season opener - HOLLAND 9/8/2022

[2MD]

6 for 8 off Holland this morning

You ought to be able to tell from the photos where we were smoking em!

Sad truth is we did poorly out in that 50-70 at sunrise and the crew was pretty much despaired and giving up and then Mid-morning I trolled us straight in and right there heading in we had 3 go off almost instantly

Some nice big fillets!

Size3 and size4 plugs mainly

Although 12” flasher took the biggest

They were pissed off and fought great!

Dead calm beautiful morning and noboddy around us…

 

 

 

[Aaron Nusbaum]

Awesome to see Holland get a good harbor run, that brings me back to my childhood in the 2000's hay day. Can I ask how long of leaders you run on your downriggers in that close? I've been meaning to get back into channel trolling and I've heard some people say I need mile long leaders to get away from the boat and some say I need short leaders to prevent tangles

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[jdh]

Cool!  Thanks for the report.  Channel looked pretty empty.  We'll see how long it stays that way!

I'm planning a trip this afternoon and not sure where to look.  Thinking out deep or sticking to the channel.

[2MD]

my son was nice enough to track and type out our setup that worked:

 

#1 Wonderbread size 3 plug – 5 color

#2 Standard size Rv Flounder pounder – rigger

#3 Scaly Golden size three plug – rigger

#4 12 inch Purple Fishscale paddle with Honey Phil Phil fly – diver

#5 Chrome Redhead size three plug – diver

#6 Chrome redhead size 4 plug – 5 color

#7 Scaly Green size three plug – rigger

#8 Scaly Golden size three plug – rigger

 

...and Aaron he apparently knows you and was gonna just message or call you about leader length... decent but not extreme I'd say... definitely use 40-50# mono because they take a beating 

 

 

 

[SeaFoam]

1 hour ago, 2MD said:

6 for 8 off Holland this morning

You ought to be able to tell from the photos where we were smoking em!

Sad truth is we did poorly out in that 50-70 at sunrise and the crew was pretty much despaired and giving up and then Mid-morning I trolled us straight in and right there heading in we had 3 go off almost instantly

Some nice big fillets!

Size3 and size4 plugs mainly

Although 12” flasher took the biggest

They were pissed off and fought great!

Dead calm beautiful morning and noboddy around us…

 

 

 

 

1 minute ago, 2MD said:

my son was nice enough to track and type out our setup that worked:

 

#1 Wonderbread size 3 plug – 5 color

#2 Standard size Rv Flounder pounder – rigger

#3 Scaly Golden size three plug – rigger

#4 12 inch Purple Fishscale paddle with Honey Phil Phil fly – diver

#5 Chrome Redhead size three plug – diver

#6 Chrome redhead size 4 plug – 5 color

#7 Scaly Green size three plug – rigger

#8 Scaly Golden size three plug – rigger

 

...and Aaron he apparently knows you and was gonna just message or call you about leader length... decent but not extreme I'd say... definitely use 40-50# mono because they take a beating 

 

 

 

 

[FBD]

Once again 2md beats me to the punch but all was not lost.  Conned my wife and daughter into heading out last night and it didn't disappoint.

First pass down the channel, got into a bunch of salad so I turned around and started cleaning lines in Mac.  Something heavy on a down rigger.  Hand it over to my daughter, she reels in a 17" largemouth bass on a size 4 wonderbread J plug.  That's a first.

Head back out, get into the lake and a slide diver starts thumping.  Hand that to my daughter and the same rigger just explodes.  We clear traffic and land a small sheep, throw it back, and then land a 14.3# sheep on the rigger.  Fought very hard - thought it was a king.

Head in and just past big red a rigger pops and just sits there arced over a bit.  As I reach for it a king sharks to the top and tears off across the channel.  Somehow there was a gap in traffic as he's now in between the arms on the north side and still going.  I crank the boat around and tell my wife to just reel, pull in the planers, point the boat at the fish and goose the throttle.  The sheriff comes over to see why this dude just crazy Ivan'ed 135 degrees across the channel.  Another boat comes over and passes within 6' of us as I'm motoring, sheriff lights him up and pulls him over.  Somehow we get the fish out from under the boat and not tangled and net it.

Highlight of the night is trolling back past the sheriff and look over and he's got his phone up filming us.  We wave.  He points behind us.  Seven figure mega Sea Ray just hauling through the no wake zone.  Rich boy gets lit up and pulled over.  His crew looked happy.  Boat name "Running Late".  ha ha ha ha 

Last trip down the channel slide diver gets popped and I gun the throttle trying to pull the fish out of traffic and into Mac.  He ain't having it and jumps.  Lead boat in the pack behind us slows down and the other 4-5 do as well to allow us room to play this thing out.  Can't say thanks enough.  Land it by Van Andel's docks and hoist it up to applause from the boats around us.

[SeaFoam]

That’s some real world maneuvering! 

[FBD]

I run ~20' leaders on my slide divers and 40' on my riggers.  Puts all the lures all in about the same line.  Not sure if that helps but in my OCD head it feels right.

Two things to remember, the rocks on the south side of the channel aren't vertical like the channel walls and love to eat gear, and plugs dive so when your rigger is at 14' in 18' of water, your plug could very well be banging into the bottom, and there's all kinds of fun stuff there too.

[2MD]

GREAT fishing tale Kevin from last night and I know it was all true because i was out there witnessing it! Impressive as heck that is all that traffic and chaos you scored some kings! there is nothing quite like fall fishing... I love it, even when I strikeout 

[Aaron Nusbaum]

I run ~20' leaders on my slide divers and 40' on my riggers.  Puts all the lures all in about the same line.  Not sure if that helps but in my OCD head it feels right.
Two things to remember, the rocks on the south side of the channel aren't vertical like the channel walls and love to eat gear, and plugs dive so when your rigger is at 14' in 18' of water, your plug could very well be banging into the bottom, and there's all kinds of fun stuff there too.

Oh I know a thing or two about the snags in there. From 2008 to about 2013 when my dad and I trolled it more we donated basically a tackle box worth to the channel monster

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