2015 Grand Haven Salmon Festival - Big King Contest

…in which Team Dog Day has their Afternoon

The Grand Haven Steelheaders host an annual "derby" fishing contest to coincide with the city's Salmon Festival.  This pretty much wraps up the fishing and tourist seasons for this port.  After a fun and successful first outing fishing together earlier in the month, Team "Dog Day" decided to use this as an easy entry into the world of fishing salmon tournaments.  This is a particularly quick and easy tournament to participate in; six hours of fishing, and the biggest salmonid caught by a registered team during that time wins.

Scheduled for Saturday, September 19, even with a big blow including the word “Gale” in the forecast, the tournament committee still wouldn’t postpone the event on Friday evening. Team Dog Day agreed that there was a 95% chance of delay, and a near-100% chance of not wanting to fish in Saturday’s conditions; but M and his boat were in Grand Haven and SB and I would need to be there by 5:15 AM or so.  The only thing we could do was check available buoy data at 4 AM or so and make a travel decision then.  We agreed that if the waves were recorded as greater than 3.5 feet, it was a clear no-go; otherwise, we’d hit the road, ready to fish.

Thunderstorms and wind lashed the house through-out the night and I was somewhat surprised to see the buoy reading less than 2 feet at 4 AM.  Wind and seas were clearly trending up, but the data were what they were; SB and I were soon on the road.  As we exited the truck in the parking lot at Chinook Pier, it was obvious that the event would not take place.  In the time it took to unload the truck, the wind veered from SW to NNW, and at a sustained 20 knots or so, with gusts into the 30s, it seemed like a no-brainer*.  And yet, along with the charter boats on Grand Haven’s Chinook Pier, we continued to prepare the boat and tackle.

The awaited postponement announcement finally came a little before 6 AM, and there was nothing left to do other than enjoy breakfast with my new teammates and friends.  Giddy with relief, or perhaps just by nature, we shared a meal as a team; and looked ahead to Sunday.  The forecast was favorable; it was just a matter of the seas laying down.

Upper Great Lakes Observation System (UGLOS) buoy data from Port Sheldon to the south shows that the big wind on Saturday, 9-19 cooled surface temperatures and brought cooler water nearer to the surface, but did not totally "flip" the lake.

Eminem’s Curtain Call accompanied me on my way to pick up SB on Sunday morning; this, combined with bright Venus hanging in the eastern sky of a developing beautiful morning were all good omens.  We were in position with just a few moments to relax before the 6:30 AM start.  Like most of the field, we took a quick pass near the pier heads while heading generally south and west.**  After a slow start, between 7:30 and 8 AM we hit two fish.  One was a nice teenager, and I muffed the other (again, on wire!)  But I thought we had the start of a program now, and with a nice fish in the box for a one-fish tourney, we could only improve our position for the rest of our fishing day.

Watch that wire diver!  It's about to go!  Meanwhile, enjoy this beautiful day.

Our first fish was our last fish of the day.

But that was it!  Not another rod budged for the rest of the day, but let it be known that we fished hard and well together; it was fun; and our lone, 15.05-pound fish placed 2^nd out of 44 boats*** (of which only 26 weighed fish.)  Team Dog Day started its tournament career with a $550 check, and we all agreed that, for us, it was a good end to a good weekend.

 

Team Dog Day; 15.05 pounds; 2nd Place in 2015

M...

...and Dr. M were happy with this outcome.

Hardware!

*Five people would get swept off a local pier later in the day; one of these would perish.

**Actual fishing details are here! 

***The winning fish ($1100) weighed just 15.55 pounds and was reportedly caught north of the piers, in waters less heavily pressured this day.  Something to remember.

The Doctor Is In!

I’m recalling the Early Summer of 2013; the store was buzzing.  The Fishing Department was crushing it, and I was filled with energy.  A potential customer was holding back as I dealt with another.  As I finished with the first, I turned to the next, and we easily slid into a long conversation about Great Lakes fishing.  “Doctor M” was looking to try it out, and wanted to get set with the basics.  We spent an enjoyable hour and a half or so getting him set up with a couple of downriggers, rod holders, a couple of complete trolling outfits, basic lures and a few necessary accessories (dipsey divers, swivels, net, etc.)  Doctor M was a notable customer with his obvious honesty, enthusiasm, and willingness to listen and part with (more than) a few bucks.  And it turned out that we are veritable neighbors, so we exchanged contact information, too.

I was pleasantly surprised when I returned for my next shift and I was enthusiastically greeted by my manager.  Dr. M had completed an on-line survey regarding his store experience and could not have been nicer or more specific about our interaction.  I got a handshake and a few dollars bonus, and the department and the store got a little corporate recognition.  The Man got a prolific customer and Dr. M got a chance to scratch that itch, the itch of a fisherman recently introduced to Great Lakes Fishing.

We crossed paths a couple of times at the store (his cart was always full and we always shared fishing strategies!), and I got to check out his boat on the trailer in his driveway.  He’d done a good job of mounting the riggers and holders and maximizing his available cockpit area.  All indications were that he was enjoying himself and catching a few fish, but we were never able to get our schedules aligned to fish together.

Another season passed, and I was pleased to learn (through a surprise common acquaintance) at a school function in the Fall of 2014 that Dr. M had purchased a new boat.  But the real surprise was that Dr. M had purchased not just a boat, but a 37-foot yacht, was going to keep it at GH, and was looking to upgrade his Great Lakes fishing experience.

Dr. M called me in the early Spring of 2015 (I’d just left the store) with some questions about electronics.  He was on-board with radar and chart-plotting, he’d just purchased a temperature down-probe, and he had a digital depth meter; did he really need sonar?  He was balking at spending any more money, and while I left the choice to him, I argued that for a few hundred more dollars he could know what was (or perhaps more importantly, was not) under him.  And then we both got predictably busy, missed out on a couple of short-notice opportunities to connect on the water, and generally proceeded with our respective lives.

I’d just about decided that I’d declined one too many invitations and had been dropped from his list, when I received a text message from Dr. M at work, with a fishing opportunity that evening.  It’s been unseasonably hot and the fishing has reportedly been very sporadic (if not down-right slow), but I was open.   I took care of a few things, grabbed some deep-water gear, and presented myself at his home at 3:30 PM.   Our mutual acquaintance arrived, we all climbed into the SUV, and we spent the commute sharing fishing stories, reviewing the day’s on-line data of lake conditions, and discussing strategies.  We were soon on-board.

37 Feet, just waiting for me.

Getting ready and looking comfortable.

I am not used to fishing in such comfort!  A yacht doesn’t protect t you from biting flies (the night’s only negative), and to be honest I’m not used to netting fish from such a height, but I was super pleased with how the boat handled itself, trolled down, how it was rigged (locally designed and milled rod holders), and just how fishable it was.  As for the fishing, it exceeded my expectations for the night (see this), we all got along and seem compatible, and there have been future plans made for derbies and tournaments.

Leaving Grand Haven behind us.

Team-work.  Concentration.  Real Men doing Real Work.

Nice night!

The specifics don’t matter, but this is why I’d gotten involved with C’s; to share some expertise, stories and enthusiasm, to meet some new fishing companions, to share some time on the water and to catch some fish.  Success!