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Bob Gwizdz: Enjoy the open-water winter wonders of Michigan’s Grand Traverse Bay

Brett Bouwens jigged up this thick laker on a recent open-water fishing trip on Grand Traverse Bay. Who’s got it better than Michigan? (The author answers that question.) (Photo by Bob Gwizdz)

The original plan for the first Saturday in February was to go the Muskegon River and fish for steelhead. But my buddy Denny Bouwens said the river was crowded on Friday.
“Saturday’s going to be a zoo on the river,” he said. “I’m not really excited about fighting it.”
We kicked around a couple of alternatives. Ice fishing was out, obviously. We could walleye fish on the river, but it was going to be crowded, too. So we settled on heading up to Grand Traverse Bay to jig for lake trout.

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