Fishing Report – Rise of the "Fishing Cousin"

7/11/20253 min read

Ahhh, Ludington, sweet Ludington—how I missed you! I left you Sunday, but you knew I’d be back. The weather was perfect, and it just so happened to be the last day of the two-week sprint for the Ultimate Salmon Derby. Texts went out, and we assembled a solid local team: Nick, Charlie Daniels, Kaedin, and me. Then I get a message from Charlie…

“Can Kaedin’s fishing cousin come?”

Uhh… Kaedin’s fishing cousin? That’s suspiciously vague but oddly promising. I replied, “How old?”—because I’m not running a babysitting service. Charlie said, 14...young? Yes...but with “fishing” baked into his name? He’s gotta be good…right? His name? Parker.

My alarm was set for 3:30am, fully intending a 1.5-mile run. Apple Watch says: 4 hours, 15 mins of sleep. Riiight. Let’s try that again at 4:15am…I’ll run tomorrow!

Charlie brought us the ice, donuts, Kaedin, and fishing cousin Parker. The energy was high, and we shoved off just after 5am, headed northwest, back to the secret-but-not-so-secret spot north of the lit nets. We trolled north, dodging pre-fishing tournament…and there were quite a few!

7:00am, one and a half hours in: 4 bites, 0 fish. Ugh…but one sweet sunrise!

Enter the trusty Yeck Fireball on a 5-color. The team kindly asked me to fight this battle—and I brought in a 1-pound king perfectly and our skunk was gone, and mission was complete.

We zig-zagged our way from 170 FOW to 120 FOW, scratching out a couple more fish. Then we made the call to swing west and hunt for some new water. We had 5 fish in the box when the Showtime Spindoctor meat rig on a mag diver 125' back went.

This thing took off from 125 feet back and ended up at 490 feet back before it stopped.
Who’s on the rod? Parker. Does he flinch? Nope. Does he complain? No chance. This kid just locked in like KVD with a spinnerbait and spent 30 minutes reeling in our biggest king of the year—a 20.85-pound hog. Meanwhile, we caught 2 more fish during the fight, because why not? Parker’s mojo was radiating off the port side.

11:45am, time to pull lines. I’m clearing dipsies when the 300 copper takes off and Parker’s back on the rod…like a machine. Just before he could finish his masterpiece fight, Kaedin’s rigger popped—we doubled up with two solid 16-17 pounders to close out the morning.

Final fish count: 8 king salmon, 2 steelhead or 15 bites total

Hot Bites:

ITO Meat Rig – chute rigger, 69 down (2 bites)
Yeck Fireball – 5 color (2 bites)
Moonshine Half Moon JJ Mac – 10 color (2 bites)
Yeck G.O.A.T. – 5 color (2 bites) (stupid name, good spoon)
Showtime 10” Spindoctor Meat Rig – mag diver 125 back (1 bite)
Pickle Rig Spindoctor Meat Rig – mag diver 125 back (1 bite)
Orange Slice – 300 copper (1 bite)
Moonshine Burnt Bread – 200 copper (1 bite)
Silver Streak Mag Caramel Dolphin – out down 52 down (1 bite)
Silver Streak Reg Caramel Dolphin – out down 52 down (1 bite)
Plus one mystery bite that we swear happened but I just can’t remember what the heck it was on!

What I Learned Today:

Parker is a fishing phenom. He’s quiet, deadly with a rod, and apparently now a magnet for attention—2nd place at Chucks, and ladies were flocking. The boy’s not sponsored yet… but it’s coming.
Parker and Kaedin boat math happens! When Parker is asked how old he is, the dude answer is 14 years 4 months – like when a baby is like 17 months – is this like a new chick pick-up thing...if he’s doing it, it must be? I told them I’m gonna start doing that – I’m 55 years 9 months! Kaedin then converts it to 669 months – then it started getting out of control – a couple Sir Isaac Newtons!
Kaedin’s wardrobe is... confusing. The kid rolls into the boat in sweatpants and a hoodie on an 88° day, after showing up in shorts and a tee when it was 40°. My dude, weather apps exist.
Parker’s fishing skills > Parker’s music taste. I tried Classic Vinyl. He didn’t know the Stones. He said he liked country...I tried The Highway. No clue. Y2K Country? Still nothing. We covered 50 years of music in 90 minutes and the fish liked it all more than Parker did.
This life is a gift. Charlie’s wife flew to England today, and I hope to make it there someday. But on a calm July morning, trolling 2.2 at the ball on Lake Michigan with rods popping, music playing, and the cooler filling? There’s no place I’d rather be…perfect morning!

Now, I’m off to Stearns Beach to find Scott and the crew. The condo’s full this weekend, and we’ve got some cool shit to do, including a couple more mornings on the water.