Opening Day report

With a few weeks before our next club event, I thought it would be worthwhile to get away from the club talk for and just give a few general fishing reports. The bass catch and keep opener was last weekend and I hosted a small "buddy" tournament out at Portage Lake in Jackson. We had 7 boats in our little event that went from 7-noon and to our suprise another small club decided to do the same thing. They had 9 boats in their group and were on the lake when we got there so with a few local panfishermen thrown in for good measure, we had about 25 boats on a small lake.

The busy atmosphere was a little frustrating at first but we managed to put together a decent limit of about 10 pounds and won the event. It's always good to win your own tournament. A few other boats had limits but nothing huge, with the big fish going to my buddy Dwayne Mroczka at 4 pounds. Water temps were close to 70 degrees and we found several largemouth on beds still. Most of the smallmouth seemed to be done spawning but the largemouth eagerly hit tubes or drop-shot worm rigs when the beds were located. But the interesting thing to me was how the second place team fared. They were catching what I figured to be post-spawn fish out on a weedline with a Flick Shake worm. They probably should have won if not for a few lost fish but catching lots of keeper fish seemed to come easily on the new finess technique when everyone else struggled. I will definitely look a little closer at this new bait in the coming weeks and probably do a little field testing. But overall, it was good to finally do well in a tournament and I'm looking forward to Goguac in two weeks.

Hardy Dam revisited

Before the club moves on to bigger and better things I wanted to give a few of my own opinions on the second catch and release tournament of the year. First off, I love being up north and love catching bedding smallmouth. Hardy provides both of those so I can see why everyone likes going up there. But I now remember why I disliked it for a club event. Sight fishing is a difficult thing to do and finding beds somethimes is even harder. I love tournament fishing but having my partner fishing against me on fish we can both see is tough. Not that I don't want my boating partner to catch fish, or even beat me, but I don't like the pressure of having to catch ten fish as opposed to just my five.

Secondly, I thought Hardy fished extremely small for such a big body of water. With high winds all week in practice, lots of water that produced in the past was either unfishable or devoid of fish. I pulled up to one stretch of bank where I found clear, calm water with some good beds on it in practice. There were 5 other club boats playing bumper boats along with another local guy all catching the same fish. I know a few of those fish were caught multiple times and I decided not to get into the rotation. Probably the wrong decision if I wanted to compete but I wanted to find greener pastures, which I did not. Usually you can go just about anywhere on this system and find good beds but it made it quite a bit tougher this year. I still like the fishery but not sure how I feel about the club going there.

And one more thing on bed fishing. Bill Maurer used a chartruese tube, I used brown and pink tubes, other guys used grubs, worms and drop-shot rigs. The point I'm making is that I really don't think it matters what you throw on a smallmouths bed, as long as you are persistant and rotate your lure selection. If a fish can be caught, you will probably catch it eventually. The mood of the fish is a lot more important than the bait. I see this every year bed fishing but it was even more evident last week at Hardy.

Overall I had a great time at the tournament and felt the club as a whole all got along great. I was only able to come up late Saturday night and wasn't able to spend as much time with everyone as I had wanted, but the time I was up there was awsome. I really felt there were a lot of positive things that came from everyone camping together and with a few new members, probably a few new friendships as well. Those are the things that this club should be about and I am encouraged by that. Well, catch and release is over and Goguac is right around the corner. I cant't wait to put my first fish in the livewell. Hope to see a big turnout June, 14th because that lake is known for big fish. There are also a few new names at the top of the AOY race so the competition for classic invitations should make things interesting as well. Hope everyone has a good Memorial Day.

Maurer wins Hardy

Hardy Dam usually means smallmouth and this time of year it means smallies on beds. Bill Maurer exploited just over 16 pounds of brown fish to earn his first victory of the SCMBC season and solidify himself as sight-fishing phenom. Bill weighed in nearly 21 pounds up at Burt Lake two seasons ago by fishing bedding smallmouth and used many of the same techniques employed back in 07'. Finding deeper beds that held bigger fish was the key and Bill did just that early Sunday morning when he caught a 4.3 sow that took big fish honors. That fish, as well as most of his fish were caught by flipping a chartruese tube onto the beds. The big one was taken on an upriver spot but most of the others were caught closer to the dam where the water was clearer and sight fishing was a little easier.

Unusually high winds had plagued the Newaygo area for 4 consecutive days which made finding lots of beds in practice difficult. But Maurer has won here before and had lots of old "honey-holes" to check. His practice session was very good but when event day began things changed and he had to make a few adjustments on the fly. Bill went to the clearer water as did a lot of his competitiors, but with a keen eye for the deeper beds that usually hold bigger fish and a "kicker fish" already in the books, Maurer was poised for the win. His partner and wife Kathy also had a good day and finished 5th with 12.7 pounds.

Hardy Dam Results

1) Bill Maurer - 16.10 pounds
2) Mark Dereadt - 14.32
3) Matt Morgan - 13.18
4) Brian Masters - 12.74
5) Kathy Maurer - 12.70
6) Mike Pritchard - 12.07
7) Craig Deck - 11.58
8) Jerry Smith - 11.10
9) Terry Johnson - 10.10
10) Jim Rice Jr. - 9.87
11) Roy Albert - 9.33
12) Wendy Johnson - 7.60
13) Phil Priest - 6.57
14) Connie Honsinger - 5.07
15) Art Honsinger - 4.25
16) Tom Curry - 2.63
17) Mike Maske - 2.10
18) Jim VanAken - 1.94
19) Patricia Rice - 1.44
20) Tim Chapman - 1.25
21) Scott Rice - 0
21) Rich Rice - 0

Hardy Dam Preview

Type: River system

Size: 4000 acres, about 18 miles from dam to dam

Water Clarity: Clear but with a tanic stain, murkier upriver

Cover: Rocks and some wood

Structure: Ledges, a few points and a few big flats

Fish: Mostly smallmouth

Phase: All three phases of the spawn

Baits: Lots of tubes and grubs for bedders, jerkbaits, spinnerbaits

Weather: Mid 60's for Sunday with possibility for rain, some sun.

Winning weight: Probably around 15-16 pounds

The club will once again travel to Hardy Dam this weekend after a couple of years off. This used to be a regular stop on our circuit but since the catch and release season was opened up, we have visited other destinations closer to home. But make no mistake about it, this is a great fishery if the timing is right and the smallmouth are spawning which could be the case this year. Warmer temps are forecasted for later in the week and if the sun comes out we could be in for a slugfest.

Hardy Dam is a river stystem but fishes a little more like a lake, at least in the lower portion. The current is present but this time of year does not really come into play. With the water temps where they are, lots of fish will be on beds but don't think you can launch your boat and just go around the corner and flip a tube on a 3 pounders bed. There is lots of dead water and by Sunday, the fish could be very skittish. The rain could also play a factor in this event with water clarity making it difficult to find beds.

Wild Cards: Although most of the river is big and sprawling, up-river from Brower Park takes on a different look. This section looks more like a river with murkier water and a faster current. Some believe the water here warms quicker and thus will hold more beds earlier. One contact who was on Hardy last week said there were lots of good fish on beds way up-river, 4 and 5 pounders. So club members will have to debate whether to fish up-stream with murkier water that is warmer or go towards the dam for the clearer, yet colder water.

Another factor could be the rain. Will the water visibility be good enough to even see beds or will a pre-spawn pattern work a little better? Hardy is known for lots of fish but 4 pounders on beds could be tough to come by. Will someone spend lots of time on that one good fish and risk not managing their time properly? And what baits will work most effectively? Tubes are a good option but would creature baits, glide baits or even drop-shot rigs come into play? These are all factors that each boat will consider when making their gameplans Sunday morning and will ultimately decide the champion.

Entries pouring in

With about a week to go we already have 20 confirmed entries into the Hardy Dam tournament with a few more likely to trickle in making this event even bigger than the opener on Michigan Center. The weather looks to be kind of chilly in the Newaygo area this weekend with lows dipping into the 20's, but the long range forecast calls for warming temps leading into next weekend which could trigger a huge move to the spawning grounds for the Hardy smallies. Spring weather can be tricky and rain could be a factor but temps should be pleasant so this is shaping up to be a great event. The Hardy Dam Pond preview will be up in a day or two and I'll break it down and post any reports on the pre-fishing. Lots of club members are heading up early so I should have pertinent info to pass along.

Hardy Dam Info

We will be launching at Brower Park on Sunday May, 17 at 7am. Brower is located on the upper portion of the Hardy Dam Pond which is about 4000 acres and is about 18 miles from dam to dam. It was created in 1931 when a portion of the Muskegon River was impounded and other than a few houses and campgrounds, still looks much like it probably did back then. It is definitely one of the coolest looking bodies of water in Michigan with its big steep cliff-like banks and scenic woods. For those of you who have not been to this great fishery you are in for a treat.

Directions: North on 127 to 96 West.

Go about 70 miles and hit exit #31B which is 131 North towards Big Rapids/Cadillac

Stay on 131N for about 40 miles and exit on M-20 which is exit #131

Go west on M-20 for about .5 miles and go left on Old State Rd.

South on Old State for about 2 miles and take a slight right on Polk Rd.

Polk ends at Brower Park

Entry Fees and registration forms are due Sunday May, 10th - Strictly enforced

Hardy deadline May 10th

Our second tournament of the year will be held at the Hardy Dam Pond on May 17th and will also be a catch and release event. The deadline in approaching fast so get your entry fees in by this Sunday if you are interested in participating. I have already gotten several registrations and hope to have at least 20 entrys by this weekend. As with Center Lake, anglers will be paired with a co-angler and you can pick your own partner or be paired by the tournament committee. This should be a great event with the spawn hopefully being in full swing and double digit limits being common. Give me a call if more info is needed or if you're just looking for a partner.

Centers winning patterns

Spring bass tournaments can be awsome if conditions are right but pre-spawn bass are just like the weather, unpredictable. Good catches of largemouth were reported by club members leading up to the first tournament of the year but a small storm blew in shortly before competition and the bite soured. A few guys figured them out as they always do and when the dust settled, Jim Rice Jr. was victorious just as he was a year ago in the opener on Lake Fenton.

Jim Jr. started fishing the wind blown side of Michigan Center and after catching a small keeper the bite slowed and the water was murky so he decided to make a change. "I decided to go to the more protected side of the lake and found the water to be much clearer". And instead of throwing his patented finesse plastics, Jr. was chucking a small crankbait. "I was fishing a Manns Baby 1-minus crankbait and retrieving it just above the weeds. This technique was used by many club members during the tournament but no one had the results Jimbo did. Although he only had about 10 bites all day long, he was one of only 3 guys to catch a limit and weighed in 9.64lbs to claim the victory.

Nearly winning his first event, club rookie Matt Morgan finished a close second just ounces behind Rice at 9.51lbs. Morgan started slowly and at noon still had a goose-egg. "I decided to go to my favorite Michigan Center spot but thought it was too early in the year for fish to be there yet". Fortunately for Morgan they were and he had his limit by 2pm. "I caught my first keeper at 12:15 and in the next 2 hours caught 25-30 fish, it was crazy". Matt was pitching a Zoom Baby Brush Hog to deep pads off the main channel. Also catching a limit was "Center Ace" Jim VanAken who was concentrating on the main lake stump flats and also chucking a small crankbait.