Memorial Day weekend 2023
1st I would like to recognize all our service men and women who paid the ultimate price for freedom, those that died while on active duty protecting our country. It is hard to express the gratitude I feel for these men and women. Our military protects the American way of life which allow me to take you fishing because we are a free nation. Thank you for your service.
Fishing this weekend was good. In fact, all of May has been fantastic. I want everyone to know that fishing in northern Michigan in May is one of the best times to go fishing. The fish are congregated on the shallow flats and banks feeding on bait fish that moved in to feed on the plankton and bugs in the shallows. It is possible to go out twice a day and catch a limit of Lake Trout every trip. However, this is only the month of May. Once the water starts to warm the fish will scatter and move deeper. This will make locating the schools of fish harder. The year over year experience allows us to pattern the fish and the banks where they like to migrate. June is a good month to fish, just not as fantastic as May. I did a scouting trip on Sunday morning looking specifically for King Salmon in Good Harbor Bay. The surface temperature was 52 degrees and at 50 feet down on the downrigger at 2.5 mph the water temperature was 43.5. I trolled east to west, and the water seemed to cool off a degree or two as I left the bay. I marked a few suspended fish however I only caught Lake Trout. I was trolling spoons. Dreamweaver standard Halo Blue Dolphin set up on a wire diver set on 1 with 100 feet of line out, Dreamweaver Super Slim Blue Dolphin set up on a 6 color Leadore behind the boat on a stern planer and Dreamweaver MJ on the downrigger at 60 feet down. I had two hits on the wire diver, 2 on the 6-color stern planer and one on the downrigger, all were lake trout. I was fishing in 125-150 feet of water. All these fish were suspended.
Sunday afternoon, I had a bachelorette party with the bride to be, Emily. Her friends: Jessica, Amber, Lex, Jessica, and Jordan provided for a great time fishing from the port of Leland in the Manitou Passage. We fished the “Playground” just a few miles west of Leland Harbor. The first downrigger down with the Hammerhead Lake Trout Killer #5 cowbells, tip with a Pink Luminous Spin-n-Glow was taken by a large Lake Trout in just seconds, set 50 feet behind the boat at 35 feet down in about 40 feet of water. Then the fight was on. Emily, as the bride to be, was up 1st. She was a pro! She was able to land a 12 pounder to start the trip off the right way. Well, the hot fishing action never seemed to end. We were setting only four rods. Two downriggers and two leadcore lines on side planner boards. The other downrigger was the Dream Weaver 10” Dragon Slayer with the same Pink Luminous Spot Spin-n-Glow. On the 6 color leadcore we had the Dream Weaver Super Slim Blue Dolphin and the 5 color leadcore had the Dream Weaver standard Halo Blue Dolphin spoons. I think we had 22-23 bites in the afternoon. All the Ladies were able to angle a few fish. Not all made it to the boat, but they were able to go onto dinner with a limit of 12 Lake Trout. All four lines took fish and had multiple bites. The downrigger with Lake Trout Killer took the most fish. All in all, a great trip. As May turns into June the water should warm a bit and we should start to see more King Salmon in the area. We have availability in June so give us a call and set up your next fishing adventure.
