Tawas offers plenty of sights and events for visitors, too. There's a Fourth of July parade and fireworks, amusement parks, the Iosco County Historical Museum, golfing, canoeing and more. For more details, contact the Tawas Bay Tourist & Convention Bureau at 1-800-558-2927, or online at www.tawas.com.

Tawas Lake is a good place to take the kids. The 1,760-acre lake is loaded with bluegills, sunfish and perch of modest size, but they're willing biters. Tawas Lake is extremely shallow, with few spots over 4 feet, so it's not really a question of where you want to fish as much as it is where you can fish. Find a hole in the weeds, drop in a bobber and a worm, and get ready to start unhooking fish.

Tawas Bay offers other fishing alternatives. Drift with a slip-bobber and a minnow or crawler and you're likely to catch everything from walleyes to perch to smallmouth bass. The backwaters of the Au Sable River are only a short drive from the Tawases, and the structure-filled impoundments contain a variety of species.

For more information on fishing opportunities in the Tawas area, contact the Southern Lake Huron Management Unit of the Department of Natural Resources at (989) 684-9141.

LAKE ST. CLAIR
For those of us who are fortunate enough to live in the "north country," taking a summer fishing vacation could mean heading south to the "Big City" to take in the sights and sounds. Fortunately, some of Michigan's best fishing lies in shadows of tall skyscrapers.

Lake St. Clair has come on like gangbusters in the last decade due to improved water quality -- zebra mussels have cleaned the water -- and the growth of aquatic vegetation. The vegetation has allowed aquatic life to flourish, and species like perch, smallmouth bass and panfish have taken advantage of it.

The fishing is fairly simple. Get yourself some native spot-tailed shiners at a local bait shop, head out onto the lake off Metro Beach near Mt. Clemens, find 10 to 15 feet of water and rig up with a slip-bobber or live-bait rig. Drifting works fine if the wind isn't too strong. It won't take long before something grabs the minnow. It could be a jumbo perch, smallmouth, walleye or even a muskie. I told you heading south could be fun!

For more fishing information, contact Lakeside Sport Shop at (586) 777-7003.

Enjoying a little culture and history is one of the pluses of going to the Detroit area. You can enjoy the epicurean delights of Greek Town and other first-class restaurants, take in a Tigers game, view automotive history at the Henry Ford Historical Museum and Greenfield Village, get wild at the Detroit Zoo, or get some rhythm at Hitsville USA and the Motown Historical Museum. There are many more fun things to see and do in the big city.

For more tourism information, contact the Metro Detroit Convention & Visitors Bureau at 1-800-DETROIT, or online at www.visitdetroit.com.

TRAVERSE CITY
Traverse City is a vacation destination mecca for many visitors. People from all over Michigan and other states head to Traverse City during the summer to take in the area's natural beauty, partake in the culture and activities, and to wet a line if they get the chance.