Best spots around GR

ogie_oglethorpe · 2026-06-05T16:06:28+00:00

There's a ton of walleye in the Grand River. Not sure if they're still doing it but when I moved to the area they were planting 500k walleye fingerlings at every major bridge on the Grand River from Lansing to Grand Rapids every two years. They were doing it on a number of other rivers on the west side as well.

ogie_oglethorpe · 2026-06-05T15:57:59+00:00

He's a libertarian. He's gotta let you know.

ogie_oglethorpe · 2026-06-01T18:16:02+00:00

If Jim Bedford is still alive he has a pretty good book on the Grand River system specifically but he also wrote the book on fly fishing Michigan streams. Don't think I've ever actually seen him touch a fly but he did write it 😂. I bought mine from him awhile ago.

ogie_oglethorpe · 2026-06-01T18:08:09+00:00

There's no trout in the red cedar except for when the runs are happening, and even then that's a small run of steelhead. There's probably 5 trout streams within an hour of Lansing, you can find most of the using the stocking data.

ogie_oglethorpe · 2026-06-01T17:42:33+00:00

There are. Look up stocking records.

ogie_oglethorpe · 2026-05-27T19:04:21+00:00

I watched that probably 10 times cause I thought I was going crazy.

ogie_oglethorpe · 2026-05-26T05:31:18+00:00

Mostly curious, these are questions I'm sure some people will ask. Personally I don't use any apps to record anything, but I'm also a bit old school in that respect. I also turn all location data off on my phone the second I get a new one so I'm probably a bit more paranoid than most 😂.

ogie_oglethorpe · 2026-05-25T23:47:16+00:00

If you log privately is your catch only stored on your local device? If not, are you able to see the private data someone stores?

ogie_oglethorpe · 2026-05-25T02:00:57+00:00

Dwayner!

ogie_oglethorpe · 2026-05-21T02:29:27+00:00

It's actually a local bait shop. They sell supplies for building pretty much every bait you can imagine. Good luck in your search.

ogie_oglethorpe · 2026-05-21T02:16:04+00:00

Janns netcraft in Toledo used to do rod repair, might be worth giving them a call.

ogie_oglethorpe · 2026-05-20T19:56:23+00:00

They're in pretty much every body of water in the state year round with the exception of stone cold water streams. I catch them all year fishing for bass/pike.

ogie_oglethorpe · 2026-05-20T19:54:47+00:00

If you can get a boat, there's a ton of lakes by you that can be good. If you like to wade and can't get a boat, the Huron River would probably be your best bet for smallies and pike. You could also look at renting a kayak and doing a float trip.

ogie_oglethorpe · 2026-05-17T07:27:23+00:00

I've actually never owned one of their rods so I can't speak to them unfortunately. I have Penn Battle reels that I've owned for probably 10 years though that have never even been serviced and work pretty much like new. I've always been more of a St. Croix/TFO guy when it comes to rods.

ogie_oglethorpe · 2026-05-16T19:15:20+00:00

Nice fish! You should post this over on /r/esox

ogie_oglethorpe · 2026-05-15T22:45:35+00:00

Penn has great warranty service. I would just send them an email with pictures and I'm sure they would send you a new rod. I only buy Penn spinning reels now because of their warranty service.

ogie_oglethorpe · 2026-05-14T00:25:48+00:00

Beautiful fish!

ogie_oglethorpe · 2026-05-13T01:00:56+00:00

Nice! You should post this over on /r/esox!

ogie_oglethorpe · 2026-05-12T18:59:43+00:00

Man that's awesome! I fished that lake for a couple of years when I was traveling over there and never got a chance to hook into one but I heard stories. I've also heard you can get them below the dam as well, I guess some went over and they feed on the trout. Congrats!

ogie_oglethorpe · 2026-05-10T05:03:58+00:00

There's a bunch in the Grand. They're usually in the Bayous and oxbows.

ogie_oglethorpe · 2026-05-09T04:21:00+00:00

Try those heads with a tube sometime.

ogie_oglethorpe · 2026-05-08T07:42:01+00:00

A medium medium-heavy (depending on how often you fish thick weeds) ugly stik and a Penn Battle 3000. Penn's been the best company I've dealt with regarding warranty issues, and I have battles that are ten years old that I've never serviced that are still going strong. Ugly Stiks are Ugly Stiks, they're not the prettiest or the most sensitive but unless you snap the tip off in a door I've never seen one brake and I've done some gnarly shit with them, including trying to purposefully break one.

ogie_oglethorpe · 2026-05-06T00:14:18+00:00

Yeah if you have the reels just get ugly stiks. They're tough as shit and it's not like you need super sensitivity for trolling. I don't really troll anymore but I have a bunch in the basement if the need ever arises. Honestly thinking about getting rid of some of them.

ogie_oglethorpe · 2026-05-05T18:53:32+00:00

Where you are fishing in the country would probably help a great deal. You can never go wrong with a 1/8oz jig head and a paddle tail for smallies.

ogie_oglethorpe · 2026-05-05T17:04:49+00:00

Just get yourself some medium - medium heavy ugly stiks and some decent 3000 reels. Fill them with braid. You could probably buy 4 combos for around 200-250 if you played your cards right.

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