Fishing Report June 27th and June 28th

Weather Good? Check! Fishing Still Good? Check! Lake in Transition? YES!!

This sums up last weekends fishing out of Ludington. Captain Mark took Silver Addiction out for a Friday Evening Trip and found the morning information to be less than stellar. Most boats that went North found the fishing tough. Therefore, when in doubt go straight out. Silver Addiction ran out to the 56N & 33W Lines and set up on a SW troll. Current was tough and the temperature was getting colder, so a change in direction was warranted. The NE troll turned out to be the ticket, as the fish were found in 57.30N and the 35W area. SOG was 2.6 and matched at the ball. Saturday proved to be different as the water had really moved. Captain Craig had seen on the Surface Temp Maps that the water had moved out between 48 to 50N and 43 to 44W. As we ran out the temperature proceeded to decrease from 64 on the surface to 39 on the surface. The key was to keep the boat and baits in the 42 to 46 degree surface temperature. The currents of course were ripping with the south troll being the direction of choice. Trolling from the 48's to the 50's with SOG at 3.2 to 3.4 was key to obtain a down speed of 2.6 to 2.8. Friday evenings trip produced 11 bites and 8 fish in 3 hours. Saturdays trip had a longer run time but produced 27 bites and 14 fish in a 6 hour dock to dock trip. Steelhead put on a great show, but the three lakers caught all went double digits. Captain Craig did manage to find a Skamania, which is proof as always, that the temp breaks hold all kinds of great sport fish.

Fishing Report June 21st and June 22nd

While the fishing off Ludington remains GOOD, when it comes to Tournament fishing, that term takes on a whole new meaning. Captain Craig fished with TEAM HAMMBONE, a perennial top contender on the Pro Salmon Tournament Trail and the TV Tournament, Salmon Showdown. They fished in the Budwiser Pro AM out of Manistee this weekend, and therefore, good fishing would mean BIG KINGS and lots of them! On Saturday, Captain Craig worked the deck of the HAMMBONE, fishing in the 11's down to the 9's in 100 to 180 foot of water. While fishing was steady, the HAMMBONE was unable to find the tournament class fish they needed for the first day. On Sunday, they fished from the 13's down to the 10's. However instead of staying on the bank as they did on Saturday, once they reached the 10's they put the HAMMBONE on a WEST Troll all the way out to 500 foot of water. This turned out to be a good choice as they found the tournament caliber of fish in over 400 plus foot of water, where the 375 copper with meat rigs took the fish necessary for the Salmon Showdown. This allowed TEAM HAMMBONE to make a charge up the leader board, but falling short of their ultimate goal. The Program produced 18 and 35 bites respectively each day and they landed 13 & 24 fish. Congratulations to TRAXSTECH and TEAM VERDICT on their win!

The best baits were as follows:

• RIGGERS:  Best spoons were the Moonshine Blue Shorts, Oscar, and DW Bumble Bee all in the standard size. Leads were 30 back with the depths set 40 to 80 down. Free Sliders were very effective with Bumble Bee and a Fixed Slider 10 foot above the deepest rigger with a Moonshine Glow Bloody Nose. Moonshine Oscar was by far the best rigger bait 45 down and 30 back, as this went 8 times. 
• WIRE DIVERS: 
• HIGH DIVERS: Back 240 with the DW Kevin's Girlfriend Spin Doctor and the UV Pickled Mirage Meat Rig. We had no other high diver bites and the Low Divers were MIA all weekend.
• CORES & COPPERS:  The 375 Copper was the best with the DW Kevin's Girlfriend Spin Doctor and the UV Pickled Mirage Meat Rig being the best as it took our biggest fish. All the rest of the baits were the standard size spoons on 50, 100, 150, and 300 coppers. Dreamweaver Starburst, Monkey Shine, DW Green Signature Series and Moonshine Hot Lips took fish respectively. We believe our Cores went on vacation with the Low Divers for the weekend! Stay tuned for an update on their whereabouts! 

Please do not misunderstand this report, as it was taken from a tournament point of view. Fishing in the LUDINGTON Waters remains very good. If you are on a charter trip or a family outing, the action is steady and the numbers good. The fish are very aggressive and put up and excellent fight. Combine this with the fact that they are giving us great table fare, and you have a truely PURE LUDINGTON EXPERIENCE! We have this weekend open if you are looking for a trip to get in on the good action!  Captain Mark

Fishing Report June 18th and 19th

Consistency is a good thing, especially when it is GREAT Weather and Fishing. Although Mother Nature brought storms and rains to the area early in the week, however, on Thursday and Friday, she gave us calm seas and pleasant temps, Captain Craig was scouting for the up coming tournament in Manistee, so he was fishing on Thursday from the 13's to the 15's in 100 to 140 foot of water.  Everyone always says there is no place like home, for Captain Craig, that is  to the 05's down to the 03's, Big Point Sable.  Water temperature was 51 on the surface and 44 degrees 60 foot down in both areas. The direction of troll really didn't matter, but the baits of choice changed from the meat program over to spoons. The Program produced 32 and 22 bites respectively each day and the guests landed 20 & 18 fish. The fish size increased on Friday which is a good sign for the tournament!

The best baits were as follows:

• RIGGERS: Best spoons were the Moonshine Blue Shorts, DW Bumble Bee, Mixed Veggie, and Wrecking Ball all in the standard size. Leads were 30 to 50 back with the depths set 40 to 60 down. Free Sliders were very effective with Bumble Bee and Wrecking Ball, however small fish did pick these out, with the larger ones on the main line. 
• WIRE DRIVERS: High Divers Back 140 with the DW Yellow Sparkler rotator attractor with the Yellow Gasoline  Meat Rig. Chrome Mountain Dew NBK 10 inch DW Spin Doctor with Yellow Gasoline meat rig, along with the Chrome & Green DW rotator & the DW Green Moo Meat Rig. Low Divers back 120 with the DW Frog Racer attractor & the DW Green UV Gasoline Meat Rig, along with the John King Black Mamba attractor and Red Meat Rig. 
• CORES & COPPERS: All baits were the standard size spoons. Cores were 5 & 10 colors Yeck Fire Ball and Moonshine Mace Face producing best. Coppers of 200 & 250, with the DW Mixed Veggie and  The Moonshine Blue Shorts and Mace Face

The Meat bite was not as dominate as it had been in the past. The standard size spoons mentioned above were best by far. You must pay attention to the riggers and cores for draggers.  If a producing rod suddenly goes dead, check it, as a pup may be going for a ride. Try and release these young fish as best you can, as they could be a wall hanger of the future.