A Day on the Water

  Wakely Lake is a long drive and a long way to drag a kayak full of fly gear just to land a few (6) bass12 to 16 inches.  I was busy with many smaller  bass, a couple bluegills and a pumpkinseed.    The best pattern was to cast Poppers to lily pad edges across deep, scattered, upward growing pond weed.  Then 3 pops and a pause.  Today, like last week, a Lime Chartreuse Bug Popper pattern was much better than black.  Fishing deep with a bead head Clouser (Popovic's Jiggy) in Chartreuse and White got a small pike and fast action on...

Wakey Lake is off road catch & release fishing for Large Mouth Bass, Bluegills, with an occasional Pike.  It is known for large bass stalking your kayak, waiting to grab a small fish you hook, injure or release. Fishing down the wooded shoreline by the campground, I hooked a 6 inch bass.  I skipped him across the surface of the mixed lily pad - bull rush weed cover.  He was easy to unhook off the Barbless #4 HookUp Choker Popper and I flipped him off to the side.  Didn't hear him hit the water but I heard a big Bass...

Returned to North Channel of the Saint Clair River Delta, and found largemouth in shallower side pockets without current who were willing to hit 3/0 or 2/0 White-Silver Bob's Banger poppers or a #2 White-Opal Bead head Jiggy Bucktail.  The water was very clear and 16 inches lower than last years extremely high levels.  When I blundered into some shallows, several largemouth (Some very Big) would come out of hiding and just casually mill about as if curious or not much afraid.  A couple of these sucked the White Jiggy Bucktail off the bottom after it was flipped ahead of...

I fished the Tahquamenon River in very low and relatively clear water conditions.  I used poppers to get 2 muskies 33 and 28 inches. I saw 2 followers I could not get to strike and saw a fifth suspended in 4  feet of water.  I also got small to medium pike and some hits from smallmouth.  In the clearer water, 6 inch 4/0 Bob's Banger poppers or similar Popping Divers in White or Chartreuse were getting hit and they cast well in the windy conditions.  I regret not trying streamers.

My secret Bluegill pond used to have very big Bluegills.  I have been seeing blue worm containers littering the banks for the last few years.  I am worried the big ones are gone and the gene pool is headed toward smaller Bluegills forever.   Fish were hitting a prototype #6 Black Bluegill Choker and getting hooked well, only a few hooked deep.  The foam head needed to be a bit bigger so it floats higher and the larger head momentarily can catch on the outside of their mouths so they can be hooked before they can gobble it down deep.  This...