"Look for big chunk rocks scattered around in 10 to 25 feet of water," said Sacks. "Early and late in the day they'll be shallow, but as the day wears along and the sun gets up, you'll need to fish deeper."

Contrary to some reports, Sacks believes that the fish are every bit as big as they ever were. "At this time of year you can catch some real hogs," he said with a certainty borne of personal knowledge.

Experience has taught him that the staple of Erie smallmouth fishing -- dragging tubes -- is not what it used to be. The tubes still work -- it's the technique that needs adjusting. Maybe the fish are conditioned to dragging or maybe it's the changing forage base. Either way, if you want to catch the big 4- and 5-pounders, you'll need to go with something else, most days anyway.

His bait recommendations for something else are at once simple and precise. He uses a sinker rig with a goby-colored plastic attached. Sacks reminded us that when fishing non-Michigan waters, it's legal to use a drop-shot rig without a dropper line. In Michigan waters, the rig must have a dropper line of at least 3 inches in length. This will allow for easy and quick depth adjustment, and keeps the bait up off the bottom where the active fish are feeding. Some days that may be only an inch, while on other days that may be 2 or 3 feet.

His plastic choices almost always center on Snack Daddy lures (www.snackdaddylures.com). Snack Daddy is a local company that makes a goby-imitating tube that Sacks believes is perfect for Lake Erie smallmouths. They're 4 inches long -- about the size of most of the gobies that the smallies are used to seeing and eating -- and come in a wide array of colors. Sacks' personal recommendation is to select one with plenty of green, red, purple or any combination of the three. "Try to match the gobies," he said.

Belz, on the other hand, prefers to fish along the deeper offshore breaks out in the main lake. At times he'll fish as deep as 20 feet, especially if the sun is bright and the weather unusually hot. Under heavy, overcast skies or early and late in the day, Belz may move in somewhat shallower, between 12 and 15 feet. If his smallies are in a neutral feeding mode he goes with a tube. When they're more active he'll toss a spinnerbait or jerkbait, especially when he's looking for a bigger fish. Every now and then, when conditions are really tough, he'll swim a grub.

As for colors he opined, along with Sacks, that it's hard to go wrong with anything that resembles a goby, especially when fishing plastics. With that said, however, he reminds us that gobies aren't the only thing Erie smallmouths eat. Emerald shad are also on their menu. Hard baits and colors that resemble shad can also be productive, especially when everyone else is throwing goby-style lures.

There's a ton of emerald shad hard baits on the market. Nearly every major manufacturer has several versions. They're all a bit different but the very best, at least according to Belz, are finished in some combination of black and gold. His favorite is a solid black finish accented with gold flake. "That's the best. It looks real in the water," he theorized.

Well, there you have it, an overview of three southeast Michigan smallmouth hotspots for this season and beyond. You could have so much fun with the bass that'll forget you're also on a world-class walleye water!

FOR MORE INFORMATION
For detailed information on planning a trip to metro Detroit, go to www.visitdetroit.com or call 1-800-DETROIT. For information about other nearby cities and towns, go to www.travelplanner.net. For more fishing information, go to the Michigan DNR's Web site at www.michigan.gov/dnr.