DK Open Fall 2007 Lake Choices

[MIBassKid]

Maybe next year we could pick a Central lake, one like Ovid, and have a East vs. West tournament...and then whoever the winner is that side gets to choose the lake, this way we wouldn't have much controversy and the only way to get the tournament back to your side of the state is to win the tournament...just a thought, maybe it would make more people want to show up and represent there side of the state, bragging rights and maybe a rivalry would form haha i think it would be fun.
-Kid

[fasttrack]

I jumped in here late and have not read many of the earlier posts yet, so sorry if I'm duplicating. I agree with TCook, Hamlin is a long drive, but the fishing is generally good. I also was just part of a tournament up there and was happy to see how many guys had limits (20 out of 29) and many of them talked about culling numerous fish. Other than one team that skunked, the lowest fish count was 3. We also had another tourney going on at the same time as ours. The drive there and back is much more tolerable when the fishing is good! Of course there are never any guarantees from day to day. The State Park is open 24/7 during the normal 'season' and has a pretty good ramp/parking.

Muskegon is closer for some since it is further south. It does indeed get a lot of fishing pressure but seems to produce decent bags year after year anyways. Another good choice in my opinion. As long as we are talking west side, has White been mentioned? Fishing has been very good there this year too. How about Hardy Pond? Summer is tough but the fall is supposed to be very good and its further inland. Just a thought.

[TCook]

From what I have seen and heard if we fish hamlin or muskegon everyone will likley get limits and then some. Not to mention most westsiders that participate will likley know the lakes and be on fish. Muskegon gets pounded every weekend but 80% of the fields limits out every tournament, and 19.5-18 pounds is what its been taking to win. I would imagine that it will only get better in the fall, and there are fat smallies to catch that come in from the big pond. Like Dan said no matter what style you prefer to fish you can do it on Muskegon and catch bass. To me muskegon represents the west side more than any other lake.

T

[Cy]

I haven't voted on the lake choice yet but I have voted on the date.  I just want to add my $.02 to this discussion.  I doesn't matter to me where we fish this tournament other then I would like it to happen.  I think the big picture here is, who is going to commit to fishing it!  I will do everything in my power to fish a GLB west side tournament regardless of where it is at.  All the lakes we are talking about are close enough to make a day of it.  Instead of worrying about where, lets talk about who.  Who is going to be there?  How many of us are willing to fish it no matter what lake we are talking about?  Ovid is no further then Hamlin for most of us in the Kent County area.  I know not all westsiders are in Kent but I am just trying to make a point.

Dan, would be easier to figure out if you pick the date most voted on and then we get a person commitment and then pick a body of water?

Cy

[TCook]

If the date does not interfere with other tournaments or family events I will commit to be there regardless of what lake. In the mean time I will keep trying to put my 2 cents in on what lake we should fish if its a west side event.

I love hardy pond, its one of my favorite lakes but I never fished it in the fall and alot of guys say it can be real tough. I dont understand why the fishing would be so good there in the spring and so tough in the fall? If it can be good and its more inland maybe Hardy could replace ovid LOL.

T

[spinninbug]

If the dates are right,  that seems to be the key here for most of us.  I know I can't make it the 29th or the the 8th.  If it is anyother weekend I'm there.  My husband is signed up on here too but I can't remember what his name is...LOL  he has never posted can he come?   He gets on here and reads and I tell him about posts all the time but he's not computer friendly!  If so I will be there as a non boater and he will go as a boater if he can.

I have never fished Muskegon or white lakes,  I hear that they are both great lakes to fish though,  my hubby has fished muskegon before. 

I of course would love to fish Hamlin,  it is just a great lake,  we were one of the teams that fished teardrop this past weekend,  we caught 5 limits,  that is pretty hard to beat I don't care where you fish,  I have fished st. claire and have never caught a limit there. 

I understand that is on the west side and weather can be crazy but you can almost always get on Hamlin.  And I prefer it windy the fish seem to bite better for me.

I also love hardy,  in fact some of the guys in our club are talking about putting it in for our clubs classic.  I haven't fished it in the fall either but would be happy to go there too.  If the lake is to far south or east I probably won't be able to make it,  my hubby lost his job in april and just went back to work last week and I have a bow hunt to save for in indiana the first weekend in October. 

I am so looking foward to meeting everyone,  I haven't been able to make it to a spring open yet but I'm still hoping maybe next year.

Between Dan and myself I'm sure we could help out with some spots on Hamlin,  it really is hard to not catch a limit out there.

It's 5:30 that means closin time!!!!  Time to go home!

[Revtro]

Here's a thought.  Participation is the key to this event.  Many of us don't know where these lakes are even located.  That might help some folks make up their minds about attending.  Any chance some of you Westsiders could help us out with where these lakes are located?  I know where Ovid is, but that's the only one of the choices listed that I know.  Hamlin is sounding like a great lake, but I don't know how far away it is. 

I'll try my best to show up as long as it is a one day trip.  Again, participation is key.  I'm really hoping it'll be high because I really do want to meet and get to know the great folks here at GLB.  But if participation is low because of location, I'll be hard pressed to want to get up at 3am to trailer my boat 3 hours away for a 5 boat tournament.  I'm sure we can all understand that and I'm sure that's how most of us probably feel.  But I'd happily drive 3 hours if it meant meeting and hanging out with a significant number of GLBers.  So as Cy said, let's start getting an idea of who will be participating because that can change everything.  Perhaps it's time to put up a registration post.

[Hooksetter]

As long as the tournament is not on the 13th I will be there, no matter which lake is picked. I picked Hamlin but it really doesn't matter to me.I just want to fish.

Willie

[Cy]

Lake Locations are as follows

Hamlin Lake - Ludington
Cadillac/Mitchell - Cadillac
Muskegon - Muskegon
Mona - Muskegon
White - Montague
Gull - Richland, by Kalamazoo
Hardy Pond - North East of Newaygo on the Muskegon RIver

I think that is most of the lakes mentioned.

[Bender]

Chippewa is just north and west of Mt. Pleasant.
I agree with Tom about setting up a registration. If people can't come anyway then why should they vote about what lake it is. To me it doesn't matter, as long as I don't have to work, I'll be there from Gogebic to St. Clair.

[TCook]

I agree with CY, I think first a date should be set. Then we get a count of all the members that is open for that date and will participate regardless of what lake is picked. Then we get a new list of lakes to vote on since we have more feedback to this point on what lakes would be best.

T

[djkimmel]

The date is probably a little more important so we can pick that first. I'll let it go through this weekend yet to see how the votes and comments go.

I don't have a problem adding more lakes, or revoting on the lakes after the date is picked if that is what most people want to do. As far as west - east competition? Maybe in a year or two... not yet. There is no shortage of ideas.

[yukonjack2]

What about sanford?  I have never been on it, but have heard good things about it.  when do they draw it down? 

Jack

[basscat74]

 I voted chippewa I like the lake and there is some good fish in there. I fished there the last 3 years in a row with NBAA and won every year first year Had just over 21 pounds, last year had about 13 and this year 15.96 plus some other small club i fished there had 17-14 earlier this year.

[Bender]

Since some of you know the lake well I will pose my always first question when going to a new body of water...Is there anywhere that I will hit and do damage? Other than the obvious near shore, are there any humps or rock piles out there?
Thanks

[Durand Dan]

Bender,
Being a no-wake lake you can pretty much tell when your coming up on something. There are several shallow areas coming off point and islands.

Dan

[djkimmel]

A few stumps and deadheads left. Very few. Only a couple maybe that could be hit, but you should see them that time of year and you will be going no wake. I would tell you exactly where, but... I may want to visit a couple of them first

There are some shallows humps in a number of places, but most top out at 2 feet or more, and are sand or muck bottom.

WATCH the powerloading. It is a steep ramp near the creek channel, and needs to be handled with care to avoid another collapse. It is a really good ramp. They redid it a few seasons ago so it is less prone to damage, but a good amount of power loading could wash out the muck off the end near the drop. It's a two-banger with a nice dock. There's not much shoreline to pull up boats on - they piled white rock along that part of the shore for 'erosion protection.'

[dashaver63]

Dan, I was wandering what kind of depth Ovid has and the water clarity? I've never been there and want to bring the right gear.

[djkimmel]

I'll do some info on the other post on the lake before the end of the weekend. Here's a summary:
Lake Ovid is a lowland reservior, flooded farmland and swails. Max depth about 22 feet, but most of the lake is 16 feet or shallower with average depth maybe 8 or 9 feet. Water clarity ranges from 6 inches to 3 feet on average. In the fall and spring, I have seen clarity up to 6 feet, but that is dependent on lack of wind and runoff for a while. It is 'dark' water even if it is on the clear side because the Little Maple River drains through some swamps.