April 2001 Brown Trout Results from

Capt. John's Log

This page contains the exact results from every charter with no embellishment.  This is a "tell it like it is" standard of honesty that Capt. John King is known for.  Proof can be found in the archived links to photos that accompany every charter.  While other charter operations might give you a bunch of "pie in the sky" unfounded promises. Here, you can see and read the precise verification of the whole story when it comes to fishing with King's Charter Service, we serve the reel facts1

4/30/01  I cancelled the Curt Meekhoff trip today, because of the lousy fishing in Manistee.  This charter thing only works for me if we can do some catching, not just fishing!  Hopefully, Curt will rebook for the outstanding spring fishery in Saugatuck.  My concern for a successful fishing trip outweighs the financial gain on my part.

4/29/01  I met with Gary Doublestein and his friends, Irv, Dick and Mike at 6:45am.  After I informed them of the poor fishing, we decided to try it for a while so Irv could pick up a few pointers on Lake Michigan Brown Trout techniques.  We had 2 half hearted tugs from what we though might be fish, and no further action.  So, Gary is going to rebook for Saugatuck in a week or two.  The party's over for Brown Trout on the shoreline off Manistee for this season, or at least for now.

4/28/01 Matt Eurich and his fishing buddies; Jim, Mike and Bill spent a pretty uneventful day in search of Brown Trout on Lake Michigan.  We hit 3 fish while setting up and things started off just fine, then heavy shoreline pressure and east winds took it's toll.  The fish were just not in the mood to cooperate!  We covered over 20 miles of shoreline and even tried sewn minnows with cowbells to no avail.  Overall we had 5, maybe 6 hits and boated 3 Browns to about 6 pounds.
    This was a wonderful group of highly experienced anglers who deserved better than what I was able to show them.  When we got back to the dock at 4:00pm, we found out most boats got skunked or had catches even skimpier than our 3 fish.
Click here for the meager catch photo and 4 outstanding fishermen to deal with!
Don't believe the smiles in the photo, that's the men putting on their game face.

4/27/01 I was supposed to be fishing with Walt Cockfield this afternoon, but traffic delayed him and it was decided to find him another boat for tomorrow.  The starting time would have been 6:00pm, much too late to get in much fishing before dark.

4/24/01  I'll be spending most of the day pulling maintenance and adding new equipment to the Cherokee.  The 4 rod holders per downrigger is an amazing option, and only Fishlander offers it!  The more I use my new riggers, the more I like them.
               Click here to see the rigger with 4 rod holders per unit

4/22/01 I had the wonderful opportunity to fish with 3 generations of the Gosk Family, Jason, Randy, Ron and dad Richard.  What a time we had!  Fun was the theme for the day as humor and laughter kept us busy when the fish didn't.  
    We had our hands full with a triple header, boating all 3 and ended up with 6 beautiful Brown Trout to about 14 pounds, maybe more.  Cooperation and team work showed through out the charter.  The fishermen today never lost a hooked up fish, due to their patience and competence with a fishing rod.  
   So far this season, it's been a quality fishery and not numbers of 2 to 3 pound Browns like last year.  We didn't have a fish today below 8 pounds.......incredible!!!!!
      Click here for catch photo        Click here for Richard's trophy Brown Trout

4/21/01 I fished with Gary Bishop, Matt, Barry and Rich Pines today, the predicted stout winds from the southwest caused us to quit early.  We had 8 hits and boated 4 Brown trout to 9 pounds.  It's better to err on the side of safety, than tough it out.

4/19/01pm   I fished the afternoon charter with Joe Peraino, Al and son Max Iafrate.  Al Iafrate is a 5 time NHL All Star, playing for Toronto and Washington.  Al holds the record for the world's fastest slap shot clocked at 105 mph.  I thoroughly more than enjoyed the company of this afternoons guests.
   During the course of the afternoon event we had about 10 strikes and boated 4 Browns to maybe 12 pounds and the first King Salmon of the year.  Steady is the word that best describes both the morning and afternoon action.  
    Hot lures included: Vampire, Perch, Red and Gold, and Black and Silver S-11 Rapalas on 125 to a 150 foot leads. Click here for their catch photo.

4/19/01am  This morning, I fished Ron and Bob Schlosser and Eric.  We hit about 9 quality fish and they boated 5 Browns on the am trip.  Click here for catch photo

4/14/01  Today, I fished with two excellent big water anglers, Doug Herig and his long time fishing partner, Pat.  After an awfully slow start, we got into some "Reel Brown Trout Fishing."  Doug who had dreamed of catching trophy class Brown Trout, had his wishes fulfilled when he landed a Master Angler 17 pound fish after a fierce and lengthy, hard won fight.  The 17 pounder was a beer barrel, football shaped bruiser, a prime example of what Manistee has to offer.
 Click here for Doug's 17 pound trophy    Click here for their dockside catch photo.
    These guy's knew how to fish!  They proved that, when they boated every fish and never missed a strike......incredible to say the least!  The full day trip flew by, with almost nonstop limit catch action and continuous laughter.  This was a good time with a couple of terrific fishermen to spend time with.  The death toll was 9 Browns, with several in the 7 to 12 pound class.  Hey, even I caught some fish.

4/13/01  The couple of Lynn Sager and Terri Pollack were my fishing guests today.  The morning started out with 3 footers in an uncomfortable beam sea troll.  Then around 9:30am the Brown Trout "went on the bite."  In short order we had 10 strikes and landed 7 Browns and missed a King that was in the 16 to 20 pound class right behind the stern of my boat.       Click here to see their limit of Brown Trout.
   Both Terri and Lynn did a magnificent job on the rods, landing hard fighting aggressive fish that for the most part wouldn't stay in the water.  While Browns aren't known as leapers, but today's fish thought they were rockets.  A great trip and it's was a heartbreaker to have the hooks pull free on that monster King Salmon.      

4/12/01  I had to cancel Ron Scholosser, because of gale force winds, Ron has rescheduled for 4/19/01.

4/11/01  Today's most excellent guests were Dave Cunningham, Chris and Dave Esterline from last February.  We were plagued by some of the worst conditions known to man, with horizontal rain and high off shore winds to 25 knots.  The dreadful weather was more than offset by the friendly camaraderie of the 3 incredible fishermen mentioned above.     Click here for Dave Esterline's trophy
    "Wind from the east, catching is the least," that was what we were up against and we still managed a decent box of fish.  Today's anglers never, and I repeat never, missed a hit or lost a fish.  A remarkable testament the these fishermen's top-notch angling abilities.  Oh yeah, we ended up boating 6 Browns to at least 12 pounds and small Steelhead on a wet dreary day that didn't seem so bad after all.    
      In the charter business it's easy to look good when cooperation and a team effort come into focus.  It's was a great time for all aboard including myself!  A big "thank you" goes out to Dave, Chris and Dave for the great steak dinner at Rico's.  It was a superb way to top off an amazing day on Lake Michigan trolling for Brown Trout.     Click here for their catch photo   

4/10/01  I fished Lake Michigan today with Wendell Wilk and Kim Vance for Brown Trout.  We sacrificed quantity for quality. boating 2 Brown Trout in the 12 to 14 lb. class and Wendell boated a 12 lb. Steelhead hen in full spawning colors.  East wind that switched to northeast didn't exactly set the fish on fire and luck was on our side boating 3 large fish under the worst possible wind direction. 
     It was fitting that Wendell landed a "reel nice" Steelhead, because he originally wanted to hit the river, but when I explained how slow the Big Manistee was he opted for Lake Michigan.  I'd like to personally that both fishermen for their patience and skill on the rods by never losing a hooked up fish.  As slow as it was, today wasn't a day to miss fish.  Click here for Wendell's Steelhead      Click here for Kim's trophy Brown

4/8/01 Fished with Eric, Derrick, Dave, Tom and Kevin Bowerman today.  Because of rough seas left over from yesterday we started at 11am.  The Brown Trout fishing on Lake Michigan has really picked up from the south blow we just had.  We had at least 25 hits, but the Browns weren't staying stuck and we lost a bunch of fish.  The death toll was 7 Brown Trout and a Laker we released.  
The action was excellent because of the 49 degree water onshore.
   Click here for catch photo                   Click here for Derrick's 10 pound Brown  

4/7/01  While I had enough sense not to try fishing today, a boat sank off Manistee with 3 very brave lads aboard.  All were rescued by the Coast Guard.

4/7/01 Met Ian and Todd Sloan at the boat this morning at 7:30am and was much to windy to even consider fishing the big lake.  I'd like to thank Todd for being willing to rebook for a later date.  I received a well needed improved fishing report on the Browns in Lake Michigan.  The fish had moved onshore yesterday afternoon and the boats that fished in the pm all did decent for the most part....finally!!!!!!!!!!!

4/6/01  I was on Lake Michigan today with the Heath, Josh and Ron Blewett in search of Brown Trout.  Fishing was simply great and the catching was totally non-existent along the Manistee's shoreline.  The Blewett's took pity on me and let me quit early as we decided to postpone their date to more favorable conditions, because of lack of cooperation from Mr. Brown Troutis.  They're just not here yet.  
     I don't mind doing battle with fish, but they're supposed to let you win once in a while, so far this season times have been tough for both river Steelhead and shoreline Brown Trout.  Hopefully, today with the high wind things will improve.

4/5/01  Had the father-son team of Travis, and dad, Tim Anthony as guests today on the Manistee River.  We hit 3 Steelhead and were fortunate to boat 2 fish.  The Anthony's are from Fairbanks, Alaska and are reel fishermen, believe me.  Travis unassisted hooked and landed a dandy full colored buck in the 10 to 12 pound class.  In the last hole of the day I pulled a rabbit out of the hat and Tim caught a bright wild, thrashing chrome hen in snag infested waters, I'd rather be lucky than good! Click here for the father-son photo

4/4/01 Dave and Kyle Bradley along with Russ Boomsma were my guests today.  We had 6 strikes and boated 4 Brown Trout on Lake Michigan in bluebird conditions.  So, the lake was nice, the weather and the company was great.  The fishing improved slightly, but the catching was on the slow side.  Look for improvement as the winds switch to the south tomorrow.  Inshore water temp is now 42 degrees. 
Look for awesome results by this weekend as spring gets into full swing.

4/3/01  I fished today Jason Crawford, Jeff, Jeremiah and Todd.  We 3 hits and boated a Brown Trout in short order.  Then east wind took it's toll and we didn't hit another fish as the seas built to around 4 foot, so we quit early to cut our loses.  These were nice folks to fished with and deserved better than what was available to us.

4/1/01  I had great group of fishermen today, who I named the "3 Amigos."  The infamous Amigos consisted of Jerry Devon, Ken Glen and Jeff Peck and were out to catch some fish and have a good time.  After almost getting skunked at 10:30am we hit our first Brown Trout on Lake Michigan.  Jeff showed extreme patience and talent in landing a trophy sized Brown Trout in the 10 to 12 pound range.  We hit another 5 fish and Jerry, Kenny and the head honcho amigo, Jeff boated 3 more Browns.  
    The weight of the catch didn't match the sheer enjoyment these "World Class Anglers" showed to me.  The banter and laughs continued throughout the 7 hours we spent on the pond.    Click here the see Jeff's Brown & the lure he caught it on 

3/31/01  I launched the 28 foot Cherokee on Lake Michigan today.  We trolled for better that 3 hours and landed a throw-back Lake Trout and a small Brown Trout.  Needless to say, I wasn't impressed by the quality of the experience. Slow Fishing!
    The fishing should be picking up soon with predicted warm weather.  At this time in Manistee the season is at least 2 weeks behind the last couple of years.
                 Click here to see the first Brown Trout of the 2001 season.