jdh

I have the following thoughts: Because I have smaller boat, the set lines @ 6 works better for me. But actually most of my fish have been caught after 9 am anyways. I'm willing to go with the shotgun start. I would rather the ports stay within Port Sheldon to South Haven as my boat is on the south side of Grand Rapids. I would like to see Lakers stay as a 5 point fish and have silver fish & browns all be 10 point fish. I like the raise in cost to $25 per event. I organized all my fishing gear once this year already. I'm almost ready for the season... Except I have my boat half torn apart. I'm working on rewiring & remounting rod holders & such.

I'm already starting to go crazy at home, and wish I was out fishing again. If I make it on the ice soon that may help calm me down. But for now, I needed to find something to do. For a joke last year I put a bunch of spoons on our Christmas Tree instead of the regular ornaments. They are shiny and lots have glow in the dark - so the tree looked pretty cool. This past Christmas we got a bigger tree and pretty much put all my spoons on there. Due to having all my spoons on a the tree and having a bunch of people handling them, I decided to give the spoons a good wash before storing them back in their boxes. I tried just a mix of borax and water. This also gave me the opportunity to pull all the spoons out and take a picture. I present my spoon collection: I'll be reorganizing all my flasher-flies and meatrigs next. And then its on to plugs and body baits.

I didn't really figure out the flasher fly bite too well and I'm new to this, but what I noticed was this: I took 17 fish on flasher/flies (11 kings, 4 lakers, 2 coho). 8" spin doctors and paddles - 18" - 22" leaders worked better when travelling 2.5 - 3.3 mph - 22" - 28" leaders worked better when travelling 2.0 - 2.5 mph 11" Paddles (Never did 'well' on these but did pick up some fish) - 54" leaders got hits when travelling 2.0 - 2.5 mph - Didn't get hits on 36" leads, but I didn't run these that much

I know some guys will take a morning in the tree stand over a fishing trip - but I suppose I'm the opposite, in that I'd rather spend a morning on the pier (or boat if the weather permits). Speaking of piers... any good whitefish action yet?

Lake calmed down over Saturday night enough to where I decided to try out fishing in the morning. We got out about 8:30 and didn't get much for the first half hour. Trolling SW when in 130 fow the rods starting popping. Went 3-4 pulling in 2 steelies and 1 laker (released) in the next 10 minutes. Kept going south for another half hour and then turned around and trolled NE. Rods started firing in 130 fow again and we went 1-3 with a steelhead. Another thing we did was run into a bunch of yearling kings - all 6 rods fired... We kept a couple that were not going to make it, but managed to release most of them. Also picked up a 15" king and a 15" coho. The wind had kicked up when we got out there, and after the two passes it was rough enough we decided to go home. What worked... Good time for a last??? outing. We'll see how the weather cooperates.

It was a good trip - with 1 fish here and there, but I suppose I want to do better every time I go out!

I experimented with the 8" spin doctors & flies today travelling from 3.5 - 4 mph and confirmed my suspicions that a shorter leader would provide a bit more action. 14" to 16" leaders provided good action to the fly. I didn't run any while fishing though so I'm not sure if the fish would agree with me! If there are a few kings around that I know of I'll try running a couple with the shorter leads and see what they pick up.

Slow fishing Saturday am, but we managed to end up 6-6 on the day. Couldn't find any sort of pattern and we fished from 100 to 250 fow starting with a variety of spoon types/patterns in the morning, and switching over to all superslims (SS) around 9:30 am. No consistent troll direction as we picked up fish going west, east, northeast, and south. There was also very little cold water in the area and we found 59 degree water on the surface - and 57 degree water down 150 feet. What worked: Steelhead - 400 copper, w troll @ 3 mph, 160 fow, mag blue dolphin streak Lake Trout - 100 copper, w troll @ 3.8 mph, 180 fow, Steelie Dan SS Lake Trout - Rigger @ 130 ft, e troll @ 3.8 mph, 235 fow, Raspberry Dolphin SS Steelhead - 400 copper, ne troll @ 3.8 mph, 225 fow, Blue Whale SS Brown Trout - Rigger @ 105 ft, ne troll @ 3.8 mph, 220 fow, Green Dolphin SS King - Rigger @ 70 ft, s troll @ 4.0 mph, 160 fow, Raspberry Dolphin Just needed a coho to complete a "grand slam". The two steelhead were pretty big and strong - and the king fought really well too. We'll have to see if the wind and waves bring a thermocline back before the lake temps drop too much.

I understand that the fish may be deeper, but my last 3 trips most of the fish I found were in the warmer water. Actually most were in 60 degree water and only up to 50 ft down. I suppose the best way learn where they are is to go fishing!

I'll be fishing throughout the fall on Lake Michigan - weather permitting, but I noticed that the water surface temps have decreased to 58 degrees already in the Holland area, and I expect they will decrease to the mid to low 50's in a week or so. Where would I start looking for steelies and salmon? Out in 200+ fow or right on the beach (probably steelies only)? Any tips? I typically spread my baits where I think the productive water might be, so in the colder water I'd be running mono lines near the surface, but also running long coppers and deep riggers.

My observations from this summer: Spoons/Lures: After the morning bite slows down, speeding up with superslim spoons run in the 3.6 - 4 mph range (probe) has really helped put several more fish in the box, and has saved a few fishing trips from ending up with very few fish. Superslims work great at high speeds but what about other spoons? I've tried a variety of other spoons in the 3.6 to 4 mph range, but not had any luck. however, I have gotten BLL, Silverstreak & Moonshine lures to be productive up to 3.4 mph or so. I've occasionally run a flasher-fly or a meat rig fast, and had luck on the meat rig, but nothing on flasher-fly combos. I did check on my last trip and noticed that at fast speed the spin doctor rotation really tightens up (smaller circles). I also noticed that in order to get the right action on a fly, the leader would have to be shorter than normal. Next time out I'll try running a few shorter leader lengths to the fly and report my results. Based on what I saw a 14" to 18" leader might be about right. 22" or longer and the fly was just dragging along. Colors: Orange has not worked well near up high since the water warmed above 60 degrees. I still would run at least 1 orange lure though. Greens & Yellows / Mixed Veggies / Jager Bomb up high, with greens & blues mid range & longer leadcores & up to 300 copper. Blues, purples, & black lures on the riggers deeper than 60 feet & on 300 to 400 coppers. LEMON ICE - Killer spoon this year on sunny days on a 100, 150, & 200 copper - best luck on the 200 copper. Also occasionally worked on riggers - mostly down deep (but I never really ran it up high on the rigger). RASPBERRY DOLPHIN - Took a fish almost every trip I put it out. Riggers deeper than 70 feet. Species: Steelies are the most common, but when I was around kings & coho I would get them too. Possibly my biggest king this year came on a raspberry dolphin superslim down 90 on the rigger in 180 fow. Also surprisingly to me many of the lakers I got this year came on the fast program. Most of the salmon came on the riggers or 300 & 400 coppers. Delivery Method: COPPER & LEADCORE: 100, 150, 200, 300, & 400 copper were almost always out there. 3 color (water below 60 degrees) 5 color, 7 color, 10 color Riggers run deep - 65 feet down or deeper - remember at fast speeds there is a decent amount of blowback. Picked up a few fish running the balls down 110-140 feet (who knows how deep they actually got), but the best combo was 1 at 85 ft & 1 @95 feet. Free & fixed sliders also took multiple fish. Divers tended to pull too hard, but I did catch a few fish while running the regular size slide divers. Trolling Direction / Plan: If I started the morning in 70-100 fow, I would pull lines and run out to 180 fow and setup out there. If I started the morning in 100-140 fow, I would just keep travelling out on my best troll direction of the morning. I picked up several fish between 140 & 200, but the best fishing was often out past 200. If I had 1 bite here and there I would keep going. If I had a few bites nearby I would circle around after about 10 minutes without a bite and troll right back through where I got the fish. Best troll direction if I got on top of the fish - any direction. When looking for fish, the best direction was NW or SW. Well, I hope this helps some people out - I know this website has helped me out tremendously. Tight lines everybody. -jdh

Jacket retrieved.

I left my jacket hanging in the station about 12:30 today - at the DNR launch. Jacket has been retrieved. Can this post be removed? -JD

I did decent last October fall fishing out of Holland and Grand Haven. There was still a thermocline last fall though. If you were thinking about heading out soon, I did get several steelhead a week or ago off of Holland in 200-250 fow. Most of those fish were in the top 50 fow.

See my report in the Lake Michigan section: http://www.greatlakesfisherman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36980

I haven't. But I do have some in my pike fishing box. I'll try it. I gave up on the salmon this past Sunday am and managed 5 steelies and 1 coho going 3.6 mph. Most of the steelies were caught in 65 degree water too.

I can't make it next weekend. Going to hopefully be pulling up a few coho out of Platte Bay.

Gave up on the kings after about 2 hours. Went deep and ran superslims and some plugs. 5-5 on steel. 1 coho. 4 snall kings. 16" laker (released). Purple & black SS spoons down deep. Yellow/chartreuse colors up high. Also had a Lyman plug (black/yellow) go 20' down on the rigger while setting a slider. 200 cu, 7 color, rigger @ 20', rigger @ 70 ft, rigger @ 20, 400 copper, 7 color w/ 8 oz torpedo weight back an additional 100 ft or so behind the board., 3.5-4.0 mph at the ball. NW / SE troll was best. 210-250 fow straight out to a little north of Holland.. Overall managed a good morning even though the big kings were uncooperative. -JDH

A double trip quickly turns into a very long day! I got up around 3 am and got home around 1 am. Needless to say, I was a little tired all day yesterday. As long as i'm out there, I might as well put both trips in though. I kept the speed down this time Bob. I've been running 2.2-2.4 lately. I'll wait for the water to cool down in October - then you'll be seeing me running 4+ mph looking for steel or whatever else wants to bite!

Made a double trip of the day going out in the morning, and again in the evening. We found the fish very eager to bite in the am. The evening turned out quite poor comparably. AM Trip: 10-12 We started setting lines in 80 fow slightly south of of the pier heads and began swinging between a SW/W/NW troll pattern. We got our first fish in 100 fow around 6:30. 2nd in 110. Missed one in 125. 3rd, 4th, and 5th came in 130. Turned north in 160 and we quickly got the 6th, 7th, and 8th fish and another miss. Made a turn in and turned back west in 125 fow. Slow until we got our 9th fish in 180 fow. Turned back east and picked up our tenth in 160 feet on. Overall we had 6 kings, 2 coho's, 1 steelie, and 1 laker. We let the smallest king go (3-4 lbs?) and the laker go as he looked under 20 inches. What worked: 2-3. Rigger @ 65 ft -standard size flounder pounder 1-1. Rigger @ 90 ft - mag double trouble 1-1. 200 Copper - mag orange flounder 2-2. Mag Diver back 165 - kevorkian spin doctor & white fly 2-2. Mag Diver back 150 - 10" chrome frog SD w/ meat rig whole alewife 0-1. Standard Diver back 250 (on 3.5) - BW blue dot UV meat w/ herring strip 1-1. Rigger @ 110 ft - mag orange carbon 1-1. Rigger @ 65 ft - lemonberry mini-streak PM Trip: 1-4 Couldn't get anything going. Tried Deep/Shallow/Fast/Slow/N/S/E/W. What got hit: 0-1 Rigger @ 100 ft - Blue Bubble SD 0-1 Mag Diver back 150 - 10" chrome frog SD w/ meat rig whole alewife 0-1 Mag Diver back 165 - kevorkian spin doctor & white fly 1-1 Rigger 65 feet - standard size flounder pounder Overall a great day. The big ones should be showing up near the pierheads soonish right? Tight lines everybody.

Great tip Chasin! I'll give it a shot sometime. I've been fishing slow with meat lately, but if I fish for steelies and next years salmon later this fall, I'll probably be speeding things up again.

King Possible is in.

Fished Saturday & Sunday mornings and then Thursday evening south of Holland. Went 6-6, 6-7, and 4-9 respectively. Sunday was all big fish. Meat rigs. Flasher flies. Mag Divers on 1/2. 125 - 150 back early. 150-225 back after the sun was up. 100-140 back Thursday evening. All had glow something. Most had green on the flasher. 10" spin doctors. Meat rigs in UV & glow. White flies with some blue. 80-140 fow every trip. 2.3 speed at the ball. WNW/NW & SE/S troll direction.

If you have decent reels now, but they are older and the drags are worn, you can replace the drag washers. Sounds like a lot of people like the drags Tuna Tom's carries. You can find their store online.