Mbirdsley

spent all morning building a trampoline for my daughter and than hit the saginaw river looking for some bass. I was able to land 2 bass on a war eagle copper and chartreuse spinner bait. I caught 2 really nice northern pike on the rapala mayor black and blue paddle tail swim baits. Caught what i believe will be a MI Department of natural resources MASTER ANGLER 16.25 white bass. i actually caught 5 over 16 inches. Finally the last pike of the day toasted my war eagle spinner bait. Not bad for 3 hrs of fishing. Hopefully i will finally get a master angler patch after all these years. I just submitted the picture and paper work on line. all 3 pike were nice keeper size. I don’t mind catching them if there over 24 inches. I wonder what that first one ate.

I prefer mono with moving baits IE cranks, square bills, spinner baits and chatter baits. I always use mono while throwing spinner baits and chatter baits. now if i had a whipper cranking rod. i would probably go with flouro, co-polymer, or braid. generally speaking i like faster action cranking rods so i can get away with mono. i have 3 rods with mono on them and 2 of 3 have berkley big game in them. My deep cranking rod has suffix mono. if you wanted to use mono on a spinning reel i wouldn’t use big game. i’d probably would use the berkley red box XL or blue box XT.

A new MHX mb854 in dark green metallic was just dropped off at my door along with components. This will be a spinner bait and chatter bait rod with a 6:4:1 curado K reel. however, what’s nice about the mb 843 blanks is that i can bring a extra higher gear reel and have another t-rig, punching, or carolina rod ready to go. im going to use a fugi sk2 reel seat with no for grip which, i bought a nylon winding check that wil fit in the barrel of the sk2 seat. Im using fugi alconite frosted grey guides. im thinking it will be a cork split grip with with green in the cork and vertical cactus on the handle edges. I’m going to do some sort of wrap in the split grip it will be done in my fraternity colors so dark green ( blank) and white (thread ) i also bought a crb thread in lay bobbin. hope i get it done before my twins are born.

probably be alright depending on what flouro and what rod. Some flouro can be springy. if using a Fast action rod you could buy some cheap mono like berkley xt. I like big game for main line but, for a leader i would use XT.

I was able to fish today for a couple of hours. I fished crystal lake in montcalm county. it rained all morning and then when I arrived at the lake it was over cast and slick calm. around 2 o clock the wind picked out of nowhere and than at 3 pm it started raining again at which, I called it a day. it had been spitting and shuddering a little all day. I can handle some ran or some wind but not both. I left my gloves at home seeing how forecast was calling for a 70 degree day. Anyhow, Things are definitely progressing into pre spawn. The 12-14 inch males are roaming in 2-3 ft of water. I did not see any nests made yet. However, i’m sure within the next week they will start to see best building pick up. I was trying to concentrate in 6-8 ft looking for bigger fish. I really wanted to crank and use jerk baits but, with the lake being slick calm that did work. I was able to get one bass on a tube. 1 bass on a michigan rigged bandito bug. the rest including a 22 inch walleye and a small smallie came on a LC LV 500 gold lipless crank. I’d do anything for consistent weather and no wind. the wind has been blowing 15-20 mph for the last week. With the atmosphere this riled up it’s probably going to be scorcher of a summer.

If i think bass should be around the area in with out getting bit I’ll start to pick it apart. once im done with picking it apart and not finding any bass willing to bite i’ll start making big moves and ill throw a some sort of search bait and start blind casting to covering water. i do this untill i catch a fish or find smithing interesting on the sonar.

the do-it walleye jig in 3/4, 1oz and 1.5 oz. The walleye mold that do-it does make only goes to 5/8. I have seen this jig in the above mentioned sizes made by a couple larger jig makers around michigan but, i don’t know if the design is patent or what. nobody really makes anything remotely close. seems like do-it would make a killing for the walleye guys. I just don’t have the funds for a custom mold.

quantum is definitely one of the more under rated reel mfg’s. Every one i’ve ever owned i have liked. especially the spinning reels. if your getting one at that big of a discount i would scoop it up in a heart beat. unless we’re talking about above $250 diawa’s. id take the comparable quantum every day of the week.

yeah i’m missing me some smallie fishing. I want to get at least up to the west branch area before my twins are born in june. Im hoping to be on the saginaw bay some time in the next couple weeks.

if the water is clear i would get a couple translucent colors in what ever you decide. colors like green, olive, shad, blue gill, and perch if you have them.

so this might be a dumb question. i’ve used orginal rapala’s since i was a kid. However, we either used them like crank baits or trolling. because they are made of balsa if you stop moving them they will float right to the surface. so i’m assuming they have to be continuously twitched or no? as jerk bait i’ve not had good success at all with them. I’ve also had success with the originals on rivers where i just let it sit on top of the water and just gently pull the rod tip enough so the bait ever so slightly bobs up and down with just the tinies ripple imaginable.

by depth, size, and by mfg.

thank you. it’s been unseasonably warm here the last 2 weeks. The lake I was fishing on is a decent sized lake but, very shallow. the deepest it gets is 10-12 feet. However, the majority of the lake only anver only 2-4 ft deep. the lake i was on last weekend was only 50-52 degrees.

spurt of the moment fishing trip. I was able to get things done around the house yesterday and this morning. Headed back to duck lake around 11:30 today. Had a pretty good day. the bass and pike started out hitting a terminator spinner bait which, i bought on clearance for $1.99 at northwoods. I caught the biggest bass and pike on that spinner bait. So i’ve really like the idea of the carolina rig. However, our natural weedy lakes kinda make it hard to do. So i’m sure im not the only one to do this. I combined a free rig, mojo rig, and a carolina rig. I call it the Michigan rig. i threw it in a 7ft MH fast mhx mb843 and my shimano slx sc bait caster. the mainline ( probably use what ever you want) was 40 lbs braid run through the loop of a 1/4 oz pencil drop shot lead weight that i pour. i tied a swivel with roughly 14-16 inches of berkley big game 12 lbs mono (. just what i had lying around) with a 2/0 hook. For plastic i used a yum lizard and a summer craw bandito bug. the rig worked really well and is basically weed less. the bottom of duck lake is all weeds. I caught the biggest pike of the day on the rig and than one really nice bass and a couple smaller ones. I need to get something other than big game for the leader. i might pick up some 12 lbs berkley xt. im sure ill be able to use heavier weights. looks like at least on the duck the bass are thinking about spawning the water in this shallow lake was 58 degrees. seems like other than not spawning it feels like we are a month a head of schedule.

I believe that Hobie inteoduced thier floating polarized sun glasses either last year or this winter. Anybody have a pair ? I lost a pair of Costa’s last year to Saginaw bay. Since they float it would be a plus. looks like they retail for around $100. I currently have a pair of oakley’s ( copper lense) and the costa’s ( blue lenses) i lost year. both the oakley and costa’s were plastic lenses so im assuming the hobies would be about the same quality wise.

yes polarized glasses are the real deal. that is the one thing i could not fish with out. If your on a budget get a pair from walmart. Even the cheap ones make a world of difference.

yes. i’ve personally seen small mouths rocket up out of 20 ft of water to smack a jerk bait. water was gin clear.

straight retrieve like a crank or spinner bait. if i wanted to work it like a jig. i’d throw a jig.

Fished a new lake in clare county called 5 lakes. Weather has been wonky. it rained hard all day thursday and friday. we have also had 15-20 mph for the last month. water temp was 51 degrees with an air temp of 75 I nailed this 3 lber ( i’m guessing i forgot my scale it’s between a 2.5-3.0 lber) on my 2nd cast in 4ft of water on a zoom green pumkin tube and 1/8 tube jig. I’m thinking this is going to be a great day. eh, not so much. I’ve come to realize if i catch a fish within the first 5 casts. it’s going to be a long day. That was really about it as far as high lights. I lost a similar sized bass on a spine craw and caught a hammer handle pike on a jerk bait. the wind was fishable but, windier than i wanted it to be. which, ment i had to fish some heavier stuff than i’d really have liked to this time of year. I really wanted to fish the drop off but, i couldn’t hold the boat in position to do so. that’s why they call it fishing and not catching. Forcast for the next 2 weeks does not look good. more wind and rain

yes. generally speaking you will never see more than 2 pair on a lake. on really big lake you may see more pairs. state of michigan has been given the OK to start destroying cormorants by the feds. Problem is there is no funding for it. there is a possible new license an addition to our normal fishing licenses to run as many rods as you want trolling for walleye, salmon, and trout on the great lakes in Michigan waters.the extra $26 per license will go for taking out those nasty birds. the best and most efficient way to do it is to spray down cormorant eggs with some sort oil. They are a huge problem up here but, because they are a migratory bird/duck. it’s all under federal jurisdiction and not with the states.

if you were up here in michigan this time of year i would say it’s probably a water temp issue. bait fish didn’t like the water temp so they left and the bass followed. I don’t know how warm it is down south right now. Fish this time of year up here want the warmest water that they can find. high winds can and will move water temps around to certain sides of the lake. I wonder maybe too if the oxygen levels were low in the area you were fishing in? seems early for that but, weirder things have happened.

no not bad at all. I’m guessing the deeper lakes in the area like Crystal might be around 35-37 degrees. educated guess.

First bass oriented trip of the year. Fished duck lake montcalm co michigan. Duck lake is a good sized lake but, fairly shallow. the lake probably only averages 3-4 feet deep. I’ve started on duck the last 3 seasons as it is one of the fastest lakes to warm up and have decent water temps. water temp was 41-42.2 F. no real pattern. judging by a fat 22 inch pike that i caught the pike havnt even spawned yet. looks like the bass are still in their winter pattern which, on this lake means they are hanging out in 4-6 ft of water. not ready to spawn yet or even thinking about it. caught a couple 16 inch bass a 14 inch bass and a couple pike. the big bass and pike came on a blue gill LC 95 pointer. a couple bass and pike came on a SSR-7 perch shad rap. Had a hammer handle steal my delta craw sr-5 shad rap. My current personal best was caught on that delta shad rap. that was a bummer. however, not bad for the first bass trip of the year.

I agree with DSG. I won’t give them a dime. Phluegar is another one that i refuse to buy any more. I still have 2 president spining reels which, i’ll keep untill they die. one of which, recently came back online after fixing a part in the bail ( waited on the part for 1.5 yrs) . I’ve had 2 phuelgar reels that have had catastrophic terminal failures. I know phuegar doesn’t make reels any more but, I’ve had other Doyo made reels and they are fine. I’ve only been hard core into bass since 2017. i’m sure give it time more will be added to the list.

it’s all pro tech paint except the black which is stamina. top one is blue ice which is disco blue and disco silver 2nd flash purple chartreuse 3rd flash orange 4th flash blue 5th saginaw special. black and disco blue 6th sherbert., flo green, and pink 7th dirty money. black and disco green