2MD

water has actually warmed some - didn't expect that (see satellite chart image)

messed around trying lots of depths in close... slow start... buddy of mine got a few going in that 8-12fow by the pierheads so we tried that but just couldn't get a program going... all we got was a northern pike on a jplug 2 color - haha

eventually we caught a coho in 35fow on dipsey flasher and then a chinook on the same dipsey flasher in 39fow and then after dark another chinook on a 3color with mongoose plug

had to work way too hard for em tonight but PUG got a few

The kids and I whaled on em again off Saugatuck tonight. Same program except they were in a little closer (25-32fow). Pouring rain and some 4foot waves starting out made it more challenging but we just stuck to the program and did what PUG had taught us.

5for8

dipseys were quiet tonight 

6color went with bloody nose spoon

3colors went as did 5color with plugs

rigger went 25down with glow spoon

high line mono out 150' behind orange board with size5 goose went at sunset

what a fall this has been!

Tis the best time of year! Thanks for the detailed post. All this rain could enhance things perhap? Temps still on the higher end though. If I end up trying tonight in the rain then I'll let you know what we encounter...

nice!

Nice job! Intense scene and very impressive pulling that off solo. Thanks for the pic.

JDH did you end up with a couple?

FBD is going tonight and hopefully he can let us know the status of the bite...

6 for 7 on Salmon 

3 for 3 on sheephead 

Salmon jumping everywhere - not eating so much though

What a beautiful fall morning!

9for15

white flashers and plugs mixed in with a couple spoon bites

pre-sunrise we were 5for10 already outfront 

once again, PUG put us on the fish

Master Angler ALERT (second one in two weeks)
39.25inch silver chinook
long boy
thing has to weigh only 22 pounds
3year old on roids!?! LOL

right on

for whatever it is worth my son said the Holland charters smoked em (lots of big silver fish even) in that 40-60fow off Holland yesterday morning 

who knows what happens next? even PUG is unsure...

this late August cold water blurp was a gift though! 

was in Grand Haven with boat yesterday evening took the opportunity to troll the channel and out in front of the pier heads after the sun went down...

was a lot of fun certainly plenty of chaos and activity

lost one on a dipset plug in the channel by the back of the boat

scored on another just outside pierheads 30min after sunset on 5 color plug

the ride back into Holland late in the moon light was beautiful 

PUG has never been skunked but he came real close last night!

nice job tonight and thanks for the report

we struggled amongst the pack of boats in tight off Saugatuck this evening 

not positive what changed... maybe a big group of kings already moved up river OR more likely they were just frightened by all the boat traffic which unfortunately is only going to get worse over the next 3-4 days... for whatever it is worth we seen more of them jumping all over tonight than we had seen all week

we ended up just 1 for 2 on salmon and caught a sheephead andncatfish

had buddies on three other boats doing the same and these guys are real good at it and I think one managed 4 and another 2 and the just 1 like me

one more video...

Essentially same program as Monday when we were 24for51

Much bigger fish today though which made it all the more exciting!

Photos and some funny videos ATTACHED here

Check out the video of us finally landing the 30lber after about 40min – humbling how I fumbled the net job and nearly lost him in the end! 

PUG and the crew were sure excited to get another Chinook Master Angler award

fantastic job! what beautiful fish

thanks guys

cleaned a lot of fish today and from the looks of their bellies they were eating shad... gobs of shad is what I was seeing on graph too i bet

correction 8 for 20 tonight 

lost track apparently 

decided to head out again with a different group of kids tonight... having 7 kids is a real bonus when it comes to trolling returned to the sacred waters off Saugatuck but this time fished slightly deeper 

so tallying it up in the end Parker went 23 for 50 today

After all the reports of them getting an early/on-time run in Grand Haven this year, decided it was high-time we see if Saugatuck would equally produce.  Ran down in the darkness and setup in 40fow directly off Saugatuck channel at around 6am.  First fish came at around 7.15am. We nailed a couple coho in that 40-43fow but weren’t breaking records or anything so we slid in a bit more.  For the next 4hrs it was just one bite after another all really right there in that 31-34fow just inside the kzoo river mud.  Pretty much all combinations produced.  3 colors, 5 colors, 7 colors, dipseys, riggers…  Plugs caught the most fish.  Spoons got maybe 3-4 fish.  Large white paddles must have gone a half a dozen times too.  We had three quadruples and lots of laughs in the midst of all the chaos.  Hats off to PUG, the kids, and a very determined crew!  Ended up going 16 for 31 this morning, which has to be one of our best if not our best trip on Parker and definitely an exciting start to the fall season. 

beautiful fish!

high diver out 190 meat rig 92fow NW troll

fun morning though!

zGrinder - wow good job finding the bite on Saturday night - out deeper than I had been looking - how frustrating to have that many break offs... the current this past weekend was intense and that caused us all sorts of fun trouble/tangles so know that misery loves company

FBD - that pic and story of you and your daughter braving the howling east wind gusts and landing that behemoth is legendary!

We were fishing bass by big red til about 8pm last night and then snuck out as the weather improved for a bit and tried to find em.

Took a double on Coho in 90 fow while setting lines.  Then crickets kinda.  We could not find marks even which surprised us.  Figured with the lake turning over they had pushed in closer but they just weren't there really.  Zig zagged in that 65-90 fow.  Got a big laker on a dipsey in FOW after sunset.  Go figure when pulling lines in 50 fow at the end then we started marking what was maybe the kings?  All I can tell you is that when we anchored in the cove by big red the water temp on the shore was low low-50s last night! brrh

Went 4 for 5 with some of the kids & PUG

A couple real nice hardy kings came on Copp200 scaley green size4 jplug - both in 93fow on a SW troll – the first at 5.30AM and the second at 8.20AM when we were pulling lines

High Dipsey went on both sides too with spindoctors on em – out 180 and 200

Lost a beast of a steelhead on a slider frozen toad spoon down about 50 as well

Spent the bulk of the morning unknowingly running the copp200 and copp300 on the starboard side tangled so that was unfortunate

…the current and East wind was relentless so all things considered we were pretty pleased with how we turned out…

haha - thanks guys!

decided to troll again tonight

didn't run out and setup until about 7.15PM

radio was dead quiet & a couple guys fishing in that 130-160fow

eventually we found em after zip-zag trolling south towards Saugatuck (off the sliders is where our fish came)

went 4 for 4   (all at around 9.00PM with 3 of them coming in the form of a triple just like last night)

all hits in that same 126-130fow as last night - SE troll was best

  1 Laker about 10# on deep diver out 180 with meat rig white paddle

  1 King about 9# from the looks on high diver out 200 with meat rig purple fish scale yellow UV

  1 King about 17# from the looks of it on copper350 racket jaw spoon

  1 King about 15# from the looks of it on low out 145 with meat rig green jeans

PUG delivered again!

My son got em real good in that 72-95fow off Holland this morning with Randy from Wave Dancer (they went 5 for 8 with 4 salmon weighing 15# plus) so we instinctly returned to those waters but as it turned out the wind had flipped the lake and brought in warm water and nothing was really marking or biting in tight so eventually we slid out.

Ended up going 3 for 4

Missed one on high diver out 180 with spotted Richard meat rig in 130fow southwest troll

…then we got a TRIPLE at around 9pm…

Got one on the rigger down 74 with green flounder spoon in 125fow west troll – 16# king (natural)

Got one on high diver out 200 with green jeans meat right in 127fow southwest troll – 21# king (natural)

Got one on high diver out 180 with spotted Richard meat rig in 128fow south troll – 12# king (plant)

Hats of to the crew and especially PUG for all the hard work out there in the wind & waves tonight!

PUG was getting nervous as the sunset because if we would’ve gotten skunked he was gonna have to swim home…