Capt. Ken Deaton of J-Lyn Charters reports from Harbor Beach:

Steelhead fishing is picking back up again, fish the color lines for best results. Keep your lines up high as they are feeding on the bug hatchings right now. Put out some 2, 5, and 10 color lead lines on the boards, bright colors of spoons regular and magnum sizes for best results, fishing North of the harbor in 75 to 120 feet of water.

A few Salmon are still being taken North of the harbor fishing the 125 foot of water areas North of the harbor. Clean spoons of the lead lines, dipseys, and downriggers are all working. Fish 20 to 50 feet down.

Lake Trout fishing is fair with some still being taken North of the harbor using the dodgers with spin and glows close to the bottom. Any color seems to be working when they decide to take them. Try clean spoons off the downriggers. Fish 50 foot down to the bottom for best results. Start fishing in 110 feet of water and work your way out to the deeper water till you find them.

Bass and Pike are being taken using spoons and body baits in close to shore or inside the harbor. Fish around the weed beds for best results.

Try for perch South by the cemetery or inside the harbor along the channel using minnows.

Walleye fishing is starting to get better

Captain Terry Walsh of Termar Charters reports from AuGres:

Walleye action over the weekend out of AuGres was “as good as it gets” many anglers said, though most also said a bit less heat would be nice. I would certainly agree on both issues.

Leaving the channel at Northport Marina just north of AuGres, one could see boats in virtually any direction. A virtual armada stretched from the 30-foot depths off the AuGres Rivermouth as far south as the eye could see. Hoping for less boat traffic by going north, we were following up on a tip by the captain of the charter boat ABSOLUTELY that there was good fishing north of the Big Charity Island.
When we rounded the northwest corner of the big island, another armada of fishing boats came into view. So much for the less boat traffic idea. There had to have been more than a 100 boats stretching across the northern shoreline of the island and beyond.

We elected to go way to the east to a favored waypoint that would put us on the outside of the fleet of anglers and in the 20-foot depths. The move paid off handsomely, as we started catching fish almost immediately–nice fish and all in the 2 1/2 to 3-pound class. The action was steady from the start, and seldom did we manage to get all eight lines set.

Crawler harnesses behind two-ounce in-line weights run 28-35 feet back behind Offshore In-Line Planer Boards worked their magic. Color of the harness blades and beads didn’t seem to matter much, as we caught fish on everything we tried. It did seem that chartreuse and gold blades were especially good. Trolling speed wasn’t real critical either as long as we stayed under two miles per hour. Catching a four-party limit of 20 walleyes was pretty easy.

North of the Big Charity means fishermen are in the open waters of Lake Huron, and definite caution must be exercised. Never venture out without a good marine radio, and pay attention to the weather station. Make certain there’s plenty of gas in the tanks for the long run out and back as well as several hours of trolling. (At least one boat I know of had run out of gas and was asking for someone to tow him back to AuGres). USCG certified life jackets are mandatory for everyone on board. It’s virtually impossible to drown in a life jacket and awfully easy without one. Finally, take plenty of water along, as it’s easy to get dehydrated in the July heat.

Be safe and remember to take the kids fishing, too.

Captain Ed Stowe of Stowaway Charters reports from Ludington:

The fishing is still on the slow side. We got a Northwest wind and it turned the water over on the point but the fish have not found the cold water yet. The salmon are elusive and the bite is early in the AM, and then again at around 9:30 AM. The temperature at the point is 51 on the surface and 45 down 55ft. Meat rigs are the baits of choice, with spinnies and flies a close second. 100and 200 coppers and low wire divers from 100′ back to 150′ are also producing. Best fishing is from the Project up to the three bears in from 100 ft out to the 4400 numbers. 3, 5, 7, and 10 cores tipped with the standard steelie baits and Superslim SOGs and Dolphins and Moonshine Do De Ks on the riggers and divers are all working.

Good Fishin…..Capt Ed

Capt. Frank Piku From Captain Franks Fishing Charters reports from Lake St. Clair

This past week was a awesome time on Lake St. Clair I had 4 days of fishing with 4 diffrent families.

We caught our limit of Smallmouth Bass on each day and had the bonus of a cooler full of Big Jumbo Perch too. Filling a cooler full of fish each day. I fish the Canadain Shore from Thames River to Stoney Point in 19′of water depth. This area is loaded with Schools of Bass and Perch. We even have the problem of many Muskies eating our catch before we can boat the Bass, or Perch. using plastic tube lures and artifial chubs seem to work. For Perch we use Worms. The fishing now is hot and we can find fish all over the south shore of Lake St. Clair.

Call me for a date Captain Frank Piku 305 509 1547

Capt. Dan Tebo, of D’Ann Marie Charters in Grand Haven, reports:

Fishing continues to be good here in Grand Haven.
However, this week the storms have gotten the waters all churned up and we are really needing to work extra hard to get our catches up to where we want them to be. Hopefully, the waters will settle down in a day or so, and we can get back to regular fishing.

We have been fishing from 200 ft. out to 300 ft. of water. We are fishing 50 ft. down to 90 ft.

We are using various spoons: lots of blues.
Oranges have been good for our Steelhead.
Also, using some spinnies and flies.

We got a mixed bag today: Chinook, Cohos, Steelhead and as well as Lake Trout.

The weather is expected to really warm up for the remainder of the week and we are anticipating good catches, along with that.

Capt. Ken Deaton of J-Lyn Charters reports from Harbor Beach:

Steelhead fishing has slowed but should start picking back up. Fish the color lines for best results. Keep your lines up high as they are feeding on the bug hatchings right now. Put out some 2, 5, and 10 color lead lines on the boards, bright colors of spoons regular and magnum sizes for best results, fishing North of the harbor in 75 to 120 feet of water.

Lake Trout fishing still continues on the slow side but some are being taken North of the harbor using the dodgers with spin and glows close to the bottom. Any color seems to be working when they decide to take them. Try clean spoons off the downriggers. Fish 50 foot down to the bottom for best results. Start fishing in 120 feet of water and work your way out to the deeper water till you find them.

Bass and Pike are being taken using spoons and body baits in close to shore or inside the harbor.

Try for perch South by the cemetery using minnows in 30 to 50 feet of water. If the water is clear move deeper.

Walleye fishing is starting to get better try North of the harbor and north of Port Hope working in close to shore, 30 to 65 feet of water. Clean small spoons or crawler harnesses should work.