EdB

Nice catch Don, that warm water has been making it tough, some buddies said it slowed down in Ludington this week after the warm water rolled in there.

Thanks for the report Eric

Nice going Bob

Love it! In Ludington we rarely have issues with long lines until August and the next 2 weekends will be the worst of the year.

If you are looking at a boat that old, you need to have it surveyed by a qualified marine surveyor. It is very important to know if the stringers or transom are sound or if they are rotted. It will cost a few hundred bucks but is worth it.

Nice job Jim!

Nice job Todd!

Nice catch Ken!

Thanks for keeping us posted on Saugatuck!

Nice catch Grant!

Fishing was great Saturday, we went north and started right off the Big Sable light in 75 ft of water and went north from there, it's a good way to avoid the weekend crowds between the bathhouse and the point. Once the bite started, it was non stop with doubles and triples. We were limited by 7:45 with 15. It was a nice box. We fished 75 to 100 ft of water down to the 07's. We turned and came back to the 05's and were down. We had a moonshine(MS) razer burn on a rigger at 35, a MS blue jackel on a rigger at 45, a mag MS dancing anchovy on the chute rigger down 70. We had a glow bade/mt dew spin doctor with a green glow fly on a low diver out 120ft, the hook broke on that squid and I switched to a glow blade/green tape spin doctor with a white glow bead fly I don't know what it is called and it kept firing. We had a chrome blade/green dot spin doctor and a purple taco dragon fly on a hi diver out 140. We had another high diver with a MS shelly snack out 150 ft, that was the best rod in the boat. I put out a 150 copper at 7:30 with a chrome and green j plug and that caught our last fish of the day. Here are the lures: This was the best catch of our week in size and weight. On Sunday, we followed up with the same program and same place. The water warmed up quite a bit from Saturday. Fish were deeper, 50 to 90 down, hi divers out 180 to 200 and low diver down 140. They were not snapping as good as Saturday and we went 7 for 12 and quit at 7:30. We had chores to get done. I never went on a mid morning west troll since the prior Sunday but I'm sure there are more fish out there. A buddy took it went west on Sunday at 9AM and got a lot of steelies and coho's out there. Good luck!

http://www.outdoornews.com/August-2012/Its-official-Salmon-stocks-cut-50-percent/ Posted on August 16, 2012 Plainwell, Mich. — A decision has been made. Lake Michigan states will reduce chinook salmon stocking by 50 percent next year. Approximately 1.65 million fewer will be planted in Lake Michigan, according to state officials. The decision puts a period on a year-and-a-half-long discussion between states and angling groups about how to best balance predator and prey in Lake Michigan, where the alewife population has been declining. Michigan, which enjoys a growing abundance of naturally reproduced salmon from northern Lake Michigan streams, is likely to plant 1 million fewer hatchery-raised salmon. It will take the lion’s share of cuts, Michigan officials said. “I think we will be cutting back by over 60 percent, and probably over 65 percent, because we have so much natural reproduction,†said Jay Wesley, the DNR’s point man in the recent discussions.“It’s shocking to see how it will be applied to each port, but if people maintain a lake-wide focus, they will come to terms with it.†Jim Fenner, the past president of the Ludington Charter Boat Association, said Option 2 – cutting chinook by 50 percent – was his preferred choice. That was one of four choices Lake Michigan anglers and natural resources agencies have considered. “I didn’t want to see the lake trout cut. We’re just starting to see a fair number show up, along with a spring fishery for browns,†Fenner said. “If we had to take a cut, we wanted it to be the kings. We’re not concerned about cutting 50 percent. But we are concerned about how that will be applied.†Exactly who will cut how much is still being negotiated, according to Wesley. Other states have been pressuring Michigan to shoulder most, if not all of the cuts because it has wild salmon to fall back upon. Wesley refused the idea of Michigan making all the cuts. The state plants 1.68 million chinook salmon in Lake Michigan tributaries every year. Southern Michigan ports do not have natural reproduction. Anglers there rely on hatchery stocks from around Lake Michigan, the occasional wild fish, and those stocked in southern tributaries. The tributary plants provide an offshore and river fishery each fall when stocked salmon eventually return to the river to spawn. Michigan officials are working up criteria for determining just where the cuts will take place. Those decisions are slated to go to the Natural Resources Commission in September. That criterion emphasizes maintaining a brood stock at the Little Manistee River where the Michigan DNR collects salmon eggs. It gives priority to net-pen stocking sites too, according to Wesley. Those are the downstream locations on Lake Michigan tributaries where young hatchery salmon are held in pens and acclimate to the river environment. The salmon are released when they’re large enough to smolt and make their way downstream into Lake Michigan. Net-pen salmon survive better than those planted directly into rivers. “We will reduce stocking more in areas with natural reproduction,†Wesley said. “We will eliminate sites where we plant directly in the river and maintain net-pen sites as best we can. We will continue to evaluate where stocking fish contributes the most to the fishery.†Bob Munch, a board member for the Southwest Michigan chapter of the Michigan Steelhead and Salmon Fishermen’s Association, said he and other members would have fought the decision two years ago. He changed his mind after attending the spring workshop in St. Joseph about the problem of having too many big predators in the lake, feeding on too few alewives. “They gave a good presentation and we (members) thought, ‘Yes, we need to cut back on stocking fish.’ Two years ago there would have been a lot of yelling and screaming,†he said. Munch and other chapter members are concerned that they may not get their historic allocation of hatchery salmon for their net pens. The chapter raises between 130,000 and 140,000 annually. “We’ll get fish, but I’m not sure how many,†Munch said. “Hopefully, they will be fair with us so we can have a viable fishery. No one likes to get cut, but we have to look long term and we do realize there is a problem.†Fenner said Ludington charter captains are concerned, too. Their net-pen project has been a source of pride. Its success has leveraged financial support from the community. Eliminating it, he said, would have serious ramifications. “We were steeled for a 50 percent cut, but (the idea of) taking more than that has us upset,†Fenner said. “We started with a 200,000-fish net-pen program. Then we got cut to 150,000, then 120,000. Now we don’t know what we will get.â€

Thanks Russel, always great to hear what's going on over on your side of the pond.

Our prayers go out for them and their families. http://www.ludingtondailynews.com/news/66700-lake-claims-2-fishermen Lake claims 2 fishermen Brian Mulherin - Daily News Staff Writer Friday, August 17, 2012 Two bodies of two fishermen have been recovered after the 26-foot boat they were in went missing Thursday in Lake Michigan. The boat left out of Ludington to go salmon fishing off Big Point Sable Thursday morning at 6 a.m. with Ludington resident Ray Finholm, 58, of Ludington, aboard, along with the boat’s owner, Bill Sorokin, 67, of Plains, Pennsylvania. Wind and waves were severe Thursday and investigators said they believe the boat sank in the rough weather. Sorokin's body was pulled from Lake Michigan by Coast Guard personnel about 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Finholm's body was found shortly after 8:30 this morning on northern Mason County beach area not far from where Sorokin had been in the water. Finholm was a prolific community volunteer, lending fish-catching and fish-cleaning skills to the annual SuckerFest, the Ludington Boat Club’s annual fish fry/boil for Hospice of Michigan, which happens to be this weekend. He also helped other charities he came across. He was a long-standing director of the Mason County Walleye Association, where he maintained the grounds, helped raise fish and helped raise funds and cook meals for the annual walleye dinner for many years. He was a former Great Lakes Castings employee. His wife’s name is Shirley. “Ray would do anything for anybody,†Ludington Fire Chief Jerry Funk said. Sr. Chief Sean Cross of Coast Guard Station Ludington and Chief John Tribfelner of U.S. Coast Guard Station Manistee both had crews launch boats to search for the missing 26-foot boat at about 6 p.m. Thursday and searched until around midnight. Coast Guard helicopters joined in the search and a debris field was located in Lake Michigan about 3 miles south of the Mason-Manistee county line. Wave heights on Thursday reached as high as 7 feet, according to the weather buoy maintained by the University of Michigan 4 miles west of the Lincoln River mouth. According to the Mason County Sheriff’s Office deputies from that agency, the Manistee County Sheriff’s Office and Grant Township first responders initiated a land search Thursday night and found fishing-related items that may or may not be related to the missing boat.

Nice Matt, it's going real good down at Ludington too, at least until today's big SW blow. Looks like it warmed up some at the Ludington weather buoy. Supposed to blow from the NW next. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Had the wife and kids onboard today and I had my hands full. Got out later than I like and the bite was on as I was setting the first rigger. I could only get 2 riggers down until it slowed down a bit at sunrise. We ended up 11 for 17 and quit at 8:15AM. The family had all the fish they wanted and sore arms. If I had a crew of guys and got all our rods down on time, it would have been a slaughterfest. We fished the bank north from the 02's to 05's in 80 to 120 ft of water, my wife likes to drive in and out on the bank instead of going down on a line, at least we stayed out of trouble. The 2 riggers kept popping as soon as I would get them down. It was moonshine mag dancing anchovy on one down 60 ft and a MS nightcrawler on the other down 46 ft. Bent that spoon when it got wrapped in a rigger on the 3rd fish and changed to a razerburn and it kept firing. It took the kids a long time to crank each one in, they both got a couple nice kings and so did the wife. Put out a couple divers after sunrise with a mt dew/glow blade and green mirage fly on a low mag diver out 110ft. Put a chrome/green dots and blue fairways fly on the other hi diver out 150ft. They both got bit. We had flat seas and a wonderful morning with the family, does not get any better than this. Looks like we got some wind coming the next few days, hope we can get out, fishing at Ludington is hot now! Good luck!

Give me a shout Don if you come up. I'll share any info I have. I'm here all this week and have Fridays off for the next 3 weekends. Weather dependent on weekends tilll Oct. after that.

Didn't fish yesterday but we had a great bite today, went 11 for 15 by 7AM, threw the last one back and went in with our limit. We started on the bank in the 01-1/2's and trolled to the 04s, had 8 fish by there, turned it back south and got our last 2. We fished 80-90 ft of water. Riggers, 36 down with a MS razerburn, 75 down the chute with a MS dancing anchovy and the other out down at 55 with a MS blue jackel. Low mag diver with a glow blade green tape spin doctor and blue fairways fly out 110. Hi diver with a MS happy meal out 150. The other hi diver out 120 with a chrome blade/mt dew spin doctor and a blue fairways fly. Lot of fish on the bank and lots of boats catching. Good Luck!

Best for whitefish is loose king spawn and then boil them. It makes them hard and you can hook them. We catch some white fish with steelie spawn from Jan to March but boiled king eggs do better then and in the fall. For steelies, I like king spawn in the fall and steelie spawn in winter and spring. I never use cure, I always use my spawn fresh or fresh frozen if I want to store it. It milks out and is goey but works great.

Yes, we were fishing a series of temp breaks with the warmer water out, inside surface was 48, outside was 66. There were a number of surface lines you could see as we trolled west. Down temps came up too.

Nice job

Had a slow start today setting up in 30 ft of water off the pier. We hit 2 and landed 1 by sun up. It wasn't looking like we were going to have a good box. Put it on a west troll, nothing happening until we got to 170 feet of water and then we started hitting them. Went 10 for 16 out there working from the 35's out to the 38's and back in the 53 and 54's south. A lot of steelies and some coho in that area and they saved the day. We ended up with 6 steelies, 3 coho and 2 kings. Best rigs were a double orange crush yeck little devel and a dw fireball on half cores. A yeck jarid with a 100 ft lead on a rigger down 35 ft. Hit a couple on plugs, a moonshine mongolian beef plug and a chrome green j plug on full cores. Had a smurf meat rig down 75 ft on a rigger, that took a couple. Good luck!

That sure was a great week of fishing!

Great catch Grant!

Looks like a blow day tomorrow so maybe I'll make road trip up from Ludington and stop by. Not sure now but thanks for letting us know. Might be a popular place if the fleet is stuck at the docks. Supposed to be north gales to 30 knots tomorrow.