On Tue, 21 Jun 2005 21:07:21 GMT, "NH"
wrote:

I'm going about halfway up the lower peninsula of Michigan the next to last
week of August. I'll have everyday access to a 100-120 acre, natural lake
that gets relatively little bass fishing pressure. In the past the water
has been clear, with visibility anywhere from 10-20 feet.

Been there...done that and you should have success with the following:

1. Natural looking cranks - IMO, its the best bait you can use to
catch big bass in natural lakes. When I fished tournaments, I had 9
consecutive top 10 finishes on a natural lake up north primarily using
a natural crankbait..in regional tournaments (Federation and Operation
Bass).

2. Pop-R (chrome/anything) - when I was up in school in Michigan and
fished those natural lakes...I probably caught more bass on a pop-r
than anything else...and it will catch big fish.

3. Plastic worm - there are a lot of color combinations that work well
in clear natural lakes. My favorite is 6" junebug/bubblegum closely
followed by a 4" junebug/black grape with a chartreuse tail. However,
I've caught a ton of fish on grape and red too. Generally, clear
natural lakes means smaller finesse worms and tubes and 4" finesse and
krinkle kut (ie. Zoom Centipede) worms are hard to beat..but you don't
necessarily have to go small.. I've done well with a 7" ringwhip worm
There is a worm called the Touchdown worm. (grape, red, blue) which is
an old reliable for clear water natural lakes. It's basically a 5-6"
do-nothing that has a sinker rigged 10-18" above the worm. Worms with
a spinner on them (ie. Kunkel's) are also very good for clear natural
waters and I've seen times when it literally killed em' when nothing
else worked. A trick that I've done on this worm is fish it in deep
water carolina rigged!

4. Shallow-diving cranks (ie. Bandit 100, Wee-R) - reaction bait over
weedlines...

5. Tandem spinnerbait - another reaction bait when buzzed over
weedbeds..

And 3 to have tied on if the weather is a tad nasty (rain, overcast):

1. Nippididee - this is a fat bodied double propeller lure that calls
up bass...especially good when there is some wind and late at night.

2. Black spinnerbait (1/2 oz.) - especially during overcast/rainy
conditions...

3. Black buzzbait - its amazing how well fish love a black buzzbait in
clear water...especially if there is a tad chop on the water and
especially if its lowlight conditions.

The above 3 will sometimes work even if its not
overcast/night/rainy...

--
Dwayne E. Cooper, Atty at Law
Indianapolis, IN
Email:
Web Page: http://www.cooperlegalservices.com
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