Lake Michigamme Smallies heating up…6-8-04

Like it or not I have to switch over from Walleye to Bass, Pike, and Musky fishing( I can think of a lot tougher decisions in life!) My fishing partner Rich Clare hails from Palatine,Ill and LOVES Smallies. We headed for Lake Michigamme, a large relatively shallow flowage in the north-central region of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The water is still very cool and the pre spawn is just getting going. I headed for the western side of the lake where the Sun would warm the shallows sooner. This activates the abundant crayfish, minnows and bug larvae. I started Rich off with a BFishN Tackle Smoke/Red Flake Chunky Butt tube while I fished shallow with a Zoom Super Salty Fluke on a 3/0 Gamakatsu offset worm hook. Please consider pinching the barb down when fishing pre spawn/spawn bass. You still catch them but cut way down on the injured fish. Rich pitched his tube near a small gravel bar and was into a battling Bronzeback immediately!

I netted the first of dozens of scrappy males in the 13 to 16 inch class. They were hanging tight to the first break from the gravel shoreline in about 4 to 8 feet of water. We rounded the point into a woody bay. I cast a purple/pearl superfluke tight to a logjam and gave it a twitch…Slooosh!…I reared back on the 7 foot Avid and another bronze beauty jetted into the air!( note the superfluke still hangin on,)

If you notice in the backround of these photos we were totally alone on 60-70 miles of public water! This is the Upper Peninsula experience gang…there is rarely, rarely more than a handful of boats on any of the inland lakes or reserviors, and the Bass and Pike fishing is terrific. My plastic jerkbait continued to get simply hammered…on nearly every cast…but still nothing over 2 1/2 lbs. Rich could resist no longer and grabbed for my bag of Flukes.

I spotted a huge old stump with a shady hole next to it and dropped the Fluke right on it…A HUGE BOIL…Missed it!!! I told Rich to pitch right back in there…he was on target and his light spinning rod buckled and the drag screamed…a huge 20+inch Smallie cartwheeled into the air! What a video that would have been! Unfortunately for Rich as she crashed back into the water his hook sailed out. I was disappointed but Rich winked and said, “quick release!”
Rich tied on a new lure and I tried to take a photo to include the miles and miles of pristine shoreline waiting for fisherman. The next few weeks should be awesome! The water is high and the bass will be feeding heavily in the cover…a surface fisherman’s fondest dream!
Get out and get fishing!