Center Lake Preview

Name: Michigan Center Lake, Jackson, Michigan

Size: 850 acres in Center, nearly 2,000 combined in the 8 acre chain

Type: floodwaters

Phase: Mostly pre-spawn

Water color: slightly stained to clear

Water temps: 55-60 degrees

Structure: Not much in Center, more in Wolf and Little Wolf

Cover: Stumps and various vegetation

Best baits: Soft plastics (senkos and grubs), spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, small crankbaits.

Projected winning weight: 12-13 lbs.

OVERVIEW

Center Lake is an annual stop for the club and this Sunday it will host our opening tournament. Usually we visit Center during June when the fish are in a post-spawn mode and soft plastics like senkos and grubs produce the winning stringers. But this year we are faced with much different conditions, 50 degree water and very few weeds. In the past, throwing senkos along breaks and weedbeds would usually do the trick but several anglers I talked to recently have found things to be much different this time of year. It seems reactionary, horizontal presentations are the way to approach these fish with one club member saying he caught as many as a dozen keepers in a short amount of time. Most of my "informants" said shallow water with dark bottoms were the key, which pretty much describes most of Center Lake.

WILD CARDS

Several things will come into play when making a gameplan for this Sunday. The first x-factor will be whether to stay in Center or run to another lake in the system. The Center Chain is composed of 8 lakes and some are quite a bit different from the stump filled Center. Wolf Lake is quite clear and deep and water temps have been reported to be nearly 10 degrees colder than Center. Round Lake is a popular destination as well partly because of it's weedlines and smaller size would tend to warm up quicker. A second thing to consider would be whether to fish deep water areas such as the popular "School Section", the massive stump flats or to look for beds in backwater areas and channels. Bed fishing may be possible but with two anglers in each boat and limited bed fish, that may not be a winning strategy. And one last thing to consider is the actual baits to throw. Vertical finesse fishing may not be the best option this weekend considering the pre-spawn nature of the fish and the 80 degree temps that are expected. Whatever happens, this will be a very good first test for the club because past patterns and baits may not have any bearing on the outcome and the winner will be the one who reacts to the conditions the best and diggs deepest into their bag of tricks.