Photo by Ron Sinfelt

I once had the opportunity to meet fishing celebrity Jerry McKinnis, host of ESPN's long-running show, "The Fishin' Hole." McKinnis was a featured speaker at a sports show that I was speaking and exhibiting at, and I volunteered to pick him up at the airport.

McKinnis is a good ol' boy from Arkansas who has had the opportunity to fish all over the world. Initially, the drive from Detroit Metro Airport was tense and awkward, with neither one of us saying much. As we sped through suburban Detroit past the endless rows of office buildings, subdivisions and condominiums, McKinnis was the one who finally broke the ice.

"So what do they fish for around here?" said McKinnis, gazing out the window at the seemingly infinite sprawl of glass and concrete.

"Well, there's a lot of good walleye fishing around here," I replied.

"Walleyes," McKinnis turned to me and stated matter-of-factly. "If I had to fish for walleyes all the time I'd take up golf, and I don't even like golf!"

We both had to chuckle, and I broke into a big grin. Conversation suddenly came more easily.

"So what do you guide for?" queried McKinnis.

"Steelhead and salmon," I offered.

"Steelhead. Now there's one heck of a fish," said McKinnis, his eyes now gleaming and him sitting up straighter. "Steelhead and smallmouths -- those are two of my favorite fish. I could fish for just those two fish the rest of my life."

I proceeded to tell McKinnis about the outstanding smallmouth fishing that was available in the shadow of suburban Detroit and how a 4- or 5-pound smallie was really no big deal. I told him that there were literally dozens of great smallmouth waters around the state and that they received relatively little fishing pressure compared to other, more popular species like walleyes. I had his attention now.

We talked excitedly about fishing and Michigan smallmouths right until I dropped him at the gate to the Silverdome. We shook hands, exchanged business cards and McKinnis said he wanted to make it a point to get back to Michigan and sample some of the smallmouth fishing that I'd been extolling.

Like McKinnis, most anglers really don't know what great smallmouth fishing Michigan has. If others states had smallmouth angling like we have here in the Great Lakes State, the bronzeback would be king.

The following is a sampling of Michigan's truly underrated and unheralded smallmouth waters.

LAKE GOGEBIC
Think of 12,800-acre Lake Gogebic in the Upper Peninsula and you naturally think of jumbo yellow perch and plenty of eatin'-sized walleyes. But most anglers don't realize is that Lake Gogebic is also a first-rate smallmouth lake.

"The bass in Lake Gogebic are short and fat, like the perch," said Ron Montie of Nine Pines Resort. Montie said there are smallies in the 21- to 22-inch range that will tip the scales at 4 1/2 to 5 pounds available, although bass in the 15- to 18-inch range are more common. Those are good fish anywhere.

Right after the season opens in late May and early June is one of the best times to target Gogebic smallies.

"Usually right after the season opens the bass are in 2 to 3 feet of water just prior to spawning or during the spawn," said Montie. Much of the early-season fishing for smallies is sight-fishing. A good pair of polarized glasses is a huge asset for spotting bedding bass. Anglers should be very selective about the fish they keep during this period to prevent hurting the fishery. Montie said that pitching a small black jig to irritate defensive bass into striking is a good tactic. Smallmouths can't resist a wriggling worm near their nest either.

As waters warm in July, post-spawn bass head deeper. A good place to search for summer smallies is around the many fish shelters that have been placed in the lake over the years, particularly on the west side. They are delineated by red diamond-shaped signs around the lake in 10 to 15 feet of water -- perfect locations for summer bass. The structure also harbors one of the smallmouth's favorite foods -- crayfish. Look for bass to relate heavily to the dropoffs along the east and west shores, and wherever you find a distinct weedline, too. Crayfish-colored crankbaits and brown jig-n-pig combos work great for Gogebic's bass, as does a leech or crawler suspended below a slip-bobber.