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Fishing Reports for Local Area - Location |
    
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Username: Westrate
Post Number: 184
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, October 08, 2011 - 3:34 am: | |
We fished a couple of days this past week and because of the dirty water after the blow last week, we had to fish from 190 foot of water out to 230 foot of water. We found a slick where the blue water started and the chalky water ended and the salmon and steelhead were found just inside the slick in the chalky water. Regular sized stingers (orange crush, orange corey, craigs christmas, jawbreaker) were pulled on almost all the lines from 60 foot of copper to 200 foot of copper, dipsy divers at 60 foot and 130 foot out and downriggers at 30, 40 and 50 foot down. Nice fish with 2 and 3 year old salmon and steelhead from 6 to 12 pounds.
We will probably be pulling the boat next week, however if you need fishing information or information about a fishing charter, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com or call me toll free at 888-253-8372.
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Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Username: Westrate
Post Number: 183
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, September 24, 2011 - 4:39 am: | |
Although we only fished a couple of times this week, the fishing was very good out in 140 foot of water with 15 to 20 fish per trip. In this deeper water you will find 3 and 2 year old chinook salmon, some 10 to 12 pound coho and an occasional lake trout and steelhead. We fished the downriggers at 80, 90 and 100 foot down with the dipsy divers at 100 ft. and 180 foot out and then 450 foot and 300 foot of copper if conditions allowed. Flashers and flies on all the lines with the best flashers being Stinger Echip green super frog, green glow/UV, mountain dew and green glow with any Rapture fly that was green or hypnotist with green beads.
We will be available for charters for the next couple weeks and then end the season. For charter reservations or fishing information email me at captron@chartermichigan.com |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Username: Westrate
Post Number: 182
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, September 19, 2011 - 4:39 am: | |
A very nice week of fishing with some catches from 10 to 15 fish per trip. With the warm water in front of the piers, we have moved out to 90 to 200 foot of water and found 2, 3 and some 4 year old chinook salmon, 10 to 14 pound coho, and some steelhead and lake trout. With the strong east and south east winds the best direction was a 240 or a 300 degree troll from 100 to 190 foot of water with the best depth being 135 to 160 foot.
Almost all of the fish came on flashers and flies although we did take a couple of coho on Stingray spoons (blue mixed veggie with white back). Both silver Stinger Echip flashers (mixed veggie, silver UV, silver mountain dew) or white bladed Echip flashers (blue wiggle, and white double glow) with the Rapture green dude, wild fern, speed weed and the blue bubble fies. Yesterday the blue wiggle flasher and blue bubble fly was hit at least 6 times at 95 foot down. We ran 300 and 450 foot of copper and the dipsies were run at 100 and 180 foot out, downriggers at 80, 90 and down to125 foot.
Although our season is winding down, the fishing should continue to be good in the deeper water. If we get another shot of cold water, we should see some more 4 year old salmon stage in front the piers. For more fishing information or for charter reservations, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
New member
Username: Westrate
Post Number: 181
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, September 04, 2011 - 7:01 am: | |
Another good week of fishing in Saugatuck. Catches of 15 to 30 fish per trip was very common last week. What really determined how many fish you caught was what they hit that day. If they hit more copper at 300 and 450 foot, it took longer to land the fish and when you slowed down to fight the fish, you really "stopped fishing" until you got your speed back. If the majority of the fish hit the downriggers and dipsy divers, you spent less time fishing the fish and got the lures back in action faster. The creel consisted of 2, 3 and 4 year old chinook salmon, coho salmon, lake trout, steelhead with an occasional brown trout.
Although some boats reported some success with stingray lures, the best method for us were flashers and flies which were run on copper, dipsy divers and downriggers. 200 foot, 300 foot and 450 foot copper with flashers and rapture flies produced very well. The dipsy divers at 200 and 300 foot and downriggers at 80, 90 and 100 foot produced very well. We had very good success with Singer E chip flashers (mixed veggie, chrome UV, super frog, white UV/glow, silver UV green) and Rapture flies (no see um with green beads, no see um with yellow beads, sour apple, green hypnotist and green dude). On certain days we had very good success with the 11 in echip (white glow UV, silver mountain dew and white double glow) on the downriggers, however they might work one day and not the next.
Next week might prove to be interesting. With strong winds and high waves the next two days, we may find cold water moving in and with that the salmon should move into the river. Yesterday when we ran a mid day charter, we marked what looked like salmon in 55 foot of water and saw a couple of salmon jump in front of the boat. For fishing information or charter reservations, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
New member
Username: Westrate
Post Number: 180
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, August 28, 2011 - 12:08 pm: | |
Salmon fishing off Saugatuck was as good as it could get this past week. Catches of 12-20 fish everyday, a limit catch of 30 on Saturday. The creel was dominated by kings 8-26 pounds with some adult coho (up to 14#), lake trout, steelhead, and even a brown trout in the mix. Best fishing was from 130 FOW to 175 FOW. During the week fish ranged from 40-110 feet down, and came on downriggers, copper, and wire divers. The vast majority of fish came on Stinger Echip flasher/Rapture fly combinations. The best combo were: 8” mixed veggies w/ a sour apple, 8” chrome w/ a hypnotist, 8” superfrog w/ a wild fern, 8” green glow w/ a wild fern, 8” chrome mt. dew/UV w/ a speed weed or no-see-um, 8” Davey Jones glow w/ a speed weed or green-no-see-um. In addition we had success with Pro Troll 11” white double crushed glow w/ a hypnotist, Pro Troll 11” green UV frog w/ a first wish, and a Pro Troll 11” chrome mt. dew w/ a hypnotist.
Tremendous amounts of bait fish promise that fishing should continue to be excellent. Some of the adult kings are beginning to darken for the spawning run. It should be a great end of summer fishery. For charter reservations or fishing information, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
New member
Username: Westrate
Post Number: 179
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, August 21, 2011 - 1:24 pm: | |
What a great week of fishing. Just about every day we would have at least one salmon that would push or exceed 20 pounds. Today we caught a 24.5 pound, a 23.5 pound, a 19 pound and a 17 pound salmon in the 10 fish creel. The fish are located from 100 foot of water out to 160 foot of water from the Holland piers to south of the Douglas point. Mixed in with the chinook salmon are some coho, steelhead and lake trout.
Downriggers at 70, 80, and 100 foot down are producing with flashers and flies. The best are the Echip (silver green, davie jones glow, glow frog and white and silver mountain dew) with Rapture wild fern, green hypnotist and green beaded no see um flies. We did take some salmon on the 11 in E chip but the best was the 8 in. Our best method continues to be the dipsy divers at 200 foot and 250 foot out with the same flashers and flies we used on the downriggers. 300 and 450 foot of copper lines did well also with flashers and flies on the 450's and Stingray lures (green dolphin, blue green dolphin and mixed veggie-all with glow backs) on the 300's.
For fishing information and/or charter reservations, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
New member
Username: Westrate
Post Number: 178
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, August 15, 2011 - 6:32 pm: | |
This past week was a very good week of fishing. Early in the week the catch consisted of 80% lake trout and 20% silver fish and by the end of the weekend we were taking 90% salmon and 10% lake trout. In addition we were taking multiple 20+pound salmon almost ever trip. The best depth continues to be 70 to 115 foot of water, however there were some boats taking salmon out in 180 to 200 foot of water.
The methods that take the fish change from day to day as the conditions and current change, however the lures and flashers remained the same. Early in the day we were catching salmon on 150, 200 and some time on 100 foot copper with Area 51, ET, Orange Corey and glow back Mixed Veggie Stingray. The downriggers produced at 40 ft. to 70 foot down with Glow frog, white UV glow and Davie Jones glow E chip flashers and Rapture no see um green beaded and green hypnotist flies. The most consistent method continues to be the dipsy divers at 180 foot and 100 ft. with E chip flashers (Davie Jones, green side UV, silver mountain dew and green UV) with either Rapture wild fern and no see um yellow beaded flies.
For information or charter reservations, contact me by email at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
New member
Username: Westrate
Post Number: 177
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, August 07, 2011 - 3:47 am: | |
This past week produced consistent fishing in the 65 to 90 foot depth with limit or near limit catches of Lake Trout and Chinook Salmon and Steelhead. We did spend Friday in front the piers and caught 14 steelhead out of about 30 hits. Saturday the water had warmed up 15 degrees and after a hour in front and catching sheephead and white bass, we moved off shore and caught 11 lake trout and 2 salmon.
The program off no see um flies with green or yellow beads. The copper lines varied from day to day, however the orange crush stishore continues to be the Gold Star dodgers (white glow, and silver) with green spin n glows or Rapture Wild Fern flies on the bottom for lake trout. The salmon and steelhead came on the high divers at 180 ft. and on the 150, 200 and 300 coppers. The best combinations on the divers were the Davey Jones, UV Mountain Dew and UV green E chip flashers with Rapture nger and the mixed veggie stingray were the most consistent.
The perch fishing has slowed after the Wed. blow and the influx of the cold water, however there are some decent numbers being caught out of Holland, however they were small in size. I did not get any reports on the perch to the south of Saugatuck.
With all the bait there is out in the lake, our salmon should be showing up in higher numbers that what we are seeing. I am a little concerned that we might be seeing the effect of the stocking cuts for the last few years and there just are not as many as we might expect. Regardless, the salmon that we are catching are large and we have taken many over 20 pounds and have had a few that busted off the equipment with their hits and runs. For more information or for charter reservations, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Username: Westrate
Post Number: 176
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 31, 2011 - 2:22 pm: | |
We found out this past week that we are not use to fighting salmon after weeks of lake trout fights. Getting 6 to 10 salmon and steelhead hits on a trip resulted in1 to 4 silver fish in the creel with copper breaking or fish just being lost because of the drag being to tight or too much slack in the line. We have gotten lazy fighting the trout. The catch was still good with 10 to 20 fish per trip, however the lake trout numbers still dominated the catch.
The silver fish are coming on the 150, 200 and 300 copper with orange crush, green dolphin and sunburst stingrays. They are also hitting the high divers at 150 and 180 foot with white slick glow E chip and davey jones E chip with a rapture no see um fly with yellow beads. The lake trout continue to come on gold star dodgers (silver and yellow) with white, yellow and green spin n glows and rapture green hypnotist flies.
Perch fishing has been fair to excellent, depending on your location. Limit catches are being reported from 10 miles south of the Saugatuck piers to just south of the Douglas Point in 25 to 40 foot of water. Decent catches of perch were also reported from the Holland piers to south of Castle Park in 30 to 40 foot of water. I saw one catch today (from south of the point) that consisted of over 100 perch with the smallest being 9 in and the largest pushing 14 in.
For move fishing information or for charter reservations, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Username: Westrate
Post Number: 175
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 24, 2011 - 3:54 pm: | |
If you like lake trout fishing, you would love the fishing this past week. 80 to 90 percent of the creel consisted of lake trout with the rest made up of chinook and steelhead. The best fishing continues to be in 70 to 100 foot of water, however there were some boats that fished all the way out to 300 foot of water for the silver fish.
We are fishing the downriggers on the bottom with Silver Horde Gold Star Flashers and green Rapture Flies (wild fern and green hypnotist) and yellow and green spin n glows. The dipsy divers were run at 180 foot on the high divers and 160 foot or more on the low divers with silver Pro Troll flashers (silver UV, Davey Jones and silver prism) and Rapture flies (no see um with yellow beads). The 150 foot and 200 foot copper produced some silver fish with stingray lures (NBK, carmel dolphin and blue veggie) while the 300 copper produced some chinook with silver and silver mountain dew flashers and no see um yellow beaded flies.
There was some good reports on the perch, however you may have to run to get there. The last part of the week produced some limit catches 9 miles south of the Saugatuck piers in 20 to 30 foot of water. Morning fishing is much more productive than mid day. Today the boat J Bird caught their limit of 70 fish that ranged from 8 to 14 in. I did talk to one boat that caught some perch north of the piers off the state park in 40 foot, but boats that fished there today did not fare well.
For fishing information or to book a charter, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
New member
Username: Westrate
Post Number: 174
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 17, 2011 - 1:38 pm: | |
A good week of fishing that started out in 250 foot of water and ended in 15 foot of water. The first part of the week found us 9 miles out in 250 foot of water fishing Coho, Chinook Salmon and Steelhead. Creel numbers varied from 8 to 15 fish per trip however strong north, north east and north west wind during the week produced some rough conditions and ultimately cooler water. By Friday the surface temperature had dropped into the low 50 degrees and bait and steelhead had collected at the pier heads. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday we fished 10 to 20 foot of water and caught 8 to 13 steelhead per trip with an occasional Chinook salmon thrown in.
Out deep the pattern was flashers and flies on 200, 300 and 450 foot of copper, dipsy divers and downriggers. The best combinations included Hot Chip flashers (silver and silver and mountain dew) with Rapture flies (green mirage and oceana). Once we move inshore, the pattern was all spoons on 2 color and 3 color lead core, and dipsy divers and downriggers. Any spoon would work as long as it had silver and orange on it and was the size of the stinger lures. The best lures for us were the stinger fruit cocktail, double orange crush and jaw breaker. On Friday we were 11 for 35, on Saturday we were 6 for 24 and today we were 13 for 26. On Saturday, fishermen were walking off the South Saugatuck pier with stingers full of steelhead.
New report on the perch fishing: Limit catches of perch were reported Saturday evening and Sunday morning. The problem is that the location is 9 miles south of the Saugatuck piers off of Glenn. I talked to boats that caught 75+ perch last night and got their limit again today and the perch were running 7 to 12 in. in length.
I think that the shallow water pier fishing is probably going to end soon with the wind and current now out of the south and the water temp beginning to increase. I suspect we will be moving out into deeper water and hopefully the salmon will begin to stage in the 60 to 120 foot depth were they have that last couple of years. For information or for charter reservations, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
New member
Username: Westrate
Post Number: 173
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 11, 2011 - 1:15 pm: | |
Another good week of fishing in Saugatuck with good catches of Lake Trout in 100 foot of water and some salmon and steelhead showing up in 180 to 240 foot of water. The lake trout fishing is still good but not as consistent as in the last few weeks, with catches of 10 to 18 fish per trip with some more salmon showing up in the catch. The silver fish are showing up in the deeper water with some very good catches of up to 20 fish. This fishing is not consistent and you catch them one day and then struggle the next.
If you are planning on fishing the 100 foot depth, go with the Silver Horde metal flashers (silver and yellow) with Green Dude Rapture flies and green spin n glows on the downriggers and low divers. We ran silver Pro Troll flashers and Rapture Oceana, Blue Fern and Wild Fern on the high divers and on the 400 copper and these produced the silver fish along with more Lake Trout. In the deeper water the fish were in the top 60 foot of water consisting of 8-23 lb. salmon and steelhead up to 14 lbs. 200 FOW to 275 FOW. Lots of blue: blue veggie, flying dutchman, blue thunder, dr. hook stinger and stingray sizes. This is the first plug bite with chart. with blue splatter back Ace-Hi. Other boats caught fish on no-see-um flies behind chart. with glow flashers. Hopefully these are the salmon and steelhead we've been waiting for, now moving in from middle of the lake.
If you have questions or wish to make charter reservations, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Username: Westrate
Post Number: 172
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 04, 2011 - 4:23 am: | |
This past week has been excellent with limit catches of 15 to 20 fish almost every day within 2 to 4 hours. The main species has been lake trout with a few salmon and an occasional steelhead in the creel. The best depth continues to be 80 to 110 foot of water with the lake trout hitting throughout the day and the most of the salmon coming early in the morning.
The bait in the stomachs of the fish consist of all age classes of alewife from 2 in to 6 in in length, so lures from the regular stinger size to stingray and magnum sizes on the 300 and 400 foot copper have produced but not one size predominates. What was consistent was the Rapture Oceana fly. We ran this on the 450 copper behind silver flashers, on the downriggers and dipsy divers, behind silver and white Silver Horde metal flashers, and behind silver/green and silver blue bubble Hot Chip flashers. We would start with a variety of flies and spin and glows on the downriggers and dipsy divers and ultimately end up with the Oceana on almost every set up latter in the day. It is possible that in the green tinted water we were fishing, that other Rapture mirage flies would also work, however we pulled the Oceana and the Oceana glow.
I think that once the water warms a little more the lake trout will move out of this depth and we will have to locate and target the salmon. There were boats fishing from 70 foot out to 270 foot looking for the silver fish and there were no concentrations of salmon reported ( at least from the boat I talked to). The perch fishing has been very poor with 2 to 6 perch per boat reported off of Saugatuck and Holland. The perch report from South Haven has also been spotty at best from 40 to 80 foot of water. If anyone has information on the perch fishing, feel free to email me so I can put this in future fishing reports.
For information or for charter reservations, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
New member
Username: Westrate
Post Number: 171
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 26, 2011 - 4:20 am: | |
Another interesting week of fishing out of Saugatuck. Early in the week we fished 80 to 90 foot of water with good catches of Lake Trout and a couple of Chinook Salmon. Water temperature was 41 degrees on the bottom and bait suspended in 65 to 70 foot of water. Wednesday the bottom water temperature increase to 51 degrees and after the blow on Thursday the bottom temperature was 61 degrees. On Saturday the temperature was back in the low 50's and we went back to pounding the bottom in 90 to 100 foot of water. Saturday we took 12 fish, 10 legal Lake Trout, 1 18 in. Lake Trout and one 13 pound Chinook Salmon.
The best methods included metal (silver and white) flashers with the green hypnotist Rapture Fly and spin and glows on the downriggers pounding bottom. The Salmon were caught a little higher in the water column on the dipsy diver at 150 and 180 foot of line out with blue wiggle and silver mountain dew Hot Chip flasher and the Rapture blue bubble fly. We also had some action on the 450 coppers with a silver blue Hot Chip Flasher and Rapture mirage fly, however the 95% of the activity was on the downriggers and and dipsy divers.
On Saturday we ventured out to 160 foot of water and the bait was unbelievable suspended out in this water. It was so thick that it would error out the graph for 100 feet or more. There were fish marked and caught out in this water, however, most of the action was in the 90 to 100 foot depth. With all the bait off shore, I have to believe that the salmon are going to find them and then it should get interesting.
For more information or for charter reservations, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
New member
Username: Westrate
Post Number: 170
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 13, 2011 - 5:56 pm: | |
It has been an interesting week for fishing with rain, high winds, rough water but some very good fishing if you can handle the conditions. The best fishing during the week was in the 80 to 100 foot depth with about 50% of the catch consisting of salmon and the rest lake trout. Today we set lines in 75 foot of water and while we trolled out to 135 foot of water we expertly missed the first 3 fish and then followed that by loosing the next 4 fish we had on. We ended going 7 for 18 or 20 with 6 salmon and 1 lake trout. .
The hits were scattered around the boat including 150, 200 and 300 copper, downrigger and dipsy divers. The Stingray Orange Corey had 2 hits on the 150 copper and the 200 copper with the glow wonderbread Stingray had 3 hits. The downrigger at 40 foot with the Stinger bloody nose produced 2 hits and the Stinger fruit cocktail, on the add a line, had 1 hit. The other downrigger was run at 50 foot and the gold Stinger watermelon on the add a line was hit twice. The rest of the hits were distributed around the boat with Stingrays on the copper lines and Stingers lures on the downrigger and high divers.(at 200 and 180 foot out). Only one hit on a flasher and fly and we missed that. This week is the first week that we had bait in the stomachs of the salmon with adult alewife in most of them.
For more information or for charter reservations email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Username: Westrate
Post Number: 169
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 05, 2011 - 3:22 pm: | |
During the week most of the best fishing was in the 150 to 200 foot of water with good numbers of fish, but many of the fish were small. On our run out on Sunday we saw bait in 65 and 70 foot of water so we set lines in 90 foot of water with the intent of trolling on out to the 200 foot depth, however we started getting hits in 100 foot of water and took our first salmon in 120 foot depth and another in 130 foot so we decided to turn back and try this 100 to 120 foot depth. In past years, this 100 foot depth has been the depth that the salmon tend to stage in and they usually stage just outside the bait. We were 10 for 20 or 25 (we also lost 3 fish at the net) with 5 salmon and 5 lake trout and the largest salmon weighed in at 20 pounds and another at 13 pounds. Boats did fairly well in the deeper water, however from the radio traffic, the fish ran a little smaller than those we had inside.
Our best methods were:
100 copper with craigs christmas stinger that had 3 hits
200 copper with a glow wonderbread stingray went 2 times.
200 copper with mixed veggie stingray went 3 times
300 copper with a blue/silver prochip flasher and blue hypnotist fly produced one nice lake trout.
The downriggers produced fish with metal flashers and flies run on the bottom.
The high dipsy (120 foot out) and (low dipsy 80 foot out) both produced hits with flashers and flies on the low dipsys and magnum stingers (green dolphin and carmel dolphin ) on the high dipsies.
If we hold the bait in the 70 foot depth, we should continue to find the fish in the 100 foot depth. For more information or for charter reservations, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Username: Westrate
Post Number: 168
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 30, 2011 - 2:53 am: | |
Fishing off of Saugatuck was good to excellent over the weekend. Very nice catches 15+ fish on Friday with a lot of action, then a little slower on Saturday. Early in the week the fish averaged 12 pounds, however by the weekend the fish ran a 7 to 10 pounds average. Same place, same depth, same lures, just a different age class of fish.
Fish were in 110-180 FOW, and were caught 20-60 feet down. 100, 200, and 300 copper lines were the best with stinger and sting ray spoons. Stingers and sting rays were also producing on the downriggers 30-60 feet down, and on the divers 150 and 100 feet with wire. Best spoons: mixed veggies, jager bomb, blue modified dolphin, green dolphin, caramel dolphin, orange crush (on silver or gold), and the lemon-ice. Very little action on flashers and flies.
We’re hoping for a little west wind to stack the warm water back up on the beach. This will concentrate the temperature break and the fish. For fishing information or charter reservations, contact me by email at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Username: Westrate
Post Number: 167
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, May 15, 2011 - 8:13 am: | |
Last week we did not fish when the weather was warm, clear and the winds were light, instead we waited until we had 25 mph winds, 2 to 5 foot seas and constant rain. With 3 out of 4 people chumming, the fishing was good with a good catch of salmon and lake trout. We kept 4 salmon and 4 lake trout and returned some under size lake trout and lost some other nice sized salmon. The best depth was 70 to 75 foot of water, fishing 30 to 60 foot down.
The best methods were downriggers at 35 foot, 50 foot and on the bottom with regular stingers (green glow, green/blue dolphin on the 35 and 50 footers and a tin can flasher and spin and glow on the rigger on the bottom. The dipsy divers were run at 90 and 150 foot out with the Hot Chip flasher (frog/glow and silver mountain dew) and Rapture flies (wild fern and green hypnotist) on the low diver and green dolphin stinger on the high diver. The copper did not produce very well, however we had a couple of hits on the 200 and 300 foot copper with the glow frog stinger and yellow tail stingers.
This week Tuesday, 20 charter and private boats will be taking out 70 Saugatuck seventh grade students as a reward for participating in the Salmon in the Classroom Project. We will leave the dock at 7 AM and return at 12 noon. After pictures and cleaning of the catch, Ducks Unlimited will treat the students to a fish fry for lunch at Tower Marina in Douglas. Check back next week and I will update everyone on the student fishing excursion and the fishing results during the week.
If you would like fishing and or charter reservation information, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com.  |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Username: Westrate
Post Number: 166
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, May 08, 2011 - 6:47 pm: | |
This past week produced some good catches of lake trout with a few salmon thrown in. The good news is that the chinook salmon are running a good size (mid teens) and appear to be in very good shape. To catch the lake trout, bounce the bottom with metal dodgers with spin n glows and rapture green hypnotist flies.. The best area was 50 to 70 foot of water south of the Douglas Point which produced 8 to 15 lake trout per trip that weighed up to 18 pounds. Saturday we tried to concentrate on the salmon and caught some in 45 to 40 foot of water in the mixed water off of the Saugatuck piers. 3 color and 5 color lead core with orange crush and fruit cocktail stingers and dipsy divers at 70 and 90 foot out with regular size Craigs X mas, Blueberry Muffin and Orange Dolphin stingers. No fish on the downriggers and none on flat lines. The day produced some small salmon in the 5 to 8 pound range, one chinook that weighed 12 pounds and a lake trout. Not real productive, however it might be worth trying if you do not want the lake trout.
For more information or for charter reservations, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. or call toll free at 888-253-8372. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Username: Westrate
Post Number: 165
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, May 01, 2011 - 6:16 pm: | |
We only fished one day this past week with only lake trout showing up in the creel, however Thursday, Friday and Saturday boats reported some nice chinook being caught up to 19 pounds. We caught the lake trout south of the Douglas Beach to the point from 50 to 60 foot of water where the water began to clear. The boats that caught the salmon found them in 40 to 50 foot of water between Saugatuck and Holland.
The water temperature is the same from top to bottom and we caught most of the lake trout in the bottom 20 foot however some also hit flat lines and 3 and 5 color lead core. All of the fish came on spoons (we tried flashers with no success): blue dolphin mixed veggie, green glow, and yellow fin stingers. No color preference, it appears if it came in view they hit it. When I talked to some of the boats that got into chinook salmon, they reported the same thing with fish hitting stick baits, thin fins and spoons in a variety of colors. Probably because of the dirty water from the run off.
For more information and or charter reservations, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 17, 2011 - 5:18 am: | |
When the weather permits, the fishing has been very good this last week. Capt. Norm Coffman reported a limit catch of 20 coho and a lake trout that was caught on Wed. in 20 to 30 foot of water. All the fish were caught south of the Douglas point. Flat lines with stick baits and thin fins (in a variety of colors) produced every fish. There were also some reports of lake trout being caught in 50 to 60 foot of water and one fisherman caught a few very nice chinook salmon in the mud line off the Saugatuck piers.
River fishing on the Kalamazoo River continues to be slow with a few steelhead being caught on their beds.
Perch fisherman are doing well (some reporting limit catches) out of Grand Haven and one fisherman I talked to caught 25 perch just south of the Holland piers.
For more information or charter reservations, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 10, 2011 - 9:14 am: | |
Saugatuck fishing this past week started out with very good catches of 15 to 20 fish per boat but then the catches decreased to 6 to 10 fish and then by the week end catches ranged from 2 to 6 fish. Most of the fish were coho in the 2 to 4 pound range with an occasional brown trout and chinook salmon showing up. 10 to 20 foot of water produced most of the fish early in the week but on Saturday we caught fish all the way out to 60 foot and they appeared to be more scattered and in a variety of depths. The temperature of the water did not change, however the distribution of the fish changed for some reason.
Early in the week, the best lures and combinations continue to be flat lines with stick baits in the green, orange and fire tiger combinations. By Saturday 5 color lead core and the downriggers at 20 to 25 foot produced most of the action with frog and glow frog Stinger lures and green black ladder back thunder sticks with some lake trout showing up in the creel. The Kalamazoo River pier fisherman and shore fisherman continue to report catches of steelhead, coho and browns on spawn.
No new reports on the the steelhead fishing in the Kalamazoo, however there are reports of decent catches in the Grand River at the dam in Grand Rapids. Fisherman in the St. Joe River said that some steelhead are being caught, however the fishing was slow.
If you want more fishing information, or want information on a fishing charter, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 04, 2011 - 5:13 am: | |
The 2011 fishing season is about to begin in Saugatuck. We are planning on getting the boat in some time this week and the report is that the fishing has been very good. People fishing off the pier have been doing very well with CoHo, Steelhead and Brown Trout hitting spawn and lures like Little Cleos. Trollers off the Saugatuck piers are also catching Brown Trout and CoHo using small stick baits, and small Hot n Tots pulled behing boards and small stinger lures on the down riggers and dipsy divers. If you are planning on trolling, I would troll south toward South Haven since the hottest fishing is in the southern part of Lake Michigan. St. Joe, Michigan City and the southern ports are reporting limit catches of CoHo but with the water warming the fishing should become more active to the north.
I tried to contact the charter captains that are fishing the Kalamazoo and St. Joe Rivers for steelhead, however no one returned my calls. Reports are that they are catching steelhead in both rivers and the run has been much better than last year.
If you want to try perch fishing, Fish On Bait Shop in Spring Lake reports that the perch bite is hot on the Grand River at the bridges. The best bait are minnows and leeches. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, November 09, 2010 - 4:02 am: | |
Fishing in the Kalamazoo River is red hot right now with 5 to 8 steelhead being boated per trip. According to Tony Wolte of Frost Bite Charters, the water level is very low but the fishing is very good. The vast majority of the fish being caught are steelhead with an occasional chinook salmon or brown trout. The best method for the steelhead is either back-trolling small plugs through holes or bottom bouncing spawn in the holes.
For more information about fishing trips or charter reservations for big lake fishing for next year, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, October 12, 2010 - 3:36 am: | |
As of Monday, the 2010 fishing season was officially done for us and the boat is out of the water and in storage. The best description of the last 3 weeks was windy and rough, permitting us to run only 2 trips during this time period. When you can get out, the fishing is good to very good with lake trout (before Oct. 1) and 2 and 3 year old salmon and steelhead the last 2 weeks. Saturday we ran our last trip and the fishing was good with fish being caught in 130 to 180 foot of water, 30 to 60 foot down. There was a slick in 180 foot of water and most of our fish were caught inside the slick, however north of Holland the best fishing was from 180 to 200 foot of water.
We pulled stinger and stingray lures on all of the lines except for a flasher and fly on the low divers. Stingers with green and orange (Orange Crush, Craigs Christmas and Reverse Christmas) on them or green and glow (Frog) produced well on the downriggers and sliders from 35 to 65 foot. Stingray spoons and Silver Green Pro Chip flasher and Last Supper fly did well on the low and high divers. What surprised me is the the 300, 200, 100 foot of copper and half core never had a hit and all the activity was on the riggers and divers.
With the end of the season, I will be posting a fishing report about once a month rather than each week. I will try to update the reader on the fishing in the Kalamazoo River and in Lake Michigan as long as the weather and water conditions allow. For fishing information or to book next years fishing charter feel free to email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, September 19, 2010 - 8:36 am: | |
This past week again produced limit catches of Lake Trout, however the salmon were few and far between. The salmon that were caught hit 60 to 70 foot down but the lake trout hit off the bottom in 75 to 90 foot of water. The lake trout continue to be in the 12 to 20 pound range and the salmon are the 2 and 3 year old with the 4 year old chinook being absent.
The down riggers and the dipsy divers were run on the bottom with Silver Horde Gold Star metal dodgers with spin n glows. This combination produced 17 fish by 8:30 (1 1/2 hours of fishing) this morning. Any salmon and steelhead that we caught, were caught on regular stinger lures (orange corey and reverse christmas) and glow Silver Horde plugs pulled on 200 and 300 foot of copper.
I do not know where the 4 year old chinook salmon are, however the water in-front the piers is still in the mid 60 degrees and we do not see anything in this water. Grand Haven boats were catching small salmon and steelhead out in 260 to 300 foot of water. To get to this depth out of Saugatuck, we would have a 15 mile run and I have not talked to any one who has fished this depth here. Check back next week for an update or charter reservations or email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, September 12, 2010 - 5:38 pm: | |
After 10 days of watching the waves approaching 18 feet and winds often over 50 MPH, we finally got a chance to fish on Sept. 9. What we are getting is October weather in early September. We were hoping that that water would have cooled down and that the fish would move in, however we found 70 degree water in front the piers and very few fish. Moving out to 100 foot of water we found 67 degree water on the surface and 67 degree water on the bottom, so we continued out to 200 foot and found a temperature break down 70 foot. Out in this water there are 2, 3 and a few 4 year old salmon and lake trout from 60 foot to 150 foot down. By the end of the week, the water had stabilized somewhat and the the temperature break was 60 foot down in 100 foot of water with the same combination of fish as was found in the 200 foot depth.
The best methods continue to be spoons on the copper, flashers and flies on the dipsy divers and dodgers and flies on the downriggers. With small bait fish out in this deeper water, regular size stingers and nitro lures worked the best on the 300 and 400 copper with color combinations changing from day to day. On the dipsy divers white glow, white blue wiggle and white glow mountain dew echip flashers with no see um green and green hypnotist flies did very well. The downriggers produced very well with green glow Pro Chip flashers and metal dodgers with green hypnotist and last supper flies.
With a weather forecast that calls for more west winds and move high seas, I do not see any cold water moving in soon. And without the cold water and with the low river flow, the salmon will not school in mass and they will just trickle in, a few at a time, and continue up the river. Check back or email me at captron@chartermichigan.com for information or charter reservations. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, September 05, 2010 - 6:28 pm: | |
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 |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, August 29, 2010 - 6:43 pm: | |
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. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, August 23, 2010 - 1:11 pm: | |
Fishing off of Saugatuck was good throughout the week. The week started with large catches, but small fish (salmon and lake trout) in 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. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, August 16, 2010 - 4:04 am: | |
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. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, August 08, 2010 - 11:59 am: | |
The fishing this past week has slowed some what, however we still caught between 7 to 12 fish per trip. The creel consisted of chinook salmon that weighed over 20 pounds and lake trout over 12 pounds and an occasional steelhead. The best depth was again the 80 to 90 foot depth however by the weekend we also caught fish out to 160 foot of water. There are some fishermen that are going out at 4 in the morning and taking some nice fish in 50 to 60 foot of water.
Early in the week we had some good luck with 200 copper, however by the end of the week we fished primarily 300 and 400 foot of copper with Ace Hi plugs (glow green lightning, glow black lightning, green glow, green glow ladderback and wonderbread). The divers are pulled at 100 and 200 foot early in the day and then lengthened out to 300 and 200 foot as it get brighter. On the divers we are pulling echip flashers (white blue wiggle, white glow mountain dew, green silver and white slick glow) with Rapture flies (oceana, no see um green, green hypnotist, and last supper). On the downriggers we are fishing near the bottom and pulling 11 in echips (white glow, white slick glow and white mountain dew) with Rapture green flies (green hypnotist and wild fern).
With the rough water conditions on Sunday, we did not fish so it will be interesting to see what happened to the water temperature on Monday. For information or charter reservations, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, August 01, 2010 - 2:24 pm: | |
The Ace High plugs made by Silver Horde are beginning to produce some very good salmon when pulled on copper. This past week produced catches from 6 to 18 fish per trip in the 70 to 90 foot depth. There where also some nice 4 year old salmon caught out in 160 to 180 foot, however the most productive was the 85 foot depth. The chinook salmon dominates the catch, however some lake trout, steelhead and brown trout showed up the the creel.
On the 200 and 300 copper the Ace High plugs (glow green back, glow green ladder back, glow green lightning, glow black lightning and green splatter back) produced very well along with the silver mountain dew flasher and green fly. The dipsy divers produced very well at 100 and 200 foot back with Pro Chip and Hot Chip and Stinger E chip flashers (white blue wiggle, silver blue wiggle, silver mountain dew and white slick) with Rapture (oceana, blue bubble, green hypnotist and green no see um) flies. Downriggers produced at 65, 75 and 65 foot down with a variety (these changed daily with white glow, white slick, green glow, etc.) of 11 in E chip flashers and Rapture flies.
Good fishing with good size chinook salmon and lake trout should hold if we do not get any drastic changes in weather or water temperature. For more information or to make a charter reservation, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 25, 2010 - 4:08 pm: | |
We had another good week of fishing even with the rough water and storms that moved through during the week. With the exception of today, we have been taking 8 to 20 fish every trip. Today we fished from 9 to 2 and had a total of one fish on a 400 foot copper. I hope this is due to the fact that we fished in the middle of the day since as a rule the fishing is better in the early hours of the morning and slows as the light increases. This week we caught a number of chinook salmon in the 16 to 20 pound range, a 14 pound steelhead, a 13 pound lake trout and a fantastic 18 pound brown trout.
Flashers and flies continue to produce very well when pulled on downriggers, dipsy divers and 300 and 400 copper. The best flashers are the Pro Troll (silver/green, silver mountain dew, white blue wiggle, white glow and silver blue) with Rapture flies (no see um green, oceana, blue bird, wild fern, green hypnotist and purple no see um). We also had some good luck with Ace Hi plugs (silver red head, green lightning and blue lightning) and Stingray blue dolphin and Nitro lures producing some nice steelhead on 200 and 300 copper.
Perch fishing continues to be spotty with some reports of decent catches in 40 to 50 foot of water out of Holland and 60 to 70 foot of water out of South Haven and 40 foot of water off of Glenn. Again, it has been spotty with the perch being caught at one depth one day but gone the next. There are a few perch being caught in the rocks off the Douglas point, however it is hard to get the bait past the golbies.
The bait is still in the 40 to 60 foot depth and out in 140 to 160 foot depth, so I hope this will hold the salmon and trout in the area. For information or charter reservations, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 18, 2010 - 2:51 pm: | |
This week produced some very good fishing with 10 to 18 fish per trip. The creel consists of chinook salmon up to 18 pounds, coho up to 10 pounds, steelhead and lake trout up to 12 pounds. Fish are being caught from 60 to 160 foot of water, however the best depth for us has been 90 to 120 foot of water. There have been some salmon caught very early in the morning (5-6 AM ) and late in the day (sunset to 1 hour after) in 50 FOW just outside the bait.
The best methods continue to be flashers and flies on the downriggers, divers and on 400 copper. The best flashers are the Stinger E Chip blue wiggle (with the silver blade and white blade), double white glow Pro Chip, green glow Pro Chip and the white mountain dew Pro Chip. We have been running the Rapture oceania fly behind the blue wiggles and green no see ums and green hypnotist flies behind the other flashers. Up until today we have been taking some nice coho and steelhead on 200 copper ( we had to go with them on the 300 copper today) with silver horde glow wonder bread and the white glow black lightning plugs. On the other 300 coppers we either pulled magnum spoons like the stinger blue dolphin or glow nitro lures.
Perch fishing in the Saugatuck and Holland area continues to be slow with very few perch being caught. South Haven reported some very good perch fishing from 20 to 50 FOW. I did talked to some fishermen who caught some very nice perch 10 miles south of the Saugatuck piers in 30 to 40 FOW. Unless you want to run 10 miles, get out the flashers and flies and catch some salmon.
For more fishing information and or to make a charter reservation, email me at Captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 11, 2010 - 1:28 pm: | |
We had another good week of fishing with catches ranging for 8-15 fish a trip. There is a definite early bite with most of the catch coming in the first 3 hours. Chinook salmon and lake trout made up the greatest part of the catch, with a few steelhead and coho mixed in. The best water was 90-110 FOW, but fish were taken from 80-180 FOW. During the beginning of the week the water was a little warmer and fish were caught 50-100 feet down. The water cooled off on Thursday and fish were taken 30-80 feet down.
Pro Chip flashers and Rapture flies were at most productive presentation. The best combinations were: blue wiggle flasher w/ a blue bubble fly, green wiggle flasher w/ a wild fern fly, green slick glow flasher w/ a hypnotist fly, and a chrome green flasher w/ a last supper fly. Fish were caught on Sting Ray spoon on the copper lines throughout the week. Silver orange tip, coyote, glow wonderbread, and the blue cory spoons were all productive. The dolphin and pearl black dot Ace Hi plugs on copper also produced some action over the weekend.
Perch fishing was slow out of Saugatuck and Holland, however it was red hot in South Haven with limit catches being reported.
With a warm weather forecast in sight we expect the fish to continue to congregate in the 90-150 FOW during the upcoming week. For information or charter reservations, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 05, 2010 - 6:35 pm: | |
Another good week of fishing in Saugatuck with 10 to 20 fish in the creel consisting of big salmon and big lake trout. 80 foot of water to 120 foot of water produced chinook salmon in the mid teens and lake trout pushing 13 pounds with occasional steelhead coming in the upper part of the water column.
11 inch Pro Chip flashers (white/glow) and 8 in Hot Chip (white/glow and green wiggle) with a Rapture green No See Um flies produced very well on the downriggers. Wire divers with Pro Chip flashers (white/glow, silver/green, white/blue, white mountain dew) with either Rapture green Hypnotist or No See Um flies produced most of the fish this past week. The steelhead came on 200 copper with Stingray silver orange tip and blue green dolphins.
We did some perch fishing this past week and caught a limit catch in 40 foot of water. When we are running out to fish salmon I see perch in 40 to 50 foot of water. There were reports of good catches out of South Haven in 15 foot of water, so our perch fishing should continue to improve.
For more information and/or charter reservations email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 27, 2010 - 6:33 am: | |
Even dodging storms and high winds through out the week, the fishing was good with 6 to 12 fish per trip. The creel consisted of chinook salmon pushing 20 pounds, lake trout weighing up to 14 pounds and steelhead, coho and even an occasional brown trout. The best fishing continues to be the 90 to 120 foot of water depth, however there are also fish in in the 135 to 160 foot depth. With the full moon, the bite is best in the mid to late morning and early evening.
The best lures for us are the 11 in Hot Chip and Pro Chip flashers (green/glow, white/glow and white/mountain dew) with Rapture flies (purple No See Ums, green Hypnotist, Green Dude and Frosted Fern). We are pulling these on the downriggers from 60 foot to the bottom and wire dipsy divers at 200 foot and 250 foot out. 200 and 300 copper have produced some nice steelhead and brown trout with Craig's Christmas and the orange Corey Stingrays and 400 foot of copper (also 400 foot with 2 oz dive bomb) are producing with 8 in white bladed flashers and Green Dude flies.
The perch report is good with limit catches south of the Saugatuck harbor from 60 to 70 foot of water. It is difficult to fish this deep water however the report is they are catching 10 to 14 in perch. Yesterday there was some very good catches of perch in 20 foot of water south of the piers. These were not as big as the deep water perch but avg. 6 to 8 in.
Reports from Holland to South Haven indicate good fishing from mid morning to noon and from 6 PM until dark. If the weather cooperates, we should hold our fish. For information and/or charter reservations, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 20, 2010 - 7:38 am: | |
Saturday was a interesting, expensive and rough morning on the water. As we came out of the harbor the seas were running about 3 foot and we set lines in 60 foot of water and trolled out to 120 foot of water. It was 9:30 before we had our first hit and good size salmon on 400 foot of copper with a mixed veggie Pro Troll and purple Rapture No See Um fly, which we lost after a short fight. Our first fish was a lake trout on a the same set up on a low diver on the bottom. From 10:00 to 12:00 we had 12 or 13 fish on and only boated 3 with the seas building to 6 foot. Along with loosing fish we broke off and lost 200 foot of copper, 300 foot of copper and a dipsy diver rig and wire line that the salmon ran out to 450 foot. An expensive outing.
Almost ever hit came on silver flashers (silver green, silver mixed veggie, silver blue) and Green Dude and purple No See Um flies. We did have a couple of steelhead hit the Craigs Reverse Christmas on 100 copper (caught one and lost one), other wise every hit was on flashers and flies.
We did find bait in 60 foot of water, however the salmon and trout appear to be in the 80 to 100 foot of water. I think that if you get out at sunrise, you could take them in the shallower water but then most of the action will be just outside the bait. For information and charter reservation email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 06, 2010 - 6:09 pm: | |
The old saying that "fishing slows when the cotton flies" seems to holding true. The fishing has definately slowed down this last week with catches of 4 to 8 fish per trip. You can catch some fish in 40 to 50 foot of water, 70 to 90 foot of water, 100 to 115 foot of water and on out to 180 foot. A few fish scattered through out and no big concentration anywhere. We took steelhead and salmon with half core and 100 foot of copper, salmon on 200 and 300 foot of copper and lake trout and a few salmon on downriggers and deep divers.
The best lures continure to be orange Corey stingrays and orange crush stingers on the 100 copper and NBK and carmel dolphin stingrays on the 200 and 300 copper. On the low divers we are running some flashers and flies and the best combination continues to be the mountain dew Pro Chip and purple no see um Rapture flies. To get catch the lake trout we are using metal flashers and the Rapture green dude and last supper fly.
With the rough water and wind today, we may see a change in the water and a grouping of the fish around the bait. Hopefully the fishing will begin to improve. For information and/or charter reservations, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, May 30, 2010 - 3:31 am: | |
What a change in fishing this week produced! Boats went from catching 18 to 30 fish on Tuesday (with some lake trout pushing 20 pounds) to only having 12 hits on Weds. The fish moved, the bait moved and the lake started to warm up some what. The rest of the week catches of 4 to 12 fish was considered a good day. Saturday we decided to run out to 300 foot of water after satellite reports showed a temperature change 18 miles out. We found some steelhead on the surface however there was no concentration and no bait. On Saturday a few fish were caught in 40 foot, 70 to 90 foot, 100 foot, 180 foot, and 300 foot, however the best area seemed to be in 130 to 160 foot of water. At this depth there were some reports of chinook salmon pushing 20 pounds--not a lot of fish but 5 to 8 fish per boat.
The best method continues to 100, 200 and 300 copper with Stinger and Stingray size spoons that are silver and orange and silver, orange and green. The most productive lures were the orange Corey, orange Natural Born Killer, and orange crush. These same lures produced well when pulled on the sliders on the downriggers at 35 and 45 foot. Most of the lake trout were taken on downriggers on the bottom with either the 11 inch white glow Pro Chip and the Rapture purple no see um fly or the tin can dodger with a Rapture green dude fly.
We will be fishing again this PM and will probably be going to the 140 foot of water area. Check back next week and see if the bait returns, because if the bait is in an area, the salmon will be there. For information or charter reservations, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com or call toll free at 888-253-8372. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Post Number: 143
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, May 16, 2010 - 6:15 pm: | |
Another good week of salmon fishing, however, some days produced better than others for example one day we caught 18 and the next day produced 8 and then 15 on the following day. The chinook salmon are running from 5 to 15 pounds, coho salmon from 2 to 5 pounds and lake trout up to 12 pounds. Early in the week we had very good luck in 130 to 145 foot of water and today we did well in 90 to 100 foot of water. There were some boats that fished all the way out in 200 foot of water, however today there were two general depths that produced the most fish--90 to 100 foot and 150 to 165 foot.
Early in the week most of the fish (chinook and coho and an occasional lake trout) hit mainly Stingray spoons (mixed veggie, NBK, green dolphin, glow frog). These were pulled on 100, 200 and 300 foot of copper and high divers at 150 and 160 foot. The downriggers produced with small Stinger lures on sliders at 40 and 50 foot. Today we had success with the same Stingray spoons on 200 and 300 copper and with some flashers and flies on the low divers and the downriggers. The flashers were Hot Chip 8 in. flashers (white glow, green glow, mountain dew) on the divers and the tin can flasher "down the shoot" and on the bottom with Rapture frosted fern and hypnotist flies.
If you want more information or want to make a charter reservation, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 10, 2010 - 6:42 pm: | |
We finally got a chance to fish with out wind, rain and high winds. We set lines in 100 foot of water and because of the Southeast winds were limited to a west troll. We caught three Chinook salmon from 10 to 15 pounds from 120 foot to 150 foot and lost 3 more during that time period. From 150 to 190 foot of water we caught another smaller salmon and lost another. We trolled back into 130 foot and, with a decrease in the wind, trolled south and picked up another 5 salmon two of which were small and released. In this 130 to 140 foot of water we took thee more coho salmon and missed 2 or three others.
Early in the day, the salmon hit Hot Chip flashers (mountain dew and silver green) and Rapture frosted fern flies on the low divers and mixed veggie Stingrays on the down-riggers at 45 and 50 foot down. As the day progressed the action on the down-riggers and divers slowed and the copper (100, 200 and 300 foot) picked up. We tried regular size and magnum stingers, however the only hits we could get is on the Stingray size lures (green glow frog, carmel dolphin, blue green dolphin, craigs christmas and mixed veggie).
There are reports that a few walleye being caught in the Kalamazoo river between the bridges and also from the basin out to the lake.
For more information or for charter reservations, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Post Number: 141
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 03, 2010 - 7:24 am: | |
The shallow water fishing (12-20 foot of water) is slowing and the fish and some bait are showing up in 130 to 150 foot of water. We did catch a couple of brown trout along the shore line on Sunday, however the fishing was slow and we turned it west. Fishing south of the Saugatuck piers we marked good fish and some bait in that 130 foot range. We did catch a lake trout and a couple of small salmon on half core with green dolphin and fruit cocktail stingers. The picture looks good in this depth and word from the South Haven fishermen indicates that they are beginning to pick up coho and chinook in the 130 foot depth.
Walleye are still being caught in the Kalamazoo river from the I 196 bridge into Kalamazoo Lake.
For fishing information or to make a charter reservation, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, April 27, 2010 - 6:10 am: | |
Once again we have had high winds and rough water on the big lake, however if you can get out the fishing is fairly good. Fishing in 12 to 18 foot of water is producing some very good brown trout with an occasional steelhead, chinook salmon and lake trout. The best method are small stingers (blue/green dolphin and fruit cocktail) pulled 30 to 100 foot behind the downrigger. Two color lead core and flat-lines with stick baits (gold and red in color) producing some steelhead and small salmon.
People are catching walleye in the Kalamazoo river between the bridges and north of the Blue Star bridge. Steelhead fishing in the river was reported as slow.
For information or charter reservations, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 18, 2010 - 5:41 am: | |
Rough water and high winds have limited fishing this past week, however there were some nice fish caught when you could get out. The action was not fast and furious, however boats reported catching some Chinook salmon weighing 14 to 16 pounds. The best reports have come from boats fishing in 40 to 45 foot of water between Holland and Port Sheldon and off of Half Way Creek north of Saugatuck. In these areas boats are taking Coho, Brown Trout, Steelhead and an occasional Lake Trout and Chinook salmon. There are also reports of very good perch catches off the Grand Haven piers and a few perch being caught off the Holland piers. There are some Steelhead being caught in the Kalamazoo River and as the river level declines this fishing should improve.
For fishing information or to make a charter request, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Post Number: 138
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 11, 2010 - 5:57 am: | |
The boat will be in the water on Monday so the 2010 fishing season will officially start for us. Fishing has slowed down for the brown trout and steelhead the last week or so because of the storms and runoff during this time. Water visibility is very low and a lot of sand and mud in the water. There are some fish (browns and coho) being caught in 30 to 40 foot of water however the action is slow. With the high water flow in the river, we should see a increase in the steelhead fishing as the water clears.
Check back next week to see what is happening out on the big lake. For information or to make a charter reservation, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, November 14, 2009 - 5:43 pm: | |
The steelhead fishing in the Kalamazoo River and in the St. Joe River is improving as the water level retreats and the leaves have already fallen. The best method for the steelhead is "walking spawn" down through the holes in the river. Almost all the fish that are being caught are males from 6 to 10 pounds. When the water is clear of leaves, small hot-n-tots and wiggle worts are back trolled into the holes. However, at this time, spawn is out-fishing the plugs.
There are also reports of good catches of white fish being caught off the Holland and Grand Haven piers. They are also catching some coho and chinook salmon along the shore line on the lake side of the piers. Rough water has limited open water fishing and very few catch reports are available.
For more fishing information or charter reservations, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Post Number: 136
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, November 06, 2009 - 4:23 am: | |
The best fishing right now is in the Kalamazoo River with good catches of steelhead and an occasional salmon. With the high water level subsiding, the Kalamazoo River is almost back inside its banks. In addition most of the leaves are off the trees, so fishermen do not have contend with large number of leaves floating down the river and fouling lines. Most of the action is from New Richmond Bridge to the mouth of the Rabbit River by walking spawn down through the holes. Some fish are being taken by using small hot-n-tots and wiggle worts and back trolling them down through the same holes. River fishing should only get better as the river conditions stabilize.
There are still some decent catches out in the lake, when wind and waves permit. The last lake fishing report I received was that 2 and 3 year old salmon were being caught in 60 to 90 foot of water on 100 copper and half core with small stinger spoons. There also were some reports of good perch catches in 60 foot of water off of Laketown Beach. Once again the problem with the lake fishing has been the high winds and waves which changes water conditions and fish locations each day.
For fishing information or questions about charters, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Post Number: 135
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, October 12, 2009 - 4:23 am: | |
The last 2 weeks produced some rough water (8 to 12 foot) due to winds that exceeded 60 miles per hour. When we could get out, the fishing was very slow with 2 and 3 year old salmon and a few small lake trout that needed to be returned. The water temperature was the same from the surface to 140 foot down and the color of the water was an opaque green due to the rough water. We caught fish 20 foot down and 120 foot down and from 60 foot of water out to 240 foot of water, which makes it difficult to run any pattern.
Report from the river was that there is a good population of salmon in the river, but due to the rainfall the river is running high and fishing is slow. The best method for salmon continue to be spawn on the bottom. There are also some very silver steelhead that are showing up in the river and the best method for these is also spawn rolled back through the holes.
The fishing reports will be every two or three weeks now since our season is about over and the boat will be coming out soon. I will try to keep you up to date on the river fishing and lake activity as things change or improve. For information, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, September 28, 2009 - 12:05 pm: | |
Last week produced some very good fishing with catches of 12 to 24 fish per boat. The best depth was 110 to 140 foot of water and some days out to 180 foot of water. Most of the catch consisted of 2 and 3 year old salmon up to 12 pounds with some steelhead and lake trout mixed in.
The best method was 200, 300 and 400 foot of copper with stingray and regular stinger lures (orange corey, NBK, orange crush, caramel dolphin). 11 in. prochip flashers (white/Kevorkian tape and silver/Kevorkian, white/glow, green?glow) with wild fern and frosted fern flies on the divers produced very well. The downriggers produced with stinger lures on the out-downs and a 11 in flasher down the center.
With the rough water Monday and Tuesday, the like should turn over and move the fish around. For information and charter reservations, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Post Number: 133
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, September 14, 2009 - 6:09 am: | |
This past week produced some very good fishing for 2 and 3 year old chinook salmon, coho and steelhead. There are a few 4 year olds in front the piers and a person can catch a few, however there still is not a large concentration showing up. There are also reports of decent catches of salmon in the Kalamazoo River by floating spawn into the holes. However the most consistent catches of salmon (2, 3 and a few 4 year olds) occur in the 60 to 120 foot of water and in the 140 to 160 foot depth. There are also some boats fishing 260 to 300 foot of water and reporting some good steelhead catches.
For us, the best method this week was 200 and 300 foot of copper with magnum and stingray spoons (glow blue, orange corey, green and chartrouse, big dutchman). Even though the water was warm, we also took some nice salmon and steelhead on 1/2 core and 100 foot of copper with orange crush and orange corey stingers. The divers produced with the same magnum spoons that we pulled on the copper. To get the downriggers going we had to again pull 11 in pro chip and hot chip flashers and the wild fern fly and run them near the bottom. Most of the fish off the downriggers where lake trout, however we also caught a few 4 year olds on the bottom.
The season is winding down, however I think we will still get a run of salmon in front of the piers if the water cools alittle. If the water does not cool, they should just "trickle in" a little at a time, however the fishing off shore should remain consistent. For information and or charter reservations, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, September 07, 2009 - 1:45 pm: | |
Another strange week of fishing. After limit catches of Chinook salmon and CoHo salmon Monday in front the piers, the fishing slowed the rest of the week. The water was still cold and there was bait around the piers, however the run of Kings never developed. There are still some fish out in 80 to 120 foot of water, 140 to 160 foot of water and out in 180 to 210 foot of water as well as a few in front the pier, however, no large concentration anywhere. The 80 to 100 foot depth includes 4, 2 and 3 year old salmon as well as a good number of lake trout. the 140 foot depth includes mainly 2 and 3 year old salmon and lake trout. Outside in the 200 foot depth there are salmon, lake trout and a good number of steelhead.
The best method continue to be 11 in Pro Troll (white glow and green glow) with the wild fern Rapture fly pulled on the downriggers, and divers. 5 color leadcore and 100 foot of copper with orange crush and orange corey stingers produced well for steelhead. 200 foot and 300 foot of copper with glow stingray and nitro lures produced well on 2, 3 and 4 year old salmon.
The water temperature Sunday was 60 degrees on the bottom in 25 foot of water which may be a little warm for the chinook salmon. However, at this time of the year, 60 degrees should not prevent the schooling and run up the river. I do not know why the run did not continue, however I keep expecting it to pick up again. For information and fishing charter reservations, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, August 23, 2009 - 3:16 pm: | |
Fishing continues to be very good. Both kings and adult cohos are being caught in the Saugatuck area. During the past week the fish slid back and forth between 65-160 feet of water. Strong winds changed the water temperature and the depths that we trolled the plugs and flashers and flies down in the water column throughout the week.
This week’s best flasher-fly combinations were: 8” or 11” white glow ProTroll flashers with Hypnotist flies; 8” HotChip white/mtn. dew with a no-see-um Rapture fly; 8” or 11” chrome HC with a Wild Fern Rapture fly, 8” blue-glow PC with a Last Supper fly, and the 8” blue wiggle PC with a blue bubble fly. Plugs produced on the copper lines. The best plugs were the silver red head, green splatterback, green glow with a black ladderback and the green lightning.
More and more of the kings are darkening up and getting ready for the run to start. Once we get a shot of cold water the pier head fishing will be active. Until then these fish should stay near by. There is plenty of bait and cold water in the 100’ area. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Post Number: 130
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, August 17, 2009 - 3:08 pm: | |
15 Fish in 75 Minutes
This week’s fishing was highlighted by the biggest fish of the season (a 25# king), and Wednesday morning’s catch of 15 fish in 75 minutes. Fishing was excellent for the first half of the week and slowed a little toward the weekend as the fish scattered. Most of the week we fished between 100-125 F.O.W., but fish were caught out to 170 and as shallow as 65 feet of water. Some of the salmon being caught are beginning to darken as they get ready to run the river. The first batch of cold water near the piers will certainly produce some excellent fishing for the mature kings. Highs in the 70 are forecasted for next weekend. The run may start early.
ProTroll flashers and Rapture flies continue to be the best producing presentation. The best combinations were: 8” blue wiggle w/ a blue bubble fly, 8” chrome w/ a wild fern fly, 8” green glow w/ a wild fern or hypnotist, 8’ white glow w/ a frosted fern, 8” chrome green w/ a no-see-um fly, and the 11” white glow w/ purple no-see-um or hypnotist flies. Ace-Hi Silverhorde plugs were productive on the 300’ copper. Green glow w/ black ladderback, silver redhead, and green splatter back plugs went consistently throughout the week.
Perch fishing was good this week. We caught 90 on Tuesday despite fishing 4-6 foot seas in 65 F.O.W. Cooler water on Thursday and Friday moved the perch into shallower waters, but the perch bite continued to be good. Perch were caught on minnows, shrimp, and salmon eggs. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, August 09, 2009 - 6:57 pm: | |
It seems that ever day brings 3 foot seas or larger which challenges a persons ability to land fish. We never did get a chance to fish Saturday or Sunday because of the rough conditions. The salmon and lake trout are still in the 80 to 120 foot of water, however landing a 15 pounder in 5 foot seas is very difficult. Every day this week we caught fish from 80 (and some times 60) foot of water out to 130 foot of water. The best depth continues to be 100 to 110 foot, however the wind dictated which direction and which depth we could fish throughout the week.
Once again it was Hot chip and Pro chip flashers and Rapture flies that produced 90% of the catch. The other 10% came on “meat” and Silver Horde plugs. The divers did well with silver/green, blue wiggle, white/glow and sliver flasher’s and the best fly was the frosted fern and purple no see um. The glow green, silver red head and wonderbread Silver Horde plugs produced on 400 and 300 foot of copper. The “meat” was pulled on the bottom behind 11 in white/glow and white/blue bubble Hot chip flashers with Rapture glow Twinkie flies and a Pro Troll rotating bait head.
Check back next week and see if the winds and seas have calmed and if the fish start to move in. For information or charter reservations, contact me at captron@chartermichigan.com |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, August 02, 2009 - 1:05 pm: | |
If you could handle the rough water this past week, you could catch some very nice salmon up to the 24 pound range. Almost every day produced some high seas and winds in the morning and then often diminishing by the late afternoon. Winds on Saturday shortened our all day charter to 5 hours and on Sunday we never did get out in the morning. The salmon are still in the 70 to 120 foot range with the best depth being 85 to 90 foot. There were some reports of nice catches of salmon in the 55 to 65 foot range, however we did not fish shallower than 75 foot of water. During the week we took salmon the weighed over 23 pounds and many lake trout over 14 pounds.
The best method continues to be divers with flashers and flies and 300 and 400 foot of copper with stingray and magnum stinger spoons. The best flashers remain the hot chip and pro chip (silver/green, mountain dew, silver and blue wiggle). The best flies are the Rapture oceana, blue bubble, wild fern and the speed weed. We also caught some large salmon "pulling meat" behind white glow flashes and glow Rapture teaser flies with Pro Troll glow and green bait holders. We did not do well with downrigger during the week however there were some boats that reported decent downrigger results pulling white/glow glades with green flies. The copper did produce a few salmon with magnum stingers and stingray lures, however we did not find any color combination that produced consistently. I did talk to anglers that stated that glow magnum spoons produced well for them when pulled behind copper and lead core lines
Our salmon should stay in this depth if we do not see any major change in water temperature. Feel free to contact me for further information or if you would like to make a charter reservation at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 26, 2009 - 2:47 pm: | |
BIg King Show Up
This week marked the arrival of the big kings around Saugatuck. The bait and fish are setting up in 85-130 feet of water, with some fish being caught out to 160 FOW. For the first time this year a sharp thermocline has developed. The temperature break of 10 degrees moved up and down a little day to day, but generally was around the 55'-65' depth. Catches throughout the week include a few steelhead and lake trout, but the catch was dominated by salmon. Thirteen to 17 pound kings were common and some kings over 20 pounds were caught.
Fish were caught from 20-100 feet down. The downriggers produced best fished 55-85 feet down with 8 inch ProTroll flashers and Rapture flies. Flashers and flies were also taking fish on the wire divers pulled 130-250 feet back. The best combinations were: a white blade mountain dew with a HItman no-se-um fly, chrome blade with bright green bubble tape and a green beaded no-see-um fly; white glow with a oceana fly, glow frog with a hypnotist fly, super frog with a green no-see-um and a chrome doulbe glow with a wild fern fly.
Stingray spoons and Ace Hi plugs produced on the 200' and 300' coppers. The best spoons were the green dolphin, silver orange tip, and nitro dolphin. Green glow ladderback and pearl glow Ace Hi were active on the 200s.
For the first time this year we pulled some cut bait. Herring behind 8 inch ProTrolls and Rapture teaser rigs produced activity on Friday.
Salmon fIshing should continue to improve and the thermal barrier stablizes and bait continues to move in toward shore.
Perch fishing was slow during the beginning of the week, but was good on Friday with many limit catches caught in 35 FOW just south of the Saugatuck piers. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 19, 2009 - 2:06 pm: | |
Last week was another interesting week with lake trout being taken in 85 foot of water, Chinook salmon and steelhead showing up in 140 foot of water and perch being caught in 15 foot and in 40 foot of water. Bottom bouncing for lake trout continues to be a very consistent and reliable way to put fish in the boat, however by the end of the week the thermocline had set up in with 10 degree break from 55 foot to 65 foot and this depth started producing some very good steelhead and 4 year old chinook salmon. We also had some decent catches of perch in 15 foot of water one day and 40 foot of water another.
Just like the last few weeks, metal flashers and Rapture frosted wild fern and green no see um flies were the best bet for the lake trout in 85 to 95 foot of water. The salmon and steelhead were in 110 foot to 140 foot of water and hit Stingray NBK, green dolphin and nuclear green pulled on 300 foot of copper. The other method for salmon was the wire divers at 140 and 180 foot back with Hot chip and Pro Chip silver/glow and silver/green flashers and Rapture wild fern and green no see um flies.
The chinook salmon in the mid teens are beginning to show and the steelhead are also being caught up to the low teens in weight. For move information and/or charter reservations, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 12, 2009 - 7:26 am: | |
What a change in the fishing this week!!! Monday and Tuesday produced some of the best lake trout fishing we have had in years in 100 to 110 foot of water with up to 30 being caught in a trip, however 50% of them had to be returned due to being under the 20 in. limit. There were also some nice Chinook salmon mixed in the catch. Wednesday was like some one turned a switch and the salmon had disappeared and the we had to struggle to catch 6 legal lake trout. By the end of the week we fished we again were bouncing bottom in 90 to 100 foot of water similar to the previous week. We did fish a couple of hours each each trip on Friday and Saturday in 20 foot of water in front the piers and caught some nice steelhead and a couple of small salmon and many sheephead. There is solid bait in the 20 to 30 foot of water and a few silver fish are in there feeding, however there is not big concentration since the water is relatively warm. The boats that did fish the deeper water on Saturday and Sunday did come in with good catches, but almost all lake trout.
We did run a couple of perch charters on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning but the fishing was slow unless you wanted to catch golbies. There were some perch caught in 25 foot of water off the south pier, 40 foot of water off the ball and in 33 foot of water off of Pier Cove. The fish ran good size but the action was slow and you had to drift to get a consistent bite.
The best method for the steelhead in the shallow water was 3 color lead core line with orange crush, orange corey and craigs christmas Stingray lures. (The 10 to 15 pound sheephead liked these also.) In the deeper water we again ran the metal flashers on the bottom with Rapture frosted fern, wild fern and lakeshore green flies on the bottom. Occasional salmon were taken on the divers with silver green Hot Chip flashers with the Rapture lakeshore green fly and magnum green dolphin and yellow fin Stinger lures. The 300 copper with the frog Stinger flasher and any green fly also produced well in the deeper water.
Check back and see if the salmon show up this week or email me at captron@chartermichigan.com for information or charter reservations. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 05, 2009 - 3:54 am: | |
Finally we are getting that good salmon bite in the 100 foot depth that we had been expecting. During this past week we had been pounding the bottom for lake trout in 85 to 100 foot of water and catching 7 to 15 fish per trip. However, Friday and Saturday we concentrated on the 100 to 110 foot range to find the salmon and Saturday we finally got the consistent chinook bite. Saturday we caught 6 fish in the morning with 4 being salmon (however we lost the last 5 salmon we had on) and then in the afternoon we caught 12 fish with, 10 salmon and 2 lake trout, with 4 over 12 pounds. There are big schools of bait in this 100 to 110 foot of water and the salmon were full of adult alewife.
Once again we used the metal flashers and the Rapture Wild Fern, Frosted Wild Fern and Green NoSeeUm flies for the lake trout pulled behind the downriggers at 115 foot down in 100 foot of water. You have to check the fly constantly since they will pick up zebra mussels as it bounces on the bottom. The salmon are coming on Pro Chip and Hot Chip flashers (green glow, white glow and frog glow) with any Rapture fly, as long as it was green in color. The same flasher/fly combinations were run on the 300 foot of copper line and the larger chinook salmon (up to 16 pounds) were caught on this set up.
More good news!! Some consistent perch catches have been reported in the 65 foot depth in the rocks off the Douglas Point. The problem with fishing the rocks is that you have to contend with golbies in order to catch the perch. On Friday there were some nice perch caught in 25 foot of water north of the Saugatuck harbor, however you had to drift to catch them consistently.
There have also been some reports of nice steelhead being caught off the Saugatuck, Holland and South Haven piers during the week, however trolling in this water produced only a few fish.
For information or charter reservations email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 28, 2009 - 6:42 am: | |
We are beginning to get a temperature break set up in 100 foot of water and we took 8 to 15 fish each trip during the week. At 40 to 45 foot, the temperature drops about 5 to 7 degrees and the salmon and steelhead are beginning to set up in this depth. There are still lake trout on the bottom along with an occasional salmon, however most of the silver fish are found suspended at this depth. The other good news is that the rocks are producing some limit catches of perch in 65 foot of water.
The salmon and steelhead are hitting the Stingray size spoons in the Orange Corey, Big Dutchman, Craigs Christmas color patterns pulled behind 200 and 300 foot of copper. On the bottom we are pulling metal flashers and 11 in. white glow Pro Troll flashers with Rapture Green Dude, Wild Fern and Speed Weed behind. Drop the downriggers and the divers to the bottom and then raise them a couple of feet.
To catch the perch we drifted form 72 foot of water in to 62 foot of water out side the refuse area off the ball. You have to take the good with the bad since you will catch golbies along with the perch, however some of the perch were over 14 in in length.
For more information about the fishing or to make charter information, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 - 4:31 am: | |
This past week turned out to be another week of looking for the salmon but catching 90% lake trout. We fished from 50 foot of water out to 270 foot of water and the water temperature ranged from 55 degrees on the surface to 41 degrees 120 foot down with no clear break. By Monday, the surface temperature was 62 degrees with a beginning of a temperature break at 35 foot but still 42 degrees 100 foot down. During the week we caught 6 to 12 fish per trip with the most consistent depth being 90 to 110 foot of water with flashers and flies on the bottom and 400 and 300 foot of copper with large spoons.
The best method for us continues to be the 11 in Hot Chip Flasher (white/glow and silver green) with the Rapture Wild Fern trolling fly which was run 105 foot down in 100 foot of water. We also caught fish pulling a metal flasher with the Rapture Green Dude fly. The second most productive method was 300 and 400 foot of copper with Stingray and magnum Stinger lures (glow frog and orange corey). Another technique that works for us was the 3 oz. and 4 oz.Stinger Dive Bomb that we added to the 300 foot of copper to get it down to the depth that the 400 foot of copper would run at.
Perch fishing success is improving with Sunday producing some limit catches in 55 foot of water. With the runoff of all the rain last week, you need to get outside this muddy water which extends all the way out to 50 foot and north of the Saugatuck channel.
The lake trout had all classes of bait in the stomachs with a majority being the 6 in large adults. With all the bait, I think it is only a matter of time before the salmon stage in the 100 to 110 foot of water. Contact me for information or charter information by email at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 14, 2009 - 5:15 am: | |
This week produced another change in the fishing pattern. We began the week fishing out in 240 to 270 foot of water and as the week progressed, the number of fish seen and caught decreased from 8 to 12 fish per trip to 3 to 6 fish per trip. By the week end we were fishing in 80 to 100 foot of water and and catching Lake Trout on the bottom with an occasional Chinook's salmon 40 to 60 foot down.
The best method for the lake trout was the 11 inch Pro Chip and Hot Chip (white glow and green glow) flasher with the Green Dude Rapture Trolling fly behind. We dropped the downrigger just off the bottom and the wire divers were run out 250 foot. There were also some lake trout taken on metal flashers and Rapture Green Hypnotist fly. The salmon came mainly on 300 ft of copper and 300 ft. of copper with a dive bomb with magnum stingers and stingray lures (NBK and Green Dolphin).
The fish in the 100 foot depth had all ages of alewife in the bellies so I would expect to see the salmon stage in this depth soon. For information and/or charter reservations, email captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 07, 2009 - 4:04 pm: | |
This last week was a week of change with spotty fishing. Strong east winds and cool water scattered the fish this past week with catches of 6 to 12 fish per trip. We fished from 80 foot to 150 foot one day and the next we were in 180 to 200 foot and by the end of the week we fished 240 to 280 foot of water. Part of one trip we even fished in 30 foot of water the last hour and a half and caught one coho and missed 3 others. The water temperature ranged from 55 degrees to 50 degrees on the surface to 41 degrees 60 foot down which means the fish can be anywhere from the surface to the bottom and from the shoreline out 15 miles with not big concentration anywhere. One area did not produced any better than another and the fish came from the surface down to 70 foot with some fish caught bumping bottom in 120 foot.
The best method during the week was fishing the top 40 foot with half core, 7 color lead core, 100 copper, 150 copper, 200 copper and 300 copper with stinger and stingray lures that had orange and orange and green on them. Most of the action was on lures with very little action on flashers and flies. The divers at 150 foot dialed at 2 1/2 and downriggers at 30 and 40 foot produced but not consistently.
There were some reports of some perch being caught in 60 to 70 foot of water, but the action was not fast and furious. At this time we need to get some thermal stratification in the lake some a concentration of the bait. This will draw in the game fish into more concentrated groups. Feel free to contact me at any time for information and/or charter reservations by email at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, May 31, 2009 - 5:05 am: | |
Strong east winds has blown the warm water out and the lake has cooled down to the low 50 degrees which quickly drops to the low 40 degrees as you go down in the water column. As the water cooled, the bait scattered and the fish followed. By the weekend you could catch a few fish in 70 foot, 100 foot, 130 foot, 160 foot, 180 foot and 200 foot however, not a large number of fish at any one depth. In addition, the big Chinook salmon that we had been taking have moved and most of the catch are in the 6 to 10 pound range. It is almost like the mid June fishing conditions. Fish are still being caught (9 to 14 fish per trip), however they are a different age class of fish compared to what we caught the beginning of the week.
Early in the week it was predominantly flashers and flies on 300 foot of copper, divers and downriggers. The best combination was Hot Chip and Pro Chip flashers (green glow, white glow, silver/green and silver) with the Rapture trolling flies (last supper, Lakeshore green, green mirage). By the weekend, most of fish were caught on stingray and magnum stinger lures (Craig's X-mas, NBK, Green side glow, gold orange crush, orange crush) on 100 foot, 150 foot and 200 foot of copper.
There were some perch caught in 70 foot of water this past week and we did see some school of perch in 40 foot and 60 foot of water as we ran in and out. I think that if someone did some drifting you could locate some decent perch in the deeper water. In addition, walleye are still being caught in the Kalamazoo River, however this has also slowed some what.
If we get some south winds and currents, we should see the bait start to re-stage in the 100 to 130 foot range and possibly in front the piers. If the bait shows, the salmon and steelhead will follow. For information and charter reservations, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 25, 2009 - 12:58 pm: | |
Another good week of fishing out of Saugatuck with chinook salmon, lake trout and steelhead making up the creel. Catches of 10 to 20 fish per trip were common. During the week, we fished from 90 foot of water all the way out to 220 foot of water with the most productive being 120 to 130 foot early in the week and 180 to 220 foot by Sunday. The water continued to change during the week in temperature and color and as a result the fish moved to whereever the break was that day. With the north and northeast winds toward the end of the week, the fish tended to be more scattered than in the early part of the week.
In the 130 to 150 foot depth, the best method was 100, 200 and 300 copper with stingray spoons in the copper orange Cory, green machine, NBK, gold orange crush, gold Craig’s X-mas and Craig’s X-mas color combinations. The downriggers were run from 40 to 80 foot down and the best bait was the green double glow Hot Chip and the Rapture Lakeshore green fly. Other flasher and fly combinations worked but not consistently. By Sunday, the magnum blue dolphin and magnum lemon ice produced well on the divers and copper line.
As we moved out to the 200 foot depth the catch consisted of steelhead with some kings and coho mixed in. The water out in this depth was in the low 40 degrees and the fish were in the top 30 foot with the regular size stinger reverse Crag’s x-mas, double orange crush and mixed veggie combinations.
The east wind today should conntinue to cool down the lake and the fish should continue to move both in and out and vertically. For fishing information or charter reservations email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, May 17, 2009 - 7:24 am: | |
May 17, 2009
This past week was another very good week of fishing out of Saugatuck with a mixed bag of Chinook and coho salmon, steelhead and lake trout. The Chinook salmon are running in the mid to high teens in weight, with the largest taken this past week going just over 18 pounds. During the week we caught from 12 to 20 fish per trip with 75% being Chinook salmon. The fish are located in to general areas, 85 to 130 foot of water and out in 160 to 180 foot of water. Most of our fishing was in the inside depth with 110 to 120 foot being the most productive.
Early in the week most of the fish were caught on 5 color lead core, 100 ft. 150 ft and 200 ft. of copper with Stingray lures and magnum Stinger lures. The best color combination was mixed veggie, freakin veggie, coyote ugly, NBK and the reverse Christmas. By the end of the week the best method were the wire slide divers at 100ft and 200 ft. and the downriggers at 50 to 85 foot. On these we pulled flashers and flies in a variety of color combinations. The best colors flashers consisted of Hotchip and Prochip 8 in flashers in the white/glow, green/glow, silver green tape and silver chartreuse tape. The best flies were the Rapture Tolling flies in the green hypnotist, last supper and purple mirage colors.
Early in the week the perch fishing out of Port Sheldon was still producing limit catches, however the winds this weekend may have prevented anchoring for perch. The walleye fishing in the Kalamazoo River was a littile slow, however I did get a report of one walleye that was over 16 pounds. I did not see it however a reliable source said it was the largest he had seen.
The good fishing should continue as long as the bait is in the area and we do not see any drastic changes in the water temperature. For information and or charter reservations, contact me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 11, 2009 - 4:53 am: | |
Finally, some good consistent fishing though the whole week with catches consisting of a mixed bag of 12 to 22 fish per trip. The catches consisted of Chinook salmon in the mid to high teens, lake trout, a few coho and some steelhead. The salmon, both Chinook and coho are averaging a couple of pounds heavier than in past years. We started fishing in 110 to 120 foot of water early in the week and by Sunday we were in 60 to 80 foot of water. Reports on the perch are still good with good catches in 60 foot of water off of Port Sheldon and some spotty success off of Saugatuck in 40 foot of water.
If you are going out into the Big Lake, fish the downriggers from 50 foot to the bottom and 75 copper, 200 copper and 300 copper behind the boards. Our best success during the week was magnum stingers and stingray lures on all copper and downriggers in green/glow, green/blue and green/black combinations. Slide divers 100 and 120 foot out with pro chip and hot chip flashers (green/glow, white/glow and silver) with green hypnotist rapture tolling flies produced some nice fish.
Fishing in the Kalamazoo River is still slow for steelhead, however there are a few walleye being caught by drifting from the bridge into Kalamazoo Lake and by trolling between the piers.
It looks like our spring fishing is here to stay and it should only get better as more bait shows up. For information on the fishing or to make charter reservations, contact me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 04, 2009 - 6:03 pm: | |
he Chinook salmon are showing up from Saugatuck to Port Sheldon. This past week has produced some very good catches of Chinook salmon with occasional coho and steelhead thrown in. The water along the shore is very discolored and most of the fish are found outside in the clearer water. On Friday the fish were found in 40 to 80 foot of water and then on Sunday they were in 60 to 90 foot of water. Today most of the fish came from 90 to 180 foot of water with 120 foot being the best.
The deeper the water the lower we are fishing. In the 40 to 80 foot range we were fishing from the surface to 40 foot down with stickbaits on the surface and then orange crush and orange and green Stingray lures behind 75 foot, 150 ft. and green and blue Killer Stingrays behind 200 ft. of copper. In the 60 to 90 foot depth the best method was 300 copper with Singrays behind and ProTroll Flashers and Rapture trolling flies. Out side of 100 foot the downriggers went as deep as 90 foot down with 300 copper and wire slide divers with the flashers and flies. Many of the salmon are running in the mid teens and a couple were pushing 20 pounds.
More good news is that limit perch catches have been reported from Saugatuck to Port Sheldon. Limit catches were reported in 60 to 65 foot of water from Port Sheldon north to the Bil Mar Resturant. Today there were a couple of limit catches in 40 foot of water just south of the Saugatuck pier. Another good report is the walleye fishing in the Kalamazoo river. Walleye are being caught by drifting down from the Blue Star bridge into Kalamazoo Lake while jigging off the bottom with jigging spoons or night crawler harness.
The only negative report is the Steelhead fishing in the river. With the muddy and high water in the Kalamazoo River the fishing has been very slow, however as the water receeds, the fishing should improve. For more information or for reservations for a charter, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 27, 2009 - 4:19 am: | |
The walleye season opened this past weekend however the weather did not cooperate. Winds of 30 mph and rain on Saturday forced walleye fisherman into protected areas of the river and then by Sunday the Kalamazoo River was muddy due to the 2 in of rain and had risen 12 in. There were a few walleye caught on Saturday but I did not hear of any caught on Sunday.
The report on Lake Michigan is improving with the water beginning to warm and a few bait fish starting to show up. The wind has slowed fishing action, however when the weather cooperates, there have been good catches of Lake Trout and a few salmon reported. The temperature ranges from 44 to 49 degrees in 40 to 90 foot of water. Fish the top 35 foot of water in this depth. Full core and half core of lead core line with Stingers and Stingray lures and flat lines with green and red/gold thin fins produced well. Also Slide divers with ProTrol blue bubble and mountain dew flashers and Rapture Blue Hypnotist and Sour Apple flies produced well.
With the warming of the water and the appearance of the bait, hour fishing should improve and the salmon should follow the bait in. For information or if you would like to book a charter, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, April 21, 2009 - 4:46 am: | |
April 21, 2009
Water temperature on Lake Michigan out of Saugatuck is 39 degrees so fishing continues to be slow for salmon, brown trout and steelhead, however the lake trout catch is very good. The problem is that lake trout season does not open until May 1, so it is catch and release. Some good news is that this past weekend, the perch fishing off the Holland pier and between the piers produced some limit catches. I would expect that even if the lake water temperature decreases with the present strong north west wind, the perch fishing should continue in the warmer river water.
Steelhead fishing on the Grand and Kalamazoo Rivers improved last week as the water levels declined and the clarity improved. Best method was spawn that was drifted through the spawning beds. There have also been some reports of some Brown Trout being caught on the Kalamazoo River by using spawn. The bad news is that with the rain Sunday and Monday, the river is on the rise (1 1/2 foot Sunday night) and will probably temporally slow the catch.
If you need information or want to book a fishing charter, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 16, 2009 - 5:03 am: | |
April 16, 2009 Fishing Report
High water on the river and cold water on the lake has kept the fishing slow at this point. The steelhead are on the beds in the Kalamazoo River and in the St. Joe River, however the water is still high (but receding) which makes the fishing tough. The most productive method is back rolling spawn along the bottom into the bedding area.
On the lake, the water is still 38 degrees and with the NE, E and SE winds will not warm up very fast. Most of creel consists of Lake Trout (which, with the season closed, need to be returned). There are an occasional chinook and brown trout showing up, however not very many at this point in time. The good news is that the coho that are being caught in the warmer southern basin are running 4 to 6 pounds instead of the 2 to 4 pounds that they ordinarily weigh. This should mean that when the coho migrate up to us in the next couple of weeks, they should be a good size. Hopefully, the chinook will also show this increase in size.
If you need more information or would like to reserve a fishing date, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com or call me at 888-253-8372 toll free. |
Ron Westrate (Westrate)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, November 12, 2008 - 3:16 pm: | |
11/12/2008
There has been very little big lake fishing with cold weather and high winds, however the steelhead river fishing is beginning to turn on. Capt. Tony Walte reports that the fishing in the St. Joe was still a little on the slow side but should pick up soon. The Kalamazoo River, however has been producing good catches of steelhead. Back trolling body baits into the holes and bouncing spawn both have been very productive. Capt. Walte has been taking from 3 to 7 fish per trip and he thinks that with some shots of warm weather and rain, the run should pick up. Most of the leaves are off the trees so the river has cleared up and more lines can be run without fouling them up. If you are interested in this type of fishing contact me and I can set up a trip with Capt. Walte on either the Kalamazoo or the St. Joe. For more information email me at captron@chartermichigan.com. |
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