The Holidays

I'm as busy as everyone this time of year, especially with a seven and a five year old but there is still a little time to spend outdoors. I've snuck in a few ice fishing trips and plan on heading to BPS soon. As far as gifts, I did open a few gift cards and one nice deep diving Lucky Craft crankbait which is always a good stocking stuffer. After the dust settles I'll start probing through the new Bass Pro master catalog and start working on the big order.

With all the family in town now, I can start planning out my summer and with the club schedule already done, it is even easier. It gets pretty busy during the warm months and good planning is a must at the Smith house. I travel to Minnesota, the UP, Burt Lake twice and throw in ten club events, you get the picture.

But as hectic as it gets during Christmas, I still love it and enjoy being home with the family. I tend to eat too much kielbasa and drink too many Miller Lites but isn't that what the Holidays are for? I start getting into cabin fever mode in early January and I've talked to fellow anglers who are already there so it won't be long. I'm already studying maps and researching new techniques so bass fishing is always on my mind. Hope to see everyone at the January meeting.

Club News

The fishing might be over but the behind the scenes club activity is in full gear. Our schedule has been set and the board recently held it's monthly meeting and several interesting topics were discussed.

The tournament payout schedule was one such topic and one that usually demands a lot of attention. With tournament entry fees not only going to the top finishers, but the Classic, the Scholarship Fund and the trophy fund also come from the same pot. Deciding how to divide up the entry fees can be a hotly debated topic and one that will most likely be decided on during the January meeting.

Also, the Spring Open was discussed at length and several interesting bits of information came from it. First off, tournament director Scott Hartman discussed his plans on moving the fund raising event to the Memorial Day weekend the way it used to be. He surmised that this is the premiere tournament weekend to hold a catch and keep tournament since it's the opening day of bass season and everyone is chomping at the bit.

Secondly, Scott is also entertaining thoughts of moving the event back to Michigan Center Lake where it was held a few years back. There was a decent sized tourney there in 2010 which was put together at the last minute and it drew 23 boats so Scott believes we can do at least that. I fished the event last year as did several other club members and I'm sure with a little effort we can make good on Scotts vision.

I was in contact with the Leoni Township office today and they informed me that the Carp Carnival would be the only other event that we would need to consider when scheduling an event that time of year. We ran into such a conflict a few years back but they assured me that Memorial Day weekend would be an unlikely target date for the Carnival. Actually, the Lions Club picks the date and Leoni approves it but my call to the Lions Club resulted in a lot of people who acted as if they'd never heard of the Carp Carnival so I don't know this for sure. I think it's safe and would be an awesome event if Scott could put it together. I'll keep everyone posted.

Official Schedule

Barring any problems with launch locations the official schedule has been set for the SCMBC 2011 season. Scott did a great job of trying to make it as easy as possible by scheduling out of town events next to closer venues, reducing travel and expenditures. I like back to back events but it can be tough on the pocket book shelling out tons of gas money so close together. He did plan back to back events in June, Wixom and Devils, but he had no choice with his work schedule and the 4th of July to work around. With Devils being so close, hopefully it won't be a problem for anyone and I'm looking forward to getting out there so early in the year.

One interesting thing is that we will not have any paper tournaments this year, having only one pre-season event located in Indiana. And the season finale will be a local event on Michigan Center which should result in a good turnout. One other venue I can't wait to fish is the Detroit River which the club has not visited for several years. But the cool thing about it is that we'll launch out of St. Jeans which is located near the mouth of St. Clair so familiar water will be close by if the river doesn't sound appealing. I've always wanted to fish the south shore in a tournament but it was always too long of a boat ride in the Crestliner. And the mile roads are just as close to St. Jeans as they are to Harley Ensign for those that frequent that area. So enough of the commentary, here is the schedule:

May 15 Lake James

June 12 Devils

June 18, 19 Wixom

July 10 St. Clair

July 23, 24 Ovid

Aug 7 Grand River

Aug 21 Detroit River

Sept 18 Michigan Center

Oct 1 Classic (unofficial)

The alternate lake for the pre-season is Hardy Dam, the alternate for the out of towner is Hamlin and Michigan Center will be the backup local lake. If the summer seems a little crowded that's because it is. There are ten tournaments and with only one pre-season that leaves us with a little less time to work with. September is very hectic around the Smith house and I think that's what Scott was thinking as well so only one September event shows up on the schedule. I believe the fall open will also fall near the end of that month so everything is spaced out pretty evenly. Again, great job to all who showed up at the meeting (20 members) and start thinking about the tournament rules meeting which is coming up in January.

The picks are in

After much thought and discussion the club finally settled on a schedule for the 2011 season. There is a format change and a few new lakes and I think everyone did a great job putting it all together. The dates should be selected within a week but for now here are the lakes:

Pre-season: Lake James (Indiana)

Out of towner: Lake ovid, Wixom Lake

Local lakes: Michigan Center, Lake St Clair, Detroit River, Devils, Grand River (Lansing)

There will be more evaluation done over the weekend but overall I personally am pretty happy with the results. The Grand River is new and will be a different challenge as will Lake James, both of which I have never been on. I love Center and St. Clair and am looking forward to another shot at Ovid.

The launch site for the Detroit River is going to be St. Jeans which is located at the mouth of St. Clair making the south shore, Peche Island, the mile roads and the river all accessable. I was really hoping this would make it in and I think the club will really enjoy it.

I need a few days to digest everything but overall I am pleased and think newly elected tourney director Scott Hartman did a great job with everything. I'll post the dates when they are announced.

Lake Selections (part 2)

I've got so many ideas I don't know where to start but with the December club meeting only two days away I need to get focused. I started thinking the other day how the club used to do things and for years it seemed like we went twice for out of towners ( two seperate tournaments) which would take up four of the clubs' events. I didn't like that format but have recently heard a few members may want to revisit it which is the beauty of this meeting, you never know what will happen. I've gone several years and thought I know how it would shake out but I was usually way off.

As I stated before, I like lakes that suit my fishing style and that I have confidence on. I like running and gunning and catching alot of fish and don't consider finesse fishing a strength of mine and plan on voting accordingly. Here are a few of my ideas on "local lakes" I'd like to see?

Michigan Center (twice): It's close, everyone knows it well and it fished really well last year. I can't tell you how many times we've gone to a lake during the "dog days" of summer and thought that it made more sense fishing closer to home and struggling as opposed to traveling and having the same tough bite. We always seem to draw a good crowd there as well so I will nominate it two times, hopefully once early in the season and then again late in the year.

St. Clair/Detroit River: LSC is a mainstay but since it's considered the best lake in the state, why only once? Double Digit limits are common even during the heat of the summer and everyone loves smallmouth so I will nominate this two times as well. But I think instead of launching from Harly both times, why not launch closer to the south shore or in the mouth of the Detroit River for one event. This would make the south shore accessable to everyone as well as the river. A lot of club guys ran down there anyway during last years event so it makes good sense. The lake has a lot more gravel and current closer to the river making it a great late summer destination and the St. Jean launch is located just inside the river, making this an ideal location.

Lake Ovid: I know weights were down last year but Matt showed us what swims in this body of water. The fishing was pretty crappy that time of year everywhere so I think this would be an ideal mid-summer locale, maybe even an "out of towner". I'ts close but has a great launch and an adjoining state park for camping. I believe this could be a great summer event and not having to deal with recreational boat traffic was awesome. I think the flipping bite and the frog bite could be on earlier in the year and it just fishes differently than most other lakes around here making it intriguing.

I also love fishing new bodies of water and I have one targeted in 2011 that's not too far and will offer a different challenge than we're used to. The Grand River will be my new lake I vote for this year and I've got several reasons to do so. Tourney Director Scott Hartman and Matt Zelienka have fished it several times and it sounds very interesting. It covers about 8 miles of shoreline and runs from Diamondale to Lansing. It has current, rip-rap, points, coves, wood and rock, just about everything possible to fish. You can also get out of the current in small backwater areas so you can fish anyway you probably want to. This venue is also fairly close, it's located just west of 127 off of 496 so we should draw a pretty decent crowd. I love fishing crankbaits and feel I could do this on the river but Scott says senko, frogs, grubs and jigs also do well up there. I hope this one gets voted in.

I may change a few things up between now and Thursday and the way things go I may not get any of these voted in but it's worth discussing hopefully a few get on the schedule. This cold weather has not deterred my enthusiasm for this meeting and hopefully we'll get a good turnout. Hope to see everyone Thursday at 7.

Lake Selections

Next Thursday the club will have it's December monthly meeting but as anyone who knows me realizes this is one of my yearly highlights. This is where we select the lakes that will comprise next years' schedule and I put a lot of thought into it. Most of us have a few lakes that we never do well on and a few that we do. I try and tailor my selections towards a schedule that would benefit my style of fishing the most. Most guys never give it a second thought until they are actually at the meeting but I think it gives me something to look forward to during the winter, especially if we've added a new lake to the schedule.

I have a few thoughts already as to lakes I'd like to see next year, a few new ones and several regulars that I think we don't take enough advantage of. I'm short on time and will elaborate on this topic as next Thursday approaches but here are a few early thoughts:

Pre-Season I love the fact that we fish two catch and release events a year, the bite is pretty good and the pleasure boaters aren't out yet. But I don't really enjoy the task of trying to put my partner on fish when I have a hard enough time catching my limit. One partner event is good but how do we eliminate the other? How about going out of state. There are several decent lakes just over the Indiana border where we can catch and keep year round and we could hold normal weigh-ins and eliminate the need for co-anglers. The club used to do this back in the day and the lakes are only about an hours drive. The only downfall would be the out-of-state license but a day pass is only a few bucks and could be purchased on the internet.

I love Hardy Dam as much as the next guy but a local catch and release event could be awesome if the right lake is picked. I would love to see us visit Devils Lake in mid-May when the smallies would be on beds and we wouldn't have to drive 2.5 hours to get to there. Everyone could easily practice and the turnout would be pretty good. We've been to Hardy the last two years and I wouldn't mind doing something different this year. And the largemouth fishing would be pretty good as an added bonus. I know of another club in Jackson that fished Devils and Michigan Center last May and both events took 16 pounds to win. I know last years' warm spring had a lot to do with the good fishing but it still sounds like a decent idea to me. I have a few other ideas that I'm working on as well and will pass them along shortly. Did I mention I really look forward to this meeting?

Dale Popp Award

I just wanted to comment briefly on winning the Dale Popp Jr sportsmanship award at the banquet a few weeks back. This award is given to the club member who displays exemplary sportsmanship qualities and conduct, adjectives that are not usually associated with my name, but I'll definitely take it. I was quite suprised but excited because it totally took me be suprise.

I don't consider myself as a great club member because I usually don't participate in many extracurricular activities and basically just fish the tournaments. I guess this blog was a big reason why I was chosen and that is great because it's something I love to do anyway. I'm just very grateful and would like to thank all that voted for me.

I know fishing is probably the last thing people are thinking about right now but the December meeting is two weeks away so this is a slight reminder. This is the meeting where the 2011 scheduled is voted on so start thinking about it. I have a few lakes in mind and a couple are new venues. I will comment on this topic in more detail next week and as usual will have a few suggestions for everyone to consider. Have a great Thanksgiving and keep an eye open for BPS and Cabelas sale flyers. There are great deals to be had this time of year.

New Boats

I've been a boat owner since 1992 and have bought only three rigs in those 18 years, two Bass Trackers and my current boat, a 17' Crestliner Fish Hawk. I never gave much thought to owning a fiberglass boat and loved everything about an aluminum one such as the ease of towing, the good gas mileage and the lack of maintenance. But when I had trolling motor problems this spring and was boatless for a month, I borrowed Mike Maske's 18' Javelin and I started to see the light.

Now that I think I really need to move up in boat, I've started taking notice of all the other rigs our club members fish out of. I never paid much attention before and didn't care what was different about Nitros and Rangers, they were all the same. Well being a research freak like I am, I am quickly learning the intricacies of each and have a pretty good idea which one might suit me.

I have now started taking notice of what club guys fish out of and have started to appreciate what a good boat means to an angler. Several SCMBC guys have purchased boats recently, Scott Rice, Jim VanAken, Leo Knox and Scott Hartman (pictured above) and I can't wait to add my name to that list.

I actually now can look at a boat from a distance and tell whether it's a Skeeter or Triton and can actually figure out if it's one of my club members or not, something I could never do in the past. I have really begun to see what an advantage a good boat is in fishing and hope it will improve me as a fisherman. I will miss being able to handle four footers with ease like I did in a deep-V but will no longer get passed by everyone during our tournament blast-offs.

I will be putting the Crestliner up for sale in the spring and hopefully getting into something new (or new to me) by April. This is the master plan and I'll be spending all winter doing more research and looking at the classifieds. Hopefully everything works out that way but I figure the worst case scenario will have me in that boat one more year. Anyone looking for a good walleye boat? Just let me know.

Day on the Lake (Part 2)

Well I was able to return to LeAnne two days later and hoped to convert on the fish that I had found. The water had warmed a little, 46.5 degrees but the sun was not out and it was a little windy. I had trouble getting the fish to bite on a stable sunny day and wondered if it would be even tougher today. After all, it was the second week of November.

I decided to hit a few of the small bays where I saw fish in two days earlier but could not manage a bite. I knew where the fish were and decided to go and try to catch them instead of trying to find new fish.

9:30 Moving back into my big bay I noticed the bait was still there and figured the bass were too. I caught one rather quickly on a Zoom Super Fluke although it was only 13 inches long. Moving further back into the bay I noticed that although the sun was not out and it felt colder, the bait seemed to be more active which suprised me. I decided that a Manns Baby Minus-1 crankbait would be the best bet but after one pass through my best area I had not received one bite. I could see the pike still feeding as was the case two days prior and figured the bass would not be far behind. These fish are still here and they'll bite something but what?

10: 00 A spinnerbait seemed like the logical choice because it resemble a school of bait and could be worked through the weeds effectively. Five minutes later my hunch was answered with a solid keeper on a slow rolled 1/2 oz white Nichols spinnerbait with white blades. A few minutes later I caught another solid keeper on the spinner and figured I'd figured them out. But after fishing the whole area without another biteI knew some tweeking needed to be done.

10:30 With the sun starting to pop out I decided I needed to try and match the bait a little more closely. I downsized to a 3/8 oz spinnerbait with silver blades and a more translucent skirt. The move paid off handsomely as my first cast resulted in a 4 pound largemouth that inhaled the spinnerbait as I slow rolled it through the sparse weeds. I followed that up with a 3 lb fish, two that went 2.5 lbs and another that went 2 lbs even. My slight adjustment however so insignificant was all I needed. I caught a few more good ones and lost one that was close to 4 lbs and then one that was near 3 lbs.

11:30 Afte the onslaught was over I decided to try and find a few new areas where I could exploit the biting fish but was unable to replicate what I'd found in my backwater bay area. I'm not sure why this seemed to be the only spot where I could catch them but after fishing deep into several backwater areas, I was convinced this spot was unique.

12:30 Well I once again had to be to work soon and never returned to my hot spot but explored a lot of the lake that I'd never seen and made a few notes for future reference. I ended up catching about 10 fish with 7 being keeper size and 12.5 pounds for the best five. Not bad for this time of year and I was very satisfied being able to figure out how to catch fish that I'd found earlier. Who'd have thought the bait of choice would be a spinnerbait but I was proud I could figure it out and do so well on an unfamiliar lake. Why can't I do that in our tournaments?

Day on the Lake

Everyone loves the "Day on the Lake" segment in the Bassmaster magazine and I think it's the most helpful information that you can get when trying to figure out how to catch fish on a new lake or any lake for that matter. I had the opportunity to explore a new lake this past week and thought it would be cool to do my own mini day on the lake journal. My lake was LeAnne which is a private lake in the Somerset area. It is man made and is about 350 acres. Here's how my day went.

I arrived at LeAnne at about 9am and noticed that the water temps were about 45 degrees and the water was fairly clear. Being so cold I decided to focus on the sunny (west) bank and seek out quick dropping breaks which are key this time of year. I found such and area and started working a rip-rap bank that dropped quickly into 12 fow. I started with a medium diving crankbait and then backed off a little with a suspending jerkbait. The weather had been cold and just started warming up so the fish may be a little sluggish to start.

9:30 After no bites I continued north and found a steep dropping bank next to the dam. I threw the jerkbait along with a white Zoom Super Fluke but had no takers. There is a narrow channel at the north east end of the lake that opens up into a large bay and I continued into the bay alternating between a Fluke and Jerkbait.

Fishing back into the bay I had hoped the water would be a little warmer and looked for signs of baitfish but found neither. These areas usually stay warmer longer and the bait migrate to them, as do the bass. This lake does not have a lot of vegetation and is fairly featureless so I figured I'd just cover water until I found something.

10:00 I worked out of the bay with a shallow running crankbait and finally had a bite from a small fish and then another. I missed both but noticed some shallow eel grass which held lots of baitfish and probably the bass. I needed to find some more of that.

10:30 Having no luck in the first major bay I decided to head out to the main lake and fish some points. These are great fall locations that allow fish to move up and down in the water column easily and this lake had several decent ones. I headed to the biggest point on the lake which had sun on it and also had a very quick drop. I threw a deeper diving crankbait in a crawfish pattern and hauled water but noticed that it transitioned into a small flat and then to another point. I fished the flat and on my second cast had a big fish bite. After a good fight I lipped my first bass of the day, 4 pounds even. But that was the only bite on the flat and adjacent point, so much for my point pattern.

11:00 The sun was out now and the water was warming slightly to 45.5 degrees so I decided to fish the main lake a little longer before hitting some more bays. There is a big island on LeAnne with a few small humps surrounding it and it looking intriguing. There was a little vegetation around the humps (something that I was finding quite rare on LeAnne) and lots of bait so I pulled out a Strike King Red Eye Shad and started slow rolling it. The baitfish looked like shad or very small bluegill and the rattle bait resembled it perfectly. But after 15 minutes all I caught was a small pike.

11:30 It was starting to get warm and I decided to spend the rest of my day in the bays and cuts. This lake has lots of these and the biggest was located in the south east section of the lake. I again started working my way in, throwing the suspending jerkbait off the breaks that contained gravel and looked perfect, to me anyway. I came to a big Y in the bay and headed to the smaller section that dead-ended. I didn't catch anything but saw lots of weeds and more fish, a good sign.

As I worked back toward the center of the Y, I noticed a small pad field that butted up to deep water. Perfect I thought and threw my jerkbait to the outer edge of the pads. Two jerks later I had a vicious strike and shortly was sliding the net under a fish that looked bigger than the first. 4.3 pounds officially, I was starting to like LeAnne.

The other section of the Y went back quite a way and as I proceeded I noticed more bait and weeds and started seeing a few big bass cruising. The water was calm which didn't help but as I came to the back end of the cut I saw tons of bait cruising and more and more skittish bass. I caught one just short of being a keeper on a Super Fluke but most of the fish could see me coming from a mile away and even with long casts, couldn't muster a bite.

12:00 I finally found what I was looking for, lots of bait jammed into a small backwater area and lots of bass. I actually saw several fish feeding along with lots of pike slashing through the bait schools. It was an awesome sight, especially in 46 degree water and I had a front row seat. Baitfish were jumping, pike and bass were eating and I couldn't get a bite for nothing. I threw the rattle bait, the Fluke and a small crankbait to no avail. I even tried a senko but nada. Time was getting short and I found the honey hole but had to be to work soon.

12:30 Reluctantly I left my bay and wanted to scout out a few other areas. One more try with a Super Fluke on the gravel banks leading into the cut resulted in a bite from a 2 pounder which I promptly broke off but the fish were starting to get active, just in time for me to leave. I idled into a few small bays and saw big fish set up way in the back of each, just like I figured I would but it was time to go.

12:45 I ended my day with six bites, caught three and two big ones equalling 8.3 pounds. Not bad for November 10th but I knew the bite would improve. If I were to come back tomorrow I would focus my efforts on the big Y-shaped bay and find a way to get those fish to bite. I was proud of myself for finding these fish on an unfamiliar lake but disappointed I couldn't figure out how to catch them. I'm sure a few other smaller bays would hold fish as well and this is a pattern I could run and hopefully catch a few more. Maybe a little cloud cover or wind would help but everything is a crap-shoot this time of year.

Fortunately for me, I will be able to return in a few days and I'll post on whether I was able to catch these fish or not. Finding them is half the battle and I'm looking forward to the test.

Club Banquet

The 2010 season is officially in the books with the completion of the season ending banquet and it was a great ending. Mike Pritchard picked an awesome venue with Steves Ranch House doing the hosting and everything was top notch. I am without my computer for a few days but will post a few pictures when I'm back online.

Back to the Banquet. The food was great and Mike did an excellent job with the prizes as well. It was a cozy atmosphere and probably one of the best setups for our small gathering. Having a room to ourselves is a big deal and I'd love to go back next year. This is probably my 10th banquet and I have more fun each year.

Back in the day it seemed like the party was a little more formal and I always thought it was a little "stuffy". But now it seems like the mood is more casual and whether that's due to smaller crowds or just everyone getting along better, I think it is definitely for the better.

And who would have thunk I'd win any sort of sportsmanship award but that's just what happened. I took home the Dale Popp award and was quite honored to do so. I'll comment more on the award later, the weather is good and all my free time will be spent on the water so everything will be delayed a few days. The bottom line is that the banquet was a success and thanks to everyone who helped make it that way.

Club Banquet

Don't forget the Club Banquet is this coming weekend at Steve's Ranch House Restaurant in Jackson. Saturday night the festivities start with happy hour from 5:30-6:30 and dinner will be served shortly after. I've heard it will be a prime rib buffet but I'm sure it'll be good no matter what they serve up.

The highlight for me is of course the raffle when I hope to win a rod that is much more expensive than I would pay myself. This has happened a few times over the years but it seems like I usually come home with a coffee cup or candle holder more often than a $150 rod. Whatever I win, that's not the point. I just like seeing everyone, talking some shop and having a few drinks with my fishing buddies. Be prepared though, I've already been thinking about the lakes I'd like to see on next years schedule and I'll probably start dropping some hints Saturday night.

Hope to see everyone there and bring a few extra dollars for the raffle and 50/50. I've heard the grand prize is a cardboard cutout of Matt Morgan but I cannot confirm that so hopefully I heard wrong. That's probably what I'd win so a coffee mug might not be so bad.

Sunday Fishing

Fellow club member Mike Maske and I were able to get out today for a few hours and we managed to hit one of the fall hotspots mentioned here a few posts ago. One of Lake Erie's warm water discharge rivers near Monroe was our destination today and the fishing was quite good. The water temps on Erie were in the high 40's but the discharge area had water temps in the 70's. It was quite a chore getting in there with high winds and low water but well worth the effort.

There is so much activity in these areas with all the baitfish and bass surfacing and carp jumping, it's an awesome sight. Mike and I started with spinnerbaits and jigs but quickly found a deep diving crankbait to be the bait of choice. There is a lot of wood and laydowns in the river and several riprap areas so with the dirty water (about 18" visibility) a crankbait seemed to be the obvious choice.

My main weapon was an old Strike King Series 5 deep diver in a shad color and I found the fish were actually away from the bank and cover, sitting in 8-12 foot of water. Together we caught about 20 fish, 10 being keepers and our best five went about 13.5 pounds. Not huge but lots of fun and great for this late in the season.

Our big fish was a 3.7 lb. smallmouth I caught off a small point and then Mike later caught back to back fish that both went close to 3 lbs. on a Series 6 crankbait. We both also foul hooked carp that actually pulled the boat during the fight and we managed to get one of the monsters in the net. It was a great day and hopefully we'll be back before the lake ices up.

Fall Destinations

The weather has been mild this fall but it's starting to look as if the cold weather is coming quickly. Early fall bass fishing isn't much different than in the late summer but once the water cools, things change quickly. We've seen the water temps stay in the mid-50's to low 60's for a while now but should see temps in the low 50's to high 40's soon. To me this is the mid to late fall season and not every lake has good fishing available. These are a few of my favorite late season lakes to fish or ones I hope to soon.

Columbia: This is a small rerservior and fishes better in the cold months than the hot ones. Maybe it's the murky water or boat traffic, I'm not sure but I've caught em' here well into November. Matt Morgan had a great day here a few years back on New Years Day so as long as there's open water we should be able to catch them here. There is still lots of good green vegetation on Columbia and that is the key right now for any lake. If there's still good green weeds then the fish will be there.

Michigan Center: I have not personally been on Center real late in the year but local pro Jim VanAken says it gets good when the water is in the 40's. We're not there yet according to Jim and lots of good green weeds remain so I hope to get out there soon. He also recommends using shallow running crankbaits this time of year which is also my choice on Columbia.

St. Clair: This place is awesome in fall but very fickle as far as the weather goes. Muddy water is the enemy on LSC this time of year with all the rain and winds but if you get a few nice sunny days it is worth the trip. The south shore in Canada and along the southwest side contains most of St. Claires gravel and this is where you need to concentrate. A few years back Duane Mroczka and I fished on November 1st and clobbered em'. I've heard guys doing well into late November so I still may get out there.

Warm water discharges: Lake Erie and the Detroit River have a few of these and they can be phenominal during the colder months. I was on one such area this past March and while we still had some ice around here, the water temps on the "hot ponds" were in the 70's. I've heard this is the case right now and it seems like every largemouth in the lake makes it's way into the warm water. The one I fish is located near Monroe and I can be at the launch in a little over an hour and fishing shorlty thereafter. Crankbaits, spinnerbaits and jigs rule here and for those that don't hunt these discharge areas can greatly extend the fishing season as long as the launches stay ice free.

Weekend Fishing

I can't believe the warm fall we're having so far but the fishing is not what I'd hoped for so far and this past weekend was no different. With mild air temps near 70 and water temps still in the mid-50's I thought we'd hammer the bass but it was just the opposite. Scott Hartman and I got out for about 5 hours Saturday and total we caught about 18 fish and no keepers.

I threw crankbaits, spinnerbaits, jigs and plastics to no avail. I fished deep weededges, points, cuts and main lake flats. I believe the water temps are still a little warm for the fish to go on feeding binges so hopefully this cold front moving through will get the fish active.

I talked to fellow club member Jim VanAken and he had similar results on Michigan Center this weekend as well. Jim fishes Center often and claims they bite well into November and the bite is really good when the water temps drop into the 40's. I am going out this weekend and will post all the info I can. I hope this warm spell will extend the season a few weeks because I'm having tournament withdrawls already. It's too early for that.

Recreation Passport

A much cheaper alternative is what I call it but the DNR insists on "Recreation Passport" so that's what I'll refer to it as. If you have not heard yet, the DNR will allow you to purchase this "Passport" starting now and it will get you into state parks and DNR owned boat access sites instead of the old sticker system.

Under the current system, a sticker was required for entry into the state parks such as Wamplers, Lake Ovid and Portage. The access only sites such as St. Clair and Devils would require a separate sticker and at $24 apiece, I'd be shelling out close to $50 a year for stickers. Now for $10 I can purchase a passport and gain entry into both.

I renewed my truck tabs yesterday and that is when the passports should be purchased. The Secretary of State will ask if this is something you want to buy when renewing and a special plate tab will indicate you have the passport. Your registration also indicates that you have purchased the passport and this must be shown to the DNR Ranger when entering the parks.

This saves me $38 a year and I don't have to gum up my windshields anymore. I think it's a great idea, much like the permanent trailer plates from a few years ago. Hope this program sticks around awhile.

Still Fishing

With the extended warm weather fellow club member Scott Hartman and I decided to take advantage of it Sunday and try out his new boat. He just purchased a red 1999 Nitro 882 with a 150 Mercury XR6 on it and we had to break it in. Lake Columbia was close enough so we could get about three hours on the water and still make it home in time for the Lions game.

The water is still surprisingly warm at 59 degrees and a lot of green weeds still remain. The bite was slow but steady and we caught five keepers and a total of about 12 pounds. Scott caught the biggest one which is pictured above, a 4.1 pounder that inhaled a spinnerbait on a shallow stumpy flat. I caught four keepers myself with the biggest going 2.5 lbs on a jig.

The fish aren't concentrated yet and most were very skinny. I believe the next big cold front will cause the fish to go on a big feeding frenzy and hopefully we'll be there to capitalize. Neither of us hunt so fishing will be our #1 priority this fall and hopefully I'll have a few more good outings to report on. St. Clair hopefully this weekend.

October Meeting

I just got home from the clubs October meeting and I'd like to pass along a few of the highlights. First of all I'd like to congratulate Scott Hartman and Kathy Maurer on their new positions with the club. Scott took the Tournament Directors spot while Kathy will be the newsletter editor. Both will do an awesome job next year I'm sure.

Art Honsinger re-uppped as the President again but the special activities director seat is still open. This is an important post and hopefully someone will take the assignment before the new year.

Also, the banquet money was due tonight so if anyone is interested in attending then contact Mike Pritchard and let him know. The party will be at Steves Ranch House I believe and the cost is $20 for a prime rib buffet so it's a pretty good deal.

There will not be a club meeting next month so the next time we meet will be at the banquet. Decembers club meeting is when we select the lakes for next year schedule so it's not too early to start thinking about that. I haven't put the boat away yet and will not do so until all the launches are iced over so I'll keep the fishing reports coming.

Burt / Mullett

Just returned from my annual fall trip up to Burt and Mullett lakes and it was a blast as usual. We had four guys go this year and other than myself two were club members, Mike Maske and Matt Morgan. The weather plays a big role this time of year up there and we've had everything over the years from almost snowing to sunny and warm. This year was pretty good as far as the weather goes with temps in the mid 60's and sunny and the water temps were in the mid to high 50's.

We stay in a cabin at the state park and fish Friday, Saturday and a little Sunday. The first day was probably the best fishing with Mike catching a 6+ pound smallie on a spinnerbait and Matt and I catching 12-15 good ones ourselves. The fish hadn't really moved up yet do to a recent warming trend but the smallies were still showing up and eating crankbaits, tubes and spinnerbaits.

Saturday marked our annual two boat tournament on Mullett and both teams brought 19+ pounds to the scales so we called it a draw. Once again Mike Maske caught a good one over 5 pounds and I added a 5 and a 4.7 to anchor our teams sack. Mr. Maske probably caught more fish than anyone on the trip and also guided his partner to several in the four pound category which were personal bests. I also added a 24" steelhead to my resume, caught on a crankbait which is always a bonus.

Sunday was a short one and most of our time was spent idling around and marking deep cover with Matt's side-imaging electronics. It was awesome seeing logs clearly in 15 fow and I probably marked 20 such spots. Hopefully there will be big fish bedding on these coordinates when I return next June. We also did a little fishing and Matt and I caught about a 15 pound limit in ten minutes off a large point on Burt to end a good trip.

The weather was great, we caught big fish and I got to spend time with three good guys, what more could you ask for. We ate more than you can imagine and unfortunately we probably drank more beer than we should have but what else are you going to do all night in a 12" x 12" cabin? Can't wait until next June.

Club Meeting

I gave the wrong date in my last post about the October club meeting. The correct date will be next Thursday the 14th at 7pm. Sorry about the bad info. I will be heading up to Burt Lake tomorrow with club members Mike Maske and Matt Morgan to do a little smallmouth fishing and hope to have plenty of good pictures when we get back. Hope the weather cooperates.

Classic Pattern

I don't ever remember a year when there have been more "blowout" wins at our club events. Matt Morgan did it at Ovid, Scott Rice at Cadillac and Randy Peck dominated at St. Clair. It was pretty much the same at the club championship this past Sunday at Gillettts lake when Jim Rice caught a limit and culled a few times while the next closest competitor brought three fish to the scales.

I talked to Jimbo afterward and although the water temps were around 55 degrees, he caught most of his fish throwing crankbaits. A shallow running Manns Baby-1 minus did the damage early and later in the day when the fish were deeper he switched to a Strike King Red Eye Shad lipless crank. Rice commented that most of the fish he caught literally swallowed the bait and he needed pliers to remove the hooks.

The early bite was up shallow and that's when the 1-Minus shines, diving to only a foot or so. When the fish moved deeper the better bite was out on the flats close to deep water and that's where I saw Jim spend the majority of the day. Rice also caught about 20-25 short fish, an incredible statistic considering the bite was so tough. Mark Dereadt managed to finish second and also bring in the big fish of the day, a 3 1/2 pound largemouth. Although there are smallies present at Gilletts, none were brought to the scales on this cold windy day.

Great job everyone who made the Classic and don't forget about the meeting this coming Thursday when we elect new board members and turn in our banquet forms.

Classic Results

Gilletts Lake - 2010 Classic

1 Jim Rice 9.28

2 Mark Dereadt 7.92

3 Leo Knox 5.28

4 Jerry Smith 4.59

5 Scott Hartman 3.88

6 Matt Morgan 1.54

7 Scott Rice 1.51

8 Roy Albert 1.28

9 Randy Peck 0

10 Bill Maurer 0

Big Bass #1: Mark Dereadt 3.85

Big Bass #2: Jerry Smith 2.89

Big Fish Season

Fall means cooling water temps which usually equals fish moving shallow and becoming catchable again. This trend is becoming evident on a few local lakes recently as I have witnessed some hogs being caught.

The first one to show up was a 5.2 pound smallie I caught on Clark Lake about 12 days ago on a Zoom Super Fluke. A five pounder is a good fish around here but the amazing thing was that it was very thin and measured 22" long. This fish should weigh closer to six pounds after it fattens up for the winter. It was on a shallow rocky flat in about three feet of water.

Pig number two showed up last weekend as part-time club member Nick Neves brought a massive largemouth to the launch during a small buddy tournament held on Lake Columbia. The fish weighed in at 6 pounds even on my scales and 6.4 on another set of scales. It was the biggest largemouth I have ever seen in person and Nick caught it flipping a shallow grass mat on a green pumpkin creature bait.

Hopefully a few big fish will show up at this weekends classic and with the colder temps rolling in, I wouldn't be surprised to see one. I was out tonight for a few hours and water temps are still about 67 degrees, up a little from the weekend. But lows in the 30's are expected for Friday and Saturday night so I'm not sure what to expect. I've been on the water when I thought the bite would be awesome and it was quite the opposite and vice-versa. Guess I'll let the fish tell me what they want or I'll just force feed them.

As far as the Classic goes, I'll be arriving at the 145 Truck Stop closer to 5:30 Sunday morning. I know the time was set at 6am and it isn't light until closer to 8, but getting an early start never hurts. I still plan on picking Devils as my lake due to the fact that the smallmouth may bite a little better even with the cold temps. I think this would offer the best opportunity for big stringers and a good classic, unlike last years slow bite. I'll be there at 5:30, maybe earlier.

Classic Week

As with anything related to fishing, I've put a lot of thought recently into which lake I'd like to fish for the Classic this weekend. All ten anglers will select a lake and one will be pulled from a hat which only gives me a one in ten shot but I want to pick one that suites my style of fishing. The cool thing about the club championship is that with only ten angers, smaller lakes can be fished. Gilletts and Pleasant are small lakes that have hosted recent Classics so do I vote for a smaller body of water or go for a bigger one that I've had success on?

Here are a few small bodies of water that may get my vote:

Vineyard: This lake isn't really that small but doesn't get a lot of publicity. It has a good population of largemouth in the lower end and I've caught some smallies up to five pounds in the gravely upper end. It is about 450 acres and located fairly close to town but has one small drawback. The launch is a shallow gravel launch with no pavement and no dock. It will accommodate large boats, not ideal but doable.

Clarks: This is a good sized lake but never gets tournament pressure due to lack of a good launch. Fortunately I am a member of the CL Boat Club and have a pass for their launch so that would not be an issue. The lake has big smallies in it (I caught a five pounder just last week there) and a bigger population of largemouth. The drawback is that it is relatively featureless with large sandy flats and can fish tough. The smallies are there but undersized largemouth make up most of my catches. I think it would be tough to get limits and with the cold weather coming I'm pretty sure I won't be voting for Clarks.

Portage-Jackson: A small lake that would not support a regular club event but ten boats would not be too many for Portage. Located close to town, it has a decent population of smallies and some big largemouth as well. I really like this lake in the spring but being located in a state park makes is very popular with boaters and it fishes extremely tough in the summer. It should be pretty good now and the launch facilities are awesome.

Some bigger lakes that normally get tough during the summer but could be very good now:

Michigan Center: This lake is close to town and everyone know it well. It has fished really good this year and some big weights have been brought to the scales. If we hit it right the fishing could be awesome and limits could be plentiful. But the cold weather may shut the largemouth bite down and there are no smallies present to target.

Devils: I can't believe I would ever vote for this lake but it may be the leader in the clubhouse. A notoriously tough summer lake that has largemouth and smallmouth with plenty of room for everyone. But with the cooler water temps this lake could turn on and the adjacent Round Lake could also come into play. Our club event there this past August relulted in bigger weights than expected and when I fished here last week the bite was pretty good.

I know some guys don't even think about their Classic vote until we get to the restaurant on Sunday but obviously I have and I think I'm going with Devils as of right now. I'll keep an eye on the weather and that will play a role in my selection but that's the way I'm leaning right now.

Fall Open Results

1) Dale Steward / Roger Steward 12.96 lbs
2) Jeff Elliott 10.97
3) Mark Dereadt / Kathy Maurer 10.64

Big Bass#1: Dereadt / Maurer 3.87 lbs
Big Bass#2: Wright / Wright 3.85

-There were 13 teams competing in the tournament
-The payouts were as follows: 1st $300, 2nd $200, 3rd $100
-Big Bass #1 paid $80 and Big Bass #2 paid $50
-Kathy Maurer and Mark Dereadt placed third and also served as tournament directors

Fall Open

The clubs fall open is tomorrow at Wamplers Lake so if anyone still wants to fish we have plenty of room. The check in is 8am at the Hayes State Park launch ramp and the tournament will run from 9am until 5pm or earlier if determined at the boaters meeting. Rain is out of the forecast and sunny skies with pleasant temps are expected so feel free to show up and fish. This is a team event with the best five being weighed and this event is notoriously a big weight tourney. Hope to see a good turnout.

Classic field set

With the regular season finished the next club event will be our annual "Classic" which features the top ten finishers in the Angler of the Year standings. The tournament will be held Sunday, October 3rd at a lake to be determined that morning. This years field includes two new faces, both club rookies. The entire field looks like this:

Scott Rice

Randy Peck

Matt Morgan

Jim Rice

Mark Dereadt

Bill Maurer

Leo Knox

Roy Albert

Jerry Smith

Scott Hartman

The majority of the field has been to at least a few classics so it's old hat but for Scott Hartman and Leo Knox, this will be their first. The cool thing about this event is that it's low key and pretty casual but everyone is guaranteed money and there is no entry fee. There isn't a lot of pressure to do well and I always have a good time fishing it. Hope to have decent weather.

This coming weekend is the annual fall open which will be held on Wamplers Lake again. This is a good fund raiser for the club so if anyone is interested then contact Bill Maurer or I believe Mark Dereadt. I'm not sure about Mark so call Bill and he can steer you in the right direction. This is a team event and Wamplers can be pretty good this time of year so expect 15 pounds or so to be a good benchmark. Anyone interested in fishing can contact me as well for more info.

2010 Angler of the Year - Scott Rice

After the second tournament of the year Scott Rice approached me and told me he how bad he wasstruggling and he couldn't figure it out. Scott had weighed in one fish in the event and coupled with a poor finish at Baw Beese he was not only well out of the AOY lead but a long shot to make the top ten. I commented on how he'd make up for it the next weekend at Cadillac and didn't know how right I was. Scott dominated the field both days of the Cadillac event, winning both and getting the momentum started that would propel him to the top spot.

Scott is considered one of the best fishermen in the club and had won the AOY title in 2005 but was unable to duplicate that success until this year. He won three tournaments this year and won three in 2009 but it seems like he always had one or two stinkers every year which would prevent him from winning the coveted title. He had the stinkers this year as well but fished so well in the other events it didn't really matter.

Rice trailed Randy Peck who was looking for his first AOY title as they headed to Sleepy Hollow. Randy had a slim 1.5 pound lead but wasn't able to hold Scott off on a tough day at Lake Ovid. Randy could only bring one keeper to the scales and Scott had three fish to seal the deal. Randy had an awesome year as well and I'm sure it was disappointing for him to finish second but he should be proud of a great year.

Both anglers will participate in the "Classic" which will be held on Sunday, October 3rd on a lake to be determined. More info on the Classic qualifiers to come.

Morgan destroys field

With all the good fishermen in the club very rarely does someone dominate a tournament but this year Scott Rice did it at Cadillac and Sunday Matt Morgan did it again on Lake Ovid. Matt brought in nearly 16 pounds while everyone else struggled to catch a few keepers and bested everyone else by over 10 pounds. Matt caught two that were over 4 pounds and also took home the big bass prize. Roy Albert took second with 6 pounds and Scott Rice just under six while taking home the Angler of the Year award in the process (more on that later). Here's how Matt did it.

Practice: Matt fished Ovid only once last weekend but from previous experiences on musky lakes he figured the fish would be shallow and tight in the weeds. The vegetation on Ovid is quite thick and the best way to access these fish is by flipping jigs and plastics into the weed mats. Morgan did just that and caught several good fish in practice, honing in on a few different areas and baits. He had a good idea he'd catch them pretty good Sunday but I don't think he knew how good.

Tournament: Morgan had a few key areas that had matted weeds but were close to deeper water and went to work. He flipped a jig and a plastic grub type bait (Erie Darter by Poor Boys Baits) both in watermelon hues into the tick vegetation. The water he flipped was anywhere from 2-6 feet deep and the water tended to be a little clearer inside the weed clumps. Both baits were of the 1/2 oz variety which was critical to get the bait into the heart of the cover which Matt felt was very important. At times if the baits hung up he would shake them free and allow the jigs to free fall deep into the weeds.

The bites came early and often as Matt caught two keepers fairly early including one of his big ones. He reported catching at least twenty fish and culled twice. The heavy jigs would penetrate the weed mats and once they did, the fish would grab the bait on the fall. Matt was sure the heavy weight was the key to the technique and I'm sure it was as I flipped a 3/8 oz bait all day and had only one bite. The smaller baits just couldn't penetrate the weeds.

Most flippers try and pitch their jigs into holes or openings in the weeds but the heavier weights allowed him to go right into the jungle and winch the fish out on his 50 pound power pro braid and 7'8" flipping stick. Great job and congratulations to Scott Rice for winning the AOY title as well.

Ovid Results

1 Matt Morgan 15.94

2 Roy Albert 6.14

3 Scott Rice 5.89

4 Bill Maurer 4.06

5 Jim Rice 3.54

6 Connie Honsinger 2.33

7 Jerry Smith 2.07

8 Randy Peck 1.81

9 Art Honsinger 0

9 Kathy Maurer 0

9 Tom Curry 0

9 Scott Hartman 0

9 Matt Zelenka 0

9 Mike Mullaly 0

Big Bass #1: Matt Morgan 4.43

Big Bass #2: Roy Albert 4.34

Last minute report

Well I spent about three hours on Lake Ovid today and it was SLOW. I fished with Matt Zelienka and between us we had three bites and caught two small fish. Matt has fished the lake routinely for the past few weeks and he has seen the fishing go from good to miserable in the span of two weeks.

The water temps have dropped about ten degrees to the mid-60's over the past week and the rain today may drop it even more. I was flipping a tube and a jig and will probably do the same tomorrow, looking for bigger bites. I talked to two other club members who were on the water this weekend and the results were similar.

The good news is that the sun will be out tomorrow and maybe that will improve the fishing. Also, in a tournament like this when the bites may be at a premium it could only take a few fish to get a win so anyone could pull it off. Hope to see everyone at the launch tomorrow and drive safe.

AOY up for grabs

Just like in 2008 the Angler of the year title will come down to the final event of the season on an unfamiliar lake with several anglers still in the hunt. Randy Peck is the current leader but Scott Rice is only 1.5 lbs behind and don't count out his brother Jimbo who is about 5.5 lbs back. Randy has never won the coveted title and it will be great drama whether he can hang on or if someone will jump up and claim the trophy. Back in 08' there were three fishermen within 3 lbs of first heading into Austin Lake and then Scott Rice came in with a big stringer to almost steal the title all the way from 4th place.

Equally as interesting is the race for the last "Classic" spots. We will be taking 10 anglers this year for the club championship and rookie Scott Hartman is currently sitting in the 10th place slot. Just 5 lbs behind is Art Honsinger and 12th place belongs to Mike Pritchard who is 7.5 lbs out but definitely still in it.

The weather has cooled considerably and the latest reports have water temps on Ovid dropping 5 degrees from last weekend. Initially this could slow the bite for a few days but they might start biting come Sunday. Hopefully we'll have a good turnout for the last event of the season and good luck to everyone, especially those with a lot on the line.

Club News

Don't forget the September club meeting which will be held Thursday Sept 9th at Art Moehn Chevy. I will not be in attendance due to parent teacher conferences at my daughters school, seems like there's always something going on. Also, the tentative date has been set for the club banquet by special events director Mike Pritchard. As of now November 6th which is a Saturday looks like the day so pencil it in. The venue looks like it's locked in as well but I won't announce it until it becomes official.

As for the fishing, the weather is starting to cool down which seems like happens every year right after the holiday. I have not been on Lake Ovid since last week but plan on going Friday. I've only heard one report by a club member this past weekend and he said the fishing was pretty good so I'm looking forward to getting back up there. I'll post a more recent report later in the week as well as updated weather info.

Lake Ovid Report

I was able to spend a few hours on Lake Ovid Wednesday night and all I can say was it was interesting. First of all it took me 50 minutes to arrive at the launch from Jackson and the facility is one of the best you'll see in Michigan. Everything looks new this year and there is ample parking.

The lake is not giant but there are a lot of little ins and outs and a couple of islands in the middle. Most of the lake is shallow but several holes over ten feet are present. The West end close to the swimming beach probably has the deepest water, close to 20 foot. The water is quite dirty with visibility of around two to three feet.

There is quite a lot of vegetation and I'm not sure what type, I'm guessing milfoil. Whatever it is it gets thick and heavy mats are present throughout the lake. If you're in 8 foot of water or less, expect the weeds to be thick. Some areas are so thick that they're almost unaccessible with a trolling motor.

As far as the fishing goes, I was out with Matt Zelienka and we had about 5 bites in a little over 2.5 hours. We caught one keeper but Matt reports having some good days out there last week. As we were out there a front was coming through containing rain, cloudy skies and dropping temps. I think that probably had more to do with the tough fishing than anything, I hope anyway.

I did see lots of surface activity, so much so that it got frustrating not being able to catch much with fish jumping everywhere but I'll get out hopefully next week and try to figure something out. More reports to follow and hope everyone has a good holiday.

Directions to Lake Ovid

-From Jackson take 127 north for 47 miles to Price Rd. (exit 91)

-Exit and take a right (east) for 4.5 miles to the stop sign at shepardsville rd.

-Go straight through the stop and the state park drive is 100 yards ahead on left.

-It's a brand new launch with plenty of parking. A really nice facility.

Day on the lake

When I get my Bassmaster magazine I usually read it cover to cover instantly and the first thing I look at is the "Day on the lake" segment. That's the article where a pro goes to a mystery lake they've never been on and tries and catch fish during an eight hour day. It's interesting how these pros break down new water and it's not different then when we pre-fish for a tourney or go to a new body of water.

I had the unique experience of fishing a tournament this past weekend on a lake I have never been on other than a quick idle around the night before for an hour. My youngest brother owns a cottage near West Branch, east of Houghton Lake and the house is on a 550 acre private lake. It is private and has an association, much like Somerset and LeAnne around here. They held their first association Bass Tournament last year to raise money and it was a rousing success and I got invited to fish the second annual with my 13 year old nephew and his 16 year old cousin.

I saw a few things on our pre-tournament cruise and coupled with the kids' favorite areas we had assembled a good game plan. I don't fish many team tournaments but figured I'd have the kids throw senkos off to the side while I power fished in the front of the boat. Any time I hit a new body of water, covering lots of water with my confidence lures is always my first choice. My lure this day was an Xcaliber Zell Pop topwater and it was a good choice. Our first cove produced a good keeper and plenty of bites on the popper and my nephew Jackson nailed a 2.7 pound largemouth on his senko.

The kids fish regularly but are usually relegated to a pontoon or a paddle boat so our next area was close to the cabin and has produced for them in the past. I saved it for a little later in the morning due to the fact it would have shade on it longer and I'd still be able to throw the Zell Pop. Another good decision as I caught a 3.3 pounder on a shallow flat and then Jackson caught #4 on his senko.

The tourney had 30 boats entered but you could have as many fishermen as you like as long as they all paid the $20 entry fee. I usually don't like to fish with three in the boat but our third teammate Era landed fish #5 for us, a good two pounder on a senko near a dock and we became revitalized after a long lull in the action. The lake started to get busy and bites were coming slower and slower but that fifth fish gave us momentum.

It was getting later in the day and we had rotated all of our good areas and the fish seemed to have dried up. I thought we needed a kicker and started throwing frogs and jigs to deep pads but to no avail and burning a spinnerbait on windblown flats came up empty as well. Then one of the kids decided to fish an area new to them that had lighter boat traffic. I decided to switch things up as well and start skipping docks while they threw to the deeper weedline. Our strategy paid off again as I skipped a tube under a dock and actually commented on how I can't believe there isn't a fish under that dock. Just then I noticed my line shoot off and I set the hook on a big fish. A few minutes later my partners slid the net under a 3.9 pounder in what probably looked like a chinese fire drill but we got it in the boat anyway ( I still think the fish was well over 4 pounds but you can't argue with the scales).

We had a great day and I had a great time as did their dads as the teenagers took the tournaments only 5 fish limit to the scales amongst a lot of oohs and ahhs. We won handily weighing in 14.5 pounds while the kids' dads could only muster three fish. Why can't I do that in a club tournament? Must have been my partners I guess but we had a great time and our names will be on a plaque in the Lake Ogema general store for years to come.

Sleepy Hollow - Lake Ovid

I haven't heard much on Lake Ovid yet but I plan on fishing it very soon and will report my findings. I do know this much, it is fairly shallow with only a couple deeper holes and is quite weedy. I also heard recently that there are musky present in the lake so that adds a different dynamic.

The DNR lake map shows three distinct holes that are 10' but I've heard 20' areas are available. But it sounds as if 80% of the water is shallow with heavy weeds and there are no homes on the water so no docks are available. It is a state park so there is some fishing pressure and I also believe it is a no wake lake but I'm not sure of that yet. I will try and get out this weekend and report any pertinent info.

My day on Devils

I have not talked to Randy Peck to detail his day on the lake and the winning pattern but I hope to soon. I heard he fished mostly docks but I cannot confirm that so I'll pass along all the info when I contact him. As far as my day it went a little different that I expected but I did weigh in a few so I can't complain. I was currently sitting close to the cut for the classic so I needed a decent showing to keep me in contention and I think I accomplished that. Here is how my tourney broke down.

I practiced on Devils last monday and hooked two good fish on a jig flipping shallow weed clumps but wasn't sure if that was something that I could duplicate on tournament day. I tried to establish a pattern fishing various deep weededges but couldn't get that going either and when the winds picked up I called it a day. I decided for the event I would start with a topwater on a weedline I knew from previous years then start flipping shallow weeds and docks and look for a few big bites.

As luck would have it Bill Maurer wasn't able to fish the tourney and his wife Kathy called and wondered if I could fish with her from Bills boat. Kathy knew I wanted to fish Round Lake but my Crestliner couldn't access the smaller lake. Bills could and I quickly accepted. My practice day was all for not but I didn't mind since I've always wanted to fish the smaller Round Lake anyway.

Tourney Day: Once into Round Lake, Kathy directed us to a small flat with scattered weed clumps they had discovered in practice. I decided to stay with my topwater plan and on the first cast caught a 2 1/2 pound largemouth on a Xcaliber Zpop. Ten minutes later I caught another keeper on the popper and the day was shaping up nicely. After a few shorts we went back over the flat but couldn't get any more bites. I figured we could run this topwater pattern all day with the overcast skies but as luck would have it, the wind started really blowing and the topwater bite died quickly.

We next went to a long mid-lake point with gravel on top surrounded by thick weeds and with the wind blowing I thought I could get a quick smallie up shallow. Nothing doing but Kathy caught her first keeper with a smoke colored grub on the weededge. We then moved to a large flat with scattered weed clumps that Bill and Kathy found previous. It was hard to make out how the lake set up with the big winds and overcast skies. Bill has yet to enter the 21st century and not only does he not have a GPS but is without a depthfinder on the console. This made it hard to break down new water and Kathy and I were fishing somewhat blindly.

Despite the obstacles, we located a thick weed clump next to deep water and I decided since we weren't getting bites on senkos or grubs then I would start fishing a drop-shot on the outside weed edge. I was quickly rewarded with keeper number three, a small 14 incher but it was only 10 am and I was in business.

But as usually happens, the bite slowed and Kathy and I went about two hours without a bite. We threw senkos a lot but could not get a single bite so she stuck with the grub and I with the drop-shot rig. About 1pm we started catching a few fish again but couldn't get any keepers, now focusing on the 12-18 fow range. With time running out we decided to go back to the big weedy flat and target shallow fish again. Kathy scored keeper number two on a grub and I started throwing a spinnerbait into the wind. I caught several just under 14 inches but could not get number four for the life of me. We idled back into Devils and ran out of gas just as we reached the launch area. The boat that is.

Looking back I'm not sure if I could have done anything differently due to that fact I've never been on the lake before and not knowing it's characteristics. I had five rods on deck and threw every one of them but could not get on anything consistent. Kathy was a big help with trying to break the lake down but every time she fished it in the past, the conditions were sunny and calm. I guess I could have honkered down on the outside edge where I caught my first two but the more I fished it, the smaller the fish were getting. Overall I'm glad I got my three and should be good for the Classic and I thank Kathy for letting me fish with her. I was dreading this tournament but ended up having a decent day and I heard a lot of others say the same thing. I'd even go as far as saying I'll probably vote for this lake next year, just a little earlier maybe.

Devils Lake Results

1 Randy Peck 11.62

2 Leo Knox 8.12

3 Jim VanAken 8.09

4 Mark Dereadt 6.53

5 Matt Morgan 6.47

6 Jerry Smith 5.41

7 Scott Hartman 4.51

7 Sam Caron 4.51

9 Art Honsinger 4.47

10 Brian Masters 3.69

11 Scott Rice 3.29

12 Kathy Maurer 2.68

13 Tom Curry 2.44

14 Roy Albert 2.32

15 Jim Rice 2.03

16 Tim Chapman 1.64

17 Mike Pritchard 1.47

18 Craig Deck

18 Mike Mullaly

18 Matt Zelienka

18 Patricia Rice

18 Connie Honsinger

Big Bass #1: Mark Dereadt 3.90

Big Bass #2: Art Honsinger 3.32

Latest Devils Update

After a few bad reports earlier in the week I finally got some good news concerning Devils Lake. One guy I talked to yesterday had some pretty good success and commented how well the fish were biting and quite aggressively. I didn't get a lot of details but it was a credible source so hopefully they stay biting.

As for the weather, Saturday looks like a cloudy, rainy day which could work out in our favor. Devils gets tons of boat traffic so a dreary Saturday could keep the skiers and jet boats off the lake. Sunday looks to be in the high 70's with clouds in the morning and clear skies later in the day.

Directions to launch: I take 127 south to 223 towards Adrian. Devils Lake Highway runs to the south and is marked by a brown DNR access sign but I just look for the party store right before the lake and take a right. Devils Lake Hwy runs for a few miles along the lake and then snakes around the south end right to the launch on the south end of the lake. It is a DNR access site, same as St. Clair so a daily $6 fee is required unless you have a sticker.

Devils Lake Practice

I was able to get out for about four hours Monday morning to practice on Devils for the upcoming club tourney and it was about what I expected. But first I tried unsuccessfully to access round lake and actually made it under the first bridge but couldn't make it under the second. It was worth a try. But once I decided to start fishing the reality that I was not in Escanaba anymore started to set in. The bite was slow and very tough with water clarity being about three feet thanks to all of the weekend boat traffic.

Reaction bites and power fishing seemed fruitless so I started to honker down on some deep weedlines that have produced in the past and still could not muster even one bite. It was quite windy adding to my problems so I decided to head shallow and start flipping with a jig. This did produce two good bites for me, one of which I lost and the other being a two pounder, both in the same area. I wanted to throw a frog but there is limited places for such a presentation even though I tried to make it happen. One small fish on the frog and one small fish on the deep weededge convinced me that I might be flipping for eight hours on Sunday.

I talked to two other club members who were on the lake this past weekend and they had similar experiences, few bites and even fewer keepers. I've never been a big fan of Devils and mid-August on this body of water is downright ridiculous. I still think Wamplers and Devils in August is a bad joke Bill Maurer is playing on the club but that's the reality of it and as Scott Rice showed two weeks ago, fish can still be caught.

My prediction will be for 7-8 pounds for the winning weight and I find it hard to believe anyone will catch a limit. Randy St. Amour did it a few years back so it's doable but I'll be power fishing and hoping for 3-4 bites and hope to capitalize on them. I am in a battle with several others for a "Classic" spot so I have to fish against my better judgement. It looks as if the weather will stay cooler which could help but it will still be tough. The guys that do well will probably find a school of fish on deeper weedlines and they'll have to milk that area. A good fish early will go a long way in this event and that's what I'm hoping for. I'm not sure anyone else will try and access Round Lake but I heard through the grapevine that it is a possiblity for a smaller boat. That would be the wild-card if anyone can get there. I'll post more reports if any become available.

Escanaba Family Trip

Just got back from a "family" vacation to the Upper Peninsula yesterday but I was able to mix in a little fishing as well. Escanaba is about 140 miles west of the bridge but it's good sized with plenty of resorts, cabins and even a Wal-Mart. But best of all it is located on Little Bay DeNoc and is loaded with smallmouth.

Having never been on this body of water it took me a few days to find fish and on the final minutes of my outing on day two, I was able to locate some cleaner water that had a lot of good looking rock. I returned early on day three and my hunches were right as my brother and I caught around 25 fish with a 4.4 pounder (shown above) being the medalist for the trip.

Little Bay DeNoc is actually part of Green Bay as is Big Bay but I consider it all Lake Michigan. I had expected to be fishing 10-20 foot and drop-shotting offshore reefs but most of our fish came in less than eight foot of water on tubes. I even caught a few on topwaters, awesome fishing for mid-August.

As luck would have it, the BASS Federation Nation Northern Divisional was being held on little bay the same week and I was able to attend a few of the weigh-ins. I have never been to a BASS event and it was cool to see it in person. I also found out an old college football teammate of mine was fishing for the Michigan team and we were able to catch up a little as well as talk fishing.

It was also cool to go out on Wednesday morning to some of my newly found spots and find a few Federation guys fishing them. I kept my distance so not to interrupt the event but also followed a few guys later in the day and did a little spot stealing. I didn't fish any "stolen" spots but did include them on my GPS for future family trips.

Escanaba is definitely going to be a staple for the Smith family in the upcoming years after what I saw. It's a great town with plenty of sandy beaches, restaurants and of course big smallies. It is known for it's perch and walleye fishing and we hardly targeted them at all so there is plenty to explore next year. If anyone is looking for a long getaway destination with good fishing than I would definitely recommend this area. I may even part with a few of my newfound coordinates.

Meeting tonight, 7pm at Art Moehn

The Club from a Rookie Perspective V2.0

While Jerry is on yet another vacation he asked me to write something up while he was gone. Last year I wrote on my perspective of the club highlighting quite a few things that I liked and a few things that I would like to see changed.

I loved the camaraderie, the GREAT competition, and the willingness of those who did well to share with others on what they did to succeed.

Some of the changes I wanted to see were to have the open tournaments to be part of the AOY race and classic births. I also wanted at least one draw tournament as well as a tournament against another local club from a neighboring county.

In hindsight, The draw tournament is not as big of a deal to me anymore. I know quite a few of you and feel that if I simply asked, more than likely I could fish with someone different once in a while. I still feel as though the opens should have some sort of bearing on the results at the end of the year only because I would like those tournaments to be a true representation of how the club is and acts in order to "lure" new members. A tournament against another neighboring club would be awesome, but feel its tough enough for the tournament director to align a good schedule of lakes to fish without having to do so with another club even if it is for just one tournament.

The only other change that I think would be important for the club would be to list everyone who fished in the results of the tournaments listed on this website. For example, last week as we can all agree, Wamplers was tough fishing!!! We had 23 fisherman but only 13 weighed in a fish. For any onlookers or future potential members they may have seen our results and thought only 13 people fished. I for one would hate to be listed as a zero but we do already list the complete AOY standings. I don't feel that it would be a detriment to those that zeroed to list them as well only for the purpose of showing a true representation of the amount of fisherman we truly get.

In closing, I am having a blast again this year fishing against everyone and I truly hope that nobody takes these recommendations the wrong way!! These are just my opinions and honestly I was having a problem thinking of anything else to write about.

Sincerely!! Matt Morgan

Wamplers Lake Results

1. Scott Rice 10.66
2. Mark Deraedt 6.17
3. Leo Knox 6.15
4. Mike Mullaly 6.12
5. Randy Peck 5.28
6. Jim Rice Jr. 5.22
7. Roy Albert 5.04
8. Matt Morgan 3.70
9. Brian Masters 2.79
10. Jim Van Aken 2.83
11. Connie Honsinger 1.72
12. Tim Chapman 1.42
13. Craig Deck 1.37

Big Bass – Matt Morgan 3.70
Scott Rice 3.43

Another Vacation

Just wanted to wish everyone good luck at the Wamplers Lake tournament this coming weekend. I will not be fishing due to another family vacation, this one in Escanaba, Michigan up in the upper peninsula. I will be fishing Little Bay DeNoc for walley, perch and especially smallmouth so I hope to have a few good reports to post. Hope everyone catches them this weekend and I have something set up to get the results posted as soon as possible so bear with me. I also hope to have a guest blogger so stay tuned.

Rices Muskegon Pattern

I always say I'd rather be lucky than good but when you're lucky and good, that's a great combination. Jim Rice was probably more good than lucky at Muskegon lake but both played a part in his first win of the season. Jimbo has been extremely consistent this year weighing in limits in each tournament and cashing a check in all seven as well but it took 10.8 pounds of largemouth to wrestle the win a way from Mark Dereadt July 25th at Muskegon Lake. Here's how he did it:

Practice: Jim hadn't been on Muskegon for nearly 8 years so he had to put in quite a bit of time on the water to get ready for the event. He was having trouble finding anything consistent and decided to just try and catch keeper fish instead of looking for hogs. He found such a pattern that consisted of certain rip-rap sections which had sandy bottoms extending out from shore. The right spots would have these sand transition areas which only extended a few feet from the rip-rap before turning into weeds. He found that there were key stretches with the right mix of sand and most of it was only in 12-18 inches of water and it only was a morning deal.

The lucky part came when Jim let the boat drift one practice day to re-tie and as he did, drifted over a small hump which consisted of slab wood that was surrounded by weeds. The wood came within 7-8 feet of the surface and was the size of a small garage but was surrounded by 25 foot of water. His partner (and wife) Trish got hooked up as Jims boat drifted over the structure that morning and he probably would not have even noticed it if she wasn't with him.

Tourney Day: When the event started, some of the boats (mine included) were heading out into Lake Michigan and Rice claimed he already had caught three keepers from his sandy spots before we even made it out of the Muskegon channel. He would throw his green senkos up close to the rocks and the fish would nail the bait before it got to the weedline. There were people fishing from shore and from the piers but that didn't bother the bite as he caught a limit fairly quickly.

After the morning bite died, Jim shifted gears and headed to the wood slabs where he began culling on a day where limits were scarce. "I was culling by ounces each time but culled about four fish on that spot" explained Rice and he needed every once because a dead fish penalty dropped his weight to 10.84, less that a half pound ahead of Mark Dereadt who weighed in a 10.48 limit. The win vaulted Jim to the top of the AOY standings, 2.5 pounds ahead of his brother Scott who finished fifth in the event.

Launch Info

Talked to Bill tonight and here is the official info concerning the Wamplers Lake tourney this Sunday. The park will open between 7:30 and 8am so the check in time will be 8:30am. Anyone showing up later than that will be considered late. Bill is concerned with the clubs' safety and doesn't want a lineup of cars on the road at 6am as is usually the case.

I would suggest getting to the launch ramp no later than 7:30 and hopefully the park will open early and the tourney can start closer to 8am but maybe that's wishful thinking. The participants will decide when the event will end as everyone is checking in. Hope to see everyone there.

Wamplers Lake reports

I don't have a ton of info to pass along yet but here is what I know so far. The water at Wamplers is off-colored, probably from all the summer boat traffic and the visibility is only a couple of feet. I've heard there has been a weed kill recently but cannot confirm that but the fishing has been slow. An NBAA event there last week only took two fish to win, granted it was only a three hour tournament but the fishing is tough.

A few club members started pre-fishing this past weekend and keepers were at a premium, heck bites were at a premium. Of the three guys I talked to, only three keeper fish were caught and they had about 15 bites combined for their efforts. This could be one of those 7 pounds to win events but I have a feeling someone will put it together and get a limit. I will not be attending this tournament but I will pass along any pertinent info I gather this week.

Don't forget, the start may be delayed due to the park not opening until 8am or so but that is at the discretion of the tournament director. More info will be relayed as far as that goes as well.

Pecks LSC Pattern

I finally talked to Randy Peck and got the details on his win July 18th on St. Clair. Most people think of the mile roads, the rivers or the channels when it comes to summer fishing on LSC but Randy decided to go against the grain a little and fish some new water. He had only been on the big lake three times previous and found a weedbed marked on his hotspots fishing map that looked intriguing. Randy decided to spend Saturday looking for this weedbed and others like it up in the northeast corner of the lake known as Anchor Bay. This section is know for muskie and perch but doesn't get a lot of publicity for smallmouth this time of year.

Practice: Randy went looking for his weedbed but located a different patch of vegetation and decided to fish it. He caught a few fish but nothing decent and decided to call it a day early due to the high winds that were building. He figured he'd come back to this weedbed the next day and start there and try and get a few decent keepers before looking for new water.

Tourney Day: Randy returned to his practice spot and did catch a few decent fish early throwing 4" cinnamon grub teamed with a 1/4 oz jighead. Peck would slowly reel the plastic in and when it hung he would snap it free to trigger strikes. All was going well until a boat with two tournament anglers from another organization approached his buoy and started fishing it. Randy became very upset and said he lost his cool and let the two guys in the boat have it.

Instead of staying and fighting for the spot, Randy decided to take off and look for the original weedbed he had intended on fishing the day before. The spot was isolated weeds in 6-7 foot of water and when he found it, it didn't take long for him to start catching fish. "I think the key other that being an isolated bed is that the water was only 72 degrees up there" stated Peck as he culled about 20 keepers enroute to his 22 pound sack.

Randy also caught the big bass of the event and probably had second big bass as well but club rules only allow one per angler. Most fish fell prey to the grub fished on spinning tackle which was paired with 10 pound mono. Randy also stated that he found a second weedbed close to his hot spot and he rotated between the two to post his big weight. He returned to the launch ramp early, Tim Horton style and made sure his fish stayed alive for the weigh-in. It was an impressive a win as I've seen in the club for some time and hopefully Randy can keep making a serious run at the AOY title.

Muskegon Results

1 Jim Rice 10.84

2 Mark Dereadt 10.48

3 Jerry Smith 10.42

4 Nick Neves 9.92

5 Scott Rice 8.51

6 Mike Pritchard 7.66

7 Bill Maurer 6.80

8 Roy Albert 6.63

9 Leo Knox 6.48

10 Art Honsinger 5.69

11 Randy Peck 5.45

12 Matt Morgan 3.17

13 Patricia Rice 2.26

14 Scott Hartman 2.14

15 Matt Zielenka 2.00

16 Sam Caron 1.29

Tourney Director Bill Maurer on the scales

Big Bass #1: Roy Albert 3.37

Big Bass #2: Leo Knox 3.08

Muskegon Weather

I've gotten different info depending on which website I use but this I do know. Sunday will be mostly sunny with temps in the high 70's. Saturday will be very hot and storms are possible but that should clear out by tourney day.

The one thing that is unknown is the wind and more importantly the direction. Some club members will chose to head out into Lake Michigan and drive to one of the other lakes in the area and the wind speed and direction will greatly affect that. I've seen Northeast winds which would be ideal but another site this morning said light winds out of the West.

Lake Michigan behaves differently than St. Clair and Erie so I need to keep and eye on it. The run to Spring Lake and White Lake are both a little over ten miles while Mona lake seems to be closer to a five mile run. Most club members are already in Muskegon practicing so hopefully the weather is cooperating for the pre-fishing. Hope to see a good turnout.