Lake MI Brown Trout – Versatility = Fish

With forecasted temps in the 50’s and a moderate west winds, I had to pass up working for the day and get some time in on soft water. In search of something that could rip some drag, or possibly put on an arial show, Lake MI was the destination.

Over the last few days, a large low pressure system settled in over Wisconsin and Michigan. Its counter clockwise winds worked like blender to batter the WI shoreline with 5 to 7 foot waves. This left the water looking like a diluted chocolate shake, and the only glimmer of blue was the clearing skies. Thursday, late afternoon the winds finally turned west and the lake began to lay back down. Friday, as we dropped the boat in the 34 degree water, watched a beautiful sunrise over the lake and great anticipation began, even though we had much less than desirable water conditions.

We started in the community hole, amongst a few of the guides known to this area. It didn’t take long to realize that the 8” of visibility was going to play a huge role making us work for our fish. Guys that were fishing spawn near the bottom had steady action from Gobies and Suckers. Throughout the time we were all clustered together, a couple a nice browns were taken on spawn.

As the sun rose higher, the fish seemed to vanish. The first ½ hour was steady marks of fish on the locator. Then like flipping a light switch, they were gone. It was too nice of a day to get discouraged, and the focus became versatility. We all dispersed in search of better water. Some trolled, others continued to soak spawn, and we continued to work a variety of jigs and cranks.
Too often we get stuck on one pattern or lure type, or color. Under the toughest conditions, we have to open our minds to other options. As we try to put the puzzle together, we need to analyze what we need to achieve. Is it something with more scent? Is it a larger profile? Does it need to rattle? Do we need to drag the bottom, or work the upper water column? These are just a few of the questions that help narrow down my lure selection.

With such poor visibility, I had to step away from my favorite hair jigs and proceed through a process of elimination. Flukes and Gulp went untouched regardless of jig weights and profile size. Rattle traps and other cranks didn’t turn them on, even though we saw a few Browns breaching the surface. But the erratic vibration of a glow in the dark blade bait was the ticket. In these conditions, it offered everything I needed to trigger a violent strike.

In fact, most of the strikes were so aggressive, that a hook set was impossible. In nearly every hit, the fish hit while I was lifting the blade in about a 3’ sweep. On impact, I was left with so much slack line as the fish continued to charge toward the surface. With a 7’ medium Quantum supelite rod, I ran out of “swing”. Time after time, as I finally caught up to the fish, I felt the final few head shakes and unbutton. It was fun to have the action and it definitely keeps you on your toes. The b-fish-n tackle B3 Blade baits in ½ oz and a few others in 3/4oz. were worth their weight and then some in Silver and Brown

Hopefully the incoming weather systems will have mercy on us, and let the water conditions clear up. Also, A big thanks to my net-boy Z-Man. As a good host, I offered to hand a rod off to him for a photo opportunity. A very gracious guest – he declined and continued to net my fish. Z- had a great time and we’ll need to do it again.