Link to FISH REPORTS 2003, FISH REPORTS 2002
September 14, 2004. Rough again as Clair Dutton and I headed out. The swells were up to 4 to 5 foot when we cleared south point. It was too rough to fish the deep water so we went back into the bay. It looks like some trout are moving back into the bay and we caught 3 trout and had 4 other hits. It was a good way to end the 2004 charter season as I will be pulling the boat next week.
September 13, 2004. Lac La Belle looked beautiful as we headed out. The big lake was another story as we had 3 to 4 foot swells running from the South East so there was no where to hide from it. We looked for yesterdays fish in 140 feet but they had moved as usual. We found them in 150 feet about a quarter mile from yesterdays fish. We caught 4 trout and called it a day as the lake was still kicking up her heels. Here is a picture of Mike and Cristy with their catch. Mike and Cristy again.
September 12, 2004 Rough again as Lonnie Curtis, Taylor, Brad, Irve (another fish hog), and Janice came to catch some fish. We had to fish deep again as the fish were 140 to 160 feet down and right on the bottom. Our catch was 12 trout, lots of them were very red inside. They will be good on the grill. Here is a picture of the crew. Another picture.
September 5, 2004 The Spencer crew arrived early and ready ot fish. We fished the 120 to 150 foot drops again. The fish were hitting and we ended up one short of our limit with 17 trout and one salmon. The salmon came off the surface on a floating Rapola. Andrea dropped a fish while trying to hang them on the hooks. Here is a picture of her retreiving her catch. The crew of Andrea, Tim, Tracy, Frank and Bud. The crew again.
September 4, 2004 We fished with Ray Tyberg, Rich (the fish hog), Kevin and Mike. The trout were running deep, about 120 to 135 feet down in 140 to 160 feet of water. It looks like the salmon have pretty much left our area as we got 12 trout and no salmon. Here are some pictures of our crew. The crew again.
August 30, 2004 We were out before sunrise with Dave and Susan Whitten, Emily, Andy, and Jerrod. As we cleared the channel the sun was rising before us and a beautiful rainbow was in the sky behind us. We ran out and started fishing in 90 feet of water and hit fish in a about 100 feet. The trout were coming off the bottom and we hit some steelhead on dipseys or down at 32 feet. We broke one steelhead off, lost 2 steelheads or salmon and landed one. They sure fight. We moved to a different area and picked up some larger trout that were also near the bottom. Here is a picture of the Whittens with their catch. Another picture of the crew.
August 25, 2004 Ya, Ya dem flatlanders from below da bridge were up and wanted to go get some of dem fisk. Da trouble is dat dey go Mosquito Inn at Toivola da night before. We tinks dey had toooo much beer and pizza cuz tree of dem turn green and do some chumming. Here are der names and see if you can figure out who do da chumming. Der names are Adam, Gabe, Steve, Steve, Luke and Dave. We had a good trip and here are the survivors with their catch. MSU boys, MSU boys again.
August 20, 2004 The boat survived yesterdays blow. Wind gusts were clocked at 45 miles per hour on Lac La Belle. The weather radio said that there were 16 footers out on Superior. It was a little rough to fish. Things had calmed to 3 footers by Friday so Bruce and I went out and fished the in the bay. We caught 1 king, 3 cohos, and 1 trout. Most were caught down 34 or 38 foot on the downriggers or on dipsey divers. The water temperature went from 62 degrees on Wednesday to 49 degrees on Friday.
August 17, 2004 Steve and Bruce Hadden and Scott Fiesner (of Fiesner dock fame) came up to fish. We fished on the outer reef and caught our limit of 12 trout and one salmon. The trout are still in 90 to 120 feet of water and most were very near the bottom. The salmon came on a slider with the rigger set to 34 feet. We headed in for a dinner of fresh fish, fresh corn, and a good salad. Then it was time for a sauna. Here is a picture of the crew and of Bruce and Scott.
August 14, 2004. Some friends of ours from the Iron Mountain area were visiting the Copper Country and came by. The weather was nice so naturally we had to take an after dinner boat ride. We set some lines out just to see if any fish were still in the bay and ended up with two trout and one salmon. Here is a picture of Nathan wih a nice Coho.
August 13, 2004 Lee Jaeckel, Laura, and their daughters "fish hog" Kayla, and "skipper" Jess came out for a morning of fishing. The weather was finally calm so we headed out for the outher reefs. We ended up with 12 nice fish that were caught near the bottom in 90 to 110 feet. Here are pictures of Jess and Kayla, the crew, the crew again.
August 11, 2004 Just when you think that the weather can't get any worse, it did. The wind was still comming from the northwest at 15 to 25. We set up in 3 footers and made one run across our spot. There were lots of suspended fish on the graph and we managed to land 4 in one pass. It was too rough to stay out there as the wind was picking up. We headed into the bay and managed to pick up a couple more before heading in to the dock. Nancy, Steve, Rich and Tom Strohl toughed it out and still managed a smile at the dock. The Crew, Crew again.
August 10, 2004 Snowing and blowing (well mabee not snowing) when the Mc Kenney's showed up. Out we went and after three quick fish in the bay we moved out to try their sea legs out. It was white capping with the wind blowing 15 to 20 from the northwest. The fish were suspended down 80 to 110 feet in 140 feet of water. We caught our limit of 12 trout and headed in. Sara, Patrick, Steve and Callin enjoyed their trip and went home with a cooler full of fresh trout. Here is a picture of their catch. And another picture.
August 4 thru 7. Our family from Wisconsin and Washington arrived. We had a busy week with 12 people in the camp, motor home, and out house. In the middle of this our septic quit working so we had quite a line for the real outhouse in the morning. With all the activities we managed to get out fishing 4 times and we caught 40 fish. Everybody went home with a bag of fresh and smoked trout and salmon. The bad news is that our big school of trout moved out on us and we are really having to fish for our fish now. It was tooooo easy for a while. Here are some pictures of the crew. crew again, and again, If it ain't chartruse it ain't no use.
August 3, 2004 Skip Caswell and crew came up from the Iron Mountian area. We got out early and hit the 100 foot reef and fished from 60 foot to bottom for the trout. 15 trout were netted by this crew. Here is a picture of Skip, Jim, Mike and Shela.
July 29, 2004 Dave and Dave Kangas and a crew , (Pete, Gary, and Jerry) of locals from Cedar Bay crossed over the hill from the north shore. The fish were really hitting in 100 feet of water from 30 foot to 80 foot down. We caught 16 trout and 3 salmon. Here is a picture of the crew with their catch.
July 27, 2004 The Woodbury crew consisted of John, Dustin, Austin, Derrick, and Pete.We went out looking for some bigger trout and we found them. We ended up with 12 trout and they were all nice Red Finn's. The boys, big trout.
July 26, 2004 Ed Jenison and family arrived for some morning fishing. We had another good day on the water where we caught 13 trout and 1 salmon. Jenison crew, Larry and Martha, Lee, Martha, Martha_Shane, nice trout.
July 24, 2004 Got the crew up at 6 and we were ready to roll by 7:30 after a hearty breakfast of venison sausage and eggs. We decided to go after "trophy" trout. We had a slow start but then we found the fish. Things were very busy after that. We ended up with 18 trout and 3 salmon. We did not equal our last years total of 17 trout and 10 salmon, but we had more pounds of fish in the cooler. The largest trout was 34 inches. Here are some pictures of the Crew, Crew again, another fish picture. It was an excellent day on the lake. The fish on the grill that night was great. "You should have been here today"
July 23, 2004 Fred and Sam arrived from Iron Mountain. The lake was calm so what could we do but go fishing. We went out trying to get a king at dark but ended up with 9 eater trout. There will be fish on the grill tomorrow night. The fish were near the bottom in 120 feet.
July 21, 2004. How do you tell if you are catching too many fish? You have bear tracks on your boat in the morning. Bear1, Bear2, Bear3
July 20, 2004. We fished with Jim Pollock and his sons, Larry, Jered, and Blake. Jerad turned out to be the "fish hog" this trip as he was very fast at getting to the rods. The seas were calm and we had a good trip catching 12 trout and 3 salmon. The boys received a lesson in filleting trout when we got back. The boys, Crew1, Crew2
July 19, 2004 Les, Jana, Adam, Zac, and Haley Underwood came up afrom their camp after getting up at 3:00AM to make the trip. After we caught a few fish and had some strikes while setiing out lines things slowed down till we got to our main trolling place. Most fish were down 70 to 90 feet with the larger trout and the salmon down at 45 feet or hitting sliders. Dark lures were hitting at first while it was sprinkling rain and then the lighter lures started to hit. We had lots of fun as the fish were hitting steady all day. The cooler was full with trout and 2 salmon when we quit. Pictures of crew with their catch. Crew1, Crew2
July 17, 2004 We took the Prime Time out with Ed Schneiderhaun as captian, and Bruce, John, and me as crew. Afer two stops on the way to the channel for engine work we made it out to the fishing grounds. We caught most of the fish down at 80 feet with some comming at 38 and 48 feet down. We ended up with 12 trout, 2 salmon, and one 31 inch steelhead. Here are some steelhead pictures. Steelhead picture, Steelhead picture1
July 16, 2004 Greg and Judi Greene came over from Bete Grise and we fished in the fog and rain. We caught a couple of fish and then Judi took out a bananna. Then all action stopped and we started to loose all of our fish. The bananna went over the side and soon the action started to improve. We caught 8 trout, 1 coho, and 1 king. Here are the pictures of the crew and their fish. Crew, Crew again.
July 15, 2004 We fished with Bob Ekonen, Tod, Fish Hog Brad, and Matt. We had a very good day on the lake with 12 trout and 1 salmon. Most fish were taken in the upper 40 foot of water. We had a double with one lake trout on the slider and one on the main lure. Here are some fish pictures of the Fish Hog, Fish Hog and cool dude, The crew.
July 12, 2004 We fished with Dave Smith (The Mayor and future presidential candidate), Dave Pelligrini, accountant extraordinaire, his daughter Kirsty and son Mark, And Joe Galetto the former star Michigan Tech hockey player. We switched areas and found the trout in 80 to 120 feet of water. Most of the eater fish were down at 80 feet. The larger red fin trout were caught at 15 to 30 feet down. We ended up with our limit of 15 trout. The crew, Crew again, The real reason that the President came to the U.P.
July 10, 2004 Marge and I went out with the Schneiderhauns. Our crew was made up of Ed, John, Mike, Art, and Scott. We fished the same area as the day before but "YOU CAN'T CATCH YESTERDAYS FISH" The bug slicks were gone and we had to drag the bottom for trout. We ended up with 7 trout and 1 salmon. The lake was calm and it was a beautiful sunny day on the lake. We will post picture when Scott sends some to me.
July 9, 2004 Brent, Ryan and Jacob came over from Eagle Harbor to fish on our shore. The seas were calm and after a little searching we hit the fish. We came in with 11 trout, 2 salmon and one steelhead. Most of the larger trout and the salmon were caught within the upper 30 feet of water. They are feeding on bugs so fish the bug slicks. Full box, OOPS, Nice catch, Lots of fish.
July 8, 2004 We fished with Dan Vincent, Dan Jr., Laura and Linea. It was a good day on the lake as we caught 9 trout and 2 salmon. Most fish were down about 70 feet in 90 feet of water. The salmon and the large trout were down 30 feet or on sliders on the 30 foot lines. We had to go out in the afternoon as the morning was cold and blowing. The lake settled down nicely and we had a very enjoyable afternoon on the water. The crew, The crew again.
July 1, 2004 Doug Wills (Lucky Strike Charters), Ed and I went out looking for bigger fish. We fished a different area of the lake and we found the salmon. We caught 2 Kings and lost 2. We also caught a large Steelhead off a dipsey. The action was furious as we also caught 8 trout and we were back drinking coffee by 11:00. It was a very good morning on the lake.
June 29 Fished with Emil, Ed, Paul and Jason. Was almost a repeat of the previous day but we caught more trout near the surface. We had three that were bigger than 8 pounds and they were all caught near the surface. We ended up with a very big pan of trout fillets. We will have lots of good eating. Pictures of the fish cleaners and crew pictures.
June 28, 2004 Gordon Merrit Sr., Gordon Jr. Trevor and Noah and I went out for a charter. We caught their limit of 12 trout and we ended up throwing some nice Macinaw trout back. The fish ae finally comming up to surface as the water temperature is now 50 degrees. Most trout were caught 130 foot down in 150 foot of water with the large trout caught at 12 to 15 foot down on sliders. Picture of Gordon, Gordon Sr., Trevor, and Noah
June 24, 2004 The Pizzolon family an I went out for an afternoon charter to look for some salmon. The water temperature has dropped to 42 degrees because of all the offshore wind. We caught 4 trout and lost either a steelhead or salmon on the surface. One trout was over 13 pounds so Flavio gets the family prize for the largest fish. We tried the bay at dark with no luck from the salmon. The temperature needs to warm up sor them to become more active.
June 23, 2004 Jake, Josh and Alex Walter, and grandpa Bob Dupree came up to fish. We fished in 150 feet of water and had to fish down 130 feet. The water temp was down to 42 degrees. We kept 15 trout and threw a few smaller ones back. Picture1, Picture2, Picture3 Bob was watching the seagulls fly over our heads.
June 22, 2004 Marlyn Pizzolon, Flavio and Sabrina. The lake was rough so we fished near shore. We ended up with 10 nice lake trout. Picture1, Picture 2, Picture 3, Picture 4.
June 17, 2004 Fished with Emil and we went out looking for fish. We caught 4 trout. a 7 pound brown, and a 7 pound steelhead. The brown was in 12 feet of water. The steelhead was on the surface. The trout were down 65 in 80 feet of water.
May 26, 2004 .. Matt, the local DNR marine officer came down and inspected the boat. The boat passed inspection so Fish Camp Charters is open for business.
May 31, 2004 .. It was too windy for fishing on the boat so we went into the mouth of a local river Picture1, Picture 2, and fished for steelhead, splake and whitefish. We caught 1 steelhead, 2 splake, 1 brook trout and 19 whitefish. There were gale force winds out on the lake and we could see the waves capping. Fishing a river was a nice diversion to fishing the big lake.
May 29, 2004 .. Fished with Dave, Joe and Ernie. We tried a trolling spot that was good last year. As the saying goes, "You can't catch last years (or yesterdays) fish" and we only had one hit trolling. We went to jigging and in the second spot we tried we had four lines down and we had four fish on. We caught 8 trout in about 2 hours. Picture of catch. The big one was 12 1/2 pounds The wind came up as we were quitting and it never quit blowing all night.
May 28, 2004 .. Fished with Joe and Ernie out in the bay in 150 feet of water. There were large schools of bait and the trout were just below them. We caught 3 trout in the morning and one in the afternoon. Picture of Ernie. The fish ran 5 to 8 pounds. Jigging worked best as the fish that hit trolling did not stay on. The trout were so full they were spitting up 12 inch herring.
May 27, 2004 ..Launched the boat in the afternoon. She is floating. Started rigging fishing equipment and getting the Kala ready for another season on Lake Superior.
May 11, 2004 Ernie and I headed up to work on the dock. The ice had damaged it over the winter and it was listing to starboard by about 15 degrees. It is now straight and level. We fished at the mouth of a local stream on the way up and caught 14 whitefish. On the way back on Thursday we caught six more plus three suckers that are not cut up for lake trout bait. The trout are starting to hit in the bay. One neighbor caught a couple of nice trout in 80 feet of water. Fishermen are also doing good in 200 feet off of Traverse. The Kala Moiakka will be in the water next week and the trout better hide as we will be after them.
May 8, 2004 Marge and I went up to open up the camp. I just could not stand it so I took a trip to the mouth of a local stream and tried for whitefish. I ended up with three minominee whitefish. They were delicious on the grill along with some king salmon. The Kala Moiakka will be in the water by the end of the month.
May 6, 2004 Steve and I fished Marquette on a cold windy day. We had to fish the lower harbor because of the wind. Steve caught a beautiful 39 inch, 22 1/2 pound trout. We also caught a 3 pound king salmon. Attached is a picture of the trout. It is a dandy.
April 15, 2004 After reading Joe Buys fishing reports, http://www.superiorfishing.net/main/joe04.htm, we decided to try Marquette Harbor. Steve and I got up there early enough to break 1/2 inch of night ice on our way to the whitefish grounds. We fished and dodged floating sheets of ice for four hours without hooking up with a fish. Then we tried trolling until we took a wave over the bow. That was enough fishing for the day so we headed in with no fish in the box. It still was a nice day on the water even with the ice and wind.
April 8, 2004 Took a ride up to Fish Camp. There was 2 foot of snow in Keweenaw so Marge and I had to show shoe in to camp. The ice was still solid on Lac La Belle. The dock is shifted a little more and needs to be rebuilt this spring. I tried fishing the mouth of the Tobacco River for whitefish but did not have a bite. Is a little early. There are some steel head in the river and some were caught under the bridge. We also saw three cars parked at the Traverse so they must be in there. The boat launch is open at Traverse so you can get out lake trout fishing from there.
The ice is going out of Keweenaw Bay near L'Anse. It looked like the boat launch at Baraga was open. There was still some ice in the end of the bay but it looked like it was going fast.
April 3, 2004 Bad ice and high wind, not a good day to go fishing so Marge and I took a ride to Minominee. We were able to watch the ice go out on Green Bay. Boy it goes fast. Then we drove up the shore twords Escanaba. When we got to the Cedar River we watched the ice dam break and the ice go out of the river. The ice is out now but there are a couple of blocks of ice sitting in the boat launch. The docks are not in yet but you should be able to launch if you push the ice out of the way. The new marina looks great.
March 27, 2004 Coho's and herring are being caught in Keweenaw Bay. Herring are right under the ice and the coho are down 20 to 30 feet. This information did not help me as I was skunked. Whitefish Willy got two herring and Mark got a steelhead and a herring. The ice is about 12 inches thick but is getting punky. It will not last long so anglers should be cautious. Time to get the little boat out and start fishing near shore for cohos and whitefish. As I am writing this report the robins are outside of my window and a flock of geese just flew over. Looks like spring, MABEE!!
March 24, 2004 The crack in the ice closed in to about a 10 footer. If you want to take a boat across it you can but the ice is getting soft and punky. I fished near the light house (http://www.fishinfo.com/fishingreports/ForumID16/1227.html) and caught one whitefish. Only could get out to about 50 feet of water. Not sure how much longer the ice will hold up.
March 20, 2004 Bad news folks, Whitefish Willy and Mark went trolling on the ice. The ice moved and they had to jump the crack to get off. Looks like the ice fishing there is done until next year. Will have to turn our fishing exploits north to Keweenaw Bay.
March 18, 2004 I fished at Escanaba again. The whitefish are still bitting but the bite has definitely slowed down. I caught 6 in a whole afternoon of fishing. Will wait till the warmer weather before I go again.
March 16, 2004 Steve and I got 12 whitefish at Esky again. It seems like the bite is slowing down as they are getting harder and harder to catch. We caught most fish from 9:00 AM to noon. Largest was 18 inches.
March 8, 2004 The whitefish are still biting. We ended up with ten caught on eggs in 70 feet of water. The ice is about 20 inches thick but the tug boat is cutting a channel for the freighters so be careful if you go out there. I see one shanty with open water on both sides of it. The owner will have fun getting it off the ice island.
March 6, 2004 Fished at Escanaba again. The slush had froze up and you could walk on it. I fished in the 70 foot depth again and ended up with only 1 whitefish. I had a 20 incher in the hole but it broke the line and is still out there. Ice is a mess with the slush on it. We need some cold clear weather to freeze up the ice.
March 3, 2004 Fished at Escanaba in the slush. There was about 4 inches of slush on the bay. The whitefish were not hitting very well so we ended up with 3. Fished the same 60 to 70 feet of water. Salmon eggs were the best bait.
February 29, 2004 Fished Escanaba a few times in the last week. Catches of whitefish have been from 6 to 12. Average size has been about 14 inches. Largest have been around 20 inches. Fish have been hitting on the drop off in 60 to 75 feet. Salmon eggs and small minnows have been the best baits. Now that walleye season is closed you can expect lots of company on the ice.
February 16, 2004 Have made two trips to Huron Bay and two trips to Escanaba for whitefish. Have seen many whitefish on a camera system and have tried various ways to get them to bite. The best seems to be on single salmon eggs in 60 to 70 feet of water. It is amazing how many fish can be down there and how few bite. We have been averaging 2 to 3 fish a trip. Largest fish have been 20 inches and smallest about 6. Hope the bite turns on soon.
January 10, 2004 Willy and Mike went up to Huron Bay to check the ice. The bay is covered but the ice thickness is only 1 inch. We switched gears and headed for Chicagoin Lake. I fished for perch while Willy and Mike went after bigger fish. They caught four lake trout and 2 white fish. I ended up with 10 perch. Ice thickness on Chicagoin was about 15 inches.
January 2, 2004 Fished the mine ponds near Iron Mountain and caught a nice bunch of Blue Gills. They ranged in size from 5 inches to 9 inches. We had them for dinner using two new recipes and the conclusion was that bluegills are excellent eating.
December 17, 2003 Fished Hamilton Lakes near Iron Mountain. One foot of ice on the lake now. Steve and I caught 5 blue gills and one crappie. Was a good shakedown trip to test the ice fishing equipment. Will be making "tater fish" for Friday night fish fry.
