Hunting Michigan 7lb+ Largemouth in Winter

[Michigander]

1 minute ago, A-Jay said:

Only thing left to do now

Is smash a 24 inch green bass !

A-Jay

Yep, seems easy, right? We'll see tomorrow morning. Was supposed to go out today but that didn't work out.

[12poundbass]

Nice morning to fish. There’s skim ice in the channel out back here on my lake.

[redmeansdistortion]

4 minutes ago, 12poundbass said:

Nice morning to fish. There’s skim ice in the channel out back here on my lake.

Dang you guys have skim already?  It's all open down here.  Might get some skim with the snow storm we're supposed to get early next week.  Good luck and hope you get your 7lb greenie.

[12poundbass]

32 minutes ago, redmeansdistortion said:

Dang you guys have skim already?  It's all open down here.  Might get some skim with the snow storm we're supposed to get early next week.  Good luck and hope you get your 7lb greenie.

It was 26 when I left the house this morning. With the exception of a mild night here and there the overnight lows have been in the 20’s. 

[MIbassyaker]

On 11/17/2020 at 12:20 PM, Michigander said:

West. It's Jordan Lake in Lake Odessa. There's probably two in there so I can share. ?

 

Looks like a straight shot down 66 for you!

 

The MTIFS reports show that tournaments weighed a 7.00 in 2017, and a 7.71 in 2018.  So that's two right there, if those aren't the same fish (quite possible, though).

 

Jordan is about 50-60min away from me. I have only been on it once, in the summer a few years ago, and caught a dink and a 17-incher. It's a little busy for my tastes in the summer. I keep meaning to go back sometime in April or early May when I get a chance, but haven't yet.

 

On 11/21/2020 at 11:54 PM, Michigander said:

There were some playful Smallies jumping occasionally, but other than a seagull and a swan I didn't see any life.

 

I didn't know there were smallies in there. How big do they get?

[Michigander]

7 hours ago, MIbassyaker said:

 

The MTIFS reports show that tournaments weighed a 7.00 in 2017, and a 7.71 in 2018.  So that's two right there, if those aren't the same fish (quite possible, though).

 

Jordan is about 50-60min away from me. I have only been on it once, in the summer a few years ago, and caught a dink and a 17-incher. It's a little busy for my tastes in the summer. I keep meaning to go back sometime in April or early May when I get a chance, but haven't yet.

 

 

I didn't know there were smallies in there. How big do they get?

Yep, that's the data I used to choose the lake. It's possible it is the same fish but last year one of our tournaments produced one in the upper sixes, so I'm cool catching that one too, lol. Most of the small mouth were transplants by people living on the lake. Other than the ones that have spawned, they're probably in the 3-4lb range.

 

 

Trip 2:

Launched about 10am.

Air temp was 34 per truck.

Water temp unknown

Wind was 8-15mph

No clouds, sunny

 

[Michigander]

It was pretty windy out there today so boat control was challenging. Went to the opposite side of the lake from the first trip. It was more productive, I saw a small bass and a painted turtle. I also got bit twice! I missed the first one because I was so surprised that I was getting a bite, I was second guessing if it was a fish because I didn't know what a bite felt like on my rod or with a swim bait. I swung after the second thump which I assume was the fish spitting the bait out.

 

However, when the second strike came later, I knew what I was dealing with and got that one in the net. About five pounds lighter than I was going for but I also needed a moral victory to get my confidence up. First soft swim bait fish!

 

 

[A-Jay]

Nice Job ~ 

Bass'in in those conditions is a different animal.

Although the pay off can be superior.

Congrats

A-Jay 

[Michigander]

2 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Nice Job ~ 

Bass'in in those conditions is a different animal.

Although the pay off can be superior.

Congrats

A-Jay 

Yeah, it was rough out there. I got quite the workout paddling against the wind to get back to my truck! I'm just glad I got some positive reinforcement. I put a few more pieces of the puzzle together today.

 

I need an anchor. It's too hard to fish these as slow as I think they need to be with my kayak getting rocketed out by the wind. Need to go buy a rivet gun now.

[12poundbass]

Nice work! 

[Michigander]

1 hour ago, 12poundbass said:

Nice work! 

Thanks! I'm hoping each subsequent trip will be better. If I can crack 4 lbs I will at least have a new personal lake record there.

 

I'm hoping that since basically no one goes there this time of year, the big ones will get a little complacent. ?

[Michigander]

Trip 3

Air temp 29 degrees per truck 

Weather cloudy

Wind 1-5mph

 

Tough out there today, my guides kept freezing up and the level wind on my reel was too. Throughout this project I have only been taking my swim bait rod and two swim baits so I am not tempted to give up and fish with something else. Unfortunately, I thimk I could have had an amazing day fishing if I had a jig. I saw soooo many bass in 3-5 feet of water today. Most of them were 2-3 pounds-ish but several were in that 4-5 range. They didn't care that I was there, I could have hit several of them with my paddle. I even had a school of seven keepers following my kayak trying figure out what I was.

It was pretty clear that crayfish were the dish of choice today. If the bass weren't cruising around, then they were about 6" off the bottom nose down and tail up. It was cool to see but frustrating because they weren't remotely interested in my swim baits. Oh well, I have a good place for jigs next year if I can't get out again before ice out. It's coming. The creeks and marshes were frozen on the way there and there was some ice on the shady shore side.

 

 

[12poundbass]

Bummer you couldn’t get anything to bite, but cool you saw plenty of scorable bass. 
 

Is it normal for the bass to be that shallow when the water is that cold? 
 

My lake was completely frozen all day today with the exception of the inlet. 

[Michigander]

14 minutes ago, 12poundbass said:

Bummer you couldn’t get anything to bite, but cool you saw plenty of scorable bass. 
 

Is it normal for the bass to be that shallow when the water is that cold? 
 

My lake was completely frozen all day today with the exception of the inlet. 

I'm not a cold water bass expert by any means, but I was only in that depth because I was attempting to sneak up on a drop-off and was traveling through water I expected to be devoid of fish. So I was certainly surprised.

 

Yeah, the ice is coming. I don't want this to have been my last 2020 trip but it very well could have been.

[12poundbass]

50 minutes ago, Michigander said:

I'm not a cold water bass expert by any means, but I was only in that depth because I was attempting to sneak up on a drop-off and was traveling through water I expected to be devoid of fish. So I was certainly surprised.

 

Yeah, the ice is coming. I don't want this to have been my last 2020 trip but it very well could have been.

The temps mid week and the weekend won’t be bad at all and will keep the lakes open. The rain next weekend will probably keep you off the lake though. It appears (my side of the state anyways) it’s going to be pretty wet! 

[Michigander]

47 minutes ago, 12poundbass said:

The temps mid week and the weekend won’t be bad at all and will keep the lakes open. The rain next weekend will probably keep you off the lake though. It appears (my side of the state anyways) it’s going to be pretty wet! 

I can deal with the rain, it's the 18mph wind I read on the forecast that'll keep me on my couch. LoL.

[TheBasslayer]

I wish I could catch a 7 pound bass or even a decent bass in winter period! Oh well, it's too late to fish in my home lake now.