Key is to cover water on this 9,000-acre impoundment and keep your lure out of the weeds. Watching a big bucketmouth explode on a Pop R, Zara Spook or Rapala is about as much fun as it can get. The topwater stuff works best early in the season before the weeds get too thick. Plopping a Texas-rigged lizard into holes in the weed mats can be dynamite later in the summer. Spinnerbaits in chartreuse or white are killer when you "bump the stumps," which triggers foraging largemouths.

"There may not be a lake in Michigan that produces more 5-pound largemouths," claimed Dean Robinson of Jack's Landing. Bass pushing 7 pounds are caught every year.

More consistent water levels in recent years have helped bass spawning success, and boost numbers of bluegills and sunfish -- a favorite forage of Fletcher largemouths.

For bait, tackle and information on Fletcher Pond, contact Jack's Landing at (989) 742-4370. For information on lodging, attractions and other amenities in the area, contact the Alpena Convention & Visitors Bureau at 1-800-425-7362 or online at Alpena.net

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Largemouth bass anglers may be in the minority in Michigan, but they don't mind. That way, they have some great fishing all to themselves!