jdh

Check the buoy for water temps. Will have north wind blowing today and tonight and if it switched NE we might get a bit of a flip. If not, I would set up in 70 fow and work out from there. Kings are not plentiful right now, but if you run some stuff up high (10-20 feet), some stuff mid range (30-60 feet) and a line or two deep (90 feet or keep within 10 feet of bottom) you have a chance at picking up anything that might be out there (kings, steelhead, lake trout). Or just give up on kings and run a bunch of stuff near the bottom for trout. If the lake flips, then who knows what will be where. -JD

Good advice Jason. You could also run one downrigger rod with a two color leadcore. Let the spoon and leadcore out, then put a clean spoon on that line. I would also try some other types of spoons too (non-glow). One of my favorite spoons is a magnum blue dolphin (by Silver Streak). I also really like to use the UV spoons in the Stinger and Stingray size from Michigan Stinger. I would guess greens and blues would work best. What kind of water clarity is there in the reservoir? If it's not crystal clear, then some plugs might be effective run 50-100 feet behind the ball. If the fish are very skitish due to a lot of boat traffic, it might be more effective to only run 2 downriggers instead of all four. How deep do you usually run the downriggers?

I'm guessing most of the time , the fish are pretty deep in the reservoir (50 feet or deeper. I would run both flasher and fly setups, and also clean spoons/no flasher. How many lines are you running? A few downriggers and a few divers? What types of spoons have you run?

Where are you fishing?

Late report. Started around 5:30/6 pm in 180 fow. Fished out to 210. Motored back in to 175 and fished NE/SE until 110 fow and pulled lines. Speed maintained from 2.5-3.0 at the ball at down 55 feet. 185 fow. King 15lb+ range. Mag diver back 189 feet - Pro King Mountain Dew paddle and mirage fly. 190 fow. Swing and a miss - downrigger (55 ft) free slider with yellow/orange spoon. 200 fow. Laker escaped behind boat - lure? I forget. 210 fow. Laker. Mag diver back 189 feet - Pro King Mountain Dew paddle and mirage fly. 170 fow. Laker - Diver back 225 - MI Stinger Green/White 8-inch paddle and hypnotist fly 160 fow. Laker - Diver back 135 - MI Stinger Green/White 8-inch paddle and hypnotist fly (hit while setting line) 150 fow. King (3 lbs?) - 300 copper mag blue dolphin 140 fow. King (3 lbs?) - 200 copper purple spoon

I'll say it's been very common for the lakers to suspend until the water warms up a bit. I've caught them offshore too on one and two color lead cores. The overall numbers should be way up to compared to 20-30 years ago. There are a few strains. Most common strain on the south side of Lake Michigan has been the Seneca Lake strain recently. Some plants have been Lewis Lake, and Klondike Reef strains also. A lot of Lake Superior strain fish have also been stocked up north. Colors could also indicate what the fish have been feeding on. Any fish feeding on mysis shrimp recently would be really orange.

Something's not working here (obviously because you're snapping off). Knots aren't being tried right. Drags are not smooth enough. Diver release is too tight. Wire quality wire isn't good - or old, or it's allowed to kink. What brand of leader and wire do you have? I've been running 25 or 30 on flouro leaders for years, and have snapped off like 2 divers - due to wire links. Used to run snubbers but find i get better hookups without.

Put a tape measure out in the yard and put stakes in to measure 50 ft increments. Time to put the copper to the tape. My 100 copper was 60 feet. My 200 copper was 175 feet. My 400 copper was 280 feet. Still have to measure a few more!

Only lake trout marks on bottom 20 feet in the deeper water. Probably should have started in 160-180. Coho and kings often out there this time of year.

Fished from 3-6 ok today. Started in 60-75, nothing. Trolled out to 120. Nothing?Pulled lines and we had a lake trout on the rigger rod out 125 in 120 fow. Fished again in 50-70 for an hour without a bump. Called it a night at 6. Water was mud until 40 fow, and extremely dirty until 65 fow. Water cleared past 90 fow. 44 degrees down 40 ft.

I've done well last few years out of South Haven first three weeks of May. I usually fish first week of May further south, next two weeks South Haven, then Holland until July.

Well, we're "allowed" back on the water now! I'll be out Monday unless I get more work for next week.

I just wish the order would have shut down the major DNR launches until May 1st. That would have prevented many of the large congregation of people at the launches, and would still allow me to use my boats other places. Or legally use our 14-ft row boat with an electric trolling motor. In other news - at least the time off has allowed me to actually get the boat ready properly instead of piling boxes and boxes of crap in the front of the boat because I don't know where anything is! My question now is, are we going to see a massive "launch your boat" civil disobedience protest if the boating prohibition is extended?

Going to have to run slow this year. Getting the boat geared up for coho fishing. Should be out there soon!

Welcome. We'll see how soon we'll be able to start fishing this spring. Not as much activity on this site since Facebook groups have become much more popular. Contributions are appreciated! -JD

Well, start out simple. This time of year can be quite unpredictable for fish. Pick a pier known to fish well, and get out there at first light and see how many people are out there and what they're using and if they're catching anything. Be friendly and maybe someone will share some tips and their setup with you.