April

6/30/07 Today is the day when Project SR 1979 reaches completion. While there's some cosmetic issues on the bow, this boat will reach full readiness to fish by 6/31/07 (tomorrow). The plan is to go out of Manistee, MI in the afternoon if the seas are in our favor. This project has been a fun deal and a great extended hobby rejuvenating an older boat that many would think is over the hill. I haven't figured the final budget tally yet, but it looks like a total around 12K for all the improvements like upgrades to the interior, cost of boat, electronics, riggers, 15 hp. four stroke kicker motor...etc.
$12,000.00 nowadays would be just a down payment on a new boat on a boat in the same size range. Click for reel-story on Project SR 1979
This article is split into 3 pages to keep load time for dial up users to a minimum.

6/29/07 Many thanks to Scott R for sending in a close-up shot of a 25 pound Lake Ontario King Salmon. This good sized early season King was taken with a 2007 Krystal Killer Super Mag Meat Head. Scott is very dedicated and he's sent photos to me before of alewives he nets (himself). Plus, a trophy 34# tournament winning monster King caught with my products. My hat is off to Scott for brightening up this website with a fish we all want to catch! Click for close-up of my Super Mag Heads in action!
25 pound Kings used to be common place for ports like Frankfort, Ludington and Manistee before 2003. Nowadays, any Lake Michigan King that goes over 20 pound mark is considered a good fish. Last season I was on the water 5 times aboard John J's 23' Four Winns. Out of about 40 fish, out largest was just a hair over 21 pounds.

6/28/07 After getting a couple of probing emails pointed at the attendance being down 33% in the Bud Pro-Am, this dates back to when I last competed in this event in the earlier i2ks. The 2007 Ladies Day actually saw a 3 boat increase.
Now that I straightened these 2 things, it seems to me that some of our larger fishing organizations really dropped the ball on public safety issues here in Manistee County. Keeping current net locations posted in a time sensitive manner was not high on their list of priorities. Not once did the Presidents of the MCSFA or the MAC (Manistee Area Charters) call me as to verify what's posted on my Net Locations Page. Maybe, they just had ....more important things to do?
You know, if we all worked together a safer situation would be offered & the boat parking lot at the First Street Launch in Manistee would be full, like it used to be!

6/27/07   Took some improved photos of the Meat Rig Storage Cases in action. These photos show a truly unique product that solves the storage/tangling issues with meat rigs.   You can fit 24 meat rigs in each box, easily! Just turn one upside down and the other one with the rigs facing up. This keeps the double snelled trebles for catching line. Click for open box   Click for closed box Click to purchase boxes
      I feel like a I'm writing Manistee's epitaph, as more nets were set in the 11s south of Manistee harbor. From straight out of Manistee for the next 12 miles south to Big Point Sable, is all pretty much trap nets. There's hardly any openings to fish structure like we used to for the past 30 some years. Kinda hard to swallow.....eh?
     There's at least one commercial net boat headed towards Frankfort, MI. So, we haven't seen the worst of the screwing we got in the 2000 Consent Decree yet! Lea$ing the rights with seasonal restrictions would have been far more preferable!!!!

6/26/07 It seems to me, according to last weekend's port reports, Lake Michigan was just rated at mediocre, if you were looking for Kings. There was a good bite for Kings in Manistee this past Sunday am, but the same area the previous day before held zilch. This says a lot about the Salmon being on the move looking for bait.
Lake Huron, out of Grindstone/Port Austin was a Laker festival in last weekend's Offshore Challenge Tournament. Message board member, Codfish went from the bottom of the heap (20th) on day one...to finish on day two in second place overall!
My congratulations to Team Codfish for being able to turn things around.
Manistee's Bud Pro-Am Tournament suffered a 33% decline in boats competing.
Dropped off some bumper stickers at Shipwatch Marina, they said, "on Saturday, (June 23rd, 2007) we only sold fuel to about 20 boats." Normal would have been 60 to 80.

6/25/07 Should have the latest word on this past weekends fishing results by tomorrow. It sounds to me that Kewaunee, WI has the best Salmon action by far. Capt. Steve S was kind enough to send in today's featured photo of a good King taken on the 12" X-Glow Green Frog Flasher combo. Click for an excellent pro photo
This pattern is top three in sales in the 12 inchers and number one in the 10" BTIs. My X-Glow flashers and heads glow for hours and can pick up a charge as deep as plus 100' feet from UV light. UV penetrates water much deeper than the visible light us Homo sapiens accustomed to seeing, mainly being red, green and blue.
Project SR 1979 took a shake down cruise yesterday. We launched in Stronach (Manistee Lake), by the Little Manistee River......where I plan on using this boat in October and November for late season Steelhead/Salmon. All went pretty good with no major bugaboos. Found out this older Sea Ray tops out at an honest 32 mph and has a easy cruise speed of 24 mph at 2900 rpms. Click for boat on plane photo

6/24/07 Capt. Dick Donovan from Adventure Charters stopped by to pick up bumper sticker and gave me a current report on what's happening with the fish in Manistee. Capt. Dick said, "the fishing is decent on the 36 line for Steelhead, some salmon and lots of Lake Trout. It seemed everyone was doing OK with the fish"
The 36 line is about 10 miles straight out from the harbor. I'm sure the catching was done in the top 30' over 500 to 700 feet of water with the surface/bird lines doing most of the damage. There is a temp good break from 59 to 51 degrees according to the Sea Grant Coastwatch Temp Chart. Click here for 6/22/07 temp chart

6/23/07 Going to tie up a lot of loose ends on Project SR 1979 today. I want have this boat 100% absolutely ready for the 4th of July. The Little Manistee River has an early run of adult Kings and I want to be ready for these larger early summer Kings.
On August 18th, 2007 we're having a tournament for our message board members in Arcadia, MI. This will get away us from the summer crowds and into a area free of nets. Myself?.....I'm not worried about the Manistee nets, but I am concerned for those newer to big water fishing, who's navigational skills could come into question.

6/22/07 The word I'm hearing from Manistee, MI only says fair fishing. There are fish being caught here, but it's a longs ways from a big deal. The best report mentioned Pearl Double Glow 12 inch flashers (w/matching meat rig fish deep), off Big Point Sable. 150' to 240' on the rigger counters was putting some Kings in the higher teens for big water anglers comfortable fishing this deep!
Kudos to Capt. Dave Deforest and the LRB for being intelligent enough to hire him for their Tribal Enforcement Police. He is the silver lining in the commercial net cloud that hangs over our Great Lakes. Capt. Dave will be passing out net location hand-outs at tomorrow evening's Captains meeting for the Budweiser Pro-Am Tournament at the Manistee's Armory (on First Street). He will field open questions on net info/locations and how to best avoid them. My hat is off to Capt. Deforest for a job well done in extremely tough circumstances!

6/21/27 On this first day of summer, Pres. Jeb Bush signed into law the Emergency Water Draw Down Act. Global warming has caused a sweltering heat wave in the drought stricken, parched sunbelt states. Pres. Bush's Vice President, Chelsea Clinton was instrumental in getting the bill pushed thru congress.
      The Mississippi River will act as the draw down conduit, then states needing water will be able to use their newly installed fresh water pipelines. This new law authorizes a lowering of 50', in 3 stages over a time period of 180 days.
      Think the above is fantasy from 20 years in the future? Let's hope so, but the reel-fact remains anything to do with lessening the quality of our Great Lakes lowers it's value. Thusly, making it easier for dry sunbelt states with little water resources and a growing populace to go after our Great Lakes H2O.
      If you know how to navigate by GPS, the commercial trap nets for now are all marked and can be avoided with a watchful eye. Good luck to all fishing this upcoming weekend's Budweiser Pro-Am be held in Manistee, MI. Click here for net locations

6/20/07 I regret to inform everyone the search and rescue efforts by the U.S.C.G have been called off for David Goulette from Richmond, MI. David was an experienced big water fisherman and has personal friends at our message board. Let's all hope a miracle happens and David is found alive. My condolences to all concerned.
Dealing with the many nets in Manistee is still in the new stage to many of us that ply the waters from Onekama to Big Point Sable. If you do accidentally get stuck in a net?.....do not try to retrieve your gear, cut all rigger cables with SHARP side cutters and use scissors cut off the remaining lines.
This must be done ASAP immediately, without a second thought, as your life could depend on speedy action. Especially, if you're in a smaller (under 25') boat and the seas are rough.

6/19/07 Manistee, MI has a missing fisherman. On Saturday, June 16, 2007, 47 year old David Goulette, launched his 22' Starcraft for a solo Manistee fishing trip on Lake Michigan. He was reported missing Sunday evening and the Coast Guard found his boat today, around 3pm about 30 miles west of Frankfort, MI. This search continues, so there's still hope. I've fished off 22' Starcraft boats and it would be a hard boat to fall out of, because of the high gunnels.
      Could this mysterious accident be attributed to being tangled in a LRB net? Presently, know one knows what happened and it's too early to point fingers.
      I contacted the LRB Tribal Law Enforcement Officer, Capt. Dave Deforest yesterday to get the current locations of the ever growing net farm off the Port of Manistee. He reported 16 sets net markers from Big Point Sable to Onekama, MI.
      The new Net Locations Page has been updated per his information. Some of the nets are set very close together. The nets that worry me most are the one's at 15.4, 14.9 & 13.1 off Manistee's once fishable shelf. It is 1000% impossible now to fish structure from the 60' to 200' depths like we used too!

6/18/07 Great Lakes fishermen are a non-organized group who all are happy just to wet some lines, catch a few fish and enjoy being on the water. Being loosely, or not organized has led to the current situation going on in Manistee, MI with more nets everyday. What was once prime trolling water?... is now totally inaccessible.
       If you're sickened by the way our privileges are being siphoned off daily, please consider joining our pro-active private message board. We have member's who've brought attention by writing letters, calling newspapers and bitching like hell our state legislators. When we have a large voice, we will be listened to! Click to join
       Our message board members have donated their money to get the ball rolling with a bumper sticker campaign saying no to the tactics of the LRB netters.
       I agree they have the right to fish in the same manner when the treaty was signed in 1836. Also, I agree they a right to be an independent sovereign nation, but their right to dual citizenship is not a right. LRB take what's needed from our laws, then ignore the principles the USA was founded on. Just ask any casino employee about the discrimination against non-Indians that goes on inside the LRB casino.

6/17/07 Happy Fathers Day! This is a special holiday where we pay homage to our fathers. Without them, none of us would be here.
     Manistee continues down the path of a deserted ghost town. Yesterday morning at the First Street Public Launch there was barely a dozen fishermen using it.
     Best report I heard about yesterday was slow, but tolerable. Message board members, Uncle Rich and Zooby Do boat 4 Kings to almost 15 pounds.
      There's a new trap net in the Port of Manistee, MI. This new one is almost due west from Manistee's harbor on about 15.2. The exact position need to be further clarified, but there's one definitely in the area.

6/16/07 New hydraulic steering has been adapted to Project Sea Ray 1979. This boat now steers effortlessly with one finger. This was impossible with the stock Mercruiser power assist steering. Doing this change-over was necessary to rely on the ultra quiet 4 stroke 15 hp. Johnson as main source of trolling propulsion.
Having a boat you can control, instead of your boat controlling you is beyond important, it's the reel-deal. Hydraulic steering lends itself to a better autopilot that makes holding a true course a snap. Click for new helm/controls
In the new helm/control photo you can see the electric start control box for the Johnson 15 hp. kicker in the far right of this image, along with the newly installed hydraulic tilt helm pump and stainless steel steering wheel.

6/15/07 The inshore, off Manistee's shelf has slowed, if you can weave thru the slalom course of trap nets. Reports say, small Kings and darn few to boot. For mid-June this is normal. Horace Greeley's statement of, "go west young man" is appropriate for this time of the year. Going distances of 10 to 20 miles, then concentrating on the top 30', enough though you'll be over 500 to 800 feet of water. This deep water fishery's quarry is mainly surface feeding Steelhead on vertical thermo bars, along with the ever present Lake Trout. Be safe, and good luck to all weekend fishermen on this Fathers Day Weekend.

6/14/07 There is a solution to the mess currently happening in the Port of Manistee, MI concerning over zealous tribal netters. They are their own worst enemy and two things will happen. One....they run out of fish, as Lake Michigan is not a endless body of water. Two...the price of whitefish will be driven lower due to over supply. Three...they will run out of monies given to them by the State of Michigan in the 2000 Consent Decree. In case you didn't know, we the tax paying public of Michigan and fishing license purchasers bought the nets & fish tugs. Then, the federal government steps in and pays the salaries of the tribal police. Sweet deal...eh?
Penalizing those owning private businesses in Manistee for the actions of few tribal netters by just staying away needs a better solution.
Not all LRB tribal members are in full agreement with what's going on. Many tribe members have deep roots in Manistee County and know this is an interconnected community. When one business goes under, more will surely soon follow.

6/13/07 Unless you're an experienced navigator, your best bet is to avoid Manistee, MI for the time being. Tribal netting fanatics, the Stones have dropped another net in prime structured water at 14.8. This NEW net begins in 80' and runs west to 140'.
     Telling fishermen to stay away for the time being, puts me between a rock and a hard place. I have several friends that own businesses in Manistee. July and August is the "Christmas Season" for marina operators, motels and tackle stores all depending on the summer Salmon fishermen business, including myself!
     However, I must err on the side of safety and warn the weekend warriors....things are not at all that kosher in Manistee, unless you know this port extremely well.
     The Stones are the tribal fishers that did not mark nets clearly (milk jugs) when they were in Ludington in the earlier i2ks. Also, they did not tend their nets very well and had some get away. If my memory serves me correctly, an outside firm had to be hired to pull what the Stone's simply abandoned.
     Tommy Battice, current Ludington tribal fisher has formed a good working relationship with the hook and line fishing community. Can we hope, Israel and Levi Stone (current Manistee) tribal fishers will do the same?
     One more thing needs to be mentioned: if your fishing club is having a tourney in Manistee this summer, please for safety's sake, delay the starting time till first light, so you can see where you're going. Remember the life you save, might be your own!

6/12/07 Here's a fresh report from the overlooked Port Sheldon, MI:
"Was out Sunday night for about 4 hours and was just killing them on the black mamba and secret weapon. We ended with a triple and the biggest hit 17 pounds. What a night! 8 of the fish came on your meat rigs, the 2 Lakers came on full cores on spoons and one other king came on full core with spoon, but the rest all on meat!
                        Click for an awesome meat catch photo
Have been a fan of your meat rigs, but this is the first time I really lit them up in the spring. Also, my biggest fish of the year so far this year.   Can't wait to get back out there. Hope you enjoy the pictures." ......Capt. Steve H. from the Westwind
      Please let me add, Steve forgot his net and all the fish were landed by hand.

6/11/07 Today's featured photo is from about a week ago out of the Port of Algoma WI. Terry W went solo, Mano a Mano against the Kings in the middle to high teens with Super Mag heads. Here's some quotable excerpts from the skipper of Terrys Toy:
".......this was my first trip running whole bait fish. It was a solo trip in which, I went by myself. Conditions were socked in with fog and flat water. The dodger and fly fishermen were struggling to come in with one and two fish. I left the harbor at 4am and was limited out at 7:30am. Click for 1 on 1 meat catch
Fished along side the charter boats due to they saw me netting fish and boxed me in. Only saw shakers being netted on charter boats. Back to the dock by 9 AM, I really noticed the fish swallowing bait further down their throats. I have not been able to break the 18# weight on the fish yet, but all fish have been between 11 & 17lbs........The reason why the probe is in the throat of the one fish is we were doing some field testing on how far down we could run the probe without getting water in it and took a 14# fish down 289 feet with the largest 6 to 7 inch whole bait fish I had!"

6/10/07 Here's words from a LRB spokesperson: "will be fishing for whitefish and chub, we ordinarily will not be located where the sport fish are that active"
This is a total bunch of unenlightened propaganda. The LRB's former Ogemaw (chief) is, or was a charter captain and knows for a fact 13.2 is in the direct path of the highest sports fishing traffic territory out of the Port of Manistee, MI. You can also lay witness to the fact safety is not very high on the LRB's list of priorities, or they'd have posted the lat/lons when the nets first went in, LIKE I DID!
It's sad to see the unmitigated disregard for human life displayed by the LRB. In case they do not know, under the best conditions net markers can be hard to see. In rough water?......nearly impossible, unless you have a good idea where they are. Anglers must avoid a net area completely, and the poor turn out of the sports fleet in Manistee (so far this season) says the big water fishermen are going elsewhere. Just look at the current poll for complete verification with a 70% negative.

6/9/07 Spent most of yesterday working on Project Sea Ray 1979. I've keep a running diary on improvements on my new trailerable boat. I haven't owned a boat suitable for the big water since 2003 when I sold my 28' Cherokee to Capt. Paul Vantol who now charters out of the Port of Ludington, MI.   Click for the major refit details
      Best part about the project that's kinda turned into a mini-hobby is: no payment book! Plus, there was enough room left in the a budget for a gas stingy four stroke 15 hp. Johnson outboard with full helm controls (elect. start, shift, & throttle). Trolling all day on 3 gallons of gas (or less) is a wise way to defeat $3.00 a gallon gas prices.
      This 22' 79 Sea Ray should be ready for it's maiden voyage by 6/15/07, if the parts and pieces arrive for the new hydraulic steering by mid-week. Then, I'm gonna go looking to pick some serious fights with my namesakes....Mr. King Salmon!

6/8/07 We got close to 3 inches of rain back a few days ago. New water coming out of Manistee large basin mean enriched food sources at the beginning of the food chain. Plankton growth should get a jump start around Manistee harbor, thusly bringing in the alewives, which we haven't seen so far this year. The plan is when the harbor loads with bait is to use my cast net to get a load of fresh alewives.
Cast nets are legal in Michigan, but only 8 foot in circumference, or a 4 foot radius. Cast nets fully open from centrifugal force. I'm in the process of testing 3 types of nets. The most promising has a add on throwing ring, you have to install on the cast net's brail lines. Brail lines are what closes the net. Ice your bait immediately and sprinkle the ice liberally with kosher pickling salt to start the preservation process ASAP. Stayed tuned for photos of how this pans out.

6/7/07 The new poll I'm running isn't looking all that hot for Manistee businesses that depend on the Salmon fisherman's dollars. Most business are lucky to clear 10% and losing possible 50% of your trade could spell trouble.   Please vote your opinion.
      Better news on the gas price front. Gas in Minnesota has slipped to around 2.89. Let's hope this trend moves east at warp speed. Ports like Manistee, Ludington and Frankfort are all experiencing extremely light boat traffic, especially Manistee.
      By the middle of this month, look for a major update for the Net Location Page. Recently, 2 more trap nets were said to have went in someplace?....around Manistee.
When a charter skipper I know,.. asked the tribal fishers where they'd just set a new net, their discourteous reply was, "oh, we don't keep track of stuff like that!"

6/6/07 Northern Michigan's Mackinaw City has grown up with a full service sporting goods store. I'm speaking of the new Mackinaw Outfitters that's affiliated with Bass Pro Shops. This super store has the largest selection of tackle in the north country.
I'm proud to say, they carry the vast majority of my product line in flashers & rigs.
Today's featured photo is from message board member, SteveO. He snapped a shot of what a whole bait fish looks like when a King in the mid-teen shreds the meat.
Click for chewed up skeleton So, far whole has been producing a "cut" above, sliced....or strips. The first production run of the new Super Mag Heads has almost been sold out. I will be picking up more tomorrow in Bridgeman, MI at Kruger Plastics.

6/5/07 Let's all take a day off from woes of high gas prices, commercial nets and any not so pleasant news associated with our Great Lakes fishing.
Today's featured photos show why we choose fishing as a pastime. The photos are from last Friday evening out of the Port of St. Joe, MI. Message board members, Mike L and Reel Turner teamed up for a evening devoted to taking their children fishing. You can tell this was a huge hit with the youngsters by the big grins on their adorable faces. Click for Devon, Mike, King Kobra Click for Mike, Devon & Ava
While catching was slow that evening on a fleet wide consensus, kids always bring good luck no matter what the circumstances are. I'm proud of Mike and Mark for spending quality time with their children. Click for Reel Turner's son The beaming smiles on the kid's faces remind us why we fish. Many thanks for the great photos and it's my pleasure to share them with the viewers of this website!

6/4/07 Lots of fish in Manistee according to Capt. Tom Rasmussen who pulled 20 fish on the morning 6/3/07. He said, "our biggest King was just over 11 pounds, with 5 & 10 color lead cores being the hot setup." Also, mentioned was very light boat traffic.
Updated the Net Location Page to include the boats names of the tribal tugs. This ties in with yesterday's update about false rumors: they store nets behind the Burger King in Manistee and will not be building a fish processing plant. More BS gossip floating around is the untruth of 10 fish tugs to be operating out of Manistee.
At first I cringed at the idea of shouldering the huge task of posting where the nets are. Then thought, my first responsibility is the safety of our sport fishing fleet.
Please use the net locations as an APPROX, cuz new one's will set, & old ones moved.

6/3/07 I was going to leave today's update pretty basic about the soon to happen Little River Band tribal netting operations in Muskegon & Whitehall.
     Then this came to mind: message boards are a great tool, wrongfully used sometimes, if they lack full-time control. False rumors can spread like wildfire with those misleading the public serving their own agendas. It's plain ignorant to think a misinformation rumor spreading campaign is going to do anyone one lick of good.
      Our message board members under a higher code of conduct. They're instructed, unless it's from reliable sources....known to them in the first person,
do not post possible errant information. With message boards, comes freedom of speech. Unfortunately, this comes with a freedom to tell self-serving lies!

6/2/07 Best I heard yesterday in Manistee was 10 fish taken down south. The Kings were juveniles in the throw back to 6 pound range. This season is topsy turvy, cuz generally the small Salmon are still in some of the more southerly ports. Along with this report came a message that the Super Mag Meat Heads with whole bait fish out performed strips by a 3 to 1 margin.

6/1/07 Unconfirmed, but from reliable sources more trap nets (1 or 2) have been set in waters close to Manistee, MI. That would bring the total to 13, or a net for every 2 miles from the Big Point Sable to Onekama, MI, of what "used to be" open waters.
     I hope, I'm wrong, but there will be serious consequences to both our sport of big water trolling and the lives will be at stake. The LRB band should be smarter than this, cuz as soon as ONE fisherman drowns from being tangled in LRB netting operations ......the negative publicity will damage their casino revenue.
     And to, there is a breaking point we all have before normal peaceful actions are thrown out the window and stronger ill advised measures are taken.
     Let's all hope there is some sanity, somewhere in the upper council LRB of tribal elders that see what's going on,... is only going to lead to problems for all concerned.
     Stupidity by the inexperienced tribal fishers says, too many nets in one place will limit the amount of fish taken. Also, the Stones (Manistee netters) and Tommy Battice (Ludington netters) are fighting over net placements, like one being set on top of another one.
      I do not relish bringing you this kind of news, but it MUST be reported. Safety of our sports fleet is my first and foremost major concern!

5/31/07 Today is the world debut of new 10 & 12 inch flashers. King Purple Glo was requested in the 12 inch size by several in WI. New for the 10 and 12 inch flasher lines is Clear Blue, Emerald Green. Both of these colors are very popular in meat rigs. So, perfectly matching flashers is the next logical idea. Stay tuned as photos of the new stuff will be posted sometime before late afternoon. Click for new BTIs
While I try to keep commercialism down on this website, every now and then I gotta pay the bills. By purchasing tackle from www.michiganangler.com you can rest assured of top-quality and performance a cut above the competition.

5/30/07 Confirmed new net is at N 44-13.248 W 086-24.829 in 90 FOW. This is a stake in the heart of all fishermen, not just those in Manistee. LRB tribal fishers line of BS said there commercial netting operation was gonna create 80 to 100 new jobs.
Ha!.... this is a crock of you know what, because it's doing exactly the reverse. Thusly, keeping many away from the "Net Capital of the Great Lakes," Manistee, MI!
On a lighter note, Mark C & Tom M from Black Ice Productions were out filming underwater action out of East Chicago, IN. They captured a short a video of an aggressive Coho meeting it's demise on a BTI and meat rig about 50' down. You can see how ferocious underwater strikes are by clicking here for this video

5/29/07 NET WARNING! Smack dab in the middle of Manistee's most highly trafficked shelf, there's a net at 13.2 starting in about 50 fow and moving west to 140 fow. This location brings to mind, the tune by Ted Nugent: Stranglehold!
      This shows the iniquitous net fishers have ABSOLUTELY no respect for the sports fishing fleet.   Things are not cool in Manistee, MI is the way I see it!
      The reel assessment of the last weekend's Memorial Day Weekend was: nobody was in Manistee. 25% of what's considered normal?... with gas being over 3.50 a gallon keeping many away. Then,... there's the tribal netters scaring several away.
      Fishing for spring Kings was just decent, but not anything close to red hot. Best was north, or 2 miles south of Guerney Creek to before you ran into more nets at the 6s, north of Big Point Sable. Silvery spring Kings from 6 to 15 lbs were being reported.

5/28/07 Please spend some time today remembering the sacrifice put forth by members of our armed forces since 1776. I do not have words for the ultimate courage displayed by our armed forces.
Special Net Alert: 8pm last night there was a tribal fisher setting a net in the 13s in 80 to 100 feet of water according to message board member, Jerryriggin.

5/27/07 According my count with the lat/lons supplied to me by Tribal Law Enforcement Officer, Capt. Dave Deforest, the are 11 sets of nets from Onekama to Big Point Sable. Then, there's the unconfirmed net marker at 16.1. Your safest water is from the 8s to the 18's (discounting the 16.1 marker). Manistee has more nets, than the NBA and when is enough..... enough? Click here for net lat/lons
Manistee was a hit & miss deal from yesterday's fish reports. Best I heard was from Capt. Larry Scharich. His vessel the "Reel Pleasure" took a dozen fish in about 6 hrs. Skipper Larry said, "no one place was better than another and a lot of wandering from shallow to deep was done. Results were from a slow, but steady pick."

5/26/07   Today's featured photo is the 2007 Super Mag Heads and Alewives from our Great Lakes. 5 to 7 inch Alewives were inserted into the heads for demonstration purposes. Super Mags were designed for many different kinds of bait.
        VHS has been confirmed in Lake Michigan. The State of Wisconsin seems to be the leader in identifying this fish disease that is said not to be harmful to humans.
Click here for rest of the story from the Green Bay Gazette. Interesting fact is Smallmouth Bass were identified as carriers, but not infected with the virus and appeared healthy. FO-245 must be adjusted to stay current with this news.
       Tomorrow's update will focus on how little water Manistee anglers have left, as there are now 11 sets of nets from Big Point Sable to Onekama. Click for locations

5/25/07 9:15am today: "Hot" report from Capt. Chuck's in Ludington, MI. Craig said charters boxed out this morning by 8:30am. Kings were running 10 to 12 pounds!

5/25/07 Two nets off the port of Onekama had their marker buoys cut off. This is plain stupidity! Not to mention the dangerous navigational hazard this causes for the fishing public. I do not like the nets as much as anyone, but we need to know where they are so we can avoid getting tangled up in this BS fiasco we have to deal with.
Doug T sent in a photo of a King Salmon with BKD (bacterial kidney disease) he caught last weekend while fishing off Muskegon, MI. In case you haven't seen BKD before?.... please examine this photo closely: click here for BKD in King Salmon
Weekend fishing for spring Kings should be good off Manistee & Ludington. A recent hard south blow yesterday set up conditions perfectly. Gas in Manistee on 5/25/07 was $3.55 a gallon as big oil shows no mercy on the working man!

5/24/07 Just started on an important new page for this website. I will do my best to keep the net page current. The net page will be updated before all others on this website ,as the info is made available to me. Thanks to Capt. Dave Deforest, Tribal Law Enforcement for the info we have so far. Click for net locations page
Today's featured photo is deeply scarred King caught last weekend in Grand Haven. To me?....it looks like a large lamprey was at work. Perhaps, Tom Rozich from the Cadillac, MI DNR can confirm what this wound is from? Click for scarred fish

5/23/07 Kings in Manistee, MI are now being caught in decent numbers. Capt. Larry Scharich took 8 on the morning of (5/22/07 yesterday) on a 1/2 day trip. Capt. Larry's runs the "Reel Pleasure" & his exact words were, "they're (Kings) out there now."
      Predicted south winds before this coming Memorial Day Weekend will benefit Manistee, MI's burgeoning spring King Salmon fishing. The more warm water, the better at this time of the year. The holiday weekend is supposed to be a little cooler than the 80 some degrees predicted for today, but plenty tolerable.
      Many wrongfully thought think this year's Salmon are late. Around the 20th of May is more normal for Manistee when compared to the past many seasons. That's why I took my charter business to Southern Lake Michigan (Saugatuck/South Haven) for the entire month of May into early June.

5/22/07 Congratulations to Team Rawhide for winning Lake Huron's Blue Water Classic Tournament $10,000.00 first place payout. This was the third victory in the Blue Water for Capt. Jason and his skilled crew aboard the good ship, "Rawhide." Jason gave a staunch testimonial to the performance of the new 2007 Super Mag Heads by saying, "Thanks Capt John we couldn't have done it without your products!"
                  Click here for Team Rawhide & the winning BWC catch
Equally important to me is the fine job done by Team Sloppy Joe in winning the Detroit Area Steelheaders Grand Haven, MI Tournament. On their way to victory, Capt. Joe and his group caught goodly piles of aggressive Lake Michigan spring Kings on last Saturday and Sunday. Grand Haven's best action was had over 180 to 210 feet of water.
Click for Capt. Joe's winning Lk. MI catch
      Also, Capt. Joe stated, "for us, the bigger fish came 100-150 ft down and were caught on Green Doub L Glo Glow and Blue Bubble BTIs with 2-Fly meat rigs."
            Click to purchase the winners choice in Great Lakes tackle!

5/21/07 Today's featured photo is courtesy of Scott R from the Canadian side of Lake Ontario. Last summer (2006) he caught a tournament winning 33.5 lb. King with one of my Krystal Killer Magnum Meat Heads using alewives. Click 33.5# lunker King
Scott prefers Alewives over Herring, he said, "alewives are tougher and can be trolled all day without the scales falling off." He catches his own bait, brining it immediately with kosher/pickling salt for 24 hours. Then, he vacuum seals and freezes his bait that lasts almost indefinitely. Click 5/18/07 Scott's Alewife mission
Sometime later this week, I will be constructing a full page dedicated to the tribal net locations from Muskegon to Arcadia as this info becomes available to me.

5/20/07 Michigan's DNR financial woes do not have to exist! Take a lesson from private industry and come out with a specially priced lifetime fishing, hunting and sportsman license to cover everything. Can we hope,.... Lansing listens to this?
      The more I think about it, a fact-finding mission to Europe with some of our brightest DNR personal makes good sense. Germany has giant Brown Trout already bred with resistance to VHS, from years of exposure. Sweden has been dealing with Atlantic Ocean/Baltic Sea water born illnesses for a long time.
      I think it's time for a "face to face" sit-down with the European fish managers. I know for a reel-fact we can raise the plane fare from donations.

5/19/07 VHS made the Channel 7 & 4 news concerning confirmed VHS in Budd Lake in Clare County, MI. According to the broadcast there about a 2000 fish die-off.
      I first seen zebra mussels on Lake Erie in 1985 and 22 years later our Fed. Gov. still hasn't passed legislation regulating ballast water from foreign freighters delivering an estimated 2 new species to our Great Lakes doorstep every year.
      May I suggest, our DNR start a learning exchange program. Our biologists could spend time in countries like Japan, Sweden & Germany learning about what the next potential fish mess might be. At least this way, we wouldn't be caught unaware.

5/18/07   Instead of bitchin' about the Michigan DNR, I was going to offer some constructive criticism to improve their financial and expertise dealing with bio issues.
      Net locations in Ludington are a bunch more important than my DNR commentary. Here's the preliminary locations of nets Ludington south of their harbor:
1. N 44-07.445/W-08-28.910 145 FOW GRID 1309
2. N 44-06.355/W-086-30.163 170 FOW GRID 1309
3. N 44-05.891/W-086-30.424 170 FOW GRID 1309
4. N 44-05.493/W-86-30.748 170 FOW GRID 1309 LONE STAFF MIGHT
    BE START OF NEW SET.
5. N44-4.912/W86-31.222 170 FOW GRID 1409.

THESE ARE ALL TOMMY'S & ARE WELL MARKED. NOTE THAT WITH HIS NETS YOU WILL SEE TWO STAFF BUOYS. THE ONE CLOSEST TO SHORE IS THE LEAD MARKER WHICH IS NOT REQUIRED, BUT HE MARKS IT. FLOATING JUGS INDICATE THE WINGS, STAY AWAY FROM THESE..........Capt. Dave Deforest, Tribal Law Enforcement Police

5/18/07   Instead of bitchin' about the Michigan DNR, I was going to offer some constructive criticism to improve their financial and expertise dealing with bio issues.
      Net locations in Ludington are a bunch more important than my DNR commentary. Here's the preliminary locations of nets Ludington south of their harbor:
1. N 44-07.445/W08-28.910 145 FOW GRID 1309
2. N44-06.355/W086-30.163 170 FOW GRID 1309
3. N44-05.891/W086-30.424 170 FOW GRID 1309
4. N44-05.493/W86-30.748 170 FOW GRID 1309 LONE STAFF MIGHT
    BE START OF NEW SET.
5. N44-4.912/W86-31.222 170 FOW GRID 1409.

THESE ARE ALL TOMMY'S & ARE WELL MARKED. NOTE THAT WITH HIS NETS YOU WILL SEE TWO STAFF BUOYS. THE ONE CLOSEST TO SHORE IS THE LEAD MARKER WHICH IS NOT REQUIRED, BUT HE MARKS IT. FLOATING JUGS INDICATE THE WINGS, STAY AWAY FROM THESE..........Capt. Dave Deforest, Tribal Law Enforcement Police

5/17/07 Deep rooted myths and misconceptions are tough, but not impossible to overcome. Like the myth concerning my bait heads and use the Pacific Ocean specie of herring called, Clupea Pallasi. Big news is we used a specie from Atlantic Ocean that came from the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick, Canada called Clupea Harengus. This type of herring is what was in the Fish On Bait Companies vacuum sealed frozen herring that I used from 2004 into 2006. This specie is not in our DNR's FO-245 list.
This shows the broad diversity of meat that will work in my heads. I know of 2 big money tournament (10k or better) that were won with alewives last year. Also, I know Salmon/Lake Trout belly meat, Smelt have all put fish in the box with my heads. Capt. Chuck's in Ludington has reported excellent catches (late in 06) with a product from YUM, called Silver Shiner that worked pretty darned good in my heads.
Tomorrow?... the farce of the 3 zones in FO-245, as the MDNR needs hands on experienced Great Lakes sailors to explain how our ore freighters use massive amounts of ballast water for steerage and keeping their vessels on a even keel.

5/16/07 After being without a big lake boat since 2003, I decided to become a boat owner again. I purchased a mint 1979 Sea Ray 22' hard top powered with 305 GM V8. Layout in this trailerable boat is great for a 3 person rig. Click for refit story
      A few Kings were caught off Manistee last weekend, with heavy emphasis on the word few! Heard slightly better from Craig at Capt. Chucks in Ludington. Craig said one boat took 4 Kings, before the water cooled back down with recent north winds.
Spotty success is more normal for Manistee & Ludington at this time of the year. Generally, the best fishing in our more northerly Lk. MI ports is around Memorial Day.
     Kings are being caught off East Chicago, IN in preparation for this weekend's upcoming tournament. All be it may, this info is supposed to be hush-hush!
     Tomorrow?....I'll spill the beans on the exact specie of herring most of us have used since 2004 and it ain't even on the our DNR's FO-245 list!!!!

5/15/07 Scored a big time Trifecta with yesterday's update. Photo's of 70,000 Salmon Smolts, State Record 36lb. 13oz. Brown and news that VHS is in Wisconsin's Fox River system is a pretty tough act to follow. BTW, Fox River flows into Green Bay, WI.
     Michigan's DNR FO-245 is now a moot subject, as VHS is confirmed in WI means the "VHS Surveillance Management Area" stipulation is no longer valid for Lk. MI!
      Samples back dated to 2003 confirmed the Great Lakes System was positive. So, 4 years after the fact, our DNR's are trying to deal with it? Click for FO-245
      The big problem is freighter ballast water that brings 2 more new species not native to our Great Lakes every year (on average according to what I read). Then the freighter companies turn around and sue the State of Michigan for having to disinfect their ballast water with chlorine? Now, that's a kick in everyone's teeth!
      Fresh news from the Green Bay Press Gazette says Wisconsin DNR is also testing more fish from Green Bay that could be positive Click here for the new article
      Just remember VHS has been in the Great Lakes watershed since 03 and we've had record sportfishing catches of King Salmon in 05 & 06, which is...the good news!

5/14/07 Fishing was good for the contestants in the recent St. Joe, MI tourney. Coho, Steelhead, Kings & Lake Trout were all caught in respectable numbers.
Took a photo of the Manistee net pen project where 70,000 Salmon Smolts are being imprinted and raised to a larger size. The baby Kings looked to be in the 4 inch range. The 70,000 number is down from the 100,000 we used to get. Click Manistee's net pens
VHS has been confirmed in Wisconsin. VHS has been documented in the Great Lakes Watershed since 2003. This is strictly a ballast water issue and anyone that thinks different better find another way to explain the spiny water flea, round goby, quaga & zebra mussels! Click here for Green Bay Press Gazette article

5/13/07 As this coming week unfolds I'll let you in on some secrets, not generally known by the fishing public concerning bait. Many of the nay-sayers concerning the usage of meat will have to eat their words and learn not to shoot off their mouth unless they know the reel-story!
Then, on the same agenda I'll fill you in on the details now that the MDNR has set policy on what's allowed in Lakes Huron and Michigan. It's a responsibility to my customers and safety that demand an entire page devoted in explaining FO-245 Fish Disease Control Order by Michigan's DNR to go into effect on 6/27/07.

5/12/07 Today's featured photo is the new Native American LRB of commercial fishing vessels docked in Manistee, MI. While no one is exactly thrilled over nets in sport fishing waters, the LRB is committed to total tribal enforcement of the 2000 Consent Decree. Our Manistee Indians are not near as militant as the tribes in the UP. We could be a lot worse off then we are! Click for net boats
There are now 4 sets of nets off Manistee, all N of the harbor. Here's the locations:

N 44-19.490 W 86-22.249 134 FOW
N 44-24.703 W 86-16.680 58 FOW
N 44-24.062 W 86-16.615 120 FOW
N 44-23.358 W 86-16.811 135 FOW

5/11/07 Better news on the King action in Lake Michigan is starting to fliter in. Kings are larger on average then last year and the alewives are a lot larger then the tiny runts we had at this time last season. Best Salmon (both Coho & Kings) reports for now are coming from IL and WI. This could be due the a lot of east wind on the Michigan side blowing the warmer water to the WI side of the big pond.
It's good to see the Kings ascending to their throne in St. Joe, Muskegon and Grand Haven according to the grapevine. This is ultra-welcome news and lets see how the upcoming weekend plays out. Good luck to all this Sat. & Sun. with full boxes, tight lines and calm seas!

5/10/07 Let's hope this weekend's big money tournament in St. Joe shows better catching, then what we've seen so far on King Salmon. On a good day, even our most experienced message board members are boxing only 1/3 of what they caught last year. St. Joe, South Haven, Saugatuck all should be on fire and according to the fish reports, they are not. Let's all hope this improves soon!
The MDNR has just came out with some new rules that are supposed to go into effect on the later part of June concerning what you can and can not do with the fish and bait. To me?...this was a very confusing document, like all official state regulations are. I think you need to be a Philadelphia Lawyer to figure exactly what it says, with conflicting rules/zones sandwiched between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.

5/9/07 More nets have been set, or are in the process of being set north of Manistee, north towards Onekama. Here's what I have so far: mid 19s in 134' of water, 24.7 in 58' of water. In progress or being set are 24.06 in 120' of water & 23.05 in 135' of water. Full report on exact locations will happen this coming Sat. Unconfirmed is 2 new nets down south towards the 6s where a trap net has been located for the past couple of seasons. If you used to fish in the "barrel" (structure) off Onekama looks like you'd better find another place to wet a line.
Net locations are approximate for the time being. Lack of fishing effort in Manistee is saving us for the time being. This will change with the advent of Memorial Day and the crowds that soon follow.

5/8/07 Here's the shotgun approach to today's update. Message members Rawhide took second and Fish Patrol took fifth in the Harbor Beach, MI Can-Can Tournament. 40% of the top five is a testament to the skills of members!
      Better numbers are coming from Lake Huron, if compared to Lake Michigan. Granted the sunrise side's catch has Lakers thrown in, but a fish is a fish.
      Bunch of new stuff will be installed at: www.michiganangler.com when I can find the time. Smelly Jelly scents and flasher storage boxes will debut soon.
      In the interest of safety cancelled our message board members get together meat seminar for this coming Memorial Day Weekend in Manistee, MI. I just do not trust the situation with more new nets going in. Then there's the factor of the untrained, unskilled workforce hired off the street, commercial trap & gill netters. According to the Channel 7 TV News and Israel Stone (tribal spokesperson, net fisher) this Manistee net fishery operation is supposed to employ 50 to 80 people working 4 boats. Could this mean 3 shifts running 24 hours a day,..... if you do the math?

5/7/07 Here's some weekend catch reports from our message board members:

Waukegan, IL 5/6/07: As soon as the water got up to 44 degrees this week, the bait came in, and the coho followed with a vengeance. Got limits of coho and perch on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The weather is still iffy. Most days the last week, have been 2-4's with 15-20 mph wind. All the fishing has been in close. This weekend should be the start of the offshore Kings. We are about 10 days off of where we were last year with weather and water temp. hopefully this week we will catch up with the king bite we had in late April last year. I will keep you posted.......Capt. Cliff J.

Port Sanilac, MI 5/5/07: Finished second in our Flint Steelheaders tournament. We ran meat (both whole and filleted) on our divers and riggers. Surface rods were pulling spoons and stick baits. We took six chunky 6 to 8 pound Lake Trout and two Kings in the 10 pound bracket. Lakers were dining on gobies and the Salmon were stuffed full with what looked like emerald shiners. Best action was in 15 to 20 feet of water close to shore. .......Capt. Steve "Roscoe" Burns, Team Burns Unit.

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5/6/07 The boat leading the Michigan City tournament boxed out on Kings and Coho off Illinois, according to message board member, Andy S. I guess it was a 65 mile trip to the where the fish were and 65 miles back to port. Report said the alewives were thick and so were the Coho & Kings.

5/5/07 If any hot fishing reports come in, this website may be updated later as worthy info becomes available. Pretty hectic week just went by and today is a good time to get a head start on yard and garden duties.

5/4/07 Fishermen have to be the best eternal optimists in any sport. BKD, VHS, invasive species, 3 buck a gallon gas, 25% planting reductions, poor weather & contending with new net fisheries are enough to drive anyone nuts and throw in the towel. Not so, with the almost 40 seasons of the Great Lakes anglers that pursue their past time with a passion seldom seen in other sports.
      As the Port of Manistee moves forward into the land of commercial fishing I will build a special page dedicated to where the nets are located to the best of my knowledge. Use this page only as only a rough sketch, as nets can and will be moved to suit the whim of the commercial net fishers.
      Nets are especially hard to spot in rough water, so always beware and post another lookout, rather then just the captain shouldering the full responsibility. Let your crew know that if you get tangled in one, the boat could fill up with water and some people could die. That will keep them alert. If you do get stuck in one, cut all the lines, rigger cables ASAP and chalk up the loss to the price of staying alive.
     I'm praying next week I'll have better news on all fronts concerning our fishery, cuz everything heard thus far,..... this week sucks!

5/3/07 It troubles deeply me to bring you today's update about the 2 trap net boats & 2 chub net boats docked in the area of the old car ferry, City of Milwaukee on Manistee Lk. I guess the trap net boats are licensed for 3 sets of trap nets and I'm not sure how many small mesh (2 1/2" gill nets) the chub boats can set. This means Manistee, MI will become the World's Capital of the Great Lakes Native American Commercial trap and gill net Fishing. I seen this coming and said so in 2001.
      The BS spin the LRB is putting on this says this will be good for Manistee's tourist industry, provide 80 to 100 jobs and bring back the heritage of tribal fishing.
      The spin I'm putting on this says these nets are an extremely dangerous hazard to navigating the waters in, and around the Port of Manistee. Plus, it will drive away the transient tourist sport fisherman who spend boo koo bucks while in Manistee.
      Now, if you're in Muskegon, there's supposed to be 2 Native American fishing boats working out of this port in 2007. LRB will be have 8 boats netting in 2007.
      My dire recommendation for now is to avoid Manistee waters like it was the black death until the net fishers have set their nets and given locations on nets that will run up to the Arcadia, MI. Time will tell how this is going to play out!

5/2/07 Posted daily comparison temperature charts from 2006 and 2007. I know they're hurting for fish in St. Joe, MI & Michigan City, IN. The answer lays within what's going on ....with how Lk. MI is waking up from it's long cold winter nap. Only time will tell, if the 2007 spring King season (May) lives up to it's past awesome credentials. Click here for 5/2/06 Chart Click here for 4/30/07 Chart
False Rumors: Manistee's harbor is in need of dredging and there's string of buoys marking the dredge discharge pipeline. These are not nets! Biggest concern is the dredging operation messing up natural fish movements in and out of the harbor.
The above is an example of how an unsubstantiated remark on a single message board can start a firestorm. A misguided individual said there were net buoys outside Manistee's harbor. Please, this rush to judgment to crap has to end. Just because you read something on the internet doesn't mean it's true, unless you read it here!

5/1/07 Today's update is courtesy of Tom M and Mark C from Indiana. This duo
did something not many TV productions do, show a fish take a bait, miss a bait, then come back for second helping. Granted the star of there show was a smallish 5 pound Laker, but the work that went into camera angles, timing, focus and speed was huge!

Click for underwater video of BTI/meat rig presentation & a Lake Trout biting

The above video is already posted on Google and does not require a download to view. It will start playing (stream) once the correct buffer is in place.
My sincere gratitude to Tom and Mark who are members of the Indiana Salmon Unlimited Club for their superb efforts. This was their very first exploration into the land of capturing underwater fish action, and they did a fine job on 4/29/07!

4/30/07 11:00am Fish News Update:
1. Fishing was slow in St. Joe, MI, but there a few Kings caught to plus 18 pounds.
2. Michigan City, IN was directly quoted as "sucked" from a message board member.
3. Lake Huron is producing some King Salmon from Lexington to Port Hope, MI. Sounded like the pre-season Lake Trout season jinx was in full effect, as Lake Trout were caught in good numbers too! This is great news from the "sunrise side!"
4. Best I heard came from the WI side Lake Michigan. Capt. Randy Even who charters out of Sheboygan, WI took a limit of Steelhead & Browns, along with a few Salmon.
I did get some inside news on the MDNR charter boat inspections. 2007 has been declared a free pass for all charter vessel inspections. Lansing is looking into private firms & sub-contractors to take over this duty. Many DNR officers posted a grievance about last fall. Seems like Lansing has listened. Public Act 244 requires all vessels for hire in the State of MI to pass a tough inspection in the interest of marine safety.

4/29/07 Fishing in Manistee is on the tough side. I've heard a good day is 2 maybe 3 Brown Trout and that only happens occasionally. There's been a few Kings caught in the river-water color-line where the Manistee watershed pours thru the pier heads.
        One thing I picked up on is how clear the water is. From Manistee to Ludington, even as far south as East Chicago, IN....all spoke of gin clear waters. Upon checking the surface temp chart of Lake Michigan, most of the lake is in the 37 degree range.
      Look for better conditions/fishing when the wide open expanse of Lk. MI gets above the 40 degree mark. Warming water promotes plankton growth, and kick starts the food chain into moving.

4/28/07 Last Saturday in April (today) is when the inland streams Trout season opens. This includes Pine Creek, a major tributary of the Manistee River about 12 miles downstream from Tippy Dam. Pine Creek does get a run of Steelhead and today is the chance to fish for these heretofore unmolested Steelies.
      According to reports, there were good numbers on iron-noggins in the Pine. A lot of the swift flowing Pine Creek meanders to private land and finding state-land access points isn't all that easy. Be sure to have a plat book if you're interested in this kind of stuff. Plus, the Pine does support a good population of resident Brook Trout.
       Brookies are probably Michigan's most gorgeous fish and great table fare. Michigan's highly desirable brood stock of native Brook Trout have been swapped all over the world for other species by our DNR back in the earlier 1900s.

4/27/07 Our Boaters Guide page is in need of boats. I have only 2 boats listed and one is a pending sale. If you're looking to reach the right audience and rates far below print advertising, contact me at: kingscharter@yahoo.com 50 bucks will buy you a 3 month ad with no selling fee charged by me. Click for Boaters Guide
If you're looking at a older vessel due to the 50k to 70k sticker stock issues, consider an oldie, but goodie. Make sure to get any boat surveyed for piece of mind and insurance issues. Many times the survey is willingly paid for by the seller.
Good luck to all hitting the waterways this weekend. If you're headed to Lake Michigan, South Haven, MI was a little bit better from what I heard about last weekend's action. Also, Harbor Beach to Port Sanilac showed promising catches of Kings and Coho. There is some evidence the alewives are rebounding in Lake Huron.

4/26/07 Something I've kinda neglected this spring is river fishing for Steelhead. Getting the new Super Mag Heads into full production in April is most of the reason. Never the less, the honored tradition of river Steelheading is annual rite of spring in our rivers. Mike J. took a dandy specimen this past weekend fishing the Muskegon River. This fish was a huge male said to be pushing 15 pounds. See today's photo

4/25/07 The rumor mills on several message boards are churning out false stories about bait, or cut bait being illegal in MI, IN, IL & WI that are totally not true. I have a video tape with Dr. Kelly Smith stating on public television the use of herring is NOT banned or illegal in the State of Michigan. He did say they were looking into frozen bait and VHS issues, because of the past history of Puget Sound.
       In no way take what Dr. Kelly Smith said as an endorsement to use cut bait, or whole bait either. He was just answering a question put to him. Dr. Kelly Smith is the Chief of the Fisheries Division of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
      Is there VHS in the bait we use?.....yes, but it stands for Vicious Hellaous Strikes! All kidding aside, herring, Salmon, Trout and even alewives could be carriers of VHS. So, let's not take this all important situation lightly.
     Let's police ourselves on what's done with the bait we brine and treat. Do not under any circumstances take the bait/herring for usage on any inland waterways i.e. lakes, rivers and streams. A little common sense here can go a long ways.

4/24/07 The fickle finger of fish fate has struck again. Many of our message board members traveled to southern Lake Michigan ports like St. Joe, MI & Michigan City, IN. Then the Lk. MI action was slowed considerably from the past week or two. Most who fished this area fell victim to 1 to 3 fish per boat.
As turn about is fair play! Finally, some good news from Lake Huron, as message board member, Getaway Bob K took over a dozen fish with Kings to slightly plus 10 pounds. This was the best report on our message board. The vitals on the action is long leads were necessary, like a 100' to 150' and most all of Capt. Bob K's action came inside of 18 feet of water. Click here Bob's for Lk. Huron catch
Dedicated fisherperson, and message board member Julie S. has been doing OK casting off the breakwall for Browns as she recovers from major surgery. During season, Julie is the DNR census taker and provides the ultimate best fishing reports from this area. Click here for Julie's recently caught RC Browns

4/23/07 Looks like the big schools of Coho moved up to South Haven, MI according to what I heard. Best action in South Haven was right off the beach in 5 to 10 foot of water. Mostly all Coho, with a few Browns thrown in.
      As this week progresses every update will feature info pointed at Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia, or VHS for short. Not being a well versed in fish diseases, I will link back to every article where the information came from.
      In research from the hours and hours on Google, I've read at least 50 some articles about VHS. Things to note were the Pacific Coho Salmon off the west coast were first identified with form of VHS way back in 1963.
      Here's a link to a fairly recent presentation with quotes dating back to 1989. Aquacultures raising Atlantic Salmon in the Pacific NW could have been responsible for VHS virus spread in the waters of the Pacific Ocean. Click here to see this info
      "It doesn't take much grey matter to put two and two together. You have to ask how the thing (VHS virus) leapfrogs from Europe to Puget Sound. The common denominator would be Atlantic Salmon." Jerry Grover, Administrator USFWS, 1889.
        Please keep in mind, they still have a sustainable Salmon fishery in Puget Sound 18 years after VHSV was first diagnosed. Which is the good news.

4/22/07 Fishing's fickle finger of fate slowed the Coho action down in Michigan City, IN and St. Joe, MI. Finally, the weekend warriors get a nice Saturday and the big water fishing heads south! Murphy's Law.........eh?
Look for the fleets in both of these ports to adjust and start the 2007 season for Kings. Early 2006 season for Kings was kinda different, as the southern Lake Michigan fish were deep, like 70' to 120' down. Instead of the top 40' we've became accustomed to. Click for archived 4/29/06 King from St. Joe, MI
When the lilac bushes approach full bloom is a good prognosticator for Kings that's held true for the past 30 years! I checked last season's archived results and the earliest catches for Kings for Kings was around the last 4 days of April. Posted some photos to confirm this info from 2006.

4/21/07 Early am report for St. Joe, MI this morning says, beautiful warm weather, Lake Michigan is fairly flat, and limits of 2 to 3 pound Coho abound. Scattered reporting of slim numbers of Kings and Browns that were caught was mentioned from St. Joe. Good luck to all fortunate enough to get on the water this weekend!

4/20/07   Installed special offer sampler packs of replacement meat heads as our season draws closer. I'd say we're about 10 days to two weeks away from prime time spring Kings in southern Lake Michigan and about a month away here in Manistee. This is a great time to get all your ducks in a row, cuz the 2007 season is here!
      Next week, I'll tackle the tough issues concerning the VHS Type 4B virus, I'm sure you've all heard about. My take will be in simple layman's terms from the hours web searches done since last Oct. when a lot of this broke loose.
      When the water is 39 to 41 degrees is when this virus takes hold. Presently, there are no fish die-offs in East Chicago, IN, Michigan City, IN, St. Joe, MI and points leading north at this time, nor were there any last fall when the water fell in the 39 to 41 degrees....when this virus is said to be most virulent according to sources in what I've read.

4/19/07 This coming Saturday, 4/21/07 the Flint Steelheaders kick off their tournament season in St. Joe, MI. According to last weekend's fish reports, St. Joe had action in shallow (close to shore) for Browns and Coho out to 70' feet of water.
Indiana Salmon Unlimited Club had a tourney last weekend out of East Chicago, IN. The Coho action had slowed somewhat, Browns were decent (to 18lbs.), and there was a few 8 to 14 pound Kings caught....keep in mind, I said, few!
Good luck to all big water fishermen this weekend and the weather forecast looks to nice with temps in the mid 60s to 70 degrees....'bout time eh?

4/18/07 Time to spill the beans about poll we've been running for the past week. The fish in the picture is a alewife and goes by nicknames of: river herring, Spreau, Kiack, Kyak, glut herring, and Sawbelly. The correct answer is: "all the above!" 24% were partially right choosing one of the above names and only a dreadfully low 17% said, "all the above." Granted the alewife in the featured photo is large, like 8 inches (est.), but I've seen alewives this large in the 70s & 80s. Larger alewives will feature a small dot on the upper part of their gill plate. Click here for photo in the poll question
22% thought they'd go with what was in the title bar (http:// stuff), being Blue Back Herring and were misled, hence reel-wrong. This just goes to show you, never believe anything you hear and only half of what you see!

4/17/07 The Indian Tribal fishers have done a lot in my eyes to add some credibility to their operation by hiring Capt. Dave Deforest as a tribal law enforcement officer. Dave will be running the tribal police boat and checking to make sure all is according to tribal/consent agreement law. I know Dave well enough, he will not be a rubber stamp to let violations slide thru. Click for tribal enforcement boat
      Capt. Dave has 30 years with the Cadillac Police Department, and just retired. He had been a lead detective with the CPD much of his career.
      There's going to be a lot more trap nets this year in Lake Michigan from Ludington to Arcadia. I'm in the hopes, that the new nets will be marked as clearly as the trap net located just north of Big Point Sable.
      One more thing, Capt. Dave Deforest has a charter license and is aware of how important the netting issues are to the sport fishermen and the rights of the tribal netters. I can vouch for Dave's integrity, knowing he'll uphold the letter of the law.

4/16/07 Michigan's big water trolling season is underway in grand fashion at St. Joe, MI. Limits of spring Coho and fairly decent catches of Brown Trout are mixed in. From what I could discern, most of the action is coming off surface running stickbaits and Thin Fins for now. St. Joe is the first Michigan port to heat up. In about 2 weeks the game plan will be shifted towards Kings as the water warms.
      There are 8 trap net licenses issued by the NRC this year. We will have trap nets from Muskegon to Arcadia according to a inside source from the enforcement division of tribal police. This all important topic will be continued in tomorrow's update.

4/15/07 Mason County, Ludington's resident Brown Trout guru, Capt Kirk scored a 2 person limit of 6 Browns, releasing a pike and a Lake Trout. He found some 41 degree water & caught all of his fish in a small 100 yard pocket along Lk. MI's shoreline.
      Capt. Kirk has adapted to the lower numbers of our nowadays April Brown Trout Fishery. He pulls a smaller spoons (Silver Streak Mini) on inline planers. Fore going to the older method of floating Rapalas, like I used from 1985 thru 2003. He's pretty secretive about the amount of weight used 5' ahead of his spoons.
      Some have speculated, Kirk has concocted a special homemade scent, along with other various forms of rumors pertaining to his proven angler's edge. Those that wonder have good reason to...today his largest Brown was a good solid 20 pounder!
Click for Ludington's Master Angler Brown specialist, Capt. Kirk & 20# Brown!

4/15/07 Mason County, Ludington's resident Brown Trout guru, Capt Kirk scored a 2 person limit of Browns & released a pike and a Lake Trout. He found some 41 degree water & caught all of his fish in a small 1/4 mile pocket along Lk. MI's shoreline.
      Capt. Kirk has adapted to the lower numbers of our nowadays April Brown Trout Fishery. He pulls a smaller spoons (Silver Streak Mini) on inline planers. Fore going to the older method of floating Rapalas, like I used from 1985 thru 2003. He's pretty secretive about the amount of weight used 5' ahead of his spoons. performer
      Some have speculated, Kirk has concocted a special homemade scent, along with other various forms of rumors pertaining to his proven angler's edge. Those that wonder have good reason to...today his largest Brown was a good solid 20 pounder!
           Click for Ludington's Master Angler Brown specialist, Capt. Kirk & 20# Brown!

4/14/07 According to a very reliable source in Michigan City, IN they were still putting the hammer down on the spring Coho population. Easy limits have been reported in 25 to 35 feet of water. Most of the action is coming off the surface on in-line planers. Tom M, out of East Chicago, IN couldn't keep his lines in the water running a meat program with my products. He reported mostly Coho in the 2 to 4 pound range.

4/13/07 Here's a bunch of totally unrelated subjects: How will the dreaded curse of Friday the 13th affect you? Had enough stuff go wrong yesterday, today has to be better. I several things on the front burner, which I'll get into next week. New matching 2 and 3 fly rigs in Pearl Double Glo will debut this coming Monday. Piles of stuff to do in the shop, as this week has been on fast forward. Good luck to the SU club in Indiana with this weekend's upcoming first big water tournament of the year.
      According to a very reliable source in Michigan City, IN they were still putting the hammer down on the spring Coho population. Easy limits have been reported in 25 to 35 feet of water. Most of the action coming off the surface of in-line planers.
      Tom M, out of East Chicago, IN couldn't keep his lines in the water running a meat program with my products. He reported mostly Coho in the 2 to 4 pound range.

4/12/07 A late season heavy wet snow (6 inches) knocked out my satellite internet connection, causing a much delayed update.
     Little River Band of commercial fishers have a couple of new fish tugs tied up at Moonlight Marina in Manistee, as of yesterday. So, it looks like more nets for Manistee/Ludington area fishermen in 2007. Let's hope they mark the new trap nets like the one located just north of Big Point Sable (in the 6s).
Total accumulated snowfall for my place in Manistee since Oct 2006 is 157 inches

4/11/07 More reel-good news from southern Lake Michigan. Michigan City, IN has a hot spring coho bite going! Message board member, Andy S fished 20' to 35' of water right in front of Black Ditch. Their death toll for a 2 hour trip was a 3 man limit of 13 Coho and 2 Steelhead. Spring Coho are excellent table fare and will succumb a variety of baits. Young Coho kinda remind me of piranha, or a X-wife, cuz...they're feisty critters that won't keep their mouth shut. Click for 4/11/07 fish box

4/10/07 Good news in southern Lake Michigan from Mark C. He said the Coho were running 3 1/2 to 4 pounds and fairly plentiful. While he didn't mention exactly were he was fishing, because of this weekend's upcoming Indiana Salmon Unlimited tournament, I suspect he was fishing out East Chicago, IN.
Busy, busy, and more busy with installing new products at this website's companion webstore at: www.michiganangler.com The much awaited perfect storage solution has finally reached the market place with meat rig storage cases priced at $24.95. These boxes can hold up to 18 rigs, maybe more, depend on how tightly you pack them. Custom foam inserts holds securely! Click here to check them out

4/9/07 Special Announcement Update
Type of Heads Now Optional: The new 2007 Super Mag Meat Heads are available in 2 & 3 Fly Meat Rigs, Combo Deals and 4 packs of meat heads. This is another world first, as we're the only tackle company providing you with this necessary option!
Our webstore at: www.michiganangler.com is on duty 24/7 and always ready to serve you. Orders received before 10am EST will offer fast service with same day shipping.
If you live in Michigan, this means you'll have product in-hand ASAP the next day.
Total accumulated snowfall for my place in Manistee since Oct 2006 is 151 inches

4/11/07 More reel-good news from southern Lake Michigan. Michigan City, IN has a hot spring coho bite going! Message board member, Andy S fished 20' to 35' of water right in front of Black Ditch. Their death toll for a 2 hour trip was a 3 man limit of 13 Coho and 2 Steelhead. Spring Coho are excellent table fare and will succumb a variety of baits. Young Coho kinda remind me of Piranha, or a X-wife, cuz...they're feisty critters that won't keep their mouth shut.

4/10/07 Good news in southern Lake Michigan from Mark C. He said the Coho were running 3 1/2 to 4 pounds and fairly plentiful. While he didn't mention exactly were he was fishing, because of this weekend's upcoming Indiana Salmon Unlimited tournament, I suspect he was fishing out East Chicago, IN.
Busy, busy, and more busy with installing new products at this website's companion webstore at: www.michiganangler.com The much awaited perfect storage solution has finally reached the market place with meat rig storage cases priced at $24.95. These boxes can hold up to 18 rigs, maybe more, depend on how tightly you pack them. Custom foam inserts holds securely! Click here to check them out

4/8/07 Was gonna have a Easter Egg hunt for the kiddies today, then thought issuing each child a snow shovel might take the edge off the event.
Late snows are the most aggravating, after seeing white since last October. Let's hope Mr. Spring KO's Me Winter ASAP!
According to daily records dating back to 10/2007 we've had 150 inches of snow up until now. Here's the kicker......I seen far worse Manistee winters!!!!

4/7/07 Indiana Salmon Unlimited has their first club tourney next weekend. Pretty hard to fathom, as deep winter is back in Manistee. Club tournaments, unlike big deal pro tournaments are more honest when it comes to what took the winning catch. Some pro anglers are pretty quiet about what's working, or intentional misrepresent the reel-facts. Then some are as honest is the day is long, after the event is over.
Total accumulated snowfall for my place in Manistee since Oct 2006 is 150 inches

4/6/07 The only tidbit of fishing info available is Michigan City, IN has yet to take off. Recent poor weather (like snow/brrrr...!) and this Easter Weekend won't help our quest for a much needed good reliable fishing report.
Have a safe and enjoyable Easter Holiday. Myself?....I'm gonna take off a day, or two to regroup. A little R & R for everyone cultivates better thought processes!
Total accumulated snowfall for my place in Manistee since Oct 2006 is 141 inches

4/5/07 Today is a big deal and another major leap forward for King Fish, Inc. The 2007 Super Magnum Meat Head Deal for message board members is in the beginning stages of shipping. Many of our members with have their new heads tomorrow!
Total accumulated snowfall for my place in Manistee since Oct 2006 is 139 inches

4/4/07 When the Easter Bunny comes this Sunday, he'd better be wearing a parka. Weather is back to winter with snow predicted and low temps in the high teens. Haven't had time to dig up much fishing info, but East Chicago, IN has decent Coho action. We have a bird-dog......aka Mark C who's gonna go sniffing around the Gary light looking for Kings, in a day or two. Then report on what the reel-deal is.

4/3/07 Part of being in the charter business is putting on a show. Customers are there to be entertained with catching a lot of fish.....hopefully.
When I was still in the charter business and fished the more southerly ports like South Haven, MI and Saugatuck, MI we set up in about 50' of water. Even it we had a good idea the main herds of fish were holding in the deeper stuff. Setting up on the on the shallow side allows for time to get the table set (your rods in the water). To reach the deeper depths you gotta head west on our side of Lake Michigan.
Then when the best depth was reached, all billy-hell would break loose with double and triples. Please keep in mind, your morning west troll will always be or best direction, as the sun is behind you in the ports I mentioned. East trolls rarely provided 30% of what the west heading would produce. Click here for proof of a west troll

4/2/07 Upgrading services/adding choices is what staying in business is about! Switching to UPS from Priority Mail was a must on my part. Understandably, people want what they've ordered in a timely,...guaranteed manner. Especially, when you consider our big water trolling season is fairly short, even shorter for best times at certain ports. Michigan residents can order by 10am & have their stuff the next day!
For 2007, PayPal has been added as a form of payment. www.michiganangler.com now accepts PayPal, Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express.
If all goes according to the grand plan, the specially priced 2007 Super Mag Head Deal for message board members should be shipping later this week.

4/1/07 Posted a new photo of the day, showing the additional room in the 2007 Super Mag Meat Heads. This allows for different varieties alternative whole bait, rather being forced into using just strips/homemade fillets. Click for this photo