Rascal Trophy Fishing

Congrats!

Nice hogs Ed, thanks for sharing the pic..

Thanks for sharing the info. and pic., well done.

Don't be afraid to stay inside the pack in that skinny water right off the bat Mike, could help the stats. next trip. Like 25'-35' right off bottom some big moes hide in there early and late. Glow plugs and glow flies.

Warm greetings Darrin, thanks for joining.

Great post Nick, welcome aboard the GLF. I've know some of the biggest fish of recent have been caught in the skinny water early and late. Like 25'-45' on meat, 2'-3' off bottom for starters, also on fishcatchers/flies, and plugs. Recommend super glow types for bigger fish. Tight lines!

Sure Ben, the Copeyan Park launch ramp is off S. Washington Ave. detouring over to Madison St. due to new bridge construction this summer. Easy to find and can come across the channel to Thompson Marina for dockage and free trailer storage. Rustic camping also available, send me a pm or call me. Log on to fish-ludington.com for current fishing reports by the boys. Ed.

Great action in the ports of Ludington and Pentwater right now, some real BIG FISH being taken right now. Come prepared with heavy line, and batteries charged up to full for these BRUTE KINGS that can tear a man's arm out of the sockets.

The BIG MOES are here! A good friend of mine landed a 29.11 lb. king Friday nite on my 16' Cobia cc. They are getting it mounted and weighed in at Capt. Chucks. My fish cleaning station at Thompson Marina saw many mid to high 20# fish taken all weekend, and a couple of 30#+ up to 33# the largest. While quantity of fish taken is somewhat lower than usual, the quality factor is kicking in nicely, and holding the fishermen attentions to stay in this port with excellent action thru the Labor Day weekend. If you are sick of the ramp combat, send me a pm or call for a reservation, still have some docks for rent. Excellent reports are available from fish-ludington.com for those wanting the inside scoop. Tight lines!

Keep those reels under a reel cover, or inside the shady part of the boat when not in use too Robert. If you leave them exposed to the sun for any length of time, it rots the line. Changing mono can vary from one individual to the next, depending on a lot of factors. Most charters do a lot of fishing and change line up to three times per season or more. Other novice fisherman should really change line at least once per season. Check the line, peel off 50-100 yds. and see if it's still strong or not. Check your lines after every trip or two, making sure it doesn't have frays or stress marks from extreme fish. Treat your reels and mono right, and it will treat you right in return. I make a mental note to check and retie after almost every trip, esp. if I caught bigger fish that trip. Retying regularly insures the line is up to par, and you lose a lot less fish in the process.

Personally, I like to stagger the main bait from the slider about 10-15' above. If you go higher, you will likely lose the fish as too much slack occurs before you catch up. I like to use a 3-5' length, not longer. Also, as an example, I'll use a regular or magnum spoon as the main, and match the same color on the top with the smaller spoon, making it appear like the same baitfish is swimming with a larger and smaller one combined. You can easily get more hits and fish using sliders, if done properly.

Congrats on the nice fish, whatever size it is.

Hello and tight lines Lee.

Good job Joe, congrats to the ladies for tight lines.

Pretty good suggestions by all. Here's another trick: instead of just one alarm clock, set up two of them, and put one where you can't reach it from bed, and set it's volume to max. loudness.

Dittos to that Steve. What's done is done. Frank, I assume you have some pics. of that catch, and someone of quality should be able to do the task right this time. Go with someone with a very high and long-lived reputation. Nice ending to a sad story now.

If there is ever a time to leave the walleye, it's going to be the next 4 weeks in Ludington. I think we may even surpass the 33# caught off of Frankfort yet this month, watch for breaking news as the month progresses. Thanks.

Great report Ryan, thanks.

This is a prime example of the bonus of running sliders on main lines off the riggers.

He said he was trying to pull them, but had no help. That hasn't stopped him before though, as he works alone mostly. I'll try to report on that situation again, next time I see him. Meanwhile, that earlier post with net locations appears valid, as he said they are set up the same place as he reported last couple years, and hasn't changed locales. We'll know more by the 13th or so of August.

The Tribal fisherman today reported he "does have another 10 or so nets out right now". That means unless he plans to remove them soon, they will be out there for the summer, and perhaps beyond. He has a slight legal problem right now, and that doesn't make things better. Besides, I like to imagine those nets, with dead fish now, get removed. I got offered all the dead fish captured in the nets I want. Sorry, I just don't want them now. That's NOT fresh fish to me, unless they are still alive.

Go Kids, hope they catch anything, cause that in itself will be beneficial for all.

That's a spectacular report Kyle. Where was the Tourney, Port Washington? Nice Kings for sure! Tight lines pal!

The commercial fishing nets, as far as I know right now, are all pulled out. The tribal fisherman, Tommy Battice, hasn't been seen my way in a while, and the nets are up on land next door.

Nice technical report Frank, and all so true.