Trout Season Opening Day on the Pine River



Pine River Trout - Opening Day

Opening Day for Trout Season here on the Pine River, just north of Luther, MI, began with temperatures in the 30's that warmed up to the mid 50's. The weather has been pretty nice so far. The river is in good shape this year. The campground is not nearly as full as it was last year, in fact, the tent area is empty.
We left home around noon on Thursday so we could get a good spot at the campground. We didn't get our first choice, but we got the next best.
As of Sunday, we have caught 6 fish, 5 Browns and 1 Rainbow. All of our fish were caught using shiners on Saturday. As it stands right now, Joe caught BIG FISH, measuring in at 16 inches. Our Opening Day Trout Dinner was excellent!!

Nice Day But Very Few Fish

Uncle Dan & Walleye

Fished with Uncle Dan. Temperature this morning was in the lower 40s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 50s. When we started fishing there was no wind and the lake was flat. Around 10:00 AM the wind started to blow out of the east about 10 knots with waves around a foot. The water temp is 51 degrees and after the blow we had for the last 4 days out of the west, the lake is very clean. We headed out to Turtle Island and there were only a few boats, but there was a larger pack of boats by the Toledo Light House. Made a pass through there and we saw no fish being caught so we went across the ditch and fished the humps off Little Cedar Point. Picked up the first fish after 5 minutes of jigging and had the second fish on 10 minutes later, things were looking good. Made about 5 more drifts through this area and we had no more bites. We packed up and went back toward the Lighthouse and started drifting again. Caught some sheephead, silver bass and one throw back walleye (14 1/2 inches) and that was it. All the fish came off the blue and silver blade baits. Kept 2 walleye for the day. The Charter Captains picked up around the cleaning station and power washed and reorganized the cleaning tables - it looks great!!

The Boat is Finally Ready

Was going to fish with Uncle Dan but he called this morning and said he was not feeling very well. Since I was awake I decided to go and do some work on the boat. Got every thing done that I wanted to and the last thing was to start the engine for the first time this year. The motor was running and the sun came out and I just could not stand it any longer, so I decided to go fishing. The temp this morning was in the upper 50s and when I quit fishing it was in the upper 60s. The wind was out of the south around 15 knots and after an hour or so it started to switch and come out of the south  southwest. The waves were between 1 and 2 feet to start and then it laid down to less than a foot. The water temp is 58 degrees. Made my way out to Turtle Island and set up in 10 foot of water using an old way point. Made the first drift jigging a clown blade bait with out a hit. Made another drift and put on a fire tiger blade bait and still nothing. I saw a few nets going so I knew there were fish in the area. Made another  drift and put on a blue and silver blade bait and it was game on. For the next 1 1/2 hours it was pretty steady fishing. I lost 3 fish at the net and had at least 8 other fish on. Fishing in shallow water every thing happens very fast but it sure is fun. Kept 3 walleye and 1 perch.

On the River Again

Nice River Walleye

Fished with Captain Dwayne on the Detroit River. We launched out of Wyandotte Harbor. Today we timed it perfect. When we arrived at the harbor there were only 3 boats in front of us. After we launched and I was parking the trailer there were at least 15 boats in line. Off to a good start!! Temperature this morning was in the lower 30s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 50s, just a beautiful day on the water. The sun was out all morning and the wind was light out of the north. We started fishing by Mud Island and the bite was pretty good for the first half  hour and then it slowed down. The last 1 1/2 hours of fishing we went in front of the steel mill and picked up a couple more fish. The best set up was a 3/4 ounce jig with a Wyandotte Worm. Kept 7 walleye and Dwayne was on fire today.

First Boat Trip for 2012

Detroit River Walleye

Finally, back on the water!! Fished with Captain Dwayne, his son could not make it today. Temperature this morning was 40 degrees with a south wind around 10 knots. As the day progressed the temp made it to the mid 40's and the wind picked up a little. We launched out of Wyandotte Marina where the wait was only about 15 minutes to launch the boat. We caught most of the fish in front of Mud Island and we caught the last one in front of the steel mill. The fish were caught in as little as 16 feet of water and as deep as 32 feet of water. Though the water was stained, the Captain said it was still good enough to jig and not use the hand lines. The best setup was a jig tipped with a black worm with a bright green tail. The Captain likes to cut off half of the green tail because it creates less tangles with the stinger hook. The bite was very tough today but we managed to keep 6 walleye.
P.S. to Doug B. - Thinking of you and hope you're doing better!