Who would have ever thought that Motown would be have so many great bass fishing lakes. Many fisherman never think to plan a fishing trip to the state of Michigan. Most have never heard of Lake St. Clair, Lake Erie, Saginaw Bay, and several inland lakes that offer some of the best small mouth bass fishing that you have ever seen. If you are inspired by this article and are considering planning a fishing trip to Michigan, you should know that the time to go is from April through December and the seasons provide a wide array of fishing opportunities for every type of angler. 

You will probably receive the best results if you plan your trip in the early spring through the spawn. This has proven to be the most exciting time of year in my personal opinion. Many fish are visible, and they just love baits like the super flukes and spinner baits. Those lures are almost hypnotic to them for some reason… Only if the fish could talk. 

In Michigan’s lakes the fish are normally found in the deeper waters as they settle into their summer routines. By the time mid summer hits they are schooled and feeding like crazy. From my personal experience the bass fishing at this time of year will yield you anywhere from twenty five to forty fish per day. The average fish weighs almost seven pounds. 

During the fall of the year the small mouth bass start feeding aggressively. You are guaranteed to find the bass in the shallow parts. Some of the largest fish ever caught in Michigan lakes have been caught as the ice over approaches. This is when the bass are looking to feed. There is a benefit to scheduling bass fishing trips at this time of the year, because there is little boat traffic. You are pretty much guaranteed to have most of the hot spots to yourself. I must warn you that you need to have your cold weather gear. If you are a fisherman that are not use to this type of weather conditions you may want to reconsider. Michigan during the cold weather season isn’t for everyone although the reward is well worth it. 

You have a wide variety of fishing options available to you throughout Michigan, particularly for small mouth bass fishing. For example The Grand Traverse Bay, Thunder Bay, Bay De Noc just to name a few. Those lakes offer untouched fishing opportunities for the real fisherman. You will be able to return with stories of “I caught one this big”. You may want to consider the inland lakes for Michigan’s small mouth bass. 

While your there you may want to consider catching a few walleye fish. The Detroit River in the spring is where they all migrate from Lake Erie. 

If you are interested in doing some white bass fishing I recommend to go around May through mid June and hit Lakes Erie and St. Clair. This is also a great time for top water bass fishing opportunities. At this time is where spawning white bass are making their way up the river. These fish are eager to bite at anything resembling a minnow so this makes fishing simple and easy during this time.

View some of our other great article about bass fishing lakes and bass fishing

The most endearing member of the genus Centropyge (Dwarf angelfish family). Centropyge argi is everything regular sized dwarf angelfish are, except in a really small package. They are sold in sizes ranging from an inch to 3 inches. At 3 inches, centropyge argi is fully grown and will remain at that size.

They are commonly known as Cherub Angelfish, Atlantic pygmy angelfish and simply, the pygmy angelfish. They possess a yellow face and a deep royal blue throughout their bodies with electric blue linings on their dorsal and anal fins.

They hail from the Caribbean ocean, from South America, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico. They’re pretty cheap fish as far as angelfish go, priced at $20 to $30 USD, these little angels are a very affordable dwarf angelfish for marine aquariums big or small. They are regularly available and their price reflects that fact.

Despite their size they are a feisty little ball of aggression and can usually defend themselves against larger more aggressive fishes, but they must have space to retreat and hide. Do not add two cherub angelfish into a small tank, one of them will most likely sustain serious injuries. I’ve heard of cherub angelfish harassing a smaller one in a 30 gallon tank until they die. If you want a pair of them, you have two options. Buy a mated pair or introduce both of them together (Only in a large tank) and hope they form a pair eventually.

Due to their small size the cherub angelfish can actually be housed in aquariums as small as 20 gallons. This make centropyge argi uniquely qualified for those that want an angelfish, but lack an aquarium large enough for one. Of course it is recommended that you get the biggest tank you can for your fish. But smaller specimens under 1.5 inches should do fine in a 20 gallon.

Centropyge argi are grazers in their natural habitat. Like surgeonfish, they scan the rock throughout the day for food. They feed on detritus, tiny crustaceans and a wide variety of algae.

A balanced diet should be given in a saltwater aquarium. A wide range of foods should be given, variety is important. Feeding them a single type of food for too long is generally a bad idea. Although there have been hobbyists that have fed them new life spectrum for long periods of time with no ill effects. It seemed like they were doing great in fact. They should be fed a frozen food that has both meat and algae (Formula One, Formula Two), algae and nori sheets as well as a pellet from a reputable brand like New Life Spectrum.

The Pygmy Angel Formula by Ocean Nutrition is just about the perfect food for dwarf angels. Ingredients such as kelp, krill, squid,squid, vitamins and minerals and much more are used in this frozen food. Prior to freezing, the cubes are mixed with these ingredients. Pygmy Angel Formula is only available in frozen form i believe.

The Multicolor angelfish (Centropyge Multicolor) is a deep water angel that live at depths from 50 to 200+ feet in the wild. So named because of the myriad of colors this fish has. Its body is white while its chest has a patch mixed with yellow, orange and red. Its tail is yellow while its anal and dorsal fins are blue. The multicolor angel’s most striking feature is its crown, a small patch of neon blue and purple lines that is also found on very rare Centropyge Nahackyi.

Like the Flame Angelfish, they are commonly thought to come from Hawaiian waters but are actually collected from Fiji, Marshall Islands and the Cook Islands.

Centropyge Multicolor tend to be pricey due to the fact that they’re collected at deeper depths. Expect to pay upwards of $120 for one. Some deep water dwarf angelfish tend to fare poorly in captivity, not so for the multicolor angelfish. It is a very hardy fish once fully acclimated.

Look out for swim bladder problems as they may have been damaged during collection. If they are brought up too fast their swim bladder will start to expand, collectors solve the problem by poking it with a needle. Done incorrectly, severe damage may to the swim bladder may be sustained. A sure sign of swim bladder damage include :-

* Inability to maintain a leveled buoyancy * Tilting left, right, up or down inexplicably

Once a multicolor angel settles into your marine aquarium and starts staking out its territory it will become a bully. The multicolor angel along with the Brazilian flameback angel are two of the most aggressive marine angels i have ever kept.

Expect some hostility towards smaller tank mates. Nothing extreme, just a quick reminder of who’s boss around the tank. You must give the rest of your fishes enough space.

Putting two multicolor angelfish together is not recommended. If you must have a pair, either buy a mated or buy a large one along with a small one and introduce them to the aquarium at the same time. Never attempt this in small tanks, larger tanks (75 gallon and above) are required this.

Multicolors are medium sized dwarf angelfish (Like the Coral Beauty Angel, flame angels). They are usually sold at sizes ranging from 2.5 to 4 inches. They should be housed in a saltwater aquarium no less than 50 gallons, a 75 gallon or larger tank is ideal.

There is not a lot of light at the depth its collected at so provide plenty of live rock for it to seek refuge. It must be given time to acclimate to captive lighting intensities. Once acclimated however, they are fearless.

In the wild, dwarf angelfish are all grazers. Like surgeonfish, they scan the rock throughout the day for food. They consume algae, tiny crustaceans and sometimes even detritus.

A balanced diet should be given in a saltwater aquarium. A wide range of foods should be given, variety is important. Feeding them a specific food for too long can be detrimental to their health. Although i’ve heard of hobbyists feeding them new life spectrum pellets for prolonged periods of time with no ill effects. They were all very healthy in fact.

A good pellet like those by New life Spectrum should be offered along with algae/nori sheets plus a balanced frozen food (Formula One, Formula Two).

The Pygmy Angel Formula by Ocean Nutrition is just about the perfect food for dwarf angels. It closely resembles their natural diet in the wild with a whole slew of ingredients that include krill, algae, kelp, shrimp, squid, vitamins and trace minerals plus many others. The ingredients mentioned are all added prior to freezing. Unfortunately Pygmy Angel Formula does not come in flake form.

The Coral Beauty (Centropyge Bispinosus) is a commonly available marine angelfish that sits firmly within the lower price range bracket unlike many of its cousins. They can be had for as little as $15 on the market. It is very popular angel (not as popular as the Flame Angel though), the combination of flame like coloration on a deep blue body plus the price is bound to make this angel a popular fish among hobbyists.

Common names include the Two-Spined Angelfish and the Dusky Angelfish. Distributed throughout the Indo-pacific, this is a heavily collected dwarf angel.

Some of them have been known to have been caught with the use of cyanide, particularly those from the Philippines. Coral beauty angelfish from the Philippines tend to have high mortality rates, no surprises there. Goosed colors (Brighter than usual colors) are common in cyanide collected fishes. They may do fine for a month and then suddenly perish inexplicably.

The coral beauty angel can reach up to 4 inches in the wild so in the interest of allowing it room to breathe i’d suggest at least a 50 gallon. The recommended size for them is 75 gallons or larger.

They are not as aggressive as its other cousins and generally ignores species from outside its genus. Avoid putting two coral beauty angelfish a small tank as they are aggressive towards members of the same genus. If you want two coral beauty angels then ensure you have a large tank or if you’re lucky you can actually buy one. Not likely though. Fights between marine angelfish are pretty rough so expect torn fins.

Angelfish from the genus centropyge are all grazers in the wild. Like surgeonfish, they scan the rock throughout the day for food. They feed on detritus, tiny crustaceans and a wide variety of algae.

A balanced diet should be given in a saltwater aquarium. They should be fed a wide range of foods for variety. They should never be fed a single type of food for too long. Although i’ve heard of hobbyists feeding them new life spectrum pellets for prolonged periods of time with no ill effects. They all looked very healthy in fact.

They should be fed a frozen food that has both meat and algae (Formula One, Formula Two), algae and nori sheets as well as a pellet from a reputable brand like New Life Spectrum.

The Pygmy Angel Formula by Ocean Nutrition is just about the perfect food for dwarf angels. It closely resembles their natural diet in the wild with a whole slew of ingredients that include krill, algae, kelp, shrimp, squid, vitamins and trace minerals plus many others. The cubes are frozen after these ingredients have been mixed into it. Unfortunately Pygmy Angel Formula is only available in frozen form.

The Mandarin Dragonet (Synchiropus Splendidus) is one of the most stunning fishes ever to reach the hobby. Blue, green and orange lines and patches are intricately painted onto this spectacular fish. Despite not being a true goby, the name “mandarin goby” seems to have stuck with this fish. A more accurate name for it is the mandarin dragonet.

The mandarin dragonet is heavily collected from the Indo-Pacific. Unfortunately they do poorly in captivity despite their popularity. I will address this problem later in the article.

The mandarin dragonet is one of the most unaggressive fishes available in the trade. They are aggressive only towards other members of the genus such as the scooter dragonets. If you’re interested in a pair of mandarin dragonets, buy a female and a male (elongated first dorsal spine) and introduce them together in the tank.

Fully grown mandarins come in a about 4 inches in length. 30 gallons should be the minimum size for this species, only if you can get them to eat. Getting them to eat prepared foods is a real challenge. Copepods in the wild are all they eat. Therefore, they need a tank full of live copepods, something like a 75 gallon established aquarium. You’ll never have to feed them in an established tank that large. The copepod populations in the tank will sustain them.

With some time and a lot of effort, mandarin fish can be trained to accept prepared foods, even pellets.You’ll need live adult artemia to accomplish this task. Getting them to eat live brine is easy enough, they’re receptive to live artemia. Next, introduce some frozen artemia with the live ones during your next feeding. Once they start taking frozen artemia the task is half done. Since brine shrimp is nutritionally poor, we need to get to feed on something like mysis shrimp or krill.

As before, slowly introduce some mysis in with the frozen artemia. If you can get them on a frozen mysis shrimp diet, you’ve completed the task. Expand to other foods like a good pellet and krill.

But wait, thats just one problem out of the way. They are extremely slow eaters. Their tank mates will finish everything before it gets a chance to grab a single mysis. This problem can be solved in three simple ways. You could blast food into the tank to ensure the mandarin gets some. Or, you can use a pipette to spot feed your mandarin dragonet. Lastly, you can find a plastic soft drink bottle that has a hole only the mandarin can fit through and put some foods there.

All three options can work, but its up to you to choose one.

The royal gramma (Gramma Loreto) along with 4 others, the flame angel (Centropyge oriculus), yellow tang (Zebrasome Flavescens), blue tang (Paracanthurus Hepatus) and the percula clownfish (both ocellaris and percula) are the most recognizable fishes in the hobby. It is commonly called the fairy basslet as well.

The royal gramma is a beauty. It is blueish-purple from the front as it fades into a bright orange/yellow towards the back half. It has a thin dark stripe that runs from its snout through its eyes.Also present is a black spot on its dorsal fin.

Royal gramma’s are found around the Caribbean Sea where they are quite common. They go for as little as $15 USD, are disease resistant and hardy. A winning combination. Always available, cheap, beautiful and easily kept in a home aquarium. They are commonly mistaken for the bicolor dottyback (Pseudochromis Bicolor) as they both have very similar colors. Telling them apart is easy. The bicolor dottyback does not have a black streak running from its snout through its eyes.

The royal gramma is a good candidate for a wide variety of aquariums. They are a relatively peaceful fish, provided they have a small territory of their own. I have personally kept the royal gramma with clownfish, dwarf angels, large angels, gobies, damsels and dottybacks and have found that it does well with all of them. Again, only if they have their own territory. There can be trouble if any fish continually attempts to enter its shelter.

Royal grammas can reach lengths of nearly 4 inches in the wild. In captivity however, they usually reach a maximum of 3 inches. Royal grammas have been successfully kept in aquariums as small as 10 gallons. Minimum tank size should be at least 20 gallons since they will eventually attain a length of 3 inches.

Royal grammas are carnivores that eat copepods and plankton in the wild. Your corals are safe with them as they are reef safe. Offer them a variety of meaty foods. Frozen foods such as Krill, Mysis shrimp and Prime Reef (A good blend of raw seafood) are all great choices. They normally begin eating very quickly after introduction.

Efforts to breed the royal gramma have been successful. They are a nest building fish, utilizing macroalgae as for their spawning site (usually a cave). The male tries to lure the female into its newly built spawning site by quivering and flaring its fins. Assuming the female is receptive, they will begin mating in the males cave. Their larvae accept rotifers and eventually baby brine shrimp without hesitation.

Time after time, with ultralight bass fishing, I get asked about what lures work best, what colors are best, how to work this lure or that lure. Every now and then, I even get asked about some expensive scam lures, and breaks my heart. Trust me, I had all of the same questions that you had when I began. I have taken the time to break down 5 known classic baits that catch fish, period. These baits have been around for a long time, and are here to stay.

Up to bat first is our all time favorite, and a true classic, the plastic worm. This bait was concocted up back in 1949 by Nick Creme in his basement. These baits have been putting more fish in livewells longer than most of us have been alive. In most areas you fish, you can get away with a 4incher in either the black/blue (junebug) or green/black flake colors.

On the list next is the Rapala Floating Minnow. Rapala makes a jointed model of this bait, and when reeled slowly on top of the water, it acts like a spook lure. The faster you reel though, makes it dive a little deeper, topping out around 1 foot deep. If the fish are in a feeding mood, this is my go to lure. You can just let this lure sit as well, often called deadsticking. If you know that you are over a fishy area, let the lure die, and sit for 15-30 seconds or so, and give it a couple twitches. This will get their attention. The smaller sizes work best on ultralight rods.

The next one is the classic grub. The good old plastic 2″ grub. It doesn’t look like much, a little round body with a curly tail, on a jig head. To a fish though, it is exactly what they want. A slow moving, chunk of food. You can fish it deep to shallow, fast or slow. Try burning the tail across the top of the water like a buzzbait in the morning or evenings. I use green pumpkin with a chartreuse tail, or even black. Black jig heads on both.

Fourth on the list, is the Booyah Pond Magic 3/16 ounce spinnerbait. We all know that spinnerbaits catch fish. Swim them along the bottom, just fast enough to let the blades flutter, jig it, burn it on top, or wake it just below the surface. These things catch fish, plain and simple. I like the firetiger color for muddy water, and the white with copper blades for stained water. I don’t fish much clear water, but if you do, try White/Silver/Chartreuse mix, with silver blades.

Skirted jigs are known around most bass club circles as big fish catchers. This goes for ultralight bass fishing jigs as well. You get a lot more fish with ultralight techniques, however, jigs still weed out the smaller fish. There is just something about them. Especially fishing in ponds, these are the big fish slayers.

Holacanthus Ciliaris, the queen angelfish, is among the three most recognizable angelfish in the marine aquarium hobby. The other two being the French Angelfish (Pomacanthus Paru) and the emperor angelfish (Pomacanthus Imperator). It reigns as the most popular species within its genus, much like the flame angelfish (Centropyge Loriculus). They are part of the Pomacanthidae (Marine Angelfish) family and are one of the largest angelfish among its cousins.

The queen angelfish can be found throughout the Caribbean Sea, Brazil all the way up to Florida and the Gulf of Mexico. It is very closely related to Holacanthus Bermudensis (Blue Angelfish) and they look completely alike to the untrained eye. These two angelfish have been known to interbreed in the wild. Their offspring have been called Holacanthus Townsendi. It should be noted that Holacanthus Townsendi is not a valid species within the genus Holacanthus. Thankfully, telling the two apart is an easy enough task, queen angels have a blue crown on their heads, that crown is missing on blue angels.

Like all large angelfish, the juvenile form of the queen angelfish is colored very differently from adults. Juveniles possess bright blue vertical bars from its face to its main body. These bars will slowly disappear as they grow. Adults are a beautiful iridescent blue and yellow throughout their bodies.

Juvenile angelfish also take on a peculiar role in the wild. Like the cleaner wrasse, they act as “cleaners”. As cleaners, they service larger fishes that need some form of parasite removal.

Queen angelfish are pricey no doubt, small ones cost between $80 to $90 while adults can fetch $200 and beyond for show quality specimens.

Almost all larger angelfish have the potential to become massive bullies in a marine aquarium and the Queen angelfish is no exception. It is hostile towards other large angelfish but it generally ignores other species of fish. It often exhibits extreme hostility towards other queen angelfish. Or towards the blue angelfish for that matter. Keep only one queen angelfish per aquarium.

Queen angels are huge, they can reach up to 18 inches in the wild. One and a half feet!. However, they rarely achieve such lengths with a maximum size of 12 to 13 inches in captivity.

An aquarium no smaller than 150 gallons should be used to house a queen angelfish. As with all larger marine fish, a bigger tank is a better tank. They require large amounts of space to swim so ensure that your rock scape allows for this. Resist the the temptation to get those cute 2 inch juveniles for your 50 gallon aquarium. They will quickly outgrow such small tanks in no time at all, leaving you with the headache of either selling or finding larger quarters for it.

The queen angelfish is not reef safe, it can eat corals or at least nip on them until they eventually perish. Although some hobbyists have kept them in reef aquariums with minimal damage to their corals, queen angelfish are better suited to large, fish-only aquariums.

In the wild, their diets are made up of plankton, algae, corals, tunicates and marine sponges. Housing them in a reef aquarium where they are surrounded by corals is not a good idea. Your corals may end up as expensive meals for them. Offer them a good variety of foods from sheets of nori/seaweed to meaty foods like krill or mysis shrimp. A pretty good to offer is Formula Two, containing a blend of seafood and an extra amount of algae. It is available in three forms, flake, pellet or frozen cube.

Ocean Nutrition produces By far the best foods for any large angel, Angel Formula. Specifically designed for large angelfish, they contain a good mix of fresh seafood, algae, vitamins and most importantly, marine sponges. Angel Formula is only available in frozen cube form.

Should you opt to buy some seaweed from your local mart, always remember to buy the plain unflavoured/unspiced version. Raw nori is a good choice if available. Get a clip for your nori and stick it on the side of the aquarium glass.

Many folks who constantly look for peace and tranquility in nature are not aware of how enjoyable fly fishing can be. This activity combines the sport of fishing with the awesomeness of nature. Many locations that have a high content of trout and other fish are far away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

This type of fishing is commonly done when the individual’s legs are submerged under water; this gives them a more plumbed angle with the edge of the water and optimizes the casting of the fly fishing rod. The rod is usually made of fiberglass or graphite and the reel is shaped like a small film reel. In addition, this type of fishing uses a fly for bait without weighting it below the surface; the fly is meant to lightly land on the top of the water. The size fly used for fly fishing in dependent upon what size trout the angler is trying to land. If big fish take up home in the pond or brook, it is best to bait the hook with a medium kind of fly. Bigger breed flies are mostly used for larger breed fish, for instance: Steel-head and Salmon.

Fly fishing, however, is a one of a kind style of fishing. It takes the right technique in the release of the bait and line and specifically how the line lands on the water. While the fisherman is wading in the brook or stream, he/she is to whip the fly back and forth in the air while paying particular attention to how the fly lands. This action is the most important aspect of fly fishing; if cast improperly, the angler will go home empty-handed. So, because of this, it takes good practice to perfect the action of the cast when fly fishing.

The rod is the main ingredient in the action produced when either landing a fish, or whipping the fly back and forth. While the individual needs to practice to get better at casting, the rod is also a major component of the casting ability and landing abilities. A rod made of medium action will allow the angler to catch medium sized fish and often times, some of the larger fish; this is the most popular among beginners. But, fast action styles are for larger fish as they reduce the risk of loosing a large fish during landing.

This exciting sport should never cause frustration. Many enthusiasts tend to get disgusted and discouraged when they begin for they cannot get a fish to take the bait because their casting has not yet been perfected. Or, maybe they can’t seem to land a fish once they have one hooked. These are methods that are developed after much practice. The main thing while learning is getting outside to enjoy mother nature and the river. Many rivers, like the ones in Colorado, are magnificent and picturesque with or without catching fish!

The Powder Blue Tang (Acanthurus Leucosternon) is another popular surgeonfish that we see from time to time. It has a dark blue face, a yellow dorsal fin and a light blue body. Their natural range occurs around the Maldives through to Sri Lanka.

$50 to $60 bucks will buy you a juvenile, which make it more expensive than adult Blue Tangs (Paracanthurus Hepatus) or even adult Yellow Tangs (Zebrasoma Flavescens).

Members of the same genus usually get some aggression while fishes outside the surgeonfish family are let alone. In the wild, Powder Blue Tangs are either found alone or with a shoal. If more than one is desired then introduce them at the same time to limit aggression.

Attaining 8 inches in length, they are considered a moderately large surgeonfish. Nothing smaller than a 100 gallons should be used to house the powder blue tang.

Powder Blue Tangs are reef safe.

Despite the fact that they’re primarily herbivores in the wild, they are open to just about anything offered once acclimated. Krill, mysis shrimp, brine shrimp, pellets, they take them all.

Algae sheets like nori are a great algae to feed all herbivorous fish.Prices vary greatly depending on the brand. Julian Sprungs Sea Veggies may be a little too pricey for some. They produce good algae sheets though. They’re also available as flakes, which is very convenient since there’s very little work involved during feeding.

Most nori sheets are produced for human consumption, primariy as sushi wrappers. Some are cheap while the really high quality sheets can be very expensive.

You’ll need to secure the nori to a clip. You could DIY a clip yourself and spend a couple of bucks on a commercial type. The sheets are sometimes rolled up and cut beforehand, most however, feed it as is. Secure the nori to your algae clip and attach it to the side of the aquarium.

Another good food to feed herbivores are Formula Two by Ocean Nutrition. It has an extra amount of algae in it along with a good mix of seafood, trace minerals, vitamins and more. It is available as a flake food, pellet or frozen cube.

While Formula Two is a good flake, it surpassed by Sea Veggie mixed flakes by Two Little Fishies. A great all-rounder with a good balance of ingredients, New Life Spectrum comes highly recommended as well.