Our spring king fishery was consistent for about a week. We had several days with a
northwest wind which brings in cold water when they were in our region, as soon as it switched to the southwest the water warmed up and we would catch them along the bank (Big Sauble Point). In mid-July, water temperatures began to warm up. We haven’t had a problem finding bait or marking fish this year. Getting them to eat lures has been the problem. There are a ton of Alewives.
Ludington primarily relies on natural reproduction from the Pere Marquette River and we will have good fishing, but when is the real question. The numbers of adult kings have been way down so far, but larger in size than in the last 10 years. We keep expecting them to show up in a big mass but they seem to be trickling in from out in the center of the lake every day to our nearby Big Sauble Point.
Our most consistent fishing so far has been 12 to 18 miles offshore in the stable water. Our catch consists of primarily coho, steelhead, and lake trout. A lot of the bait we are seeing this year is small…trying to “match the hatch”. I have been doing well for the last several weeks offshore on small walleye type spoons like Mini Streaks and Scorpions in orange and green or a 00 Red Dodger with a half of Green Fly behind it. The best fishing is yet to come for kings in our region! The outlook for August is good.
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