MFFC Michigan Thumb Smallmouth Outing, (the slow, deep black river)
Thursday I fished a tributary that was on the down wind side of Michigan's Thumb. Near the mouth where I thought I might find a pike. Near the mouth, I started casting a 2/0 Black Banger, a flashy popper I still had on from my last Largemouth and Pike trip. On the third bass hit I hooked this Smallmouth. I ended up getting 17 on that popper and finding where they were concentrated in deeper water.
I switched to flashy #4 Tungsten bead head bucktail that was tied like a Clouser. Oddly, they wanted it in a brisk stripping retrieve high in the water column , no count down to get it near the bottom. I got 35on that.
Tried a larger bead head that got a few and a 2/0 White Banger Do g(diver darter) that took 6 or 8 more before I switched to a 2/0 White Dive Banger and got 21 more on that in the fading light before sun set.. The fish Hitting poppers were bigger but the biggest on the day took the bead head bucktail. The Bullet Dog was hooking every fish down toward the gills and I didn't realize I had not broken off the barb. So I swithched off the White Dive Banger. I took more pictures but the later ones didn't show up on Google Photos.
Fromthe top counter clockwise: #2 Pale Yellow Jiggy, 2/0 White Bullet Dog, 2/0 White Dive Banger, 2/0 Black Dive Banger, #4 White-Brown Bead Head Jiggy. #4 White-Chartteuse Bead Head Jiggy, 2/0 White Stealth Diver