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.