20180904-Slow Bite at Wixom Lake

There is only so much success that can be achieved when all the odds are stacked against… with gorgeous summer weather staring back at me I set out on the closest launch for a short trip during a Lull.Period as well as Low FAL scores.

I take advantage of the weather and who doesn’t enjoy the art of the cast? It’s getting out there that is very enjoyable to me. In baseball, if you want to become a great hitter, you face yourself against the toughest pitchers. It’s like that in any sport! If you want to be a better fisherman, fish the tough bite days. Something my Dad used to say.

While enjoying the short ride to the first waypoint I study the sonar and observe very few targets… only some suspended fish here and there… I’m thinking the fish are in a neutral mood and will be tight to cover or close to the bottom.

I make a swing closer to shore to do a perimeter check in the shallows for signs of life… after observing a short stretch I notice many Lepomis under the 6” slot.

I decide to target B.Crappie along the second break deep weed line. Shortly I score with a couple between 10 and 12” a couple short B.Gills and the bite turned completely off.

Since this was scheduled to be a short trip… I picked up anchor and did a short recon trip up a cut in the reservoir to check on a spot.

8 fish during the Lull.Period I guess I felt lucky… and lucky to have spent a bit of time on the lake.

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20180902-Feeling Like a Guide

Days like today I really appreciate fishing… I’m feeling like a guide being able to take friends and family on the lake and putting us on the bite.

Beautiful summer weather in the mid 80’s way above normal for this time of year on the Michigan tundra. Water temps still at summer peak levels in the low to mid 70’s, slight breeze and clear skies. We made our way to some of our favorite waypoints.

Dennis is very familiar with this lake with a history of slamming the jumbo crappies with a 1/32 oz swimbait and also tagging a very nice trophy certificate P.Seed for the books last season.

Zack, first timer on this lake, was able to tag quite a few fish with the swimbait and also a few fish on the slip/float/fly/waxie in a shallow weedy cove.

After about an hours worth of fishing, I dropped them off at the launch and finished the afternoon Minor.Period with a very good bite even with the FAL levels at mid-teens.

Good time with family, and fishing … nothing better.

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20180615- Allen Morgan Tungsten Fly Tags the Master Angler B.Gill Highlight Bait of the Day!

20180615- Allen Morgan Tungsten Fly Tags the Master Angler B.Gill Highlight Bait of the Day!

Fishing the three days of the Full/New Moon has always been a successful pattern of fishing for me, nailing the Master Angler tags… I was still reeling over the Master Angler Tag just two days ago the day before the New Moon I decide to fish the same lake with the same methods… right?

I set sites on today’s trip for a potential repeat performance So using the same rod bundle from just two days ago I set out on a beautiful spring afternoon to hit the Major.Period, Same lake same methods. Water temps at 77°slight north wind, clear skies looking for the mid afternoon bite… not another fisherman in sight on this typically highly fishing-pressured lake.

I timed the trip to be on my waypoints at just the beginning of the Major.Period which would last about 3 hours. The Major.Period started at 13:06 and lasted thru 16:06.

I started long-casting the Allen Morgan Tungsten Ice Fly (Pink) tipped with a Ping GULP Waxie. I immediately started tagging large Lepomis straight away with lunker class mixed in.

The first Trophy Bull B.Gill 10” class hit at 14:57, then the Master Angler B.Gill soon followed at 15:36 then the trophy P.Seed followed at 16:36. Just an outstanding trip! I was literally shaking the whole time out there.

Definitely a trip to remember!

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20180603-Found the fish despite the weather. 

I waited out the lingering morning cold showers and headed out to one of my favorite lakes… I was at the launch in less than a half hour when a pop up shower delayed me for about 20 mins cutting into my Major.Period of fishing. Once the shower quit I was on my first waypoint quickly.

Once settled in tagging fish the wind kicked up to the point white caps were causing havoc with my methods and boat control. i fished thru another cold shower. Slip/floating was out of the question. Long-casting the UL jigs seemed to be the viable option only when casting with the wind. So positioning the boat multiple times to scour an area was also required.

I was amazed even with a slight bow in the line was able to pick up on the hit with the GLISS and Nanofil lines... just amazing.

Water temps were dropped to the mid 70’s and air temps in the low 60’s. the fish were on the spots hitting the bait in tune with the solunar Major.Period. at times it was fish on every cast taken. The fish were eater slot in quality for the majority with a handful of Michigan Lunker 9” class.

The majority of the fish were hens without eggs leading me to believe some spawning took place recently during the last full moon of May 29^th… with an avg of 4 or 5 days on the bed spawning for the month has finished up… I believe a larger major spawn will occur in the New Moon and Full Moon of June.

With fast and furious action of feeding fish during solunar periods I prefer the Long-Cast/UL Jigs to cover more water quicker than the live bait options. The time loading and reloading live bait cuts my production usually by half in the same period of time.

Short term forecast shows the cold front will linger for a few days further dropping water temps till next week. I still like being on the water to monitor productivity data even during the predictable poorer fishing periods.

after all the dust settled ;>) i was over 60 fish count for the day!... another multiple limit day!... of course all CPR'ed

… continued good fishing everyone!

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"Brown Water Blues"

    20180505-"Brown Water Blues"

    my son Kenny gives me a call and asks if I have time to take him fishing on a quick trip. I absolutely responded Yes and quickly checked the “Fishing Points App” and realized we would be fishing the Lull.Period. we quickly launched at the most efficient launch site and made it out on the main lake and noticed visibility was mere inches after the t’storms the past couple nights.

    Our plan was to head up the lake and fish the cuts hoping the visibility would be much better. The main lake measured 62°. Once in the cut we knew we would be in trouble when we noticed the visibility was not any better. I call it brown water blues.

    I launched a couple slip/float rigs as well as thru the swim jigs with no bites. Kenny stuck with the jigs and landed a decent B.Crappie. The water temp in the cut and canal was 64°. The water temps and time of year were correct but could not get the fish to bite. I’m sure the facts that two important variables were working against us… the brown water and the Lull.Period.

    We headed back to the launch where water clarity was significantly better where Kenny quickly tagged a young N.Pike with some fight.

    We called the trip shortly after landing the n.pike battle beaten by weather, water conditions and solunar lack of activity.

20180504-High winds warning

20180504-High winds warning till 18:00 cant catch a break weather-wise… seems I’m always fighting the extremes.

Walked down to the bridge and cast UL jigs into the brown water white caps. Water will clear in a couple days after the t storms last night. Strong current thru the bridge… the fish avoid. So fishing will be a bit negative for awhile.

20180502-Shallow at the Bank Pattern continues

20180502-Shallow at the Bank Pattern continues

timed a short trip on a Major.Period… put in at the launch with 15 mph sustained and 20-25 mph gusts. I figured I would ride through all this chop to a shallow bay across the lake. This is the bay Earl tagged his Master Angle B.Crappie. I would basically pick up where we left off just a few days later.

The water temps picked up to just over 60° basically moving us into the pre-spawn period for B.Gills and many other panfish.

After an hour scouring the shallow bay I could not buy a panfish. Another boat with 2 anglers entered the bay and informed me they were going on their third hour without a hit! The cold front over the weekend really did a number … but the temps rebounded to almost normal for the season the past two days.

With little else in protected waters from the wind I set-off to discover a bite along the windward side of the lake. I could not spot a fish on sonar... I could not tempt a strike.

Moving between a pair of small stump lined islands I tagged a few small Y.Perch and a Junior N.Pike… got the blood going a little… all long casting/.016oz jig/Lil Minnow or waxie.

With the period nearly ending I tried one last little cut on the way to the launch. I have passed this little bay dozens of times through the years and I have never been tempted to test the waters within.

As I eased into the bay I looked on the contour map and noticed 4-6 feet was avg and maximum for the depth. I scanned for fish and noticed nothing. I fan casted my way into the bay without a bite. I took a long cast with the slip-float/Pink Waxie to some floating debri between some short docks and immediately hooked into a short R.Bass 5ft from shore. The shoreline was clean and lined with seawalls and is one of the main reasons the bay never interested me before. I noticed 64° water temps over 3° more than the rest of the lake.

I found a bite at the furthest end of the bay along a sandy bottomed area next to the seawall. One panfish after another with a nice lunker P.Seed with beautiful coloring in the mix. The Long-Cast/.016oz Jig/Lil Minnow or Pink waxie were the top baits.

My time was up and I had to leave the bite and make my way to the launch barely making a showing for the trip. i was thankful to finally find fish ... any fish! even though there were just a few and many were small i felt relieved just to get on any bite... the lunker p.seed was the cake.

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