Ludington 9/6 and 9/7

[Adam Bomb]

About 1:30 pm on Friday we decided to head for Ludington and give it a whirl. I had a couple rods and reels to set up for lead core and some new reels for some dipsey rods to rig up, so we didnt fish. Headed out Saturday morning and set up. Had fish under the boat, tried all kinds of stuff, they just wouldnt go for some reason. Finally at 7:30 am i believe it was, the 6 color lead core goes on the port side, then the 5 color on the starboard side....DOUBLE....Put both in...12-14# Kings...Sweet. Spun the boat around and hit somemore everytime we crossed the mark. Ended up going 7 for 9 for the morning. 5 Kings, 2 Ho's...the two we lost were small kings just outta net range.

Fished Satuday night. We headed up to the point and set up in 180'. Set lines and in 20 minutes popped a fish on a dipsey. We kept trolling south working the area and before we could turn around there were boats running out and setting up all around us. So, we just kept on going, wasnt gonna fight the mad house. Unfortunately we couldnt find any fish to the south of there. So we trolled in towards the bank and marked very few fish and very little bait. We continued along the bank and as prime time approached thinking things would get better, but they didnt. We hit our marks from the morning...nothing Ended up picking up a steelhead on a 5 color and that was it for the night. We quit a bit early so we could get a bite to eat and a good nights sleep as some drunken (bleeep!!!) from Ohio kept us up the night before.

Got to the launch this morning and the wind was whippin pretty good out of the NW. So, we headed out towards the dumping grounds to some marks we've done good at in the past. Worked the area and nothing. Turned the boat west and headed for deeper water. As soon as we hit the break and the water went from 75-100' we marked a couple fish. We didnt go 50' and the dipsey got whacked. Ended up being a small King. Shortly after that we got a coho on a 5 color then nothing. Worked out to 120-195' and marked a few fish on or near bottom. We put the riggers down there, but no takes...We did that for a bit, then headed back to the port finishing 2 for 2.

The trip was fun, but a bit disapointing on the numbers end of things. Guess we've been too spoiled in the past...lol... I really thought we'd get into the fish good. It just wasnt our weekend...Thats fishin'. In hinde sight, I think we should tried super shallow....lol

Anyways, heres what we used. We either took or lost a fish on these set ups...3,4,5, and 6 color lead cores with Yeck Fireball w/earings, Super Slim NBK, Mag Daisey Cutter, Gold and Silver Red Head Plugs. Riggers 55 down w/Standard NBK, 58 down on the free slider w/Standard NBK. Low diver 75' back Gold Yellow tail, 85' back w/8" NBK SD w/Green Mirage Fly. High divers 115' back w/#3 Grey Ghost Plug, 175' back w/Mag Green Dolphin.

[Adam Bomb]

Heres the pics

Check out that big freightor. Im not sure what he was haulin in, but he got stuck at the pier head on Saturday morning. Had to do some wriggling, but he got out...lol

[GLF]

Nice job Adam! Muskegon had problems with freighters getting stuck in front of the piers last season. They dredged it this spring.

[JWheeler]

Sounds like a good trip to me. I have found that sometimes when we are going to fish for salmon the stable weather we've had disappears and everything changes. It kind of throws a monkey wrench in our game plan. I also think the change in the wind can really screw up the fishing, you can still get em', but you have to adapt accordingly. One time last year out of Manistee we tried that really skinny water, like 20-30fow. Fish were everywhere, rolling on the surface in some kind of feeding frenzy. We whacked a bunch first thing in the morning in that shallow, and as the sun made it's way over the sand banks we headed deeper. Thanks for the report. AB, are you done fishing the bay? Or are you just taking a break for a bit?

[Priority1]

U da Bomb Adam. That shelf area along Manistee and Ludington is most always productive.

[Ice_man_08]

ice in ur well... wow thats awsome

[Adam Bomb]

Thanks gentleman. It was a great trip. Love the west side.

Jason,

I think the wind has definitely been a big factor this season. It seems its really been shifting around allot and moving the fish all over the place. Being a one man show over there makes it even tougher to narrow things down with so much change. But, the "hunt" is all part of it and is worth every bit once you hit pay dirt!

As far as the Bay is concerned, i havent fished it since the 9th of August and we've had the boat in storage in Ludington since Aug 12th. Only got to make a few trips this season because works been so busy. Im leaving for Georgia at 4 am tomorrow morning, so it doesnt look like ill get to fish the Bay for awhile. When i get back itll be just about deer season and time to scout for quackers...So, yeah, im probably done until ice up.

Crosscobra,

When you said ice in my well, i was a bit confused until i went and looked at the pic. That water in there sure does resemble ice with all the large bubbles and the way the light is reflecting in there. We pumped a bit of water in there to keep the scales from sticking to the bottom of the well. They're a pain in the butt to get off once they dry.

[Ice_man_08]

Crosscobra,

When you said ice in my well, i was a bit confused until i went and looked at the pic. That water in there sure does resemble ice with all the large bubbles and the way the light is reflecting in there. We pumped a bit of water in there to keep the scales from sticking to the bottom of the well. They're a pain in the butt to get off once they dry.

ahhhh ok lol i am a big ice fishing guy and that got the bug going lol great fish though

[Sea-Mac]

ahhhh ok lol i am a big ice fishing guy and that got the bug going lol great fish though

You kno you have a fishing problem when your augering a hole in your livewell trying to catch the fish you had just caught.

Nice report/ Nice Pictures/ and Nice Fish!

[GLF]

Was he pulling lead core?