UP North (DK Open report) Sep 30 - Oct 2

[thedude]

Cy, KHefner and I departed GR around 8:30 taking our sweet time on friday due to the not-so-great weather situation. The plan was to head to TC and either fish the torch river or possibly one of the smaller inland lakes SW of town. We called an audible near cadillac to head toward the lakeshore and hit a small lake over there.

We launched at around noon after picking up some "supplies" on the way. It was blowing about 25-30 mph right down the lake so we started working down the western shoreline, north to south. The area was a weed break with scattered timber in 13-15 FOW. Cy caught our first fish - a nice 3lb smallie on a tube. A few minutes later, Keith flipped a beaver near a piling and out came a very angry 5.02lb slaunch which was promptly weighed and photographed - a personal best for Keith. We started dragging tubes deeper and managed 2 more fish - in the 2-3lb range. 

Next stop was the pierheads. We found a deeper hole and began dragging tubes and again found some fish. Cy had the hot hand and managed a couple more smallies in the 2-3lb range.  They were liking the goby and perch colored Xtreme 4" tubes.  We worked our way back and cy managed 2 smaller largemouth also on the tube.

This whole time the wind was just howling and we could see 6-8' waves out on lake michigan. Rain was hitting on and off most of the time. We went back to our first spot and stopped at a point with lots of current from the wind. A small LM was all that was there. We got back on our original starting point and i immediatley hooked a fish and then snagged into some timber and got back only scales. We made 2 more drifts and picked up a couple more fish. Due to the weather - we decided it was time to call it a day - about 3pm  with a 17lb limit to show for the effort. Not a bad day all things considered.

3lber


3lber


keiths monster

[thedude]

Day 2: The search for Curly's Gold.

After an early retreat and a few hours on a bar stool at the mackinaw brewing company we called it an early night friday and woke up saturday to 35 degree air and a stiff NNW wind blowing 15-20. Figuring elk would be too rough, we launched up the torch river and worked some good looking holes down to skeg. Not a bite in the river throwing jigs, spinnerbaits, darters, tubes, cranks or traps.  Once we made it to skeg, we pulled onto a large flat on the NW corner. Cy promptly caught a small fish - probably 14 inches on a crank but that was it. We moved to the entrance to elk and fished near another boat who got a couple smaller fish on jerkbaits. We fought the wind on the SE corner throwing traps and spinnerbaits in the wind but it was very muddy and yielded no more bites. We decided to call it a morngin and head back for some lunch... stopping along the way to hit a few spots in the river with no further luck.

we got on the trailer to shorts brewery in belleaire. We feasted. We drank lots of beer. Only pics of the day:



After leaving there we made our way to elk and decided the wind had laid down enough to give it a go for the remaining 2 hrs of day light. We launched and stopped on a windy point. Keith and I promptly hooked up with a pair of 2lbers both on tubes. Cy chimed in with another shorlty after. Fish were right where they were supposed to be on the point. We then drifted the flat behind point. Had a few bites and started marking a lot of bait and schools of perch. Ran back up with the side imager and found some timber and even what we thought may be a sunken bass boat! On the 2nd drift, Cy hooked up with a monster on a GLPerch tube in about 14 FOW. We got it to the boat and at the last second before the net went down she spit the hook. An easy 5lber, maybe more.  It got dark and we headed back for some R&R concluding day 2.

[Dan]

Great write up, more, more,... The first lake was a mystery lake?

[Waterfoul]

I know where they fished the first day!!  But I aint sayin! 

We too headed up Friday afternoon... and had nothing to show for about 2 hours on Glen Lake (we stayed at my parents place there).  Every spot I have on Glen was being pounded by 4 foot waves so we didn't have much of a chance.  Hit Arts Tavern for dinner and baseball... dinner was great but the baseball was a washout (litterally!).  Saturday we hit Bellaire and got one decent smallie, then hit Clam with the same results.  Sunday on Skeg/Elk was the same result... one decent fish all day.  Overall the fishing wasn't too bad... the catching on the other hand... LOL!!!  Like they say... a bad day of fishing beats any day at work!!!

[thedude]

yeah i think it was called mystery lake...... or lake x or something

[thedude]

Day 3: The 3 Man Wolfpack.

On Sunday morning we all split up with our boaters.... only mine didn't show! I was forced, against my will and better judgement, to share a boat with KIMMEL for the DK open! Thankfully Genie was there too. We started the morning in skeg near the torch river. Most of the morning was spent with Genie and I fishing and Dan muttering to himself in rain-man-like fashion about all sorts of things. Mostly about Don (LGMouth) being in his spot and how close he was to the Big-10 girl at the Michigan game the day before.  Genie had a couple bites but hadn't quite gotten his chops back from his sabbatical away from fishing all summer.  We sat in front of some duck hunters who apparently didn't like that much. Thankfully genie is 6 foot 20 and made of radiation - so they left us alone until we left when they made sure to catch up with us and express some sort of sarcastic displeasure. Doug reminded us that Jesus loves everyone and that made us happy, so we didn't sweat it.

As we left we got to see Don and Keith stick a few on Dan's spot. Dan is still muttering stuff about the big 10 girl and Don being in his spot at this point, but we've mostly tuned him out by now.

We head over to elk and get on a spot similar to the one we fishing the night before. Lots of bait, good looking wood and rock.... no fish. We make quick run across the lake and find Cy and French Fry Jeff sitting on MY SPOT. They haven't gotten anything yet so we share some salutations, insult each other's mothers and they promptly leave to let me fish MY SPOT.  Not too long after that I stick our first fish on an xtreme perch tube - a grotesque 4.2lber. I thought it was bigger - it was just soooo wide and fat! We work the spot for a while and nothing else but perch bites. We bounce around a few other spots and Doug hooks up on a crank a couple times but we end up coming in with just the 1 fish for the day.  Turns out the spot wasn't too bad - Cy managed a 4.5 not long after we left in the same area. Too bad there weren't a few more of them there.

Weighin time and the 1 fish got us 3rd place behind Cy and French Fighter Jeff in 2nd and Keith and Don in first.  I thoroughly enjoyed sharing the boat with Genie and DK.  I knew what i was getting with dan, but Genie was ever so pleasantly deviant and misanthropic - it really made my day.

Thanks for all the work you put in DK. It was a fun event and i'm glad i made it. Going back to elk or torch on saturday now.... that was too much of a teaser - need to get my fix now.

4.3

[TheFishinPollock]

If ya go   ya can't have my spots cause I'll be on um LOL

[djkimmel]

Very entertaining. That was a really fat bass. I thought it was 4 and a 1/2.

You left out Yvonne? She says we were her bodyguards.

We should of went to Torch!

Don, get off my spot!

[Genie]

Yvonne was much nicer to us on Monday ... she couldn't believe we came back just for her.

[djkimmel]

Well... it wasn't just for her. I was pretty hungry too!

She might have been nicer because there was a little more gentlemenly behavior going on too?!?

[Cy]

She might have been nicer because there was a little more gentlemenly behavior going on too?!?

Not if Genie was there!!!

[bigmojet]

Mystery lake my behind. It used to be my secret lake for Smallies and pike. I had a 7# + follow to the boat in July on that lake on a war eagle spinnerbait.
My knees are still shaking from it. My personal best SM came from that lake.6 1/4 #.

[djkimmel]

I think the biggest mystery is how we avoided getting thrown out of the restaurant on Sunday!! But yes, Genie was pretty much a gentleman on Monday. Pretty much.

[Genie]

I couldn't do too much harm ... I was too full of food!

[djkimmel]

Yes! You were full of... food.

[edyer]

Is the mystery Lake the one I'm going to this weekend Dude?

[bigmojet]

I caught a 4 1/2 # SM on Mystery lake couple days ago. Only fish i got in about 2 hours fishing and was caught on a 4" big hammer swimbait. Was  pretty miserable weather wise.