The Calkins Bridge Dam on the Kalamazoo River in Allegan is one of 13 slated for sale as Consumers Energy looks to exit an unprofitable hydropower business.
(Ed. Note: This story was originally published by Bridge Michigan, a nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization. Visit the newsroom online: bridgemi.com.)
By Kelly House
Bridge Michigan
While Consumers Energy pitched its proposal to sell 13 Michigan dams as a cost-saving measure for its ratepayers, the sale would include a ratepayer-funded payday for the utility and some of its employees.
By ditching the unprofitable dams and buying back the power they produce, Consumers aims to collect at least $270 million in new profits from customers who now receive the same power for less, according to details spread across thousands of pages of regulatory filings tied to the sale plan.
Consumers would also reroute tens of millions of dollars customers have prepaid for the dams’ decommissioning to employee bonuses and legal and consulting fees.
“We’re really struggling to see where the benefit is to the customers,” said Rod Williamson, executive director of the Association of Businesses Advocating Tariff Equity, a group representing industrial power customers.
If approved by the Michigan Public Service Commission, the profit margin would push total ratepayer costs for the sale-and-buyback plan to $3.4 billion over the life of the 30-year contract, or about $1,800 per person if divided equally among Consumers’ 1.9 million ratepayers.
Consumers officials contend rates would rise even higher if the utility kept or removed the structures, because Consumers would seek to charge ratepayers billions in maintenance or demolition costs. Critics have disputed that math.
Some critics of the arrangement, which relies on incentives written into Michigan’s 2023 clean energy law, call it an abuse of a statute that was supposed to encourage new renewable energy developments. Others call it “double dipping” by a utility that has already reaped untold millions off the century-old dams.
Consumers officials contend the so-called “financial compensation mechanism” is legally required, that the other expenses are justified and that the overall sale plan benefits ratepayers.
“This is not about profiting from the power, but about ensuring reliability and value for customers under established regulatory standards,” company spokesperson Trisha Bloembergen wrote in response to questions from Bridge Michigan.
Consumers plans to sell some of Michigan’s largest dams to a subsidiary of a Maryland-based private equity firm as the utility looks to exit a hydropower business that produces just 1 percent of its annual power at nine times the price of any other source.
Consumers officials have described the sale as a win for ratepayers and the small communities where life revolves around the artificial lakes created by the dams. The sale would allow Consumers and its customers to avoid vast repair or demolition costs by enlisting new owners who’ve vowed to keep the dams intact.
But critics have accused Consumers of downplaying potential drawbacks, including the risk that more loosely regulated private owners will fail to maintain the dams or will choose to sell them along with tens of thousands of surrounding acres that are part of the sale.
Others have argued demolishing the dams or keeping them in Consumers’ hands would be cheaper.
“Any of these options, in our opinion, are lower-cost to the customers than what Consumers is proposing,” Williamson said.
—————
Profits for Consumers, rate hikes for customers
In announcing the sale plan last fall, Consumers offered limited details:
Confluence Hydro, a newly created subsidiary of Maryland-based Hull Street Energy, would buy the 13 dams on the Kalamazoo, Grand, Muskegon, Manistee and Au Sable rivers for $1 apiece, then sell the power back to Consumers at a $160 per megawatt hour — double the market rate for comparable power — plus a 2.5 percent annual increase.
Officials said the price would give Confluence enough money to upgrade the aging structures while still turning a profit.
Thousands of pages of exhibits, testimony and discovery subsequently filed with the Public Service Commission reveal how Consumers would profit off the sale, too.
The company wants to charge ratepayers an 8.75 percent return on the power it buys from the dams, which would generate between $270 million and $278 million over 30 years. That would push ratepayers’ costs closer to $174 per megawatt hour.
(Editor’s note: The Consumers Energy Foundation is one of several funders of Bridge Michigan. The foundation had no influence in reporting, writing or editing this story.)
Utilities typically aren’t allowed to profit off power sales. Their profits come from building infrastructure (think power plants and solar arrays) that customers pay off gradually, plus a guaranteed rate of return, in a process called depreciation.
But noting that hydropower is renewable energy, Consumers officials argue the sale-and-buyback plan makes them eligible for an exception that lawmakers carved out in 2023 for utilities that sign long-term renewable energy contracts.
The intent, said state Sen. Sam Singh, an East Lansing Democrat who cosponsored the law, was to speed the energy transition and lower costs by encouraging competitive bidding for renewable developments.
In general, monopoly utilities favor building their own infrastructure because they profit off doing so, but “oftentimes, that can be more expensive for the ratepayers,” Singh said.
So lawmakers sought a workaround. The law specifies that the state “shall authorize an annual financial incentive” for utilities that buy renewable power from someone else.
Singh said lawmakers didn’t anticipate Consumers’ plan to claim eligibility by selling unwanted assets and buying back the electricity at an inflated rate. He called it a “departure” from the law’s intent.
“The intent has always been to try to bring new energy to the grid,” Singh said, not to let utilities extract new profit from infrastructure “they’ve already owned and profited from for years.”
—————
The line between legal and appropriate
Asked how much Consumers has profited off the dams in their century of existence, utility spokesperson Bloembergen said Consumers doesn’t keep track
Lately though, the flow has dwindled to virtually nothing.
Ratepayers have more than repaid the $414.8 million Consumers spent building and maintaining structures, leaving a remaining value of “nearly zero,” Bloembergen said.
Matt Bandyk, a consultant for the residential ratepayer advocacy group Citizens Utility Board of Michigan, called Consumers’ attempt to extract new profits from the fully depreciated dams “a bit unseemly.”
Williamson, the representative for industrial power users, called it “egregious.”
“I can’t speculate on motive,” he said. “All I can talk about is the mechanisms and the benefit to the utility … and they’re proposing that they take these same assets where they already earned a return on their investment, and now they’re looking to get another profit.”
Bloembergen, the Consumers spokesperson, countered such criticism by arguing the ratepayer-funded incentives could ultimately lower ratepayer costs.
Asked how, she said “customers benefit because Consumers is proposing the lowest reasonable cost option for the dams under established regulatory standards.”
In filings with the Public Service Commission — whose three appointed leaders will decide whether to approve the sale — several groups have urged rejection of the profit plan.
Commission staffer Jesse Harlow argued it would set a dangerous precedent of “double dipping” by utilities.
Sebastian Coppola, an expert witness for Attorney General Dana Nessel, said it would “unduly enrich Consumers Energy at the expense of its customer.”
And a witness for the industrial power user group argued there is “no need” to incentivize Consumers to buy energy from assets it already owns.
But given how the 2023 law was written, it’s unclear whether the commission could approve the sale plan while denying Consumers’ incentive claim, said Erik Nordman, director of the Institute of Public Utilities at Michigan State University.
“What’s appropriate and what’s legal may be two different things,” Nordman said.
About $29 million of additional money ratepayers paid into the dams has been set aside to cover future decommissioning costs.
Consumers plans to spend the vast majority of that money on sale closing costs — including bonuses of up to 150 percent of the base salary for salaried workers who stick around through the sale — stock payouts and legal and consulting fees. The remaining $2 million would be returned to ratepayers for a credit of about $1.05 per person.
That plan, too, has prompted pushback from critics who call the costs excessive and unjustified.
So far, utility officials have been unwilling to budge.
In a March 2 filing with the Public Service Commission, company engineering chief Richard Blumenstock wrote that, if commissioners don’t approve the sale plan as-is, Consumers would instead seek to demolish all 13 dams.
“Any conditions or adjustments to the transaction are not appropriate and Confluence Hydro and Consumers Energy are not open to their consideration,” Blumenstock wrote.
Any proposal to demolish the dams would require regulatory approval, too, likely prompting lengthy debate about the best course of action for the 13 structures and how it would impact ratepayers and the public.
An administrative law judge overseeing the contested case tied to the dam sale will issue a preliminary recommendation in June. The Public Service Commission’s final decision is expected in September.
By Kelly House
Bridge Michigan
While Consumers Energy pitched its proposal to sell 13 Michigan dams as a cost-saving measure for its ratepayers, the sale would include a ratepayer-funded payday for the utility and some of its employees.
By ditching the unprofitable dams and buying back the power they produce, Consumers aims to collect at least $270 million in new profits from customers who now receive the same power for less, according to details spread across thousands of pages of regulatory filings tied to the sale plan.
Consumers would also reroute tens of millions of dollars customers have prepaid for the dams’ decommissioning to employee bonuses and legal and consulting fees.
“We’re really struggling to see where the benefit is to the customers,” said Rod Williamson, executive director of the Association of Businesses Advocating Tariff Equity, a group representing industrial power customers.
If approved by the Michigan Public Service Commission, the profit margin would push total ratepayer costs for the sale-and-buyback plan to $3.4 billion over the life of the 30-year contract, or about $1,800 per person if divided equally among Consumers’ 1.9 million ratepayers.
Consumers officials contend rates would rise even higher if the utility kept or removed the structures, because Consumers would seek to charge ratepayers billions in maintenance or demolition costs. Critics have disputed that math.
Some critics of the arrangement, which relies on incentives written into Michigan’s 2023 clean energy law, call it an abuse of a statute that was supposed to encourage new renewable energy developments. Others call it “double dipping” by a utility that has already reaped untold millions off the century-old dams.
Consumers officials contend the so-called “financial compensation mechanism” is legally required, that the other expenses are justified and that the overall sale plan benefits ratepayers.
“This is not about profiting from the power, but about ensuring reliability and value for customers under established regulatory standards,” company spokesperson Trisha Bloembergen wrote in response to questions from Bridge Michigan.
Consumers plans to sell some of Michigan’s largest dams to a subsidiary of a Maryland-based private equity firm as the utility looks to exit a hydropower business that produces just 1 percent of its annual power at nine times the price of any other source.
Consumers officials have described the sale as a win for ratepayers and the small communities where life revolves around the artificial lakes created by the dams. The sale would allow Consumers and its customers to avoid vast repair or demolition costs by enlisting new owners who’ve vowed to keep the dams intact.
But critics have accused Consumers of downplaying potential drawbacks, including the risk that more loosely regulated private owners will fail to maintain the dams or will choose to sell them along with tens of thousands of surrounding acres that are part of the sale.
Others have argued demolishing the dams or keeping them in Consumers’ hands would be cheaper.
“Any of these options, in our opinion, are lower-cost to the customers than what Consumers is proposing,” Williamson said.
—————
Profits for Consumers, rate hikes for customers
In announcing the sale plan last fall, Consumers offered limited details:
Confluence Hydro, a newly created subsidiary of Maryland-based Hull Street Energy, would buy the 13 dams on the Kalamazoo, Grand, Muskegon, Manistee and Au Sable rivers for $1 apiece, then sell the power back to Consumers at a $160 per megawatt hour — double the market rate for comparable power — plus a 2.5 percent annual increase.
Officials said the price would give Confluence enough money to upgrade the aging structures while still turning a profit.
Thousands of pages of exhibits, testimony and discovery subsequently filed with the Public Service Commission reveal how Consumers would profit off the sale, too.
The company wants to charge ratepayers an 8.75 percent return on the power it buys from the dams, which would generate between $270 million and $278 million over 30 years. That would push ratepayers’ costs closer to $174 per megawatt hour.
(Editor’s note: The Consumers Energy Foundation is one of several funders of Bridge Michigan. The foundation had no influence in reporting, writing or editing this story.)
Utilities typically aren’t allowed to profit off power sales. Their profits come from building infrastructure (think power plants and solar arrays) that customers pay off gradually, plus a guaranteed rate of return, in a process called depreciation.
But noting that hydropower is renewable energy, Consumers officials argue the sale-and-buyback plan makes them eligible for an exception that lawmakers carved out in 2023 for utilities that sign long-term renewable energy contracts.
The intent, said state Sen. Sam Singh, an East Lansing Democrat who cosponsored the law, was to speed the energy transition and lower costs by encouraging competitive bidding for renewable developments.
In general, monopoly utilities favor building their own infrastructure because they profit off doing so, but “oftentimes, that can be more expensive for the ratepayers,” Singh said.
So lawmakers sought a workaround. The law specifies that the state “shall authorize an annual financial incentive” for utilities that buy renewable power from someone else.
Singh said lawmakers didn’t anticipate Consumers’ plan to claim eligibility by selling unwanted assets and buying back the electricity at an inflated rate. He called it a “departure” from the law’s intent.
“The intent has always been to try to bring new energy to the grid,” Singh said, not to let utilities extract new profit from infrastructure “they’ve already owned and profited from for years.”
—————
The line between legal and appropriate
Asked how much Consumers has profited off the dams in their century of existence, utility spokesperson Bloembergen said Consumers doesn’t keep track
Lately though, the flow has dwindled to virtually nothing.
Ratepayers have more than repaid the $414.8 million Consumers spent building and maintaining structures, leaving a remaining value of “nearly zero,” Bloembergen said.
Matt Bandyk, a consultant for the residential ratepayer advocacy group Citizens Utility Board of Michigan, called Consumers’ attempt to extract new profits from the fully depreciated dams “a bit unseemly.”
Williamson, the representative for industrial power users, called it “egregious.”
“I can’t speculate on motive,” he said. “All I can talk about is the mechanisms and the benefit to the utility … and they’re proposing that they take these same assets where they already earned a return on their investment, and now they’re looking to get another profit.”
Bloembergen, the Consumers spokesperson, countered such criticism by arguing the ratepayer-funded incentives could ultimately lower ratepayer costs.
Asked how, she said “customers benefit because Consumers is proposing the lowest reasonable cost option for the dams under established regulatory standards.”
In filings with the Public Service Commission — whose three appointed leaders will decide whether to approve the sale — several groups have urged rejection of the profit plan.
Commission staffer Jesse Harlow argued it would set a dangerous precedent of “double dipping” by utilities.
Sebastian Coppola, an expert witness for Attorney General Dana Nessel, said it would “unduly enrich Consumers Energy at the expense of its customer.”
And a witness for the industrial power user group argued there is “no need” to incentivize Consumers to buy energy from assets it already owns.
But given how the 2023 law was written, it’s unclear whether the commission could approve the sale plan while denying Consumers’ incentive claim, said Erik Nordman, director of the Institute of Public Utilities at Michigan State University.
“What’s appropriate and what’s legal may be two different things,” Nordman said.
About $29 million of additional money ratepayers paid into the dams has been set aside to cover future decommissioning costs.
Consumers plans to spend the vast majority of that money on sale closing costs — including bonuses of up to 150 percent of the base salary for salaried workers who stick around through the sale — stock payouts and legal and consulting fees. The remaining $2 million would be returned to ratepayers for a credit of about $1.05 per person.
That plan, too, has prompted pushback from critics who call the costs excessive and unjustified.
So far, utility officials have been unwilling to budge.
In a March 2 filing with the Public Service Commission, company engineering chief Richard Blumenstock wrote that, if commissioners don’t approve the sale plan as-is, Consumers would instead seek to demolish all 13 dams.
“Any conditions or adjustments to the transaction are not appropriate and Confluence Hydro and Consumers Energy are not open to their consideration,” Blumenstock wrote.
Any proposal to demolish the dams would require regulatory approval, too, likely prompting lengthy debate about the best course of action for the 13 structures and how it would impact ratepayers and the public.
An administrative law judge overseeing the contested case tied to the dam sale will issue a preliminary recommendation in June. The Public Service Commission’s final decision is expected in September.
Step It Up! Returns This Spring at County Parks
Ottawa County Parks & Recreation is inviting residents and visitors to get moving this spring with Step it Up!, a free, eight-week walking program designed to promote physical activity while exploring local parks.
Open to participants of all fitness levels, the program motivates participants to stay active by tracking their weekly activity. Those who log their progress are eligible for weekly raffle prizes.
Participants can enjoy:
• Guided group walks and outdoor adventures
• Discovering beautiful parks
• Meeting new people
• Motivation through goal-setting and activity tracking
• Incentive prizes
Many participants say the program is a fun and effective way to support their health and wellness goals.
"Whenever I participate in something like this it makes me more aware of how much I am moving and makes me want to move more than I normally would,” one 2025 Step it Up! participant said.
Throughout the program, participants can join weekly guided group walks across various Ottawa County Parks, with opportunities to try activities such as canoeing and kayaking. The program will culminate with the Grand Explorers Trail Race, a special event that will take participants from Grand River Park to Grand Ravines.
Following is the weekly group walk schedule:
• Tuesday, April 28, 6-7:30 p.m., Hemlock Crossing County Park
• Thursday, May 7, 6-7:30 p.m., Grand Ravines South County Park
• Tuesday, May 12, 6-7:30 p.m., Upper Macatawa Natural Area
• Saturday, May 16, 8 a.m., preview the Grand Explorers Trail Race at Grand River Park
• Wednesday, May 20, 6-8:30 p.m., Group Walk and Gabagouache Paddle, Connor Bayou (rain date: Wednesday, May 27)
• Sunday, May 31, 1-2:30 p.m., Ottawa Sands County Park
• Tuesday, June 2, 6-7:30 p.m., Paw Paw Park – East
• Saturday, June 6, 1-3:30 p.m., Group Walk and Kayak, Ottawa Sands County Park
• Wednesday, June 10, 6-7:30 p.m., Pigeon Creek County Park
• Saturday, June 20, 8-10 a.m., Grand Explorers Trail Race, Grand River Park
Dogs on a leash are allowed for each of the group walks.
To register for Step It Up!, visit: miottawa.org/stepitup.
Step It Up! is offered at no cost thanks to support from the Ottawa County Parks Foundation’s Health & Wellness Initiative, which helps fund programs and events that promote community well-being.
Sponsors include Kris Reinhardt of Edward Jones, AAA Storage, Hulst Jepsen Physical Therapy, and Liz and Dean Hanson.
Open to participants of all fitness levels, the program motivates participants to stay active by tracking their weekly activity. Those who log their progress are eligible for weekly raffle prizes.
Participants can enjoy:
• Guided group walks and outdoor adventures
• Discovering beautiful parks
• Meeting new people
• Motivation through goal-setting and activity tracking
• Incentive prizes
Many participants say the program is a fun and effective way to support their health and wellness goals.
"Whenever I participate in something like this it makes me more aware of how much I am moving and makes me want to move more than I normally would,” one 2025 Step it Up! participant said.
Throughout the program, participants can join weekly guided group walks across various Ottawa County Parks, with opportunities to try activities such as canoeing and kayaking. The program will culminate with the Grand Explorers Trail Race, a special event that will take participants from Grand River Park to Grand Ravines.
Following is the weekly group walk schedule:
• Tuesday, April 28, 6-7:30 p.m., Hemlock Crossing County Park
• Thursday, May 7, 6-7:30 p.m., Grand Ravines South County Park
• Tuesday, May 12, 6-7:30 p.m., Upper Macatawa Natural Area
• Saturday, May 16, 8 a.m., preview the Grand Explorers Trail Race at Grand River Park
• Wednesday, May 20, 6-8:30 p.m., Group Walk and Gabagouache Paddle, Connor Bayou (rain date: Wednesday, May 27)
• Sunday, May 31, 1-2:30 p.m., Ottawa Sands County Park
• Tuesday, June 2, 6-7:30 p.m., Paw Paw Park – East
• Saturday, June 6, 1-3:30 p.m., Group Walk and Kayak, Ottawa Sands County Park
• Wednesday, June 10, 6-7:30 p.m., Pigeon Creek County Park
• Saturday, June 20, 8-10 a.m., Grand Explorers Trail Race, Grand River Park
Dogs on a leash are allowed for each of the group walks.
To register for Step It Up!, visit: miottawa.org/stepitup.
Step It Up! is offered at no cost thanks to support from the Ottawa County Parks Foundation’s Health & Wellness Initiative, which helps fund programs and events that promote community well-being.
Sponsors include Kris Reinhardt of Edward Jones, AAA Storage, Hulst Jepsen Physical Therapy, and Liz and Dean Hanson.
Houghton Lake: Lake of Plenty for Fishing Enthusiasts
Eric Payne shows off a smallmouth bass he caught.
Photo courtesy Jack Payne
By Jack Payne
The 14-foot Alumacraft was bouncing side to side, the nose going up, coming down, hitting a wave, and throwing a mist of water that landed on the head of my fishing partner and straight into my face.
Finally, our cabin was in sight when a secondary problem cropped up. The motor started to sputter. Yikes, we were low on gas. We started at the far west end of the lake and ended at the east end.
I grabbed the six-gallon gas can and held it on an angle, praying that we would make it to the dock. We did, with maybe a quart of gas left in the tank.
Houghton Lake is the largest lake in the state. It's also very shallow and can quickly become rough. But it's also a fish-producing factory. Plenty of great bluegills, crappie, bass, pike, and walleye. We land some impressive panfish and a few really good bass. The walleyes are the perfect eating size.
This lake suits me like a perfect-fitting glove. I love cabbage weeds, and on the windy days, I love to drift fish. The cabbage weeds stand tall, are fairly easy to locate, and hold most species of fish throughout the season.
Casting is my favorite technique, regardless of the species. I can switch from bluegill to crappie and back again without a blink. If bluegill is present and willing, then bluegill it is.
Many times, we have two rods rigged up: one with a crappie lure, such as the Charlie Brewer Crappie Grub, and another with either a Bully Spider or a 1/32-ounce hair jig. These few baits are hard for a hungry panfish to pass up.
Slip bobbers fill the void when the aforementioned fail. Some days we fish a foam spider under a slip float, other times maybe a teardrop with a wax worm. Under low-light conditions, the float will be set higher up; as the sun starts to beat down, we set the float so the bait rides a foot above the bottom. Our crappie float is normally set up with a marabou-style jig in the same manner.
When we target cabbage weed walleyes, we often use a slip float, a small jighead, and a leech. This is a simple and deadly method. Otherwise, we will use plastics such as the Brewer Walleye/Bass Grub.
The slider jighead fishes extremely well in, over, and around the thick cabbage weeds. A jig not mentioned much recently, and a favorite of ours, would be the Whistler Jig. This jig has a small propeller blade and works great around the weeds. When it's windy, and we are drifting over the weeds, one rod with a whistler will have plastics, and another rod a Whistler with a leech.
By pure accident, I met a guy who fishes Houghton Lake nearly every day. He likes trolling crawler harness rigs over the tops and along the deep side of the weeds. He ties up his own harness rigs and uses five metal beads. The metal beads eliminate the need for any sinkers. Let out the line until you feel the harness rig touching the weeds.
Oh, by the way, he puts Ben-Gay on his crawler. You heard me correctly, we witnessed this, and we tried it as well!
If you search local sports shops, you'll find a map showing the "sucker holes". Holes were created by sucking out sand, and many of them were recorded. I have such a map, and these sucker holes hold dandy summer bluegill. Most are close to the east end of the lake, and most are not as big as a house.
On windy days, I like drifting for walleye. I am talking about those days when whitecaps are present. There is a deep slot not far from the Elks Club and another deep slot near the southeast end of the lake. These two spots are perfect when drifting a floating jighead or a harness rig. The Middle Grounds and the “Rice Beds” are both near the center of the lake and are great spots.
Give Houghton Lake a try and stop in at Bob's Gun and Tackle Shop this spring.
The 14-foot Alumacraft was bouncing side to side, the nose going up, coming down, hitting a wave, and throwing a mist of water that landed on the head of my fishing partner and straight into my face.
Finally, our cabin was in sight when a secondary problem cropped up. The motor started to sputter. Yikes, we were low on gas. We started at the far west end of the lake and ended at the east end.
I grabbed the six-gallon gas can and held it on an angle, praying that we would make it to the dock. We did, with maybe a quart of gas left in the tank.
Houghton Lake is the largest lake in the state. It's also very shallow and can quickly become rough. But it's also a fish-producing factory. Plenty of great bluegills, crappie, bass, pike, and walleye. We land some impressive panfish and a few really good bass. The walleyes are the perfect eating size.
This lake suits me like a perfect-fitting glove. I love cabbage weeds, and on the windy days, I love to drift fish. The cabbage weeds stand tall, are fairly easy to locate, and hold most species of fish throughout the season.
Casting is my favorite technique, regardless of the species. I can switch from bluegill to crappie and back again without a blink. If bluegill is present and willing, then bluegill it is.
Many times, we have two rods rigged up: one with a crappie lure, such as the Charlie Brewer Crappie Grub, and another with either a Bully Spider or a 1/32-ounce hair jig. These few baits are hard for a hungry panfish to pass up.
Slip bobbers fill the void when the aforementioned fail. Some days we fish a foam spider under a slip float, other times maybe a teardrop with a wax worm. Under low-light conditions, the float will be set higher up; as the sun starts to beat down, we set the float so the bait rides a foot above the bottom. Our crappie float is normally set up with a marabou-style jig in the same manner.
When we target cabbage weed walleyes, we often use a slip float, a small jighead, and a leech. This is a simple and deadly method. Otherwise, we will use plastics such as the Brewer Walleye/Bass Grub.
The slider jighead fishes extremely well in, over, and around the thick cabbage weeds. A jig not mentioned much recently, and a favorite of ours, would be the Whistler Jig. This jig has a small propeller blade and works great around the weeds. When it's windy, and we are drifting over the weeds, one rod with a whistler will have plastics, and another rod a Whistler with a leech.
By pure accident, I met a guy who fishes Houghton Lake nearly every day. He likes trolling crawler harness rigs over the tops and along the deep side of the weeds. He ties up his own harness rigs and uses five metal beads. The metal beads eliminate the need for any sinkers. Let out the line until you feel the harness rig touching the weeds.
Oh, by the way, he puts Ben-Gay on his crawler. You heard me correctly, we witnessed this, and we tried it as well!
If you search local sports shops, you'll find a map showing the "sucker holes". Holes were created by sucking out sand, and many of them were recorded. I have such a map, and these sucker holes hold dandy summer bluegill. Most are close to the east end of the lake, and most are not as big as a house.
On windy days, I like drifting for walleye. I am talking about those days when whitecaps are present. There is a deep slot not far from the Elks Club and another deep slot near the southeast end of the lake. These two spots are perfect when drifting a floating jighead or a harness rig. The Middle Grounds and the “Rice Beds” are both near the center of the lake and are great spots.
Give Houghton Lake a try and stop in at Bob's Gun and Tackle Shop this spring.
How to Select, Plant and Care for Evergreens
Evergreens with interesting form and texture can serve as a focal point in garden beds.
Photo courtesy MelindaMyers.com
By Melinda Myers
Screen unwanted views, buffer traffic and other noise, create privacy and add year-round beauty to the landscape with evergreens. Combine them with deciduous trees and shrubs, perennials and annuals for multiple seasons of beauty. Plus, enjoy the seasonal changes as well as visiting pollinators and songbirds.
Use taller evergreens as a backdrop for flowering plants. Their green foliage provides a beautiful backdrop for flowers and fruit-laden plants, ornamental grasses, and fall color. Create a focal point or vertical interest in a garden bed or landscape with evergreens that feature interesting form or texture. Group several together to provide songbirds with shelter and a safe place to raise their young.
Don’t let a lack of space deter the planting of evergreens. Dwarf varieties are perfect for smaller landscapes and planting beds. Combine these with other small-scale shrubs, perennials and groundcovers for additional seasonal interest.
As always, match evergreens to the growing conditions and climate. Make sure the plants selected are hardy and will thrive in the sunlight and moisture provided. Junipers are heat and drought tolerant and animals tend to leave them be. Hemlock is one of the few evergreens that tolerates the shade and is available in a variety of sizes and shapes. Give these and other evergreens planted in an exposed location a bit of shelter from winter winds and sun.
Arborvitaes, yews, false cedar (Chamaecyparis) and rhododendrons are some of the favorite evergreens of gardeners and deer. Protect new plantings by surrounding them with a cylinder of hardware cloth sunk into the ground and at least four feet high. Applying wildlife protection, including repellents, before critters start feeding increases the chance of success. Consider applying an organic rain- and snow-resistant repellent, like Plantskydd (plantskydd.com), at planting. This odor-based repellent helps prevent damage and its rain and snow resistance means it needs to be reapplied less often. Just follow the label directions for the most effective control.
Make sure new plantings receive sufficient moisture during the first few years as they become established. Apply enough water to moisten the top 12 inches of soil when the top four to six inches feel dry. Individual trees need 10 gallons of water for every inch diameter of trunk measured at 4.5 feet high. Apply the water to the area under the dripline and several feet beyond for evergreens.
Spread a one- to three-inch layer of woodchips, shredded bark, leaves or evergreen needles over the soil surface. The finer the mulch material, the thinner the layer needed. Pull the mulch away from tree trunks and stems of shrubs, perennials and annuals. Organic mulches insulate plant roots from temperature extremes, conserve moisture, suppress weeds during the growing season and improve the soil as it breaks down.
Winter preparation starts at planting and continues into fall and even winter in milder parts of the country. Evergreens continue to lose moisture throughout the winter even when the soil is frozen or dry. Continue to water evergreens, moisture-loving plants and new plantings as needed when the temperatures are in the 40s, the soil is dry and not yet frozen or covered with snow.
Investing time in proper plant selection and year-round care will help healthy, attractive evergreens thrive for many years.
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Melinda Myers has written over 20 gardening books, including Midwest Gardener’s Handbook, 2nd Edition and Small Space Gardening. She hosts The Great Courses “How to Grow Anything” streaming courses and the nationally syndicated Melinda’s Garden Moment radio program. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine and was commissioned by Tree World Plant Care for her expertise in writing this article. Her website is MelindaMyers.com.
Screen unwanted views, buffer traffic and other noise, create privacy and add year-round beauty to the landscape with evergreens. Combine them with deciduous trees and shrubs, perennials and annuals for multiple seasons of beauty. Plus, enjoy the seasonal changes as well as visiting pollinators and songbirds.
Use taller evergreens as a backdrop for flowering plants. Their green foliage provides a beautiful backdrop for flowers and fruit-laden plants, ornamental grasses, and fall color. Create a focal point or vertical interest in a garden bed or landscape with evergreens that feature interesting form or texture. Group several together to provide songbirds with shelter and a safe place to raise their young.
Don’t let a lack of space deter the planting of evergreens. Dwarf varieties are perfect for smaller landscapes and planting beds. Combine these with other small-scale shrubs, perennials and groundcovers for additional seasonal interest.
As always, match evergreens to the growing conditions and climate. Make sure the plants selected are hardy and will thrive in the sunlight and moisture provided. Junipers are heat and drought tolerant and animals tend to leave them be. Hemlock is one of the few evergreens that tolerates the shade and is available in a variety of sizes and shapes. Give these and other evergreens planted in an exposed location a bit of shelter from winter winds and sun.
Arborvitaes, yews, false cedar (Chamaecyparis) and rhododendrons are some of the favorite evergreens of gardeners and deer. Protect new plantings by surrounding them with a cylinder of hardware cloth sunk into the ground and at least four feet high. Applying wildlife protection, including repellents, before critters start feeding increases the chance of success. Consider applying an organic rain- and snow-resistant repellent, like Plantskydd (plantskydd.com), at planting. This odor-based repellent helps prevent damage and its rain and snow resistance means it needs to be reapplied less often. Just follow the label directions for the most effective control.
Make sure new plantings receive sufficient moisture during the first few years as they become established. Apply enough water to moisten the top 12 inches of soil when the top four to six inches feel dry. Individual trees need 10 gallons of water for every inch diameter of trunk measured at 4.5 feet high. Apply the water to the area under the dripline and several feet beyond for evergreens.
Spread a one- to three-inch layer of woodchips, shredded bark, leaves or evergreen needles over the soil surface. The finer the mulch material, the thinner the layer needed. Pull the mulch away from tree trunks and stems of shrubs, perennials and annuals. Organic mulches insulate plant roots from temperature extremes, conserve moisture, suppress weeds during the growing season and improve the soil as it breaks down.
Winter preparation starts at planting and continues into fall and even winter in milder parts of the country. Evergreens continue to lose moisture throughout the winter even when the soil is frozen or dry. Continue to water evergreens, moisture-loving plants and new plantings as needed when the temperatures are in the 40s, the soil is dry and not yet frozen or covered with snow.
Investing time in proper plant selection and year-round care will help healthy, attractive evergreens thrive for many years.
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Melinda Myers has written over 20 gardening books, including Midwest Gardener’s Handbook, 2nd Edition and Small Space Gardening. She hosts The Great Courses “How to Grow Anything” streaming courses and the nationally syndicated Melinda’s Garden Moment radio program. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine and was commissioned by Tree World Plant Care for her expertise in writing this article. Her website is MelindaMyers.com.
