3-Run Homer

DATE: July 13, 2012           

LOCATION:    Lake Michigan (Muskegon)

With:              Katie, Numenon

TIME:             3 PM - 9 PM

HOURS:          6

WEATHER/CONDITIONS: Hot, hazy, seas calm to < 1 foot; SW winds < 10 mph

I had the privilege today of turning 3 hours of afternoon Annual Leave into a full-blown Lake Michigan Expedition with Katie.  Reports of hot fishing continued, web-cams indicated a possible prolonged pier-head bite, and Beach Reports indicated water too cold for swimming.  NOAA data indicated a mild, sustained blow from the NNW (> 15 knots) on Tuesday, and this seems to have rolled the lake over.

Science!  Data!

We launched at the odd time of about 2:45 PM, and when we hit the pierheads, lake water was between 66 - 70 F; there was no noticeable cold water.  This seemed too warm to me (although the channel was chock full of bait), and so I headed west.  The lone couple of fishing boats at this time were working about 90-100 fow, and I continued west with an idea of stopping at about 140 feet and heading in; but a quick, 5-degree increase in temps with a couple of mild slicks convinced me to stop in about 125 feet.  We headed generally E, mild wind at our backs, while I set lines.  The sonar seemed to indicate a strong thermocline at about 45 feet down.  The initial spread consisted of 3 riggers bracketing the thermocline and a braided dipsey (for quick versatility and changes), with a full lead line and a 150-Copper line off boards (for longevity while targeting the thermocline).  I initially ran spoons with the exception of a UV paddle/fly on the deepest rigger, with blue/green dolphins deeper and green/orange spoons higher.

Katie was happy to be back out on Lake Michigan, and piloted the boat well when I  set/worked lines.

It wasn't long before the first hit of the day in about 110 fow.  This fish buried the board on the full-core, and stubbornly resisted coming to the net.  Katie declined the opportunity to fight this pugnacious fish, instead opting to net her first Great Lakes Salmon.  She did so patiently and without issue.

Our first fish of the day (King Salmon) hit the full core hard and fought harder!

We both exercised our patience for the next hour or more, as we looped from 90 fow out to 130 or so with no further action.  Surface temperatures out here were over 70 F, and so I took a more northerly troll to avoid the increasing temps.  As we bounced back to 125 or so, we had the fastest flurry of activity of the day, with a downrigger release, quickly followed by a hookup on the same setup (UV flasher/fly down 80.)  Katie quickly subdued her first steelhead of the season.

Katie's first chance of the day

Katie's beautiful buck steelie

This fish was followed by a drive-by on the full core (mixed veggie-type spoon, again) and then a viscous hit on the dipsey, back 175 feet on a setting of 2.  The steelie spoon here had been replaced by a high-sky blue-bubble spinnie, and this double-digit king fought Katie all the way to the net.  After another drive-by on the 150-Copper, I put out the 300-Copper with a UV glow multi-color spoon, and this quickly produced another nice king in the same size class.

High skies + Blue Bubble Spin Dr. = Nice King!

The fish took another break here, and our next flurry occurred in about 110 fow after 8 PM.  After changing the full-core's mixed veggie-type spoon to an old fashioned Black/Green/Glow, this rod awakened to a different type of strike; deliberate and sustained.  The fight was deep and bull-doggy.  I was guessing "laker", but I was surprised at the girth of this fish when she came aboard.  She'd been eating something!  We took a few moments for a photography session with this beautifully-marked fish, and even though there was still light, and perhaps the best fishing was yet to come, we decided to call it a night.  (Getting old and wise and content might be leading to reduced catches, but wise and content are not bad qualities.)

This laker was fat!

Beautifully marked lake char

We trolled towards port as I slowly pulled lines (of course, leaving the most hopeful rods out the longest.)  With a single line left in the water, the board on the 300-Copper line with the UV spoon got buried; I slipped the boat into neutral, and Katie quickly landed another king; this one was about 8 or 9 pounds.

We hadn't encountered many boats this evening, and when we returned to port, we discovered why; everybody was fishing well within 50 fow and into the channel.  They seemed to be having some success, too, as we saw a few nets fly as we picked our way in.  Surface water temps were 73 - 74 F, but it must have been a thin layer, and the fish were definitely "in."  But Katie and I agreed, this wasn't a pleasant place to fish; and we really couldn't have done too much better than we had.

But this trip wasn't so much about the fish as simply escaping town and getting out there, and sharing another Great Lakes trip with Katie.  She seems to enjoy the relaxed parts of this fishery, and she does a good job at the wheel, on the rod, and with the net.  We talked non-stop for well over 6 hours, shared a few laughs and lots of smiles, and returned home with new stories and experiences.  

Katie's aware that lots of fisheries offer "Grand Slams."  She's also aware that, while a real grand slam drives in four runs, many local fishing slams are for only three species; striper/blue/albie; snapper/grouper/mahi; bonefish/permit/tarpon; redfish/sea-trout/flounder; etc.  She refused to recognize our King/Steelie/Laker as a Grand Slam; but rather as a simple 3-Run Homer.  I can't argue with that logic, especially when there are still "ducks on the pond" in the form of cohos and browns.