Belated Burt/Mullet report

[Firefighter Jeff]

  Sorry for the tardiness of this report.  Stopped on the way back to winterize the trailer in Ludington and celebrated my wife's 50th birthday right after we got home.

    I've been having some issues getting my motor running correctly and had only fished 4 times since the end of July.  A multiple day trip during the DK Fall Open ended up only being a 6 hour outing with Cy for 2nd place at the Open. Woohoo Cy  !!!!  Way to catch that dandy right before weigh-in !! Anyway, the wife and I planned a trip to Indian River for multiple days and all I could think about were the pig smallies Tcook and I caught there last fall. When I brought up the idea of a trip there to my wife, she said "Oh great a fishing trip"  I told her that I would indeed get my fishing in but we would do other stuff , like go to Mackinaw City, cruise the rivers (weather permitting .... she's always cold !!) etc.

   We arrive on Saturday October 8th about 1:30 pm.  We are staying at Fay Martin River Resort.  We get settled into the cottage/cabin and check out the grounds. Very nice place with super friendly owners. I'm sitting in the cottage and as I see my boat parked next to the building, I realize that, I'm this close to trophy smallie waters and I'm not out fishing for them  !!!!!!!  Well, I didn't want to throw the suitcases in the door and say, "I'm going fishing" (remember, I said it wasn't a fishing trip) that and my Irish were beating up on Purdue.  Besides, I explained a couple days later when I asked to move back the Mackinaw trip a day, what a fishing trip was really like.  It's get up early, fish all day, eat then sleep, repeat  !!!!  lolol  So this was different.    

    At one point during the day, while checking out the area, we drive by a boat launch on Burt and see Don Watts truck and trailer.  He had mentioned at the DK Fall Open that he was having a hard time NOT thinking about those monsters he caught to win the Lake Drive tourney and that he was going to try and make it up there. Don had given me his number.  I was hoping to get a report, or better yet maybe get out and fish with him if he was solo. Maybe some of his mojo would rub off on me.  lolol  I call Don and he mentions he came up , just for the day, with a buddy of his.  He gives me a report and says that they did the best on Mullet throwing spinnerbaits.  Not real huge fish overall, but decent numbers. Don gives me some great places and things to try, just like the info on the Lake Drive Tourney he posted.  Ok, I'm excited.  never been on Mullet, but I'm gonna be at the launch at daybreak.
 
     Mullet Day 1

    I get to the launch shortly after daylight.  Wow is the lake nice and calm.  We all know the feeling. I was getting really pumped for the impending smalliefest  !!!!  I launch the boat and head to the North East end of Mullet.  I set down and try to find some of those elusive weeds.  Wow, not much around.  It's kinda like finding a needle in a haystack on this lake.  At least that's the way it felt.  I hunted around, threw some spinner and rattle baits and nothing.  I decide to hunt with my side imaging.  Hoping that the large investment I made last spring pays off.  Hmmm well, found some scattered logs but not many weeds.  Was I out too far, or in too far.  You ever get some advice from someone , go out there and not find where they are talking about???  You don't wanna ask for waypoints.  But it's still frustrating.

   Next I head over near Aloha State Park.  Don stated that they did well in shallow water, to the East of there.  I guess I ended up a little too far East of there.  Spotted awesome looking rocks from 10-11 feet all the way in to 2 feet.  I start throwing spinners, tubes, rattle baits........ nothing.  The water is extremely calm.  I can see really well, so I scout around with the trolling motor on high.  Geesh, I cover quite a bit of shoreline and don't even see a fish.  Ok frustration is setting in some. 

   Don, is nice enough to take another call from me.  lol  I ask a few questions about the areas he fished.  He gives me a few more specifics and off I go.  I did pick up a 3.9 on a dixie darter in one spot. Thanks Don.  I went back to Aloha and fished the weeds in the middle of the bay.  I did get a couple pound smallie on a crank in 10 feet of water.  Also caught a small northern pike on a tube. Think I had one other small smallie there. 

   Ok, I need to make another phone call.... no, not to Don.  Called my brother Larry up for some advice.  He has me try a spot about a mile East of Aloha.  I set down and just cruise with the trolling motor.  Hoping for weeds.  Sure enough I find ONE weed and to my surprise I see about a 3 pound smallie right by it.  I move off of it and throw back multiple times and nothing.  So I motor back to see if I was hitting the right spot and if the fish was still there.  Sure enough it is.  Still, I couldnt coax it into biting.  At this point I'm starting to blame the unusually high water temps (61-62 degrees) and..... lack of wind.  yeah can you believe that???  lol  It's getting to be about 1:30 or 2:00, so I decide to go back to the resort by way of boat and pick up Shelley.  The temps are incredible.  The light winds just made it seem warmer. 

    I had seen a few posts about the amount of time it took to idle through the river.  That and the resort owner said it was about 20 minutes from there to Mullet. Hmmmm well, maybe going with the current and a "Fast" idle. Maybe.  Anyway it takes me nearly 45 minutes to go up stream to the resort. I can't imagine having to make a decision to go to the other lake in a tounrney and lose that much fishing time. I'm not complaining though, the weather was beautiful and the trees gorgeous. Fay Martin happens to be almost straight accross from Howe Marina if you are familiar with the river. Here is a picture from the river.



    Here is a pic of the two biggest fish of the morning.  Not very big at all for Mullet standards.    But, it's better than getting skunked or battling really bad weather.



    I really can't believe this.  It's Sunday October 9th, we're 30 miles away from the upper penninsula and my wife is wearing a short sleeve shirt, shorts and sandals. Incredible.  We head down the river and out on Mullet, to Needle Point.  We throw spinners and tubes and pick up a couple small fish.  Ok, not a bad start.  We go to Aloha, and nothing.  On to where I saw the lone bass hanging around that ONE weed.  lol  The sun is getting fairly low now.  But I can still see pretty well in the water.  Hey, I see a few fish in a pack.  Ok, it's on.

Ummmmmmm nope, threw tubes, spinners etc and nothing.  They just weren't interested in eating.  Well at least I saw multiple fish.  That was good I thought.  It got late and we headed back to the launch.  Beautiful day.  Even got a little too much sun on my face.  But the fishing was WAY below my expectations.  Pretty frustrating.  Only 7 or 8 smallies were boated all day.  I'm beginning to wonder about those spinnerbait video's that Dan post from up on Mullet  !!!!!  LMBO  jk jk  Dan. 

   Hmmmmm I'm guessing that Burt might be similar in water temps and fish temperment.  I make a decision to head to Crooked Lake the next morning.   

[Firefighter Jeff]

   Day two,  Monday October 10th

   I get up early and arrive at the Crooked lake launch at daybreak.  Forecast is for similar conditions as yesterday. Way above normal temps and light winds.  Ok, let's hope this is better than what I caught on Mullet.  

   I start fishing with a Excalibur xr50 rattlebait.  I know it's flat calm, but it's low light.  Third cast I get a thump.  Hmm wonder if it's a bass, pike, or walley.  Sure enough it's a 2 3/4 pound smallie.  Ok, nice start  !!!!  From that point on, up until about noon, I proceed to catch two walleye and four pike.  No more smallies  !!!! Grrrrrrr  I can see the darn things but they spook easily and when I throw ahead of them they ignore or avoid the bait.  I make long casts and that still doesn't work.  Ok, It's GOT to be the above normal temps and unseasonably nice weather.  That or I should turn in my fishing license  !!!!  

   Sure hope this whole trip doesn't go like this.  I'm wondering if I should get on the internet and check out the results from the Lakedrive Tourney.  I heard most boats had a really tough second day.  Maybe I'd feel better seeing two guys fishing for 8 hours doing as poorly as I have been doing.  lmbo  I decide to cut my losses and head back to the resort.

   I haven't given up hope but I'm pretty frustrated.  So much so we decide to ummmmm, can't believe I'm gonna post this......  we go golfing.    Yep, right by trophy smallie waters and I go golfing. Tcook is probably shaking his head right now !!!  Shoot, I had a pretty chauffer, the fishing was poor and the weather , awesome !!! We had a lot of fun.
  Here is the only pic from the second day of fishing.  lol  Remember, it wasn't "Just" a fishing trip.  

[Firefighter Jeff]

    3rd day fishing Tuesday October 11th

  I launch out of Burt Lake State Park at daylight.  I go to a spot Don had suggested and catch a 2 1/2 on a dixie darter.  After that I proceed to catch a 18 inch walleye and a 25 inch Pike on the same bait.  Geesh !!  lol  Well, at least they came close together in time.

  I decide to head north and fish some areas where Tcook and I smoked them last fall.  Once again, the weather is a carbon copy of the previous day.  They were calling for a possible record high of 81 degrees.  Light winds again.  I fish a rocky area, for the entire 3 block length and never get a bite.  Shoot, I never saw any fish of any kind.

  Ok, this is getting ridiculous.  Now what do I do???  I've only been up here a couple times.  I don't know that many areas.  I decide to call Tim Cook.  He thought I was calling for some advice. (he had fished the Lakedrive tourney also)  I was calling to whine and complain.  lolol  I knew he was wanting to get back up there, and I was letting him know the water was warm and the bite, off.

  Earlier at my last spot I had noticed a boat pull up to the East of me. After I got off the phone with Tim, I noticed they were still there. Hmmmmmm they must still be there for a reason.  I never saw them boat a fish, but they worked the area a while.

I decide to put the boat on plane and went a block or two on the other side of them.

I set down in about 5 feet of water and begin to cruise with the tolling motor on high.  It's about 10- 10:30 and bright sun with little to no wind.  I can see very well in the water. Hmmmm there's a walleye I scare off that was sitting on sandy bottom.

Then whoa, I see 3 smallies together.  They are moving but don't look too skittish.  There is another one.  I get off the trolling motor and grab a Great Lakes Mellon Provider tube (GLB Sponsor) and throw it in front of the fish.  One goes after it and the fight is on !!!  There are 2 to 3 others swimming along after it, during the battle.

Oh boy this could be good.  I'm not exactly sure what the first one weighed.  I ended up getting 7 or 8 fish in the boat.  I threw some of the bigger ones in the livewell. I like doing that compared to the catch and release fishing I do in the spring on St. Clair.  I can always go back and look at those beautiful fish any time I want.  That and I can get a multiple fish pic, in addition to showing my wife later.  I ended up with a little over 19 pounds for my best 5 which included fish of 5.3, 4.6 and 4.5 weights.

Here is a picture of the two largest.



  Whenever I would spot fish I'd throw ahead of them.  A lot of times I could see them going after the bait.  Some of the fish were just hanging in the water.  I had a couple that were facing away from me.  So I would cast 30-40 feet ahead of them and off they would go towards the bait. Sometimes it took some special jiggling to get them to hit.  Sometimes they would kind of go after it without picking it up.  It was really cool.  I tried some other types of baits since I knew there were fish in the area.

Only luck I had was on the Provider tube and a Extreme Bass Tackle Muskegon Golby 4in tube. (another GLB sponsor)  I was using 3/8 ounce rattle jig heads by Bite-me lures.  It seemed that when I made it through the entire area of fish, they began to catch on to my tactics.  They were much harder to get to bite and usually swam away.  About 1:00 - 1:30 I head back to the Indiana River.  My wife and I decide to meet at the In-between Bar and Grill on the river for a late lunch.

   The In-between has some great food.  We ate there a couple of times.  With the weather being so nice we ate outside by the river.  While eating a couple of ducks decided that the sloping back end of my Stratos was a perfect ramp to get into the back of the boat.  My wife loves ducks.  Awwww how cute.......



 They were cute til one of them took a dump on the back deck  !!!!  I shooed them off after that !!!!  lol

  After lunch and taking the boat back to the resort to get a few more clothes for my wife, we head back out to Burt.  This direction, even up stream, is much closer than Mullet lake.  Only takes 10-15 minutes. Shelley takes some pictures of the morning fish and I turn them loose.  We head back to the same spot.  A light wind is now blowing from the southwest and into the area I had fished earlier.  I let the wind move us in as we start throwing tubes.  After a few casts I hook a big one.  It's a toad.

Get it in and it goes 6.1 on my new digital scale  !!!  Woohoo !!!!!  My third 6 pounder  !!!!  The very next cast I get another good fish.  This one weighs in at just under 5 pounds at 4.15.  Wow, two casts and 11 pounds of fish.  

Here is a pick of the 6.1 and 4.15


 
   The fishing is fairly fast and furious.  My wife misses a couple then lands a few fish.   She doesn't fish very much..... usually when it's above 75 degrees and sunny. She ends up getting her personal best by a long shot.  It's a 4.7



   It was one of those deals where the fishing was really good, and you knew the sun was going down.  So things were a little rushed.  I didn't weigh all the fish, just the bigger ones. Our best five went  24 pounds 1 ounce , including 6.1, 4.15, 4.4, 4.6 and 4.7  I'm just giddy, and doing the happy dance while fighting another fish    I think we boated 13 fish.

   Hmmmmm  I had pushed back the Mackinaw trip to tomorrow morning.  I did say it wasn't a "Fishing Trip"  Guess we head to Mackinaw....... but we'll go early so we can get back to fish for a couple hours in the evening.  

[LAPORTE]

Nice report  Jeff

[Firefighter Jeff]

   Thanks Don.  Very few responses.  I must have been too long winded.  Still, I will finish it now. 

[Firefighter Jeff]

  Day 4  Burt lake October 12th

   

   Yep, there it is, the Mackinaw bridge in the background.  I finally find fish up to 5 and 6 pounds and we go sightseeing/shopping.  lol  Had to hold up my end of the bargin.  Besides it gave the smallies a chance to recoup.

   We returned to Indian River after getting our fill of Fudge shops and T-shirt places in Mackinaw City.  Geesh  !!!  We did bring back some awesome smoked whitefish  !!!

Anyway, we get out on Burt with about 2 1/2 hours of light.  We head back to the same spot, and go multiple casts with no fish.  Crap, the fish moved  !!!!  I mutter to myself, "I knew I should have gone fishing this morning".  Well, I was incorrect.  They were just in a little shallower.  Once again we stuck with tubes in Great Lakes Mellon and Muskegon Golby.  My wife bumps up her personal best to 4.10



Then she proceeds to better that with a 5.4



I think we ended up with 11 fish.  Best five went 22.13  My biggest this evening went 4.12

I know it's blurry, my camera sucks, but here is a pic of the two of us that evening.



 I had talked with Tcook a day before and let him know I was on fish.  He was planning on coming up with a buddy of his the next morning.  It will be my last full day in Indian River and I told him I would be on the water again when they got up there about 11am.

 Day 5 Burt Lake October  13th.

 Well the night before and early this last morning I fight with a dilemma.  I feel it would be nice NOT to fish this spot again and leave it for Tim and his buddy.  Looks like they are only going to have one good fishing day before mother nature takes a bad turn for the worse.  So I start at a spot Don had given me.  I pick up a 4.2 and catch a pike.

I decide to go up the East shoreline of Burt, not far from the State park, and cruise the shallows hoping to find new fish.  Once again, not much on the bottom.  Mostly sand and a few pieces of wood now and then.  I stumble on to a couple of fish here and there, but they are really skittish.  This kind of surprises me because it is overcast this day.  I can't get them to bite so I keep covering territory.  

  Well, after a couple hours I gave in and went to try the same spot again.  fishing wasn't as good.  I ended up going 3 for 4 there.  I didn't fish it as thouroughly as previous trips, hoping to save those guys a little action.  I decide to head West to the spot I had seen the other boat days before.  I fish a little then get a 5.4 on a Muskegon Golby tube.  Very next cast I get a 4.0.  I notice a larger fish swimming around the 4 pounder as I bring it in.  I decide to grab another rod with a tube and throw it in behind my fish.  Kinda goofy letting a 4 pound smallie linger while trying to catch another.  lol  I couldn't get the other one to bite, oh well.

 Tim asked me later what I would have done if I had hooked the larger fish...... I responded.... "had fun !!!

"     I ended up with 20.12 for my best five.  

  I quit fishing about 4pm that afternoon.  Tim and his buddy Jason fished the area holding fish and did really well, especially that evening.  Glad they hooked into some big ones.  They struggled big time the next day with the awful rainy and windy weather.  They ended up cutting their trip short by two days.  We were extremely fortunate to have such nice weather while we were there.  

  At first I was really grumbling about the nice weather and the warm water temperatures.  I do think it took away from the fishing on Mullet and Crooked.  But it wasn't all to blame, since I did find a nice batch of fish and they were catchable.  The warm conditions allowed my wife to get out and fish with me, which I'm thankful. Two of my hopes for the trip were to get her in the boat to cruise the rivers and to catch her a few nice smallies........ Mission Accomplished.  

[1javelin]

Must be nice to have time to fish!!

1jav

[Firefighter Jeff]

Must be nice to have time to fish!!

1jav

   It sure is Herman.  I am very fortunate.  Just think, you might have the time when you're almost 50 years old too. 

[bassfan586]

Nice fish Jeff.  Very jealous.  Glad you found them!!

[bassfan586]

In 19 years!!

[Firefighter Jeff]

In 19 years!!

  Took me 60 seconds to figure that one out..... DOH !!!   

[PIGSMALLIE]

Nice report.....Thanks!!!!

[djkimmel]

Great reports Jeff! I added some spacing so people can enjoy it easier, that's all.

Sounds like you didn't notice the no high speed boating rule in the river between the bridge and the first houses closer to Mullett. Helps make the trip go faster since you can go much faster than no wake (unless they've changed that since the last time I traveled the Indian River?).

Crooked and Pickerel are pretty spotty in the fall. You get on the right little spots, you'll get more bass. Though I usually just go to the back end and spinnerbait all the reeds while just moving along. That usually works.

As far as Mullett, you should have hammered them in those conditions. I don't think you found the right spots or cast your spinnerbait in the right 'angles.' That's all... I find that people are either 'Burt' people (not me) or 'Mullett' people (ME ME ME). This is different than Village people...

Nice thing about Mullett is, the fishing usually gets better later in the day during the fall so getting up early doesn't accomplish a lot. I like that!

[River Rat]

Excellent report, Jeff, glad you and the misses had a great trip!

[huskybass]

Great trip!  Congrats to you and Shelly.  I remember the "old days" when I was the one catching the big smallmouth.   

Hope to wet a line with you again sometime. 

Mike

[edyer]

Great report and jealous you can still get your wife to fish some. I want to go up there some day, but we are going to the Arcadia area this weekend to try our luck. Did you ever hear how Don did?

[Firefighter Jeff]

Excellent report, Jeff, glad you and the misses had a great trip!

    Thanks Scott  !!

[Firefighter Jeff]

Great trip!  Congrats to you and Shelly.  I remember the "old days" when I was the one catching the big smallmouth.   

Hope to wet a line with you again sometime. 

Mike

   Hey Mike,

    Welcome to the site.    I think you probably have more quality smallies in your lifetime than I do.  But you better watch out, I'm trying to catch up  !!! 
     And so far as wetting a line sometime???  The back of the boat is yours if you choose next May on St. Clair. 

[Firefighter Jeff]

Great report and jealous you can still get your wife to fish some. I want to go up there some day, but we are going to the Arcadia area this weekend to try our luck. Did you ever hear how Don did?

   You mean Don Watts???  I mentioned that he fished that Saturday we arrived in Indian River.  Said they had a good numbers day on Mullet but mostly 2 to 3 pounders,  they did have a big one a little over 5.  If you meant something else, I'm not sure what you are talking about.

[Firefighter Jeff]

Great reports Jeff! I added some spacing so people can enjoy it easier, that's all.

Sounds like you didn't notice the no high speed boating rule in the river between the bridge and the first houses closer to Mullett. Helps make the trip go faster since you can go much faster than no wake (unless they've changed that since the last time I traveled the Indian River?).

Crooked and Pickerel are pretty spotty in the fall. You get on the right little spots, you'll get more bass. Though I usually just go to the back end and spinnerbait all the reeds while just moving along. That usually works.

As far as Mullett, you should have hammered them in those conditions. I don't think you found the right spots or cast your spinnerbait in the right 'angles.' That's all... I find that people are either 'Burt' people (not me) or 'Mullett' people (ME ME ME). This is different than Village people...

Nice thing about Mullett is, the fishing usually gets better later in the day during the fall so getting up early doesn't accomplish a lot. I like that!

  No problem on the editing Dan, go back and correct my spelling and grammatical errors too.  lolol

    Hmmmm what is not high speed???  Can I put it just on plane??  All the other boats were idling, so I was going with the flow.  lol

   So far as Crooked, I've had some success last fall on there, but we had pretty windy conditions.  Tcook and I did throw some spinner (not a lot) around the reeds also.  I don't feel bad about that lake.  Just think it will be better when the water temps drop.

   Hmmmmm it would take a lot of convincing, or seeing it in person to believe I should have hammered those fish that day on Mullet. I think Don did a little better because there was a little more wind on Saturday than Sunday.  Like I said I cruised a long area east of Aloha and never saw a fish. I certainly have not given up on Mullet.  I only spent the good part of one day on it and it was my first time.  I definitely want to get out there again.  When we going???  lolol