I launched on a small, shallow, weedy river mouth lake on Lake Michigan's western shore not well known for much except having Bowfin. Lake Michigan is not habitat for largemouth bass so all the bass here are local to this lake and its outlet channel. They probably benefit from minnow species that migrate in and out. There were lots of rain bait sized minnow in the lower lake's out of the wind places. The previous evening I got 3 of 4 bass 12 to 18 inches and a small pike.
Gotta love the NIMBYs here, plenty of shoreline and kayak access and a low bridge (3 feet) to keep out bigger motor boats.
I launched he mornig of the second day to a windy, bright sun cold front day with clouds forming farther inland. I switched off the White Dive Banger trying Bullet Dogs thinking they were foreign to the educated fish but stayed with a 2/0 Black Dive Banger that small fish and one good bass hit. At 3:00 PM in the upstream delta area, where floating matted weed edges met a deeper channel, I got a explosive, out of the water, hit on a cast to a small nook in the weed edge. It came back to a quick second cast and it fought powerfully until it rushed towards me tangling in weeds below the kayak and rubbing out the barbless hook. I was thinking Bowfin from the huge, long olive bronze shape and that they often get off when fly hooked. I got 5 more good hits in the next 70 feet of this channel edge. Hooked the third hit, it was an average sized pike.
I continued casting to both channel edges as it wound upstream and was getting periodically by good bass and small pike, but only on the south edge. I really wanted another Bowfin to prove it wasn't a one off fluke. The farther I worked up the channel the more confidently the Bass and small Pike hit.
In the evening reworking back down toward the lower lake I got the best Bass and Pike of the trip.
What it took to get a Bowfin on a top water popper fly was to cover enough good water to to land about 2 dozen good Bass and mostly small Pike. Twice now, a Black Dive Banger has apparently edged out the white and chartreuse versions I normally stick to.
