TOPIC:

Last Thursday I had a chance to sit in by zoom. Jay Wesley has twice a year a all day meeting with the Michigan advisory team. The reports for this seasons fishing from around the lake, for the U,P, to southern Michigan. I shared the Indiana report with Mike Ryan Pres. of Indiana Steelheader club.

I have attended this meeting now for about 5 years. This season it sounds like for most of the summer the kings were from Manistee to Ludington. If you were north or south of that area the king fishing was average or below.

Also heard reports from the north area of the lake where the alewife die off occurred. Fishing for those folks really slowed down during the time of the die off. 
Lake trout fishing was different for most of the lake this season. North charters had to go look for them as the fish just didn't seem to be in the normal areas.

forgot to mention that the coho we catch during the late spring into summer continued to grow as they moved back into Michigan waters. I heard reports of fishermen taking them as they approached the 10-15lb mark.

Thank you for the report. It seems odd that all the fish were better those two ports but it is what it is.

Lake trout fishing was different for sure.

Do you mean the lake trout fishing was poor? I don't target them, so I'm not sure what the difference was in lake trout fishing compared to last year.

jpmarko wrote:

Do you mean the lake trout fishing was poor? I don't target them, so I'm not sure what the difference was in lake trout fishing compared to last year.

From my personal experience, yes. I do like to catch them and i usually found them in bunches on the shoals in front of Inland  in May. I went out there this year and they just weren't there.  

Seemed like the lakers this summer were chasing baitfish throughout the column instead of hugging the bottom, generally speaking.

I agree with Start Paddling, the standard fishing the bottom slow was not producing. We were catching majority of our trout not concentrated being pelagic in the column.

Safe to say that mother nature kicked butt this season.

Charters way north complained about that this season they lost more business due to blow days then years in the past that they can remember. They were fast to point out that they are used to fishing rough conditions, so to cancel gives you an idea about lake conditions.

Here, where was our winds this season? Strange thermoclines, late bait, etc. mother nature wins again!!! Many abnormalities..