With so much wood and brush, try slow-trolling with a bottom-bouncer and crawler along the outskirts of the rubble. Walleyes on the prowl go for this technique and are usually the most active and ready to strike. Concentrate your efforts along the first breakline and work your way out as success declines. With the rich, stained water in North Manistique Lake, look for yellow, chartreuse or green to work best. Pulling crankbaits is a bit risky with all the hangups, but when used, the perch-colored lures work best.

The launch ramp is located along the south side at Luce County Park. For more information on North Manistique Lake, contact the folks at Watson's Marina at (906) 586-9731. For information on lodging and campgrounds, call the Curtis Chamber of Commerce at (906) 586-3700.

HUBBARD LAKE
At 8,850 acres, Hubbard Lake is one the state's largest inland waters. It's considered by those who make this a regular stop in their travels as a picturesque lake with plenty of walleyes to go around. Hubbard has been on the list of Michigan's semi-pro walleye tour for several years as a must-fish lake. But don't let that fool you into thinking the walleyes here are pushovers. They're not!

"Hubbard is always a great place to fish," says pro angler Tom Dinneweth. "Each time we get there, it's quite a challenge. The fishing can be great once you discover the pattern they're on, but that takes some time and persistence."

According to Dinneweth, early in the season, anglers can do well around Churchill Point and Doctor's Point. In these areas, folks will want to pitch jigs tipped with minnows or half a crawler. When the wind picks up and blows into these points, slip-bobber presentations with leeches can really be a walleye turn-on.

"During the summer and early fall, anglers should consider trolling crankbaits from both planer boards and downriggers," said Dinneweth. "The walleyes slip deep into the water because of the clarity of the lake. You'll need to really get down there at times to reach the larger ones.

"During a tournament on Hubbard, we found our largest fish on the bottom in 38 feet of water off Churchill Point," he continued. "The walleyes were feeding on crawfish and were quite aggressive. Once we located them, we could have loaded the boat by slow-trolling spinners and crawlers behind bottom-bouncers. That was really a good time."

Look for the majority of Hubbard's walleyes to be "eaters." During a number of recent tournaments, many anglers could expect to catch dozens of fish, with only a handful being the 15-inch keeper size.

Public launches can be found in the South Bay near the West Branch River and off Hubbard Lake Road. For fishing information, contact the folks at Side Door Bait and Tackle at (989) 736-6418. The Chamber of Commerce can be reached for lodging information at (989) 736-6418.

NORTH LAKE LEELANAU
North Lake Leelanau is located in southeast Leelanau County about 10 miles northwest of Traverse City. Although the lake is connected by a channel to South Lake Leelanau, the northern water is your best bet for walleyes. That's because an abundance of high-protein forage including rainbow smelt and much less fishing pressure aids the walleyes here to grow faster and, as a rule, larger.

In the early season, look for the slightly sloping flats on the south end of the lake to be a good choice for anglers. In this area, try trolling spinner-and-crawler rigs that follow 1- to 2-ounce bottom-bouncers. Let the depth determine the best weight. Although it doesn't work well as a searching technique, vertical jigging with jigs and minnows will work extremely well once the fish are located.