On a Sunday afternoon

Although fishing at the Looking Glass has been slow the last few weeks, I still enjoy my time there.  This past Sunday, my dad and I went to our usual spots in the Looking Glass.  I didn't even see any fish for most of the day, although I did enjoy the sight of dad diving after my fishing pole when I had put it down.  There was a big pike on the end!  Unfortunately, this pike got off, but I did manage to catch a nice, 27-inch pike just a few minutes later.  My bait was a gold shiner.

But that was not the best part of the day.  When we first arrived at the park, we met a couple of 7th-grade fishermen who recognized me from my blog.  Later, a man walking through the park stopped to say hello and asked if I was Joseph.  He knew me from my blog, too.  We got to talking and he recommended a few areas for fishing:  behind Furstenau Elementary for pike, and by the Schavey Road bridge for suckers.  I was very glad to see that people read my blog and are able to use some of my fishing tips and the advice I share.

Whopper in the River

This past Saturday, I went on a fishing trip with pro bass fisherman Chad Pipkens.  I got to go on the trip because my mom had the winning bid in an auction sponsored by the Brain Injury Association of Michigan.

I met Chad Pipkens on Saturday morning at the Lake Erie Metropark, where the Detroit River empties into Lake Erie.  We started off by loading our gear into his boat and then sailed over to a popular small mouth area in the middle of the Detroit River.  Before we could start fishing, Chad tied a drop-shot rig with a Poor Boys four-inch Erie darter.  He told me to cast into a rock pile he had saved on his fish finder.  As I was bouncing the rig along the bottom, I felt a tug on my pole and then set the hook.  My first fish of the day was a nice bass, and was bigger than any bass I had ever caught in the Grand or Looking Glass Rivers.

The next fish I reeled in was a nice, 20-inch walleye.  He was very hard to hold for a photo!

This was the first walleye I have ever reeled in.  Another first for me followed just a few minutes later, after we moved to a new location, when I caught a freshwater drum, or a sheepshead, as some people call it.

During the balance of the morning, I caught several other nice bass, ranging from 16 to 18 inches.

 That's Chad Pipkens with me in the photo on the right.

The sunny weather we had enjoyed for most of the morning was coming to an end and the clouds were moving in when we headed into an area off Grosse Ile with a gravel bottom.  I quickly cast straight into the gravel bottom with a Poor Boys Lake Erie darter.  On my third retrieve, something big hammered my bait.  I set the hook, and the fight was on.  I knew I either had a big small mouth on, or a fair-sized walleye.  After 30 seconds of battling this beast, I got my first glimpse of the fish.  A four-and-a-half pound small mouth was at the end of my line.

My dad quickly netted him, we took the hook out, and then we put the fish in the live well for a photo when we were back at the dock.

After we had some fun fishing for deeper-water small mouth, Chad suggested that we go after some shallow-water small mouth that he said would jump right out of the water.  We strapped our rods to the deck of the bass boat and moved over to a shallow area.  Before I could start fishing, I needed to use a more-weedless lure.  Chad suggested that I use a fluke, while he used a lipless crank bait.  After casting for about 10 minutes, I thought I was caught up in weeds, but, in reality, a foot-long perch had grabbed my fluke, and, within a few seconds, I was reeling him in.  I barely knew he was hooked, and was surprised to see such a nice perch on my line.  I was also pleased to see how many nice fish inhabit the Detroit River, from big small mouth, to walleye, to freshwater drum, and even jumbo perch.

I really enjoyed fishing with Chad Pipkens, and hope I get the chance to fish again with such a great angler!

No fish were harmed in the making of this blog!

Pike Hat Trick

Labor Day Weekend was a great time for pike fishing.  It was the last week of summer for pike fishing, but it was also the best time I have ever had.  It all started in the first fifteen minutes of Labor Day afternoon, when my dad spotted a smaller pike near a brush pile in the Looking Glass River in Clinton County.  I quickly cast a gold shiner on a sinker rig and hoped for the best.  At first, my dad and I thought the pike was one of those spoon-fed pike, but slowly and surely the pike decided to take the minnow.  When I tried to set the hook, the hook and the minnow flew out of its mouth and landed near the riverbank.  But the pike took the minnow again, and the fight was on! The fish swam toward the brush pile and tried to snap my line, but my dad was too quick.  He scooped the pike up with our net and landed him on the shore.  When I was measuring the pike, he made a quick move, and smacked me in the face with his tail!  The pike was 27 inches long.

After we released this first pike, we walked upstream a few hundred feet and spotted a monster pike minding his own business in the bottom of a hole.  On another sinker rig, I put on the biggest gold shiner I had and tossed it out to him.  At first, he just looked at it and didn't pay much attention, but then in one quick move, he used his gigantic mouth to suck in the minnow!  This pike was like having a moving rock on my line.  Even though my reel was on full drag, he pulled my line halfway across DeWitt and then turned around and came back.  I finally fought this beast close enough to where my dad could try to net him.  After several attempts, we landed the pike, but my net actually bent under the weight of this huge fish!  I was astonished to look at the end of the tape measure and see that this pike was 41 inches long.  My dad and I estimated it at 18 or 19 pounds.  Without a doubt, this was my biggest fish ever!

To wrap up this great day of pike fishing,we walked downstream to a spot under the Bridge Street bridge in DeWitt.  When we arrived, I noticed that there were many people fishing, and I wondered if all the fish might have been caught.  But then, with a 5/0 hook and one of my trusty gold shiners from Grand River Bait and Tackle, I cast out under the middle of the bridge.  First, I caught a nice, 12-inch small mouth bass.  After I unhooked him and let him go, I put another gold shiner on my line and cast back to the same spot.  All of the sudden, my dad shouted "The bobber's gone down!"  I raced to the poll and set the hook.  Before I knew it, I was reeling in a nice, 28-inch pike.  He made great runs and even tried to break my line in a brush pile, but with my dad's help with the net, I was able to bring the fish in.  When I set the pike on the grass, I attracted a crowd of people who were surprised to see such a big fish..  Some of them asked if they could even take my picture with the pike!  I quickly measured him and let him go where I caught him.  Labor Day 2013 was truly a great day of pike fishing!

The Fish of Summer

 It has been a great summer of fishing on the Looking Glass River here in Clinton County, Michigan.  This year, many bass have found my pike minnows irresistible  Most times, small mouth bass beat the pike to my minnow.  The bass I have been catching have been 12 to 14 inches.  They are not huge bass, but are fun to catch.

Although I have not caught as many pike this summer as in past years, I think the pike are more aggressive.  I have had many exciting takes where pike have jetted as fast as they could to take my artificial or live bait.  I still think there was a summer die-off of pike in the hot summer of 2012 that affected the population, as the pike don't seem as plentiful as they were in the last few years.

While I think there are fewer pike, I enjoy watching wildlife along the Looking Glass and I always bring a camera to take pictures.  This is a shot of an Eastern Garter Snake basking in a tree in the Riverfront Park in downtown DeWitt.  Anyone who decides to hike along the Looking Glass has a chance to see Blue Herons, snapping turtles, map turtles, painted turtles, muskrats, mink, white tail deer and their fawns and wild turkeys. 

Carp Rescue!

While I have spent a lot of time fishing this summer, I have also been able to help some fish.  At our church picnic, I noticed a small pool that had 14 large carp in it.  The pool had been connected to the Grand River at one time, but as the water had gone down, the carp were stranded.  I gathered a posse of carp rescuers, grabbed my big pike net from the van, and went to the pool.

I scooped up a carp, and carried it several hundred feet to the Grand River to be released.  I repeated the procedure five times during the course of the picnic.  Carp are not everyone's favorite fish, but I'm happy I was able to help them out!

Return of the Pike!

Late in the summer of 2012, I became concerned about the pike population in the Looking Glass River near DeWitt.  I was not able to catch or see any pike because, I think, the water was so low and warm.  But on July 7, I returned to the Looking Glass and the pike are back!

I cast a minnow into the river and a big pike came out of nowhere and grabbed it;  this might have been one of the best strikes I have ever had!  The pike constantly thrashed and jumped, which made for great entertainment.  As you know, I am a catch-and-release fisherman, so I put the pike back for the next fisherman to catch.

A few minutes later, an ever bigger pike hit my minnow.  I struggled with this pike for four or five minutes.  He must have been 34 or 35 inches long.  Unfortunately, he did a back flip and came off my hook.  I was sorry to lose this pike, but I enjoyed the great battle we had!

July Journey

 The week of the Fourth of July is a time when I usually go fishing Up North.  This year's trip took to me to Alanson, between Petoskey and Mackinaw City, on the Crooked River.  During our time in Alanson, we stayed at the Crooked River Lodge.  A couple of years ago, new owners took over, and they have done many good things, including hiking trails, a fishing dock, and a fish pond where you can feed the fish.  I caught a number of pan fish while fishing right from the dock behind the Lodge as well as near the lock, just outside of the town.

The Crooked River around Alanson is good habitat for water snakes.  I observed a number of these snakes during my adventures along the River.  The water snakes I saw are not venomous, but people should not handle them, as they will bite!  I estimate the largest snake I saw was close to three feet long.

I always enjoy being in the company of a good fisherman!  When we approached the big fish pond at the nearby Oden State Fish Hatchery, some people told us there was a bald eagle close by.  Sure enough, when we looked over the water, there was a great big bald eagle looking down at the trout!  I didn't see the eagle catch a trout, but I can also see how he became a great big bald eagle!


Meanwhile, back behind the Crooked River Lodge, I was pleased to see several turtles.  The turtles I saw were mostly painted turtles and snapping turtles.  When we were walking back to our room, we saw many turtle nests that had been dug up by raccoons.  The turtles were very skittish, and every time I would get close for a picture, they would swim off.


I love northern Michigan and the fish and the
wildlife I see there.  I look forward to returning
there later this summer!

The Longest Day of Fishing, 2013

People who read Whopper in the Water know that I call the Saturday closest to the first day of summer the "Longest Day of Fishing."  During that day, my dad and I spend almost the whole day fishing, starting at 6:00 in the morning and going until after 9:00 at night.  Some of the highlights from this year included fishing along the Grand River in Grand Ledge at Island Park.  When we first arrived, we noticed many splashes coming from the water.  I got really excited, and wondered what was under the surface.  But before I even put a line in, my eyes saw something in the shallow water;  it was a soft shell turtle!  I was surprised to see a soft shell turtle, because usually they are found in sandy areas, and where I was fishing was a little rocky.  

After I took pictures, I got back to fishing.  The nicest fish I caught at Grand Ledge was a 14-inch small mouth bass, which took a 4-inch gold shiner on a float.  The bass put up one of the best fights I have had all year.  The bass jumped out of the water three times and swam like crazy.

When we finished our trip to Grand Ledge, we took a break and headed over to Sleepy Hollow State Park near Ovid, MI, in the evening.  I went to Sleepy Hollow, expecting to catch large mouth bass, but, instead, I caught two channel catfish.

The fist catfish was 13 inches long and the second 11 inches long.  I was very happy to catch them, as they were the first channel cats I have ever caught.  In the picture, you will see I am wearing gloves because channel catfish have very sharp pectoral and dorsal fins.  Anglers will want to handle  catfish with care, as many can transmit a mild venom that creates a burning sensation.

2013 is the first Longest Day of Fishing in several years that I have not caught a pike.  My favorite pike waters, the Looking Glass River in DeWitt, are still flooded, and my usual pike fishing spot was not accessible.  But when those waters go down, those pike need to be wary.  Joseph will be back!

Urban Fishing

On Saturday, June 8, I planned to go fishing early with my Dad.  We first visited the Looking Glass in DeWitt, but it was flooded, so we decided to try the Grand River.  Fishing in downtown Lansing, just a couple of blocks from the state Capitol, my hopes weren't high.  For about half of our fishing trip, I didn't even have a nibble, but then, I finally got a bite!  A 13-inch small mouth bass hammered my minnow.

A few minutes after releasing the bass, I could tell I had another big fish on my line.  A second small mouth bass, bigger than the last, was putting up a titanic fight and was running to structure like a bobcat with a burr under its tail!  This second fish was a 17-inch small mouth.

I was on my last minnow for the day and had a five-minute warning from my dad when I felt another tug on my line.  I was surprised to land my favorite fish, the northern pike.  Although it was only 18 inches long, the fish meant a lot to me because it was my first pike of 2013.

Don't let the fact that you are in a city fool you.  There is good fishing in downtown Lansing!

Fishing on Ice

On January 26, I spent the afternoon ice fishing at Park Lake near Bath, Michigan.  Unfortunately, I didn't catch anything, but the people around us didn't seem to be catching anything either.  I was using a new "Slab Grabber" lure that I got at the fishing show in Novi earlier in January.  Even though I didn't catch anything, I was impressed with the way the Slabgrabber fluttered like a wounded bait fish.

Tip ups were part of my fishing strategy, too.  I was using a "Pikekilla" lure and attached to it was a golden shiner.

Because of the mild winter in 2012, this was the first time in two years I was able to fish at Park Lake, and it was nice to be back!