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Summertime in the BelgradesContentsfor Printing Article Summaries |
The "Day Maker"
by Mike Guarino This past week I was fishing with my good friends Dick and Jean Dempster over on Great Pond. They love chasing smallmouth bass on wacky worms in top water, and when we get together it's a mad combination of storytelling and laughter Well, last Wednesday, amidst all the smiles and fish stories, Dick said something intriguing, borderline profound! He was talking about golf, a game he excels at while I have only mastered the throttle on the golf cart and the catching of blue gills in the ponds that surround the course. Dick said to me, "It's funny. Even if you have a bad round of golf, when you hit a great shot on 18, you tend to forget about all the lousy shots you made earlier." That might be true for golf, but the concept REALLY rings true when it comes to fishing! The sometimes painful truth is: we've all gone out fishing and had a tough day. It happens to everyone yet the level of frustration differs for each of us; for example, if my eight-year-old makes five casts off the dock and doesn't catch anything she simply puts the rod down and jumps in the water — DONE! She has a very low frustration level, whereas tournament anglers who make 1000 casts in a day and don't produce will be grouchy for a week. Skilled, but casual anglers, like Jean and Dick are searching not only for action, but quality fish too. The concept that a difficult fishing day can change in an instant if one trophy fish is caught drives these anglers! Think about it: it's the perfect putt or the one time you chip the ball out of the sand trap and into the hole. Nothing can match that rush. That sensation, knowing that your next cast might catch the fish of your dreams, is exactly why I love fishing here in the Belgrades. By now you've noticed the picture of Ed Lee. The fish is certainly eye catching, and I'm still jealous every time I look at it. What a fish! Ed was fishing with his grandson last week and the bite was pretty slow. The heat of the day had set in and the fishing had slowed down considerably. A few fish here and there to keep things interesting, when all of a sudden The key to catching that big fish on a day when things are pokey is to stick to your guns. You have to trust your instincts and stick with the baits you have confidence in. Lately for me, it's been jigs for largemouth, dropshot for smallmouth and trolling big spoons and stickbaits off ledges for northern pike. If the pattern fails in the beginning, be patient and continue to focus on prime locations that will more than likely produce the big fish every angler is searching for. Lure of the WeekThe Michigan Stinger spoon is a very versatile piece of equipment. It has been catching a wide variety of fish in our lakes since alewives became the primary forage. This spoon is popular in the Great Lakes and has become a staple for trollers fishing any alewife-laden water. These spoons come in a wide variety of sizes and color combinations, but in this area ,anything with a hint of blue or purple is a great choice this time of year. The alewives in the lake definitely have a hue of purple to them right now, so trying to match that color can definitely up the odds. I like trolling the 3.75" version for trout, and the big magnum stingers are killer for suspended northern pike. The only issue with the Stingers is that after they catch a few fish the paint has a tendency to wear off turning them into a silver spoon, which can certainly work too. Mike Guarino can be reached at | ||
