Great Lakes Bass Fishing Forum

I've never been to Sylvan Lake before and if I remember right I don't think Derek had been there either when I asked him. Heard some things about the ramp and other odd stories but a friend lives on the lake and he's made it sound like it can be pretty good fishing at times for both smallmouth and largemouth bass. So off we went on our almost weekly trip on 9-7-2017.

(http://glb.glwimg.com/images/clinton-river-bridge-at-sylvan-lake20170907_102818_HDR.jpg)
Ominous... Wind blew harder than the forecast, of course! After our brief dealing with the slightly challenging boat ramp (though not as bad as some people made it to be) we made it through the narrow channel and under the slightly challenging bridges out to the lake.

An interesting looking lake with a fair amount of weeds. It looks promising, but my 2017 funk continued this day with not much to show for it despite a valiant effort by both of us!

We started on a big point and I swear Derek caught a small keeper smallmouth off a bed!! We both saw it. Looked like a bed and he pitched a tube jig to it and got bit! There was a big full moon at the time and water temps were in the mid-high 60s - just right for a confused bass to try to spawn in. It happened right after we started and it got off at the side of the boat though. Otherwise I would have taken a picture of it though we still had high hopes at that time of catching plenty of bass for pictures...??

In the end I had 2 mystery Bullet Craw bites on weed points - I think both in the back lake connected to Sylvan pitching into the weeds. Somehow blew them both (sheesh) even though I felt them, tightened up the line and set hard on both! Felt like I had real good fish on both times and then... nothing... What the?!?

Later I had a real nice smallie follow my drop shot to the boat from straight down deep when I reeled it in... Rats! It was over 20 feet deep along another point and I could see fish on the graph. Couldn't get another bite or even a follow up before we ran out of time on this shorter day (which was probably good since I don't know how much more of this funk I can take?).

(http://glb.glwimg.com/images/derek-whopper-largemouth-tube-sylvan-lake20170907_110116_HDR.jpg)
Derek always laughs when I take a picture of my first fish, even if it is small. I always say 'in case I don't get another bite!?!' This time I took a picture of his first landed bass - a tiny largemouth bass that ate a Canadian Mist tube jig cast near weeds on a hump. Yes, he laughed... but if I hadn't made him let me take this picture there'd be zero bass to show for this day of good effort delivering not much!! I think he caught or lost 1 more dink largemouth all day. And that's all she wrote...

The ramp issue is only in early spring, after a good rain. Sometimes that current can reach 15mph...it has washed my trailer off the ramp a few times...

Wow! 15 mph hour current is no little baby thing... don't think I'd want to be there under those conditions either!