Ludington’s best king fishing of the year was around Labor Day weekend. The bank (dropoff at Big Sauble Point) finally set up and we had warm water for the first time this season. The southwest winds warmed the bank up and we had fun while it lasted. It also was our busiest weekend of the year from boats from all over the state. Plugs, Meat Rigs behind Flashers and Glow Spoons continued to be the standard lures for taking fish.
Since Labor Day we continue to have cold water pushed near shore and adult kings going up the river. We currently have solid fishing in the Pere Marquette River throughout the river system. The remaining adult kings will continue to funnel into the Pere Marquette until mid-October.
Our fall steelhead fishery in the river normally depends on how much rain we have from mid-October to mid-December. If the river is low, we have excellent steelhead fishing off the piers and beach. Off the piers and beach I’ve found the magic temperature to be 55 degrees for steelhead. Some of the steelhead will remain out in the center warmer mass of Lake Michigan, along with kings, coho, and lake trout. That is the name of the game for the remainder of the “Big Lake” Season. Our port-catch rates were down for the 2013 season but the size of the kings we did catch were very impressive.
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