New guy from SE Michigan just saying Hi

Hi guys,

I put in a post to introduce myself in the main forum but I really want to introduce myself to my Michigan bros.

So here goes;
I love to fish and boat. I own two boats, an 18' Starcraft with an I/O and a 14' Sea Nymph. Both are aluminum and both are being restored, the I/O is non operational at the moment. I love restoring aluminum boats and old outboards too.

I've got a 9 year old who is mad about fishing also.

I fish Stoney Creek and Lake St. Clair.

I'm no expert in Crappie fishing. Sometimes I catch em sometimes not. I hope to get better with the help of this forum.

Cheers
Bwana Don

Hey Don, Welcome to the Michigan Forum. Lots of good people on here and good advice. We are having our Spring Slabfest in Cadillac on the 10th-12th of May. Go to the Mich. forum to get the information. Hope to see you there. You can PM Yankee Doodler for any thing you need, he's the Moderator for the forum.

Yup what Larry said, and welcome aboard. There are a handful of members over your direction and if you have been watching the posts, they have some good info on local waters to try. Hope you and your boy can make it to our events.

Greetings Don, I'm Mike Maveal from Monroe) (actually Maybee but a Monroe address). I fish mostly Brest Bay, Erie and Belleville Lake. Belleville and Ford Lake are right on 94 and both are good crappie lakes. Belleville seems to be getting overtaken sith striped bass as is Brest Bay. Bolles Harbor launch is open water but the docks are not in the water yet. This is the BEST group on the net (except for the guys from the western part of the state) Ha! Ha!

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Originally Posted by mmaveal

Greetings Don, I'm Mike Maveal from Monroe) (actually Maybee but a Monroe address). I fish mostly Brest Bay, Erie and Belleville Lake. Belleville and Ford Lake are right on 94 and both are good crappie lakes. Belleville seems to be getting overtaken sith striped bass as is Brest Bay. Bolles Harbor launch is open water but the docks are not in the water yet. This is the BEST group on the net (except for the guys from the western part of the state) Ha! Ha!

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Striped bass or white bass? Lake St. Clair has a large migratory population of white bass. They live in Erie and spawn in the Detroit River and St. Clair. They're not bad to eat, and the limit on them is 25 or 50!

Welcome Don,
Always nice to have another Michigander. Lots of info available on the forums, enjoy!

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Originally Posted by mmaveal

This is the BEST group on the net (except for the guys from the western part of the state) Ha! Ha!

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Some of us west coasters moved from the east to keep some distance from some of you. :biggrin

Hi Don, I live in Troy. Nice to see a close neighbor on this forum. I generally fish Stony Crk and Bald Mountain st park. Went to Ford lake once last year -- caught nothing but white bass and foul hooked a 20 lb carp :)
Too bad you don't have a kayak or we could team up and his Stony together some time :D
Anyway, if you see a guy in a 14 foot cammo kaya on Stony... it might just be me

Years ago they used to have the national crappie fishing tournaments at Ford Lake and Belleville Lake. I looked it up, some of the old tournaments are still posted on the web. It's wierd how a fishery will change. My wife loves Belleville Lake because she feels safe (she is NOT happy on Erie). Ford has a township launch ramp that is expensive. Belleville has two DNR ramps. The west end of the lake ramp is by the dam between Ford and Belleville,does not get used much and launches me right onto the lilly pads but it is SHALLOW! I tore up a prop there a couple years ago. Lot of underwater debris. Crappie and bluegills love it but to tell the truth we catch more white bass than anything. The west siders got all the good crappie lakes - IT"S JUST NOT FAIR! Ha! Monroe County is the ONLY county in Michigan without an inland lake.

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Originally Posted by coyote419

Hi Don, I live in Troy. Nice to see a close neighbor on this forum. I generally fish Stony Crk and Bald Mountain st park. Went to Ford lake once last year -- caught nothing but white bass and foul hooked a 20 lb carp :)
Too bad you don't have a kayak or we could team up and his Stony together some time :D
Anyway, if you see a guy in a 14 foot cammo kaya on Stony... it might just be me

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Every year I catch one or two whopper crappie from Stoney. Last year one hit my pike spinner!

Mike;
Lakes change, St. Clair has gotten worse for walleye but muskie and smallmouth are unbelievable. Still plenty of good fishing in Monroe County. lol Like the best walleye fishing in the world!

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Originally Posted by mmaveal

The west siders got all the good crappie lakes - IT"S JUST NOT FAIR! Ha! Monroe County is the ONLY county in Michigan without an inland lake.

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Okay west siders, I live in the central part of Michigan.......anyone want to name a few of those lakes? Have boat will travel :-)

I live in Eaton County, I don't think we were blessed with a adequate number of inland lakes here either.....

Steve do you know where Tupper Lake is? Take M43 West of Lans. Also Jordon Lk. Lake Lansing, Park Lk. Fox Knoll, Lake Interstate. If I think of some more I'll let you know. Muskrat Lk. out by Dewitt That should keep you busy for a while. Good Luck..

Jordan Lake is the one I fish on mostly, there is a canal that goes from Jordan to Tupper which I've never used to access Tupper. I have a hard time getting on Tupper due to the so called boat launch which is usually a muddy mess. I also fish on Narrow Lake with limited success. Lake Interstate is real close and I've caught some gills from the public dock. Thanks for the tip on the others......Sessions Lake near Ionia is supposed to be a good lake for fish, but I've not gotten so much as a bite the last couple times I went there.....probably just me though.

Allegan Co.: Eagle lake, duck lake, muskrat lake, baseline lake, swan lake....there's a ton of 'em. They all hold good populations of crappie.

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Originally Posted by Bwana Don

Hi guys,

I put in a post to introduce myself in the main forum but I really want to introduce myself to my Michigan bros.

So here goes;
I love to fish and boat. I own two boats, an 18' Starcraft with an I/O and a 14' Sea Nymph. Both are aluminum and both are being restored, the I/O is non operational at the moment. I love restoring aluminum boats and old outboards too.

I've got a 9 year old who is mad about fishing also.

I fish Stoney Creek and Lake St. Clair.

I'm no expert in Crappie fishing. Sometimes I catch em sometimes not. I hope to get better with the help of this forum.

Cheers
Bwana Don

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Welcome aboard, give me a shout, I'm right in your neck of the woods, :).

Larry, I forgot you came from this neck of the woods...

Ashman, where are you at in Eaton County? There are only a few of us from the central. John (Steelguy) lives over in Portland, and I in the triangle between Mason, Leslie, Dansville, and Stockbridge.

I'll comment and add to Larry's list. Lake Interstate off from 69 is great for Gills on their beds. Almost every person that fishes that lake will say "I never catch big gills there". Let them tell you that. Walk the lake and fish them from the brush. I used to fish it when I lived in town and have caught 8 gills over 12 inches long (yes that is 1 foot in length). Not great in the way of Crappie, but you get a few. Only issue, you either walk, or fish a canoe or Kayak.

Muskrat Lake outside of Dewitt is another little gem. You need to watch the water level but there is a creek inlet, lillys all the way around and one deep hole. I don't catch huge numbers here but the size of the Crappies are really nice.

The Waterloo game area is where most of the lakes are. Joslin lake is great for Crappie and pike, Winnawanna resevoir is great for BIG gills and decent crappies in the spring (water gets low in the summer). Green lake off M106 towards Chelsea is another good one for nice crappies (and Perch). Clear Lake, Cedar Lake, South Lake..... The list goes on and on. Get up with me in the late spring. I'll show you some hot spots.

Park Lake in Bath is another little hotspot of mine. Last year, the water was so shallow I didn't use my main motor (couldn't). Had to use the trolling motor. Nothing Major in Size to crappies but they seem to average 10 inches. This lake is a nice little Perch hotspot.

You guys have me mapquesting these cities. Once I get out of Macomb and Oakland Counties I get lost. Nice to know where you guys are from.

I'll have to post prior to hitting Stoney Creek. Maybe we can meet up, share some successes or not. I have a love hate relationship with Stoney Creek. It can be tough to fish, but there are some bigguns in there. The state record come from there. My boy's first fish was a crappie from there about 12". Come to think of it that was the first lake I took him to.

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Originally Posted by Bwana Don

You guys have me mapquesting these cities. Once I get out of Macomb and Oakland Counties I get lost. Nice to know where you guys are from.

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Bing/Google maps are my best buddies. I always do lots of satellite scouting prior to taking the rig to places unknown. It's great being able to zoom in on lakes/campgrounds to see how much of a challenge it'll be to navigate. You can get a pretty good idea on the lay of a lake with it too.

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Originally Posted by wicklundrh

Ashman, where are you at in Eaton County?

Get up with me in the late spring. I'll show you some hot spots.

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I live just a little north of Charlotte.

Sounds like a excellent idea, I'll PM you with my info......Thanks!

I was involved with Big Brother's/Big sisters for 9 years. I had two little brothers in Charlotte so I know the area pretty well.