Hottest Fishin' Hole:Part 1 "Catfish Phil"

I suppose at one time or another every fisherman hears a story about that perfect fishing spot. That hot spot where the fish just seem to jump in the boat. Of course hardly anyone fishes there because it's in some obscure location nearly impossible to get to. Even if you get back there the fish are so big there's no way to haul them back out. Every lake town has such a spot. Houghton Lake is no different.

I was coming home after another frustrating day of "if only", "thought I had a bite" and "should have stayed home", when I stopped at Catfish Phil's Bait Emporium (Phil thought emporium sounded more sophisticated than "shop"). Phil was sitting out front under the awning drinking a beer wearing his signature "lucky" fishing hat loaded with over $7 worth of previously owned lures, spoons, jigheads and flies purchased at various garage sales. Each one with it's own unique story of the fish caught and the challenging conditions of it's capture.

Now Phil was a real humanitarian in that he always released the trophy fish he caught and since he always fished alone there was never an eyewitness to his remarkable ability to locate and capture these elusive lunkers. He had a camera once but that went overboard during an exceptionally strenuous fight with a record breaking Largemouth Bass.

As I walked up to the stoop Phil told me, in true Phil fashion, if I wanted some bait to just get it myself and leave the money on the counter. And while I was in there would I grab him another beer. One of the cold ones in the back. He thought it was a waste of ice to put a few in a cooler next to him when the refrigerator had to be on for the crawlers. So to save on ice he kept his beer behind the crawlers. He told me if I wanted one just leave an extra $5 on the counter. I passed on the beer and opted for a $3 bottle of water instead.

I flopped down in the seat next to his and recounted my day. Phil listened quietly then took a long pull on his beer. He thought about it for awhile then he told me about the "secret" fishing spot that he had heard about from an old angler named Jake. The old man had made it clear to Phil he didn't want others to know about this "honey hole".

Now Jake hadn't been back since and Phil assumed he had moved away. So why not tell me? He would give me directions to the best fishing in the county, heck possibly the whole state. By this time the next day I could be dragging a creel of the largest and best tasting fish anyone had ever caught. I might have to let some go just to keep from sinking the boat.

Yes, sir. The secret fishing spot handed down through generations finally revealed to me. For $50 he would sell me a map and give me exact directions to the very spot where a 39 inch Walleye had been landed. It would have set state record only Jake wouldn't say where he caught it so the DNR seized the fish assuming it had been caught illegally in restricted waters.

Of course Jake had not had a chance to take a picture before the DNR had removed the trophy Walleye, never to be seen again. He had told Phil it was OK because there were bigger ones still out there. Something about the area just made the fish grow beyond normal size (or rational thought). I was hooked.

Next: Part 2 Restricted Waters

Biggest Fish I Never Saw

Pond off Highway 55

It was a typical autumn day here in Michigan, temperatures in the 60's and overcast with a light wind. I had been fishing one of my favorite spots on Backus lake with little success. So I decided to try a small pond by a picnic park off highway 55. Occasionally I had seen others fishing there, though not many. Actually it's not a very popular spot with only two picnic tables and no facilities of any kind. Still there is a pond with some decent vegetation surrounding most of it.

The shoreline is mostly sparse grass and hard earth. Near the picnic area is small sand beach with cattails and lily pads to the right and left sides the type of area big fish call home. I scouted along the waterline checking for minnows, a sign that there might be other larger fish. After a few minutes I finally saw a few. Encouraged I pulled a fat crawler out of the plastic container. I cut off a nice piece (I don't believe in using a whole one) placed it on my favorite jighead (1/32 oz orange and yellow) and adjusted the weighted orange styrofoam bobber to the proper height on my 8 lb test line.

There was a gentle wind blowing from my right so I cast out that way and let the wind push my rig back across in front of me. I tried 35 feet out, 25 feet out, 15 feet out, not a nibble. I suspected I knew the reason no one fished here twice.

Let me tell you right now, I'm not very patient. If I don't get a bite within 15 minutes I'm ready to move on (which was why I left Backus Lake). After a look around I could see there was no other spot offering access to the pond. Then studying the pond I noticed an opening in the lily pads to my right about 2 ft in diameter. Only thing was I had to cast around some cattails to drop it in there (if I was golfing it wouldn't be a problem since I have an incurable slice). Normally I won't cast into lily pads, it's a disaster that ends with losing my rig even if I don't hook a fish. But the season was ending and the prospect of catching something outweighed my common sense. So I hauled back and let her fly.

It was a perfect cast and when my bait landed in the opening two things happened; the surface water erupted and my bobber disappeared. I was so surprised I almost forgot to set the hook. But a split second later I heaved back on the rod and then...nothing. I gave the crank handle a few quick turns to take up slack and tried again...still nothing. My bobber remained out of sight as I started to furiously crank the reel. I tipped the rod back once more and still nothing. Disappointed I calmly reeled in the slack line assuming it must have broken.

Only it hadn't broken. There had not been even the slightest tension in the line from the moment my bobber had disappeared. The line would have to be taut to break. Quickly looking back there was my bobber floating next to a lily pad.

My only explanation is that a very large fish, probably a largemouth bass must have gone after the bobber (a common occurrence) and enclosing the whole thing in it's mouth it must have bit the line in two. It could have been a catfish or northern pike but I like to think it was a bass. After it realized the bobber wasn't edible it just spit it back out.

I set up another rig and cast to that same spot several more times. But lightning never strikes twice in the same place. The old fella had moved on probably with a bad taste in his mouth.

I'll be going back in the spring and trying again. I have a weedless frog lure I want to try out. And maybe next time I'll actually see this trophy fish. I've been toying with the idea of giving him a nickname but for now he'll just remain the "biggest fish I never saw".

Take care all and happy fishing,

Ken S