Summer means fireworks and fishing. Not necessarily separate, because at times the fishing can be explosive. Largemouth and smallmouth bass are drawing anglers out of bed every weekend for bass tournaments. Those looking for a more leisurely experience and few fish for the dinner table, are targeting catfish and panfish around the region. Catch and release anglers are targeting musky, carp, and small stream smallmouth across the Midwest Region. This is the time of the year when many families load up and head out on road trip. If your idea of a fun family vacation includes time spent fishing, then these destinations should be considered as destinations to explore.
Illinois – Cedar Lake Largemouth
Cedar Lake, located just a few miles south of Carbondale, is one of the best largemouth bass lakes in Illinois. The DNR collected a 6-pound bass in their spring 2023 survey, and an angler boated a certified 10-pounder in 2022. There’s proof the lake holds lunkers. At 1,750 acres, this lake is made for fishing. There is a 10-hp limit on motors. Cedar Lake reaches depths of 60 feet, but most of the bass are caught along shoreline. The lake has a lot of natural cover. Target the stumps, fallen trees, brush piles. Working a rubber worm or a jig along the cover is a proven tactic in the summer when largemouth can be lethargic. The Cedar Creek boat ramp on the north end of the lake is closest to Carbondale.
Iowa – Winnebago River Smallmouth
Smallmouth regularly eat minnows, crayfish, and large insects. Baits imitating these food choices are usually fished subsurface. Smallmouth will also gorge on a timely meal of a mouse, small snake, or frog. Imitating any of these larger meals on the surface with a topwater bait is an explosive way to tangle with Winnebago River bronzebacks. Caybanks Forest south of Nora Springs has public access to the river. Many choose to begin a float trip at East Park in Mason City and take out downstream at Averydale Access. The Cedar is a beautiful river to float and fish in a canoe or kayak. CrawDaddy Outdoors in Waverly offers gear and information for floating the river.
Kansas – Kansas City Carp
There are numerous waters around Kansas City where one can catch common carp, but the Missouri River is main place anglers go to carp fish. The river runs through the north side of the city. The Kansas and Missouri River Confluence at Kaw Park is a good place to target carp from the shore. If you plan to use a boat, the park has a public boat ramp. Most carp anglers look for areas of slow current to anchor in and use bait on the bottom. Garlic flavored dough balls work well, so do commercially produced carp baits. Fly fisherman in the region also target carp. Using a boat to seek out tailing fish, puts one in the action. Throwing crayfish patterns or other carp patterns like the Carp Crawler or Widgeon Carp Fly, and result in hookups.
Michigan – Houghton Lake Yellow Perch
Houghton Lake is over 20,000-acres. Making it the largest inland lake in the state. It’s a shallow lake, making it good for panfish. Learning how, when, and where to catch yellow perch out of this massive body of water may take a more than one trip. The town of Houghton Lake has access for both shore and boat anglers. To find yellow perch in June and July, you must find the deeper weed lines. The perch will hold in the vegetation, so look for pockets where you can drop a jig tipped with a minnow or waxworm down to them. The daily limit on yellow perch is 25.
Missouri – Sinking Creek Smallmouth
One of Missouri’s newest state parks, Echo Bluff, offers over a mile of access to Sinking Creek. This small water is an absolute Ozark gem. A tributary of the Current River, Sinking Creek is primarily a wade fishing creek. At times, you can navigate a kayak down the last few miles. It’s crystal-clear waters are tough to fish during the peak of the day, but early and late, when the light is low, anglers can pull smallmouth bass over 20 inches long from the shadows. Spinners and topwater plugs work well. So do soft plastics and nightcrawlers. The fish in this creek grow very slow. To maintain a productive fishery, catch-and-release of smallmouth bass should be practiced at all times. Echo Bluff State Park is located 20 miles south of Salem, Missouri and offers campsites, cabins, and a lodge with rooms. There is an excellent restaurant onsite.
Ohio – Cuyahoga River Pike
If you like to hunt for rare fish is obscure places, trying to catch a northern pike from the Cuyahoga River is a challenge for you. The river runs through Cleveland and feeds into Lake Erie. There are not a lot of pike in the river, but they are in there. Accessing the river anywhere in the Cleveland area will give you a shot at a pike. Throw big spinnerbaits and large stickbaits. Pike are predatory and will strike an easy meal. Look for them in ambush locations, like next to logs, rocky points, and manmade structure. Northern pike will hunt in shallow water bays and slack water. Trying buzzbaits on the surface early and late in the day to target aggressive fish.
See you down the trail…
Brandon Butler
driftwoodoutdoors@gmail.com
Pic: The Midwest offers excellent options for fishing road trips this summer.
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