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A nice combination is walleye and smallmouth.  Pictured is a 6.76 lb walleye and a 3 lb. smallie.

If this were a spawning fish it would be easy to understand.  However it was a fish feeding in about 17 feet of water.  A wolfpack of smallies had chased a school of 4 inch baitfish onto a point.  One of my clients hooked and broke off using a dropshot rig on a decent fish.

Two casts later he caught the fish with the dropshot hook in the corner of its mouth.  And it was spitting up eaten minnows.  That is AGGRESSIVE!

Thanks to all the supporting businesses that keep us afloat.  Just to mention a few…

Basscat Boats     Mercury Marine     Lew’s Reels     Fishing Complete, Inc.             Sherm’s Marine     All Seasons Resort (Kalkaska)                                                  Jack’s Sporting Goods (Kalkaska)     Powell Rods 

More coming on board soon!

A half day trip to the big water on the busiest day of the year could have been more trouble than fun.  However, the boat ramps were used efficiently and it appeared all went well.  After helping a family with a dead battery, I was off to prepare for my next two groups of clients early next week.

It was fun.  I think that I caught three stages of fish:  prespawn, spawning, and post spawn.  I accomplished this by moving a few miles north/south to find the different conditions.  The biggest fish was a 20.5 incher that I did not weigh as I wanted to get it back in the water ASAP.

Looking forward to Monday’s group…

It is that time.  Make your choice–relaxing deepwater fishing or physical, high impact strikes via the spinnerbait.  Or maybe a half day of each.

A half day trip on an inland lake in the TC area proved to be a good time.  High winds for three days kept us off our big water hotspot but we made the most of it on a wind-protected lake.  Good fishermen in our boat today!

Many are attracted by the bed fishing extravaganza.  Media has helped to educate many on this type of fishing.

We do not want people to think that this is the only time to come up here.

My personal preference is when the spawn is over.  We then have three months of stable, relaxing deep-water fishing.  Our biggest numbers come during this time.  Many of our clients prefer July through October fishing after spending a day with us during this period.

Jay and Brad were up for two days of smallmouth fishing.  Day one was a trip where the bait had to be put right on the fish’s nose.  We boated 35 or so fish with 3.5 pounder the biggest boated.  Jay had lost one over 5 pounds.

Day Two was a different story.  We boated over 100 fish with most of them between 2 and 4 pounds.  The fish were so aggressive we had to use big baits to guarantee no deep hook-ups.

As we have said, “Weather is our biggest obstacle.”

During 25 mph NW winds the spinnerbait was the best option for our two to four pound smallies.  However, we ran into the “bully on the block”.  After the long hard fight, the very tired musky was kept in the water but held along side for a crude length measurement.  Without leaving the water, the very old fish slowly swam off.

Friday:  28 mph north winds;

Sunday:  40 mph southerly gusts;

Monday:  Calm and enjoyable;

Tuesday:  A.M. storms;

Wednesday:  A.M. storms;

This is what our last guests faced.  Again, the weather is our biggest obstacle.  One half day of 25 smallies.  Another half day of 35 or so.  Wednesday, gave us over 40 smallies and largemouth after the storms passed through.  Not up to our normal standards but our group fished hard and made the most of the bad weather.  Lots of pike, many rock bass, and even one of the big muskies this area is known for.