fishyaker Loc: NW Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

Although the weather forecast was indicating potential rain today I figured I would go fishing anyways! Yesterday was a "recon" day for hiking into 2 different local lakes that I have been wanting to launch the kayak in.

One is heavily developed, and completely privatized, except for an area where a narrow ATV trail passes thru some State Forest land. With some bushwhacking you could gain access to the lake.

The other lake is a small isolated one about a half mile long and a quarter mile wide. A 10 minute hike on a nice trail leads right to it from a nearby gravel parking area at a trailhead for foot traffic. This is where I spent my day. I do not think it sees much pressure, especially from off shore in a small craft.

The early morning hours were filled with hot action on largemouth bass. Nothing big, but very plentiful. Sizes ranged between 10 and 15 inches and they were happy to strike anything I presented. The most fun was with a mini Hula Popper fixed to a short ultra light spinning rig. The fish also readily took jigs and crank baits.

Most of the time I was casting in the stillness of the calm conditions for top water thrills, but once in a while decided to troll. Then...all of the sudden, it was time for an intermission! Super dark rain clouds gathered, thunder was rumbling and the breeze picked up intensity like when you flick the power switch to "high" on a giant barn fan.

Paddled back to shore in quick order from where I had launched and pulled the kayak up under a tall oak tree to help keep the rain out of the cockpit area. I waited for about a half hour for the rain to stop, but with no signs of a let up decided to leave the gear in place and go out for breakfast. As soon as I reached the truck, a text message from my wife had just come in saying..."We're gonna get nailed!"...in all caps!

Sure enough, down it came...in torrents. Glad I was back in the truck! Went to a local favorite hangout for a meal and returned to the lake 2 hours later after the rain system passed by.

The bite resumed as if nothing had happened. I covered the entire lake pretty thoroughly, and ended up with something well over 3 dozen for bass...and much to my surprise, a couple of hefty 14 inch yellow perch.

The rain was not over, and as it turns out one more brief system arrived with no lightning or thunder so I just toughed it out while getting soaked during another hour of trolling. Probably should have brought some rain gear, but I was in a hurry to leave this morning and figured..."how bad could it get anyways!"

The trip to this lake, locally known as Dollar Lake, was a whopping success and I plan to return again to focus on those perch! I'm saving the other lake for a try early next week. It has a stellar reputation for smallmouth bass....

Glassy calm upon my arrival. It lasted a few hours and then the monsoon hit!


Started out top water with a Helen Flatfish in crackle frog color. They just would not leave it alone! No monsters, just steady juvenile sized fish feeding in a constant cycle!


Bigger fish seemed to be out in deeper water (25 feet at the deepest points). The lake is fairly shallow around the edges, with classic lily pads and some submerged woody debris.


Hula Popper magic! I decided that since this was the most fun, I spent the majority of my time going top water. Lost count after a few dozen bass.


A couple of 14 inch jumbo yellow perch took me by surprise while trolling a ghost colored Berkley jointed Flicker Shad. I let the first one go thinking it was an anomaly, then started to keep them on perch #2. Then the bite stopped!


The trail coming in is well trodden. Next time I will bring the beach dolly, with wider and softer tires. The small wheels on this rig kept getting caught on tree roots.

Fredfish Loc: Prospect CT.

Awesome day Yaker, rain and all. On the right gear, a boatload of Juvenile or stunted Bass can be a real blast, especially topwater. That Perch is Huge! If there's a lot of Big ones in there, that's what's eating the Basses food. Harvest some Perch and the Bass will grow bigger. Thanks for the great story and pictures buddy.

fishyaker Loc: NW Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

Thank you Fredfish! I think you are absolutely correct about all those small bass in terms of food competition. I covered a lot of water, and could not catch a bass any larger than the 15" mark. It is a small landlocked "pocket lake", with I believe one small spring to keep the water level up. There are no inlets or outlets, so those fish have somehow either been stocked or brought in naturally.

I do not think that local folks give it much of a look, because there are many other places to fish. I had always been curious about it...so now I know! It was not too much of a bother to cart my gear in.

The thermocline was right down at about 20', and I marked some large fish sitting right on bottom beneath it, which I thought might be catfish....or potentially bigger bass. The first perch was a real rod bender (and they were suspended at around 15 to 18 feet down). Best fight of the day, and I thought I had finally locked horns with a big LM bass. I was in shock when that perch showed up! Both perch came trolling, and I did mark what I believe may be more of those jumbos.

bknecht Loc: Northeast pa

Great photos and narrative yaker, some nice jumbo perch.

Fredfish Loc: Prospect CT.

There's an old backup reservoir on the border of my town and the next, in the woods. When I was a kid we used to sneak in there with a minnow trap, and catch Big Yellow Perch with the live bait. 14-15inches, maybe a pound and a half. The only Bass we ever caught were dinks, maybe 7-11inches. I think the Perch were eating all the forage, and probably Bass Fry as well.

OJdidit Loc: Oak Creek Wisconsin

Great day Yaker!

fishyaker Loc: NW Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

Thank you BK! Once I caught the first perch I gave up on bass and kept trolling back and forth over the deep water in search of more! Caught another one fairly soon...but then they seem to have shut down. I plan to go back sometime soon and just focus on the perch...either jigging or trolling again!

I will bring some of my favorite ice fishing jigs and I think that will do the trick!

fishyaker Loc: NW Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

Makes perfect sense fredfish! Even out in the deep water many of the LM bass were the stunted size. They were brave to be striking my large sized crank baits...but that's how they get big...by eating something big!

fishyaker Loc: NW Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

Thank you OJdidit! I had the lake all to myself, and since there are no dwellings on it you get the feeling that the real world is a hundred miles away! Plurping that little hula popper and triggering strikes from small fish was a blast on the light rod. Kind of like catching a salmon on a broomstick...only scaled way down in fish size!

NJ219bands Loc: New Jersey

Nice 👍

bapabear Loc: Blaine, Washington

Great report and photos. Thanks

fishyaker Loc: NW Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

Thank you bapabear! Glad you enjoyed the story! It was one of those mornings where you know some foul weather is coming, but your instincts tell you to go anyways! I'm glad I did!

fishyaker Loc: NW Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

Thank you NJ219! My wife was wondering if I ever planned to come back home, as I was gone for most of the day! Usually I only fish for 2 to 3 hours when I head out, but I wanted to completely cover this lake from tip to tail! Despite the rain, I still managed to fish for about 6 hours.

bapabear Loc: Blaine, Washington

We never have to worry about foul weather here in Washington sense rain is the norm rather than foul. LOL Truth be told, It has been the longest no rain stretch here that I can remember. Unfortunately, with my wife's hospitalization and my covid, I have not been out fishing sense May. I had to cancel a one week and a three week fishing trip. Also have had no day trips. Hopefully things will turn around soon.

fishyaker Loc: NW Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

I hope things turn around for you ASAP and that you can make up for some lost time on the water!