Getting real good!

The Strong West winds is bringing the cold water much closer to the shore, maybe even the perch will move in! Large Lakers are getting restless and are biting well. The bluegills are also biting very well in the harbors.

Fall patterns are here...

The fish have moved out to 165 feet of water to start! Most of the action was down 115-150 feet with spoons. Real tiny bait was in their bellies(1 to 3 inches). The Steelhead came on my lead core (10 colors) with a Magnum purple spoon. We took a few Spring Cohos which means there are more to come soon!

Time for Huge Lakers!

It is time again to catch that fish of a lifetime. The huge trout are gathering for the Fall. All of our action has been outside of 140 feet of water, down 85 feet to the bottom. Spoons have been working best, all sizes.

Go South for best action

The bait has moved South to almost Soldier Field. The S.W. basin from 75 -90 feet of water is where the huge bait balls are! Spoons and flies down 55 to the bottom are taking next years Kings and some trout. The kings are in the harbors, but not really biting because the water is too warm.

The Kings have finally arrived

The Kings are inside and outside all the harbors and are hitting Thundersticks. Trolling J-plugs works best for boat fishing. Some catfish have been taken inside of the harbor(5 pound Channel Cats) . The majority of the fish are staying between 75-90 feet of water, depending on where the bait has moved. The bait in their stomachs is small(3 inches) so tiny spoons are taking the lead on strikes! The rain tomorrow should bring in more fish. The cohos have also begun arriving along the shore!

Consistent Winds equal consistent catches!

The fish are between 75-85 feet of water, down 55 feet to 85 feet( deeper than 80 feet) Spoons of all sizes are working best fished back 60 feet!
Blue patterns when the sun is out are most productive. Find the baitfish and level out at that depth.

Next years Kings

80-90 feet of water seems to be holding most of the fish, down 60-the bottom with spoons is working best. Magnum spoons trolled fast is best for these kings. The small spoons should also be mixed up in the spread to maximize the catch. The spawners are not showing up
outside the harbors yet, but should any day.

Go deep!

The salmon are starting to collect in deeper water, 80-120 feet, down near the bottom. Spoons are taking most of the fish, both magnums and regular sizes. Blue dolphin patterns are the best when the sun is out, but monkey puke during low light conditions.

Westerly Winds Finally!

The winds from the West have concentrated the bait and predators from 75 feet to 90 feet of water. The best action is on spoons of all sizes, down 60 feet to the bottom. Blue spoons were working best yesterday with the sun out, but as it sets the darker patterns stated to emerge as winners. Find the bait...find the salmon! Huge Lakers were near the bottom and the Kings(not the spawners) were 60 to 75 feet down. The spawning Kings are still lost because our water is still too warm by the shore, but that should change today.

Brown Trout Frenzy!

The fish have moved shallower in the past few days(55-65 feet of water). The kings were not with the program, but the browns were going crazy! Dodgers and flies were the key, but spoons also will work. Plastic dodgers have been outproducing the medal ones. The Kings are out deeper, but still not gathering as they will in a few days. This stable wind/weather will do the trick! There are some kings outside the harbor in the mornings.

Go Deep!

The fish have followed the cold water out and down to 100 feet, down at least 80 feet. The best action is 100 to 120 feet of water, down 80 feet to the bottom with dodgers and flies.

Fat Cohos!

The Kings were down deeper(50-70 feet), but I like to eat and catch Cohos! This means going out beyond 100 feet, but fishing the 30-40 foot down range. Big orange dodgers with green flies works well! Find one and there will be blood on your deck if you focus on these tasty fish, they never like to be alone.

Grand Slam!!

We caught all five species this morning! After the big North blow on Sunday the water was lime green all the way out to the 70 foot range. This pushed our fish out deeper, to beyond 80 feet. Spoons down 40 -75 were taking most of our fish, but as you get out to 125 to 140 foot, the action came shallower(top 30 feet). This pulled the perch out to 65 feet of water also.

Skamania Mania!

The big storm the other day sucked in the cold water into 40 feet of water! Half way down the temperature is 49 degrees! The bait and the salmon are hanging out together and the bait is losing. The Summer run Stealhead are also in there chowing down making them easy prey. Orange spoons are working the best for the Skamanias.

Alaska or Chicago?

The bait is still in 40-45 feet of water, so the salmon need to go there to eat. During flat or sunny conditions they move out to deeper water(60-130 feet). The trick is ti keep moving out until the insanity begins and then turn to stay in that level as long as possible. Spoons are still working, both small and magnums. Play around with colors and sizes as well as depths until a pattern develops.

Guess who won the battle...

The fish are biting outside of 80 feet, best action 90-110 feet down 40-65 feet with spoons. My lead core lines are
working well as well as the dipsy divers. Purple spoons during cloudy conditions is a sure bet.

Better have a strong rotorary cuff!

The kings are really starting to tear up my guys! Spoons from Dream Weaver super-slims to magnums down 40-65 are working best, but don't forget your lead-core!
Water depth from 70-130 depending on conditions (clouds).

Huge Kings!

Joline and Crew caught all they could handle today. Most of the action was outside of 70 feet of water, but focus on 90-120 for most of the action. Spoons down 40-64 were working best.

King frenzy!

In the morning the salmon are shallow(65-72 feet), but as the sun comes up they move out. Spoons of the dream weaver super slim are working best today, but that changes every day!

Too Big to Hold up!!!

During the day the fish were mostly out 67 feet and beyond, down 40-70 feet. As the sun comes up they will go out deeper to 106 or so, but do not stay if the action slows down because they will travel into 40-45 feet of water during the night to feed, even though the water is warm! They have to eat! Spoons down 40 feet with orange are working best when the sun is out, but purple and dark colors work with low light conditions

Middle of the day bite!

Most of our action was 80-100 feet of water down 40-70 feet with spoons. Orange was hot when the sun was out. Magnum spoons are starting to work well!

Crazy Weather year!

The salmon are moving because the wind shifted, but 65-75 feet is a good starting place. Move around up to 100 and back to 60 feet until a school is found and then work it!

Happy Aniversary and Birth Day!

We dodged the Mac race while catching fish in 90-105 feet of water. Cloudy conditions made the fishing fantastic! Spoons were working best. but "monkey puke" was producing down 40 and the leads were on fire with the same lures. Fish are in up to 60 feet of water, but the better action is outside of 75 feet.

20 pound King!

The afternoon was different then the morning. We started out deep(80-100 feet) but as the sun set the fish moved in, the steelheads and browns were in 35-45 feet of water, which resulted in a Grand Slam! All 5 species were taken!

Great sunrise and awesome fishing!

The fish were out in 80-100 feet in the morning, down 45 to 60 on the riggers. Spoons were doing best, especially the magnum ones!

Big Fish!

The bait is in 30-45 feet of water, but during the day the fish were out in55-65 feet of water. Spoons are doing well, but spin doctors on dipsy divers is turning on! Tomorrow the salmon will be in 30-45 feet because of the upwelling of cold water to the shore. Colder water is closer to the shore!

My backyard...

What a storm! Just got in from the lake. The Kings are loaded in 65-75 feet of water! Spoons are working best down 50-65 feet. Dark day, dark spoon: purple...

The Guys from Henry's Sports!

We caught most of our fish on the lead core in 70 -75 feet of water. The purple spoons were working best because of the clouds. Down 45 to 60 worked best. The storm was just a bonus!

Even little guys can pull in a hog!

This King was out in 100 feet of water down 50 feet. He hit a big silver dodger with a white fly. The fish were down 40-55 mostly as far as action goes. Orange crush spoons during sunny days is always a winner!

Great Catch!

She fought this 17 pounder on a lead core with 12 colors out with an Orange Crush spoon. She fought it for 20 minutes! In the am they were in 65-75 feet of water, but in the afternoon they moved out to 90-100 feet. Down 50-60 with spoons worked best.

Four species again, but with a Brown Trout...

The Waukegon armada from the tournament finally left our waters. The boat that won the contest caught his fish due East of Montrose Harbor! Today the fish started shallow(42-45 feet) of water, but the best results came as yesterday in70 feet. 50 feet down with spoons worked best. The lead lines also were productive (10 core).

Four species again!

Best action was in 70-75 feet of water, down 40-50 with spoons.

The West wind is good!

The winds have brought tons of bait and with them gamefish! Even the boats from Waukegon and North point are fishing in front of Chicago. The best action today was in 65-75 feet of water down 35-45 with big red dodgers and green flies, fished way back.

Perch are also huge and willing to bite, come early!

Four species!

The fish were anywhere from 45 feet to 105 today! The bait was balled up in 45-50 feet , but that bite was early. The water out deeper produced more fish. Spoons down40-50 were working and dodgers and flies down 40 -50 were also taking fish. Find the bait and work that area.

Looking for up to 3 people for Saturday...

Saturday afternoon could use 3 guys ($110/head)

18 pound King!

There have been a huge amount of kings near the 50 foot range! The best fishing of the Summer is here.


I have Saturday afternoon open.
6 people 5 hours, $650

Good thing the clouds were not bitting!

The bigger the storm... the bigger the bite.

Monster KINGS!

There are a ton of huge kings in 50-80 feet of water, depending on light conditions and wave height. Spoons down 50 were working best, but don't put away the big dodgers. Lead lines were also taking nice fish. One steelhead and brown were taken, but our lake trout got away at the boat!

Perch are everywhere and huge!

Strike while the iron is hot!

So if you were waiting for great weather and fishing, here it comes. The fishing/catching has totally changed since last week. There are silver fish and tons of bait from 40-70 feet of water and they are very willing to bite! Find the bait, find the fish. Spoons down 35-45 are working the best, but don't forget the lead lines.

Perch fishing is fantastic, but don't forget the season is closed in July, so time to book your perch charter now. $650 for 6 guys including the fish cleaning.

What a storm!

Yesterday the fish were out in 70-100 feet of water, but today I went back and only took a few lakers when all hell broke loose! Huge waves and wind from the West sucked cold water into the shore (53 degrees) which also brought in a ton of bait and along with the bait came big cohos and browns! The fish are in 40 feet of water!


The perch are on fire! Limit catches for all that try.

JUMBO PERCH FRENZY!

The perch action is awesome! Some real JUMBOS are coming in like this 1.8 pounder!
Perch charters are $650 for 6 people for 5 hours, including the fish-cleaning.

Best fishing so far this year!

The best action has been out in 90-110 feet of water. Big dodgers and flies down 70 to the bottom are taking most of the fish, but do not forget to run your 3, 4 and 8 core with spoons for some real Monsters!

Spring fishing with a big bonus!

The fishing is off the hook! Every time you think that just the cohos will be hitting, the monsters show up to make the day!
Early and late the place to start is 45 feet near humps and work out to 80-110 for the lakers and others. All the usual stuff works, but down 65- the bottom for the lakers.

The fish on the right is an 8 lb coho!

Coho frenzy!

One day the spring coho fishing is "Fall Laker fishing", the next day the cohos are back. 90 feet of water seems to be the best, down 70-90 feet and the surface are where the fish are. All the usual stuff is working.
Perch are starting to appear!

Spring Coho fishing?

So in the morning out in 110 feet of water we loaded up on cohos, but the afternoon was different! The lakers were hitting spoons down 70-90 feet down. The fish are out at least 80 foot of water to 115.

Huge Browns!

The cohos were active, but by putting some spoons out in the spread increases your chances of a more mixed bag. The cohos love small flies with red dodgers! Yellow birds and dipsy divers are taking the majority of the coho salmon.

Got perch?

The perch are here, but the winds from the North and East have shut them down. Our salmon have come back real shallow, 20-30 feet of water! Find the bait, find the fish.

Pay attention to details for limit catches!

I just woke up in Montrose Harbor, (Yes, on my boat!) I am going out again this afternoon, but yesterday was red hot! THe salmon are munching on the massive schools of bait that are starting at 47 degree water(40 feet). Limit catches are the norm if you pay attention to details! One detail is speed! play around with around 2 knots(S.O.G.) and zig-zag to find out if they want it faster or slower. If the outside lines on a turn hit, speed up. If your inside birds hit on a turn, slow down.
Best rigger depth depth was 25 feet, but run your spoons back at least 30 feet up to 50 feet!
Small flies are still the deal for the cohos! The perch are close! Real close!
I am putting on my blades and trolling for girls this morning. Wish me luck! Maybe I will catch my limit. L.O.L.!

The fish are following the bait and the bait is relating to horizontal temperature stratifications. We left the harbor with 53 degree water temp. and by the time we were out at the crib-line, the temp. was 46 degrees! The water the fish were relating to was 46, so get to it and run that column of water with spoons and flies. Yellow-birds with 1 oz. of weight, back 50 feet was HOT. Spoons have to match the time of day and cloud conditions! Just because it worked this morning , doesn't mean it will work in the middle of the day. Play around with dark spoons in the am. and cloudy days. Middle of the day orange,... will do best.

I spotted the jumbo perch just outside the crib-line! The JUMBO'S are close!!


Last minute SPECIAL Weekend Rate!
I have an opening this Sunday Morning. 6 people, 5 hours, $550.

Time to go deep...

We passed up the shallow water where there still are some nice fish to go out to the colder water at 70 feet. The surface temp. was 40 and within 3 hours there were 30 nice fish in the box! Surface to 90 feet down on both flies and spoons were working.

Coho Frenzy!

Just like the good old days! We pulled out at 6am and just came back in with our limit for 6 guys!
5 browns and 25 cohos! Time to come fishing guys.

Best coho fishing this year!

We went out for a few hours and took some browns on spoons , but when we got shallower than 18 feet the coho grabbed 7 flies at once!
You need to put out yellowbirds with small weights to catch these coho salmon.

Great weather equal great fishing!

The cohos have come in right behind the bait schools that are filling up the harbors and shores. Limit catches are becoming the norm! Spoons and dodger/flies are working well on the planer boards and down-riggers. Many huge browns are also mixed in with the cohos along with an occasional steehead, king, and lake trout.

Coho Time!

The heavy south east winds have brought a fresh school of cohos to the shoreline. Many huge browns are also coming home with us along with quite a few lakers. The alewives came into the harbor last night so the big ones are not far behind.

Sorry guys, the fish have moved off-shore...

The charter began one mile away from the Wilson Crib and by the time I set 16 lines there were already 16 fish in the box! The browns were coming down 10-14 feet on the riggers and the coho were right on the surface. Spoons were working, but flies seem to take most of the cohos. By the time we got to the "T" marker there were 30 fish in the cooler. mostly cohos, but some real large browns mixed in.

Fish'in Time!

WE went out yesterday for several hours and found the cohos and browns in a few places. Navy Pier is holding a huge amount of fish. The "slush line", just inside of the cribs , is also holding many fish. The surface patterns, dodgers/small flies, and spoons fished down 5 feet, back 40 feet, on the riggers with orange spoons, is working well for cohos, The browns are down 10-18 feet feeding on spoons that resemble Gobies(brown/gold/black). SLOW is the way to go (!.8-2.1 knots, S.O.G)


The shore guys are having a tough time since the water warmed up.

Cohos on the surface!

The cohos are hitting all along the lakefront! Small flies with orange dodgers are working best. Spoons and body baits are also working, but everything is coming on the surface on planners!

The Coho's are Here!!!!

We went out yesterday and trolled around Montrose using spoons and body-baits. All the fish were taken on the surface with yellow-birds, either spoons or rapalas, no flies. Orange and chartreuse being the colors of choice.

Charters begin next week so it's time to book your trips!

Don't miss the walleye run!

Coho's. browns , steelhead and kings are going nuts with the warm warm weather coming and the new moon phase motivating the spawners!
The Angler will be in Montrose by April 15th.

Walleye time!

Public access fishing, time to go fishing using rapalas, waders, and night.

Cohos are very near and biting!

I have been fishing all the mouths of the streams/discharges on Lake Michigan and Spawn on the bottom and crawlers under bobbers down 4-? Squid and wax worms/jig combos with a bobber also are working. Spoons and spinner rigs with meat are great!
The coho are very close! Spring fishing in Chicago is coming up! Time to book your trips NOW!
Walleye are spawning or real soon so when they come out it will be gangbusters! April First or second week be waiting at the mouths of the discharges and rivers!

Fishing is on fire!

So it's time to go coho, steelhead, whitefish, walleye, brown trout, and whatever else you like, fishing time! I have been all over on Lake Michigan's shorelines and tributaries catching my fill of all sorts of species!


Time to start coming up with Weekend dates because they are going quickly.

Stand by for tons more reports soon, look back at the Jan. postings to see what you missed.

Coho sightings!

I have been exploring the streams and hot water discharges this week. There are some COHO salmon showing up feeding on the huge schools of baitfish. It won't be long before the ANGLER is back in the water (April).

Stable weather is the KEY to catching these monsters!

These World-Class, hog walleyes are not stupid or even mildly slow. These Lake Michigan fish have been here for as long as I can remember. During the Summer they follow the bait around, staying underneath the schools. At night the bait can't see so the walleyes capitalize on this. That is how they get huge!

All over the Lake there are fish being taken, but not much sharing is going on about these fish. A few years ago someone caught a State record, but it was disallowed. Every discharge and flowing water will be holding there right now, somewhere.

We went back yesterday, the water stopped being as crunchy. I caught one sucker and lost one little walleye(25 inches). Nothing else.

Plenty of Ice on the Chicago Harbors so ice fishing is on!

There are some trout being taken along with some small perch, but nothing to write home about yet. Occasional jumbos are caught.
The ice ice about 6- 7 inches thick and very solid (no weird air pockets)
Jigging is always a good bet, but don't discount a tip-up with a large minnow or roach.

Lake Michigan walleye.

These walleye were not resident fish, but Lake Michigan fish that are staging for their spring spawn. These fish are my favorite, but you really, really have to put in your time to find them. Every area with flowing water will hold walleye, but deeper water close to gravel and food is the key! 20 feet of water, at least, is necessary to hold them. ( hot water discharges are flowing water)



We went back two days later and the water was freezing right in front of our eyes! No fish.

Open Water Lake Michigan Winter Walleye!

We caught fish all day today, but if you didn't use a spinner/crawler rig and stay on the bottom...forget it. I can't say where, but find flowing water and work the inside / slack water next to current. If I had more hands I would show the rest (most fish were 28 inches to 32) These fish are staging for the spawn.

32 inch walleye from Lake Michigan!

We tried everything from trolling crankbaits to vertical jigging, but nothing. Trying something crazy really was not going to waste any time so I started with a crawler/spinner rig and immediately caught a 10 pound walleye! WE caught and lost our share on these rigs all day up until the weather came.