Aaron Nusbaum

Looks like we hit it 12 hours too late. We went out this morning and bailed at about 8 am with nothing because the waves were 2 feet higher than the NOAA forecasted and we couldn't find anything inside of 50 feet Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Great Lakes Fisherman Mobile App

That's 7, it's tough to see in that picture but his back and belly were really wide Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Great Lakes Fisherman Mobile App

Laser straight in front of port Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Great Lakes Fisherman Mobile App

The trip didn't get off to a good start, before first light it was too foggy to get out and when we did make it out the 3 foot swells kept us shallow. We trolled from 6 to 10 am in 50 to 80 ft and went 2 for 2 with a 1 lb jack king and a 7 lb coho. I couldn't believe how much bait we were marking in that range. Both hits came right around 70 ft of water. Here's what took the hits: 1-1 black and white j-plug on 5 color lead core 1-1 Mandarin orange glow pro king spoon on a #1 dipsy w/ring 90 ft back set on 1 Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Great Lakes Fisherman Mobile App

My dad and I have been committing more time lately to hitting bait schools in close when we mark them. We've noticed they almost always hold fish but the drawback seems to be they're almost all jacks and steelhead, although two weekends ago we did lose an absolute shark in 45 ft. As for browns they're kind of a needle in the haystack this time of year. Our DNR hasn't planted lake run browns south of Ludington in years (they finally did a small plant this spring in GH) so if you get one it's really going out of its way, plus the strain we plant, wild rose, are very fragile and don't adapt well to open water so the returns usually aren't that good. Wisconsin plants Seeforellen strain which are more hardy and built for open water which is part of why you see more and bigger browns over there. Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Great Lakes Fisherman Mobile App

We dropped lines at 5:45 and fished till about 10, ending up 2 for 6. We started in 60 ft when we saw some impressive bait balls and right away got back to back hookups, losing one and landing a 9# steelhead. After the sun got up we went out to 150 ft and had four straight hits, we lost a nice coho right behind the boat, had two just hit short, and landed a 9# laker. Definitely a bit of a tease considering how many whiffs we had. Here's what took the hits: 0-1 moonshine flounder pounder behind a size 1 dipsy with a ring set on #2 60 ft out 1-1 moonshine blue flounder on 150 copper 0-2 mixed veggies spindoctor with a SpongeBob meat rig on 300 copper 0-1 salmon candy hulk uv fish blade with a black spotted meat rig 75 ft down on a downrigger 1-1 8" blue dolphin flasher with a blue dolphin fly on 400 copper Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Great Lakes Fisherman Mobile App

I wish we went with our gut and stayed shallow, we probably killed a solid two hours by moving out Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Great Lakes Fisherman Mobile App

We dropped lines at about 5:30 and trolled till 10 and ended up 2 for 5. We started in 40 feet and right away got a 3# and 4# king back to back. As it got light we moved out a ways with no luck then went back in and got three straight hard hits in about 50 feet but they all got off. Here's what took the hits: 3 - moonshine blue flounder behind a #1 dipsy with a ring 70 ft back 1 - warrior psycho perch on 5 color lead 1 - Dreamweaver chilly willy on 150 copper Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Great Lakes Fisherman Mobile App

We trolled from 6 to 10 am. I thought maybe this turnover would fire things up but it didn't seem to have much of an effect. We dropped lines at 65 ft because we saw some enticing marks but after one pass with no takers they went away so we went out and bounced between 110 and 155 ft. We ended up 1-2 with an 8# coho and something big that didn't stay on for long. We also got a shaker throwback king. Here's what took the hits 0-1 mixed veggies spindoctor with a SpongeBob meat rig on 300 copper in 155 ft 1-1 Michigan stinger blue dolphin flasher with a blue dolphin fly on 400 copper in 115 ft Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Great Lakes Fisherman Mobile App

It's good to see those marks can be cracked. My dad and I for three straight trips have been seeing those marks in the 120's and 130's but could buy a hit despite throwing the kitchen sink at them Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Great Lakes Fisherman Mobile App

They were plants, both had the fin clipped Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Great Lakes Fisherman Mobile App

We trolled from 7:30 to 11, the fog kept us from getting out earlier. We started at 100 ft, went out to 180, but spent most of our time in the 150's. We ended up 3 for 3 with a 4# steelhead, 19# king, and a 5# laker. All the fish came right around 153 ft. Here's what took the hits: 2 - mixed veggies spindoctor with a SpongeBob meat rig on 300 copper (steelhead and king) 1 - blue veggies spindoctor with a chartreuse bloody nose fly on a downrigger 105 ft down (laker) Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Great Lakes Fisherman Mobile App

No my dad and I just go out in his small boat Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Great Lakes Fisherman Mobile App

For this year's maiden voyage trolled from 8 am to noon. We started in 35 ft then made our way out to 65 ft after no action in close. We went 2 for 2 with an 18# and 14# king both around 60 ft of water just north of port. Here's what took the hits: 14# king - warrior magnum neon perch spoon behind a #1 dipsy 65 ft back w/ ring on #2 setting 18# king - Michigan stinger jordo stingray spoon behind a #1 dipsy 60 ft back w/ ring on #2 setting Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Great Lakes Fisherman Mobile App

2022 was the last king plant in Holland. I can't post screenshots here but I was the one who asked about Holland in the comment section when the planting increase was announced and Jay Wesley, the lake Michigan coordinator, replied saying they aren't planting Holland anymore. His excuse was that they plant so many walleye and musky in lake Mac they'd just eat the king smolts. When I asked him why they plant so many walleye there he went on to explain how they hold there and they prioritize native plants. That annoys me because last time I checked nobody flocks to our ports for walleye, but they will for kings. Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Great Lakes Fisherman Mobile App

Looks like I was 100 ft too deep today, we trolled 130-140 all morning and couldn't shake anything loose despite decent marks Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Great Lakes Fisherman Mobile App

In my years fishing Holland I've found that's the norm. I suspect it's because we don't have a big outflow like GH that concentrates bait because the spring kings are always a lot more scattered off Holland Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Great Lakes Fisherman Mobile App

We trolled from 6 to about 10 am from 100 to 170 ft, spending most of our time around 130. There seemed to be a fierce current out of the north on top of the waves. We got one 8# king on a blue mixed veggies magnum 55ft down on a downrigger in 135 ft. Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Great Lakes Fisherman Mobile App

We trolled south of Holland from 7 to about 11 am in 40 to 60 feet. We ended up 1 for 3 with a 5# king. The first two hits came around 45 feet and the last one came at 60. Here's what took the hits: 0-1 dipsey diver 85 ft back on #3 with a Moonshine rv blue flounder 0-1 dipsey diver 75 ft back on #3 with a mixed veggies spoon 1-1 5 color lead core with a salmon candy toasted wonder magnum Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Great Lakes Fisherman Mobile App

I've been screaming from the mountain top that Ludington shouldn't be getting planted. They're almost ten years removed from a plant and their natural run is bigger than any planted run yet I see they wanna put 100,000+ in the big sable every year instead of further south where they're needed. Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Great Lakes Fisherman Mobile App

There's a decent population but they're super hard to catch. Aside from fall and spring when they feed in the harbor they're pretty lethargic. My dad and I see tons of guys slow trolling the drop offs in the summer and they few guys I hear from say you'll pick some up but you'll also be dealing with catfish and sheephead left and right Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Great Lakes Fisherman Mobile App

The reason I heard was because they planted so many walleye and musky they determined they'd just eat through most of the smolts before they make it to the lake. I try not to dump on our DNR but if that's the case then they effectively ruined a great local fishery Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Great Lakes Fisherman Mobile App