C-Worthy Charter Fishing // 2006 Fishing Reports

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FISHING REPORT

Striped Bass in Boston

One of these big kings
drove a hook through my
finger as I was unhooking it!
Yow!

A typical sample of the
kind of fish we are catching

2006 Reports

December 11
I headed to Texas deer hunting on November 13 and didn't get home until December 3rd. That was a long hunt, but just the kind I dreamed of when I was office bound and could only squeeze a few days to hunt here in Michigan. My son, Bill, flew down eleven days of hunting so he felt he had time to hunt without worrying about how many days he had left and whether he was going to see the buck he wanted. As it turned out on his fourth day we stoped on a hill to glass a treeline a thousand yards off and saw a big deer bedded with a doe. After a stategy session we opted for a sneak along a fence and were aided by tumbleweed that had blown up to the fence and creating something for us to hide behind as we crawled toward the deer. Finally we got within 60 yards and Bill made the shot while I got it on video. The buck was a heavy-horned nine-pointer with a 22 inch inside spread. I had to wait until the last day of my hunt and I thought I might go home without taking a shot. I had seen many bucks, maybe a hundred not counting repeats,but not a "shooter" until he came over a hill 250 yards away. I knew he was the one and was lucky to get him in the brushy draw he was traveling. While not as wide a Bill's he also had nine points including over 13 inch g2s and five inch bases. I was excited.
Now I back home with good memories and thinking about going to Tippy dam to chase a steelhead or going grouse hunting if the snow melt continues enough to get out.

November 9
I haven't been seeing the mixed species of ducks that I had just a week ago. Buffleheads still come in, but whistlers, redheads and ringnecks are scarce, or so they seem. After I set up I had an hour to wait before the first birds showed over the decoys and I really wasn't ready. My mind was off thinking about deer season and stuff like that when a half-dozen bluebills came in low, fast and tight, jacked by the brisk tail wind. I came out of my dreams and fired instinctively. I must have been ten feet behind them as I'm sure I didn't even come close to hitting one. They were really cooking and would have been a tough shot under any circumstances. I resolved to pay attention. It was a good thing too as a few minutes later another flock spotted the decoys and turned to come in, cupping their wings and decoying well.
My dad, who shot so many ducks in his life time that thay came easy to him, always said that if he shot one duck with his three shots he shot poorly and if he got two, that was expected, and three with three shots was good. By his standards I shot poorly on the flock and got just one. It was a gaudy bluebill drake.
I got ready once again and before long another flock turned in. I picked one aimed and "click" the gun didn't fire. While the ducks flared for safely I cycled the action thinking the bolt wasn't fully forward and waited for my next chance. A lone bluebill hen came next and with my first shot I missed. I had her dead-to-rights for the second shot, but nothing happened when I pulled the trigger. The first shell was stuck half in and half out of the action.
While I messed with it a pair of bluebills landed and swam cautiously through the decoys wondering what I was doing. I didn't shoot them and settled to wait for another in the air thinking it wouldn't take longnow that the birds were on the move. I was wrong and a half hour later when the sun was spliting the horizon I was thinking I might not get another chance. Then as I was beginning to kick myself for lost opportunities, another flock decoyed perfectly. I picked a drake and knocked him down with my first shot. That was it. I had my limit of two bluebills and my season was over ending on a perfect note. It was time to pick up decoys and get ready for deer season.
I'll report on deer hunting when the season is over.

November 6 Today is the last day of woodcock season and a friend and I headed out of the county for one last chance at a bird or two.When all was said and done we brought home a woodcock and a grouse. Not bad.

November 4 Birdie and I headed to the Pigeon River Country with a friend and his young dog for a day of chasing grouse. We expected snow on the ground, but weren't quite prepared for the four inches we found. The snow was uneven. In some ares it was deep and a mile away it might only be an inch thick. We flushed eleven grouse and bagged two.

November 3 Better weather, but the shooting wasn't as good. I got three ducks, but had to pass on some species after I had two. If you read the regs that'll make sence.

November 1 The weatherman called for clear this morning, it wasn't. It was a duck morning, cold, very cold, breezy, and gray. I set up like usual, noticing that my hands were losing their feeling and acting club like. I had to grab at my hat once to keep it from flying away and when it was light I saw a rime of ice on the windward side of the boat and my coat. When I moved my arm the ice cracked and looked like a glazed donut. The birds were moving and the shooting steady. At one point my hands were too cold to reload and I tried unsuccessfully to warm them first by holding them against my neck and next by stuffing them beneath my coat. Neither worked well and I finally put each over a dead duck sharing its warmth and that seemed to be best. I could have killed thirty ducks today if that were allowed. I saw redheads, bluebills, buffleheads, whistlers, and a couple fo greebs. What a morning.

October 30 After a weekend of high wind I was anxious to get out on the water after ducks this morning. Even though the wind was dead calm and not very good for hunting I still wanted to give it a try.

I set the decoys in the dark a little earlier than last time when I had birds coming in before I was ready. I began my wait watching the morning stars fade and the eastern sky lighten. About the time I could see all the shapes of the decoys a duck landed. I couldn't tell what species it was, but I could identify the two buffleheads that landed twenty feet away a few minutes later. Next a small puddle duck came in. I guessed that it was a teal because of its shape and size even though all the teal should be long gone from this area by now. Soon it was light enough to shoot and my early visitors left only to be replaced by a bluebill that assumed the low-head resting position next to a fake bluebill not far away. I wasn't interested in potting the bird on the water so I watched the eastern sky. Without wind to guide their landing pattern the ducks could come from any direction.

I saw a small flock of ducks skim by well out of range. Apparently they weren't interested in the decoys. I looked off to the south and just then the birds I thought weren't interested did a turn and slid into the decoys right in front of me. Landing was their get-out-of-jail-free card and I thought not to repeat the mistake. Good thing too, because a few minutes later a group of nine or so bluebills pulled the same stunt, only this time I was ready and filled my bluebill quota. More flocks of bluebills came in and I could have shot several limits. I waited too long on whistlers twice because I couldn't identify them in time, but did have some shooting at buffleheads. The early flurry of action slowed and finally I picked up in mid morning, stopping for a coffee and cookie on my way home.

October 27 Young Birdie and I headed for a cover where I thought she might find a grouse. While we didn't find a grouse, she did point a couple of woodcock. I missed them both.
October 25 The street looked shiny and wet under the street light outside my house at 5:20 this morning and I have to admit that I thought about going back to bed and hunting ducks another day, but then I can sleep late when I'm old and even though I'm retired, I'm not that old. I put on my warm cloths, hooked up the boat to the truck and headed out with the windshield wipers wiping away the 34 degree rain. Lucky for me the rain quit just as I reached the boat launch. I put on my waders, fired up the outboard and headed out into the dark.

Finding the right spot and setting out the decoys takes some time and I finished at early light, just about shooting time. I looked around the decoys to see if everything looked ok and saw two live ducks already swimming among them. By the time I got in the duck boat and ready it was legal shoooting time and my two early visitors swam around me looking curious about what kind of ducks the decoys really were. It wasn't long before I saw a flock of bluebills, maybe nine or ten, closing fast at a hundred yards. they were perfect and when I rose to shoot and flaired in front of me gving me a good opportunity. Two, my legal quota of that species, splashed with my first two shots. After collecting them I hid again and a few minutes later a pair of buffleheads came from over my right shoulder. Going away they were like the upland birds I've been chasing all fall only without all the leaves and trees in the way and I got both of them. Now I had to be careful and identify the ducks before shooting. I saw a pair of birds coming in low, maybe twenty feet up, and they almost looked like bluebills, but there was difference. As they came within range I could easily see the red of a redhead and made two more good shots. That was it, I had my limit.

The day became sunny and cool and after I had the ducks cleaned I thought that maybe I should go bird hunting. After all Old Mable didn't go yesterday and wanted a chance. So, after a quick lunch I loaded her in the car and we were off hoping to find a grouse. Instead we found woodcock and she pointed them like she has done for the the last eleven years. By 4:00 pm we were home again with three birds to dress. It was a great day.

October 24 I was excused from jury duty this morning and took full advantage of the opportunity to get out in the woods. The weather has been so bad that getting out has been a problem. Today I loaded up young Birdie and we headed to a cover in another county where we found birds last week. Birdie ws pretty excited and waited impatiently for me to start her beeper collar, which is a sign for her to start hunting. As in the past she was cautious to start and hunted carefully. But when she found that first woodcock she went into overdrive at the flush. I had to settle her down a little and we went on. While we didn't find any grouse, we were able to bag a limit of woodcock within the hour. In one spot she went on point and as I shot the first bird a second flushed. I marked its fall only to watch three other WC flush nearby. With all the birds going up young Birdie lost her composure and went off chasing one of the late flushes. When she returned I guided her to the area of both downed WC and she made short retrieves when she found the birds. I'm not sure I would have found either without a dog.

October 20 Hunted in Manistee County in some areas that were good in the past only to find that they were past their prime. We moved to more traditional woodcock coverts and Mable pointed enough for me to get three. I also put yound Birdie out in a different spot and she found some more woodcock and two grouse. No shots.
October 19 My brother and I explored some nearby coverts the last two days and found the leaves to be mostly down from the young aspen. This made for easier shooting and we filled our woodcock limits plus a grouse.Young Birdie pointed a grouse from 60 feet away without trying to crowd it. That was a high point for me seeing this young pup's instincts take over. She's getting lots of exposures to birds now. I'm trying to keep her out of the woodcock coverts so she learns to handle birds with caution and not crowd them. On some of the long points she doesn't have enough confidence yet to trust her nose. She'll point at the first wiff of bird, but then when the air currents take it away from her she looks unsure and sometimes looks at me. She just needs experience.

October 16 I couldn't hunt today, but a friend called to say that he found good numbers of grouse near Gaylord in the snow country and had good shooting.

October 15 This was the kind of fall day that we all dream of during the off season. Temperatures kind, sky blue, leaves brilliant and I could go. I headed to some of my favorite covers with Birdie to see if we could find the woodcock flight. Within ten minutes of starting we had the legal limit of three woodcock. We circled the area trying to find a grouse, but only found more woodcock. We moved to another cover and finally found a grouse that flew in the open, a mistake he will not repeat. Birdie is still on the edge of control and while she finds and points like an older and more experienced dog, she exhausts me. I never know what she will do next and when it was time to go home I was glad to let her ride on the seat beside me where I could pat her. However ...when I stoped to buy a pop, she used the time to eat the $1 winniing lottery ticket that I had left on the console. That's better than the time she chewed the bill on my hunting hat or the time I saved my expensive leather shooting gloves from her maw.
We were home in plenty of time to watch the Detroit Lions which is usually a painful experience, but not this day.

October 12
Rain and snow shortened my bird hunting/camping trip. I hunted the Pigeon River country and found good numbers of grouse, but almost no woodcock. Old Mable did her usual great job. Most memorable was when I was almost back to where I parked the car. I was walking along a two-track and Mable was angling in from the right. I was watching her when she slammed on point and could see a grouse out in front of her. I turned and the grouse flushed all at the same time. As it fell another bird that I hadn't seen flushed and turned down the two-track in front of me presenting an easy shot - I missed.

The swelling in young birdie's legs has reduced and I got her out for a few short hunts. She made a staunch point of a black stump and I had to kick it to get her to release. Then ten minutes later she went on point again by a clump of Hemlocks, just the kind of place where a grouse might hide. I eased around the edge ready for a bird to go, but none did. By the time I got back to Birdie I looked and saw another black stump in the middle of the thicket. I relaxed and took another step forward and up went a woodcock turning hard around the trees as it put on the speed. Birdie picked up the bird and held it with pride and I didn't take it until she set it down.

I met a couple of other bird hunters from Ohio, Columbus to be exact. They were enjoying a mid-day cigar when I ventured down the trail they were on. I stopped to say hello and we swaped dog stories for a few minutes. They too had a young dog they said they chained to a 16-inch pine while they rested because they thought he might pull anything less substancial out of the ground. It sounded like my experience with Birdie. I never quite know what she will do next.

October 8
I've been bird hunting every day with the exception of a rain day. I traveled far one morning to spend the day in some favorite spots and found grouse numbers like they were back at the top of the last grouse cycle. I tried to count flushes and ended up with 29, give or take a couple. The birds were in the hemlock/aspen areas where they were well protected. I only had five shots and grounded two.It was frustrating to move in ahead of the dog's point and hear the birds take off and not be able to see them. Old Mable didn't mind that I didn't shoot more, she just likes to find and point them.

With the local woodcock gone from our coverts, we are seeing more and more flight birds taking their place. None of the big flights yet, but they will be here any day.

Young Birdie is still grounded in her kennel. Her "wrists" are slowly shrinking back to normal and she should be ready to start getting back into the action soon.

I'm going on a grouse hunting/camping trip for the next four days. Hope it doesn't rain too much. I'll post the results when I get home.

October 3 I had the pleasure of hunting behind a friend's year and a half old brittany/griffon mix. Pat has been working with this dog since he got him at eight weeks and all his effort showed today. We moved through several coverts looking for a flight of woodcock and while we found some, we didn't find the mother-load like we hoped. Still we did find birds, both woodcock and grouse, and the young dog pointed them with enthusiasm. His tail was an indicator of what he was smelling. If he smelled a bird but didn't know where it was his tail would vibrate like a mad teacher shaking her finger at a trangressing child and when the dog knew where the bird was he turned to stone. It was a great time today.

October 2 Bird hunting for the last five days has been good. Plenty of woodcock are around including the the leading edge of the fall migration. I judge a WC to be a flight bird when I find it in less-than-perfect places. Sometimes these birds will be in cover that the local birds shun, but to a weary traveler look good enough. Often these birds are so tired that they don't want to fly when the dog points them, but when they do decide to leave they rocket up and away like little jets. They're unlike the homeies that will fly a few yards and land again as soon as they are out of sight. Many of the places that held local birds all summer are now empty except for new visitors that drop in at night. Now is the time that a covert that is almost bare of woodcock one day can be full the next with birds seemingly under every fern. If the security is good and the food plentiful they may stay awhile.

Mostly though,I have been looking for grouse. Some days I find some and others not. I think the population is up a little this year and the ones that we are shooting all almost all young of the year. Today we traveled far to a northern county and found good numbers. I guess that we flushed nearly 20 grouse although the thick leaves kept most from view. We would note their parting with their typical thunder of wings on the other side of a leaafy screen.

The duck opener was a bust for me. I didn't get out because my outboard's propeller spun its hub and I didn't have a spare. Luckily a friend called and invited me to go goose hunting in the evening and I shot a cackling goose. They look like a canada only they are just a little larger than a mallard.

Young Birdie wants to get out in the worst way. Just to show me that she is ready and her legs are healed she pealed the roofing off the dog house while I was gone. It took a little work, but she was determined to see it through.

September 27 The phone rang a little after 6:00 a.m. and a friend suggested that we scrub hunting plans for the day. As it turned out the rain was rentless across the north and I stayed home.

September 26 Today is supposed to be the best weather of the week and we didn't waste it. Old Mable rested while young Birdie and I visited some woodcock covers. She had a ball pointing birds and didn't saeem to mind that I missed the first four before connecting on the next three. At the end of the hunt I saw that her young front legs were swelling and it made me realize that she is just a nine month old puppy, too young for every day hunting. She'll have to stay home until the swelling goes down and I'll have to limit her time after that. Still she'll get plenty of work this fall as I hunt most days.

September 25 Searched some new covers for grouse this morning with both dogs. We only flushed one bird. Along the way I shot three woodcock.

September 24 I told my wife that I was taking young Birdie hunting and she asked if I was sure that it was a good idea. In truth I wasn't sure, but her training had progressed and I thought it might work out. I took the negative view when I answered her that I was just hoping that nothing bad would happen.

...... and, in the first cover she got overly excited and busted a grouse and two woodcock. She was over-the-top as they say with her excitement and I took her back to the truck to settle her down. At least she didn't get lost, I told myself. We went to a second cover and I let her go dragging a 20 foot heavy check cord. The cord is made of what I call stiff horse rope and it doesn't tangle easily. It slowed her a little and it wasn't long before I heard her beeper collar sounding the point signal. She stayed steady as I walked in front of her and flushed the bird. I swung on it, shot and...missed. She didn't care and was off to find another. In all she settled down and pointed maybe ten woodcock before I filled my limit of three. I couldn't have been more pleased with her.

September 21 I picked up a friend and we headed to Wexford County with Old Mable and his two griffons. The birds were there and we both had some shooting but didn't have anything to clean when we got home. Such is grouse hunting in the early season.

September 20 Heard rain on the roof, rolled over and went back to sleep. Later I didn't hear rain on the roof so I opened one eye to check things out. Even without my glasses I could see some blue sky and that was enough to get the other eye open for confirmation. Yup, some blue, some rain clouds... time to go hunting. I loaded both dogs and headed for a favorite secret cover of mine. I'd write were it is, but then it wouldn't be a secret any more so I won't tell. All you need to know that the woodcock were everywhere, but only two grouse and they escaped without me getting a shot. The woods was wet from the rain and everytime I touched a branch I got a shower- soaked again. Finally I took Mable back to the truck and got out Birdie for a training session. Birdie wanted to get in the cover but I wouldn't let her. If she tells me she is going to be good and stay near me I know she's lie'n. Better she sticks with the-two-a-day training schedule.

September 19 Young birdie is on two-a-days like the first summer practices for a high school football team. I worked her on a 30 foot check cord and she seemed to be getting the message, at least that's what I hoped. Then back in the kennel until her next practice.

In the afternoon old Mable and I headed for the woods in Benzie County. We flushed two grouse and too many woodcock. No shots, rain, got soaked, had fun.

September 18 Had the new 9-month old setter "Birdie" out with the idea that I would take her to some birds and see what happened. The plan went south as soon as I put the beeper collar on her without turning it on and turned my back while I got the gun. With Mable, my old dog I don't turn on the collar until we are ready to go and she waits expectantly. Not so Birdie, she lit out and I didn't see her for 35 minutes. During that time I called, I coaxed,I worried that I might not see her again,I remembered that she was wearing an expensive collar and that I'd just spent a hundred bucks at the vet on her and that might be a loss. I thought I might have to spend the day looking for her, finally I even thought the grief might be worth it just so I could personally take her to the dog pound. Finally I saw the ferns moving and there she was all happy to see me. I forgave her and turned on her beeper collar only to have her take off again for another half hour. This time I knew where she was and and I tried to catch her so I could get a leash on her only that little turd was fast and she had no intention of coming to me. All the yard work of learning to "come" meant nothing now. She was free and feeling like a 16-year old with a drivers licence and a car. Finally after what amounted to over an hour of her playing and me going through a roller coaster of emotions I got ahold of her, but was too tired myself to wring her neck like I wanted. I took her to an area where there weren't any birds and walked with her. She even minded a little and stayed near when I let her off the leash, that was until she found a woodcock that wasn't supposed to be there and went bird crazy. Finally, 2 1/2 hours after the whole ordeal began I got her back to the truck where I could change out of my sweat drenched clothes and sit down. Phew. I have some work to do.

September 17 It was already warm this morning when I headed for one of my favorite covers. The good news was that there wasn't much dew and I stayed dry. The better news was that I found a lot of birds and made some lucky shots. In all we put up 10 grouse and I got three of them. That doesn't sound like much to a non grouse hunter, but it is. Going zero for ten would be a much more likely event in the thick cover. In addition to the grouse I found 25 woodcock and will visit them when their season opens Saturday.

I got a call from my son tonight and he reported catching a thirty-pound striped bass from shore. That's a big fish and his personal best. That fish would be considerably larger than the ones in the pictures.

September 15 Opening day of the grouse season found us in Otsego county working an area where I found a lot of birds during the late season last year. Right now the ferns are up and the birds can be just about anywhere with a protective cover provided by the broad ferns above them. Graig brought his two Griffons and I had my 11 year old english setter.

The dew was still quite heavy when we started coating the spider webs that hung white and making them easy to avoid. Still, we were both wet soon after starting out, but the temperature was cool and we didn't mind the soaking. It wasn't long before the dogs found a woodcock , which are not in season yet and they must have wondered why we didn't shoot. We'd been hunting for maybe a half hour when I saw my dog getting "birdie." I thought it might have been an old scent as she will lock up if she smells a fresh bird. As she worked out the trail a grouse blew out of the trees above us where it had been roosting. I saw it for a moment and took a shot to no avail. The grouse moved on with hardly a worry through the thick canopy of leaves.

Later Craig passed a shot at another grouse that flew low above the dogs and near me. We tried to find the bird for a second chance, but no dice.

By the time it had warmed and the it was time to quit we had moved just the two grouse and 11 woodcock.

September 14 For those who got out early and were fishing when it first got light the action was strong. For those who didn't it was slow. Some guys hung in and had decent catches after the sun came up while others didn't.

September 12 When I stopped fishing on Labor Day weekend the salmon action was hot during the first hour of daylight before cooling for the rest of the day. Every year things are different where salmon are concerned. The bait that the fish couldn't resist last year may be only so-so now, and the feeding patterns of the fish change too. In the last several years we caught fish all day long. Sure the early bite was good, but we caught fish all through the morning and afternoon. That wasn't the case this summer. I believe this pattern will change again and we will go back to the all-day bite we have enjoyed for years.

I've been in Boston for a few days fishing for striped bass with my son, Bill and I'll tell you about that in a mmoment, but first let me share a conversation I had with another charter captain yesterday. I asked him how the fishing was and he said there were lots of three-year fish out at the island. I then asked if the early bite that slowed with the sun was still happening and he said he didn't know. The fishing was so good that he was limiting quickly. So, if you want to get in on this action there is still time. In fact, these fish will probably still be out there feeding when the deer seasoon starts in November.

Back to my Boston trip. As you can see from the pics we caught some great fish. Bill is a fishing nut and he took a day of vacation so we could hit the water hard. We caught the big ones at night with eels. We would hook a live eel, which is 10-16 inches long under the chin and cast it into the falling tide. The bass would inhale this bait as soon as they saw it. There wasn't anything gentle about the way they hit. They fight hard even though they don't have the speed and stamina of a salmon of the same weight. I found a whole lobster in the stomach of one big bass when I cleaned it. That fish had expensive tastes.

Twice we chartered a boat to take us out of Newberry Port on the Joppa Flats. This is the broad tidal flat created where the Merrimack river flows by Plum Island into the Atlantic. While the fish weren't the big bruisers we caught at night, they were a ball to catch on a fly rod and there were lots of them. They fight like a similar sized smallmouth bass and I had to wonder how I would ever handle a big one if it hit the fly. A two or three pound fish really challenges the rod and angler. We caught both stripers and bluefish. Watching these fish drive baby bunker to the surface and take them all around the boat with spray flying was exciting. A fly cast into this feeding blitz didn't last long.If you are interested in this type of fishing give Charlie Crue a call at Channel Edge Charters at 978 462 9212.

I'm switching gears now and will be taking the boat out of the water soon. The gouse season oppens this Friday and I'm ready to go. I'll keep this page up throughout the fall hunting seasons for those who are interested in grouse, woodcock, ducks, geese and deer.

August 29 Here is a radio conversation I heard between two charterboats this morning as I was leaving the dock.
"We've just about filled our guys limits already. Are you still getting hits?"
"Well, not in the last minute," came the reply.
I passed both boats on their way in with full coolers as I headed out. The fishing has been hot for those willing to get up early. The bite slows as the sun comes up, but then it can't continue all day like that.

August 24 All the boats that went to the island this morning got in on a huge salmon slaughter.

August 22 Some days I'm just lucky. This morning I guessed correctly where the fish would be and we had our limit in a little over an hour.

August 21 The big kings are still here. Some big catches came in this morning.

August 18 As I was unhooking a large king salmon the fish gave a big shake and the second hook on the salmon fly drove through my finger sticking out the other side. I was still attached to the salmon and it wasn't through taking its revenge. Each time it shook, I did too.

Otherwise fishing was good. Even though we got out after the the early bite we still caught a dozen. We were part of a multi-boat trip that took out the tire dudes a bunch of tire store people who go out every year. Nice guys.

August 17 While we didn't limit out as fast as we did yesterday, we did catch 10, which wasn't so bad. They were like the ones in the pictures posted from other days.

August 16 What a morning! My guys were at the boat early and I hurried to get ready so we could shove off. The sky to the east was showing light as I set the lines and it wasn't long before we had a salmon on the line. That was the first of many and we had our limit before the sun showed itself. We only had two hits that didn't end up in the cooler and I contrasted that to other days when we had lots of hits, but not many going in the box. Maybe I just had good fishermen on board who didn't try to pull the hooks out of the fish's mouth like a guy I had recently who thought that catching salmon and tuna in the ocean called for the same tactics, reef back heavily on the rod and throw it down to reel up the slack. That might work with heavy ocean tackle, but not here.

August 15 The heavy winds of the last two days kept most boats off the water.

August 12 The early daylight of June has slowly eroded to the ever creeping darkness of August. Now when we leave the dock at 6:00 it is dark and I use the radar as an extra set of eyes to see other boats in the darkness. This changing of the seasons is bringing on a change in the adult salmon. Their scales are bigger, tougher, and darker in color than they were just a few weeks ago. The males are starting to grow their fighting teeth and the visual difference between males and females is more pronounced. At dawn the "bite" is ferocious as the salmon attack any lure they see. By the time the sun cracks the horizon this early morning frenzy is all but over. The salmon still feed, but not like they do during this majic time.

Younger salmon are also showing up in greater numbers signaling the change that happens every summer when the biggest kings start heading for rivers where they will spawn later. In past years the young kings, fish ranging up to eight or ten pounds, fill the waters around Leland and make for great fishing.

Now is a good time to be on the water. Catches that I heard of today ranged from
one or two fish to bulging coolers. It just depended where one was fishing during the early bite. Boats that guessed (and I mean guessed) right looked like heroes and those that didn't like they were clueless about how to catch fish. That's just the way it is sometimes. If you guessed right you think you are a hell of a man and if you didn't, well....

August 10 Becky Bigelow had her family and friends down at the dock ready to go well before our scheduled 6:00 am departure. I hurried and got things ready and we shoved off at 5:45, arriving at the island 35 minutes later. We set up over deep water with the plan of trolling in to the bank, but the fish had other ideas and started wacking the baits and getting hooked. Action was steady and by 9:30 we had the cooler full of 14 or 15 salmon and trout. The biggest was 21 1/2 pounds on Carlson's scales.

August 8 Libby from Kentucky called me about bringing her family out fishing and this afternoon was the the day we planned. The morning's rough water was replaced by gentle breezes which calmed the lake and carried our combined fish call of "Here fishy fishy" to those that waited below. It must have worked because the salmon started pounding our baits. In time we decided to call it an afternoon with a box full of kings, a steelhead, and a trout thrown in for extra measure. There is a picture posted here of them holding part of their catch.

August 7 The thermocline, which is the temperature zone where the fish like to hang out dropped to 160 feet after yesterday's southwest blow. We could only fish three lines today to avoid tangles, but still caught 13 big kings. The northwest wind slowly brought the temerature up througout the day and things should be back to normal tomorrow.

August 5 The guys I took this morning limited out in a little over an hour last year. Do you think I was under a little pressure? Things started out well. We were getting hits, fish in the boat and even a big king that took the Dipsy line down to the backing where it broke the line. In the end we had seven or eight kings, steelhead, and a trout. The big fish of the day came in the afternoon when a young guy caught a king that weighed about twenty pounds (my estimate).

Oh, at half time when I was unhooking the lines to take off for the afternoon trip a guy on a bike pulled up all decked out in bike gear, you know, the helmet, spandex and all and asked me if my boat was C-worthy. I said it was and he said that he read this report all the time. Liked the stories. That made me smile, then I got to work. And (to the bike guy), if you are reading this, next time go fishing. It's better than getting sweaty on a bike and you get something for dinner.

August 4th - We pulled away from the dock this afternoon with a family from California who had never been charter fishing before. Tom,the dad, was a little cautious at first, but soon offered to help in any way he could and I put him to work setting the Dipsies. I had the kids, including Sarah, a young girl, driving the boat. Everyone was involved. By the end of the trip we caught eight and I enjoyed their company. The weather was Michigan at its best. The lake was inproving thanks to a north wind, and the cigar I had on the way home after the boat cleaned and reaady for tomorrow was mighty fine.

August 3 Great weather - the heat is past us and the fishing is fine. Charterboats that I talked to this morning avewraged 7-9 fish per boat.

July 31 The forecast was for two foot seas and the report from the Holy Land of South Manitou was lots of fish. So I went and found 3-5 foot seas. We could only fish in one direction. The people that went out were very nice and we stayed despite some sickness. The big fish of the trip pushed 20 pounds.

In the "its a small world" catagory, Linda, a fisherwoman and wildlife biologist knows the rancher where I go deer hunting in a small town in Texas.

July 30 Choosing the catagory of "go figure" here is the question for you. One boat (me) goes out with very compitent fishermen and has plenty of action with maybe 15 hits which include everything from knock-offs, fish that get off, and six kings in the boat while another friend's charterboat comes in and hangs a dozen fish on the board and when I ask him what was his secret, he answers with a chuckle, he boated all but two of his 14 hits. Now here is the question - how does this happen?

July 29 Now and then good plans don't work out and that's how it went for me this morning. Yesterday there were lots of fish off the north end of North Manitou and despite it being a hell of a long way to go fishing, I thought the time and fuel cost were worth it. The north end was the best place to go. We set up and got some action right away, but then two things happened. First the early bite ended and second, I wasn't getting over the fish. My friend Ed who got there an hour before we did caught eight while we ended up with four. Boats on the south end found fish around Dimmicks point and had nice catches averaging eight fish. This morning wasn't my morning.

July 28 Another great day for fishing with two fun couples. Kim and Kate are sisters and a hoot. If anyone, especially Mike slipped up they were on him like a slamon on an alewife. But you don't read this for stories about who I took out so here are the facts of the day. We Started on the fisrt bank and were into fish immediatly. It took quite awhile to get the lines all down because fish were wacking the bait. We picked up several big kings before the action slowed and we moved out to the island. At the island we didn't find the fish right away, but then we did, as they say and we had steady action until we came in. How many? I don't know, but it took three of us to lift the cooler off the boat.
We had an equal number of hits on hoochies and spoons and often there were doubles.

July 27 Yesterday a storm came through during the night and ripped the floating dock the National Park Service uses from shore. It drifted around with two boats tied to it without harming anything. Today the lake was clam. I took Jerry, Rick, Brett, and Gene out salmon fishing. We caught five dandy kings ranging between 12 and 20 pounds. The fish are deep and will stay there until the wind shifts and blows some of the warm water that has stacked up on the eastern shore of the lake back out to the middle. We were catching fish 130 fett down!!

July 24 What an ugly start to the day it was when we left the dock at six. Blowing, raining, waves - ugg. But that was the day god gave us and we went out. We had six good kings in the cooler, which Ken estimated weighed a total of 80 pounds, when the clounds grew darker and the thunder chased us off the lake. Another boat stayed out and fished and caught 12 kings - the dog.

July 23 What a great day to be one the water and what nice people to share it with. We went salmon fishing first and caught three big ones and when the action slowed we finished up with trout fishing where we caught another eight or nine fish.

July 21 I didn't fish, but did stop at the boat to take care of a few things. While there I caught a little of te fishoing report and I didn't hear lots of enthusiasm. Sounds like the weather conspired against the fishing and results were less than what people wanted.

July 20 The boats worked the island this morning and met a little wind and a rain shower at first that cleared to a fine day. The catch on the boats ranged from four to nine fish with four-year kings being the most common.

July 19 Five cops from downstate, lots of beer, lots of jokes, eight salmon and trout. These guys were tough on each other as friends often are, however I wouldn't like to see them if they got mad. One guy showed a knife wound scar on his leg from an arrest he made. As I listened to the story I wondered why he didn't shoot the the guy, but I could see his professionalism in his explanation. I'd feel safe with these guys looking after my town. Tough, smart, good.

July 18 Two dads, three sons, blue sky, pleasant tempersture, light breeze, What could be better? Fish, that's what could have been better! The cold front scattered the fish and it took all morning for them to re-group. A friend on another charter boat found them and called on the radio. We moved to the hot spot and immediatly started getting enough hits to put six nice kings in the cooler. I like it better when things are hot first and fade after we have a box full of fish. Fishing is a good game for those who need to learn patience and that includes me.

July 17 The heat wave that has ignited most of the country has reached Leland. This morning I had a family from Austin, TX out and they said that this is just like what they have at home. When we left the dock it was breezy and I slowed a little to get to the island without pounding. The further we got from land the calmer it got until we came within the heat zone around the island where the land breeze picked up again. Action was steady throughout most of the morning. We started by catching a very big laker, which we had to let go because it was to big for the slot limit for laker. Then we caught some very nisce kings and lost a few more. By the time we were done we had six or so kings in the cooler.

July 16 The wind was blowing hard when we headed out this morning, but the farther we went the calmer it got. That was good and so was the fishing. Even though the best action was on the extreme end of the north island I stayed to the south where it was a little calmer. There were fish there too. At one point we had two fish on at once and I took my eye off Stuart who had no experience with this kind of fishing. Without knowing how the drag worked on the reel he inadvertantly backed it off and let out all the line on the reel. When I looked the end of the line was just a loop around the spool with the spool spinning inside it as Stuart turned the handle. I got the line winding again and handed the rod back to Stuart knowing that he had over 300 yards of line to bring in with a big salmon attached to the far end. To his credit he never gave up and after a long while I netted a big king for him.
We came in with eight big kings,which was similar to the catches on the other boats.

July 12 The lake was calm, the sun warm, the breeze gentle and the fish were hungry. We landed eight kings ranging in size up to 20 pounds. I'll try to attach a picture of Superman Ryan and his fish.

Check out how Shelle Reglin holds a fish! Now that's a first.

July 10 The last of my children returned to their homes/jobs from thier vacations with us and my wife flew off to see her mom leaving me alone in a now very quiet house. So, what's a guy going to do, mope? No, go fishing! I didn't have a charter today and so I grabbed my flyrod and headed for the river. Even though it was in the middle of the day I caught five brook trout and quit at the time I should have started. The fish were starting to take flies off the surface just when I headed home.

July 7 Salmon catches ranged from 2-6 aboard the boats this morning with lots of lake trout available to those who fished for them. There were plenty of fish where I was, but most were up in warm water, not a good thing. Those that were in the cool water bit well.

July 6 Salmon fishing has slowed a little in the last week. Throughout the summer the fish come and go, slowly building in numbers in our area. Boats now are catching 2-9 kings per trip with twelve being the top catch tht I know of. This could all change in a week and we could be back to kick-butt fishing. I expect that to happen... stay tuned to this page.

Last evening my son Bill, who is here on vacation from Boston, and I went fly fishing on the Manistee. There were lots of bugs coming off the water late and I expected more surface feeding than I saw. There were sulphurs, brown drakes and those big double-winged mayflies (they're called Iso- something - I call them Istoners). Anyway, the fish were feeding on the emerging nymphs for the most part and I couldn't get them interested in what I was offering very often. I'm a much better salmon fisherman than fly fisherman. Still, an evening of fishing with my son made me a big winner.

If you're interested in fly fishing email me and maybe we can include your updates on northern Michigan rivers here if there are enough of you outr there.

July 2 Now and then I get a different kind of fisherman on the boat, a person who is experienced and tuned into what is going on even if nothing is happening. So it was this morning with California Dave. Even though the fish weren't biting, and even though the hours passed, Dave had a focus on the rods. Sure he laughed and joked with his friends, but he was never out of touch with the fishing. Finally, with just an hour left in our trip and about the time I thought I might be looking at my first skunk in several years a fish hit and Dave saw it. He noticed it before the rod sprang free of the release and reacted. While he had little experience with this type of fishing, his other fishing experience had him looking for the right things. Its not too often I get someone like this. More often people tell me what great fishermen they are, but don't show it.

It was too bad that the fishing wasn't very good for Dave and his nice friends. While we didn't get skunked, we landed four fish including two nice kings in the last hour. I would have liked it to be different, more spread out, but sometimes the fish see it otherwise.

July 1 The salmon where there, we marked them, but only caught five fish. The other boats had similar success. Maybe I'm setting the standard to high and expecting too much. Still I'm pretty mad at the fish and want to catch lots all of the time.

June 30 Like yesterday, we had a mix of ten trout and salmon.

June 29 I just got off the water from an afternoon trip. We caught a mix of nine trout and salmon. The top boat in the morning had nine salmon and the bottom boat had just several.

June 28 I stopped briefly at the boat and called Scott, another charter guy, on the radio. "How's it goin'?" I asked. "Nothing yet and I'm not seeing much," he answered. Not ever day is a winner, I guess.

June 26 I have taken the week off from fishing to be with my daughter and two grandchildren from Denver. However I did take my grand daughter to the boat to fish for bass that roam underneath in the river. She caught several, but that is not the report that you are looking for.

Of the three charterboats that did go out this mnorning two caught their limit of salmon. That would be 12 per boat. The third spent time looking for the lake trout that have been so abundant, but found few. He switched to salmon late and while he caught a few he didn't get his limit. Limits are overrated anyway.

June 20 One charter went for kings this morning and beat up on the fish pretty good. I think he had 8 or 10 while fishing in the middle of the day. Another guy went for trout and found them hungry and in great numbers. Why can't fishing be this good all of the time?

June 18 The Kimmerlings, a great family from Iowa, went out with me this morning. Their son Zack is taller than I am and as a college freshman has that spark about him that makes me smile and remember when. Anyway, they had a great morning catching a limit of 9 kings and a laker that had to go back because it was too big to keep. The kings ranged from 4-15 pounds with at least half going over 10.

June 16 The best salmon catch of the morning was eight kings.

June 15 Craig and I hit the Manistee with our fly rods and had a ball catching brook trout. On one bend in the river where brush overhung the water the trout were lined up slurping dinner off the surface. All the fish were right next to the bank and would hit the emergers I tossed at them. It wasn't until dark that I understood what they were eating when flashing lights began blinking. The bushes were full of fireflies and the trout were gobbling those that flew down to the water.

June 13 My brother doesn't like to get up early to go fishing if he doesn't have to. Why suffer, he says. So, he came over to my house at 9:30 and we headed to Leland. We put down some salmon lines on the first bank and it wasn't long before we had two good ones in the boat. They weighed maybe 14 or 15 pounds each. That was enough so we headed in and got lunch down at the Cheese Shanty and ate it on the boat. I guess my brother was right. You don't have to suffer by getting up before dawn.

June 12 Trout fishing couldn't be better thanb it is and salmon are showingt up in greater numbers each day. There are enough salmon out there right now to dedicate fishing just for them. Sizes are good too.

June 4 We started early thinking that the salmon that had been there on Friday would be hungry shortly after daylight. And, I'm sure they were, but they were someplace else feedind and not where we were. After an hour and a half of fishing for them I switched over to trout fishing and caught 22. It's still early for salmon. While there are days when we will go out and slaughter them, there will be others like today.I don't promise good, dependable numbers of salmon until July. Then I know we'll catch them. The trout, by the way, were just the right size for eating; we threw back the big ones.

June 2 Mike, a bird hunting friend, and I met at the boat at 6:00 and went looking for kings. We had two hits and boated one weighing about 10 pounds.Mike also wanted some trout to eat wo we caught three to round out his cooler before heading in for an early lunch. In the afternoon Jim asked if I wanted to go with himon his boat. Not one to say no to fishing very easily I jumped on his boat and helped him cast off the lines. We caught two salmon and lost another and released a trout.The king was in the ten pound range.

May 28 The light drizzle that was falling when we left the dock turned to steady rain by the time we had the lines set. Earlier I had watched the weather chanel and saw on the radar that there was and end to the rain coming so we hung out there catching lake trout expecting the sun to come out and the temperature to go ointo the 80's. Well, those things did happen, but by then the trip was almost over. We had a good time and a nice box of fish.

May 27 I invited a friend and his father to go out with me. We fished for salmon for about an hour and a half without a hit. I was marking them, but the clear blue sky or something had them not feeding. We swithched to lake trout rigs and caught seven, which was the number we could use with out wasting them befre quitting mid morning.

May 26 A fellow charterboater was a hero. He went out in the fog and caught nine kings and lost three others. They ran in the 10-12 pound range.

May 25 Jim and Larry went out to catch a trout or two and ended up with six, their limit, in short order. Then Jim put down a salmon lure and caught a 10 or 12 pound king in the first three minutes. Soon after that he caught another of about the same size. The salmon are here in catchable numbers and will provide good fishing all summer.

May 23 Jim, Alan and I took the boat out to Red Shoal to see if there were any lakers. At fisrst the bottom looked pretty empty and then we found them, lots of them. We kept five, which is what we wanted to eat and called it quits.

May 17 the boat is in the water waitng for the sun to come out and the rain to stop! Stay tuned as I'm going fishing soon and will keep this log posted.
May 10 - I can't believe it! The salmon are here already! I have a few more details to take care of on the new boat and it will be out there catching them.

May 2 - The winter steelhead fishing in the Manistee river was slow. That's a nice way of saying it was terrible! But all that changed when winter broke and the fish moved in to spawn in late March. After that everyone was catching fish.

The northern pike and walleye season open the last Satuday in April. I bought some big minnows and went out to a spot where there are some big pike and caught two measuring 27 and 29 inches each.One of the pike had an eight inch perch in its stomach. I also picked up a big smallmouth bass that went back in the lake. I don't like the taste of bass and put them back even when they are in season.

The new salmon boat is in the final stages of getting ready for the season. If you've fished with me in the past I can tell you that you will really like this boat. It is a fish catching machine. I would like to be in the water by next week and out there catching some early browns and lakers in shallow water.

Now that I got this report going I'll keep it up for the rest of the summer.

FISHING REPORT