Ludington Report: The PM Lake Steelhead Delusion

November 22 and I absolutely should be on Lake Erie chasing giant walleye. All my past On This Day photos are basically yelling at me to get back to the walleye grounds. So what am I doing instead. Towing the Tundra north to Ludington to troll on PM Lake. Yes. The same PM Lake that has produced exactly one steelhead, one brown trout, one perch, and one missed salmon for me in 56 years. If success rates were tattoo ratings this lake would rank behind the dude who brings cowboy boots aboard a Tiara.

You might be wondering why PM Lake. Trust me. I am also wondering why PM Lake. The logic was questionable at best:

• I love Ludington – there I said it!

• I netted a steelhead off the north pier while running last weekend and that gave me a false sense of destiny.

• Some dude online has been posting steelhead limits trolling PM Lake and I am sometimes a sucker for a questionable fishing report.

• And the real reason. Steelhead pull Church boards back like they are trying to leave the country and that is way better than the gentle tap tap tap of a November walleye. At least for me.

How do I fish PM Lake for steelhead. No clue. But I do know how to summon summer mojo. So I started there. I still had the north pier netting karma bubbling. I picked up my new bike from Kyle at Trailhead Bikes and rode it around Friday night. No real sunset but peaceful enough to count as mojo. Surgeon Jenn and I had dinner at El Rancho. Not for toothpicks. Nobody is running meat rigs for PM Lake steelhead. El Rancho is simply the required pre-fishing ritual for good vibes.

The plan. Meet Nick at 7am. Uncover the Tiara as the daylight hits. Launch at Copeyon Park. Troll up nine steelhead before lunch. Conditions were supposed to be cool and calm. I woke up and it was 24 degrees out. But calm. Which counts as perfection in late November.

I set up nine-line spread. Two 2 color leadcores with spoons. Two 3 color leadcores with spoons. Four mono boards with crankbaits. One stern planer down the chute, just so I could say “chute” and act like I knew what I was doing. After years of dragging 300 to 400 feet of salmon gear, letting a crankbait out 45 feet felt like ultralight fishing. There were six or seven other boats doing the same thing which at least made me feel like I was not the only one falling for the rumor.

The sun had just peeked over the trees when the inside starboard board went back hard. I grabbed the rod, worked the fish in, handed it to Jenn, reached for the net, and watched a perfect steelhead flip twice, taunt me, and come unbuttoned two feet from the net. On a bright pink and purple Bandit crankbait of all things. The one lure I assumed would never get bit.

Next was a hard rip on a 3 color Moonshine copper mini spoon. Off. Then the Bandit on the port inside went and that fish tore the board underwater and about halfway to Manitowoc before coming off. A fourth bite on the copper spoon. Gone. And finally, the orange Moonshine mini lit up and that fish also bulldozed the board under and escaped.

Final score. Zero fish on five bites. If you have been following the saga this makes it the first skunk of the entire year and I only have myself to blame for not quitting while ahead.

What I learned:

• Maybe I should set planer boards to release while steelhead fishing. Fighting a board that is half submerged might not be ideal.

• Nick and Jenn have much better eyes than I do and are excellent at untwisting tangles.

• Everyone out there looked like a winter fashion model in their bibs and boots. Meanwhile I had shorts on under my bibs because what if it got warm.

• I am glad I did this. Producing five bites on a program I know nothing about is not too shabby. And five bites in one morning is more than the four PM Lake bites I have had in 56 years.

Now I get to haul the boat home and shift my brain from steelhead to UWGB wellness coursework. If that is not a contrast, I do not know what is.