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December 9, 2008 we will be taping two shows before a studio audience and you are invited. One show will be taped at 7PM and a second show at 8PM. Thanks to the Bass Pro Shop in Bolingbrook, we will have a FREE raffle between the two shows and after the second show. Stoney Point Grill is located just east of LaGrange Rd. (Rt 45) off 191st Street in Mokena. Enter the driveway between Denny's and White Castle. Come early and enjoy the shows.
Articles
Southern Lake Michigan Coho Fishing by Don Dziedzina |
Five o’clock in the morning is really early for me when it comes to fishing. I really don’t think the fish are awake yet. I’m not, that’s for sure. But when Captain Ron Miltzow of Wake N Sea Sportfishing Charters says that we have to leave the harbor at five, my gosh, that means that I have to get up at about 3:30 AM. That’s almost like the day before.
With all joking aside, I have to say that when it comes to Lake Michigan salmon and trout fishing, the best time is early in the morning for a number of reasons.Fishing is better early because of the low light conditions. Being out on the lake by several miles means there is no cover and no shade. So the fish that don’t enjoy a bright sun will be more active during the first few hours of daylight.
At this time of year, it’s much cooler on the lake too early in the morning. On bright sunny days, it could be grueling to be on the water. It’s a good thing that charter captains like Captain Ron have large boats with a cabin so you can get out of the sun if you like.
Captain Ron has a 38 foot Pacemaker that has a 14 foot beam. That makes this boat big and comfortable even when the seas tend to get a bit bumpy. What else is nice is that Captain Ron has all the rods, reels and lures not to mention the experience of finding fish for his clients.
So early last Thursday, I headed out to the Pastrick Marina in East Chicago, Indiana to meet up with Captain Ron and a few other friends for a morning on the water catching some salmon.
All of the rods were set up with the baits that have been producing fish and in no time, we were off to the Illinois waters of Lake Michigan.
It’s a short ride to where the fish were staged. We had a beautiful view of the entire shoreline of Chicago from about 8 miles out. There was a slight chop on the water that came from a mild westerly breeze. It was just enough to keep the air cool and yet let us have a calm ride while trolling.
It wasn’t long before Captain Ron yelled, “Fish On!”; a common phrase that’s heard on the big drink. Charter captains usually run three rods per angler, so with four of us onboard, we were able to run twelve lines at once. It was a good mix of using downriggers, lead core line and dipsy divers. Again, Captain Ron’s experience got all lines set quickly and without tangles.
Our first fish of the day was a nice coho salmon. It weighed about five pounds. Now that’s a respectable fish. Some north side reports have shown smaller fish being caught.
“The water in southern Lake Michigan is quite a bit cooler now that it usually is in the end of July.” Captain Ron said. “With the cooler water, we’re seeing more bait fish in the areas where we fish and that brings on the bigger game fish.”
It seemed that blue was a good color for the day. We caught just about every fish on either a blue fly or blue spoon. The fish struck lures on rigs where we used downriggers, dipsy divers, and lead core line.
Unfortunately, the lake began to lie down shortly after the sun began to climb in the sky. This forces fish to go deeper and become less active.
We did pretty well though. We netted seven cohos with the smallest being about five pounds, the largest close to ten with an average fish being about six and a half to seven pounds. We had probably fifteen other hits and misses too. As one other charter captain said to us back at the docks, “When the water lies down, it’s the kiss of death for fishing.”
A little more wave action would have put more fish into our cooler. But that’s alright. It was fun and it was a gorgeous morning on the water.
Captain Ron Miltzow is a full time USCG licensed charter captain and will be taking charters up to the end of October. As the days pass by, the fish will be getting bigger and bigger. It looks like we will have an excellent fall fishing for salmon and trout on Lake Michigan. If you would like Captain Ron to take you on the lake to fish for salmon or trout, feel free to call him at 708-837-7622 or visit his website at www.WakeNSea.com.
From our Will County Area, the southern end of Lake Michigan is only a few miles down I-80 to the Pastrick Marina. That simply means that great fishing is not that far away.
