It is August 26th and the fishing for the last 2 weeks has been fantastic.  The smallmouth bass seem to really be on the bite right now and we’re also hooking some bonus walleye and northern pike as well on each trip.  We even caught a bonus gar pike which is always a little interesting.  The mornings have been the best times to be on the water lately.  Smallmouth Bass from 2 -4 1/2 pounds have been caught on every trip for the last couple of weeks.  A bonus 5 1/2 pounder was caught by the captain scouting new water a week ago. 

The Smallmouth Bass are coming on a combination of topwater baits early in the morning (not much better thrill than this), crankbaits and soft plastics.  Most of the fish have hit between 6 – 16 feet of water for the last week or so.  The Walleye are hitting a combination of live bait (leeches and crawlers) and crankbaits in the same general water.

Kids across the country (though not in Northern MI) are headed back to school which has provided some openings to finish up the month.  At the time of this posting,  I have openings this coming  Saturday, Monday and Tuesday mornings.  I also have an opening on Sunday evening.  If you are interested, please call me directly at 231-590-5597.

The weekend of the 4th of July is less than 24 hrs away.  Walleye action has been steady with catches of “eater” sized fish coming fairly consistently.  Weedlines in the 8-15 foot zone, as well as, the 20-25 range just off the drop has produced the most fish over the last few days.  Fish taking crankbaits and of course leeches and nightcrawlers.

Smallmouth Bass action has been pretty good as well with soft plastics and crankbaits accounting for most of the action.  Primary points throughout S. Lake Leelanau have been the more consistent areas to target.

There are still a few charter timeslots available for the week following the 4th of July, so please call to reserve yours soon.

The mayflys have been hatching for the past 2 weeks on Lake Leelanau which is always a sure sign that Summer is here in Northern MI.  Smallmouth Bass are almost done with their spawning activities and have begun the post-spawn migration to their summer haunts.

Fishing for Walleye has been picking up with good numbers of “keeper” fish being caught on S. Lake Leelanau and the occasional kicker fish over 20 inches.  Fishing the breakline with both crankbaits, as well as, longlining livebait have been the primary techniques so far. 

Smallmouth Bass action has been pretty steady along the same breaklines tossing jerkbaits, rattlebaits and soft plastics.  Some nice fish from 3 – 4 1/2 pounds have been taken over the last 2 weeks. 

Perch action has been relatively inconsistent so far this year on Lake Leelanau.  I would expect them to become more predictable over the next couple of weeks.

Well, the Summer is coming to a close.  Surpising considering it really hasn’t felt like Summer ever arrived.  With the close of the Summer season and the beginning of the Fall period, both walleye and perch action begins to heat up. 

Perch have started grouping up this last week and should continue through the next few weeks.  Catches of 7-9 inchers  have been common with occasional perch 10 inches and above sprinkled in.  Most have been caught on perch minnows either under a float or on a classic perch rig off the bottom. 

Walleye action has been steady for the last month and should pick up as well in the coming weeks.  Typical catches of sub-legal 13-14 inchers mixed in with 15-20 inchers have been the norm.  A few nice walleye over 25 inches have been caught as well.  Most of the walleye are coming on either live bait rigs (leeches & crawlers) or on stickbaits.

July 7, 2009                                                                                                                                                                             

Fishing was a bit slow last week with the the 20 degree drop in temperature and constant rain.  Still managed to eke out 6 keeper walleye, a couple of smallmouth bass and 2 northern pike.  The weather finally improved on Friday, July 3 and Saturday the 4th was beautiful.  Got out for 3 hrs on Saturday morning and landed some fish including a respectable 19 inch walleye and a very nice 22 inch walleye, see pictures. 

I snuck out myself for 2 hours on Sunday evening and even after the crazy boat traffic over the holiday weekend, the stabilizing weather had the fish feeding once again.  Landed 5 walleye, 2 smallmouth bass and a northern pike.  Nothing big, but a couple of keepers and alot of action tossing crankbaits. 

We have another cold front upon us yesterday and today, but it looks to be out of the area by tomorrow and the balence of the week should be warm and stable once again which should have the fish eating.

4th of July morning with 19 and 22 inch walleye

June 25, 2009,  South Lake Leelanu:

Walleye action has been picking up  in the last week.  The mayfly hatch is almost finished which always bodes well in getting the walleye to feed on other options, like the bait you are throwing.

Trolling with live bait rigs with crawlers and leaches along the breakline is always effective.  Casting with crankbaits can bring more action though.  I typically like to employ a 1-2 combination plan if possible.

Smallmouth bass fishing has been consistent and steady for 2 weeks now and should remain that way through summer.  The fish are off the spawning beds now, primarily in their post-spawn pattern and beginning to set up in their summertime haunts.

I have not been out perch fishing yet, but have plans to next week and will have updated resports on them as well.