Ludington Report - “Bananas Yesterday, Bob Marley Today, and a Side of Soup”


Woke up this morning not running, not stretching, and definitely not thriving. Turns out, a 10-mile sunset bike ride the night before fishing will, in fact, kick your butt. Who knew? (Everyone knew.) But hey, if you're gonna limp onto a boat exhausted, there’s no better place to do it than Ludington on Memorial Day, and no better crew than Nick and Kaedin—yes, again.
But wait—making their 2025 Pull Hard Ludington Fishing Debut: my daughter Riley and Nick’s wife, Alison! That’s right. The women finally caved and joined the circus. And we were pumped. Spirits high and dreams (Alison went to bed las night at 6pm!) of a big follow-up to the last two days. We even had inside info from Ludington’s own fish whisperer, Jason Adam. What could go wrong?
We shoved off at 5am and set up in the 180 FOW, water was a refreshing 46-47 degrees. Mid-line deployment, bam, a rigger pops, and Alison effortlessly lands a medium king like she’s been doing this her whole life (this is her sophomore year!). A couple minutes later, a diver screams with a John King blue bubble BTI meat rig (Can I call it a “meat rig” when it’s John King’s?). Kaedin gets the look—you know, the “is this fish about to ruin me?” look—and... boom. It’s off. Gone.
Then the 5-color with the Gold Yeck Fireball fires. Another one gone. Two bites, two heartbreaks. And then… crickets. Nothing. For hours. So we took that time to, you know, catch up with Riley and Alison. Except—they were both asleep. Fishing: nature’s NyQuil.
We tried making tactical adjustments, power troll maneuvers, and even basic acts of common sense. Kaedin reminded us, “You guys forgot to turn on the XM radio.” Rookie mistake by me. Yesterday the fish were suckers for The Blend. Today? Blend—nothing. Classic Vinyl—nothing. Sadness.
I’m dropping meat down to 152, trolling like a lunatic, and Riley and Alison suddenly wake up with that “let’s stay out longer!” energy. Cool, cool...except Kaedin’s got a 2pm curfew in Rockford, I need to hit a grocery store, and also—confession time—I’m in a soup club. Yep. Soup club. I also like Taylor Swift. This is a safe space.
Back to fishing. Riley makes the move of the day and switches the XM radio to Bob Marley. Now, never in my boat’s history has Bob Marley been played. Not once. Not even close. But what happened at 9:16am, one minute after our planned rods-up time? BOOM—chute rigger fires! Thank you, Bob.
Obviously, this one’s Riley’s fish. Big, lazy headshakes—classic laker. She battles like a champ, busts out a flawless 15-minute Polish Shuffle, and we boat a thick lake trout just before the buzzer. Clutch doesn’t even begin to describe it. Dad moment = unlocked.
But wait, it gets better. That laker? Weighs 21.7 on the handheld scale. We rush to Chuck’s to check it officially—lands at 21.1. Respectable. Not quite leaderboard-worthy with a 24-pounder coming in hot, but still a tank.
Then comes Alison’s king—remember that chill first fish from this morning? Not a single king had been weighed yet in the Big King Bonanza. Guess what? Alison’s fish hits the scale at 7.65 lbs… and BAM: 1st Place King. All hail Queen Alison.
The Hits Came On:
ITO Meat Rig, 150 down on the chute rigger
Gold Yeck Fireball on 5-color
Silver Streak Mag Green Dolphin, 75 down on port outdown
John King BTI Blue Bubble Meat Rig on starboard diver, 100 back
What I Learned:
Don’t sleep on the Bob Marley station…that shit is legit!
Don’t underestimate newer anglers—they might steal the leaderboard. Cross your fingers Alison – hope that hog sticks!
Soup club is a legit reason to leave the lake.
Ahh, what if we combined the Mr. Chrome “Yea Mon” with the Bob Marley?
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to splash some cold water on my face, put on a little T-Swift (not a fan of the "T-Swift" name - put there for Delaney!), and make the best dang asparagus soup you’ve ever had.







