ypsi~dixit

I would strongly recommend against eating anything from the Huron.
My standard rig for smallmouth bass, rock bass and panfish is black jigheads with white plastic grub bodies. This combination always works. Cast it under overhanging branches or next to submerged structure and reel it in steadily. Rebel crawfish lures are also good for smallmouths and rock bass (they love crawfish). If you want to use live bait (you cheater), shiner minnows with a very small bobber is a good combo for smallmouths. Worm and bobber combo will catch any fish in the river (catfish and carp included) except for pike.
A spoon (Daredevil, etc) or a crawler harness is good for walleyes in the dam ponds (Barton, Argo, Superior, Geddes). When going for walleye, retrieve the bait or lure very slowly. A walleye doesn't hit like a bass; it feels like you have snag.
Of course, it also helps to know where the least fished holes are and to have a boat/canoe/kayak.
There are some easily accessible holes west of Ann Arbor that are quite productive, but they get a lot of use. The smallmouth fishing below the Superior dam is very good, but you need a boat to get at the really good spots.

I would agree with LF's statement about not eating your Huron catch.

The river, while much, much cleaner than it was back in the 70's, still tests high in industrial pollutants, sewage, and biological organisms. If you fish this part of the Huron, you're fishing for sport only.

Catch and release, then eat something not from the Huron.

You dont want to eat *any* fish caught in Michigan more than a couple of times a week because it rains mercury into all surface water.

How depressing. I recently read an article about the Rouge River and how it's inadvisable to even have body contact with the water since it has a high quantity of E. Coli from sewage. I was sad to read that, and thought, "well, at least we don't have that problem on the Huron." It is disconcerting to read that it is inadvisable to eat Huron fish. Something is very wrong with this picture.

I wish people realized that the simple fact that we can't even drink Huron River water straight is a glaring wake-up call that a serious change in lifestyle is called for...but, as usual, people don't care. Saddening.

LF, your post is very helpful and I plan to print it out when I go to buy lures. Thanks for the info. My dream? Overnight fishing-camping weekends spent in the Waterloo Nature Area. I have an inflateable raft and my idea is: bike there on a Friday eve, camp overnight, swim and fish Saturday, cook fish dinner, return Sunday. This seems like an idyllic plan to me, but I'm so clueless. I don't even know if it's allowed to fish in the Waterloo natural area. I have some research to do. In the meantime, thank you for the informative post about your techniques; I appreciate it.

You shouldnt drink *any* river water straight because of animal poo. Seriously. You could be in the most pristine of places and still not want to drink the water untreated.

Lynne: that jibes with a story I read today on how animal poo is infecting the Huron watershed. Raccoons are apparently nesting in storm drains and there's the omnipresent Canada Goose adding its contributions...all in all, it's a poo-rich river, unfortunately.

LF is the angling expert here, but I'm pretty sure your Waterloo adventure is a workable plan. It sounds like a great weekend away.

Except for that part about cooking the fish...
Then again, you could always buy some fish...

You can eat the panfish in the Waterloo Rec Area. Always check the fish advisory booklet when fishing/eating. I would always be wary of any bottom feeding fish (catfish).
By the time the Huron hits Ann Arbor, multiple communities (Dexter, Loch Alpine) have dumped their treated and untreated waste into it. And, if you're fishin' in Ypsi, you've got Ann Arbor poo to deal with. Although I hear Ann Arbor poo is gourmet poo.

Come on baby...
Don't fear the Lunker..
Take my hand...

http://216.109.117.135/search/cache?p=%22mr.+Bass%22&toggle=1&ei=UTF-8&b=21&u=dbd.netdojo.com/pages/mrbass.html&w=%22mr+bass%22&d=3A53615296&icp=1&.intl=us

A lot of helpful advice here, for which I am grateful. I was hoping the Waterloo area fish would be more edible by virtue of its being in a non-urban area and that seems to be the case. They stopped printing the fish advisory book this year due to budget cutbacks, but it's still online in the DNR site.

Dan: I love the Waterloo Nature Area; it is gorgeous and huge, with all different kinds of experiences to enjoy--hiking on wooded trails, picnicking, lots of tree-lined lakes; it's beautiful.

The giant link Anon. kindly posted is to a guy apparently named Mr. Bass, a member of a band called Dead By Dawn.

Fishing for Pike at the four mile lake recreation area is the way to go. There is a lake, and a long channel/pond, called "the marl pit" Probably because its an old marl pit. Very secluded and thick. You can park and hike a covered trail tunnel like, around the pit. Use large chubs bought live at Mill Creek Sports center in Dexter, bring ice cubes for their water so they stay alive longer. Put the live chub on a decent size hook. Chubs should be 2 to 6 inches long. Hook it through the nose or back. Bobber set about three ft up the line. Cast as far as you can into the middle. Open beer, eaqt chips, wait. Eventually the bobber will slowly go down. Let it. Wait a minute or two after it goes down. Use steel leaders helps. Pike got sharp teeth and cut the line easily.

Mr. Bass lies waiting in his kelpy room
Waiting, til comes doom
He comes and then ne goes
He sees Orca and then he knows
I can see Mr. Bass, he's on my wall
I can taste Mr. Bass, he's on my wall
I can smell Mr. Bass tomorrow
We finished the island with a broken motor
They were biting at alarming rate
Mr. Bass, he was irate

Mr. Bass takes a beating
Billy Boy must keep eating
Old Pat he must be burning
Look's like his stomach's turning
He feeds on the centipedes
He lies behind in a greenish hue
He'll eat whatever, he'll even eat you
Mr. Bass, he knows my hook
'Cause I've been reading them bassin' books

Lunkmonkey: That is a fantastic tip. Thanks for the description. It sounds great. It will take a while to work up to the pike level, I imagine, but this sounds like a lot of fun and maybe the best possible way to spend a day.

...and thanks also for the lyrics, too.

There used to be a gas staion on Waterloo rd. On Sugarloaf lake. He rented rowboats by the hour and it was a reasonable price. I haven't been there in ten years so Don't know if its still there. The owner was 2000 years old and the crankiest bastard in all of Waterloo. But Sugarloaf has a lot of pike. May is the best time to catch them. Hard to catch any once summer hits. But maybe he sold the store and business to some local dgenerate.

(checks map) Oh, yeah--there is the lake, way over in the western edge of the county.

I can almost hear the pike chuckling at the idea of someone as clueless as me attempting to actually catch one of these ferocious and giant fish. Panfish might be a more achievable goal--but I am keeping your kind and helpful advice in mind, Anon.

31-pound pike.

Just stick a piece of bologna on your hook, and cast under the Forest St. Bridge. I guarantee you'll catch a channel cat the size of a fire log. That's what we always did anyway...

a channel cat the size of a fire log :)

Dave D, may I ask did you eat this cat?

Hm. Channel catfish are said to be delicious.

We always threw them back. I imagined if we did eat them, they would probably taste like Huron river. There's also some decent bass up and down the river by that bridge. Can't wait to head back this summer..

Wow. I didn't think there were bass in that stretch of river. I'm guessing you didn't eat those either Dave D.

It has been said there is a campground of sorts in the woods there.

That is a prime bass area. Where the curve in the river is, below motor wheel. Cast behinf the big boulders there. I've had em break my line there. But its a pretty known spot. The river for 200 yard downstream of the Superior dam is very good as well. Lots of rock bass.

Those are both conveniently close to my house and within bike range. People are being generous with their fishing spot tips, which I appreciate.

This fishin' page gives moon phases.

Moon phases?

wind matter too. Wind from the west, fish bite the best.
Wind from the east, fish bite the least.

I just read an article, over lunchtime, about removing a hook--a treble hook buried in someone's calf.

Phew.

Laura--

As to which one of the 4,000 poles....I'd reccomend a medium weight spinning rod, 6-7 feet long. You should find a large selection of such rods in various price ranges. Get a reel that can hold 150-200 yards of 6lb test line. IF the clerk is marginally knowledgeable about fishing, s/he can point one out that will balance the rod nicely. Don't skimp on cheap line. It will snarl, kink, and break easily. Stren and Berekly Trilene are good quality monofilaments.

Waterloo is a good place to fish, but you may find yourself limited w/o a boat. Can you pack a float tube on that bike of yours?

Good luck and keep us posted.

Perfect. That is the exact information I was hoping for--thanks Shupac. That is so helpful. It's amazing how knowledgable people are generous with their know-how.

(cluelessly Googles "float tube")...well, I'll be darned. How cool is this? Here is a whole new thing to be excited about. Wow! I note that some float tubes are inflateable--that would be ideal! I have a foot bike pump, so inflating a float tube should only take...well, several hours...no, surely not that long.

The round float tube is...hmm, a bit La-Z-Boyish.

The U-shaped ones are...kinda spartan. I notice that one's legs dangle conveniently in the leech zone (in a pinch, if one lacks salt, a corn chip pressed on a leech will remove the animal).

The pontoon ones are super slick. And pricey, whew. But probably not bike-transportable--unless on a little trailer.

Lots to think over here...thank you Shupac!

In poring over the float tube accessories, of which there are 10,000, I note the clever chest-mounted tackle box. The eyeglass float is a good idea. The Gladder Bladder seems sex-specific, unfortunately.

spinning or spincast reel? That is the question.

may I ask, anon., which one is probably better for local general fishing purposes?

spincast reels are for children or for Ypsituckys finest. Buy a spincast.

spinning I mean

I took a quick look and seems spinning is more common/popular and more for the kind of fishing I'm thinking of, far as I can tell. Thank you for the advice, Anon. Yet another good tip.

Too bad grandpa didn't teach you the fishing knot.

hmm...wonder if that's the Clinched Half Blood.

Yea, who needs the old bastard now that Gore gave us internets

I just Googled and lucked on that page of knots with cool names. I should print out the Clinched Half Blood page for reference, though, so I can learn it.

Shupac is absolutely right - don't buy crappy line. Your experience will suffer for it. And, as a new angler, you should avoid baitcaster reels. You'll be miserable with all the tangles and 'bird's nests'that will develop in the line. You want an open face spinning reel. I've tried to go cheap with gear before and cheap gear sucks. Do yourself a favor and buy a midrange pole and reel.

Once you get acclimated to the rig that Shupac described, you may want to try an ultralight rig. They are a blast to fish with. Five foot pole with 2 or 4 lb. line and 1/16 or 1/32 jig weight or #0 and #1 Mepps spinnerbaits. If you hook into avergage sized bass or panfish, it feels like you've got a monster on the line. Using baits and lures that small also means that you will only rarely hook into a fish too large for your gear. Black or purple 3" plastic worms pre-rigged with 2 hooks are very productive in the lakes in the Waterloo and Pinckney Rec Areas. I've seen YD catch fish on every cast using a banana yellow plastic worm.

That is very informative, helpful information from someone who's clearly an expert. Thank you for taking the time to give it, LF.

The ultralight rig sounds very sporty and fun. That's something to think about a bit further down the road. I appreciate your mentioning it.

Every cast--wow.

(surveying the thread) wow.

Ask an ignorant question and be treated to a feast of highly valuable information kindly and freely shared by experts who have accumulated said information over a lifetime. In fewer than 24 hours, be completely outfitted with highly detailed equipment information, be introduced to the fun Float Tube, be advised on which fish are where in various regions and which ones are OK to eat...

Lot of very nice fishermen out there, clearly. I am grateful.

London-born rapper Sway is to be honoured at the BET Hip-Hop awards in the US...

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