FISH REPORTS 2005

Link to FISH REPORTS 2004, FISH REPORTS 2003, FISH REPORTS 2002

NOTICE: Pictures have finally been posted. 12/22/05

September 13, 2005 The boat came out of the water earlier this year as the boat ramp was closed so the marina could be dredged. There is a 1929 steam powered dredge there and they are moving out lots of muck from around the dock. Now the marina will be dredged to 10 feet and the channel to Lake Superior at 7 foot. I am not sure how you get a deep draft vessle into the marina but I guess I do not work for the government. They must know the answer. See you all next year. Keep looking for those pictures as I finally am starting to post them to the site.

September 1, 3, and 4. My brother in law, Joe, was here and of cours we had to fish. The fish were still deep and we had to fish down 130 to 140 feet in 140 to 160 feet of water. We caught our limits of 12 trout, 12 trout, and 9 trout. We thought we would loose Ed over the side when we started to release some 4 pound trout. Catch and release is not in Ed's nature.

Auguat 25 We fished with Mike Jakel, his brother and his nephue. (The captain lost his notes) We caught 12 fish. The salmon are not here this year. The trout fishing has been excellent but the trout are scarse.

August 20 Gene Bach and his friends Mike and Jack came over the hill from Eagle Harbor. We fished one day and worked on the dock the second day. We caught 12 trout so we had an excellent fish fry. Picture1, picture2, picture 3, picture4.

August 16 Steve McKenny, Collin, Patrick, and Sarah came and we went out and got 14 trout.

August 15 Dan Kemp, Joan, John and Dans 80 year old mother came down to do some fishing. We has 2 to 4 footers out on the fishing grounds but Captain Doug (Lucky Strike Charters) and I hit fish in 135 to 150 feet of water. We limited out with 9 trout and one salmon with a couple of small trout thrown back. It proves that you can keep people from getting sea sick if you can keep fish on the lines. Best trolling depths for catching fish were 115 and 125 feet. Here are some pictures of the trip. Picture 1, Picture 2

August 14 We did a short morning fishing trip and the reef that was so hot yesterday had died. We caught 9 trout and had to work hard to get them. Seas were calm and we had a good ending fishing trip for the family.

August 13 It was a struggle but we managed to get the teenagers up and going to get out for a morning trip. We tried the channel first but the channel fishing has died. There is way too much warm water and it goes down to the bottom in 120 feet of water. We caught a couple of suspended trout and then we moved back into the bay. Our first pass across the reef came up with 6 trout from 120 to 140 feet of water. We ended up with 17 trout and one salmon with a couple of smaller fish thrown back. Here are some pictures of our catch. Picture 1, picture2, picture 3, picture 4, picture5

August 12 Our family was up for the weekend and we fished on Friday evening. It was windy with large swells from the SW. We did get out to 90 feet of water and caught 2 trout before the crew started to get a little green.

August 10 Pete Kososki and his son Josh joined Emil and Ed for a trip to the point. When we got out there the north wind had shifted to a NE wind. The channel was tooo rough to fish so we had to move even though we caught 5 fish on our first pass. We pulled back onto a 120 to 150 foot dropoff and we ended up with 15 trout and one salmon. I love it when a plan comes together. The fish call was working very good today and nobody brought any bananas. Here are some pictures. Picture 1, picture 2, picture 3, picture 4.

August 9 A cousin, Tom Grell and his daughters Angela and Kate set up camp at Fish Camp and out we went. The marine weather was predicting a front moving in and it was in Duluth as we left the dock. The lake was still calm here so we burned fuel to get out to the fishing grounds. We hit fish right off the bat and we ended up with 12 trout from 110 feet of water or deeper. The skys darkened on us and we made a run for the dock and were back by 10:00 and were cleaning fish when the rain came. Another great day on the lake.

August 7 What a difference a day makes. When Steve King and his family came down it didn't seem windy. When we cleared the channel there were about 3 foot swells. As we got out to the fishing grounds we were in 3 foot swells and there was a chop starting to build from the SW. We pulled back into the bay and tried to fish. We hit a fish right away and then the family started to get a little green and then very green. Even the oatmeal cookies didn't settle things down so we quit and were back at the dock by 9 with just one fish on board.

August 6 Jill Hardy and her son Cole hit a nice day on the water. We caught 8 trout in 120 feet of water. Most trout were in the 2 to 4 pound size. The small ones were nice for the 7 year old to pull in. We almost wore him out on a 4 pounder. The seas were calm and the temperature was nice making for a great day on the water. Picture, picture 1

August 5 We were fishing in 110 to 130 feet of water. Jerry Truit, Jered, Jake, Jordan and Linda had a good time catching 14 trout. Most of the trout came from fishing 100 to 110 feet down. The thermocline seems to be down at 90 feet and not many trout are being caught above that depth. We had a fun day on the lake with fish hitting all morning long. Picture1, picture 2, picture 3

August 4 It was a windy day when Brent Welch, his son and a friend came over. We tried to get some fishing in before the front came through. By the time we got out there the wind was gusting to over 25 M.P.H. We got four lines set and when we hit the drop off, four trout hit at the same time. We landed 2 and got off the lake. Doug on the Lucky Strike took one wave over the top. It was not a good day to be out on the lake.

August 3 (Captain Bob turned 60 today) Dave Kangas, Pete, Gordie, Jerry, Pat and Dave joined us for a trip to the point. We fished the channel and the fish were hitting well. Then out came the banana bread and the fish quit bitting. I will have to update my web sit to NO BANANAS AND NO BANANA BREAD. The fish even quit bitting for Bruce in the boat next to us. We ended up with 8 trout and 2 salmon. The salmon came on dipsies and the trout were down 90 feet in 100 feet of water. Pictue 1, picture2

August 1 Our friends from Canada took their boats across Lake Superior and spent a few days in the Keewenaw. The swimming was great at Bete Grise Bay with the water temperature of 70 degrees. This is much to warm for Lake Superior. Denis, Darrel, Dan and I had to try the fishing. We went out and got 10 trout. The Canadians said that the trout over here are nicer then the trout over on the other side of the lake and they liked the nice red color of the fillet. The grill was fired up and we had a great trout and chicken dinner.

July 23 The hockey guys came up from Iron Mountain to fish. We put together the crack fishing crew of Fred, Sam, Mike, Emil, Bruce, and Dean. We found the fish bitting and landed 26 trout and 1 salmon. We were throwing 6 to 8 pound trout back at the end of the day. The lake was calm and we had a beautiful trip again this year. Most fish were caught down 80 feet in up to 160 feet of water. Here are some pictures of this large catch. picture 1, picture 2

July 22 The Matson family had a family reunion and six of them decided to go fishing. We had Wally, Loenard, Janet, Jay, Vince and Lee. The fish were in 115 to 145 feet of water. We caught 13 trout and had a good time. They left here with a couple bags of nice orange lake trout fillets. They should have a good fish fry for the family reunion. Here are some of their picutes. Matson, Matson1, Matson2

July 20 It started out to be a bad day as the Turska came to go fishing. The first problem was a stuck downrigger cable and a tangled cable. Trying to untangle this in 3 foot swells was not a good idea so we abandoned that idea. Then we got stuck in an abandoned Indian gill net. We managed to get out tackle back and we marked the net with a float and left that area. The seas calmed down and we started to catch fish. We ended up with 11 trout one short of our limit. This is the first charter this year that we did not catch a limit. Here are some pictures of their catch. Picture1, picture2

July 19 The day after the wind. The fish moved from all of our familiar places. Captain Doug, Lucky Strike Charters, went one way and I went the other. All the suspended fish were gone. Water temperature at the surface was 47 degrees. We found some trout in 150 feet of water and some on a 135 foot reef. We kept 9 trout and one salmon. Four trout were released, one being a 20 pound plus Mackinaw. It was too nice a fish to keep. The big guy hit 34 feet down. Picture1, Picture2

July 18 Windy, 45 MPH winds and we had to move the charter to Tuesday. I moved my boat down to Wendel's dock for the night so it would not get beat up at the dock.

July 16 We went out at 7:00 AM with Ann and Denis Testini, Brent, and Shane. It was another nice day on the lake and the fish were bitting. We caught 14 trout and one salmon. The fish are up in the 88 foot flats. That makes for easy fishing. Hope the weather remains calm as the fish are starting to suspend. Water temp is 67 on the surface, much to warm for this time of year. Picture 1, picture2, picture3, picture4

July 12. 2005. We are still limiting out on trout. Robie and Ken Monroe and their sons Corry and Ryan came up from below the bridge to do some fishing. We caught 12 trout, one of which was an 18 pounder. That is the largest so far this year. It gave the boy quite a battle till we landed it. Pictures are finally posted Picture1, picture 2, picture 3

July 11, 2005 So me of my classmates from the class of 63 returned for another charter. We had Dave (sac da poet) Smith, Paul (da duck) Terrian, and downrigger Joe Galetto as our crack team of fishermen. We caught a limit of 12 trout and told lots of old "war stories" about the good old days. The lake is still calm and the fish are bitting. Dave is probably still whinning about the 9 pounder that we threw back because it was tooo big. Picture 1, picture 2

July 10, 2005 What does a charter captain do on vacation? He goes fishing of course. Captain Bob Andrews, his wife Theola, son Scott, and Daughter in law Sandy went out with me on the Kala Moiakka. We kept our limit of 12 trout and 2 salmon. We realeased a 16 pound Mackinaw. It was a beautiful trout. We had another excellent day on the water. The fish were still in the 80 to 90 foot range in 100 feet of water. The larger trout are at 30 to 45 feet.

July 9, 2005 Another limit of trout. Rich Elinich, Lorie, John, and Steve arrived and we had another great day on the water. The lake has been calm for 4 days now. We caught 13 trout, one salmon and released 7 more trout. Looks like they will be eating good fish this summer. Here are some pictures of our excellent catch. Picture1, Picture 2, Picture 3

July 8, 2005 Dan and Pete came up from Chassel. We fished farther out and caught some larger trout. We caught our limt and then did some catch and release. We ended catching 16 trout on that mornings charter. These fish were down 80 feet in 100 feet of water. Here are Pete's pictures. Pete 1, Pete 2, Pete 3

July 7, 2005 The Jenisons, Pam, George, Lee and George came out to fish on another dead calm day. It was cooler on the lake then inland. We kept a limit of 13 trout and one salmon. Some smaller trout were released. The fish are still in 130 to 145 feet of water and most are down 120 to 130 feet. The salmon came off the surface on a dipsey with dodger and fly. Pictures to be posted soon. A picture of Lee's "25" pound trout will not be posted as he released it 2 foot from the net. (mabee it was a 30 pounder) Here are their pictures. Picture 1, picture 2, picture 3, picture 4

July 6, 2005 Another limit catch of 12 trout and one salmon. We had Brent Welch, Jocob, Ryan, and Brandon aboard. The fishing was great with calm seas and the fish bitting. Here are some of Brent's excellent pictures. Note the one of the fresh water shrimp that was spit out by one of the trout. Picture1, picture 2, picture 3, picture4, picture 5, picture 6, picture 7, picture 8, picture 9, pictue 10, picture 11

July 3, 2005 We fished with Paul Mohar, Carl and Al. Carl is an Indian from the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians. He was over to catch some fish from Keweenaw Bay. We caught 17 trout in about 130 feet of water. Here is a picture of the catch. Mohar

June 26, We had a charter with Mike, Vicky, and their son Dave. We had our limit of trout by 10:00 and then set up for salmon and steelhead. We had one steelhead on and landed one coho. The lake was calm and we had an excellent day on the water. Here are some pictures of their catch. Picture 1, picture 2, picture 3, picture 4

June 25, 2005 Fished with Ed Schneiderhan on the Prime Time. We caught 6 trout in 130 feet of water down near the bottom. Seas were calm and water temp is about 46 degrees. Fish sould be on surface soon.

June 19 - 23, 2005 Dan Steck, Larry Steck, Emil Dyni and I went over to Isle Royale. The crossing on Sunday was a little rough and we had the opportunity to wash the deck in some 3 to 4 footers. About half way across the seas flattened and we made good time for the second half of the crossing. We ended up staying at Hay Bay. There were moose out feeding in the end of the bay almost all day long. Some Bulls and some cows with calfs. It was windy the next day and we had to troll near shore. We found nice lean Mackinaws in about 10 to 15 feet of water. We caught some fish for supper and released the rest. We hit the trout in the shallows the next morning and caught more trout. Dan caught one that was about 16 pounds and we released it. I will post some pictures when Dan or Emil forwards some to me. It was calm on Wednesday so we jigged up some to take back and headed back with very calm seas. We had a very enjoyable trip. Lots of fish, lots of food, and lots of stories about the "good old days". Here are some pictures of Isle Royale. They range from wolf tracks by camp, Managere Island Lighthouse, to fish pictures. Picture1, Picture2, Picture 3, Picture4, Picture5, Picture 6, Picture 7, Picture 8, Picture 9, Picture 10, Picture 11

June 4, 2005 Joe Petersen, Gene Bach, and I went out for a quick trip. We caught 11 trout in just over 2 hours. The last two came while pulling lines and had to be returned. We had three doubles and it doesn't take many of them to fill your limit. We had another fish fry and everyone had a full belly. The fish were near the bottom in 130 to 150 feet and hitting cut bait trolled behind a flasher. We tried surface lines but never had a hit on them. The lake surface temperature is about 44 degrees so it is a little cold yet. Here are some picutes of Joe with his big fish. Picture, picture1, picture 2

June 1, 2005. The crew took a break from working and we went trolling this time. It was a busy trip as we caught 12 trout in a little over 2 1/2 hours. The average was just over three pounds with the largest being 6 pounds. They were all lean Mackinaws and they hit the grill a couple of hours later. It was amazing how many trout a construction crew can eat.

May 26, 2005
Joe Petersen and I went up to Fish Camp to start construction on the new addition. We extended the cabin out 12 feet and added a screen porch to the side of the building. We also put the boat in the water. The construction crew was Ron, Ernie, Joe and me. We only got out fishing one trip and caught 3 trout jigging in 150 feet.

March 30, 2005. You should have been here today. Steve and I both filled our limits of 12 whitefish each. Here is a picture of my catch. The minnows worked and many of the whitefish were spitting out smelt. The theory is that they have moved in after the schools of smelt. It sure was fun to be there on a day when the bite was on. Many fish were in the 20 to 21 inch class so there will be smoked whitefish next week.

March 29, 2005 It was a beautiful day so after some appointments in town I called Steve to see if he wanted to go. It took him about 1.01 seconds to say sure, so off we went. We started fishing about noon and the bite was over. We fished hard till 4:30 and only got one whitefish. It looks like they have started to switch over to minnows so we will take minnows the next time. The guys that fished early in the morning did well.

March 25, 2005 We fished our same holes from the previous time and only got 3 whitefish. It was a very nice day on the ice as we were trying to get Dennis the rookie to catch a whitefish. Only problem was that the fish were not bitting very good and catching was a little hard. Here are some fish pictures from that day. Picture1, picture2, picture3, picture4.

March 22, 2005 Steve my fishing partner passed his captains exam. Congratulations to Steve. We went out fishing in our favorite whitefish hole. Our catch was 13 whitefish and one lawyer. Most fish were caught around noon. It was a beautiful day with the sun shinning and calm winds. We spent most of the time fishing outside of the tents. It was a great day on the ice for two captains.

March 20, 2005 I fished for a half day and got 5 whitefish. Fish were bitting pretty good and were still bitting at noon when I left. Still fishing in 70 feet of water and using single salmon eggs for bait.

March 17, 2005 Another warm day and the fish were not bitting well. I tried a new spot and fished for an hour and never had a bite. I moved back to my old spot and got 2 whitefish and a lawyer. I had a big whitefish in my hand and it got out of my grip and back down the hole. It was the largest whitefish so far this season. (Another fish story???) Why do the big ones get away? I only fished till noon and the fish were biting when I left. Storms this weekend so no fishing till next week.

March 15, 2005 Beware the Ides of March, Picture1, Picture 2, Picture 3. There are hazards out there on the ice. The weather is warming up and the fishing action is slowing down a little. I had to work hard to get 7 whitefish, Picture 4. It was a beautiful day on the ice though. We had the boats going by and I didn't have to use the heater in the tent. We moved out to a little deeper water and found that the fish were smaller. Rumor had it that they were bigger out there. There will be Kala Moiakka for supper tomorrow.

March 10, 2005 Toolie the fishing dog and I took the Yooper Mobile over to Escanaba. The old truck made it again but the operator left the lights on so the battery was dead when we got off the ice. The fish bit in the morning again and the afternoon was nice weather but the fish didn't bite so Toolie and I were off to visit the neighbors. We ended up with 6 whitefish a 6 pound splake. The splake made a mess of the fishing lines so we lost a lot of fishing time doing a cut and retie on the lines. It was a good day on the ice and the batch of smoked whitefish will taste good.

March 8, 2005 It was cold and blowing as Steve and I headed for the whitefish hole at Escanaba. The temperature was under 20 degrees and the wind was blowing hard from the Northwest. It took two men to put up a portable shelter so it didn't blow down the ice. We ended up with 8 fish, four apiece for a change. Fish were hitting on salmon eggs fished on the bottom in 70 to 80 feet. The ice is getting thick. Ice depth is near 20 inches thick. One should use caution however as the ship channel is open and two freighters are loading up at the ore dock.

February 27, 2005 I went over to the whitefish hole in Escanaba again and got 5 whitefish and one lawyer. The number of fish seems to be increasing. It did that last year and seemed to get better and better until the ice left. Weather will be turning bad for a few days so the fish will get a rest.

February 24, 2005 Steve and I got 14 whitefish and 4 lawyers. The fish bit early and then shut down till late in the afternoon. This seems to be the pattern. The guys in the next shack said "you should have been here yesterday", they ended up with 20 the day before.

February 2005 I have been negligent in not posting my ice fishing reports on the ice fishing. We have been trying for whitefish in Little Bay De Noc. It started out slow and I had a couple of trips with skunks or 1 or two fish. Then I got stuck in a rut catching 4 each trip. We kept searching for better spots and finally found some fish. Our best trip was 18 whitefish and one lawyer (burbot) between Steve and me.