Ludington Fishing Report: FSU Steve Learned Our Secret...We Don't Have One!
Big day on Lake Michigan today…Today was FSU Steve's maiden voyage aboard Pull Hard. He wanted to see how we do things, pick up a few ideas before the tournaments and maybe spot some things we could improve. We were excited too. Steve and Jesse became people number 48 and 49 to fish with us this season. Forty-nine different people on a non-charter boat...that's actually kinda cool.
I'm not sure how much mojo we brought into the day though. The wedding in Irons was a blast, but we didn't crawl into bed until around 11:00pm. That's never good for the sleep score. No morning run today either. Apparently sleeping wins over cardio every once in a while.
Our crew was me, Surgeon Jenn, FSU Steve, Alison and Jesse. Alison and Jesse are fishing the Ladies Tournament Friday and needed to knock the rust off. Steve is fishing with us Thursday, so today was basically his on-the-water orientation.
We hit the pierheads, turned left and headed south. We set up just north of the sand dunes in about 105 FOW. There had to be thirty boats working the 90 to 100 FOW line, so we stayed just outside the crowd. Honestly, the water didn't look much different than where we fished yesterday. Maybe just a touch colder even.
We got all 14 lines in and...nothing. So instead of catching fish, we decided it was the perfect time to strip off the frayed port cable and replace it with 400 feet of cannon rigger wire. As luck would have it, we actually got three bites during the process and landed one. Apparently boat maintenance is part of the fishing program now.
We eventually found ourselves sitting on five fish and decided to go exploring. We made an eleven-mile run northwest toward the drop off from the north end of Bass Lake and set back up in 260 FOW.
Only problem...Apparently every sailboat on Lake Michigan had the same idea. I swear there were 250 of them out there. I felt like I had accidentally wandered into their neighborhood and was trying my best not to become "that fishing guy."
We never really got to make the west troll we wanted, so we didn't get the full drop-off experience. We did manage to boat a nice steelhead out there, lost another steelhead and marked a decent number of fish before running out of time.
Final tally was three kings and three steelhead on thirteen bites. Taylor Swift would've loved it.
Hot Bites:
Silver Streak Standard Chubster Imitation on 3 colors of lead core – 3 bites
Dreamweaver 4" Lucky Charm on copper – 2 bites
Yeck Standard Fireball on 5 colors of lead core – 2 bites
Michigan Stinger Magnum Modified Carmel Dolphin on 7 colors of lead core – 2 bites
Mr. Chrome Green Hulk flasher with a KRW Riverside fly on a low diver 90 back – 1 bite
Dreamweaver Blue Bubble Spindoctor with Dreamweaver Blue Bubble fly on a high diver 125 back – 1 bite
Moonshine Magnum Happy Meal RV on copper – 1 bite
Moonshine Mini Green Slice Half Moon (non-glow) on the out-down rigger 65 down – 1 bite
What Steve Learned Today:
We arrive at the pierheads with absolutely no plan. Steve admitted that made him feel a whole lot better because apparently we're not the only ones winging it.
Jeff's number one priority every morning is catching one fish so he doesn't have to write a "skunk" report. After that, his attention quickly shifts to BoatMeal™ and whatever hot sauce is onboard, preferable Habenero Harmon’s. Steve tried it, probably still licking chops.
Alison and Jesse still need a little tournament tune-up. Six fish on thirteen bites isn't exactly championship form. Surgeon Jenn, on the other hand, continues to be absolutely rock solid on both the rod and the net.
Alison apparently celebrated landing a nice fish by taking three sips of water...which she claimed were her first three sips of water in all of 2026. That explains...absolutely nothing.
Steve quickly figured out that Surgeon Jenn actually runs most of the boat while I just wander around talking about food.
Steve scored some o-rings for his net magnets - all set, you bet!
Alison loves Fireball. Not the spoon.
The After Fishing Mint™ may have been the highlight of Steve's entire trip.
Tomorrow's crew should be me, Surgeon Jenn, Charlie Daniels, Kaedin and hopefully Nick, Parker (future Hall of Famer) and maybe Petunia Josh if the birdies flying around my head finally settle down.
We also picked up a fresh batch of ITO flies and a pile of Superfly spoons. I'm showing you because that's what we do around here...not because I'm trying to scare tournament boats out of town. Although...Maybe they should be just a little nervous.
Continue Exploring with Pull Hard Fishing
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400 W. Filer St., C1, Ludington, MI 49431 | Phone: 248-534-9202 | PullHardFishing@outlook.com
