"Little Bay de Noc has better access," said Herman. Because of this, Little Bay de Noc's smallies see a little more fishing pressure. Gravel shoals off the mouth of rivers that enter the bay concentrate smallies, especially early in the season. Try off the mouth of the Days, Ford, Tacoosh and Rapid rivers. Deeper 12- to 18- foot flats attract bass later in the summer. Try off the points near Kipling, and around Hunter's and Saunders points. The substrate on much of the bay is rock, which provides ideal habitat for the smallmouth's main forage -- crayfish. Baits and lures that imitate crayfish are great on Bay de Noc smallmouths. Hopping, skipping and popping a crawdad-colored tube jig across the bottom is sure to get the attention of bass in the area.

Access to Big Bay de Noc is more limited and the bass fishing is untouched. "The west side of the bay provides some of the best access and the best fishing on Big Bay de Noc," claimed Herman. There are public launches on the west side of Ogontz Bay, at the mouth of the Fishdam River and near Wilsey Bay that provides access to some of the best locations. Hotspots include Wilsey Bay, Wilsey Bay Point, Wedens Bay, Chippewa Point, Sand Bay, Martin Bay, St. Vital Island, and Stony and Poplar points off the mouth of the Sturgeon River near Nahma. There are dozens of other reefs and points teaming with smallmouths. Most of the bass will run from 14 to 16 inches, but lunkers topping 5 pounds are fairly common.

For more information on opportunities for Bay de Noc smallmouths, contact the Northern Lake Michigan Management Unit's Escanaba office at (906) 786-2351. For information on lodging and other amenities in the area, contact the Delta County Tourism & Convention Bureau at (906) 786-2192 or online at www.deltami.org.

DOUGLAS LAKE
"Smallmouth bass are quite common in many of our northern Michigan waterbodies, particularly the larger lakes," said Northern Lake Huron Management Unit fisheries biologist Tim Cwalinski. "They rarely receive the attention that walleyes and pike get, which is a shame because some of the populations of smallmouths are quite healthy."

One example of a large inland lake that has a very healthy smallmouth population is Cheboygan County's Douglas Lake. "Douglas Lake has bass in excess of 20 inches that are available, and it has good natural recruitment," said Cwalinski.

At 3,395 acres, Douglas Lake has plenty of smallmouth habitat. Even though the lake only averages 12 feet deep, there are holes that approach 80 feet in the lake. Around the edges of these steep drops is a good place to look for smallies. Try in the southeast corner of the lake in South Fishtail Bay and in North Fishtail Bay. Anglers should also probe the contours around Pells Island right off the boat launch at the end of Douglas Lake Road on the southeast side.

The best fishing for Douglas Lake smallies is early in the season before weeds make fishing more difficult. The usual compliment of crankbaits, spinnerbaits and plastic worms work well before the weeds get too thick. Later, weedless spoons and surface lures fished in the openings score.

For live bait, tackle and fishing reports, contact Levering Sports at (231) 537-4737. Information on lodging and accommodations in the area is available by contacting the Cheboygan Area Tourist Bureau at 1-800-968-3302 or online at www.cheboygan.com.

BEAVER LAKE
"Not only did we find good numbers of bass during our last survey of Beaver Lake, but we found bass up to 23 inches," said biologist Tim Cwalinski. That's enough to get any bass angler's blood pumping.

Alpena County's 665-acre Beaver Lake is not difficult to read. The lake is bowl-shaped with a 70-foot hole in the center and sloping contours along the edges, all of which hold smallmouths. Structure concentrates bass in the lake. A good place to look is near fish shelters that have been placed along the lake's eastern shore in 10 to 30 feet of water. Jigs sweetened with a minnow danced around the cribs will tempt smallies to 6 pounds. Crankbaits that imitate crayfish are good, too. A steady dropoff along the west shore directly across from the boat launch is particularly good. Breaks and weed edges on the north end of Beaver Lake also concentrate bass.