Fishing Report – The Don Confusion, Buzzard Licker Redemption, and a Side of Salami

6/7/20253 min read

Ahh, another beautiful weather weekend in Ludington—perfect for chasing salmon and accidentally boarding stranger’s boats in the wrong marina. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Let’s start with Friday Mojo Prep, which went something like this:

I “hiked” in Ludington State Park. Or maybe it was a walk? Still unclear. There was animal movement and trees, so I’m gonna count it as a hike.
Scored two dozen eggs at the farmer’s market from some dude who definitely gives off nice farmer guy vibes.
Nick, Rich and I walked to The Mitten for pizza and met up with The Don’s (Don Sr. and Don Jr. – your classic father/son fishing duo and part-time marina explorers).
I split off to catch a perfect sunset and vibe out with Lake Michigan, then had a lovely phone call with someone special. Insert awww here. Mojo felt strong. Real strong.

Saturday Morning: The Chaos Begins

3:30 a.m. alarm. Woke up feeling refreshed and pumped. I even went for a 1.5-mile run like some kind of active fit dude. Perfect weather. Perfect eggs. Avocado. Justy’s sourdough bread (@it.matters.because). Life was good.

By 4:30am, Rich is up and asks, “Hey Jeff, are The Don’s up?”
Me: shrug
He knocks on their door. From inside:
“Don... you guy’s up?”
Followed by what can only be described as emergency shuffling. Not a great sign.

We were supposed to meet Nick at the boat by 4:45am. Rich and I get there. Boat looks dialed. Lures ready. Electronics glowing. Ice locked and loaded. The Don’s? Not present.

Then the saga begins:

First phone call: They went to D Dock. Okay, fair—it’s where we were last year.
Next phone call: They were at E Dock. Still wrong, but it rhymes, so who can blame them?
Next update: They handed their gear to some stranger and started boarding a completely random boat. Surprise!
Final twist: They were at Harbor View Marina, which is not where our boat is. Not even close.

By the time they made it to the correct dock (C Dock, like “Charlie,” not “Confused”), we left at 5:30am—basically lunch for serious salmon folks…could have just slept in!

Fishing Report: The Redemption Arc

We headed north and set up in 90 FOW, just south of the state park bathhouse. 15 rods, 18 lures, a full buffet of fishy temptation. The fish? Not biting. The sunrise though? 10/10. The kind of sunrise that tricks you into believing “maybe I don’t need to catch fish to be happy.”

Eventually, the lake forgave us for being late and confused. Just before 8am, a 200 copper with a Hiller spoon (allegedly called the Buzzard Licker, because why not?) got smacked, and Don Jr. brought in a solid medium king. We worked that area until noon and finished 6 for 8: five medium kings, one mini. Oh, and Nick's first lamprey - he was soooo proud!

Hot Bites:

Yeck Chubster on 3-color: 2 bites (Chubster continues to be the diva of our spread)
Yeck Chubster on 5-color: 1 bite - Yeck Yeah (is anyone else using this yet?)
Hangry Brand Buzzard Licker on 200 copper: 2 bites (incredible name, solid fish, questionable name?)
Yeck Copper Fireball on 5-color: 2 bites (always spicy)
Green/yellow spotted Silver Streak on 10-color: 1 bite (a gentle contributor)

What I Learned Today:

A flustered start and late Don’s absolutely crushes your morning mojo. It takes two hours, one sunrise, and a Buzzard Licker to recover.
The Don’s are good dudes. The confusion was my fault. Tomorrow, I am their official human alarm clock and chauffeur.
Never wipe the blade of a fillet knife with your finger. Why do I even need to say this? Blood trail = not the vibe.
Nick all of a sudden likes to talk on the radio! Too many Budweiser's or trying to help the other boats?
Rich’s sandwiches were rated between a 3 and 4.5 stars. They were solid, but the people demanded lettuce, tomato, and onion. Salami was a surprise crowd-pleaser.

Tomorrow looks calm again. Same crew, maybe even an Alison cameo? The boat will soon be blessed (finally! Thank you, Blessing of The Boats people!) and I can feel that good mojo coming back strong.

If we bring a pie or maybe a donut, I think we break double digits.