instincter06

Is the launch open now? I see they closed it again on June 18th but I never saw an announcement if they reopened it since then.

That looks exactly like the old Penn reels I use on half my rods, lol

I went out of Holland last night from 4:30 - 8:30 and got no hits. Trolled from 65 - 95 FOW down to the sliders and made one pass through the piers on the way in. I forgot my jeans so had shorts on and was swarmed by biting flies out on the water. Ouch! I was the only boat out fishing that I could see. That was eerie!! At least it was a beautiful evening to be on the water.

Looks like the deeper water temps at the buoy just shot up. Any thoughts on if that will help the fishing?? I haven't made it out yet this year but have been hoping for a good August bite. Thanks

What is the typical setup for Fall fishing? Lots of high lines? Way out deep?

Maybe the colder water this year from the long winter slowed down the maturation of the eggs in the females?

0/0, and didn't talk to anyone that did good. Saw 3 fish landed in Pere Marquette lake and 3 fish on stringers on the North pier. Trolled the channel and out to 70 FOW and back, then the channel and lake for what seemed like days! Tried everything I had. Maybe we should have anchored and jigged... All the big local boats from the marina went way out deep, out of sight. Forgot my radio (it's always something, LOL) so didn't hear how they were doing. DNR surveyor said one boat had 5, another had 3, and the rest had 0 or 1. Everyone was too excited to sleep the night before so we left at midnight and started fishing at 2:30 a.m. Needless to say, we won't be doing that again! It's weird being the only vehicle at a huge launch site....

In Ludington Sunday morning I saw one guy carrying a fish in his net and another guy with 2 salmon on a stringer. Us and other guys trolling the area did very poor. 0/0. Water was still too warm.

Someone has to be the first! Good luck! Thanks for all the info guys! I'm going to gear up for Sunday and hope the weather cooperates. I'll keep checking back to see how everyone has been doin and let you know how we do.

I'm hoping to make it out this weekend with some friends if the weather cooperates and was wondering if there have been any fish in the channels yet? I usually fish Holland but was thinking of trying Ludington for the first time. Any advice or biased opinions would be greatly appreciated!

Awesome! What time of day were they biting best for ya?

Here's some of my 2013 highlights. For salmon, it was a year of learning for me. Just my second year at it and I'm learning a lot, with still a long way to go! My biggest salmon from the lake so far - 19.75lbs. In the Holland channel this fall. An early season Laker my buddy Chris landed Got a baby sitter and made it out for a fun evening. Found the best way to make Lake Trout edible! I was an observer for Fly Catcher in the Big Red Classic. They got 4th and I learned a lot! Detroit River walleye jigging. Made it into the money in my company bass tournament. There weren't any steelhead in the Pere Marquette but we sure found the trout. Late season limit of geese. Meat in the freezer

I didn't see any in the Macatawa River this afternoon. Forgot my polarized glasses though, not that it helps much in that nasty water.

I ran one board about 8 feet from the boat and that left plenty of room in the channel. Especially since I ran it so it was going along the sea wall, no chance of hitting someone else that way. Some guys had 2 on each side but we managed to avoid them.

2MD, that's fantastic! You got em figured out. What did you find your best speed to be in and around the channel? We kept changing, trying to get some more bites