The author caught this freshwater drum…sheepshead last August on Muskegon Lake on a C-Flash 44 mag crankbait along a drop-off in 15 feet of water practicing for a bass tournament.
The drowned river mouth lake (DRM) is a unique habitat found in West Michigan. It’s a connection between Lake Michigan and the big rivers that flow into it. Throughout the entire Great Lakes Region, there really isn’t anything else like them. They offer a diverse variety of habitat that a simple river or harbor connection does not. They support robust populations of resident fish and feeding/staging/spawning opportunities for many different species that migrate between Lake Michigan and the connected river/DRM.
Muskegon, White, Pere Marquette, and Manistee Lakes are the most classic examples, but if you look up and down the coast, there are many more. There’s a basic pattern of a channel that connects Lake Michigan to the DRM, the DRM, which will have deep basins, shallow flats, and everything in between, and lastly a river that flows into the DRM. Unique angling opportunities abound in these waters. Not only do they harbor your standard Michigan inland lake fish community, but many of the coolwater species present in Lake Michigan utilize them at some point during the year. It will keep you on your toes trying to capitalize on all the unique bites that occur with different migrations of fish.
One of the biggest differences with DRM’s is the forage base. Because of the Lake Michigan Connection, you’ve got alewives and shad in the mix. When the alewives hit the lakes to spawn in late May/early June, it can really boost the fishing for some species and make it challenging for others. All of my favorite evening fishing trips revolve around when the alewives start spawning. Find an area with their characteristic spawning swirls and the unmistakable sound they make and you’ll find largemouth bass and others waiting to eat anything that moves.
After the spawn, some of the young-of-year alewives will stay in the lakes until the next spring when they migrate out. Gizzard shad are the other unique component, although unlike the alewives, their time to shine is late summer into the fall. As the young-of-year shad get big enough for the predators to notice, they can elicit some feeding frenzies too.
Round gobies are another unique forage species, but they are influential to a much lesser extent as their population is more spread out and not driving any particular feeding frenzy. Your staple Michigan forage species are also present, like shiners, panfish, crayfish, and other invertebrates.
As far as gamefish species go, salmon and trout opportunities are what really make these lakes unique. Salmon stage in deep water before making their run up the river. The jigging/skein/trolling bite is very popular and can be fantastic. It’s an opportunity for anglers to target those fish before they get in the river with boats of all types. It’s also my most looked forward to run of the year. Steelhead and browns will have to pass through these lakes to get to the rivers. They turn up all over the lake at times, but your best chances at actually targeting them are usually around the channel/pier areas. Even lake trout will frequent the channel areas during cold water periods. Spend some time fishing the channels when the water is cold and you just never know what you’ll catch.
There are fish with teeth too. Walleye, pike, and even Muskies at some DRM’s. The DNR has been stocking muskies since 2013 at a few lakes; other lakes have historically had them, and also there’s nothing to say that a muskie couldn’t end up over here from a place like Green Bay. Northern pike are plentiful and get big. In my experience, not all of them reside in the DRMs year-round. They do take advantage of feeding opportunities in Lake Michigan at times, which contributes to their size. Then there are the walleyes; the Muskegon alone gets an estimated run of up to 50,000 fish according to the Michigan DNR. The walleye bite really gets going in fall and carries on until the closure in March. These walleyes are coming from all over and some true monsters get caught every year. There are also resident fish in the lakes to target during the summer.
These are popular bass tournament venues and for good reason. Bass grow fast, get big, and are plentiful. Thanks to the abundant forage opportunities and ample habitat. Many of these lakes have a lot of healthy submergent vegetation and that really is a big deal for largemouth populations. The most productive tactics change throughout the season. But come armed with a few of your favorite soft plastics and you will get some action.
Much like the walleyes, there are 2 different populations of smallmouth bass found in the lake. There are Lake Michigan fish that use the lakes for spawning and feeding at times and also a resident population of fish that are always around. The further north you go, the more resident smallmouth bass you will find.
The opposite is true for these 2 species; the further south you go, the more abundant they will be. Channel cats are extremely common in the southern DRM’s and can be a lot of fun. They also provide a good opportunity for shorebound anglers that can find access to deep water (like the connecting channels to Lake Michigan). Then there are the flatheads; I don’t spend any time targeting them, but they put a smile on my face anytime I get one on the end of the line. They get big and they are predators, so you never know what you will hook the next one on.
We can’t leave out the panfish and you’ll find the standard bluegill, pumpkinseed, rock bass, and crappies. Then there are yellow perch and things get a little more interesting. During the fall and winter, perch from Lake Michigan will use these productive DRM lakes for feeding. They provide great angling opportunities on the ice as well as from a boat before and after freeze-up. Look for these fish to only be in the deep basins of the lakes. Their appearance will be different than you are used to, paler in color and more slender in body shape. These lakes support a healthy population of resident perch too. You’ll often find them in shallower waters and they can be caught year-round.
Then there are the surprises; every year there are sturgeon incidentally caught on Muskegon Lake. Cisco expansion on the Great Lakes is making them a more common catch in the winter every year.
Freshwater drum, or sheepshead, are a common accidental catch in these fisheries, although if you just want to feel the pull of a big fish, they bite almost any time, especially during the summer when other fish turn off. They are not very picky about what they feed on either. However, drum have relatively small mouths for the size of the fish, so if you’re targeting them, you might want to use a smaller hook than you would for similarly-sized game fish. Most sheepshead are thrown back without much thought as to table fare. They are related to redfish and many anglers take care to discard the dark meat along the lateral line and keep the fish on ice. Sheepshead can be fried, smoked, grilled, broiled, baked or used in hearty chowder. There are also just a bunch of other “rough fish” species that you’ll encounter on the regular. Some unique ones too, if you are paying attention.
The real theme here is that there is just a huge variety of
fish to catch and ways to catch them. I challenge you to get bored fishing the DRM’s in West Michigan. Opportunities abound for big catches and epic adventures on Michigan’s West Coast.
