Duck and Green Lakes

[mikesmiph]

Club is going there next weekend. My boater and I have never been there. I'm sure none of the guys in the club will give us any tips, LOL. Anyone been there? Any help?

[Firefighter Jeff]

You fishing both lakes???  I have been on them both, but not a lot and only moderate success.

[Dan]

Two of my most favorite lakes, and I'm happy to say I've won some money there. Green (http://www.fishweb.com/maps/grandtraverse/green_lake/index.html ) for big fish, Duck (http://www.fishweb.com/maps/grandtraverse/duck_lake/index.html ) for numbers. Make sure you plan to eat at Boone's Long Lake Inn, just a short drive down the road. The Hoffbrau ( http://www.hofbrauinterlochen.com/  ) is not bad either, and they have a fairly new restaurant/ice cream place just before the Hoffbrau on the right, but Boone's is a place you'll remember. http://www.booneslli.com/?q=node/9
Duck's launch is in the State Park. You'll need a sticker or a day pass. The DNR launch on Green is on the west side of the lake and you have to drive south out of the State Park and go around Green's south end. The little store, in Karlin ( http://cityvoter.com/karlin-deli-7464-nessen-rd-karlin-mi-49643/loc/252292 ), that you see just beyond where you turn right to go around Green is a great sandwich spot. Be careful going around Green because the sign for the launch is one of those tiny DNR signs, and even though I know about where it is at I still on occasion drive by it.
There is a rustic camping area on Green Lake that has a ramp, but parking for only a few vehicles. Camping at the State Park is availbable, but it's a very busy park. They do have several cabins you can rent that work out well. They may be hard to get though. They sleep 4 and have electrical and parking enough for two boats.
I've been fishing Duck and Green for probably 20 plus years, but there are others like the Fishing Pollack on this site that know it probably better.
I also have several articles on these lakes on my http://teardropbass.com/ website. Lots of pictures, etc.
Shoot me a PM

[tjrock]

Fished Green lake on Saturday, not as productive as I thought it would be, but did manage to get a few nice size smallies 17-19 inchers and one really nice 20 inch largemouth. The water was a lot warmer than I thought it would be about 72 deg. Did manage to find a few smallies still on there beds in the northwest part of the lake in 5 to 6 feet of water. Also caught a few by the hump in the northeast part of the lake working a tube down the dropoff.

[fasttrack]

Nice write-up as usual Dan! The guy knows where to eat better than anyone else I know (LOL)!

[mikesmiph]

I agree, and thats going to be very important to me too this weekend LOL.  Thanks for the help guys.

[macbass]

hey mike i can help you with a few of the meal preparations...if you go to the hofbrau just ask for brian he is the owner and tell him dennis sent you.... he is my little brother....and the smashed red skins and sunday brunch are out of this world....

[TritonTR20]

Will be there this weekend for a club tourney also. Fishing duck one day and green the other. Dont know which one first. Will be in a white and red Triton TR20. Prefishing on friday. Stop by and say hello if you run across me.

[djkimmel]

Only been there once a zillion years ago. Saw lots of both kinds of bass and I just don't remember much else.

Does Boone's still have the 'steak' the size of a small cow? I barely remember that though we road over in a van and once of the older guy's wife goosed me in the dark. Everyone had a big laugh because I squealed like a girl being a young 20-something innocent at the time, and not expecting that kind of thing from a 'mature' married lady. I definitely remember being goosed.

[Dan]

What kind of reports from Duck and Green are out there?

[mikesmiph]

My report wont help anyone. Fished all day Saturday. Never caught a keeper. Then got the phone call and had to go home because of my dad. Didnt fish on Sunday. I did manage to catch a 2+ rockie that was .02oz short of winning the side pot.lol

[motocross269]

The Team Bass Tournaments went pretty well.....Duck fished a little tougher than Green...
We stayed at a really nice Cabin right on Duck lake...Boat parking was a little tough for 3 boats but other than that it was pretty nice...

I found most of my fish on shallow flats and deep water breaks...I was using a drop shot and kept having fish come unbuttoned...I think I was slamming the hook home too hard and using braid and Flouro didn't help...We found a few on beds and a few suspended in deep water...
My back seat guy kicked my butt throwing a Senko in 20 foot of water and soaking it....The fish were suspended eating mayflies and he had the patience to wait for them to come up...I saw the suspended fish on my graph but I worked the break for the sure thing...I ended up with 3 on Saturday and my partner had his limit...I lost 3-4 fish that just came unbuttoned on Saturday on Green lake...
On Duck lake I had a great practice and was pretty confident that I could do well...I worked a shallow flat early in the AM and had 4 fish by 0930....I stuck to the Drop shot...I lost at least 5 fish that came unbuttoned through the rest of the tournament...My back seat guy was fairly new and struggled getting bit but managed to put 2 in the boat...I needed that 5th fish bad...I was so peeed that I didn't do a lot of talking the last couple of hours and really focused on getting that fish...No such luck...
I probably need to back my drag off some on my reel..Ease up on the hook sets..and maybe not use Flouro for shallow water drop shotting..I think I was pulling those little drop shot hooks right through their mouth...I hit one with a hook set so hard we saw it spin around and it still came unbuttoned...Maybe if I let it take the bait a little longer....I still have alot to learn and I picked up some hard lessons this week....
I think around 15lbs won it on Green and around 11 lbs won on Duck..
We didn't find alot of beds so that is the reason for the low weights..Overall I think those 2 lakes have alot of possibilities and show themselves pretty well...I would like to fish Long up there it looked like it could be an awesome lake..

As far as food....We sampled both Boones and the Hofbrau...Both were awesome....The Waitress at the Hofbrau made some comment about a pretty blue sparkly bass boat that was out all day Thursday when she was Jet Skiing and the guys gave me a hard time because it was mine...
The service at both places was top notch...I had the Perch and Ribs at Boones...They give you a ton of food I ended up getting a box and getting a good lunch out of the leftovers...
At hofbrau I just had a Grilled Chicken Salad but from what I saw the rest of the meals looked good...
As a side note we were walking out of Tom's Grocery store in Interlochen and ran into Bill Lambier...He was taking back empties...You would think he would have people to do that..LOL...

[Dan]

Thanks for the reports guys. I love those two lakes and the area. Long is a great lake as well. Some big fish in it. Hang in there Mike.

[TritonTR20]

Fished Duck on Saturday and finished third with 11-11 and a tie for big fish at 3-12. Culled two. My partner struggled and only had two fish. Caught a few on top and the rest on beavers and dartiers.
Sunday we fished green and caught a few suspended fish on jerkbaits, a few on Crooked Creek sticks, and a few drop shotting. Only ended up with 4 keepers, my partner had one. My truck broke down on the way back home which rellay sucked. $850 and a new fuel pump later, I'm back home. Second one in 8 months. Apparently the one they put on last October when it quit at elizebeth park was a aftermarket piece of junk.

[Dan]

Green can be tough. I have a few spots on Green that are my go to spots and if they're not there I can struggle. It can be feast or famine. The lake has a lot of smelt in it. They fish it hard through the ice for smelt. I think those smallies go deep and follow the forage, smelt.