Ludington Fishing Report: 21 Fish and Big Fish Brad's Left-Handed Rod Problem
Muskegon yesterday was perfect! Surgeon Jenn sure does know how to throw a party. I ate way too much, sucked down two 20-calorie BrewDog NA beers, invented a new soft serve ice cream twist that Asher will soon be pitching to McDonald's executives and completely dominated both the men's and coed cornhole tournaments. I've never actually played a full game of cornhole before, but I could feel my old softball pitching skills coming back. Whoa! Then I looked at the clock. 5pm. Time to leave reality and head back to the fantasy fishing world of Ludington.
I met Logan at the boat and we picked out the opening lineup. You've got to love having every rod ready to go the night before when you have absolutely no clue where you're even fishing. Perfect.
We also discovered why Big Fish Brad no-showed yesterday. The man lost his phone. Now that I think about it, that does explain the lack of communication. Still not sure whether he needed the phone to navigate to the marina, but we'll let that one slide.
Our crew this morning was me, Logan, Alison, Nick and Big Fish Brad…For real this time.
Logan and I decided that today's destination would be determined by one of two things. First, if Wayne Brown texted us at 5am with either "North," "South" or "Straight Out." If Wayne remained silent, then Big Fish Brad would make the call at the pierheads. I used to think I had no clue what I was doing because we never knew where we were going until we hit the pierheads. Over time, I've realized that's exactly how a lot of boats operate.
Nothing from Wayne. I was lobbying hard for south. Logan was pushing for straight out. Brad, of course, picked north…Go figure.
There were a handful of boats already on the bank, so we kept running north and eventually set up just south of Big Point. Every single fish-catching thing we owned went down to what looked like a mother lode of fish on the Lowrance. Nothing…Not a sniff. Just like the old days. Fifteen rods. Seventeen lures. Nothing but human head shakes and confused looks.
Eventually we scratched out a few bites and decided to point the boat west into 400 FOW. Once we got on the out troll, we started slowly plucking away. Back and forth we went and somehow managed to turn it into a pretty decent morning.
We ended up with 6 respectable steelhead, 1 lake trout and 14 kings. Yep, we kept all the minis. Apparently Brad microwaves them somehow and swears they're delicious.
Final tally was 21 fish on 26 bites.
Hot Bites (MISSING ONE, Logan help!):
Michigan Stinger Magnum Modified Carmel Dolphin on copper – 3 bites
Yeck Standard Fireball on 5 colors of lead core – 2 bites
Moonshine Mini Non-Glow Green Slice on the out-down rigger 99 down – 2 bites
Michigan Stinger Standard Modified Coyote on 7 colors of lead core – 2 bites
Michigan Stinger Standard Mixed Veggies RV on 5 colors of lead core – 2 bites
Michigan Stinger Standard Copper Jordo UV on 7 colors of lead core – 2 bites
Yeck Standard Copper Reverse Bumble Bee on 5 colors of lead core – 2 bites
Bechold 8" Heck Frog flasher paired with a KRW Sweet Pea fly on a low diver 150 back – 1 bite
Bechold 11" Kevin's Girlfriend paddle paired with a Dreamweaver Pickled Sunshine fly on the chute rigger 124 down – 1 bite
Yeck Standard Johnson's Freakin' Blue Veggie on the SWR – 1 bite
Michigan Stinger Magnum Blue Veggie RV on 10 colors of lead core – 1 bite
Michigan Stinger Standard KC1 on 3 colors of lead core – 1 bite
Dreamweaver Standard Spotted Magic Man on 7 colors of lead core – 1 bite
Dreamweaver Standard Hot Tamale on the SWR – 1 bite
Dreamweaver Ghost on the out-down rigger 65 down – 1 bite
Michigan Stinger Standard Modified Carmel Dolphin on copper – 1 bite
Silver Streak Standard Chubster Imitation on 3 colors of lead core – 1 bite
What I Learned Today:
Big Fish Brad remains a mystery man. Most important lesson of the day: when Brad grabs a rod out of the rod holder, he somehow believes every rod on the boat is left-handed. I'm still trying to process this – see the video.
It was so nice having Nick and Alison back in the boat.
Although we did hear one of Logan's patented Ric Flair "WHEW!" calls today, I still find it fascinating that he has absolutely no clue who Ric Flair actually is.
The Nature Valley Cinnamon Almond Butter Biscuit experiment appears to be working. On our first west troll I pulled out a box and everybody sampled one. Rods immediately started popping. Scientific? Absolutely not. Convincing? Absolutely. Two more boxes will be onboard next weekend.
Next weekend is special. Well, they're all special. Niece Morgan is bringing her crew. At least I think she is. Current plan is two people Friday, four Saturday and zero Sunday. Which means I currently need two people Friday and four Sunday. Or maybe we just wait and look at the weather, Morgan? Or maybe we just go to El Rancho…Nobody knows.
Continue Exploring with Pull Hard Fishing
If you made it this far in this blog and have got any value what-so-ever, please don’t be shy and leave me a google review or Facebook review:
400 W. Filer St., C1, Ludington, MI 49431 | Phone: 248-534-9202 | PullHardFishing@outlook.com
