Great Lakes Bass Fishing Forum

I am just curious but I have tried the tournaments out of riverside park Grand River and everytime ( 5) I fish I can't seem to compare to what some people pull out of there. I am talking weights of 20-30 lbs sometimes. Now I have had some good days out there and have pulled in a couple 4 pounders and a couple 3 pounders but come on..................... I have fished that river up and down since i was little and really want to know any secrets out there on that river that i don't know about. So if you have fished that river at all and have done anything let me know what you think of the river and at what works. Most of the time i find myself sticking to what works and flippin jigs and worm and throwing booyah spinners out usually dark green, black with silver blades white eyes, or I sometimes catch them on jerk baits usually silver or gold colors works #5's. I really like stearn Bayou and up river another bayou but i don't remember the name right now but IF YOU COULD PLEASE LET ME KNOW I AM REALLY THINKING ABOUT BAGGING THOSE TOURNMENTS IF I DON'T GET ANY NEW INFO!!!!

It is challenging fishing no doubt, but there are some nice fish - some of those guys just fish there so much, they've learned a lot of 'secrets' about the place. It is complex.

The bayou bass in particular can be real tough to trick some days - they see a lot of lures.

I've been there when the bass are biting like crazy and have caught a lot of really nice bass including some big ones. Those days don't happen a lot.

There's slop bass and bass on river wood and bass in some of the deep water too.

It sounds like you're doing the right things - just keep plugging away. I've struggled over there the past few seasons, but I haven't been fishing there a lot either. I do know the bass are there to be caught. I know a few of the really good anglers over there and they catch a good amount of bass pretty consistantly.

I fished as a co-angler in the BFL's over there 2 years ago and the fishing was tough.  I think it took only 13# on the boater side to win.  We basically fished the shoreline docks(just like everyone else) and it was tough to catch them.  It was like a train of bass boats moving all together, flipping docks, posts etc.  I was amazed that my boater ended up with 3 and I got 1 because we were fishing "used" water, just following the boat in front of us.  I did notice a couple of spots were points or humps offshore had some weed growth that no one seemed to be fishing.  I could only manage to get a quick cast to them by the time I switched rods from the flipping stick.  I got two solid bites but no hook-ups and my boater had no intention of stopping and fishing them well.  So I guess the moral of my story is, I would try to find stuff that is less visible to the average angler.  I know the winning bag and third place came from this type of area on Spring Lk.

I have never seen a 30 pound stringer off the Grand (5 fish ) but have seen a few 20's. A lot of them fish are not coming from the river, Yes its possable but unlikely, I have been fishin the Grand a long time along with the bayous and it can be a very frustrating.The River Rats know were to go. Do what I have done in the past If there is a bfl or something like that on the river go and take a boat ride  look and learn you would be amazed what you see. Now I have done this not to steel spots but to find out how and what kind of cover them big ones are coming from and also take a ride to the bridge in Grand Haven and count the boats coming back for weight in.
I would not give up on what you are doing. ;D

kgr-
I've struggled with the river more than I would like to admit myself.
Spring Lake is more my style - you may find more there that you can relate to. It's classic drop shot water later on too. Hint . Hint.
Watermelon/gold........good luck