A Day on the Water

Six days ago, I got lots of hits on poppers from big pike along the shore and big smallmouth out in the current.  That mostly wasn't happening today.  Clearer water, bright sun, no rain, no hatching hexes and apparently the big pike and smallmouth had moved out.  One hit from a sub average smallmouth on a long drift out to the mouth and one 20 inch pike hooked by the shore, both on on a 3/0 White Marabou Banger. I did catch a Largemouth Bass on the White Banger along the shore.  As I fought it, a slightly larger bass...

Low wind forecast, the wind shifted somewhat in direction and intensity, medium riffle to dead calm, offshore to up or down current.  I adjusted tactics and spots to exploit what the weather was doing.  No schools of white bass busting bait.   The hex hatch was on going but hard to tell if it was ramping up or fading out.  I saw no fish feeding on them but got 2 small bass on a #2 Hexy Mop Popper Mostly I was drifting out in the current, casting flashy 3/0 Marabou Bangers straight out across the currrent over 6 to 10...

Started near dawn with no wind and caught some bass and small bluegills in lily pads near deeper water.  There was a big morning hatch of newly emerged Damsel Flies, so the #4 Lime Mist MopWorm popper worked well.  On a shoreline where I have seen isolated Alpha beds, I got some decent Bluegills and a big hybrid right before getting a smaller Pumpkin Seed. Wakeley Kayak Bluegill & Bass Mopworn Poppers I also tried where I had found post spawn, deeper water bluegill bed colonies last summer.  There were a few of the big spawners still there but fishing...

They were still getting Channel Catfish in the Huron River Cutoff channel where I launched at the fishing access site.  The river water was still muddy, the wind was blowing offshore nicely.  Wind drifting out the channel and jerk trolling some big flash Lake Trout streamers near the bottom got nothing.  Trying scented jigs on gear tackle would be a good way to figure out what it will take to get channel cats in deeper water on flies. I got just two bass on a 3/0 Marabou Banger before the wind changed to onshore and the waves made kayak fishing...

The Huron River flows from a chain of clear water natural lakes, often there is a small dam below some of these lakes to raise the the water level a few feet.   This lake has a camp ground launch and another public launch but few houses and about no destructive motor boat traffic.  A couple were leaving with their electric motor John Boat and apparently a bucket of Bluegills on my late morning arrival.  I paddled out to an area of mid lake shallow flats that I had found lots of good sized bedding bluegills years ago.  I found beds...