A Day on the Water

I got 3 fair fish pretty quick after arriving late morning, all on a 10mm UV yellow Glow Bead I call Hot Musdtard.  The parking lot looked peak crowded but most people were scattered down stream and some were heading back up the stairs.   The brown was a slim 14 inches with some previous damage to the back side jaw where I hooked him on a #4 barbless hook.  The coho was about 28 inches, looked like 9 pounds.  Next fish was a 10 inch rainbow Skipper.   A few more fish on briefly that might have hit and...

I dropped of Salmon Flies to Up North Fly Shops, the went back to small weedy Northern Lake Michigan river mouth lake upstream of a very low bridge.   I fished shorelines only accessible  by back yard docks or remote edges back in the marshes, none of it was easily accessed by public land. From the kayak I cast my 3/0 poppers to the  slightly deeper shoreline trough or to weed edges.  Twice, some  fish moved under the popper, making slight swirls.  Then one hit, a Bowfin.  Somme small bass took the 3/0 Chartreuse PopN Wedge, this one had open...

Forgot the camera so no pictures.  Started with a 2/0 Black Dive Banger that has caught some bass in other water but wasn't doing much to day.  I did hook and lose one decent bass on it.  Switched to the weedless tie of a 3/0 Popping Wedge and began getting hits then and there on the next weed pockets and clumps I cast to.  Lots of bass were in adjacent weedy water that was a lot further from the shore than I usually find them.  They were mostly surprisingly thin and only fought weakly.  Got about 8 fish 14 to...

I fish the shallow delta of the Holland River Mouth lake with a 3/0 Chartreuse Popping Wedge.  They seem to work better if the red rubber legs are cut 1/4 inch shorter like on the purple one.  I think they are a trigger like the external gills on an aquatic salamander or tadpole. These were tied semi weedless with two loops of 25lb fluorocarbon.  Next time I will try 30lb so maybe they will be stiff enough so the hook slides over something more substantial like a fallen cattail frond.  Two loops seem to be good because the fish only...

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...