Burnham Harbor: Perch and BIG bass

My first Lake Michigan Bass was a suprise as I was going after perch.

Todd and I decided to do a little evening perch fishing down at Burnham.  We drove down to the free parking area near the old controller base.  We decided to fish out towards the lake, just past the curved out area.

In general, the perch fishing was alright.  We both worked fathead minnows on crappie rigs.  We managed a few decent perch here and there before the sun went down.

The fun began just after the sun went down.  My pole literally jumped and began to go crazy.  I was completely ready to reel in a rockbass as I set the hook.  Much to my surprise, as soon as I did the fish took off and had a lot of weight.  After a short battle, we realized that a smallmouth was on the other end….. but we did not have a net.  I did not want to break the hook off, so Todd held my feet as we carefully reached over the edge to pull out the decent fish.  It was my first Lake Michigan smallmouth, and one of the better one’s I have ever caught.

Todd with one of our keeper perch for the day.