jdh

Fished the pierheads in Grand Haven on Saturday.  Got 2 coho on plugs and two sheepshead.

I think the business was for sale.  Not sure if it was sold or not.

Was worried about the big storm forming off of Holland, but it stayed south.

Fished 6:30 until 10:30.  Went 4-4.  3 kings, 1 steelhead.  Nothing huge but good sized fish.  Kings were immatures and biggest ran just under 15 lbs.  2.0-2.5 mph.  120-150 fow.

200 copper & Lyman plug.

400 copper & Moonshine Double Trouble

Rigger 67 - Silver streak mag blue dolphin

Mag Diver on 3 back 145 - Kevorvian Spin Doctor and Mirage Fly with green beads.

I run a low diver on a 7 ft Talora and a High on a 9 ft Talora.  Seems to work for me.  I've been on other boats where running 9 and 10 ft rods worked too.  Just need a little practice to avoid tangles when setting/resetting.

Fished from 5 until dark.  Worked 50 out to 135, but stuck in 125 -135 most of the night. (lots of big marks in that water).

Went 1-1 with a 23-ish lb king.  Didn't weigh it, but its the biggest fish I've got this year.

Hit a lyman lures plug on a 200 copper.

Fished from 70 fow to 215 fow and back.  3-3.  Two kings about 8 and 18 lbs.  Both immature fish.  No milt or eggs.  Third fish was a shaker.

White paddle down 93 feet and 400 copper with blue flounder.

Yup.  There aren't a ton of fish, but the ones there weren't on a good bit today from what I can tell.  They might be feeding overnight near surface and not as much in the morning.

We have a steelhead and a lake trout in the cooler.  Lost our 1 king bite on a meatrig off a 300 copper.  Fished 100-180 fow.

Pulling lines in 20 minutes.

The snap on the back is to hook the fly leader to (you tie a loop in the fly leader).  See if you can't browse through the gallery on this site.  There are some good pictures of how flashers are set up.

Thanks for the report!

I've done both.  I prefer to use a small spro barrel swivel between the mono and braid and then use a uni-to-uni knot to connect the leadcore and mono.  A lot of people use the Willis knot for the leadcore but I'm not a fan.

Braid is abrasive and tends to eat up the releases.  Also, the releases will fray the braid over time.  I like 30 lb to 40 lb mono to clip the board too because its "sticky" and stretches.  Kind of like a shock absorber in the system.

5 & 7 colors will work.  I use the same clips that come with the board.  I also tie in a 10 ft section of mono behind the leadcore to clip the board to.  Then I use 300 yds of braid behind that.

Longer sections of leadcore work better with bigger boards.  I find the Church TX44 boards a little overkill, but I haven't tried any other options.

Welcome.

I like the Church walleye boards.  No tattle flags.  I don't like them to release when the fish hits either - because if its set that way sometimes the waves release them.

I'm sure there's more good options out there too.

What ports are you going to be fishing?

The fish are with the food.  The upwellings haven't brought the alewives in. Instead it's pushed them offshore.  When the fish are staging and the lake flips, then it's usually game on.

I haven't posted lately because I haven't been out.  And no numbers of silver fish to speak of.  Planning to start fishing more the next month.

Weather has been too rough the days I have been free to go too 

I go with 6-8 wraps with the mono and 10-12 with the braid.

Made it three trips in a row.  Fished the same water.  Steelhead had moved on.  Not nearly as many fish marked as the past few days.

Went 3-4.  Laker, coho, smaller king.  2 on meat on divers back 120-140.  Another on a weird herring lure.

Went back out this morning.  3-5.  4 steelhead (2 were escape artists) and a big coho.  115-130 fow.  South troll.  2.0-2.2 gps.  Pulled lines at 10 am.

Purple spoon on 150 copper took 2 hits.

Purple spoon on free slider on rigger took 1 hit (ball at 60 ft.)

Mag Blue Dolphin on 300 copper took 1 hit

White/Blue Spin Doctor & Meat Rig on Rigger down 90 took 1 hit.

Fished 100-150 fow.  4 hits in 150.  100, 150 coppers and a five color.  Orange spoon.  Orange dodger.  Purple spoon.

2.5-3.0 at the ball down 45 feet. South troll.

3 steelhead & a coho.

Awesome!

Fished 6 to 12:30.  2-5 all hits before 8 am.  2 coho in the box.  130-150 fow.  Spoons on riggers 45&75 down.

Tie a section of leader 3 to 6 ft long with snap swivels on both sides.  Clip your spoon to one end.  Then, after you set your rigger normally, pull the line towards you and clip on the other swivel to the mainline.  Throw the spoon so it's trailing and watch it sink down on the rigger rod line.

Usually it will run about 2/3 of the depth your ball is at.  If the ball is 60 ft, the slider will be about 40 ft 

The kings were being found offshore mid summer last year.

Last year the fish were offshore and north.  Guys who could make it out 15+ miles were finding fish.  That's too far for me, even if the weather is perfect.  I'll be looking for kings last  2 weeks of July in the Holland area in 140-250.  If I can't find any, I'll move north.

It might be a good idea to focus on steelhead right now, considering the surface temps are cooler still.  Orange spoons up high, and then run 1 to 2 lines deeper for kings.

Some pictures: