Great Lakes Bass Fishing Forum

 fished maxi today for the first time, what a nightmare for firstimers. got 1 on a live craw-14", 1 on a shakeyhead-12" wonder if it's worth the drive to go back, traffic was stirring up the water and pounding us to death. give me a lake without "lakers"..karol

Maxi is a great lake early in the year (around the middle of April) when the small mouth are up bedding. After that the smallmouth become hard to find and largemouths become more common. In the spring the water is usally clear and you can see about 8ft deep. It is "hit and miss" after the Memorial day boating season begins. I usally end up fishing 12-18ft during the summer. Get to the ramp early or you wont find a spot to park!

Maxi is an awesome body of water! I am not surprised it gave you fits for your first time out there as it can be intimidating and tough until you learn it. I've found that for consistent success in the summer months its a matter of going from one hump, point, to the next. There are a lot of them out there, but you need decent electronics to find them.

Spring time is obviously phenomenal b/c the smallies get on the beds and are pretty easy to catch while the lm spawn in the channels before the smallies. But those are a bit more finicky.

I wouldn't give up on this lake b/c you can catch 5# smallies, but realize it takes some time getting to know it. Become familiar w/ tubes & drop shots. Good community holes to begin are out in front of the Academy and on the opposite shore across from the launch. Also, if you like throwing senkos or wacky, check out the channels. Good luck!