Ludington August 1 thru 9

[anthonyyost]

Spent the week on my boat at the Ludington City Marina from Saturday the

1st thru Sunday the 9th. Weather was rough all week, but got a little fishing in.

Saturday, 8/1

Too windy, no fishing

Sunday 8/2

Got out in the afternoon and caught 1 steelhead before the water turned to 6-8 footers. Took me 2 hours from the point back to the harbor

Monday 8/3

Too windy, no fishing. Sharpened hooks.

Tuesday 8/4 a.m.

Went out by myself in the a.m. and caught 4 kings. Landed my first double by myself. Yeck Holographic Lemon Ice Magnum took 3, Lemon Ice Spin Doctor with Lemon Ice Pulse fly off wire line took #4

Tuesday 8/4 p.m.

Some friends came over and we fished north for the evening, caught 6 with the largest being 19#

Wed. 8/5 p.m.

Uncle came up from Battle Creek, took a couple of hits on cut bait rigs but they came unbuttoned.

Thursday 8/6 midday

My dad and uncle and I went straight out to 250 fow and fished back and forth at this depth and landed 4 steelhead and 3 kings, the largest being 16#

Again the lemon ice was the best performer

Friday 8/7

My brother came up from Grand Rapids, we didn't get out until about 7 am and by the time we got set up the wind and waves got the better of us so we came back in and went out after lunch when the wind died down, got about an hour in when the wind came back up and sent us back, no fish

Saturday 8/8 evening

Thunderstormed all morning, settled down in the afternoon, I was by myself and the guy in the slip next to me invited me out with him. We fished from about 2 p.m. until after dark when the lightning drove us in, and we boated 6 kings.

Sunday 8/9

Thunderstorms again, too windy to fish so I packed up and came back home

Other than the weather, good fishin when I could get out. Seem to be getting some hard hits at the lures. Lost 6 dipsey setups due to breaking when the fish hit.

[j1musser]

Sounds like a fun week! 6 dipsy rigs is getting spedny, were they on braid or wire? Thanks for the report. Sounds like a great time in a gorgeous place! TY for the report.

[Boltman]

Tony saw you on dry land hauling your boat back to Evart, passed you on the way, we we're in a White FORD dually 4 door...actually passed you twice too... Glad you had some good fishing great job out there, we hit a 19 pound king Saturday night before the storm hit as well and one on Friday about 5 lb's

[Adam Bomb]

Thanks for the excellent report Anthony. I may be over this week and if not, definitely next week.

What are you running on the divers that theyre breaking? I agree with Nee-Hi, 6 divers is allot to break off! You definitely left a good chunk of $$$ out in the lake. We need to get that rectified...I believe in getting more new gear, but not because of this!!!

[anthonyyost]

Everything was on wire divers, but the 30# mono that I use to rig the spin doctors is what was breaking, I don't know if it is because I am using the mag dipseys on 3, 200 back or what. I lost two meat rigs, flasher teasers and hook assembly as well, not sure what pound mono they use on those.

I saw you passing me Robert, saw the Sea Ray logo's in your back window, I could use a couple of those:)

[j1musser]

Everything was on wire divers, but the 30# mono that I use to rig the spin doctors is what was breaking, I don't know if it is because I am using the mag dipseys on 3, 200 back or what. I lost two meat rigs, flasher teasers and hook assembly as well, not sure what pound mono they use on those.

I saw you passing me Robert, saw the Sea Ray logo's in your back window, I could use a couple of those:)

Do you use snubbers, and if so what length/ and brand?

[anthonyyost]

On the back side I use an 8" green snubber that I think is made by the same company as the diver, on my Spin Doctors and flashers I attach a 2' length of 30# mono with a swivel to attach to the dipsey and a snap swivel to the rig. I use whatever line is on the fly that I purchase to attach to the attractor.

I attach the front of the dipsey direct to the 19 strand wire via a snap swivel.

[Adam Bomb]

Id lengthen that lead out between the dipsey and flasher to at least 6' and go longer if you can, but dont exceed the rod length or any room limitations created by the boat(looks like a big boat, so shouldnt be an issue). I run mine close to 8' and ive found that theyre more productive that way...Although you obviously got plenty of hits. Im thinking that short length of mono line, even with the snubber just doesnt have enough stretch and cant take the impact those big fish are dishing out. The other thing i would suggest is go to leader matrerial. Its allot more shock resistant and really abrasion resistant. The line is actually quite hard. I run a Dreamweaver snubber and 40# fluoro leader material between my dipsey and flasher and then on my flies i have 60# leader material to help prevent a bite off(learned that the hard way too!). And last but not least, were your drags super tight? I like to keep mine just tight enough that they dont pay out line. And that usually equates to a little slip when a fish hits initially, but not so much that the hook isnt driven home. I had mono leaders early on in my career and broke like three fish off in a row on the strike. Since then i beefed up and changed line styles. And knock on wood, i havent had any problems.

[anthonyyost]

I run the drags just loose enough both on the wire lines and my planer boards so that when a fish hits, it will pull line and I can hear the clicker start to squeal, then I palm the reel to set the hook then adjust the drag to a setting that is appropriate to the fish.

[GLF]

I run the drags just loose enough both on the wire lines and my planer boards so that when a fish hits, it will pull line and I can hear the clicker start to squeal, then I palm the reel to set the hook then adjust the drag to a setting that is appropriate to the fish.

Is this when you are breaking off?

You should not have to set the hook. The force of the dipsey going off should be enough to drive the hook home.

[j1musser]

I have seen and learned that loosening the drag a touch before pulling the rod out of the holder has helped me out also. I agree with Adam too that the longer leads seem to help. I am limited due to small boat. But as Adam said its sounds like yours were gettin hammered. Some big fish out there this year;) Just trying to help. 6 dipsy combos is crazy expensive. TY for the report.