Lake MI day two

Despite the relative smallmouth slaughter toward the end of day one, we left the cheap hotel the next morning with only one thought on our minds. Carp. Well...and coffee. After fueling up we hit the lake, talking as we walked a short trail to the water...it went something like this.

Me: this overcast is going to kill us.

Wendy: might be tough to know if they are there.

Me: I am just praying we step into the water and spook some fish, just so we know they are there.

We step into the water ten seconds later and a carp spooks from about three feet away. Thirty seconds after that I spot one and plop a big, black, goby looking fly in front of it. First lake MI carp for me.



After that the day took on the tone we had expected for the trip. During the planning stages we talked about and hoped to hit the tail end of the spawn. We figured it would be easier to find the fish this way, and we would be able to fish the edges for feeding fish. It came together for most of the day just like that on this flat. The spawners were easy to see, so we poked slowly along the edges and stuck plenty of fish.






Then we stuck our noses through a tiny little opening in a closed off bay to peek at the main lake. What we saw was incredible.


It certainly helped that we caught our first real sun at the exact moment we stepped into this setting, but the real stunner was the piles of cruising and marauding fish that patrolled the shoreline. Wendy hooked up in seconds.






We split up and each proceeded to lay the smack down on the fish, with crazy aggressive takes...stuff we just hadn't seen on the Big C out west.






Eventually we left that flat relatively sated and feeling good. We hoofed around, mostly walking and spotting the occasional fish...but honestly, we were done. We considered the day a wild success and with smiles on our faces we headed to the car.

The problem? One last cast syndrome. The minute our boots were on dry land we started wanting more...thinking not about the last take...but the next take. So we gave in, and rushed to one more spot as the sun was still visible.









One last cast turned into another...and another and another. In the fading light we reminded ourselves that good things happen when your boots are wet.