Ludington Fishing Report: 28 for 40...Fishing Is Supposed to Be Fun!
Today got me thinking…It's getting a little tense around Ludington, and I'm not sure I like it.
Those of you who know me know I fish because it's fun. Sure, I like when the boat is catching fish, and I won't complain if they happen to be giant salmon, but somewhere this week I started noticing people changing. Tournament week has a way of doing that. Good fishermen suddenly become secret agents. Everybody's protecting the honey hole. The hot lure. The speed. The waypoint. Everybody's chasing money, power, pleasure and fame...all that stuff…I get it…I just don't think it's nearly as much fun.
The best text I received all day simply said..."Catch 'em up Jeff!! And most importantly...have fun. Fishing is supposed to be fun."
That pretty much became the theme of the day.
Our crew today was me, Surgeon Jenn, Petunia Josh, Bob (special request by yours truly because Bob brings old-school mojo and makes sure Josh actually arrives on time), along with Wilson and his son Jace from Arkansas.
The plan was simple. Run north to the fish we found yesterday. Start pounding hammers. Count smiles.
When we got north of the bathhouse there was a military-grade line of boats sitting in about 100 to 110 FOW. It actually made me stop and scratch my head because my plan was to fish deeper. I found an opening, pointed the Tiara west and took off.
Originally I was going to set up in 200 FOW…Then I chickened out and throttle back in 165.
Good decision…The Lowrance lit up with fish stacked along the bottom twenty feet with an occasional high mark mixed in. We barely had half the spread in the water before rods started popping.
Then they just...Kept...Going.
We stayed on a north troll working between 160 and 190 FOW and spent the rest of the morning chasing screaming drags and laughing.
At one point both fish boxes were completely full. How full? We started throwing back fish we thought had a chance to live...including a 19.6-pound king and a couple more around fifteen pounds. Anything that wasn't going to make it just stayed on the floor. Not exactly the fish care method they teach in biology class.
When the dust settled we had kept 24 kings and one steelhead while releasing three kings. Twenty-eight fish boated. Forty bites. I know what some of you are thinking..."Twelve lost fish." Actually...Surgeon Jenn and I talked about it afterward, and I don't think we lost a single fish once we were actually locked onto it. I can live with that all day long.
Hot Bites:
Dreamweaver 11" Charlie Special paddle with a Rapture Sweet Pea fly on the chute rigger 139 down – 10 bites
Prototype 8" flasher with a Howie White fly on a low diver 120 back – 6 bites
Prototype 8" flasher with a Howie Gold & Green fly on a high diver 150 back – 5 bites
Dreamweaver 4" Chrome Red Head on 7 colors – 2 bites
Dreamweaver 4" Soda on 5 colors – 2 bites
Dreamweaver 4" Pinky on 200 copper – 2 bites
Silver Streak Standard Chubster Imitation on 5 colors – 2 bites
Michigan Stinger Magnum Modified Carmel Dolphin on copper – 2 bites
Dreamweaver 8" Blue Bubble Spindoctor with Blue Bubble fly on a high diver 150 back – 2 bites
Michigan Stinger Standard Modified Coyote on 7 colors – 1 bite
Moonshine Magnum Raspberry Carbon on the out-down 50 down – 1 bite
Michigan Stinger Standard Mixed Veggie RV on 7 colors – 1 bite
Dreamweaver 8" Dragon Slayer with a Howie Green Crinkle fly on a low diver 150 back – 1 bite
Michigan Stinger 8" Fat Nancy flasher with a black/white/green fly on the out-down 100 down – 1 bite
Yeck Standard Fireball on 7 colors – 1 bite
Dreamweaver Mini Hot Tamale on copper – 1 bite
What I Learned Today:
For about five minutes I considered renaming Petunia Josh to Professor Josh. He spent half the morning teaching young Jace everything he knew. Then I watched him fish...never mind. He's staying Petunia Josh.
Speaking of Jace...that kid is something else. He'd hear somebody explain how to fight a board fish or do the Polish Shuffle...then immediately do it perfectly. Five minutes later he was teaching somebody else. Then the twelve-year-old walks into the gas dock and tips the gas chick twenty bucks. Right now he's a baseball player in Arkansas. By the end of the morning he was talking about selling everything, buying a boat and moving to Ludington. Wilson...I'd keep an eye on him.
Surgeon Jenn officially cleared an entire side of the boat today. The port side, naturally. I thought I heard a little Nature Boy "Woooo!" coming from somewhere. Might've just been the wind.
I really liked finding our own fish yesterday, going back today and finding them still there. Nobody told us where to go. Nobody texted us. That part of fishing is incredibly satisfying to me.
The bite slowed for a minute, so I switched the radio from Yacht Rock to Classic Vinyl. The instant the station changed, the opening riff of Layla came on. I immediately announced, "I've never NOT caught a fish to this song." About 15 seconds later...rods started popping. Big Boys teams...you're welcome - just don't tell anyone!
We donated five fish to the Naughty Dog crew to take back to Wisconsin. Giving fish away has always been good mojo. Although...something strange is happening over there. Naughty Doggers walking around in collared Tiara shirts? No music? No giant cloud of smoke? No fifteen people hanging around the boat? I don't know what's going on, but I don't like it.
I learned today that me, Surgeon Jenn, Petunia Josh, Bob, Wilson and Jace all had fun. At least they acted like they did. If anyone was faking it, the After Fishing Mint™ in the harbor sealed the deal. That’s Fishing people.
Tomorrow is a rare day off. My arms need it. My homework needs it. My bike probably needs it too.
Hopefully this report helps a few of you. And hopefully, while I'm taking a day off, a few of you remember why we all started doing this in the first place. Get your undies out of a bunch... It's called fishing. It's supposed to be fun.
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
