A Day on the Water — Pike Poppers

From mid May to some time mid summer, good sized Largemouth Bass run up a short distance into Saginaw Bay tributaries.  Even the smallest, marginal streams can get good numbers of fish.  There are usually some pike with them that are mostly small to medium sized.  Only occasionally do you find what you would call a big pike.  There are also a few Walleye, Bowfin, Channel Cats, Carp, Sheephead or Gar that show up, sometime in big numbers.  They hit flies like Rabbit Strip Leaches, Poppers or Floating Divers depending on species.  Carp hit oversized Hex Nymphs, and the Gar can...

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...