Looked for Large Mouth Bass in some new channels and weedy pockets back off the main current of the North Channel. A 13 inch Smallmouth rushed the popper without getting hooked on the edge of a narrow side channel. A 16 inch Pike ate a new white 3/0 Banger on the edge of the main channel and he quickly cut it off when I applied a little pressure on him.
I headed across to a favorite shoreline with a very used 3/0 Chartreuse Banger as the best backup I had brought. The Marabou tail and Flashabou was worn sparse and short. It has taken many fish, most in this same spot. Several bass came for the popper, some got hooked about half of those got off. One cast parallel to a productive stretch of shoreline cover got 4 or 5 hits from at least 2 or 3 fish, hooked 2 of them and lost them both. I will have to look at the video to try to better figure out what all happened. I hope to get the video compiled and hopefully put up here.
And
And
And I got this Rock Bass back in very shallow water where I saw a bowfin last time.
This spring I had twice encountered a good pike. He had 4 long slash wounds across his body from twice being gripped cross ways in the jaws of a big Musky and apparently shaken. He looked pink as he first slashed the popper and got off. The next tip I got him in this same spot but without the tools to hold him for the picture. Same spot, today the same popper pattern got blasted by a big Pike, I clearly saw his body. I was relieved to see the 3/0 Chartreuse Banger floating safely unattached to the pike. I cast back with a 5/0 8inch White Banger I had rigged with 50 pound bite leader on a heavier rod. Nothing. Later I came back with this 4/0 bulky Wake Banger and got this average pike.
Finally landed this god bass after a couple other good ones had rushed the popper or got hooked only to get off.
Tried casting the Banger out across the current over a 10 foot deep flat and got one fish to rise, didn't hook him but it was almost certainly a good Small Mouth.
Last casts I threw a Lime-Chartreuse bead head Mop Leech into the good spots which didn't get bit. The previous time out, a flashy bead head White-Opal Minnow got into some more bass after I had worn them out on Marabou Bangers. Flashy minnow imitations are a reliable pattern for Great Lakes Bass.