Salmon Fishing 2019-Manistee Michigan

Fished with Joe and John in Manistee, Mi. from 8-10 to 8-17. We lost our motel room due to a flood but the manager (Tim) was able to move us to the second floor. The motel also lost their freezers in the flood so John bought a freezer and we took it up north with us.The weather looked pretty good for the week and the report held true. We lost two of our evening trips to wind and waves but the rest of the trip was nice. Had a couple of issues with the auto pilot with broken parts but the people in Manistee helped out a lot. Manistee welding welded a stainless steel bracket for the auto pilot in a couple of hours that put us back on the water without missing a beat. We thought that we might catch a 30 lb. salmon this year and we came very close. We lost a couple of fish that were very large and we landed 4 fish over 28 lbs.

                                                                  The Trip

Saturday evening we started at the 14 line trolling south. We hooked up a couple of small kings in 190 fow around the 11 line and that was it for the night. One came off a green flasher and green fly and the other one came off the white lightning meat rig. Sunday morning we started at the 12 line trolling south and we were skunked. We caught a laker but we put it back. Sunday evening we started at the 17 line trolling south and we went 1 for 2. Monday morning we started at the 13 line trolling south and we went 3 for 5 with the 10 color lead and a gray ghost plug being our best set up. Monday evening we started at the 20 line trolling south and we went 3 for 4 with the dipsy with the white lightning being the best set up. Tuesday morning we started at the 17.7 line trolling south and we went 1 for 1. Tuesday evening was our first blow trip, it was just too rough. Wednesday morning we started at the 19 line trolling south and we went 1 for 1. Caught a 16 lb. steelhead. Wednesday evening was another blow day. Thursday morning we decided to make the run to Big Sable point and we started fishing at the 4 line. We went 5 for 6 and caught our largest king, 29 lb. The gray ghost J plug caught a couple of fish, white lightning caught a fish and the big fish came off a blue mamba meat rig. Thursday evening we fished the north side of the pier in 35 fow trolling up and down the shore line. We went 1 for 2 and lost a large king right behind the boat. One fish hit the green splatter back and the other fish came off the white lightning. Friday morning we went to the point again and caught our fish at the 3 line. We went 2 for 3 and lost a large king when the braid fishing line broke. When we brought in the line there was a knot in the line. How a knot got into the middle of the line I will never know. The only thing we came up with is it came that way from the factory. We lost our white lightning meat rig and the dipsy.

                                                          The Tally For the Week

We hooked 27 fish and we landed 19 of them which gave us a catch rate of .703 percent which is not very good for us. We lost one at the net, one broke the braid line and the rest just came unbuttoned. We fished for 37.5 hours and landed 19 fish which gave us a catch rate of .506 percent, which is not very good. It seems our catch rate keeps going down every year. Of the 12 sessions we could have gone fishing we made it out 10 times which is good for Lake Michigan. We got skunked 2 times and I just hate not catching a fish, it makes for a long boat ride. The 19 fish weighed 323.5 lbs which gave us an average weight of 17.03 lb. per fish. The largest fish weighed 29 lbs. and the smallest was 6.5 lbs. We put 145 miles on the boat. The average temp break (50 degrees) was 30 feet down, which is very shallow.

                                                   Below is a list of lures that had a hit

Gray Ghost J Plug ...................................................8
White Lightning Meat Rig.......................................6
Green Splatter Back Ace High.................................3
Green Spin Doctor and Green Fly............................3
Kevin's Girlfriend and Green Meat Rig....................3
White Spin Doctor and Green Fly.............................2
Blue Mamba Meat Rig..............................................1
Bloody Nose Spoon...................................................1

Slow Day

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the upper 70's and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 80's. The wind was out of the southwest less than 7 knots with very little waves. The water temp is 79 degrees. Started fishing by the c buoy trolling with wiggle warts set at 50 feet back heading towards the swamp. Had one nice fish on that we lost and only caught one more fish in this area. There were a few weeds but we were still able to fish. Did not feel like riding around the lake today so we went to the Michigan/Ohio border and trolled with wiggle warts and bandits. Did not mark very many fish and we caught nothing so we pulled lines and went back to the original location. Trolled around just enjoying the day and we finally decided to call it a day. Kept 3 walleye. 

The Bugs Were Terrible

Fished with Captain Daryl and Joe. Temperature this morning was in the lower 70's and when we quit fishing it was in the mid 80's. There was very little wind and there were no waves. The water temp is 78 Degrees. Started fishing the back side of the dump trolling up the Michigan / Ohio border with wiggle warts set at 70 feet back. Started catching some walleye and then the bugs showed up. Thousands and thousands of them! We stuck it out and and around 9:00 am a little breeze came and most of the bugs were gone, except for the ones in and on the boat. When we got back to port Daryl washed the boat to get rid of the gnats. Kept 18 walleye.

Fishing is Still Good

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 70's. The wind was out of the southwest around 10 knots with waves about a foot. The water temp is 75 Degrees. Started fishing at the S buoy trolling towards the C buoy with wiggle warts set at 50 feet back. We were on the fish right out of the gate and it only took 2 passes to catch our fish. Only caught a couple of junk fish. Kept 12 walleye and we had 5 short walleye that we put back.

Fishing on the 4th of July

Fished with Joe, John and Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the lower 70's and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 80's. The wind was out of the southeast less than 10 knots with waves less than a foot. Water temp is 78 Degrees. Started fishing just past the S buoy heading towards the C buoy trolling with wiggle warts set at 70 feet back and large dipsy's and spoons set at 20 feet back. Started picking away at the walleye and once we were close to the C buoy the bite was better. Turned and headed back towards the S buoy and we were still catching walleye. Finished up in short time with 24 walleye. Caught a lot of under size walleye that we put back and we also released about 4 fish that were just over 15 inches. Only caught 3 junk fish for the day. I think the crew had fun.

Too Many Sheephead - My Fault

Fished with Joe and John. Temperature this morning was in the middle 70's and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 80's. The wind was out of the west at 10 knots with a very little chop on the lake. The water temp is 76 Degrees. Started fishing by the radar buoy trolling towards the C buoy. We had wiggle warts out set at 70 feet back. We started catching some sheep head and then we got into some walleye. When we just got past the C buoy I turned around and headed back towards the radar buoy. We were still catching walleye, but once we got by the radar buoy it was nothing but sheep head, and a lot of them! We got turned around and and started heading towards the C buoy and we were back into the walleye. Kept 18 walleye and we were done before it started getting too hot. Went to Trappers and had a walleye lunch.

Same Area and Same Results

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the lower 70's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 80's. There was just a slight breeze and hardly and waves. Water temp is 73 degrees. Started fishing a little past the c buoy trolling wiggle warts set at 70 feet back and bandits set at 50 feet back. The fishing was pretty slow until we got close to the c buoy. Started following the same course as the last trip and we had the same results. The bandits were not catching as many fish so we took them off and put on wiggle warts. Turned out to be a beautiful day on Lake Erie. Very little waves and lots of action. Kept 12 walleye and 1 perch.

Another Quick Trip

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70's. The wind was out of the southwest less than 15 knots with waves about a foot. Water temp is 70 degrees. Started fishing by the C buoy heading towards the radar buoy. We were running mini disk and spoons on one side of the boat and bandits on the other side of the boat. The bandits started catching some fish so we put them on both sides of the boat. That's all it took and it was game on. Kept 12 fish and had a walleye dinner when I got home.

Fishing With the Boy From Tennessee

Fished with Captain Daryl, Tom and Joe. The wind was out of the northwest around 18 knots with waves 2 to 3 feet. Water temp is 69 degrees. We set up about 1 1/2 miles before the shipping channel trolling with the waves. There were some weeds in the area but not enough of them to mess up the fishing. We ran mini disk and spoons off the boards and large dipsy's off the corners. The catching was very good and on the first pass we caught 9 walleye. We pulled lines and ran back into the waves and set up again with the waves to our back running the same program. On this pass we caught 15 walleye and the lake was starting to lay down a little. By the time we pulled the lines the lake was getting nicer which made for a good ride back to port. Got the fish cleaned and Tom took us to Trappers for a walleye lunch. Kept 24 walleye.

Too Calm

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the upper 50's and when we quit it was in the middle 60's. There was no wind and there were no waves. The lake was so flat that you could see all the branches and logs floating on the water, kind of a scary sight. The water temp is 69 degrees. Started fishing where we were yesterday and the catching was not as good. We stayed in this area and picked away at our fish. We ran mini disk and spoons on both sides of the boat. Since there was no wind there were plenty of small gnats. Not the biting kind but the kind that get into your mouth. It was calm enough that Joe drove the boat back to the harbor and I cleaned the boat on the way back in. Kept 12 walleye and then we went to the Sand bar and had a walleye lunch.

Just a Perfect Day

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the upper 50's and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 60's. There was very little wind and there were no waves. The water temp is 67 degrees. Started fishing just south of the River Raisen buoy number 1. We were running jet 40's set at 55 back and mini disk and spoons set at 90 feet back. The catching was fast and furious. Only caught 2 junk fish and had 4 short walleye between 8 and 14 inches. Kept 12 walleye on a beautiful day on Lake Erie.

After the Big Blow

Fished with Joe and Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the lower 50's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70's. The wind was out of the southwest around 10 knots with waves about a foot. The water temp is 64 degrees. The talk around the dock this morning was the water was very dirty from the east winds we had over the weekend. It was so bad that the marina sent us a text telling us not to come to the marina on Saturday because of the high water. The main road heading into the marina was flooded out. I did not want to travel very far so we set up in the swamp in dirty water running bandits on one side and mini disks and spoons on the other. Things were not looking very good and then we caught a walleye off the bandit. Kept trolling towards the c buoy and the water started to clear up a little so we took off the bandits and ran all spoons. Started picking away at some walleye so I decided not to leave the area. Caught a lot of short walleye and silver bass and Joe even caught a large catfish. It was a tough bite today and we only kept 11 walleye.

Fast Action

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the lower 50's and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 50's. The wind was out of the north northeast around 14 knots with waves 1 to 2 feet. The water temp is 67 degrees. We decided to fish the same area as the last trip but trolling the opposite direction. We started setting lines and had a fish on right out of the gate. The action never slowed down and we were done fishing before all the lines were set. Ran mini disk and spoons set at 70 feet back. Color of the spoon did not matter. Kept 12 walleye and only caught 2 short walleye.

One LONG Troll

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the middle 50's and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 60's. The wind was out of the southeast 10 to 15 knots with waves 1 to 2 feet. The water temp is 68 degrees. Decided to set up and troll with the waves. The game plan was to make one troll and be done. We set up fishing by the C buoy trolling mini disk and spoons and jet 40's and spoons. While we were trolling we ran into some dirty water and the catching was very slow. Took off the jets and put mini disk on both sides of the boat. We started to catch some walleye but they were all shorts. We finally found some clean water and it was game on. Ended up at the River Raisen before we had our limit. Caught a few farm animals and about 15 short walleye, anywhere from 6 to 14 inches. Kept 12 walleye.

Fishing Is Still Hot

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the upper 40's and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 50's. The wind was light and variable with no waves, again. The water temp is 66 degrees. Started fishing where we left off the last trip and the catching was pretty easy. Ran mini disk with spoons set at 70 feet back. Color of the spoons did not matter. Kept 12 walleye.

Did Not Think Fast Enough

Fished with Joe, Dan could not make it today. Temperature this morning was in the middle 50's and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 60's. The wind was light and variable with hardly any waves. The water temp is 60 Degrees. Started fishing where we were yesterday and we started to catch some walleye. We had bandits set at 70 feet back on both sides of the boat. The catching was steady until we only needed two more fish for our limit. We trolled for quite a while not catching anything. Finally we put some mini disk out with spoons set at 70 feet back and it took 5 minutes to catch our last two fish. I just was not thinking, lesson learned! Kept 12 walleye on another beautiful day on Lake Erie.

A Little Wet Today

Fished with Captain Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the upper 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 60's. The wind was out of the south west about 10 knots and it was bringing in some rain. The waves were less than a foot and the water temp is 60 Degrees. Started fishing where we have been and the water was a little dirty but we set lines anyways. Did not take too long and we had our first walleye off a bandit set at 70 feet back and then the rain started. It was just a light drizzle for a while and then it let loose. No lightning or thunder so we stayed put and fished. We never did find clean water but it did not matter because we were catching walleye. The rain quit so we dried off the boat and headed for port. Kept 12 walleye.

Just Call Me Chicken

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 60's. The wind was light out of the northwest with hardly any waves. The water temp is 59 degrees. When we came out of the harbor the water was very muddy. We headed towards the E buoy and the water started to clear up. Set up just north of the buoy and we were not marking very many fish but we set lines anyways. We had bandits set at 70 feet back on one side of the boat and 80 feet on the other side of the boat. Caught a couple of fish on the 70 foot setup so we switched both sides to 70 feet. I received a text that severe weather was in our area and I thought it was for later in the day. About 15 minutes later I received another text about the weather so I checked the radar on the phone and it was showing a large storm heading our way. I told Joe that we have 11 walleye and I don't want to caught in a storm for 1 walleye so we pulled lines and headed for the barn. Come to find out the storm broke up and we just had a little drizzle. Kept 11 walleye.

Just Another Great Day

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the upper 50's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 60's. The wind was out of the north less than 10 knots and it started to switch to the east. At one point the sun came out and there was no wind and it felt pretty warm. That lasted about 15 minutes. The waves were less than a foot and the water temp is 57 degrees. We set up just north of the E buoy trolling less than 2 mph with bandits set at 70 feet back and wiggle warts set at 80 feet back. The bandits started to catch some fish so we put both sides to bandits. The catching was pretty quick and we caught all walleye. Kept 12 walleye and I think even Joe had a smile on his face.

Nice Weather Made Us Come Again

Fished with Joe. Weather this morning was in the upper 50's when we started fishing and when we quit fishing the temp was in the middle 70's. Very little wind and very little waves. The water temp is 55 Degrees. Started fishing where we left off yesterday and the catching was slow. Started moving towards the dump and we started to catch some walleye. It was a slow pick for us today, no lure was really hot. We ran the same program as yesterday and changed lure depth and speed but it was not working for us. Kept 10 walleye and enjoyed a beautiful day on the water.