Ludington Fishing Report: 9 Fish, 12 Bites & Exactly According to Plan!
Today was a day that didn’t go at all as planned with our crew, but then again, went almost exactly as planned with the fish…
The plan for today was conceived on Sunday by, well, kind of Logan. I was to leave Howell and drive to Norton Shores to pick up Surgeon Jenn after a long, grueling seven days of hospital day call, head to the boat to meet Logan for the opening lineup, then to El Lago for $4 burritos, then hit the lake hard in the morning with our fourth being Charlie Daniels.
A call from Logan Wednesday added two more to the crew, so now maybe six people for the trip. Then yesterday it was confirmed that the two extras could only fish October 10th, so back down to four. Shortly after that, Logan got a call to first mate Free Style, so down to three. I messaged Charlie to see if he could get us a fourth, maybe Cousin Pat, only to find out Charlie had a 102-degree fever and likely wouldn’t be joining us.
Down to two…Surgeon Jenn made a quick call to Mom and Dad, Louie and Jeanette, and they gladly made the trip to Ludington. Back to four!
So the crew ended up being me, Surgeon Jenn, Jeanette and Louie. Our plan was simple. Turn right out of the marina and start setting lines while running down the channel. Hit the pierheads and turn right again, head north for about a mile, turn around and work the pierheads. We wanted to shoot for nine fish in the boat with very few misses.
Same start as we are now totally used to. All lines set and no bites for a long, long time.
I mentioned that I hated committing my entire spread to plugs, so I threw out two 5 colors with spoons. Maybe 10 minutes later we got our first bite, and it was a nice one…that wrapped the chute rigger cable and stole my Dreamweaver Magnum Rhinestone Cowboy. Well, that worked…Kinda.
We had a little flurry shortly after that about a mile northwest of the pierheads in 42 FOW and managed to keep plucking away.
We ended up with 6 kings, 2 steelhead and 1 coho on 12 bites. Nine fish. That was the goal! This was no 50-bite morning, people, but it was a perfect, stress-free troll with lots of fun.
Hot Bites:
Plug | Luhr Jensen 5 Inch Chrome Red Head | Lead Core 2 Color | 2 bites
Spoon | Dreamweaver Magnum Rhinestone Cowboy | Lead Core 5 Colors | 2 bites
Spoon | Silver Streak Standard Imitation Chubster | Lead Core 3 Colors | 2 bites
Spoon | Mr. Chrome Magnum Blue and White | Lead Core 5 Colors | 1 bite
Plug | Silver Horde 5 Inch Seahawk | High Diver 75 back | 1 bite
Plug | Silver Horde 5 Inch Chrome Green | Lead Core 2 Color | 1 bite
Plug | Dreamweaver 4 Inch Soda | Out Down 25 down | 1 bite
Flasher/Fly | Bechold 11 Inch White Slick KRW Money Shot | Out Down 45 down | 1 bite
Flasher/Fly | Dreamweaver Paddle 8 Inch Charlie's Special Howie Money Shot | Out Down 55 down | 1 bite
What I Learned Today:
Jeanette made it through a perfect, sickness-free, kinda, sophomore trip. A little Dramamine combined with an east wind was apparently the magic prescription.
Speaking of Jeanette, she once again brought the biggest hog to the boat deck...perfectly. I’m starting to see a pattern here.
I gave it another quick go this morning, but I’m still zero for 57 years catching a salmon inside the Ludington pierheads. Someday. Maybe.
I learned that I will NOT be committing an entire program to one lure type again. I knew that was stupid. Sorry crew. My fault.
No bites on the 11 inch Kevin’s Girlfriend Bechold this morning that we refer to as “Becky.” It did give me the chance to run an 11 inch white Bechold, and that one got bit, ahh, our biggest fish. Now I don’t know if I should call that one Becky too, or if it needs its own name? Maybe Jeanette? This will bug me for a bit.
Ahh, Surgeon Jenn and I returned from the Scottville mushroom sale today. We’re making a nice WFPB mushroom and Great Northern bean soup and needed the shrooms. More drug-dealing-type stuff going on here, buying shrooms out of the back of a truck and everything...Whoa. Sidetracked…We came back to the condo to find another handwritten thank-you card from Jeanette and Louie. That’s the fourth one this year, and they’ve been responsible for 50% of them! So rewarding!
Two meals at El Rancho today for $20 – excellent culinary delight! Oh, and it took 5 minutes and 2 seconds from the order to the food arriving. El Lago is OUT!
I’m hitting Publish on this with absolutely no clue who’s fishing tomorrow. I sent a text to Charlie Daniels. No reply yet. Hope he’s feeling better. I sent a text to Petunia Josh. No response yet. This is not unusual for PJ. Logan is on another Free Style charter. I would say hit me up if you want to fish tomorrow, but the last time I tried that I didn’t get one freaking reply. So I’m not getting my hopes up. Somebody will fish with me and Surgeon Jenn…Probably!
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