Captain Ron Westrate of CoHooker Charters reports from Saugatuck:

All the wind this past week, allowed just one day of fishing out in 210 foot of water. Two days of gale force winds and 4 days of small craft adversaries, kept almost all the boats in port. Today we went out to see if we could fish in-front the piers, however the water was still in the high 60 degrees, with 5 foot seas and we came back in. With the warm water, there are very few salmon in- front the piers and the best fishing has been in 170 to 210 foot of water with a mixture of 2, 3 and 4 year old chinook salmon, steelhead and lake trout in the creel.

Stingray and stinger size spoons on 300 and 400 copper produced well the one day we fished. In addition the same flashers and flies that we ran last week worked this week in the dipsy divers and on the downriggers.

We need some strong north winds and a north current to get some cold water at the piers to get the run started. For information and/or charter reservations, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com

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

What a week! We have been fishing from 120 ft. of water out to 220 ft.
Spoons are the bait of choice, specifically Blue Dolphin, Green Dolphin, Blue Veggie, & Green Veggie.

We are using white paddles with green flies down deep.

The fishing changes daily right now according to what the water temp. does.
If it cools down, we move into shallower water. If it stays warm, we have to move out deeper.
Every day around here is different right now!

Of course, we are contending with the winds and waves, as well. We will see what happens this next few days as the air temps plummet.

Someone told me the other day: August fishing means rough waters.
I wonder what Sept. will bring?
Good luck to all of you as you finish the season.

Captain Ron Westrate of CoHooker Charters reports from Saugatuck:

This past week started out just as the preceding week ended, with good
catches in 80 to 100 foot of water. Then we had the blow out of the
north on Wed. which turned the lake over moving cold water in front the
piers on Thursday. Everyone felt that our salmon will be in-front the
piers on Thursday or at least by Friday. That, however, did not happen.
Instead we lost the fish we had been catching in the 80 to 100 foot
range and the fish were scattered out from 140 foot of water out to 240
foot of water. Our best fishing during the weekend was in 180 to 220
foot of water with decent catches of 2 and 3 year old salmon and a few 4
year old chinook, steelhead and lake trout mixed in.

The best lures for us were Stingray and Nitro lures and glow Ace Hi
plugs on 300 and 400 foot of copper. On the dipsy divers pro troll
flashers (silver green, silver mountain dew and white glow) with rapture
no see um flies (green beads and red beads) produced the best. On the
downriggers we ran metal dodgers and green rapture flies.

Early in the week there were some perch caught in 15 foot of water south
of the Saugatuck piers and between the State Park and Castle Park. The
perch ran small, however you could catch enough that it produced a nice
catch of “keepers”.

Our salmon should show up at any time so check back or email me for
information at captronn@chartermichigan.com.

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

Well, this is definitely not a normal August for fishing in this area. The water is unbelievably warm and the winds are strong, this is creating havoc for the fish, as well as the fishermen.
Everyday this week the winds have shifted several times during the day, thus creating water that is very unstable. The waves are choppy and close together or they are cross chops making for rough rides and many tangled lines! Several trips were shortened due to rough waters and rescheduled. The catches are good one day, not the next.
The water is so warm the fish move all over to find the temps they like and we are at their mercy and chasing them all over. Some days guys are going way out to deep water and the next day they are fishing in closer.
Fishing is still better at the first crack of day. We have been trying to leave a little earlier these days to get to the right spot for that “first bite”.
We are fishing from 95 ft. to 110 ft. water, 60 to 90 ft. down on most days..
We are using pearl black dot, green lightning, and yellow lightning plugs.
Later in the morning, we have had good luck with a variety of spoons: mixed veggies and blue veggies.
If you are interested in booking a trip with us, contact us at: www.dannmariecharters.com or call 616-846-3700.

Captain Ron Westrate of CoHooker Charters reports from Saugatuck:

Fishing off of Saugatuck was good throughout the week. The week started
with large catches, but small fish (salmon and lake trout 160-200 FOW.
The week ended with large catches of large lake trout and an occasional
king in 85-100 FOW.

The fish in the deeper water were biting orange Cory’s bait, mixed
veggies and lemon ice sting ray spoons on the 200’ and 300’ of copper.
On the down riggers the 8” green/glow Hotchip with a wild fern, 8” white
dew wiggle Prochip with a hypnotist LG and the 8” white fishscale with a
green no-see-um fly.

The lake trout in 85-100 FOW were biting metal dodgers with spin-n-glows
and Goldstar squids. The best combinations were the tin can w/ a glow
and pink dot, green, or chartreuse spin-n-glows. A chartreuse dodger
with a green splatter back glow squid was also very productive. The
dodger were bounced on bottom to produce action.

The water started to cool down on Sunday and some kings were found in 50
FOW right on the bottom. With some northerly winds forecasted for the
week the salmon might start staging in the 45-50 FOW area. The cooler
water will also spark a better perch bite for the perch anglers. For
more information or charter reservations, contact me at
captron@chartermichigan.com

Captain Ron Westrate of CoHooker Charters reports from Saugatuck:

The salmon off of Saugatuck set up in two separate areas this week.
Adult salmon and some lake trout were caught in 80-100 FOW and another
group of fish- all age groups of salmon, lake trout, steelhead and some
coho were caught from 150-200 FOW. Fishing was good throughout the week,
with catches of up to 20 fish a trip.

The fish in the shallower water bit mainly plugs and flasher fly
combinations. Silverhorde Ace-Hi plugs on the copper lines, 200-400 feet
of copper, produce kings throughout the week. The best plugs were: green
w/ black ladder back, green lightning, wonderbread glow and pearl black
dot. The best flasher fly combinations were: a chrome/green Prochip w/ a
no-see-um Rapture fly, blue bubble or a white blue wiggle 8” Hotchip w/
an Oceana Rapture fly, a chrome w/ mt. dew and glow Prochip w/ a yellow
no-see-um Rapture fly, and the 11” white fish scale Protroll w/ a
hypnotist LG Rapture fly. Most fish were caught 50-100 feet down.

In the deeper water, many of the same flashers worked well. The best
flasher in the deep water was the green glow 8” Hotchip and Prochip with
wild fern or hypnotist flies. Fish on the outside were caught from 40
feet down all the way to the bottom. We caught many large salmon and
lake trout 180 feet down.

Strong winds from the Northwest on Sunday and Monday may bring in colder
water. This may bring the adult salmon even closer toward the shoreline.
For information or charter reservations, email me at
captron@chartermichigan.com.