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9/3/06 pm - A family affair
For the after noon trip I had Wyatt an 11 year old that has wanted to catch a salmon, his mom and granddad aboard Addiction. I set up right were we left off with the same baits. We had marks at first, but went 0 for 2 the first hour. There was a group of boat to the south so I figure I would head down and check it out. Just about the time I get there most of the boats are spreading out, but I made a turn to head east and we hooked up on the bloody death down 125. One of the down side of fishing light line(12#) is the fish pretty much get to go where ever they want, and this king was determined to get wrapped up in the dipsy. Not only did he take out the inside dipsy, but he also went the extra mile and got the slide diver as well. So with both dispys wrapped up on the 12# test rigger line I thought it was only a matter of time and the line would let go, but we were able to work all 3 rods and get the king to the net. Then I had the task of getting the 3 rods back in the water. When I got the wheel, after get the rods back in the water we were at 24' so I made a turn and headed north. We stay in the 130 - 140 range, while we didn't have too many marks we were getting bite, but getting the fish all the way to the box was the problem. To try and help get the fish in the box, once we got hooked up I would slow the boat to 1.8 mph but then we would get the fish in close enough to see it was a good king and then it spit the hook. For the afternoon bite the dipsy did take more hits, but the riggers put more fish in the box and we finished up 7 for 15
9/3/06 am - Not just a one hit wonder
Hit the water at 5am and slowed down over the third hill to see if the fish had moved in. No marks so back on plane and out to 160fow with a few marks we set up on a south troll. The SWR with a blue berry muffin was the first bait down and I set it at 65, its been the stud that past few trips and this was no different. Next was the bloody death down 101 followed by white plastic with a green and perl fly down 80, and the last rigger was a green dolphin mag down 55. The riggers kept us busy so it was slow getting the dispys out, but once I got then out and got then set up with more then 300' of line out we started to get hits. The slide divers with a blue dolphin and a kevikorian circus freak back 300' and 325' both took a few hits. The dipsy back 300 and 350 with white plastic and a aqua fly and the other with a white fly did better then the slide divers but no where near as good as the riggers. We had action all the way down to 26' and we were out of the pack of boats. We did loose the marks around 25'8 so I turned and headed back north, but it was slow so I also started to slide out deeper, and drop the riggers down to 75, 95, 105 and 125. That seemed the be the ticket to get the fish to bite, and the action on the riggers picked up. On the trip north we got out to 200fow and lost are marks so we turned and headed west to get back to the 180 - 170 where we had our best action. On the turn to level out in the 170's we hooked up and got in to the 150's and didnt have marks so it was back east, and once we got to the 170 we trolled north as it was getting close to that time. I got a call from the charter about a 1/4 mile north of us that they had just had a triple, so I turned to run over the same spot. Just about the time we should be pulling rods the slide diver hooks up, then the rigger down 105 with a green fly and green plastic. The slide diver fish get unbuttoned, so I start to pull rods while the battle is on with the other king. I had time to get all 2 but rods in and we boat a 15# king for the big fish of the trip. The last king gave us a record of 21 for 30 something in hits The key seemed to be the speed, we had to keep the sog over 2.7mph, if we dropped below that the bite died. Also the SWR blueberry muffin rod took at least 12 hits and put 6 fish in the box
8/27/06 pm - Betting on Kings
I had called the afternoon crew to let them know the waves were not looking good, but then wanted to give it a try. So when they showed up I took them over to see how rough the lake was, but they still wanted to go. So before I had then fill out license we headed out and floated around in 80fow. They said Lets fish, we filled out the license and set rods. I set rods on a south troll and got the spread that had been working all weekend out. We had not been bit so I headed east and we picked started picking up fish. The first fish was a 12# king and that when the big fish wagers was booked. Seeing the fist fish they knew bigger fish were on the way. I took it all the way out the 130s and we had action all the way, but a freighter was heading north and I need to get out of the way so I headed back west and we had action till we got the 80's and it died so We turned and head back east with the gps showing 2.7mph and once we got back to the 90's the action took off. I took it out to the 130 mark again and by now the blueberry muffin and Kevorkian on the copper were the 2 studs, and the lead core had been quite all weekend. So I pull them both cores and put out a blue berry muffin on 1 and a stinger Kevorkian on the other. Then we turned for our east troll and once we hit 100' we only needed 2 more fish, and it died. So I figured the fish moved out on us so I turned and headed east all the way out to 130 with out a hit. Now I am trying to figure out why the bit shut down, I pulled every rod looking for a shaker, or fowled rig and found none. So I tuned and headed back west with about 30 minutes left before it was time to pull rods. Just as quick as the bite shut down it turned right back on, but we also lost the 3 fish in a row. Then we picked up the last 2 kings, but the rods kept going. So we started working on my limit, and putting rods away as they brought in fish. We had our 25 fish and 3 rods left in the water, so put the boat in neutral to keep from hooking any more fish. We ended the day 25 for 30 something
8/27/06 am - Lake Michigan Flu takes its toll
we hit the water at 5am and it was not bad out and all, and I set up in 80fow and the blueberry muffin went right to work, putting the first 4 year old in the box. Then the slide divers got in on the action, and put a few kings in the box. Then the wind and waves picked up and boat control was a challenge at times. The bite had slowed, the waves picked up and we had 2 feeling the effects so we called it a day going 12 for 18
8/26/06 pm - Just 1 short
Since our bite in the shallow water had slowed towards the end, I decided to head out to deep water and try our luck out there. I ran out on the line and set up in 160' got all the rods out and with pretty much the same spread I had been running the past 3 trips. We had a slow started and didnt get any hit till we got out to 165' and the action was pretty consistent till we got to the 220's and then it really took off. When the bite slowed I turned and headed west and got back into the action. The SWR/blueberry muffin, Kevorkian on the copper and the slide divers with blue dolphin and the circus freak were the heavy hitters for this trip. We headed in going 29 for too many :)
8/26/06 am - Day of the kings
I had gotten a call the night before that my 6 man trip for the next morning had been trimmed back to a 2 man due to a death in the family. So I had The kid from next door mate for me, cause the way the bite had been, it would not take long to get 15 fish. So we headed out at 5am and set up in 50fow, and trolled south west with a gps speed of 2.7mph. The blueberry muffin was first to strike, but came unbuttoned. Then the green dolphin mag down 50 hooked up and we had the first king in the box. The next hit was on the glowmate jplug down 40. From the fight and how quick the fish was coming in I did not think it was too big. Boy was I wrong, we had a 22# king in the box with less then a 5 minute fish. Just about the time I see its a big king the blue berry muffin hooks on with a good fish as well. We then got a net on the first king and the fight was on with the second one. Then one gave us a 15 - 20 minute battle and was not giving up. It fought all the way to the net, and then some, it went 21.5 in the digital scale. Once we took a few pics - note if you keep your camera in a cool spot then take it out on a humid morning, the pic come out foggy. We got some rods back in the water and worked a south west - north east troll from 130 - 90' We had 16 in the box by 8am and decided to call it a day
8/25/06 pm - The ladies get the big kings
We hit the water a little after 2pm and set up pretty much where I had left off in the morning. I had stocked up on blueberry muffins so I put out the same spread as the mooring. The muffin spoon had slowed down, but the Kevorkian on the copper picked up the slack. I did have a dipsy that had not been bit for some time, so I made the leader 10' instead of 6' and not too much after that it start to take fish. The problem was a 10' leader with a 7' rod made netting fish a bit of a trick. By 6pm I was starting to pull lines since we had our limit, and picked up a few more, ending the day for 24 for 30 something
8/25/06 am - Kings like Blueberry muffin in the morning
We hit the water at 4:30 and set up in 70fow. I only had 2 rods in the water and we had our first bite on a glowmate J-plug down 40. After that we had a dry spell till about 5:15 and then it was lock and load. The blueberry muffin down 65 on the rigger went off every 2 - 3 minutes, but we only were able to boat about 50% of the hits. I then changed over to a 2x strong gammie treble, and set the release a bit tighter and then seems to give us a better catch rate. Blue dolphin and Kevorkian circus freak on the slide divers back 125 and 150 both were taking fish as was Blue bubble spin doctor and the blue bubble fly back 150 on the dipsy. The rigger with the green dolphin mag was good, but could not keep pace with the blueberry muffin on the swr. We were a few fish away from our limit when tragedy hit. The swr hooked up on a good fish and Bill got the rod and the fish made a few good runs then went slack. We brought in the line to find we had lost the only blueberry muffin spoon I had on board. I tried some other spoons but none turned out as good as the muffin spoon. The leadcore were pretty much dead, but the copper with a stinger Kevorkian was also a strong prouder. We had our best action from 80 - 90' from the state line to 28' going 23 for 30 something
8/20/06 pm - The calm after the storm
The 2pm start time really worked out good and the waves had already calmed down quite a bit and do so thought out the day. We set up in 180fow and trolled east. The swr with a smurf down 65 for the first to go, and was quickly followed by the white plastic and white fly down 55. That seemed to be the pattern for the day 3 - 4 hits then a dry spell then 3 - hits. The smurf on the swr was the best rods for numbers, but it was also dipping in the nursery a few times. The big fish rods were the copper with Kevorkian, leadcore with a chicken pox and the slide diver wit ha blue dolphin
8/19/06 pm - This is no walleye
iFor the afternoon trip I had a group from Ohio that fishes for walleye on Lake Erie. I headed out to the deep water bite that has been good for me in the afternoons. I had run pretty much the same spread of baits for the past 2 trips and it was still working. The first fish came on the slide diver back 150' and the drag was getting smoked. Once the counter slowed down it was at 360 something and the look of awe and these guy had never seen a fish just strip off line like that. The copper with a Kevorkian, and the leadcore with a raider chicken pox were the 2 studs of this trip. About 2 - 3 hours into the trip the sky to the north started getting pretty dark. The wind picked up and boat control was thought. With plenty of fish in the box, we decided to head in and get a early jump on the drive back to Ohio
8/19/06 am - Sacrifice to the fish gods pays off
Started the day at 5am and we set up in 60fow south of the fleet. It was not long before we had our first king in the box, that hit the swr with a smurf down 50. Then next rod to go was the glowmag mag down 40 on the rigger and it hit like a freight train that was not going to stop. I had to slow the boat down to 1.5mph just to gain some line back to keep from getting spooled. After a good 20 minute fight was boated a 21# king. Then the action slowed down so we moved out to 90 - 100fow and hit a hot spot and the fire drill started. I am still not sure what all happened, but we broke the net, lost and rod and boat 4 nice kings and lost I don't know how many others. If we would have been able to get a few rods back in the water we would have been done a lot sooner. So after getting the gear back in the water and getting a working net we had lost the marks and started to head east and pick up a few more, but the time had come.
8/18/06 pm - Quick limit
We left the dock at 1pm, and headed out to the deep water. The good thing about the deep fish is they don't move much, and we found them right where I had left them. From the graph I was able to see the temp break was around 60fow so I set the SWR down 55 with a smurf. Then set the next rigger with white plastic and a white fly down 40. Then I started on the other 2 rigger and the smurf was already hooked up. Then I set the green dolphin down 80, and a white plastic with an aqua fly down 70. Then the slide diver back 150 with a Kevorkian circus freak. The other side dipsy was a blue bubble spin doctor and blue bubble fly back 125. The 2 leads went out next with a mage chicken pox and a black baboon. The last rod in the spread was the copper with a Kevorkian stinger. We had action on all the rods, with the swr rig just beating out the copper, lead, and riggers. I started in 160 and trolled east to 200, then turned around and by the time I got to 180 we had our 3 man limit and was on the way in
8/13/06 pm - A birthday on the big lake
We got a late start and had a pretty good run out to 150fow. We got set up and it was not long before the first king was in the boat. He came on the Ludington special stingray off the lead core. After that we had a pretty good run of action off the down rigger, with a white fly and white plastic down 67 and stinger blue dolphin down 80 and the smurf down 55 on the swr. A few of the fish put of a good fight so I had turned to troll with the waves and we got into the 140's and lost the action so we headed back out to the 150' and trolled east with steady action on all the rods. Then we got some cloud clover and the bite slowed. So I changed over to some darker colored baits, and we started to pop again. The copper with a grizzly purple tourney really stood up once we got the cloud cover as well as the blue dolphin down 80 on a rigger back 30'. We had consistent action all the way out to 180. We took it to 190' the action died so we trolled west to get back to the 180's and the action picked up right on Q. Then we hooked up on the Kevorkian circus freak , back 150 on the slide diver. This tuned out to be the big fish of the day right about 16#. When it was time to pull rods one guy would sit next to a rod and it would go off, he said it was skill. We boated another king and pull another rod or 2. Then he sat on the other side of the boat and sure enough the leadcore right behind him went off. Boated that king pulled a few more rods and he went the other side of the boat. Now I am thinking he can't do it 3 times, and that is just about the time the SWR hooks up and his son gets the rod, and boats a nice Coho. With one 2 rods left in the water he tried for 1 last fish but it was time.
8/13/06 am - Seattle fishermen looking for Kings
We set up just outside the third hill and at 5am with a heavy glow program. Our first hit was on a glowmate mag down 32 on a SWR, but he spit the hook. The next hit was on the Kevorkian circus freak on the slide diver back 150' on the counter. Just about the time we net the first 4 year old, the copper hooks up with a double crush glow proking mag. Then we had a short break in the action before the leadcore with a Ludington special stingray hooked up with another good size king. Then we lost a few fish from the leadcore and slide divers. Just about the time I start to move east, the deep rigger with a blue dolphin stinger hooks up with our 4 good king of the day. We had lost our marks so we started to move east and didnt find fish till the 130, but we got into some nice steelhead off the slide divers back 150' and 110'. Then the fleet seemed to move in on us and the bite slowed, but it was time to head in.
8/12/06 pm - Delta Tau Delta on the water
We got set around 3 in 140fow just south of the line. It was not long before the copper with a double crush pro king mage was hooked up with a king. After we boat the first fish my crew was starting to read the rods well and picked a shaker up on the deep rigger. Then the dipsy back 125 with a white fly and white plastic hooked up with another king. I turned to work the 140's again but we didnt have any more action so I slid out to the 150's and we picked up a few more fish in the copper and the slide diver back 110 with a regular size blue dolphin. Then it slowed up for us in the 150, so we headed east, we found marks but just were not able to get then to bite. The guys had arranged for a bus to take them back to the city so we had to cut the trip short and head in
8/12/06 am - 101 Out of the garage and on the water part 2
We hit the water at 6am found solid 3 - 4 footers, so it was a slow ride out. We set up in 100fow and then trolled with the waves to make the class part a little easier to work out. We went a for a while with out a hit, but the meat rig back 130 was the first rod to hook up. We have gotten in pretty shallow so I put the bow in to the waves and let the 10 meter use its weight to flatten out the waves and we trolled out deep. Once we got in to the 130's the bite picked up and the leadcore, copper and meat rigs started to fire. The highlight of the day was the meat rig hooking up on a nice king, and the counter was going the wrong way real fast, Don was the first to the rod and was just holding on as the counter continued to climb. Then the fish began to tire and Don was able to gain back some line. Then another good run and Don was bring in a nice king. Once we had the fish in the net, I don't think I have seen some one so spent from fighting a fish. From the girth of the fish I was thinking 20#'s, but the scale only read 16. Once we got a quick pic of Dan and his king we were back to fishing. The SWR and slide divers did most of the work in the last hour of the trip.
8/9/06 pm - Tim Sylvia Vs Lake Michigan Kings
Hit the water at noon Tim Sylvia, Chris Bates, Brin and Mark. We set up in 105fow and trolled north and south zig zaging from 105 out to 120. The first rod to got was the leadcore with a black baboon and we started the day 0 for 1. Not too long after then the slider diver back 110' with a Kevorkian circus freak was hooked up and Brin took the rod. Then the leadcore with the black baboon went again and Tim took the rod. Brin landed the first fish of the day, a bow that would go 5 -6#. Tim was not able to keep the fish on the line and we were 1 for 3. The next fish hit on the same slide diver back 110, and this time Tim was not going to let the fish escape. He boated the first our first king that got us back to .500 The next rod t go off was the leadcore with a green dolphin stinger, and since Chris was right next to it. About half way in he started to complained about his arm hurting, and tried to pass the rod off, but no one helped him out. So he kept with it and boated a nice bow. Then we missed a few fish on the dispys back 125 with smoke and boy blue and the leadcore. Brin once again stepped up and got us out of the slump and put another bow in the bow that came on the leadcore and black baboon. The next fish came off the deep rigger and I was thinking King, and Tim jumped the rod. The fish made a few runs out the side and then came up, it turned out to be a chunky Coho. Then we had some speed issues the waves and current were really picking up. With the slower speed we picked up 2 lakers on the leadcore. Then the bite slowed down, so we slid into the edge of the third hill looking for some big kings. The SWR with a smurf hooked up down 33' and Brin was right there and boat a 2 year old king. The next fish came on the dipsy back 125 with smoke and boy blue, and Tim was up. BY the time I gave him the rod the counter was already to 175 and still going. After the king seemed to be done running the counter was just over 300' and Tim began the task of fighting him in. It was pretty funny to see a UFC Heavy weight Champ fight an 10# king, Tim just could not believe how strong a 10# king could fight. At this point we were 9 for 16 and a brown short of a grand slam, so we slide in a bit more, but with a long drive home, we wrapped it up and called it day.
8/6/06 pm - The forecast could not have been more wrong
The forecast was for thunderstorms, and 4 - 6 foot waves from the north. I called Pat to let them know we should postpone the trip, but they wanted to go out. So we hit the water at 1:30 and I set us up 5 miles south of the line in 110'. The plan was to set up with the waves, and it took both trolling bags to slow us down, but we could only get down to 3.1mph. The kings didnt seem to made the fast speed, and they were pretty willing to bite. For the first third of the trip it was the swr and slide diver getting most of the bites. Then the sun came out, and the waves clamed down and so did the bite. We made some changes and still didnt get he fish to go. So then kicked the speed back up to 3.1 and we start to get bite again. So the last art of the trip wrapped up with a nice rainbow on the leadcore with a green dolphin stinger.
8/6/06 am - Fishing and Bananas not a good idea
We hit the water at 4:30 and found the wave forecast was a bit off. It was a slow ride out, but once we got set up, we got hooked up pretty quick. Putting fish in the box was the issue, as we started the day off 0 for 5. After we went 0 for 4 of the guys brings out a bunch of bananas as breakfast for the group. I told them about the bad luck bananas bring to a fishing boat. They thought I was nuts, but as soon as I tossed the peel over board we hooked up on a slide diver back 75 with a Kevorkian circus freak and had the first brown trout of the year in the boat. Then next fish came on the smurf off the swr down 32. Then the bite slowed down and we trolled in to the 40's to see if the fish had moved in, then I get a call form Tubes that they had some action in 110' so we head out to the deeper water. Once we got to 105 the slide diver with the Kevorkian circus freak hooked up with a nice king. Then a big yacht decided he wanted to stop and fish right in front of us. I had to turn so sharply to avoid a crash I got the inside dipsy and swr in to a train wreck. So I set the pilot on a course to keep us out of traffic, and start to cut and retie the swr and slide diver. By the time I got the rigs back in the water we were in 130fow, and had a few bites. Our average was some where around 50% for the day, be we did pull in a few nice kings and rainbows, along with the first brown trout of the year.
8/5/06 pm - 101 out of the Garage and on the water
We hit the water around 2:30 and set up in 100fow, from there we got into the details of running leadcore off planers, copper, meat rigs, wire for #balls and dispys. The bite was pretty much the same as we have had, not fast but consistent. We did get to see how tighten up the drag will cause fish to come unbuttoned. For a highlight we also got to cover how to untrain wreck leadcore and a slide diver. Then as the sun started to drop a bit, we changed over to a glow program and it was not long before we had a triple hooked up and then a quick 4th bite. Then it went dead, we could not figure out why it went dead when the bite should have been going on strong. So we headed inside the 3rd hill and the screen lit up with bait and fish. We picked up 2 more fish and trolled all the way in to the 40's, so we called it a night and headed in
8/5/06 am - Slow start turns out to finish up fast
I set up in the 40's since we had cold water in close, and on the ride in the night before it was loaded up with bait. After getting out all the gear with out a hit I knew we were not in the right place, so I headed out to deeper water. Once I get around 80' we had the first fish on, and we took fish all the way out to 130. Our big fish of the day came on green dolphin stinger on the leadcore. Once again the leadcore, and slide divers did most of the work. Then we hit a dry spell, the swr had not taken a hit so I changed it over a smurf and that was the ticket. We started picking up fish again, and so we made a few loops in the 115 - 105 range
8/4/06 pm - 22 weeks in Iraq to go
Had the pleasure of getting Don, his wife father-in and friend out on the big lake before he heads back for his last 22 weeks in Iraq. We set up in 130' and set up the spoon program that has been working for me. Green dolphin and a black baboon on the leadcore, Kevorkian on the copper, purple tourney on the swr and blue dolphin and Kevorkian circus freak on the slide divers. I also like to rung to flasher/flies on my inside dispys smoke and boy blue on the wire and yellow plastic and aqua fly in the fire line dipsy. The action was pretty much the same as the am trip a steady bite. We did see more variety this trip, with kings, Coho , rainbows and a laker. Once the sun started to drop we slide into the 80's and the lead core was the first to pick up, and land a nice king. Just as I reset the leadcore it hooked up again and the was the start of the Coho. Shortly after then the other leadcore hooked up, and then the slide diver. So now we have a triple going, and we boat the first fish on the slide diver, a nice king, but not the monster fish I was looking to get Don hooked up with. Now we are left wit the 2 leadcore hooked up and 1 is looking like a good fish. Then the dipsy takes off and Don get the rod, only to have the fish scream off 200' of line. Then 1 boat the first leadcore fish, and by now we are only about half the colors in on the other leadcore. The counter on the dipsy just keeps going up and up, it started out at 90' and it was up over 600'. Once we boated the fish on the leadcore, I was able to turn back, but not before the fish had pulled out 800' of line. Then we started getting line back, and once we got under 300' I started to reset some rods that were out of the water. Getting a net under this king was a major pain, first he tried to wrapped up in the downrigger cables but we were able to unwrap before he got away. Then he ran to the side of the boat and went for the drift sock. After we got him away from the sock, we were able to net him. It turned out to be a 14# king that was hooked in the tail. After that my crew were all happy and wore out at the same time, so we called it a day and headed in.
8/4/06 am - Rainbows for brunch
Hit the water at 5 am and set up in 80fow off the third hill. We had action but it was not lock and load, the kings were hitting the spoons on slide divers back 50' and 75' and the riggers down 45 and 55. The Kevorkian circus freak and green dolphin we the 2 hot baits for kings. Then once the sun was up the bite slowed and we started to spread out. Then I got a call from another charter to get in to the 50 - 60' range. Once I got too 55' the swr with a grizzly purple tourney hooked up with a nice bow. Then next 3 or 4 fish all bows came on that same rig down 32 on the rigger. So I kept work that same area 60 -50' from the nuke to a mile north. Then the leadcore with green dolphin started to go with bows as well.
8/2/06 pm - Late Start, Short Trip, Fast Action
The plan was to take of at 3pm and fish till 8pm, but the 3pm start time got pushed back to a 5pm start time due to car trouble. So we head out and I set up in the 130 that had been good in the morning. The wind had changed direction, so I trolled with the waves to set up and didn't find any fish. That got us to the line pretty quick, so I turn and tried to troll south east, but the wind and current made that impossible. So I trolled into the waves and kicked the speed up to 27-2.9mph and then rods started to fire. Once again the leadcore and copper started off the action and the meat rig and slider divers also helped out. The meat rig was the fish to hook up on a good king, after the first few runs we started to get some line back. The counter was as high as 300, so once we got into the hundreds every one was getting excited to see this fish, and that is when he made a mad dash to break free. We were able to keep him hooked up, but he did mangle to wrap up with a slide diver and a leadcore. With all the extra weight is was a chore to bring that fish in, but my crew stuck with it and just about the time was saw the black fin, it tuned and swam away to fight another day. Now we had 3 rods out of the water and still had pretty good action. Between netting and resetting rods I was able to get 2 of the rod untrain wrecked. The leadcore was a loosing battle, and with fish coming in it was too much trouble. So down a leadcore we spun a trolled with the waves and that's when we could see the storm coming in from the west. It was not long before we were pulling rods and we were back in the slip by 7:30pm
8/2/06 am - Slow start Excellent Ending
With all the west wind we had there was a lot of cool water right out front and some strong current. By the time I got to 50fow it was already 5:30am so I headed out to 75fow and we set up there. I got all the rigger and dipsy rods in the water, then I was setting the leadcore and we got our first hit on the SWR with a glowmate mag down 32. Not too long after that the slide diver back 75 with a Kevorkian circus freak was hooked up. Then we went with out a hit, so I slide out to 90 -100fow and. Still with out a hit I started to change direction and found the south east troll was putting fish in the box. The leadcores(blue dolphin stinger and a mag black baboon) copper with stinger Kevorkian, and the slide divers back 75 and 100 with Kevorkian circus freak, and a sliver streak green dolphin were all firing. The 130's - 140's is where we had our best action. Once I got past 140 the bite really dropped off, so I turned it around and headed north west and then the swr down 32 with a melon circus freak along with the wire dipsy with white plastic and a white fly started to fire. Then when I turned it back around and trolled south east, the leadcore and copper picked back up. After loosing way too many fish, at this point we were 11 for 20 something, I was hoping this last pass would get a few more fish into the box. It was not looking good, the clock said it was time to pull rods, and that is when the copper hooked up, then the leadcore hooked up. The battle was on 2 bow jumping way back there, both anglers wanted to get there fish in before the other. About half way in Dads line goes slack, and its fish off. Then we boat the last fish of the trip and boy was it a dandy bow.
7/30/06 am - Fast action before the storm
Sunday, I had Bassiantor his dad, MsP , Tom Ed and Karl out, and we got 5am start that really paid off. I set up just off the third hill and started to put out the glow baits, and it was fish on, pretty steady till some where around 6 and then it died. We had our best action on the slide divers back 75' and 100' with a glowmate mag and a Kevorkian circus freak. Also the riggers down 32 and 45 with spoons did well. The Kevorkian on the copper, blue dolphin on the leadcore, and the chicken pox on the swr were the only rods to get bite after 6, but out ration of hooks up to fish in the box was not so good after that. Then we got a call form the Kenosha guys that a storm front was on the way in. I was hoping the approaching front would turn the fish on but that was not the case. As the front started to make its way toward us, we pulled lines and ran in. We made it in and got tied up with out getting wet.
7/29/06 pm - Glow spoons and Kevorkian were hot
For the afternoon I headed back to where I had left off in the morning in the 140's. We had a quick hit on the swr down 32' with the raider chicken pox that has been doing a number on the shallow fish for me. After that we had a run of knock offs but nobody was there. Seemed like the current was really starting to mess with the bite, I had to run 3.2mph north and the slowest I could troll south was 2.9mph. Once I got the speed worked out we started putting fish in the box. The leadcore and copper really did the work for this trip. The copper with a stinger Kevorkian, and the leadcore with blue dolphin and Kevorkian circus freak. Towards the end of the trip as switched over to a glowmate jplug on the leadcore and a glowmate spoon on the swr and those 2 rods kept us busy the rest of the trip.
7/29/06 am - Working outside paid off
Saturday by the time we hit the water there was a pretty good size fleet already set up on the third hill, so I set up well outside and headed south. It sounded like the right move and we had consistent action on the leadcore, swr and slide divers. The stinger Kevorkian circus freak, frog circus freak and the blue dolphin spoons and the raider chicken pox did there far share of the work. The slide divers with the darker colored spoons back 75' and 100' did better and then blue dolphin on the leadcore was one of the best set ups.
7/28/06 pm - Salmon turn on with Garth Brooks
The Friday afternoon trip I headed back out to the same area I had fish in the morning, 28' - 27' and 130 -140fow. It seemed like the fish had lock jaw, and didn't want to hit. So we worked out to the 150's and found the dead sea, so we spun around and headed in to the hill. Thats when the bite for use picked up, and according to my crew it was due the Garth Brooks coming on the radio. Once we got into the 90 - 80 foot range it was pretty consistent action on the chicken pox down 32on the swr, the dispys back 100 and 125 with a white or yellow flasher and a aqua fly, the leadcore with blue dolphin and black baboon were all good producers.
7/28/06 am - Chicken pox by raider steps up
Friday for the morning trip we left the dock at 6am and set up in 80fow. The action on Glowmate mags and fishlander ultra glows was pretty fast off the riggers down 32' and 40' and the slide divers back 75' and 60'. As fast as the action was it slowed up pretty fast as well. We stuck around in the 80 - 90's till we lost our marks and then kept working our way out to the 130' and then we ran it some nice rainbows that really showed a liking for a mag chicken pox raider on the swr down 32'. Once we got into the rainbows our hook up to fish in the box ratio really dropped but we sure did get a good show with most of the fish give us 3 or 4 good jumps. The best was only 30 - 40' back and he must have come 5 feet out of the water, needless to say getting that much air gave him plenty of time to spit the hook back at us.
7/23/06 am - A day of fun fishing with friends
Sunday I had planned for fun fishing, and we hit the water at 4:30. I set up in 80' and we had fish on the swr right away with a glowmate mag down 35. The next hit also came on the swr rig, and put the first 2 fish in the box. Then for then next 30 minutes it was lock and load, the lead core with circus freak and the Kevorkian down 65 on the rigger kept us busy. Then around 5:30 - 6 the bite slowed down, and we had afloat 50 boats around us. So I headed south and worked from 27' to 26' to keep out of the traffic and the action was better. The meat rig back 130 did take the big fish of the day once we got away from the traffic. Also the slide divers with 50' leads back 75 and 90 started to fire. Then around 7 it slowed down, and from the sounds of the radio it slowed for every one so we pulled lines and headed in. It was nice to get out with a few friends for a few hours and bag some nice fish
7/22/06 pm - Glowmates J-plug strikes agian
For the afternoon the waves had clamed down quite a bit, and we headed out at 3pm. I set up in 80fow and got the leadcore out first since they have been hot. I then set the dipsy and the leadcore with a black baboon mag took of in a hurry. We were trolling at 2.5mph and the fish was just not slowing down so I slowed the boat. Still the fish was taking line, so I started to turn back on him and he still was taking line. I had 300 yards of power pro and then 20 feet of back on the reel and is starting to see the backing so I tightened up the drag a bit more then I really wanted too, but we could not get line back on the fish. Finally we did started get line back and circled the fish to come line coming in. 20 minutes in to the battle we got back to the lead core. The fish seemed to give up and was just dead weight so we got the lead in pretty quick. Then I was able to see we had hooked the king in the tail. So what we thought was going to be a state record king was a 14# king snagged in the tail. So I get us back in a south troll and get the speed back to 2.5 and set the rest of the gear and then the lead core with the circus freak get hooked up and the fight is on. After what seemed like a 20 might fight we had a 12# king in the box. Then we hit a dry spell, I thought I had gotten too far south so we spun around and headed north, but still didn't find fish. Checked with some boats out deeper and they had action so we moved out to 115 and still didn't find fish. We could see a front was moving in from the north, so we started to work our way in. Since it was starting to get a little darker out I put out a glowmates spoon on a slide diver and a glowmate j-plug on the leadcore. The leadcore with the glowmate j-plug was not out for more then 5 minutes and it was hooked up, then the other leadcore went. After few dances to work out a few tangles, the second fish came unbuttoned. The first fish was then coming in pretty easily so I was thinking small king, but then we saw the tail and know it was no small fish. It turned out to be the big fish of the day toping the scale just over 19#'s. After a few pics, I pull the rest of the lines and headed in a head of the front. Not the best numbers coming in 4 for 8 but wrapping up with a 19# king was a good way to end the trip.
7/22/06 am - Bumpy start turns out some good fish
The forecast for Saturday was not looking good, but the crew was bent on heading out. I set up in 70fow pretty much on the line and headed south. Since we got a 4:30 start I have my glowmate mag on the deeper and it was the first to fire and box a nice king. The action was pretty quick till about 6 and then it tapered off a bit. The glowmate mage down 65 on the rigger was the best bait going 3 for 3. Kevorkian down 70 on the rigger took 2 fish. The swr was pretty quite for the early bite, but made up for the lack of action once the bite slowed down. Since dipsy had been slow I changed over to slide divers on my out side dispys and ran spoons with 50' leaders. That seemed to be the ticket and we went 3 for 3 on a hey baby regular size. I had it 75' back on the counter and we box 3 bows on the rig. Once the bite slows down the leadcore, copper, slide divers and swr rigs are pretty much where I have been getting most of my action. I did have some troopers out Saturday as the waves took there toll on 2 of the crew. They stuck it out and kept on fishing, I asked if they wanted to go in, then a fish would hit and they we OK to bring the fish in. Around 8 we lost our marks, so we called it early and headed in.
7/21/06 am - building waves sent us in early
We hit the water at 5 am and set up in 70 fow with marks close to the bottom. Just about the time I got the last rod in the water the rigger with a Kevorkian stinger down 70' was screaming. After a few minutes we had our first king in the box and was in the 12# range. The leadcore was the next rod to fire with the black baboon mag, and we boated king number 2. Then the SWR down 35 with the regular smurf hooked up and put another king in the box. I had set up on the line and by this point was around 27' so we turned around and headed back north. That turned out to be a tough troll, I just didn't seem to find a good speed to trigger any bites. The waves were also picking up and not helping any. Once I got back above 28.5 we headed back south and picked up a few more fish on the deep rigger with the Kevorkian, the SWR down 35 with the smurf and the lead core with black baboon mag. The dipsy were quite all day, and with the current and waves I didn't run a meat rig. As the trip went on the marks where moving deeper so I put out a copper rig with a blue dolphin stinger and it hooked up the last two fish of the trip. 2 of the guys were starting not feel so well so we packed up and headed in.
7/15/06 am - Midday action
Saturday I had a 9am - 2 pm trip, I checked with some guys already out there and the action sounded pretty good so I headed out there the same area as I fishing on Friday. The meat rig back 180 and the lead cores started out pretty good. The mag black baboon did better then the blue dolphin on the leadcore. We had pretty good action till about 11 and then it really slowed down and we moved out to 130 and still didn't find many fish. The deeper(75 - 80) rigger started to get bite but the ratio of fish in the box was not so good. Then around 1:30 it was like a light switch and the bite was on. The leadcore's and meat rig all picked up fish. The big fish of the day came on the meat rig, and went just over 14#. We boated 11 and came in with 9, putting two shakers back to fight another day.
7/14/06
Since Tom, Jeff and I didn't have early trips on Saturday we headed out for some fun fishing. We left somewhere about 7 and headed out to 80fow where we left out that afternoon. I had the wheel and Tom set the rods - it was interesting to sit back and see how Tom set up the rods. It was not long and we were 0 - 2 on the swr down 35 with a regular smurf. Then the lighted Jplug on the leadcore hooked up on a nice bow. After that it was pretty fast action and it seemed if it was glowing it was getting bit. We had a triple header with 3 guys on board that made for a interesting net job. Then add in 2 lamprey's and a train wreck in the net with a jplug, by the time I got back to the wheel we were in 40fow with marks but no takers. So we headed back out to 80fow and had marks but still no takers so we called it a night with 10 or 11 fish in the box and 2 dead lampreys.
7/14/06
Friday afternoon Tom and Jeff from Reel magic and myself took out some kids from USSA program. It's a program that helps to get kids with handicaps involved in hunting and fishing. The plan was to head out at noon, but it was a bit more of a task getting the kids into the boats. Almost every one on our dock lent a hand to help us get the kids into the boats. Then on top of that Both Dan Keating and Lou Campa stopped by and give us a heads up on the bite they had going. Both Lou and Dan told up to go and set up in the same place so I was feeling pretty good. Somewhere around 1 we set our first line in 80fow about in front of the nuke. I was setting the 4 rigger when the Kevorkian down 55 on the rigger was doing it dance. Virgil was first on the rod, and fought the fish pretty well tell he got right behind the boat. It was a teener king that wrapped around the rigger cable and before I was able to get the rod and work it around the cable to the fish was gone. It was not too long after that and the leadcore with a blue dolphin stinger was hooked up. Eric started on the rod and got us about half the way in and then passed the rod to Jason. After a good fight Jason and Eric both worked the fish and we had the first fish in the box, and nice 16.5# king. Then the next 2 fish both were under 5# and came on the Kevorkian down 70 on the rigger, but it work out good so Jerwayne and Virgil were able to land the fish without much help. Then the leadcore went off and it was another good king this time on a green dolphin stinger. Jason was up again and did pretty well getting the fish in. The next bite came on a dipsy back 100' with a white plastic and white fly, and turned out to be the big fish of the day right about 17#. Then we missed a few fish, and got the call it was time to pack up. My crew was have such a good time we got the trip extended to 4:30. The bite for us had slowed and was not looking good. I started to pull the first rod when the lead core with a black baboon went off. Jerwayne was up and wanted to boat that fish. It was good fight and gave me time to pull the rest of the rods. After another good fight Jerwayne boated another teener kings and we headed for the harbor. Wrapping up 1 heck of a trip
I was not too sure about heading out a noon an fishing till 4, but the fish gods were looking out for us and we made the day for a few kids that might not have every got the change to get out on the big lake for a day of fishing. We ended up 6 for 10 or 11 and the stud was the blue dolphin stinger on the leadcore
7/9/06
The Sunday afternoon trip was quite a turn around from the am bite. I set up in the 80's and headed south east till we got fish. The first rod to go was the SWR down 42 with a green dolphin stinger. Then the small black and gold proking down 70' of the rigger went. The next rod was the meat rig and by the time I looked at the counter the fish had already ran off 200 feet of line. As a last ditch effort to escape the king did wrap up with a lead core, but Mike was not going to let the fish escape and got the fish to the net. While undoing the train wreck we slid out a letter deeper and found the dead sea. So we pushed back into the 80 - 90' range and the SWR and meat rig back 180 on the counter with a 12oz ball did most of the work. The leadcores did slow down, but the rigger and dipsy started to fire. The dipsy with the white plastic and white fly was best back 110' on a 2 setting. Also the glow frog mag on a rigger took 2 fish and on 3 hits. Its was the first mag spoon that has been bit for some time. There was a storm on the horizon, and I taught the bite would pick up, but it shut down cold. So we pulled lines and headed in to get off the lake before the storm hit. We wrapped up the weekend going 14 for 19 with a mix of Kings, Coho and 1 rainbows.
7/9/06
Sunday we hit the water at 6am and set up where we left off Saturday, but the storm that moved thought Saturday afternoon give the fish lockjaw. Once again the meat rig was the first to go with a chunky Coho. After that the bites were pretty spread around between the lead core, rigger, meat and dipsys. No real pattern for baits, the only pattern we had was fish coming unbuttoned, or breaking off. We lost 4 fish to breakoffs 2 of riggers, 1 on a dipsy and 1 on a lead core. From the reports on the radio it sounded like every one was having a rough go of it. So we headed east to see if the fish had moved out. We found some marks but they were not vary active. Once I got out to 160 we turned and trolled west and went dead until we got to the 130 and the action picked up, but we still had trouble keeping the fish on the hook all the way to the box. We ended the day going only 4 for 12.
7/8/06
Hit the water a little before 6am, and I set up right on the back side of the 3rd hill that has been good for me the past few days. It was not long before the meat rig was hooked up, at first I tough we had a king on, but soon it started to look like a laker. After a 5 minute laker fight Wayne had the first fish in the box. After that the meat rig and the lead cores did most of the work with a mix of Kings, Coho and a few rainbows. JD did have a pretty rough time at first going 0 for 3. The third fish he tried to land, he called a small fish, just about then the fish peeled out quite a bit of line. JD was now in the middle of a good fight, but it was not to be as the fish shook loose. JD did box the next fish, a nice bow that hit on a lead core with a blue dolphin stinger spoon. It wasnt the fastest action we have had but it was consistent action ending the trip 9 for 15.
7/7/06
Go a late start today, so we didn't get set up till 6:30. The plan was to set up in 80fow, but another Captain said he had a good bite in shallow. So I set up in the 40's and had a few marks, but by the time I got the rods set the graph was blank. So I slid out the 50's and we had 2 quick hits and drop the ball on both of them. 1 hit came on the SWR down 25 with a stinger blue dolphin, no sooner did I get it reset and it went off again. The first run get us well into the spool, after that the king came in pretty easily. It would end up to be the big fish of the day at a touch over 10#'s. Then we took a deep in the nursery and took 2 mag shakers on the circus freak on the lead core. Looking for bigger fish I slid out to the 80's and had good marks and lots of bait. So we fished the 80's from the state line all the way past the hotel. We did pick up 2 Coho off the green dolphin stinger on the lead core and both were pretty chunky. No real pattern, but we did box all of our fish on spoons. We had a few hits on the dispsys back 100, and 125 with flasher flies and the cut bait on the #ball, but none of them made it to the box. Over all we lost more fish then we put in the box, but it still made for a fun time on the water.
6/30/06
Hit the water at 2pm and ran out on the line to 50fow and had marks right away. Got the gear in the water with no hits, so I slide out to the 80's and we got hooked up on the leadcore. The blue dolphin struck first with a 4 - 5# king. The past few trips I didn't have much action south of 28' so around 28'2 I start to make a turn to the north. That's where is it got tricky, there was another boat that was in my way, so we spun around and went south. It turned out to be a good move, as I set the pilot the Kevorkian circus freak on the leadcore started to scream. After a well fought battle on the lead we had a 9.5 - 10# king in the box. At this point my deep riggers had not been hit so it was time to change baits. As I was sending the rigger down the SWR down 45 with a green dolphin stinger popped. I grabbed the rod, and could tell it was a good fish, so I passed the rod to Matt. By the time I get to the wheel, I saw the backing on the reel, so I started to turn back on the fish. We got some line back, but it was not looking good. I had the throttle down as slow as we could go, and turning back on the fish. Matt was able to wear the fish down enough to get us back to a half spool. Then dad took over for awhile and worked the fish in, then back to Matt to bring the fish to the net. By the time we got to the leader the fish had made 5 or 6 good runs, so I was thinking he was done. That was not the case, as soon as he saw the boat, he ran us back out to 1 color of lead. Then is was a battle to get him back to the net, but Matt won the fight. After a few pics we weighted the king in at 17.5#. Then we spent some time in the nursery, picking up 2 or 3 shakers on the SWR. Then most of the other charters headed in, and our late start time paid off. The dipsys started to fire, along with the leadcore. Boating some nice bows and some 2 year old kings. At the end of the trip I set the boat on a course for the harbor and started to pull rods. I was down to just the SWR in the water, and with all eyes on it , it popped and a nice bow was jumping behind the boat before Matt got to the rod. A few more jump and he spit the hook, and was off to fight another day. We ended up 9 for 12The wire dipsy with a green plastic and green fly hooked up a few times, but the stud of the trip was the leadcore with the Kevorkian circus freak.
6/25/06
Sunday we woke up to rain, but Rich and his group couldn't wait to get on the water. So we headed out to the same spot I had been fishing the past few trips. Right away we had a few quick hookups and put a few fish in the box. We had gotten pretty far south and east of the bite, so we worked our way back to that 80-90fow from the state line to about 28.5 and we got back into fish. No 1 set up really was better then others today, every rod but the deep dipsy with a flasher and fly got but. We did pick up a nice bow on a board with little orange dodger and a peanut fly. Darker colored spoons below 50' and the leadcore with blue dolphin and circus freak and action dodger and peanut flys all took fish. We did a few fish come unbuttoned, and we were just short a brown for a grand slam. We ended up 13 for 19, and now that I think about it for the last 3 trips the guy that booked the trip got the big fish of trip
6/24/06
Saturday afternoon I went right back to the water I was fishing in the AM and the marks were still there. Plus we only had 4 other boats working the same water. I set up pretty much the same spread as I did for the am trip but I pulled one of the deep dipsy and replaced it with a wire dispy and a meat rig. The lead core had slowed, but the deep riggers with Kevorkian and the meat rigs picked up the slack. The action was not as fast as I would have liked, but we were getting hit, the problem was getting fish to the box. Even the meat rig was getting hit, but they were not staying hooked up. About midway into the trip the wire ball rig started to sing - all the way out form 180 to 460 - and the battle was on - 20 minutes later we could see it was a good king but he was not ready and took off again. Charlie was able to wear the king down and we got the first 20+ king in the box. As the sun started to drop I was looking for the bite to pick up, but it was not to be. So we headed in going 6 for 14 with a 20.5# king
6/24/06
Saturday we got started at 5:30am, I set up just inside the first hill and trolled east. I had good marks but now hits, we went almost an hour with out a hit, and from the radio is sounded like every one else was on fish. I had the most marks from 80-90fow so I worked that depth. As the reports on the radio started to sound like the bite had slowed for every one, we started to pick up fish. For the next hour we had a good bite and not much traffic around us. We stated right in that area from the state line down to 28.5. The full cores with blue dolphin and circus freak were the 2 studs of the day. The deep riggers(75 - 80)kovorkian and smurf also took a few fish. The big fish of the day came on the #ball rigs with a purple knight flasher and a mountain dew twinke rig. Then the traffic seemed to close in on us and the bite slowed down. We also had some Coho action on the shallow dipsy with action flashers and green peanut flies. We had a slow started and few fish that came unbuttoned but we still ended up 10 for 17 with the big fish going 17.5#
5/27/06
Saturday afternoon had to be the roughest trip of the year. The waves had picked up a bit, and with the fish turning on at the end of the morning trip I was looking for some good fishing. I set up right were we left off in the morning, and found the fish had moved out. So I worked east out to 160 picking up a few Coho on the way out. Then the flies came...and came...with no wind they made for pretty uncomfortable conditions. So we called it early and headed in.
5/27/06
Saturday turned out to be one of the toughest days of fishing I have seen in a while. We started off the morning trip in 80fow and picked up a few fish right away, then a dry spell. So we worked out to the 130's and the dry spell continued. So we kept zig zaging form 90 to 110from the line down to the nuke. Picking up a fish here and there, but with no real pattern. The last hour of the trip was the best bite, it seemed like the fish really turned on, and we ended the day 12 for 13.
5/26/06
Hit the water at 6am, and set up in 80fow and some action. As it the bite slowed the boat out deeper also slowed, so we head back shallower to see if the fish had moved in. We continued to pick up fish, but it was a slower pace and our hookup to fish in the box ratio was not too good and some where in the neighborhood of 60%. The birds really did the work, with Coho killer and a purple fly taking most of the fish. The shallow rigger with a little orange dodger and a fighting Irish fly also took a few Coho. With a little over an hour left on the clock, and a limit in the box, I pulled all the birds, and Coho baits. The plan was to target kings for the last hour, so I set out a 6 rod spread of what I consider my king baits - blue dolphin mag on a rigger, white plastic and white fly on a dipsy, Carlson reel fish on a rigger, smurf mag on the lead core, glow spin doctor with a green perl fly off a dipsy and a yellow tail mag on the rigger. We did hookup with a few fish, but they also escaped...but we did run into some Coho that liked the bigger baits and made it into the box for the captains limit.
5/21/06
The forecast was not looking good, but the crew was fired up to get out on the water. At 6am we had light breeze out of the north and not much traffic, so we headed out in search of Kings. We set up in 180fow, and had the first fish in the boat right away on a dipsy back 50' with the green hair fly. The Coho seemed to be in small pockets and were shallow so the yellow birds picked up most of the Coho. Deep riggers found a few kings with a mag blue dolphin down 80', but we were less then 50% getting them to the boat. Same story with the lead core, with a full core plus 100' of back out and a mag smurf took 4 or 5 hits and only got 2 to the boat. Direction seemed to be the key as we only got bit going south or west. I had gotten all the way down to 24'000 so we pulled the birds and trolled back into the waves to set up for the last pass. At the end of the trip I started to pull rods and a bird got hit, and we landed a Coho. Then I pull a few more rods and a dispsy got hit and we boxed another Coho. A few more rods and the lead core started singing, and we got in 9 colors before the fish gave us the spoon back and swam off to fight another day. It just seemed like one of those days where the fish just came unbuttoned
so we ended the day 21 for 32
5/20/06
From the reports for Friday it sounded like the Coho had moved in to some shallower water. So we set up in 40fow with marks, but no hits while I was getting the gear set out. It was not long before the shallow dipsy back 40 with a orange dodge and a green hair fly had the first Coho of the day in the box. After talking to some other Captains in deeper water, it sounded like they had about the same action as we did. We worked from 50 - 20fow from the line down to Zion. The action from the dispys and birds made up the bulk of the fish, with most of the bow's coming off the birds with short blue flies. The highlight of the day was a 8-9# bow that hit on an outside bird, that had jumped 2 or 3 times by the time the bird tripped. A half dozen or so jumps later we got a net under the fish just as he spit the hook.
5/13/06
For the afternoon trip it was a 2 boat group and we planed to fish the same water, so I followed Tom out and set up about a mile behind him. We had 2 in the box with in 10 minutes, so we keep working the same area instead of heading east, and the bite was pretty much the same as with the am trip. We did have more action on the shallow riggers and dispys, while the birds got bit, we just could not get them to the boat. Then Ron start to brag a bit on the radio, and that but a pretty solid jinx on us and we could just not shake it. Then we got a call from Tom that the bite was on for them and they were only a mile and a half away so we made the turn and headed over. Just about the time we get there we hook up with 2 Coho, that might have weighted a pound together. Seems we found the nursery again, and Tom was right there with us. Tom moved in shallower, while I headed back to where we had better action in the am. It paid off with a flurry of bites and some good Coho in the box along with an 8# king that came on a reelfish down 65 on the rigger, and then it was time to head in.
5/13/06
Well not to break any treads we got a late start, and a little before 7 we got started. I set up in 160 with some marks, just about the time I got the spread set up we took our first Coho, and a second right after then a dry spell...and that was the pattern for the day, 1 or 2 hits then a dry spell...The bites we coming on short dark colored flies on the birds and shallow dipsys. It took a while to find some spoon colors that would get bit, but the yellow tail mag and double crush orange did get hooked up deep, but our hookup ratio to fish in the box was not too good on the deep riggers(65 and 80'). I think our best move was to push south and get away from the pack, and when we did the dry spells between fish was not any where near as long. The last fish was some what comical, we only needed 1 more for our limit, good thing I counted as the way the bite started off we didnt think we were any where close to a limit. So we thought we would have boxed up early and be on our way...wrong, we end up dipping into the nursery for 2 shorts that went back...and then was all she wrote
5/7/06
Sunday, the crew wanted a later start time and after Saturdays trip I didn't see problem. So we headed out to 130 and the graph was blank, so I kept heading east. Around 170 I had marks so we set up. Put out the same spread as the day before, but the Coho were just not as aggressive as they had been. We seemed to run into small groups of fish 2 or 3 pops and then nothing, then 2 or 3 more. To try and pick up some more action I switched out the dispsy and outside riggers to orange dodgers and small flies. The hook up rate seemed to go up on the rigger for us. As the day went on the bite moved from small flies on the birds to the half cut flies on the didpsy and shallow riggers. The king bite also picked up us once I got a call that the blue dolphin was taking fish. Just about the time I got the rigger down to 65' it popped and we boated a 12#er that gave a fight like a 2# Coho, I was thinking Coho so I had the small rubber net. Then once the king got to where we could see him, he made a turn for the rigger cables
a few close calls and he was in the net
then out of the net
then back in the net and in the boat. We ended the day 16 for 24, with a few nice bows and good 3 year old king.
5/6/06
Saturday, my crew was a bit late but we got out on the water a bit after 7. Had some marks down around 50 - 60' when I got out to the 130's so we set up and pretty much picked up right where I left off last weekend. Birds did the majority of the work with the smaller flies scoring big. The black/gold and blue/purple/black with a bit of sliver were the studs by far. The bows were really like the purple and white stinger fly behind a bird. The dipsy and rigger put a few fish in the boat, but no where near as many the birds. We did the east west trolling but kept working south around 27.5 26 we ran out of fish so I turned back north and just could not get the speed right, so we tacked east west and started picking up fish the last 3 took the longest to box. A few minutes before 10 and we were back in the slip with a limit plus a few for the captain.
4/29/06
Hit the water a 6:30 and headed out to 200fow, on the way we ran over alot of bait so we set up in 175. It was not long before we had fish in the box. The coho were just hitting anything and everything, twice I had lines pulled out of my hand while setting the line in the rigger release. We only ran an 8 rod spread...its all I could keep in the water. I was running baits the normaly attract kings, but the Coho were all over them. We did pick up a 3 year old king on a Surmf spoon down 110' on a rigger. We also had some excitment when we got a good rip on a bird, and after 10 minutes we were down to just a few wraps of line on the spool. After a few tips on fight fish, we started getting the line back, and what seemed like an hour later we had a real nice rainbox in the box. Best bait was a hey baby down 75 on a rigger followed by a green plastic and aqua fly.
4/22/06
The first trip of the year - it was good to get out. We headed out to 180fow and set up on a south troll. Had 3 or 4 rods in the water and the first bird went...hopefully losing the first fish of the year is not a bad thing...but 10 minutes later we hooked up with a nice bow on a board, and we boxed our first fish. The action was not as fast as I was hoping for so we tried an east west troll and the rods started popping. The bite then around 5pm just shut down, we did pick up 2 more kings on deep riggers with spoon. We trolled into 180 and packed it up 6 short of a limit and lost like 10 more fish...best baits were the birds by far, with orange OO dodgers, and lil' bruiser, green crinkle, and black doing the most damage 40 foot behind the bird with a 1/2 oz weight. We didn't have much action of the dispsy or riggers
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