A Day on the Water

I was expecting to fish deep water even though the lake levels had dropped over a foot from last year.  I was rigged with a clear intermediate slow sinking line. (A type 3 shooting Head works better). Lead eye Clousers or a similarly tied Tungsten bead head pattern would get down deep enough if counted down long enough before retrieving. In the lower Pinnebog River a few spin fishermen were catching fish on the east bank.  I had kayaked in so I landed on the west bank and mostly had that to myself.  I was averaging pretty close to 2...

On this club trip to the tip of the Thumb, I fish a lot of spots from the Quaniccasee River to Light House Park on the other side of Grindstone City.  Thursday, day one, Quanicassee is the first stop where I fly fish top water poppers for Large Mouth Bass and an occasional Pike bonus or curse.  The afternoon or evening I will try Caseville Pier for mainly Smallmouth on flashy Clousers or similar Bead Head bucktail streamer flies that fish hook point up.  The Caseville Harbor camera just showed a couple of guys casting at the mouth and one...

I have the new KoreaSun 7023BN 1X Strong curved nymph hook sizes #6 down to #14.  Straight eye, nice curved shank and long points with the barb well forward of the bend to hold fish well.  Points are long enough to hold fish well if the barbs are bent down or broken off. I also got in more sizes of KoreaSun trout hooks $4.00 per 50pack: 7023BN straight eye heavy wire long point Curved Nymph Size #6 down to #14 7018BN straight eye curved shank Klinkhamer Emerger now #6 down to #18 7052 down eye Curved Light Wire Scud now...

About 3:30 PM hit the Clinton River Cutoff Mouth.  Dark, drizzling, cold and the wind was cooperating.  But the rain had muddied the Clinton River had turned the bay to the color of strong coffee with cream.  Fished a hot spot with a 5/0 White Dive Banger ripping it in hard pops to try to get noticed.  Same in the near shore corner of the old boat launch bay. Out the long rip rap Break wall on the far east of the bay had better water clarity but no bait fish seen and not one fish moved to 5/0 or...

Sand Hill Crane Foraging on left, Eagle Nest on Right.  In the first patch of cattail cover, I  took the first Pike, a crappie and the first bass on a 4 inch 1/0 White Bead Head Jiggy Bucktail fly pattern.  Moving to the the long rip rap dike, I hooked and lost a few more Bass. Long Dyke neat the Boat Ramp looking West. I paddled up wind to the shallow end of the Dyke and switched to a floating 3/0 Silver-White Dive Banger popper. That got hit regularly and I got the biggest pike of the day and the best...