LAKE BELLAIRE
Northwest Michigan has a bunch of topnotch smallmouth bass waters, so it’s hard to pick just one for fall smallies, but Dave Rose said Lake Bellaire is hard to beat.

“You’re going to find a lot of smallies in the 2 1/2- to 3 1/2-pound range, and there’s a chance for a 5- or 6-pounder,” Rose said, “and fall is the best time for big fish.”

One of the cool things about Lake Bellaire smallmouths in the fall is that you can catch them on a variety of lures. Rose said he uses spinnerbaits, tubes, grubs and stick baits. They all catch fish at one time or another. You should have several rods rigged, and keep switching until you hit on the right combination.

Rose said autumn hotspots are along the sloping contour right off the boat launch on the east side of the lake, along the dropoff off the mouth of the Grass River, near the inlet of Intermediate Lake and in the north bay. Fishing can be good from mid-September until it gets too cold to launch the boat.

Information on Lake Bellaire and other Michigan lakes is available in Sportsman’s Connections’ detailed lake map books. Call Sportsman’s Connections at 1-800-777-7461.

BIG GLEN LAKE
“There are a lot of lakes that are planted with trout in northwest Michigan that nobody really fishes,” offered Dave Rose. “You might find a few people trolling for trout in the summertime, but after that, you hardly see anyone fishing specifically for trout.”

Rose said fall is prime time to cash in on this untapped resource. The trout move from the depths into the shallows as the waters cool, and they provide great sport on light tackle.

One of Rose’s favorite autumn trout lakes is Big Glen, which is 1,400 acres and has a long history of trout stocking. From 1995 through 2001, the lake received regular plantings of brown trout, lake trout and splake. More recently, Big Glen has been the recipient of rainbow trout and steelhead plants. Those fish are now reaching good sizes. Rose e-mailed me an image recently of two fat rainbows he took from Big Glen last fall. Those trout should have added a few pounds by this fall.

Big Glen Lake doesn’t have much in the way of structure. It’s basically bowl shaped with few points or humps. The exception is where Little Glen Lake enters Big Glen. A ridge there is worth prospecting for fall trout. Otherwise, Rose advised just to work the shoreline dropoff. As the waters cool, trout move shallow and cruise the edge. Rose said to cast to 4 to 10 feet of water with a suspending stick bait and hold on! “The big ones will darn near rip the rod out of your hands,” Rose warned.

Rose said Elk, Burt and Torch lakes are good bets for fall trout action, too.

To sample some of northwest Michigan’s best fall fishing, call guide Dave Rose at (231) 276-9874.

PERE MARQUETTE RIVER
Thousands of naturally reproduced chinook salmon begin converging on the Pere Marquette River near Ludington shortly after Labor Day.

Salmon fans first get a crack at the kings in Pere Marquette Lake where the chinooks stage before heading upriver. When the fish do head upstream, anglers enjoy great sport along the way. Anglers will find well-defined holes and runs in the areas near Scottville and Custer where schools of pre-spawn kings bide their time before heading for the gravel reaches even farther upstream.