My Favorite Fishing Trip of 2012

My dad makes a trip to Magician Lake in Dowagiac, Michigian with some family every year.  The trip usually happens in the middle of June, but this year it was bumped up to the end of May.  I have always wanted to make this trip, but I was never able to because of work, school, or whatever else.

This year, with our little one being just two and a half months old, we decided it would be a good practice trip for our much longer upcoming trip to Minnesota in July.  It should have been around a three hour drive, but it turned into a five hour drive with all the stops our baby needed us to make for her.

We got to the cottage, hauled in stuff, hugged and greeted family before I put together my fly rod, strung it up, selected one of my size 6 olive and grizzly bead head buggers and made for the end of the dock.  My cast had become rusty because I didn't get much of an opportunity to fish the year before.  There was a stiff breeze, so I tried to use it to my advantage and cast with it a good twenty yards or so and started stripping back.  I couldn't believe it when I had a strong strike on the first cast, and neither could anyone else.  My 5 weight had a nice bend in it as the fish took a little line, but it tired quickly and came in.  It was one of the biggest, brightest sunfish I had ever caught, probably close to ten inches!  I had another hit on my next cast, and a foot long largemouth bass cleared the water and broke my tippet.  I decided to stop because I had not yet purchased my license.  When my brother finally showed up, we took a trip to the intersection that the locals refer to as "town" and got our licenses.

The next day we didn't hit the water until late morning.  My wife and baby relaxed in the grass with some books while we were out.  My uncle Paul played the role of the drunken guide.  We drifted in circles and fished for a few hours, everyone caught fish-- mostly on Bass Stopper worms.

My dad and brother Shane

Uncle Paul, brother Kyle and aunt Lollie

Baby and mommy relax

Shane always crashes hard

Later that evening, I paddled out to the raft in the paddleboat and fished with a worm under a bobber with my spinning rod, and cast buggers with my fly rod.  I landed some sunfish and bluegill on the spinning rod and lost some nice bass on the fly.

The following day we hit the water much earlier.  Paul's brother Lloyd played the part of a much more professional guide on this outing.  Only my dad, Kyle, Lloyd and I were going out, so we all piled into one boat, and we were on the fish right away.  Between the four of us, we kept like fifteen bass!

Nice sized bullhead, we all laughed about that

That bass is smaller than the lure!

That's a little better

Dad with his two biggest bass

It sure was hard to leave for Wisconsin, but I'm sure we'll make it again.  Lily cried most of the way home, but she slept some too.  She's much better at car rides now.

I can't believe how tiny she was!