It had been a long time coming this year, my first time on the water
that is. I special ordered a new boat and it did not arrive until May 10th. So I missed the
walleye opener in the lower peninsula and had only 7 days to get the boat rigged
and ready for this trip.
On a beautiful Sunday morning we pulled into Maple Ridge Resort
located on the north shore of Lake Michigamme.
First thing after unpacking I got Slammer IV into the water for it's maiden
voyage. Maple Ridge Resort has a nice little harbor protected from the
waves and wind of the main lake. I picked a spot by the fish cleaning station so I could plug in
the boat to charge the trolling batteries and there is no sense carrying all the
fish I was going to catch further than I had to.
It is Slammer's 10th year fishing with me and he was more than ready
to hit the water. He and I both feel most at home on the water and spent the rest
of the day exploring the lake and looking for good spots to fish the next morning.
I watched the new color sonar for structure and fish while Slammer sniffed the air and
water for the smell of walleye. Over the past 10 years I have always given him
part of the walleye we catch, and only walleye. He now knows exactly what he's looking for
and I have learned to read him when he gets the scent.
Lake Michigamme is a beautiful lake with 95 miles of shoreline,
27 islands and over 4300 acres of water. With depths down to 70 feet
it also holds a wide variety of game fish. Walleye, pike, bass, muskie,
trout and whitefish to name a few.
It was walleye we were after and this time of year I knew they would be
close to there spawning areas to feed. I checked for gravel beds and studied
the areas around where rivers entered the lake. By the end of the day
I had a good idea of the lake and three top spots to try the next day.
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