I originally may have thought that 2015 was going to be my year for muskies, but it didn't really turn out that way. I caught a few, I saw many more, I had my lure inside a giant's mouth without somehow hooking up, and I spent many hours in their pursuit. I enjoyed it all, and I'll be back at it again in 2016. But for me, I think my 2015 fishing turned out to be almost all about those bass.
Largemouths
An unexpected, quickly enacted change in Michigan's fishing seasons enabled the early pursuit of bass. Michigan's bass season has historically opened on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. The first liberalization of this traditional season (circa 1989) was the experimental opening of a very limited number of lakes to catch and release bass fishing starting on April 1. These were the waters I frequented, because the fishing was familiar, uncrowded and could be pretty good. But the weather could be miserable, and once Spring actually arrived, there were so many non-bass options! The second liberalization (six or eight years ago) dropped this early start in favor of opening all the inland waters of the Lower Peninsula to catch and release bassing on the last Saturday in April. This got rid of the problem of those who were "pike" or "walleye" fishing from their bass boats and such, and made early-season bass much more accessible, for the price of those first few weeks in April. I've experienced some awesome fishing during this season, and in fact, did much of my hard-core bassing in this early season (that is, before I got distracted by other fishing opportunities.)
So, I was surprised when in April 2015, it was simply announced that bass season was now open year-round, but that all fishing from January 1 to the Friday before Memorial Day was strict catch and release. Later that week I was on a local lake and got a shallow, pre-spawn lunker with a good friend. It got my season off to a great start, and I know I'm going to like this opportunity; and, I think it's going to be awesome for my future smallie fishing (see below.)
This was also the year that my buddy DC moved into his new home on Whitefish Lake; and his good fortune (and generous, welcoming nature) was my ticket to easily accessing and fishing this pretty decent bass lake. We did so several times over the season, and I hope to do so again in future years. We didn't catch any giants together, but we caught a lot of decent to very decent bass; and the action was always good enough that it was fun to experiment and try new baits techniques. Fishing this water with DC will likely be my Proving Grounds for new baits and techniques in the future; it's a great confidence booster to be on fish with such regularity.
And I've only mentioned one of the big bass I caught this season; there were some very nice crank bait fish from Reeds Lake and the biggest of the season (over 5, but likely not 6 pounds) was a pure bonus; it ate a Medussa Big Rubber bait while I was fishing for muskies. This kid from Rhode Island, who had over the years largely gotten away from serious bass fishing (again, all those other fishing distractions here!), isn't used to encountering that many really nice bass in a season.
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| Nice, early-season LMB on a crank from Reeds Lake. |
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| This girl inhaled my Rapala DT3. |
These are the fish that bring me back to my youth, and with which I fell in love with fishing. There's a simplistic purity to fishing for green bass; they feel like home to me. They're not the biggest, most beautiful, or toughest; but they are my most comfortable and familiar quarry.
Stripers
I was fortunate to make it back to New England (twice!) this past summer, and the stripers were there for me. Whew! I had missed 2014 entirely, so it had been too long since our last acquaintance, and since my time this year was limited again, I knew I simply would have to accept whatever conditions I arrived to. But I was lucky to catch some favorable tides, to make some bait, and to have some packs of marauding stripers swim by. Amazingly enough, I caught some really nice fish that were perfectly matched to my tackle; these will tide me over until 2016, when maybe I can be a little more serious in my pursuit of these fish.
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| My first nice striper in a long time! |
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| Stripers are the perfect Catch and Release quarry. |
Smallmouths
More than anything, I think this season re-ignited my love for brown bass. While Michigan is a Mecca for World Class Smallmouth Bass Fishing, I'd have to say that Central West Michigan... is less so. We have smallies in many waters, but to access the bass you see on TV, you have to travel a few hours or more. I'd gotten away from that over the years, but this year I had the time to do a few things. I executed trips to fish Lake St. Clair, Traverse Bay of Lake Michigan, and select Northern Michigan waters. Each trip and body of water payed off with fine smallmouth fishing! In fact, the fishing was easier than it was to simply arrange my arrival at any of these spots; and there are many other opportunities within a slightly larger travel radius.
Lake St. Clair; might have provided the best fishing in the sense of biggest bags and being on fish all the time. I stumbled on the first group of fish just by using common sense and available cues; I was able to upgrade through refinement, and I was able to find another group of quality fish, just because I simply tried. The setting and the drive are a little bit more urban than I'd like, but once I'm there, I could care less about that!
The bass I found were just post-spawn, and any soft plastic presentation shined; I need to get a landing net (it will pay for itself) before I go next year, because I lost a fair number of tubes and Ned Rigs as I got careless about lifting, lipping and (in general) landing these fish.
I can only imagine how good the pre-spawn fishing might be. I look forward to searching with jerk baits and taking advantage of the aggression of these fish!
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| Not a great picture, but one of many fine LSC smallies! |
North Lake Leelanau; offered perhaps my single best day of fishing, but I may not ever hit this lake at just the right time again. Conditions were exactly as I had hoped, and the fish were more numerous and larger than I could have hoped. Again, no giants were encountered (perhaps they'd be more available a bit earlier in pre-spawn?), but I found solid fish after solid fish. The fishing just got better as the day progressed. It will be interesting to see what I can do with this lake in the future and with a little more experience there under my belt.
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| The NLL smallies were beautifully golden, and plentiful! |
East Bay of Traverse Bay; was perhaps the toughest to fish and provided perhaps the smallest average size, but clearly offered the highest quality total experience. Unlimited, uncrowded clear water; bass in three feet of water and in 50+ feet of water at the same time; sight fishing the flats, searching with top-waters, grubbing for monsters or drop-shotting; and pretty much unlimited size potential for the bass. What's to complain about?
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| 7 AM; Red Sky in Morning, sailors take Warning! |
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| I missed out on this for too many years! |
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| 9 AM; conditions can change quickly on the Great Lakes! |
My smallmouth game to a giant leap forward this year, and I hope to build on that in 2016. There are other Norther Michigan waters to try (or in many cases, re-visit); Hubbard Lake coughed up a 9+ pounder for a new state record this fall; and there's always Door County, Wisconsin to consider. I'll have many choices, let's hope I make the right ones.
But Let's Not Forget About...
But wait, there's more! Of course, I enjoyed and will need to incorporate all sorts of other experiences into my future fishing.
Salmon; we'll see what 2016 Brings. With little pelagic bait, the Kings have been suffering, and nobody knows to what extent they'll be available in the near term future. Of course, there will be trout, but it's the King that drives this fishery. We did well in our return to tournament fishing, and one of the biggest decisions of next year (especially in the late spring) might be defending our success in the 2016 Salmon Circuit, or chasing smallies.
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| Tournament Fishing, again! |
Brown Trout; I've always loved the spring Brown Trout fishery here, and I usually start my boating season in their pursuit. But now I've gotten a taste of the other-worldly brown trout fishing in Milwaukee; and I have to do some more of that. So whether it's in the spring for numbers, in the summer with the wind at our back and cold waters in the harbor, or in the fall/winter, casting/trolling, chasing these browns just makes sense if I have the time.
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| A fine Milwaukee Brown Trout; last of the day, but I plan for there to many more in my future. |
Muskellunge; chasing these fish is in my blood and I will continue to do so. They are a time sink, but that is all forgotten when one appears. I'm enjoying the learning curve, and I've got much improvement ahead of me. Perhaps I need to expand my list of waters, and perhaps I need to go somewhere where it's not quite a marginal proposition. I know I need to get others in the boat with me, and I know that if something Really Cool happens on the water, it might involve a muskie. I've enjoyed the fish I've caught; but it is the fish I've lost that have had the biggest influence on my love for this sport.
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| One of my three 2015 Muskie Releases. |
New Friends; 2015 introduced me to a few new fishing buddies. I appreciate their generosity, enthusiasm and company. Here's to more with them in the future; and here's to more of them, too.
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| Dr. M on the Dog Day |
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| SB |
