1st Bass report from the U.P.

Well, the Walleye action on Little Bay de Noc has been poor this spring, so I jumped at the chance to take my good friend Wayne Partica to the inland lakes for Bass. The weather has been extremely cold and water temps are still in the mid 50s! Our first stop was the Michigamme Reservoir near Channing, MI.
No sign of any shoreline pre spawn activity so I zeroed in on extended points and flats near deep water. It didn’t take long for the largemouths to attack the 4” tubes we were pitching… Wayne and I both stuck a couple chunky 1 ½ to 2 lbers in the first 10 minutes… I felt a sharp tap on my line and set the hook with my 7’ Extreme MLF rod. I knew right away this was a Toad! After quite a battle on the 6# fluorocarbon line Wayne slid the net under this hog… just shy off 24” and 7. 39lbs on my scale…WOW!

Some may think fishing Bass on med-med/lite spin rods is crazy but in the gin clear, icy cold Canadian Shield type lakes it is an effective technique…Later in the year, when the cabbage weeds, pads and cover fills in, its back to my baitcaster and traditional set up…for me a quality 12-14lb flourocarbon on a 6’6″ or 7′ MF action rod. Here is a nice 19″ Smallmouth that came later in the afternoon when the bright sun finally warmed things up…this girl on a favorite topwater… baby torpedo.

The day warmed and so did the action…we caught about twenty five bass apiece.. mostly on the Tube jigs. Wayne switched over to a small swim jig and craw and got walloped by this absolute dandy that pushed a solid 5 lbs…

All in all it was a great day on the water…A ton of action with a couple big Toads thrown in. Both big bass were not even near spawning stage. I imagine the spawn will not occur up here for another couple weeks. Morning temps in the 30s to 40s has really kept the water cold… As usual no other fishermen in sight…a very common occurance up here in da U.P.!
Come on up and get away from the crowds and catch some nice bass!