westrate

August 7, 2006 The salmon fishing is very good right now in 90 foot to 130 foot of water with catches consisting of 8 to 20 fish per trip. The salmon weigh from 10 to 17 pounds with a few that are in the 20+ pound range. Most of the catch is Chinook salmon with a few lake trout and steelhead thrown in. The early morning bite was very good with 8 to 12 fish inn the first 60 to 90 minutes and then 1 to 3 fish per hour once the sun got above the horizon. All week the best area was from just north of the piers south 5 to 7 miles. The best method was wire line dipsy divers with Hot Chip and Pro Chip flashers (green/glow and silver/green and silver/blue) and Smart Fish flashers (white/glow and white/green) with Gflies (green cheese, mirage and crinkled green). Copper wire (200 foot and 300 foot) with green dolphin and blue dolphin Raider, bat man, natural born killer and wonder bread spoons produced well. The downriggers only produced consistently early in the morning and most of the time it was flashers and flies. Check back and keep track of the fishing in Saugatuck through out the year.

July 31, 2006 Fishing this past week was in 80 foot to 140 foot of water from the Dunes State Park to the 3rd telephone tower. Boats took 5 to 15 fish per trip, depending on how many hits you missed or how many fish you lost. The other day we took 15 fish and only lost one and then that afternoon we took 5 fish and lost 9 and missed 4 hits. Much of this is due (I think) to the currents that build up in the afternoon. The creel consisted of mainly Chinook salmon with some steelhead and an occasional lake trout. Copper wire (200 foot, 300 foot and 400 foot) produced with mixed vegatable, natural born killer and bat man producing every day. Wire dipsy divers at 180 foot and 240 foot with Smart Fish flashers (blue and mountain dew) and Pro Chip and Hot Chip flashers (green glow and blue glow) with Gflies (blue and glow green and crinkled green) produced very well. Downriggers at 60 to 100 foot down with Raider and Northport Nailer lues and the Legendary Products lures on the outdowns and the green glow Hot Chip (echip) flasher and green Gfly on the center downrigger was very good every day. Sunday the fishing was slow (possibly due to the front coming though) however we marked alot of fish in the 130 to 140 foot range, so I hope our good fishing will continue. Check back and keep track of the fishing in Saugatuck through out the year.

July 24, 2006 This past week continues to produce some very nice salmon catches. We spent all week in 85 to 120 foot of water from the Dunes State Park south to 3rd tower. Some of the boats fished all the way to South Haven before finishing the charters. The water was beginning to stratify with the temperature break at 50 to 60 foot and then we got a couple of days of Northeast to Northwest wind and 4 to 7 foot seas we noticed the water cooling down on Saturday. On Sunday the surface temperature had dropped 15 degree from 76 degrees to 61 degrees and the temperature break was now at 35 foot. We still limited out on salmon in 90 foot of water, however there was some nice catches of 4 year old salmon in 50 foot of water and I suspect if the water temperature holds, we will be in 50 foot tomorrow. The best combination was 100 foot of copper (early in the day) and 200 foot and 300 foot of copper with the Smash Mouth, Bat Man, Natural Born Killer, Bubble Bee, Legendary Produces Aqua Marine and the Glow Frog producing very well. Dipsy divers (wire) with Pro Chip Flashers (green glow, silver green and blue bubble) with green glow Gflies produced well at 100 foot and 180 foot of line. Downriggers at 45 to 80 foot and then on Sunday 35 to 60 foot produced with Hot Chip green flasher and Smart Fish white and Smart Fish blue flashers and Gflies. A few fish where taken on lures off the downriggers, however not many. It will be interesting to see how long we keep the cold water. If the water temperature holds, we should see the fish set up outside the bait in 30 to 40 foot of water and fishing will get very interesting. Check back and keep track of the fishing in Saugatuck through out the year.

July 16, 2006 If you check last weeks amended report, you will see that things changed from Sunday to Monday and it continued through out the week. We caught between 12 and 24 fish each day during the week and when we caught 12 we probably had 40 hits. The fish are in the same 90 to 120 foot of water with 105 foot being the most productive. Most of the fish are Chinook salmon (10 to 19 pounds) with some Coho salmon and steelhead and an occasional lake trout thrown in. A couple of the days, the size of the fish resembled catches in August and September instead of July. I think we are going to see some very large salmon showing up when the run starts in late August. Pro Chip and Hot Chip flasher ( green/glow and silver green) with pickled sunshine Gflies are by far the best lure selection (We where running them on the downriggers, low dipsy and on occasion on the copper line). Downriggers at 80 to 50 foot and the dipsy divers (wire) at 100 foot on the low divers and 175 foot on the high divers produced consistently. Copper wire (200 foot, and 300 foot) with the Natural Born Killer, Bat Man and the Raider Fruit Salad and Green Dolphin Spook and the Yeck Frog produced very well day after day. We also found that the Legendary Products Purple Passion and their Smart Fish flashers with flies started to produce fish pulled on the copper wire. Fishing can not get much better than it is right now. If we can keep the bait ( and the bait is abundant right now), we should continue to see some very good and very large fish. Check back and keep track of the fishing in Saugatuck through out the year. You can also feel free to contact me at any time by email at: [email protected] or call toll free at 888-253-8372.

7/11/2006 This is just a short report to amend Monday's report. Last week we found some tough fishing, especially toward the end of the week. As stated, we marked good fish but had trouble getting them to hit. Well today they turned on and fed and we took 24 fish in 4 hours with 7 weighing over 14 pounds and the largest pushing 20 pounds. Early, the best method was green/glow Hot Chip and Pro Chip flashers and green glow Gflies. Later in the morning the best method was the 100 ft., 200 ft. and 200 ft. copper with any lure that was green and black or green and glow. There was also reports that salmon where taken in 40 to 50 foot of water outside the Saugatuck Piers this AM, however I do not know how many where taken. With the warm water in front the piers, it is sometime hard to get the fish to hit and the water was 62 degrees on the bottom in 35 foot. Check back and keep track of the fishing in Saugatuck through out the year. You can also feel free to contact me at any time by email at: [email protected].

July 9, 2006 What a change in fishing this week. We started out with good catches of salmon and steelhead in 125 foot of water. By the end of the week the salmon had disappeared and the catch consisted of lake trout, some steelhead and some Coho. By week's end and good catch was 2 to 5 fish. The water temperature was still good, there was still a good supply of bait in shallower water but the Chinook had disappeared. This condition appeared to hold true from St. Joe to Grand Haven, with boats struggling to find fish. We still mark, what we think are the Chinook, in 135 to 150 foot of water and also out in 180 to 220 foot of water, but getting them to hit is another matter. This past week, the best lure was the Hot Chip and Pro Chip flasher (silver and green and green and glow) with a green G fly. These where run on the wire divers at 100 foot and 150 foot of wire and on the downriggers at 50 to 90 foot. The 7 color lead core and 200 foot of copper produced steelhead and lake trout with the orange crush Raider and Stingray and the Pro Spoon bat man. What happened to the Chinook? I hope that this is a temporary slowdown and they will move back in on the bait and begin to feed. Check back and keep track of the fishing in Saugatuck through out the year.

July 3, 2006 Chinook salmon and steelhead in 90 to 140 foot of water are starting to produce some consistent catches. We have been taking from 6 to 20 fish this past week, depending on how many fish you lose. Some of the days you had to have 5 fish on to land one, however the fish where all good size (8 to 17 pounds) with some steelhead weighing in at 16 pounds. There is a great deal of bait and one of the salmon had 18 alewife in the stomach. The most productive method was once again lead core (7 color), 300 foot of copper and 200 foot of copper. Raider Orange Crush, Crippled Alewife Easter Egg and the Yuck Frog were the most consistent lures on the long lines. Dipsy Divers at 100 ft. with wire and 200 foot with braid produced with mixed veggie and silver green Pro chip flasher and mirage fly. Downriggers produced sporadically at 40 to 80 foot with a variety of different lures. With all the bait that is the 80 to 100 foot depth, the fish should hold in this area and, with all this bait, I think we should see some very large salmon by time the run starts mid August. Check back and keep track of the fishing in Saugatuck through out the year.

June 26, 2006 This past week produced some very nice fish from 10 to 17 pounds. The creel was quality but not quantity with catches from 5 to 10 fish but all good size. The catch consisted of steelhead and Chinook with an occasional lake trout. We started the week in 90 to 120 foot of water and fished 5 color lead core and downriggers to 80 foot. By the week end we fished 95 to 105 foot of water south of the Douglas Point where the blue water showed up. The best baits and methods included: 1. Yuck Frog with 200 foot of copper 2. Mixed Veggie Sting Ray 80 foot on the downrigger. 3. Big Daddy Flintstone mixed Veggie on 7 color. 4. Green glow and Coyote Ugly on wire dipsy at 100 and 120 foot. 5. Magnum chartreuse and glow on 300 foot of copper. Bait was beginning to set up at the blue water line and if they stay, they should draw in the salmon and steelhead. Check back and keep track of the fishing in Saugatuck through out the year.

June 12, 2006 Cold Water!! The water temperature is 46 degrees on the surface and 42 degrees 10 foot down. The bait is stacked up in the shallow water outside the piers in the river water where the temperature is in the mid 60's and the steelhead and salmon are in this water feeding. We have been taking 8 to 15 fish each trip with 3/4 of the catch made up of steelhead and the rest a mixture of Coho and Chinook. The steelhead are 8 to 15 pounds, the Chinook range from 2 to 16 pounds and the Coho are up to 10 pounds. The large size of the fish make you think that this is August and not June. We are using flat lines with lures with out weight, 2 color lead core, 3 color lead core and 5 color lead core and any lure that is silver and orange, gold and orange and silver orange and green. Some of the flat lines produced with silver and chartreuse and silver and orange stick baits. Dipsy divers with 30 to 50 feet of line out produced with Dreamweaver and Raider Creamsickle, Sunburst, Orange and Green Crush and double Orange Crush. Once again the least productive method was the downriggers that produced only a few hits a trip. If the cold water holds, and it will if we keep the North, Northeast and Northwest winds, the bait will remain in the river outflow and more salmon and steelhead should find this "smorgasbord".

June 5, 2006 June fishing arrived this week with full force. On Tuesday we limited out with 23 fish in 4 hours and then by Friday the fish disappeared and fishing became very difficult with 2 to 4 fish per trip. Morning trips where blessed with calm winds and flat seas, however afternoon trips experienced strong north winds and choppy seas. We fished from 60 foot out to 260 foot and found that one spot was no better than another as game fish and bait fish where scattered from top to bottom and from inshore to off shore. On Sunday we moved into the water around the piers for the last 2 hours and found some nice salmon and steelhead in 35 foot of water. The water had turned cold with all the north winds and the bait moved into the river water and some of the game fish apparently followed. We will find out this week if this will be the area to fish, or if this was just a temporary staging area for the salmon It is useless to explain the methods to use until we find out if the fish will move into shallow water or stage offshore in deeper water. My guess is that we will find that the fish will follow the bait into the shallow water until the water warms. In the past (when the water warms up) we have found that the salmon tend to move into 100 to 140 foot of water and feed near the bottom on the bait that collects in that area. If you are a walleye fisherman, we have found that cold lake water produces good walleye fishing in the river when the bait moves into the river water. You might try trolling the river water between the piers with locos and fast tracs (gold, green and orange).

May 29, 2006 The fishing remains very good in our area. Some of the boats fished in 80 to 100 foot of water and took some very nice kings this past week. However the best fishing was in 160 to 200 foot with limit catches of salmon and an occasional lake trout and steelhead. Most of the salmon weighed about 8 to 10 pounds, however I did see a Chinook that pushed 20 pounds. The most productive method was lead core (7 color, 10 color) and copper wire (100 yds) fished with Raider, Legendary Products and Stingray lures. Orange crush, Michael Jackson, Purple Alewife and Wonder Bread produced very well. Our best lures remain the Raider, Stinger and the new Legendary Products lures. The darker colors with purple and/or blue on them or some glow in the dark tape, seemed to work the best. The dipsy divers with the larger stingray or magnum Raider lures worked well, however the color changed from day to day. On the downriggers, the only consistent lure was the Natural Born Killer fished at 70 foot. Again this week, Pro Chip and Hot Chip flashers and Gflies (Green glow with green seaweed flies or mirage flies) produced fish on some of the boats (downriggers an wire dipsy divers). It seems that fish that hit the flashers and flies tended to be larger in size than those that hit on the lures. Check back and keep track of the fishing in Saugatuck through out the year. CoHooker Charter Fishing Service will try to post a report every Monday or Tuesday.

May 21, 2006 This past week produced good salmon fishing in 40 to 60 foot, 90 to 120 foot or 150 to 180 foot of water. We took some Chinook salmon of about 15 pounds, however most of the salmon where form 4 to 8 pounds with a few shakers mixed in. Full core, 7 color, and 5 color lead core along with 300 foot copper wire produced more salmon than any other method. The color of choice changed from one day to another, however orange crush, orange and green, wonder bread, blue/green dolphin and coyote ugly where very productive. Raider, Stinger, and Dream weaver lures where always on these lines. Dipsy divers at 120 and 180 foot of line with easter egg and bumble bee kaleidoscope North Port Nailer, bloody nose Raider and bloody nose dalmation Singer produced very well behind the divers. Some people had some luck with Hot chip and Pro chip flashers and flies behind dipsy divers at 200 and 240 foot of wire. The downriggers (run 40 to 100 foot deep) where the least productive with an occasional fish with blue and green lures and silver and green lures'

5/15/2006 Last week started with fish in 130 foot of water then 3 days with out fishing due to extremely rough water. On Saturday we found dirty, sandy water all the way out to 180 foot and the Coho and steelhead in 220 foot. By the time we finished for the day, the water was beginning to settle out and clear and in the evening Chinook where caught in 50 to 70 foot of water. We marked these fish as we ran out, however we did not stop and fish because of the water condition. Early in the week, fish where caught from 50 to 70 foot down with the same methods that I reported last week. By the end of the week we caught fish from the surface to 50 foot down. We pulled lures on the surface, behind 3 and 5 color lead core and some full core. We did not catch any fish behind dipsy divers, however the downriggers produced at 40 and 50 foot. We found that any lure in the blue dolphin pattern or yellow tail pattern produced and it did not matter what make or what size was used. Although we did not fish in 50 foot, boots reported that the best method was 3 color lead core. I will attempt to post a fishing report each Monday or Tuesday for the previous week. Check back and keep track of the fishing in Saugatuck through out the year.

May 8, 2006 This past week produced some very good fishing with 13 to 15 fish being caught per trip. About half of the catch consisting of 3 to 5 pound Coho, and the other half consisting of 5 to 14 pound Chinook and an occasional lake trout and brown trout. The east wind that we had for a week earlier had pushed the fish out into the lake in 130 to 200 foot of water. The water temperature is still cold (49 degrees at the shoreline and 40 degrees in 200 foot) and the fish are found where the surface temperature changed from 44 degrees to 41 degrees. This changed from day to day--one day in 180 to 200 foot and the next day in 140 to 160 foot of water. However this is where the majority of the fish where caught. Even though the water was cold the fish where caught from 40 to 80 foot down. We Dipsy Divers at 200 foot and 100 foot of line out and dialed on 2 and 1 respectively with the new Legendary Products spoon, Raider lures and Stinger spoons with silver and orange or silver orange and green producing well. Down riggers at 80 to 50 foot produced with small Stinger, Legendary and Yuck spoons. The most consistent method was full and half core lead core and 100 yards of copper line with silver/orange, silver/orange and green and wonder bread lures. Half to two thirds of the catch can be attributed to the long lines. With the winds back out of the Southeast today and with the forecast for more east wind, I think this pattern will hold into the coming week. I will attempt to post a fishing report each Monday or Tuesday for the previous week. Check back and keep track of the fishing in Saugatuck through out the year.