Top-water Bulge

The clock is ticking and summer is quickly transitioning to fall.  My near-term schedule is filling to capacity, and my longer-term horizon includes swim season finals, lots of wind, Black Friday, holidays and likely holiday travel.  It’s been too long since I’ve last touched a muskie, and so it was a no-brainer for me to take a recent Friday off work, squeeze in a trip and give Thornapple Lake a try.

West Michigan doesn’t have a whole lot of choices for muskies, but Thornapple is probably the most well-known.  It serves as the brood-stock lake for the MDNR muskie program, and it has a 50-inch possession limit.  It is managed for, and is known to produce, big fish.  It has lots of structure, cover, nooks and crannies, and it is famous for shallow fish.  It’s potentially an interesting place to fish.

But Thornapple’s also three times farther away than other choices, and (in my opinion) suffers from overdevelopment, weeds and water clarity/quality issues.  In my previous visit to the lake (Summer of 2013), it provided a less-than-satisfactory experience.  It was simply too crowded, busy, hot and buggy, with too many boats, and an astronomical amount of smoke from the various encampments and cottages around the lake.  There was nothing relaxing about that trip, and I came home skunked.

I hopefully anticipated a different experience on a post-Labor Day weekday, and Murray Lake hasn’t exactly been overly generous this season.  So I was fairly optimistic as I drove to the lake.  With the entire day ahead of me, I wasn’t exactly in a hurry.  And yet I still felt like I was a little bit late as I launched Numenon at about 7:30 AM.  Still, I was first to the ramp, and there was only one other boat out (as far as I could tell.)  Amazingly, we both seemed to be going to the same point, and so I deferred, and approached my second choice for a starting point; a current-swept shoreline at the head of the lake.

What a beautiful morning!

It was a beautiful morning!  I had still waters, low light, an undeveloped shoreline and various waterfowl to observe.  I also had my favorite muskie top-water lure, a hypnotizing black Pacemaker, clipped on.  On perhaps my tenth or fifteenth cast, I thought I observed a bulging wake appear behind my lure.  This wake stayed so precisely the same distance behind the lure during the retrieve that I started to question whether it was, indeed, a fish tracking my bait.  As the Pacemaker approached the boat, it was running out of real estate; something had to give.  Just as I entered my Figure 8, the fish clearly materialized a couple of inches behind the bait; she was a beautifully large muskellunge.  And just as quickly, she exploded away and was simply gone.

This day's "hot" set-up.

Nothing worth mentioning happened for the rest of the fishing day.

So I was close; but once again I failed to seal the deal.  Who knows what turned her off; too aggressive of an entry into the 8?  Noise from the trolling motor?  A ping from the sonar?  A glint of sunlight off my glasses?  While I postulated that slowing my retrieve would have force-fed her, further discussions with my muskie mentors indicated that it would be better to speed up; to utilize a large oval instead of the 8; and to keep the lure underwater during the turns.  Oh well, maybe I’m now better prepared for my next opportunity.  In the meantime I’ll take my satisfaction in simply having noticed her, catching a glimpse of her, and having experienced the impressive push of water as she bolted.  These are inspiring fish.

September Saturday

One Day Mini-Vacation Offers Glimpse of Future?

I was super-fortunate to recently share the day with my longest-tenured Michigan friend and fishing buddy.  “D” was a couple of years ahead of me when I arrived in Michigan for grad school and had actually moved on to other  endeavors by the time I got here, but his outdoor/fishing connections to my remaining contemporaries got us together.  We were primary fishing partners for many years.   Our kids bracket each other and we’ve navigated the local school system together.  We’re so compatible in the boat and afield that we’re still together*, and on this particular day, we made hay from his new digs; a retirement home on a lake with his Lund on a lift in the backyard.

As the day’s plans gelled, I had actually been a little bit nervous.  Our session was jammed into a typically busy week, between a couple of shifts at C’s, and we were confronted with pretty strong and wet cold-front conditions.  My tackle prep was lacking, my tackle selection was limited, and I wasn’t exactly brimming with confidence as I drove north.  I felt so out of synch that I was actually hung up on what to wear**, for gosh’ sake.

But D and his wife” J” are gracious hosts, and after a quick tour of the new property (I don’t remember how many beds or baths, but I do recall 5 garage stalls and a boat with lift on each side of the dock!), the tackle was loaded*** and we were plying the weed line just off-shore for bass and pike.  There was still a pretty brisk wind from the northwest, but conditions were drying out, warming a bit (to a high still in the 50s), and clearing.  Conditions were very fishable, but I still expected a tough bite.

We were on a very highly pressured, over-developed, public access lake.  But with the weather, the date, and with salmon staging at various Great Lakes ports and some college football on TV, there was nobody else bass fishing!  There were a few pan-fishers encountered throughout the day, but the bass and pike were ours for the taking, and without the usual distraction and bother of water-skiers, jet skis and such.   The one blessing of a Michigan Winter is the promise of Fall; and this day turned out to be a beautiful start to the season.

We approached our bass fishing as a team; and when D selected to crank the deep weed-line from the front of the boat, I sought a presentation to complement his from the back and maybe find larger, “kicker” bass.  So as he cranked the edge, I plumbed the depths with jigs, worms, swim-baits and slow-rolled spinner-baits.   In the first couple of hours, I got touched as couple of times, but the bites were half-hearted and I didn’t hook up.  D caught several smallish bass at first, but when he caught a couple of solid “keeper” bass between 15 and 17 inches, as well as a fat, 28-inch pike on and just off the edge, I started to think about other presentations. When he continued the catching, I had to switch; and I started fan-casting over the weeds.  What was probably a nice pike snipped of my blue ClatterRap almost immediately, but that first “real” bite provided some info; and soon I was in a rhythm of long casts over the weeds with a lipless KVD Red Eye Shad.  I found the correct cadence for the day, and I started to catch some fish, too.  We continued until late-lunch time, having contacted several groups of fish and with a virtual tournament catch of four legal bass weighing about 10 pounds, total, so far.  We’d each lost bigger fish that would have helped our total, but all in all, with the action from smaller bass and bonus pike considered, the day’s fishing (and conditions) so far had exceeded my expectations.

After a quick and easy lunch (brats!), D and I were out and back on another weed line.  D continued with his Rapala DT10 (natural bluegill pattern), but after a couple more small bass, I switched to a crank bait classic.  My selected Bomber Model A (Larry Nixon pro crawdad pattern), when presented properly (slowly and just ticking the deep weed wedge,) did pretty well for the rest of the day, catching several keepers and allowing us to “cull up” to over 13 hypothetical pounds for our five bass “limit.”

For the day, D had out-fished me; but I’d caught some contributing bass and ten or so others.  He’d caught at least a dozen and a half bass as well as five or six pike.  We’d patiently ground out a nice catch under what had turned out to be a very pleasant and comfortable day.  We’d re-connected and enjoyed each other’s company.  I’d certainly enjoyed his food, hospitality and access to his boat.  Nice day, eh?

Just so I can have a picture - this day's hot setups.

But as satisfying as the fishing turned out to be, this isn’t about the fishing.  “A” had arrived during the afternoon’s session for a visit and a shared dinner, and as we relaxed, recounted and rehydrated, we further realized the beauty and advantage of lakeside living.  A and I have similar aspirations for ourselves, probably back in New England.  We probably don’t care so much about the house, but the location, quality of the fishery, and the ease of access to the water will be important to us.  My dream includes Numenon docked on a lift, ready to go at a moment’s notice. D’s been living this dream for the last few months, and he’s averaging about 6 days a week with some time on the water.  He’s caught some nice fish, can avoid crowds or take advantage of windows of opportunity, and generally seems pretty content with this set-up.

Before dinner, we all took a tour of the lake on D’s new (obligatory?) tritoon boat.  That was pleasant enough, but when D punched the throttle to return to the dock, A’s spontaneous giggles touched me.  They were the uncontrolled giggles of an innocent child, a familiar laughter that I had not heard from her in quite a while, and somehow I knew that there was probably a pontoon boat in our future.  And I’m okay with that idea; it will give us a chance to share our enjoyment of our situation; and it provides the basis for a more complete picture of what might be.  Does this help explain (perhaps and just in part), why I continue at C’s?  Each shift might just be another bite off the elephant, but maybe I’m incrementally working toward something truly worthwhile.

After this One Day Vacation, I returned for a full Sunday shift at C’s.  Despite the seasonal insanity of our salmon-delusional customers, I had another really fine day.  Things are making a little more sense.  Much like D and I ground out a more-than-respectable catch, A and I are probably grinding out a more-than-respectable future.

Thank you, D.  Thank you, A.

*Although I have to be clear, it’s been a couple of years since we’ve actually fished together.  Work and family schedules, as well as his passion for hunting in the fall can make joint trips difficult to arrange.  However, this hiatus probably made this trip all the more meaningful to me.

**Here I am referring to the choice of appropriate outer-wear for the day’s conditions.  My StormR Typhoon jacket took care of all these concerns.

***Dave is a hellova C’s customer and has good taste in tackle!  His selections will help me benchmark certain rods and reels for future clients.

South Haven Generations

(This was has been languishing (seasoning?) a while...maybe it's still appropriate.)

Another Fathers’ Day just passed, and I had a very satisfactory one.  The day was low-key and relaxed, I spent some time with my local girls (while keeping in touch with my East Coaster), I fished, and I even caught a couple of decent bass.   I had a pair of muskies tracking my glide bait, and when my muskie lake got too crowded for my taste, I transferred my boat and attentions to my favorite local lake.   I was pleased to find that the construction situation there has been a blessing in disguise, in that it seems to have actually limited the overall use of the lake.  So I was able to stay out and enjoy myself later than usual without too much marine traffic; and when I got home, there was my trusty dog, a cold beverage, a spaghetti dinner, a new baseball book and a thoughtful, hand-written Fathers’ Day note!  Please let me re-phrase; it was a truly satisfactory day.

Moreover, it was a day off work and I had some time to think!  The best part about parenting or a Parent’s Special Day is the realization that your children are doing well; indeed, that they’re flourishing.  Both kids are embarking upon interesting, productive summers that have the potential for shaping their lives, and they’re both doing so with the necessary confidence and tools to get the most out of their experiences.   So, on this day, I felt contentment, and overall pretty confident that I’ve done a good parenting job (so far); and I had few distractions from these thoughts.

But what distractions I did have simply provided reinforcement for my line of thinking.  There have been a few recent health issues affecting family, friends and co-workers.  But extra visiting and mobile support systems kicked in (seemingly automatically, although I know that everybody sacrifices in these situations), all seem to be in good hands currently, and we generally seem to have the collective resources and ability to handle situations as they arise.  I know we can’t necessarily control outcomes, but we can certainly manage the process to the best of our abilities.  Simply knowing this is empowering, and I admire the grace so routinely exhibited by others in our everyday lives.

But, back to Fathers’ Day; in fact, back to Mothers’ Day.  My mom doesn’t especially enjoy Mothers’ Day, and so I’ve learned to down-play this occasion.  This year, I probably down-played it too much, though, and that didn’t feel right.  So I had decided to make it a point to acknowledge her on Fathers’ Day, for surely I wouldn’t be the father I am without her guidance and efforts; and since my dad has passed, why shouldn’t I acknowledge her at this time?  Of course, on this day she was travelling to care for another; she was hot and tired, and our conversation was rushed; and these words were left largely unspoken.  Crap and shith; I missed the opportunity.

About the same time as all this, my work environment had experienced the loss of a long-time leader; it was especially rough on a good friend of mine, from who I’ve learned a lot.  I was able to spontaneously share these thoughts.  Based on their spontaneity, I think they’re genuine:

“My closest experience with this was with my Dad.  In the end he left my Mom in good shape and his pain was gone.  I’ve not a single bad thought about him, and while I miss him; he’s not in pain.  He’s more alive in my memories than he was physically able to be for many years.  All is good with me and my Dad.”

So, regardless of whether you are a mother, father, son or daughter; I hope you are fortunate enough to distill your most meaningful relationships down to their foundations of pure trust, respect and love.

What’s this got to do with South Haven?  I recently took this particular friend’s wife, daughter and father-in-law out for a morning of salmon fishing out of this small Lake Michigan port.  Three generations, on my boat at the same time.  Because I’m the youngest of the youngest, this has rarely happened for me.  It was a beautiful day with a few beautiful fish, and I’d be hard pressed to say who (aboard Numenon) enjoyed it the most.  All I can say is that I had a great day.  It was a high-light in a season that so far has featured some really nice fish! And while I’d have loved to share it with my parent(s) and child(ren), I can’t help but realize that they’ve all prepared me to share, and to recognize, such fine moments. 

“Thanks!”

Kings captured by the youngster; photo by the grandfather.