RogueRiver

We had a double as soon as I put the dipseys and downriggers in the water. After that it was somewhat steady action until about 8:30 or 9:00. (We were 5 for 5 by like 8:30 or 9:00, then a big wait for the last two kings.)

Went 7 for 7 out of PS this morning. Fished from 6:00 to 11:30 trolling north all the way past Grand Haven. 6 nice kings and one decent lake trout. Caught all fish in 80 to 90 FOW. Northwest troll seemed best. Plugs took most fish. 1/1 on double glow spin doctor with mirage fly 140 back on a dipsey. 14 lb king. 1/1 on trash can + spin n glow on the bottom. 7 lb laker. 3/3 on white w/ black glow j-plug on 225 copper. 3 nice kings. 1/1 on green splatter back ace hi plug on 300 copper. 10 lb king. 1/1 on blue/chrome j-plug on 7 color. 16 lb. king. The fish came in that order.

Went 4 for 4 out of PS last night. Fished from about 7:00 to 10:45 catching three good kings and one shaker king that we threw back. We were in water south of PS from 60 FOW to 150 FOW with the best action between 120 and 135 towards the end of the night. 2/2 on 300 copper with a blue meat rig behind a blue flasher. Both kings around 10 lbs. 1/1 on a purple meat rig behind a black mamba paddle 60 feet down on the rigger. About a 15 lb. king. 1/1 on 3 color lead with a UV blue dolphin super-slim. Very small king. We've only been catching about two fish a trip the last few weeks until this night, so hopefully the fishing is starting to pick up.

Fished from 7:00 till dark. Made our way from 150 to 70 FOW trolling all directions. Went 2 for 4 catching all our fish in 70 FOW at about 10:00 on a north troll north of Holland. 0/1 on 200 copper with mag lemon ice at 9:00 in 140 FOW. Then three rods went all at once in 70 FOW with only two people to reel. 1/1 on diver 100 back set on "3" with blue bubble spinnie and mirage fly. (12 lb. king) 1/1 on 3 color + small clip on weight with a UV blue dolphin super slim spoon. (16.5 lb. king) 0/1 on 250 copper with mag flounder pounder spoon. (jumped a bunch)

Headed out at about 7:00 pm and fished until 10:30. Set lines in 150 FOW just south of PS and stayed between 160 and 130 fishing southwest and southeast trolls. Went 4 for 6. Caught three 10-15 inch salmon that were thrown back. Caught one 10 lb. king and missed two others around that size or bigger. Most of the action was in 140 FOW between 9:00 and 10:00 trolling southeast. 2/2 on rigger down about 40 with green dolphin spoon. (both shakers) 2/2 on 250 copper with flounder pounder spoon took (one adult and one shaker) 0/2 on diver 120 back set on "3" with mountain dew spinnie and proctologist fly. (both adult kings. one was lost quickly, the other at the back of the boat)

A small number of perch boats in PS but I heard that quite a few were doing well in holland that morning

Went 9 for 11, fished Port Sheldon south from about 6 to 10:15. Started just south of PS in 70 FOW where we took our first fish a 10 lb king on a rigger 20 down with a Moonshine glow ladderback moments after sending the cannonball down. After that it was dead until we made it to the 105-110 FOW area south of PS. Then it went, 240 Copper blue bubble meat rig 17 lb king (1 of 3 on this rig) 300 Copper magnum NBK spoon 15 lb king (1 of 2 on this rig) Wire Dipsey 105 back yellow meat rig took a rip but no fish landed and then broke off another king at the back of the boat when it got put back in the water 240 copper meat again, 19 lb king Wire Dipsey 110 back green meat rig 20+ lb. king 3 color with 3 oz drop weight and moonshine flounder pounder 14 lb king Triple starting with 220 copper chrome and blue j-plug 19 lb king (hit while I was placing the planer board) 300 copper with NBK mag spoon again 7 lb coho 240 copper meat again 18/19 lb king to finish off the triple and the day

I use the blood run clear downrigger line in #20. I put it on the rigger rods and all the lead and coppers for leaders. I've been trying their new purple tint #25 tournament mono on two rigger rods too and that stuff seems super strong just not sure about the purple tint.

Nice!

Went 2 for 3 out of Port Sheldon last night. Really slow night. Fished south from 120 to 75 fow with the best fishing being in 85 fow. Missed a big steelie in 88 fow on a 250 copper with mag NBK spoon. Picked up a 22 lb. king in 85 fow just after sunset on 150 copper with a mag jaggerbomb. Well after dark just south of holland we got a 15 lb steelhead 30 down on a rigger to end the night. Marked a ton of bait 20 down and lots of fish 30 down from 75 to 85 fow.

Just tried running meat for the first time yesterday morning;took a 21 lb. King on it and lost one of similar size. 190 back on a wire diver.

Went 5 for 6 fishing out of Port Sheldon from about 7:30 PM till dark with 4 Kings and one nice steelhead. We set lines just south of PS in 130 FOW and trolled south keeping between 150 and 125 FOW. First fish was the steelhead that ate a lemon ice spoon on a five-color in about 135 FOW, while we were bringing in the steelie we got a king on a blue ice glow spoon on a rigger 85 feet down. The blue ice on the rigger took one more king and the lemon ice took two more all in about 135 FOW. Lost one fish on a dipsey 120 back with a blue flounder spoon.

Patrick the lake had some chop early in the day that picked up a bit around 11:00 AM and then settled back down around 1:00 PM. It was definitely worse further out. We could see a few boats out there in the morning and they seemed to be getting rocked around a lot. It was much more calm in 30 FOW or less where we were. The wind chill was the worst part; my hands were frozen setting lines, but the sun and especially the Steelhead eventually warmed us up. That fish bent out the O-ring connecting the hook to the lure to the point where I slid off the hook without a pliers after we got it out of its mouth!

Went 2/4 out of Holland from around 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM today. It took a while to get out because we had motor issues right away. Trolled north to the bubbler in P.S. in 10-25 FOW. Missed our first fish on a lemon ice 12 feet down on a rigger between the state park and tunnel park. First fish was a #16+ Steelhead on a shore side mono board with a red and black squiggle brad's thin fish caught in front of James Street. After a while with no bites we headed to the bubbler where we saw some Steelhead jump and missed one on a 5-color with an orange/silver spoon. We headed back to Holland and about halfway there a Steelhead jumped right next to our boat so we decided to fish some more. We picked up a #11 Brown on a 5-color with a small blue/silver spoon (forget the name) at around 3 PM and trolled back to Holland with no more bites. (cooler is about 40 inches long)

Yes, people catch much fewer fish on riggers than 30 years ago, but most people also run a lot less riggers now(usually 2 on a boat 16-25 ft. and 3 or sometimes 4 on a larger boat)

No, Port Sheldon

We just started using copper/lead with boards and this may be obvious, but my advice would be to put your copper+board rigs out before anything else. One side at a time. This has helped me keep out of tangles... Even with my inexperience.

Thanks for the helpful responses guys. We went out this past sunday out of port sheldon and were 2/2 in 120 feet of water south of P.S. The fish were only 2-5 lbs but it was fun to be out anyways. The first one bit a black and white j-plug on a rigger 60 feet down and 50 feet back from the ball. As we were netting it the other fish hit a moonshine spoon (forget what pattern exactly) 80 feet down and 30 feet back. Overall good day on the water and we can't wait to try out your advice.

This is our first season out and we haven't had much luck yet. We've been running out of Port Sheldon mostly fishing in 90-125 FOW with riggers and dipsys. Just wondering what you guys change up as we head past september and into the fall. I'm very new and any advice helps; I chase them in the rivers but on the big lake my experience is almost nothing.