July 3, 2008

Fishing has been good to very good this week when the boats could get out. Some Captains had very good catches, after finding the fish. A few found fishing to be slow. Water temperatures were up until the big north wind on Wednesday. As for the past few weeks the best fishing seems to be over at least 140’ - 250' of water, however there were a few reports of fish on the bank before the north wind. Lead cores and copper line of several lengths get the baits away from the boat in the clear water and tend to be good producers. Standard size spoons are best but some are being taken on mag size spoons. Bright colors such as orange or red seem to produce on the higher lines. Wire divers fished deep have begun to produce some action. A mixed bag of Kings and Lakers seem to be the most often reported, however some nice steelies have been in the catch recently. Kings and trout are being taken on flasher & fly combinations. We are hearing of many more trout this year. In some cases, half or more of the catch. It is not uncommon to hear of trout and kings being taken on rotators and flies as deep as 150- 180 feet deep in 200+' of water. Fishing from 60 or 70' down to 90 or 100' down is very common. The salmon are healthy and nice sized for the time in the season. Some over 15 pounds were reported today. The weather looks to be warmer and better for fishing over the next several days.

Net Alert! The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians currently have several trap nets set in the vicinity of Ludington. Recently tribal fishers have moved three nets on or close to Big Sauble Point. Fishermen are urged to use extreme caution when fishing in the vicinity of the nets. Information about the nets and other related information can be found by clicking on the "Net Alert" icon on the Ludington Area Charterboat Association website's home page. A one page pdf printable summary of all nets in our vicinity can be found in the Net Alert on the website.

Check the “Net Alert” every week for an update as new information is frequently available. Click here to view the information under the Net Alert icon on the the Ludington Area Charterboat Association website's home page for the locations of the nets and additional information about the net markings and related information. Save and print a copy of the net locations for your boat. Then use your 'back' button to return to the fishing report.

For access to the Coastwatch Lake temperature contours choose our link to: www.coastwatch.msu.edu

A Coastwatch tip: If the current port map is not clear due to clouds, you may find a better recent image in the coastwatch archives accessed from the page bottom links.

Other links from our site lead to local and marine weather reports. For current and future Great Lakes wind and wave conditions, try the link for the Great Lakes Environmental Research Labs': Lake wave and wind forecasts

Thank you for visiting the Ludington Area Charterboat Association website.

The Ludington Area Charterboat Association.

www.ludingtoncharterboats.org