# Anyone fish Torch lake?



## sea nympho

sea nympho said:


> Tournaments are stupid and I have never fishied in one, FYI.


I must now recant, for I've fished my first "tournament" (one of waterfouls' gigs), and lost, but it was great fun, and I'm game to do it again. But for the record, I still have very little interest in the existence of the big money tourneys (PWT, bassmaters,etc...), their superstars, commercialization, and so on.


----------



## sfw1960

sea nympho said:


> I must now recant, for I've fished my first "tournament" (one of waterfouls' gigs), and lost, but it was great fun, and I'm game to do it again. But for the record, I still have very little interest in the existence of the big money tourneys (PWT, bassmaters,etc...), their superstars, commercialization, and so on.


AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH ...
So now you are the woolen eyeballed criminal , EH???
:SHOCKED:
Pay no mind to the wizard behind the editorial curtain ...
I think 'dis onee happenZ when there is a full sN00t of riPPLe goin' on , muh brutha.....
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

hEEEr wE g0 n0w!!
:woohoo1:
:mischeif:


----------



## Linda G.

That's what it sounds like. I don't drink. Anyone who knows me knows that. I meant every word I said in every one of those posts. 

Tournaments ARE a lot of fun, but all of us have to watch our image, every minute of every moment we're on this earth, cause a lot of our bad behavior and bad verbalizations are being watched all the time. 

I'll be in the Gander Mountain tourney on the 20-21, fish it every year. 


Chainsaw-the fishing on Clam can be very good when there's not a lot of traffic and disturbance on the lake. Come on up sometime in the fall, when the fishing is much better. And yes, you're right, this is a very beautiful area and we're very lucky, in many ways, to be here. But it has its issues, one of them being our fight to keep the area as nice as it is.


----------



## Brian S.Kroll

I don't fish Torch very often, but I live on Skegemog, and know guys that do fish Torch. What they tell me is that if you are going for those Atlantic Salmon, use the right bait.
There is a special breed of herring that lives in Torch, and that is what the Atlantic's prefer. The only place I know that sells this herring is at Jack's Sport shop in Kalkaska. They also sell the rig that holds the herring in place for trolling. The Herring are frozen.

If you're fishing Skegemog, the fishing has been great!
...It has been much improved since the cormorants stopped returning here in the spring, after ice out. They used to raft from the opening to Elk Lake, all the way back to the southeast end.

...Please be watchful on Lake Skegemog for Loons!
We have a healthy and growing population of them mostly concentrated over toward the East, and Southeast corner. (where I live)


----------



## sea nympho

Linda G. said:


> I meant every word I said in every one of those posts.
> (I'm sure you did:lol: )
> 
> ...but all of us have to watch our image, every minute of every moment we're on this earth...


Well then it's very nice that we have the "IMAGE POLICE" like you to regulate evryone's behavior so that the few overly sensitive and non-tolerant folks out there can just live their lives comfortable in a bubble. And you and your lot (the Walloon Lake - no public access- snob crowd) are NOT the celestial judges of what constitutes "BAD BEHAVIOR" Get It?


----------



## Brian S.Kroll

> Well then it's very nice that we have the "IMAGE POLICE" like you to regulate evryone's behavior so that the few overly sensitive and non-tolerant folks out there can just live their lives comfortable in a bubble. *And you and your lot (the Walloon Lake - no public access- snob crowd)* are NOT the celestial judges of what constitutes "BAD BEHAVIOR" Get It?


Sea Nympho,
I can assure you that Linda is not anything close to the elitist snob that you might think she is. She does however speak and write frequently on behalf of all us sportsmen and women up here, and has for a long time.
If anyone were to take the time and research some of Linda's past articles in the Wretched Eagle (http://www.record-eagle.com/) up here, or the Bellaire paper, where she is now, you would realize that she has always been a spokes person for equal access to the lakes, and a voice for conservation.
...I'm not trying to wade into this squabble, and I can understand how you might feel based on the earlier exchange. 
But Linda has always been active in the various outdoor clubs and groups up here as long as I have known her.


----------



## JJ Mac

I'm gonna have to side with Linda on this one. As an avid tournament angler, we are constantly under the microscope, and under scrutiny. It's important that we give the right impression to landowners and boaters on the lakes we hold tournaments. Using the term "slaughter" is not the best use of words, even if that's not what we mean. As tournament anglers we need to always be observant of no wake zones, and give the weekend angler their space. Our walleye tournament group goes to great lengths to make sure that we "tread lightly" so to speak. We allow the weekend warriors to squeeze into the ramps we are launching at, and we try to keep a few parking spots open for them. Anyone caught keeping fish or going over the 5 fish limit are disqualified from the club. In addition, those who schedule tournaments need to be observant that they avoid spawning times of fish and also choose dates where there is not another tournament group scheduled. If you are dock fishing, it's usually a good idea to make "friends" with landowner of the dock you are fishing, rather than taking the posture of "It's my right to fish here!" There's always more than one way to communicate the same message.

It only takes a few bad apples in the tournament fisherman barrel to make us all look bad...and right now the posture some of you are taking make us all look bad. 

The truth is...we're all on the same side here, and ridiculing Linda is simply a poor way to go about it. Linda, let it be known that a good many of us appreciate what you have done and recognize the "heads up." Hope to get a chance to meet you at the Gander Tourney. Good fishing to all.


----------



## Brian S.Kroll

> I'm gonna have to side with Linda on this one. As an avid tournament angler, we are constantly under the microscope, and under scrutiny. It's important that we give the right impression to landowners and boaters on the lakes we hold tournaments. Using the term "slaughter" is not the best use of words, even if that's not what we mean. As a tournament anglers we need to always be observant of no wake zones, and give the weekend angler their space. Our walleye tournament group goes to great lengths to make sure that we "tread lightly" so to speak. We allow the weekend warriors to squeeze into the ramps we are launching at, and we try to keep a few parking spots open for them. Anyone caught keeping fish or going over the 5 fish limit are disqualified from the club. In addition, those who schedule tournaments need to be observant that they avoid spawning times of fish and also choose dates where there is not another tournament group scheduled. If you are dock fishing, it's usually a good idea to make "friends" with landowner of the dock you are fishing, rather than taking the posture of "It's my right to fish here!" There's always more than one way to communicate the same message.
> 
> It only takes a few bad apples in the tournament fisherman barrel to make us all look bad...and right now the posture some of you are taking make us all look bad.
> 
> The truth is...we're all on the same side here, and ridiculing Linda is simply a poor way to go about it. Linda, let it be known that a good many of us appreciate what you have done and recognize the "heads up." Hope to get a chance to meet you at the Gander Tourney. Good fishing to all.


Well said.
...I live right here on Skegemog lake, and you guys are out here all the time. In fourteen years I have never had a problem with anyone in a tournament. You guys are usually very courteous, and stay on the North side of the lake when you are coming and going so as not to make too much noise with your boat engines.
...For those of us on the south side, where the houses are, we greatly appreciate it.
...In the fall, when the Goose and Duck season opens, we are all back in the east end in our blinds, and you guys usually keep a reasonable distance out in the lake, where everyone is safe from shot fall.
There's plenty of room for everybody, and your courtesies are appreciated by those of us on the water.


----------



## sfw1960

Don't do tourneys , don't drink , don't understand why some folks gets so twisted up trying to coerce others into 'their way' of thinking and I'll always have a mind of my own with an opinion that sometimes goes against some individuals ideals and routines.......
PLUS I gave up worrying what somebody thought of my 'image' nearly 30 years ago.

Some poor guy asks about fishing a lake and the next thing you know there's a frEEkiN' lecture goin' on about how "we" as fishermen should act , speak and behave . GEEZ ... "killed 'em" , "slaughtered 'em" , "slayed 'em" .... WUTEVER!
I kill fish and game for food and plain old enjoyment , got a problem with that???

TOO BAD , as long as I'm abiding by the laws set by the government ~ I personally could give a rat's paHt00teY what somebody else thinks....
Too bad , I'm going to live my life my way - and not somebody else's...
I'll speak my mind and NOT someone else's ideals....
As SeaNympho said :


> ....Get It?


*OBVIOUSLY NOT.*

This isn't the first time I've seen posts go "this way" ~
To the guys that are defending Linda , great - but _she should ask herself _if she came into this post to offer useful information relavant to the topic , or if it was just another opportunity to try and tell others how to act & live.


To me fishing is a relaxing thing (it IS not all of the catching) - and I get plenty of "competition" in everyday life , thank you.

*R*
:evilsmile


----------



## shametamer

torch lake? nobody fishes torch lake now you might scuba dive it..or look for shells on the bottom, but fish?..now ya wanna fish torch lake try the one in houghton/hancock, and please return the lures i've left on all the pilings and such!:evilsmile now let Robert relax..he's got a couple giant wallys in the record book!:lol:


----------



## sea nympho

Brian S.Kroll said:


> ...I can assure you that Linda is not anything close to the elitist snob that you might think she is...


Fair enough. I can even buy that, for a dollar. But she totally butted-in an honest conversation and siezed the chance to spew her political opinions (based primarily on the use of the word "slaughter") , and lecture us on proper behavior and etiquette (as requested by wealthy landowners)
. She should have started her own thread, if it was an important enough topic to be just butting-in, spewing, and such.

She said Pollock should admit doing something wrong(using the term 'slaughter'), well, so now should she (if that's her medicine, then let her take it).

Once again it comes down to terms, image, aesthetics. How far we haven't come. Someone said something in a way another didn't like, or misunderstood it. One persons opinions differ from anothers, SO WHAT? 

Because there are many tourney anglers, they are going to be disparate bunch. Not everyone is going to act just how you want them to, and fall in line. People must just live with it. Or become a fascist, I guess.


----------



## JJ Mac

sea nympho said:


> . She should have started her own thread, if it was an important enough topic to be just butting-in, spewing, and such.
> 
> 
> Even though I agree with Linda's point, your point is true as well, and had everything to do with the reaction she received.


----------



## Linda G.

I didn't persist with my line of conversation. Someone else did. And when someone else wants to make an issue of ME, personally, which is all anyone here has been able to do, that does absolutely nothing to prove I'm wrong. And it does nothing more than keep me going. That's proven, I've been around message boards a LONG time, and outlasted a lot of people like you. 

And yes, I agree with you, this thread did get off topic, and for that I have apologized, a couple of times, and I have tried, several times, to offer legitimate help and information. I am also always available via pm or email for any type of info or help I can offer. 

But I won't back down to people like you, who twist topics to squirm out of admitting a mistake, make personal attacks when you can't legitimately prove you're right and end up making us all look bad. Especially when all their buddies chip in. Ganging up doesn't prove you're right, it makes you all look like children. Grow up. 

You are the perfect personification of why a lot of people won't have anything to do with message boards....and why anti-hunters persist in their efforts. 

Brian, thanks for the vote of confidence, same to you, JJ, who I'm not sure if I've ever met, but I sure would like to some day. Your fishing expertise is legendary. Brian, I WILL get up to the club soon, I hear you've made a lot of wonderful improvements.


----------



## sea nympho

Linda G. said:


> ...and outlasted a lot of people like you.
> 
> ...people like you...of admitting a mistake,
> 
> ...why anti-hunters persist in their efforts.


And here you are using the same offensive language types you critizize others for. And I've made no mistake here, unlike you.

YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ME. Wutcha know 'bout me? I've offered no personal info in this thread, unlike you,ms. editor know-it-all.

This is all very much like thread from last fall, in which a friend of mine I've known since High School in Baldwin was critizized for posting a pic of his 6pt (ON ANOTHER SITE NO LESS!!!) becasue its tounge was hanging out and it was in the back of a truck and he has dreads and a beard. How else do you get a deer home after shooting it? People here jumped all over him (again, he had no chance to speak on his bahalf), saying his pic will end our hunting rights. It's a simple matter of bigotry in my opinion. Big or small, it's still bigotry.

You LL Bean Holier-than-thou crowd who thinks everyone not conforming to your exact world view is wrong and ignorant and we all are bent on ending all your fun.

I have not twisted any topics, you came in with your mouth just-a-runnin', and several of us had enough, that's all.

Go ahead and outlast me here and see how much I care. 
You're now blocked becasue I can't stomoach any more of your spewage.
Good luck with the preaching and stump speeches.


----------



## Linda G.

Keep going, tell us more...you're going to bury yourself... 

I love reading rants like yours.


----------



## clamtram

We were catching 15 1/2"-18 1/2" smallies right up through July 4th last year on leeches (one or two split shots and a small hook). The kids (10-12 years old) had lots of luck going out on paddle boards on either side of where Clam dumps into Torch, hitting the dead heads and isolated weed beds. They had tons of fun, where one or two of them would dive in at one end of the bed and "herd" the bass to the guy with the pole. Also, we caught some monster Rock Bass and smallies the last couple of years on Clam River using a crawler or worm, hooked once through the middle, with no split shots--just let it drift down to the bottom and wham!


----------



## tmuka

clamtram said:


> We were catching 15 1/2"-18 1/2" smallies right up through July 4th last year on leeches (one or two split shots and a small hook). The kids (10-12 years old) had lots of luck going out on paddle boards on either side of where Clam dumps into Torch, hitting the dead heads and isolated weed beds. They had tons of fun, where one or two of them would dive in at one end of the bed and "herd" the bass to the guy with the pole. Also, we caught some monster Rock Bass and smallies the last couple of years on Clam River using a crawler or worm, hooked once through the middle, with no split shots--just let it drift down to the bottom and wham!


thank you, i'm glad somebody answered the question here! i'm looking forward to my upcoming first trip to torch lake.


----------



## don2007

Roll easy guys everyone has there own ideas asying hurtful things about one another is not making things any better cant we all get along.Lifes to short just enjoy the outdoors.


----------



## Lobby3020

I will be staying on torch lake the last week and July and have been told that there is no fish in torch and I now I can catch fish... Its a big body of watrer to learn any advise would be appreciated...I love to fish pan fish bass pike and walleye...


----------



## The Fishing Pollock

Your best bet is to drive around it mapping with a good gps/sounder. Ya have to find isolated cover, stumps, logs from way back. There is little weed growth except on the ends of points, but it is down there a bit. We just had our NBAA last tuesday and most fish came from south of Clam to the Alden area. Very shallow. But it is getting into that post spawn/tight lipped coupla weeks where ya just end up frustrated at seeing um and not getting any reaction but them swimming away. Spinner baits were working , but we got most of our fish on light colored tubes slowly dragging them along the junk at the drop offs on points. Most crawdads they are eating are a "ghost " color, whites translucent light colors.


----------



## Linda G.

is a tough lake to fish, it's big and very deep. If you want walleye, pike, panfish, try one of the other chain o lakes nearby. 

It takes most people a long time to become familiar enough with Torch to be able to catch fish on a regular basis. It's rare for first time Torch Lake anglers to catch anything of substance without someone with them who knows the lake. 

There's plenty of fish in Torch-lake trout, whitefish, Atlantic salmon, and brown trout, just to name a few. Plus a large population of burbot and less desirable game fish. There's some nice bass fishing along the shoreline of the lake when the water in the other lakes gets warm, they head for Torch. There used to be decent numbers of perch, too, but I haven't heard of anything more than a couple of fish in a long time.


----------



## Alan Tuniac

Linda G. said:


> I didn't say I felt that way, I don't bass fish enough to know one way or the other, and I've only had a few dead bass wash up on my beach...
> 
> The problem is, that's what a lot of other people think...and comments like yours on a public message board sure doesn't do anything to help change their minds.
> 
> This is something I would think all tournament anglers would be much more sensitive of than you apparently are, because it's no different than the excuses people are using to try to take away our guns, our rights to hunt, etc.


Your comments like people trying to take away our guns and right to hunt etc.are not helpful either. Assault rifles, hunting rifles and hunting are three separate categories and will be debated thru the ages. Some people simply love all animals and I respect that so I don't show them photos of my kills. I own an impressive selection of hunting rifles yet I don't feel a need to own an assault rifle and frankly most assault rifle owners ultimately feel like they could of put the money to better use after the Rambo syndrome wears off. As to tournament fishing. they do inadvertently kill fish. I am from Michigan and also live in South Florida and both Bass and Sail fishing tournaments kill if the hook gets in the gills or deeper. there is a big movement here to end the Sail tournaments by the locals. I have fished extensively in Europe and what they require with trout in some countries is no barb on the hook and it does help preserve the release. Lets be honest,Big tournaments are about selling boats and equipment $$$. Alan


----------



## Jimbos

Alan Tuniac said:


> Your comments like people trying to take away our guns and right to hunt etc.are not helpful either. Assault rifles, hunting rifles and hunting are three separate categories and will be debated thru the ages. Some people simply love all animals and I respect that so I don't show them photos of my kills. I own an impressive selection of hunting rifles yet I don't feel a need to own an assault rifle and frankly most assault rifle owners ultimately feel like they could of put the money to better use after the Rambo syndrome wears off. As to tournament fishing. they do inadvertently kill fish. I am from Michigan and also live in South Florida and both Bass and Sail fishing tournaments kill if the hook gets in the gills or deeper. there is a big movement here to end the Sail tournaments by the locals. I have fished extensively in Europe and what they require with trout in some countries is no barb on the hook and it does help preserve the release. Lets be honest,Big tournaments are about selling boats and equipment $$$. Alan


This is 5 years old and she hasn't posted here in years.


----------



## Alan Tuniac

I saw that yet it gave me an avenue speak on a couple of topics and add some dialogue about tolerance on one subject and diversity on another. thanks


----------



## nowicki2005

I'll comment on this old thread too. Regarding the bass tournaments, yes some fish die but so do some fish just from bass fishing. The people that are complaining are only because they live in the areas bear the launches where they are being released. I catch and release bass for fun and I'm some of them die, in fact I pretty much know some of them are going to die when I release them. "Most" tournament anglers will actually give the fish a better chance to live, putting it in a aerated environment with chemicals to actually relieve stress.


----------



## 7mmsendero

nowicki2005 said:


> I'll comment on this old thread too. Regarding the bass tournaments, yes some fish die but so do some fish just from bass fishing. The people that are complaining are only because they live in the areas bear the launches where they are being released. I catch and release bass for fun and I'm some of them die, in fact I pretty much know some of them are going to die when I release them. "Most" tournament anglers will actually give the fish a better chance to live, putting it in a aerated environment with chemicals to actually relieve stress.


The "2 cents" I'd throw out there regarding tournaments is the shotgun starts. People do very reckless things tearing out of shotgun starts. That, in my opinion, brings much of the unnecessary negative attention right off the bat. Just let the competitors head out in the morning when they want.


----------



## WolverineVanFish

What about fishing on Torch Lake? My son and I are traveling up from GR to catch smallmouth. He is 11 and absolutely obsessed with bass fishing. I haven't got a clue where to start.


----------

