March 26th, 2008
By Arthur

Our next installment of the Michigan Sanctuary series features a place that I have spent many hours visiting over the years. That place is Duck Lake in Calhoun County.

My parents actually live on this lake, and have lake access, so I have been fortunate enough in the last couple of years to be able to log many hours on the lake. We have also fished this lake since I was small and I caught my first ever bass on the lake as well.

I think that Duck Lake is probably the best fishery in the southern part of the state. Not only do you have a wide variety of fish available to catch, but there are also plentiful numbers of fish and the action is awesome. Duck lake features perch, bluegill, pike, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, and walleye. Not only does it feature these particular fish but they have a tendency, because of the size of the lake, to be huge! We have caught plenty of 3lb and up largemouth and smallmouth, and we have also been fortunate enough to land pike over 30 inches long. I have also landed, by pure accident, a walleye that was 7lbs and 28 inches long. There are blue gills in the lake well over 10 inches too. Plenty of large fish to be had for the patient angler.

The lake features ample room for fishing and water related activities such as tubing and skiing. There isn’t a summer day that goes by that you don’t hear a jet-ski or waverunner whizzing past as you fish. Pretty often you will even have the chance of witnessing a float plane land and/or take-off on the water. The lake provides many a sight-seeing opportunity.

My favorite part of fishing the lake is in the summer when the bass are hitting top water lures. The sister’s boyfriend, Corrin, and I sat out one night and just absolutely slaughtered the bass on the trusty top water Jitterbug. There is just nothing like fishing when it is pitch black out, listening to the Jitterbug work its way across the water, and getting to hear that sound muffled by a hungry bass hitting the lure. I am not sure there is any more exciting type of fishing out there.

I have to be honest and tell you that I almost didn’t do this post, because Duck Lake is such an excellent fishery that I didn’t want to draw even more people to it. I figure though, with it’s sure size, that keeping it a secret would be a hard task and plus being able to share its true excitement is a great thing to do.

So check out Duck Lake down in Calhoun County the next time you get a chance. I highly recommend it. Oh, and do me a favor, only fish it and leave your waverunner at home:)

Popularity: 48% [?]

February 22nd, 2008
By Arthur

For the next stop on our Michigan Sanctuaries tour we are headed back into the Upper Peninsula to visit a truly wild and scenic place that serves as an excellent spot for hunting, fishing, and wildlife viewing. That place is Seney National Wildlife Refuge.

The Seney National Wildlife Refuge has been around since 1935. It was established as a sanctuary for the production and protection of migratory birds and other wildlife. Years of logging had taken its toll on the area that is now Seney, and with the abandonment of farms after poor agricultural production in the area, the Michigan Conservation Department recommended that the land be used for wildlife. This proposal was accepted and the Seney National Wildlife Refuge was born.

The wife and I had the pleasure of visiting Seney on our honeymoon back in 2005, and we absolutely loved it. I have yet to see such pristine wildlife habitat anywhere else in the country. The area is mainly wetlands, so you have a variety of different birds that visit the area that include trumpeter swans, common loons, hooded mergansers, and a variety of different ducks. Wildlife is abundant in the refuge and includes black bear, whitetail deer, and river otter. We didn’t get a chance to see any of those particular animals, but the scenery in itself is well worth the price of admission. We also had the privelege of seeing a bald eagle nest, but unfortunately the eagle wasn’t in the nest at the time.

Hunting is allowed in the refuge for upland birds, black bear, and deer. It is only open in certain areas of the refuge however, and only during certain times depending on what area of the refuge you want to hunt. Fishing is allowed as well in certain areas of the refuge. We visited in October and all the fishing was closed by then, but I’m sure in the summer months it provides for an excellent day outside.

There are nature trails in the park, but with it being as chilly as it was when we were there, the wife and I did the auto tour. That sounds a little deceiving, because we hardly spent any time in our vehicle. There is a 7 mile pass that winds through the refuge and has plenty of places for you to park, get out, and see some spectacular views and wildlife. We spent quite a bit of time on the auto tour and stopped at every chance we got to take in the view and get some pictures. The auto tour is also self-paced so you can take your time, and the path is big enough that we took a large RV through it without any problems.

We will definitely visit Seney again on our next trip to the U.P. I hope that we can plan our next visit in the summer months so that we can get a chance to experience all the things that the refuge has to offer, especially the fishing.

Seney is an excellent vacation destination and a good spot for the whole family to visit. Hopefully we make it back up there soon.

Popularity: 24% [?]

February 07th, 2008
By Arthur

Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsula are separated by a pretty good body of water known as the Straights of Mackinaw. The Straights are actually an area where Lake Huron on the east, and Lake Michigan on the west, meet. For years Michigan residents or tourists, if they wanted to cross the straights, had to do so by ferry. This meant hours of waiting in line just to get across. You can imagine what it must have been like when hunting season came along and everyone headed to the UP (Upper Peninsula) to hunt. A nightmare. Well all of that changed on November 1st, 1957 when the Mackinaw Bridge opened to traffic.

The bridge is actually the third longest suspension bridge in the world. It is 5 miles long and starts in Mackinaw City, in the Lower Peninsula, and stretches across into St. Ignace in the Upper Peninsula. Last year the bridge celebrated its 50th anniversary and needless to say the work on the bridge is never done. Even the Discovery Channel show Dirty Jobs did a segment on the “Big Mac”.

I have been to the bridge on many different occasions and let me tell you that I am always in awe of it’s sheer size. The bridge is spectacular to look at and the bridge at night is one of thee best photo opportunities you will ever see. There is a neat little park right next to the bridge that offers some amazing views, and camera opportunities, and also gives you access to the Straights of Mackinaw. Nothing like sticking a bare foot in that chilly water no matter what time of the year it is.

The thing I would recommend that everyone do is drive over the bridge. For some it is definitely a hair raising experience and one you will never forget. The bridge has grates in the middle that allow air to pass through them to keep the bridge from swaying, and they definitely make for some great driving experiences if you do happen to get stuck in that particular lane. I have relatives who refuse to drive on these grates and I have some as well that will not drive over the bridge at all. I truly enjoy driving over it. The sites and sounds are like no other thing you will ever get to see or hear while driving. Plain and simply put, it’s cool!

Another positive point of the Mackinaw Bridge is it’s shear location. Mackinaw city is an awesome little town. I never get sick of visiting the place and it has some great things to visit as well as some magnificent pieces of history. I could devote a whole other post to the city and it is just another highlight of getting to view and experience the bridge.

We recently got to share the bridge experience with my two cousins who had never seen the bridge before and it took me back to the first few times I got to experience the Mackinaw Bridge and how awe-inspiring it was at the time. It truly is a great piece of workmanship and a true modern marvel.

I hope that everyone who reads this gets to experience the Mackinaw Bridge at some point in their life. Whether it be to cross the straights to hunt, see Tahquamenon Falls, or simply just for the experience, I highly recommend it. It’s a very cool experience and one you will never forget.

Author’s note: All of the pictures you see were taken by my wife last year with the exception of the couple sitting on the bench. That is my Mom and Dad and I actually took that picture. The one under the bridge is truly unique because we got a special chance to go under the bridge for its 50th anniversary.

Popularity: 26% [?]

January 31st, 2008
By Arthur

With my first post in the Michigan Sanctuaries series I figured I would start out with a place that I have been to quite a few times, and is also very sentimental to me because the wife and I spent part of our honeymoon there. 

Tahquamenon falls and Tahquamenon Falls State Park are probably one of the Upper Peninsula’s best places to visit.  The park is spectacular and features an upper and lower falls.  The Upper falls is the highlight of the event and is just incredible to look at and witness mother nature at her finest.  The Upper falls feature a drop of more than 50ft and are more than 200 ft across.  A maximum flow of 50,000 gallons per second has been recorded rushing over the falls. 

The Lower falls are a series of 5 smaller falls and while they don’t have the size of the Upper falls they are still incredible to look at and view and are a great photo opportunity as you can tell from my wife’s camera skills you see in the picture on the right.

The entire park is just gorgeous and I recommend seeing the falls in the fall.  We were there in October and it was absolutely gorgeous.  The leaves had already turned to their fall colors and it made for some incredible views.  Another benefit of going this time of year is that you avoid the crowds.  We pretty much had the place to our self and it just made the whole experience that much better.

For those of you who are adventurous the park features hiking trails and you can also walk a foot path from one set of falls to the other.  I wish I could say we were that adventurous, but we weren’t.  We did venture up  and stand right next to the rushing water and it is a very eerie yet awesome feeling.  The park also features a brewery.  You heard me right.  A brewery in a state park.  What’s not to love?  It has incredible food and a nice selection of micro brews!

I highly recommend visiting these falls in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.  You won’t be disappointed. 

Popularity: 29% [?]

January 31st, 2008
By Arthur

With all the negative publicity surrounding Michigan lately, and the economic times that everyone nationwide is facing, I thought of an idea. I really need to support our home state.

I realize that every state needs work, and Michigan is no different, but there are still plenty of little gems in the state that my family and myself have experienced first hand, and I thought it would be good to start a series that covers all of those outdoor opportunities. I present to all of you SimplyOutdoors newest series, the Michigan Sanctuaries series!

With this series we are only going to cover what we consider to be a Michigan Sanctuary. Things that are Michigan’s own and also things that can’t be experienced in other states. We will also cover only things that we have experienced first hand. No second hand information here, just first hand knowledge of these certain activities, places, or events that happen in Michigan’s Out-of-Doors.

I hope to start the series sometime tonight so stay tuned. I’m looking forward to writing this series, although it might take me some time to figure out what I want to write about first. I have done a lot of very cool things in this state.

So stay tuned and I hope everyone enjoys what is to come and I also hope it gives you a better perspective on all the outdoor opportunities this state provides.

Popularity: 25% [?]