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My dad and I fished this morning and ended up with one.

We started just outside the mouth and got our one pretty quick. After another hour without a bump we picked up and headed toward the Gary Light. We casted by the discharge for about an hour and had a few hits, but the fish being caught in that area were really small.

We wrapped up by trolling around the break wall. The weather could not have been better but the fishing was kind of slow.

We pulled the normal spring spread including brads thin fins, fire tiger flicker shads, j9s and one flasher with a fly about 10 feet down. The hard baits were between 25 and 100 feet back. The one fish came on a fire tiger flicker shad 75' behind a yellow bird.

Good luck if you are going out tomorrow!

Thanks for the report. Just not in yet.

Thanks for the report.

Thanks for the report.
I was out early this morning with my buddy and we found a pair of fish (brown trout and a throwback coho) just east of the ditch in front of the beach at 12 fow. Those 2 came on a brads and a hotntot.

This makes me nervous. I've found links to you tube videos supporting this post and I will try to provide it in another reply.

This person is from WI!

We all have our theories but the theorie on my boat is the lake did not get as cold as normal and the lake is warming like a local pond right now instead of warming on the southend first, bring the fish south with the warm water. Look at the lake temps right now the lake is warmer up north. We need some north wind to bring that warm water down here. The way the lake is warming is not typical. Even if this trend continues I think we will get more fish but it will not be the world class coho fisherie that we are used to. Time will tell.

Both interesting ideas. The temp theory is something that could be repeating and studying a pattern gets fish if anyone has logs of this happening before. The 2nd is new to the lake with the shrimp invasive, talk about ever changing lake and ever adaptive fishing!
On the bright side of an invasive in the lake, how sweet will it be to someday get my dad's old smelt net out of retirement......

That's been a problem down here, no warm water. Most plants don't discharge warm water like years past. Dean Mitchell kept most of that side warm year around which drew in elwives buy the millions. Since it close look at the difference fishing has become for those around to experience it back then. Fishing around garylight with no warm water around fish scatter and are not gathered since there's no bait holding in those areas. We haven't got much bait down here over the last couple or years and we seen how fast those fish move up the west coast line to find it when they should be down here threw April. Mike

We were out yesterday as well. We went 2 for 4, both east of the ditch. TON of boats out lol my goodness.

I agree with the warming theory - we were thinking the same thing by days end. That will change though. Shore warming should accelerate soon.

It's early and it only takes a few days for things to change. I used to have a bunch of contacts with avid Dean Mitchell fisherpeeps. (For you newbies-Dean Mitchell was a power plant very close to the Gary (Buffington Harbor) casino boats.) DM was arguably the best coho shore fishing area on the Great Lakes.

Anyhow, I'd get a call in mid to late February, "MIke, I caught a coho today. First one of the season." Next day, someone else would call, "Mike, I was out at Dean Mitchell today and there were several cohos caught." Next day - "Just about everyone out there caught a coho or two." Next - "Everyone who was out there long enough caught a limit." Next, "Everyone caught easy limits." Usually 10 to 20 guys weekdays, dozens and dozens on weekends, once the word was out.

Just takes a few days for the fish to "come on down."