The bays warm early on and will hold spawning largemouths in May through the first part of June. After spawning, the bass begin moving out of the bays and into the deeper water, holding on bottom structure and breaklines. Shoreline cover can be the scene of a hot bite in the early morning and evening. You'll find shallow water with plenty of submerged vegetation from Baird's Cove to the park. Pickerel Cove is another good post-spawn largemouth hotspot where it pays to cast crankbaits and spinnerbaits. The western half of the lake is only 4 or 5 feet deep, with rice beds and other shallow vegetation.

Gun Lake covers over 2,600 acres in Allegan and Barry counties in southwestern Michigan. A fishing pier is located on the eastern side of the western basin over shallow water where shore-bound anglers stand as good a chance as boaters. Gun is located four miles north of Orangeville on M-179. A valid state park sticker is required to use the ramp on Murphy's Point in the Yankee Springs State Recreation Area on the north side of the lake. Boat ramps are available near Murphy's Point on Gun Lake Road from the east and County Road 430 from the west. Two ramps are available off Patterson Road on the southwest corner.

Contact the Southern Lake Michigan Management Unit at (269) 685-6851 or the Yankee Springs State Recreation Area at (269) 795-9081 for more fishing information. Info on lodging is available through the Branch County Tourism Bureau at 1-800-968-9333.

GRAND RIVER
The water doesn't have to be stationary to have great largemouth bass fishing.

"For largemouths in Ottawa County, the lower Grand has good numbers of fish in Lloyds and Pottawatomie bayous, and Spring Lake," biologist Smith said. "These are highly productive backwaters that fish can move around in, and go between various and diverse habitats. Forage is more abundant in rivers than in lakes, which makes for good growth rates.

"I was on a survey in Eaton and Ionia counties on the Grand River and we saw quite a few largemouths in the 14- to 18-inch range, which is pretty good for a river," Smith continued. "The Grand River in these counties has high densities of bass, and successful year-classes of fish."

In May and June, both largemouth and smallmouth bass are holding around stumps, along the shoreline or in logjams.

The Weber Dam in Portland in Ionia County offers a boat launch, as well as some good largemouth fishing. Small boats can put in at dams, bridge crossings and at a roadside park in Lyons. Access sites are more numerous near the Grand Haven State Game Area. Launch ramps include 120th Avenue, Bruce Bayou, Lloyd's Bayou on Spring Lake, Robinson Park and the Grand Haven City Marina. Spring Lake is connected to the main river, but is an extensive warmwater bayou with a lot of submerged vegetation, shoreline docks and other bass-attracting structure. Look for bass up to 5 pounds here.

Additional information can be obtained by contacting the DNR Plainwell office at (269) 685-6851.