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Date: May 19, 2018 Body of Water: East Arm of Grand Traverse Bay Boat: Numenon With: BL Target: Smallmouth Bass Time: 9:30 AM - 4:30 PM Conditions: Rain; Fog; mild Northerly wind; water was super clear and 42-46 degrees F; air temps 45 - 55 degrees F. A cold front was slipping through and air temperatures were 25 degrees cooler than most of the previous week. Conditions were wet, but the lack of wind made everything manageable. We were greeted at the launch by the presence of a local Hot Stick (a good sign; he'd chosen the same water, if only to scout!) and a cold couple coming off the water (not such a good sign this early in the morning), giving up with the cold water temps. I knew we had a lot stacked against our chances for success:
![]() But, I knew several spawning areas and rock reefs. With the clear water conditions and power techniques, I figured it wouldn't take too long for each area to reveal the presence of any active fish. We knocked off several possible locations without any success; The "blue-walled marina" channel and flats, a dark-bottomed area just to the north, and the main rocky, deep-water point point all failed to reveal any fish. For the most part, I relied on cranks and jerks, while BL scratched bottom with tubes, grubs and Ned. The conditions at the bottom of the bay were perhaps more favorable, with the water just off Mitchell Creek registering 48 degrees. At this point, the bay simply seemed devoid of bass; and I wasn't too surprised, given how cold the water still was. Fortunately, as we had been traveling from spot to spot, I had noticed an isolated rock formation between two of my areas. Spanning from about 3 to 7 feet of water and featuring the rocks to differentiate itself from the rest of the surrounding area, it certainly warranted a try. After letting it rest for an hour or so, we returned and approached slowly. An initial cast to the visible, deeper edge of the "reef" with a silver and black, orange-bellied Rapala Deep Shadow Rap got bit on the initial, pro-longed pause! I played the fish so carefully that I managed to lose her; she seemed to be too cold to fight and appeared to be a solid, 2.5-pounder. It hurt to lose her, but contacting her represented a bit of a triumph! I was pretty hot for the next 45 minutes or so! I got 8 more bites on this presentation as worked over the rock pile on a few successive drifts. I had the location and presentation (lengthy casts and long pauses were key) temporarily figured out. I farmed-out another nice fish, but landed three chunky, short 13-inchers, and legal smallmouths measuring 15-, 16-, 16- and 18-inches. Meanwhile, BL caught a nice, solid 17-incher to complete our virtual limit! At an average of 16.4 inches and in solid, pre-spawn condition, our "limit" under these tough conditions would have weighed in at about 13 pounds. While we were fishing, we noticed many bass in this area. While we couldn't get sighted fish to bite, they were interesting to watch. Many were steel blue in coloration, laying on the bottom (sometimes between rocks) and apparently comatose. That is, until they became aware of the boat or lure; at which time they would scoot away. I'd never seen such behavior; and I don't know if my bites were from similar fish, or others in a more receptive mood. When our bites ran out, we moved to scout rocky areas to the north. We observed several individual bass, but no groups of fish. We received no bites up here. With time running out, we returned to our hot spot. We didn't get bit, but I did have one very large bass tracking my jerk-bait to the boat. I couldn't trigger her to bite, but she was certainly the fish we'd been searching for all day! With a full day of fishing ahead of us the next day and an hour's drive to our lodging, we called it a day at 4:30 PM. All in all, this was a very satisfying day. And, I should document the the tactics that we tried over the course of the day that didn't work. From 3 to 25 feet of water, this would include:
Date: May 20, 2018 Body of Water: Lake Bellaire Boat: Numenon With: BL Target: Smallmouth Bass Time: 8:30 AM - 1 PM Conditions: Overcast but clearing; 45 - 60 degrees F with mild NW winds. The water was 57 - 59 degrees F and slightly brown-stained. Water visibility was about 4 - 5 feet. Conditions seemed prime, and we hit the water with optimism. We scoured north-shore flats (of which I have day-dreamed extensively since my inaugural visit to this lake), but never found the fish! I saw one bass and caught a single, 24-inch pike on a Berkley War Pig rattle bait. We covered lots of water; we focused on the flats from 3 to 6 feet, and on adjacent edges and scruffy weed lines. We visited all of my confidence areas, and some new water, too. I generally cranked and jerked, while BL grubbed bottom. I also drop-shotted, scouted with a Texas-rigged Senko and threw the War Pig a lot! I knew the bass would be focused on spawning areas, but I never saw any indication of this (even though much of the water we visited looked "prime" to me.) We cut the day a bit short as we both faced a long drive home. I'm not quite sure what to think about the report we received from the crew of a beautiful, large Ranger that came in at the same time. He, too, reported a tough day, having caught only 8 bass. He'd had to resort to bed fishing in 3.5 to 5 feet of water/ inside weed edge along the north shore. A couple had reportedly gone over 5 pounds. Ouch! That was my plan. He graciously admitted that the beds were very difficult to see. What do I have to say about this? Our temporary pride from Day 1 was kept in line by the humility of Day 2. That's probably the way it should be, if just to keep things in perspective. Catching vs. Not Catching isn't all that important; and even when I think we are doing well, we are just scratching the surface of understanding the fish and the systems they are part of. BL has it right in truly just appreciating being out there. And what a couple of days to share! East Bay is shockingly beautiful, and especially so on a day with such clear water and lack of competition. Lake Bellaire will keep me coming back, too. While her bass didn't shine this trip, she still affords a quality experience with almost unlimited potential on every trip. Thanks, too, to BL for accompanying me and lodging and feeding me! Once again, this was time well spent in the company of a friend; worthy of notice in itself! Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways
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