hey everyone,

i've been reading in on this forum for a while now, and so I figured its about time I joined up.  Just a little to introduce myself: My name is Jake, and I just moved up to Michigan from Illinois. Moving to a different state is tough alone, but when your life is consumed by fishing, moving to another state is downright scary. The first thing I did when I moved up here is buy a sportsmans guide and started trying every little spot I could find. Its a very different place from illinois though. Mostly I have noticed a new fishing location to me. Rivers. I mean yeah there were rivers in Illinois, but I never fished them with all of the decent lakes around. Up here the large lakes all get stocked with salmon and trout. Not to be mean to anyone that fishes for trout or salmon, but for me that just takes all of the fun out of the lake because fishing at any of those lakes has sucked. Anyways, the river is a strange place to me. Fishing for smallies.. I mean I have caught them here and there, but up here they are more abundant in the rivers. I was just hoping I could get some help on some river fishing and smallie fishing up here if anyone has some ideas.  Moving away from the lakes that were my peace is very hard, but hopefully with a little help, i can learn to enjoy what michigan waters have to offer. Just imagine leaving your favorite spots behind! Oh well, thats life. I"m sure there'll be fish in these waters too. Thanks for the help in advance!

Jake

Welcome Jake!!

Man your'e taking this moving thing all wrong!!!

You may not have your favorite spots any more. But you have the opportunity to find new honey holes and favorite spots. Thats the whole fun of fishing finding and trying out new places.

Good luck!!

I look forward to hearing of your success!!

Welcome to the best fishing forum on the net. You will get the info your looking for . I'm sure ROAD WARRIOR will chime in soon on small mouth in rivers. He fishes for them on the Tenn. River.

Welcome

You never know. You might be right around the corner from finding your new favorite spot.

Keep an open mind and enjoy what Michigan has to offer!

Glad to have you.

Hammer

 I've been living where I'm at now for 25 years and I still get the maps out and go to online map sites and just search for bodies of water. Pennsylvania's Fish and Boat website has a list fishing spots by county and I search all the time for spots that I may be going near. Maybe your new state does too.

jake i feel your pain.  i left louisiana lakes for oregon lakes (big change, and the trout fishing in winter was nice when the bass were too cold to catch)  but i got to try out riverfishing for LM ans SM, which in turn has prepared me for fishing rivers here in japan, which are by far more abundant for the angler looking to fish without having to pay!  i too bought a fishing guide (for oregon) and found tons of places with great details that i would have never found by myself, it was an invaluable time saver!

as for rivers look for structure as SM relate to structure more than cover.  current is also a plus.  when i go out on a river im looking for laydowns, rock piles/riprap, or man made/placed structure. as other have said roadwarrior has the best advise on SM fishing, awesome resource!  welcome and good luck!

Welcome!

ROADWARRIOR will soon have your ear, and you'll be asking him what he drinks shortly thereafter.

He will set you straight and get you on the road to smallie river success.  You got lucky on this one, he's our resident expert and a great explainer.

Glad to have you here and good luck.

Catch 'em up.

One thing is for sure, you definetly came to the right place for education. Stick around, I can promise you'll learn a ton.

Jake,

Being a life long resident of Michigan, there are also some outstanding smallie lakes all over michigan. The Great lakes come to mind,  Houghton lake, all kinds of lakes.

Depends on where you live, your probably only about 5 miles from any lake that would provide outstanding bass waters.

Welcome to the forum ;D

Welcome jakeolsen2219,

Welcome to the forum.... ;D

Tight Lines!    

hey jakeolsen2219,

welcome - i'm sure you'll find lots of useful info here. there's quite a few well-informed peeps who are always willing to share.

Welcome!

ROADWARRIOR will soon have your ear, and you'll be asking him what he drinks shortly thereafter.

He will set you straight and get you on the road to smallie river success. You got lucky on this one, he's our resident expert and a great explainer.

Glad to have you here and good luck.

Catch 'em up.

DARN you beat me to it L_B_H i was scrolling down to say talke to RW and i scrolled back up cause i said to myself i bet L_B_H beat me to it hahaha welcome to the board man

welcome to the board. this place is great.

Once you figure it out, you'll wonder why you missed out all those years...there is nothing better than smallies from rivers. When I lived in Virginia for a few years, I spent 95% of my time river fishing. Up here in new England, most of the rivers are considered prime trout water, and the peak season coincides with the black fly season, and I just can't deal with those little.....anyway, I miss river smallies, so I'll just have to chase them in lakes.

Let us know where you are in Michigan...I'm sure some of these guys are from or know your area, and will hook you up with info, and maybe even a trip......

I'm in West Central Michigan for those that asked. Grand Rapids/Holland area. I appreciate all  the hospitality, and I welcome all of your ideas. While we're at it, maybe someone might have some fall tactics for river smallies?

Welcome aboard!  Just wait for Roadwarrior to wake up. He'll have all the smallie advice you need.

Hey Jake!

Welcome aboard! There are lots of good people here and some information that you can apply to your new location. Michigan has plenty of great rivers and lakes, you'll soon be pleasantly surprised finding new "favorite" water to fish. Good luck to you in your new home state.

My #1 recommendation is to hire a guide for a couple of outings on a couple of different rivers. You will learn more in one day with a good guide than anything else you could possibly do. Lures/ bait, current and structure on rivers may all be a little new to you, but you can learn a lot in a very short time.

Start out with the right equipment. My suggestion is a quality spinning rod and reel, medium light or medium power with a fast tip. Spool up some 6 lb test line, it makes a difference. Then hire yourself a guide and go fishing. Your guide will introduce you to lures and techniques that work on his river. That's where I think you begin.

Good luck.