This is how my practice went on the Grand River...

[fasttrack]

I won't be fishing the Grand the rest of the season, so there's no reason I shouldn't throw you some info. My partner and I won a 40 boat tourney this past weekend with 13.7 lbs. It was a classic bluebird day and the bite was tough. We got somewhat lucky in that a couple boats were on our starting spot in Spring so we 'just went fishing' and bumped into some decent fish. A friend that beat us to that starting spot ended in the middle of the pack with 3 fish so it was a blessing in disguise. VERY few good weeds in Spring, but when you find some with reasonably close access to deeper water, fish it hard and slow with your favorite soft plastics. That's what worked for us. We couldn't catch more than a dink or two from under a dock that day, though Eric is right - sometimes that's a good pattern. (Hey Eric! Yes, I'm still alive!) We checked a main lake wind-blown point on the way out but couldn't get bit.

I know there were some fish caught around the Stearns Bayou bridge, but nothing great. I also heard of a couple fish caught on docks where Dermo Bayou/Indian Channel empty into the river. Fishing the channel is an all-or-nothing thing most of the time. I know at least a couple competitors fished the channel but didn't do much. On the contrary, I heard the Muskegon channel was 'on' that day (we can't run in our club) and the winners of the BBT tournament came from there. So who knows.... Running up the river too far is not advised with the low water. Once you get past the gravel pits (where the dredging stops) there are areas where the deepest water is 1 1/2' deep!

Hope it helps you guys in some way. If any of ya know much about Hamlin Lake this time of year, I'd love to hear from you. I will be there next weekend and need all the help I can get!