Grand Rapids area help

[nice2Bout]

Heading up to the cabin to do some duck hunting. We usually just hunt some small lakes south of town. I've heard about White Oak and Bass lakes but know nothing about them. Can someone share some info on where to access the lakes, is there a lot of hunting pressure, any duck reports, etc. Thanks for the help.

[bassman222]

Your best bet for success is get out and look, go see the birds yourself and then hunt. Get a county map to find accesses on the lakes(you can pick one up most anywhere). It is pointless to rely upon duck reports, you will always be a day late and a dollar short. Good luck.

[pumper317]

not much help from the bass man i guess huh. I was just up there last weekend for opener. Lots of ducks around, not much luck for our group. We hunted on the mississippi by schoolcraft park, but white oak i heard was very productive. The biggest thing is find a place where the ducks are and people arent... duh. The pressure should not be too bad after opening weekend, but there will be pressure. So to access big white oak go on hwy 2 past Deer river and its on the south sideof the road. You can check out a map, then you can fin a good pothole or point to set up on, as well as find a landing and the way in. Bass lake is decent, but you gotta find the right place. Again look at a map, find the access on the north side and then go left from the access and head about 200 yards and go into the bay on your left. Set up in there and you should get some shooting. Around there the river is probably your best chance. So little or big white oak, or the channel has some great oxbows off of it. The earlier you are out there, the better chance you will get any spot you want.

Another good thing about up there, is that people dont tend to crowd you as bad as they do in the metro, its almost like they know how to hunt. you should be just fine to hunt anywhere without people coming and setting up right next to you, just remember to give the,m a flash or two to let them know you are there.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[nice2Bout]

Pumper,

Thanks for the reply, I appreciate when someone is willing to share some info. It's what makes this site a great source for help and info. Good luck this Fall!

[fishuhalik]

My uncle does really well on bass, but apparently they're really hard to hunt out there. He has a couple of spots that are just dynamite, area's where it seems they come off the lake every time, just above the trees. I've always wanted to try the river that flows into the mississippi, right by cohasset. It's pretty small but I think a guy could get some great pass shooting

[snowgoose]

Anougher spot on the river to try is the Black Waters. Landing you rig at the hot pond next to Minnesota Power in Cohasset. Go to the right out of the access and follow the river past the plant. You will come to a area the is more open and has had wild rice in there. I used to hunt there. I really got into field hunting and have not been back to that spot since. Mid week would be my suggestion. There seems to be quite a croud there on the weekends.