Steve, Great story & photos! Glad you had a memorable trip up in Michigan. It's a place I've always wanted to go- more so now after reading your post.
I'm on the shore of Lake Ontario and we have big Carp like that,(minus the big flats) but I haven't seriously targeted them yet. I have caught two 8-10 lbers this spring on a wide creek just across the street from where I work. I used the same technique you described, searching out single cruisers "tailing" in the mud. A fantastic fight on the fly rod for sure.
Tom.