Skunked at Hudson!

[BRAD10281]

Visited Lake Hudson for the first time yesterday (5/21). It was around 82 degrees with a clear sky and pretty windy. We threw everything we had at em'. We were trying for pike, musky or walleye. We figured if that failed then we'd just go for some crappie, perch or gill's. Unfortunately we could not figure out the lake at all! I hooked one decent perch (about 8"-9") all the rest of the panfish were what seemed to be white crappie (very small) and some other type of white looking fish...not sure what it was. We tried drifting, trolling and anchoring...nothing worked. We saw some guys bass fishing and one of them pulled out a nice bass but as far as I know it's not bass season until Saturday so we didn't even try for them since it's technically illegal.

Here's a screenshot of our track on the lake:
http://pws.cablespeed.com/mbharris/hudson_track.jpg

We were mainly throwing Rapalas anywhere from 4"-7" and different depths along with crawlers on a crawler harness and even broke out an Erie Dearie with a crawler...oh and put a small perch (probably about 4") on the Erie Dearie too and trolled with it. Tried some grub bodies on a jig head vertically jigged and retrieved as well as a crawler on on a jig head under a bobber.

What did we do wrong? I've never fished a lake this muddy before either. We did pretty well at Devil's Lake about a week ago. Lake Hudson has truly frustrated me though. If anyone has any ideas how to fish this lake I'd love to hear them...I'd mainly be looking for toothy critters (walleye, pike, musky or even perch or crappie).

[redear]

from what i have found that lake is very very frustrating. i would try casting along the weed edges along the shoreline for muskys and bass.but once you catch one of those muskies it makes it all worth it. and those guys that you said was bass fishing, they were propbly just fishng for big crappies;).

[sirslurpee]

I thought catch and release bass season opened on April 25th?

[joshxp]

Catch and release season for bass is open.

[BRAD10281]

Catch and release season for bass is open.

Well, that shows how much I know. Guess its time to break out the Michigan Fishing Handbook and read up on the laws.

Thanks guys

[shametamer]

the neckdown area leading to bear lake portion should be utilized more than 1 pass...points across from launch(lowlight hours) for walleye...shallows actually in bear lake should be casted thoroughly for toothy critters.....larger crappie come from main basin ,covell lake area,,the deep shore ,around the point right, from boat launch should be worked over n over..fish move in and out//also the dead bay at back of covell sparse weed growth can be sight fished for muskies sunning and bass casted into light growth....noisy, extreme action baits are best.....try rattling thin fins, rat l traps, timber rattlers and chattersticks..the eyes respond to leeches or crawlers on blades,helicopter jigs or other type of jig spinner combos with lots of silver..never pulled an eye over 18 out of there.

[BRAD10281]

Thanks shametamer! I was marking a lot of fish in the Bear Lake basin but couldn't get em' to bite. The dead bay in Covell is where I caught my Perch but it only produced one good one. My trolling battery needs replaced and it died pretty early in the day so I was limited to motoring in and anchoring due to the strong winds. With a good battery I would have been able to cover more ground in the bays.

We did see some wild spawning action in the North/North East part of Covell up close to shore. Couldn't quite make out what kind of fish they were but they were big and thrashing around like crazy. We casted a few Rapalas in there hoping they would attack but no luck.

Thanks for the info, we'll probably try to make it back there sometime this summer.

[shametamer]

Thanks shametamer! I was marking a lot of fish in the Bear Lake basin but couldn't get em' to bite. The dead bay in Covell is where I caught my Perch but it only produced one good one. My trolling battery needs replaced and it died pretty early in the day so I was limited to motoring in and anchoring due to the strong winds. With a good battery I would have been able to cover more ground in the bays.

We did see some wild spawning action in the North/North East part of Covell up close to shore. Couldn't quite make out what kind of fish they were but they were big and thrashing around like crazy. We casted a few Rapalas in there hoping they would attack but no luck.

Thanks for the info, we'll probably try to make it back there sometime this summer.

will your gear handle the muskies? they have a lot that are right at the 50 inch range and 30lb...if you see on your map you will see how close the depth changes are around the point from the launch off the point it is shallow quite away out, but make the turn and the dropoffs hug the shore til you get near the beach..fish use this deep area as travel,respite and staging so you can fish this area often and many ways..was it very crowded? how bout the campground,full?

[BRAD10281]

will your gear handle the muskies? they have a lot that are right at the 50 inch range and 30lb...if you see on your map you will see how close the depth changes are around the point from the launch off the point it is shallow quite away out, but make the turn and the dropoffs hug the shore til you get near the beach..fish use this deep area as travel,respite and staging so you can fish this area often and many ways..was it very crowded? how bout the campground,full?

I'm not exactly setup for the big muskies but thought I'd give it a try. Using a Medium action rod, medium size spinning reel, 20# braid and a steel leader. I doubt a large muskie would get away from me with this setup but I know its not good for them to have a long struggle either. Honestly, I was only hoping to get something in the mid 30" range just to get a taste of it.

Lake was empty, probably only 4 other boats out there at any given time. Didn't pay much attention to the campground, only noticed one family setup right on the waters edge.

[shametamer]

I'm not exactly setup for the big muskies but thought I'd give it a try. Using a Medium action rod, medium size spinning reel, 20# braid and a steel leader. I doubt a large muskie would get away from me with this setup but I know its not good for them to have a long struggle either. Honestly, I was only hoping to get something in the mid 30" range just to get a taste of it.

Lake was empty, probably only 4 other boats out there at any given time. Didn't pay much attention to the campground, only noticed one family setup right on the waters edge.

aah i envy you your age..you can still cast those big baits for hours on end..i'm good for 45 minutes or so then i have to troll for a few hours b4 i can cast again..musky opener on lake st clair is 2 weeks from tomorrow..there are usually some of those critters hanging in anchor bay for the opener:fish:

[devil fisher]

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=1276&pictureide=9130http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=1276&pictureid=9130

[devil fisher]

Hey Brad that might have been me that you saw bass fishing! I caught this one just along the shore around from the launch. It is still catch and release season and I let this onr go after a pic. It was a big female that leaked eggs in my boat and for that I felt bad. She didn't fight much and swam off fine, I'm just worried about the bed. As for the lake in general I have had some long days out there without a bite, but it can be rewarding. Some big walleyes, cats, bass and muskies out there! I talked to a guy yesterday who caught a 32" eye on a crawler. As for the muskies I have never caught one on a "muskie" bait. I have landed about a dozen or so over 45" out there and none with more than 10lb. line and nothing larger than a conventional bass lure. I have thrown huge spinners, trolled monster cranks, as well as big suckers without any luck. A huge problem there is that the weeds are so slimy that it is hard to troll or cast through them and keep your lure clean. Had better luck on the edges or burning the lure above the weeds. Hope to see ya try it again and good luck!

[redear]

wow a 32 inch eye, thats a hog. devil fisher what lures do you bass fish with out there, i used a chatterbait all this year while bass fishng out there and did all right i also caught a musky on that too. then caught that same musky in the same spot last weekend on a big bucktail

[devil fisher]

Catch most of the bass on dark colored tube baits. Also a few on spinners in chartreuse skirts.