michiganoutdoorsman

My dad and I made it out this past weekend, it was pretty windy and quite cold. It was so slow, I’m not sure if the rain had them tight mouthed or if we just weren’t where we needed to be. First bass trip of the year and I was just happy to be out. I got to try out my new Garmin 106sv’s and they worked awesome! Water was 45.5°-47°. We fished for a few hours until I finally caught about a 2 pounder. It felt great to land the first bass of the season. Not 10 minutes later my dad hooks up, then I hooked up 2 seconds later! With both of us hooked up, I couldn’t believe we had a double with how slow it had been. My fish felt pretty solid, and it fought pretty well. I was happy to reach down and pull this big girl in the boat! My dad’s was quite a bit smaller than this one. We fished for a bit longer before calling it a day because we were getting beat up by the wind. Can’t wait to see what this season has in store! I’ve got LSC and GTB on the bucket list to hit this year and plan to go after I tag out on a turkey. Hope everyone has a great bass season!

Right. I know how it works, he bought a rod last year doing the 1 for 1 swap. I personally don’t buy much from Cabela’s these days but he likes to shop around so I go with just to spend time together. I might buy some plastics or terminal tackle while I’m there.

I think he might try to take advantage of the Cabela’s sale right now! He’s got some gift cards and old rods he wants to turn in. Should get a nice rod for cheap.

I appreciate the insight, everyone. I’ll pass some of these along to him and see what he thinks.

Hi all, My dad is looking for a finesse baitcast setup like the title says. He’s so set in his ways that he can’t learn how to use a spinning setup, no matter how hard I try. He just can’t get used to the feel and he’s set in his ways. Anyone got a rod recommendation for around $100? He doesn’t want to spend a ton as he’s on a fixed income (retired) and would then obviously buy a baitcast reel as well. I’m open to recommendations on that as well. He’s pushing 70 and has been using baitcasters all his life so I guess there’s no changing him now. Thanks for any help!! michiganoutdoorsman

That is a bit scary. I have heard that when management changed a number of years ago a lot of people started to have trouble with customer service and their boats.

I’ll continue researching and I know it’ll be a few years. Us men like to dream ? That’s all it is for now. I know I’ll need to get more experience with bigger water and what not, but I’d like to maximize my chances for a quality boat as well as being as safe as possible. Thanks fellas.

Appreciate the insight and information everyone. Airshot, to answer your question, I'm not willing to chance it much lol. I don't push the limits too often. I don't fish if I think I'll be risking anything. Like I said, just searching around for my next boat is all. We'll see what I end up with in the coming years.

I totally get that. I don’t fish crazy weather too often. I do know that at times the weatherman is wrong with his wind speed predictions and sometimes an unexpected storm can come on in an instant. I was just curious if anyone had experience with it in moderately rough waters.

I like how the Lund Renegade (1875, 1975) is laid out, but can’t find much on how they do in bigger waters. I know it’s an aluminum, it’s lighter and will not handle rough water as well as glass. I have searched far and wide and find guys love them, but never say how they are on bigger water. It would occasionally be on Grand Traverse Bay, the glacial bodies of water in the greater Traverse City area, and LSC. I’m not currently going to buy a new boat right now as I just bought my Lund Rebel last year. But in the next few years I’d like to upgrade. I would love a Pro V Bass, but that’s crazy expensive for me right now. Should I consider the Renegade for what I’d like to do, or should I look at older, more reputable glass boats? I would consider looking at Ranger, Skeeter, Triton, etc. for a new (old) boat. And if I could find a Phoenix for the right price maybe that also, but I doubt that I’d be able to track one down that would be in the price range I’d have. Thanks!

I had a 13 fishing combo I got as a gift, never really liked it much. Reel was decent, rod sucked. After that it kinda turned me off from their products. Maybe I should’ve given them more of a chance, but I stuck to the bigger names for most of my rods and reels. We’ll see how this one pans out for the brand and the industry.

I remember when my dad was all up in arms about gobies making their way into the great lakes, as well as even the inland lakes. I was in elementary school and he was so concerned about them. He (like a lot of people) thought that they would invade fish beds and fish populations would take a hit. He also hated on the zebra mussels. Fast forward to now, and he thinks they're the best thing that could've happened to our Michigan waters. The quality of fish in our state has exploded ? It has made it fun to chase these monsters. Having said that, I'd think LSC has got to be up there with the best of them. Seems like a lot of fisheries have taken off the last few years, though. Never been out of state so I can't speak to that.

Well, unfortunately I’m back home. Had a great couple days of R&R. Lake Bellaire is a pretty cool lake and I enjoyed seeing how much wood there really is in the torch river and the stump field at Skegemog. Would’ve liked to have caught a few more, but no complaints from me. I’m gonna have to make another trip up there before the year is over. Biggest bummer of the trip is my trolling motor took a crap on me so I think I’m gonna have to figure out the wiring situation I think. Other than that, a fun 3 days in northern Michigan!

Thanks, everyone! Seems like a great group of guys.

Well, my father in law caught a solid 4 pound or so smallmouth today. Didn’t have a scale and not exactly sure how to post pics here, but it was awesome to see! Fish were hard to find but we caught roughly 10 smallies today with most being smaller 1-2 pound fish. Seeing him land that big fish made my day though. Couple more days left of the mini vacation!

He will be fine I think. He’s got a slight limp, but I’m going the no surgery route. He had surgery on his other leg and that was a miserable recovery and he was never the same after that. I have seen great results from other people about their dogs recovering without surgery, but it could be 6-8 months. Just want him to live out his final years happy and healthy and riding in the boat with me and following me around the house.

I'll definitely give it my best effort the next couple days. I realize that it could be a crap shoot this time of the year, but being on the water and away from work with family is already a win in my book. I think I'm gonna have to give fall smallies a try this year and duck hunt a little less. My 9 year old black lab blew out his other ACL 2 months ago so he's pretty much retired and I know I won't have the desire to hunt much without my best friend by my side. Hoping it gets to the point where he can jump back in the boat with me and go fishing again.

As the name suggests, I’m michiganoutdoorsman. I’ve been fishing for basically my entire life. My dad got me started when I was about 3-4, and I’ve been hooked ever since. My best childhood memories were on the water with my old man. I fished every chance I had, up until I picked up waterfowl hunting. About the time I hit high school, I switched gears and was all about hunting. Couldn’t get enough of ducks and turkeys. Killed a lot of those and lost sight of bass fishing. I’d go every now and then, but not nearly as much as I once did. Then my dad sold his old bass tracker and we didn’t spend that quality time together like we used to. Then last year I went fishing with my buddy on his old bass tracker and pounded the gills on their beds. I realized how much I missed fishing in general. I set out to look for a boat and settled on a 2011 Lund Rebel, and have owned that for almost a year now. I’m all in on bass fishing again and have spent way too much money these past few months on new rod and reel setups, tackle, etc. Now I’m wishing I would’ve just bought a bass boat but I’m thankful for what I have and a bass boat will come in the next few years I’m sure. The Lund handles rough waters pretty well and I can get on bigger water with it being a deep v. I enjoy smallmouth fishing the most, but I don’t discriminate and grew up hammering largemouth with my dad spring through fall when I was younger. I also enjoy a good perch and crappie bite, and big brown trout on the rivers in the spring! I have learned a lot from lurking the last year or so, and look forward to building rapport and relationships with the great people on this site. michiganoutdoorsman

Thanks! I know how busy those lakes can get so I will be out early. Leaving the house when it’s dark to get out as the sun is crowning up. I might try Bellaire or Intermediate also. My father in law wants to try Torch but that intimidates me for some reason. I appreciate the help!

Hi all, long time lurker and finally decided to join the forums. I took many years off from bass fishing to pursue hunting 24/7. I realized a large part of me missed chasing bass like I used to with my dad, so I bought a Lund Rebel last summer and have fallen in love with fishing again. Now I want a bass boat but that's for a story for a different time. I'm headed up to stay with my wife's family in Bellaire on Torch Lake for a few days this week. I'm probably going to fish Elk Lake to start, my question is this; what would you guys typically fish for lures this time of year? I haven't fished Elk Lake in probably 10-12 years, since high school. Not looking for where to start, but what you would start with. Thanks for any and all help! michiganoutdoorsman