A Day on the Water — Bob's Banger Popper

On the long padIe downstream from the launch in Saint Johns Marsh, I tried for largemouth in some new to me shallow weedy bays and some seawall spots, nothing there.  Nearer the mouth of the North Channel, the current flowed briskly over deep, partially weeded flat. Drifting along the 8 foot contour, casting Poppers out across the current toward 12 or 15 ft depths near the edge of the much deeper central channel.  On the first drift the White 3/0 Marabou Banger got hit by a very big, hard fighting smallmouth that shook the hook on the first high jump.  I stopped to set...

Easy trip, low expectations because the bass here see a lot of pressure. I fished a point forming a narrows on this upper end of this Huron River impoundment. Weed growth was at the perfect stage to allow casting to shoreline cover. About 100 yards down the point toward a shallow bay got an 11 inch Smallmouth then a 17 incher that was  bleeding badly before I got a hold of her lip.  The barbless hook came out of her gills easily, I never lifted out of the water and let her go without a photo.  Bluegills were on beds and...

I used Poppers most of the day, all the hits were on variations of White Bob's Bangers. I got 4 nice fish, 1 Pike, two 18 inch Largemouth, a nice Smallmouth along with a smaller 12 inch Largemouth.  I also had a brief hot spurt on the 3/0 White Marabou Banger when I lost 2 good large mouth and got another 18 incher.  The second cast of the early morning with a 5/0 10 inch Wake Banger got hit on a rapid strip retrieve just under the surface.  The beautifully colored pike took it as crossed over the deep drop off from a shallow weed bed...

Big number of hits on Poppers, 5 good bass landed, many more missed, many lost partly due to unusual circumstances.  I screwed up what was probably the Smallmouth of a life time.  No Pike even though I tried. The North Channel of the Saint Clair River often runs crystal clear, today it was dissapointingly cloudy, 5 foot visibility at  best, when the sun got higher you could make out the color of the bottom in 7 feet.   I started with a big 3/0 Chartreuse Marabou Banger.  Casting it to the cottage breakwalls and shallower inlet channels as I drifted down steam. ...

Tough day at the Merrimack River Outlet.  There are 2 kayak launches on the south bays.  Bait can sometime stack up in some of those bays but a strong North wind required a long paddle across to sheltered water.  I fished poppers to various north shore spots by the camp ground, working up toward the mouth aong with my shadow seal.  When the tide turned and started running out, I quickly got myself back in far enough inside to the first survivable eddy.  I anchored and fished Bangers and Clousers out to the current edges.  Some bait, a few peanut bunker began to show...