Ludington Fishing Report: Mother Nature Won...But We Still Got Ten Fish!
Yesterday kicked off another big Pull Hard weekend as daughter Riley rolled into Ludington with salmon rookie Jordan and fishing veterans Brendan and Dani. Surgeon Jenn and I celebrated the occasion by whipping up a fresh batch of Riveting Salmon Cioppino for dinner. Charlie Daniels and Juli Daniels joined us at the condo, and I'd say the soup was a hit. Juli handed it a perfect 10.0, and Charlie's score might have been even higher...if that's mathematically possible. I think he said 13...or maybe that's just my brain because it's Taylor Swift's favorite number.
The younger crowd, however, bailed on soup and headed straight to El Rancho. I'm not saying they made the wrong choice...I'm just saying they clearly haven't matured enough to appreciate world-class salmon soup.
I wasn't loving the weather forecast when I went to bed. Every weather app was calling for 15 mph west winds with gusts pushing 25. There aren't many things I dislike in life, but running the Tiara through the dark with big waves and 400 to 500 weekend warriors buzzing around is definitely on the list.
So instead of Logan's preferred 4:15am departure, we left the condo at 5:00am and eased away from the dock around 5:15.
Holy cow...there were boats everywhere. We ran north along the shoreline until we found a little opening in the navigation lights, cut west and set up in 180 feet of water.
Every single boat...and I mean every single one...was fishing the drop-off or shallower.
Meanwhile, I had the deep water all to myself. I'd like to personally thank all of you for saving my spot.
Just like yesterday, we got all 13 rods in the water carrying 15 fish-catching lures...and not a single bite. Exactly how Logan drew it up.
The difference today was boat control. The southwest wind was humming, the waves weren't cooperating, and keeping the Tiara pointed where I wanted took way more concentration than catching fish.
Eventually the salmon cooperated. When the morning wrapped up we had eight kings, one beautiful coho and one hog steelhead for 10 fish on 12 bites. Not bad considering Mother Nature was trying to remind us who was really in charge.
Around 9:00am we decided she'd officially won the argument and pulled lines while we were still smiling…kind of!
Hot Bites
Prototype 8 Inch Chrome / Howie Green Crinkle | High Diver 150 back | 3 bites
Dreamweaver Paddle 11 Inch Charlie Special / Rapture Sweet Pea | Chute Rigger 139 down | 2 bites
Prototype 8 Inch White / Dreamweaver Little Boy Blue | Low Diver 125 back | 2 bites
Warrior Mini Yellow Dolphiny Flutter | Slider 75 down | 1 bite
Moonshine 4 Inch Orange | Lead Core 3 Colors | 1 bite
Moonshine 4 Inch Green Silver Ladder | Lead Core 5 Colors | 1 bite
Dreamweaver 4 Inch Pink Dot | Lead Core 7 Colors | 1 bite
Dreamweaver Spin Doctor 8 Inch Dreamweaver Isotope meat rig | High Diver 175 back | 1 bite
What I Learned Today
I was all fired up to do my morning run because Brendan and Danni actually brought running shoes and wanted to join me. For one glorious moment I pictured a mini Forrest Gump scene with people following me down the road. Then I remembered they're in their twenties, looked at the weather, and decided today wasn't the day. Totally because of the wind...definitely not because they might've embarrassed me.
I'm actually proud of us for pulling lines early. The fish were still biting…three bites in the last half hour. Normally I'd stay just a little too long and spend the ride home wondering, "Why the heck didn't we leave thirty minutes ago?" Not today.
Jordan was a fantastic addition to the crew. He picked everything up almost immediately, including a textbook-wide fish-fighting stance. Take notes, people. That's how you land more salmon.
Rookie mistake on my part. I should've started with the new Dreamweaver Isotope meat rig instead of waiting a couple hours. It took about five minutes to get bit once it finally hit the water. Lesson learned.
That wraps up today's fishing…Surgeon Jenn and I suddenly found ourselves with a few bonus hours we were wishing for yesterday, so we're heading to a big party on Mona Lake this afternoon. No fishing at the party...at least I don't think so. They'll have the same ice cream machine that gave me a stomachache last time, plus a gourmet hot dog bar featuring something called a Big Mac hot dog. My curiosity says, "Absolutely." My UWGB Health & Wellness brain says, "You already know better."
We'll keep an eye on the wind tonight and hope Mother Nature settles down. If she cooperates, we'll be back at it in the morning looking for another hot early bite. Stay tuned.
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400 W. Filer St., C1, Ludington, MI 49431 | Phone: 248-534-9202 | PullHardFishing@outlook.com
