Ludington
lAKE mICHIGAN
Trolling - Salmon, Steelhead, Lake Trout
We’ve been fishing the Port of Ludington since the mid 1980’s. We started off on the pier and in the surf watching hundreds of boats heading out and wishing one day we were out in a boat. Our first Ludington Offshore Classic Tournament was in 2005 and we’ve made Ludington our primary port ever since. Out of Ludington, we have fished as far north as Manistee and south just past Little Point Sable.
We dock the Cherokee at the Municipal Marina and stay in the local condo’s. Our usual trip is just before daybreak to around noon. When we return we like to hit the local restaurants. Our favorites are: House of Flavors, The Blu Moon, Sportsman’s, The Grand, and Timbers.
Lake Erie
lAKE Erie
Trolling - Walleye
We started off in Lake Erie in the early 80’s using big planer boards and lots of Hot-n-Tots and Wiggle Warts. Back then it was common to get a 4 man limit (40 fish – 13″ or better) in a couple of hours. Most of our time spent back then was in Michigan waters in front of the River Raisin.
We keep the boat garaged in Brighton and tow it to Lake Erie, usually launching at Sterling State Park or occasionally Bolles Harbor. We recently trolled Erie January, February, March April, September, October, November & December. It’s usually cold, so you’ll see a lot of pictures of us in ice fishing clothing. These months typically produce good numbers of larger walleye (and is usually when we’re not fishing Ludington!)
Detroit River
Detriot River
Jigging - Walleye
Once the Lake Erie trolling dies down and the walleye have entered the Detroit River, we really focus on jigging the river. We’ve fished all of the water from the the northern mouth where Lake St. Clair goes into the Detroit River all the way down to the Trenton Channel. Recently our favorite drifts have been focused between Belle Isle and the US Steel Mill. There are several launch options in this area and we’ve found a bunch of fish in most places we’ve tried.
