EdB

Welcome Adam, in the coming weeks into May, there can be some good pier action for walleyes as dusk and dark. Pier fishing can be hit or miss, their one day and gone the next. Depends on conditions on Lake Mich and how winds and currents move the water around. Do some looking on the various forums and you can pick up some good info. Some of the best pier action for salmon and trout can be in February and March. Thing are running late this year and there is probably a few good weeks. The early season is a spawn bite so without it, it will be tough. Now that the water is warming, spoons,crawlers and other baits start working better. Don't wait to long. The pier shore fishing really tapers off when nearshore waters warm up. You can get some smallmouth and perch into summers in the piers. There is good fishing for whitefish off the piers in November into winter. You can get some spawn visiting the Holland fish cleaning station in August when the boat guys are cleaning fish if you ask nicely. Load up and freeze it and you have it for next year. Use the salmon spawn to catch some steelhead in the winter and use their spawn. Steelhead spawn is the best in the spring.

Welcome Capt Reid

Very nice Kevin.

And the launch fee machine was not installed last weekend so you can launch for free until they get that up and running. They are also building a fish cleaning station there this year.

Nice browns!

Nice catch, Thanks for the report.

Nice job Terry. That laker is a good one.

Good start, nice job.

Been getting mine too but no long distance fish for me this year. Everything was planted near to where I caught it. One year a while ago, I got an Ausable plant off St Joe.

We started with an assortment of colors but loaded up on the ones in the pic when they started working.

Cool, I've never got one.

Nice job on the steel, kind of slow on the St Joe pier today for my buddies on it.

Good job on the steel.

Got some slime in the cooler and some fillets for the table, can't beat that.

Nice job Jim.

Great to be on a boat on the big lake after a long winter. We ran south and set up a couple miles from the Cook plant and trolled south. It was very slow the first couple hours with no bites. When we got south of the plant, we hit a pocket of warmer water with temps bouncing from 38-39 and started picking fish. Got a little further south and hit a triple. We kept working that area and fish were popping good, had some doubles and another triple. We fished the troughs off the beach. Kept working it and filling the cooler. We got 19 coho and 1 steelie. These did the damage on clean boards, leads 80 to 50ft. Had one diver with the solid orange thin fin out 10 ft that took 5. The boats north of the plant did not do so good. There was colder water there. We had skim ice the first couple miles by the pier when we ran down. Docks are in at the St Joe launch, no docks at the DNR launch. It was 3-4 ft deep crossing the river and down to the first bridge, no problems there. Stay close to the Tackle Haven docks, some very shallow water not to far off them. If they park boats on the end, it will be tight there. Good luck!

Very nice, I like winter steel heading best too. I'm normally done by March 21. The cold weather lately is extending it a bit this year. Might go once more and them I'm done.

That's my buddy Steve. When I saw what he had on the line as it approached the boat, I put the net down, told he was on his own and went back to fishing:lol: He was laughing as hard as I was.

A warm welcome to you Jared!

Welcome aboard Tim!

I went by myself Sunday and went 3 for 4. More chrome. Quit early and hit the surf for a while but no bites there.

Had a good weekend chasing steel. We just drift and bobber fished spawn bags. Saturday, Steve and I stuck the hooks good and went 9 for 10. Steve also got a big buffalo. Let most of them go but keep a few for the smoker and spawn supply. Here are some of the nicer fish. Starting to see some chrome.

When you're going steelheading with our buddies, expect a good ribbing if your a buffalo hunter. Sure was colored up.

I stopped by the St Joe DNR launch yesterday. No docks in, checked the depth on the end of the south wall. It was about 4 ft deep 9 feet off the end toward where the docks sit. That was the deepest area before. Not sure how deep it will be at the end of the middle docks or off the Tackle Haven docks. That was a shallower spot in years past. Wanted to go to the end of the TH docks and check them but they were all locked up. Really need to check it in a boat with a depth finder.

It was a fox squirrel. I though red squirrels might do this but was suprised to see a fox squirrel eating meat.