gull to really be enjoyable. Hopefully next Saturday I get to make some use of it. It's just a pain to cast the 8 weight out of the kayak or the canoe or from shore.
Nicholas and I got out tonight on the neighborhood pond and got into some bass. I was so proud of him tonight watching him - I still remember his struggle with his fungal infection last summer and how sick he was and how far he's come, and I thank God for him still being here. He was a little rusty with the spinning reel and casting at first, but he picked it up fast. We took the canoe out around the pond and he ended up catching six bass in an hour - not bad for a novice! Of course that pond is a honey hole.
I'll try to get into some pike soon, and get my fly rod going again. I'll also try to keep you posted. Until next time...
Tight lines,
Bradley
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