Fishing Michigan

I found this story in the same section of the Detroit News last week as the EPA permit story.  Its all about a female wolverine in the thumb area of the state.  I went and Googled, and it seems this story really isn’t brand new.   Since it was first sighted by hunters back in 2004, the Thumb Wolverine has been tracked and photographed by game cameras for the past three years.

Click on ” hunters ” for details on the first sighting, and  some background information.

For a really good picture of the wolverine, click here

This pic was captured by the “Wolverine Guy”, Jeff Ford.  Ford, a high school teacher in Deckerville, and his partner Steve Noble have been tracking the animal for the past three years.  This pic was taken with a heat sensing game camera.  They have lots of very nice pics on their website,  www.wolverineguy.com ,  look at the gallery section.  They also have lots of background information, and their history of tracking the wolverine, which as traveled as much as 258 miles in a span of 19 days.

For more details, and articles about the “Thumb Wolverine” here are some more pieces found on the net.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080605/NEWS06/806050442/1008

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-mi-exchange-thumbwol,0,7020649.story

http://www.tuscolatoday.com/news/2008/may/28/possible-wolverine-population/

 Unlike the many cougar sitings over the past 30 yrs, the DNR will be hard pressed to say this isn’t so.

Actually they are already here.  The recent warm spell has started the hatch out on the lake.  Millions of these larvae will be coming up from the mud, and making their way to the surface.  In a short time they will mate, and conclude their lifecycle.

According to some, this is the death of walleye fishing until the hatch is over.  Not even close, this is actually the time when walleye fishing is at its best.  You just have to duck and swerve around the big mats of dead flies on the surface.

This is primetime walleye fishing.  The old line of thinking was that the fish are filling up on mayflies and not interested in anything else.  Sure they are, its the easiest meal walleyes can find.  They just haven’t lost interest in everything else.

Think about, what do you look for on your fish finder while targeting walleye?  If not the fish themselves, then you are looking for large schools of baitfish.  Why? Because where there is bait, there will be walleyes feeding.

Same concept applies to the mayflies.  If you can find fresh mayflies coming to the surface, then you will find walleye feeding.  They may be hugging bottom, feeding as they emerge from the mud, or they could be stacked throughout the water column looking for an easy meal.

Start off in the morning with your baits at different depths to determine where the fish are feeding.  Head deeper as the morning turns to mid-day.  As the day turns warmer,  start targeting the bottom exclusively.

Should be no time at all before you are heading in with a boat full of eyes.