Just a few hours ago I watched as my boat was lifted from the water and tucked away indoors for a well-deserved rest. With November just around the corner I took a moment to reflect on the past season. The spring started with severe flooding and it delayed the start of our season a couple weeks. The good news was the fish were here and ready to rumble before Mother’s Day.
The second fish of the season hinted at what we were going to see this season as it was a 37″, 21 pound brute of a king. May weather kept the fish moving daily and limits one day were followed by struggles to find one fish the next. That was the second hint at the summer to come as a cold June and a roller coaster July never allowed the baitfish and kings to settle into “normal” patterns. Even our typically dependable steelhead and lake trout populations pulled a fast one on us this year as they searched for food and rarely stayed put for more than a day.
This season wasn’t all frustration though as trophy-sized kings over 25 pounds were more common this summer than they’ve been in two decades. One of our customers was fortunate enough to boat a 33 pound monster and rumors of a couple 40 pound fish circulated through the area. I never saw any confirmation of these huge fish but that doesn’t mean they weren’t real.
Another pleasant surprise this year was the abundance of nice-sized coho. In a normal season we usually catch a few cohos for about a week in early May and often don’t see another one until late July or even early August. For some reason, possibly the cool weather or last year’s change in planting locations, the coho never left the area and could be counted on to provide a little action even when our regular target species went missing. The run on the Grand this year was a definite improvement over the last couple but the Muskegon offered an excellent fishery as warm weather moved in after a strong cold front and stranded large schools of big kings in Muskegon Lake. This same warm weather brought frustration back to our area though as the river warmed up killing the run, except during a brief mid-September cold spell, and the off shore fishery for younger year classes of kings, steelhead, and lake trout failed to develop. This much anticipated fishery is still struggling to take off although we did take a mixed bag limit made up of kings, cohos, and lake trout on our final trip of the season.
Looking at the 10 day forecast, I think fall may finally be arriving. Two days ago I was wearing shorts but I just saw the “s” word pop up on the TV screen. Hopefully as you read this you’ll be warming up and relaxing after a day on the pier catching steelhead or whitefish like we normally do this time of year. Even though nothing else has been “normal” this season I’m holding out hope for November as I finally get to be the one with a fishing pole in my hands!
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