Great Lakes Trolling Flies

Ice-Out Coho Salmon Action

Southern Lake Michigan is the capital of the Coho Salmon fishery. Indiana’s shoreline begins attracting crowds of boats as soon as the ice goes off, usually in March. Small boat owners! This is the time to get out there and knock em’ dead….. Just after the ice is out in late Winter, and the waters of [...] Read more

Musky Myths & The Media

This article is about something I know to be true based on over 46 years of fishing for, and reading about musky fishing. It’s something I feel must be said! As with subjects like politics, entertainment, health, weather and anything else you can think of, there is and always will be people that feel they must say and [...] Read more

Musky Casting VS Trolling

Perhaps the title of this article should be “Deep vs Shallow”. Indeed, that is what it pretty much amounts too. Just to make it clear again, there is no one method that is known to man that will allow anyone to catch muskies on a regular basis. I really think that “ time on the water”, is [...] Read more

Little Things “Big Muskies”

Ever heard the expression “It’s the little things that count?” Because Muskies are at the very top of the fresh water predator-prey chain, there are fewer of them than there are of other species of fish, and fewer still of the the really big “wall hangers.” Many times, the difference between landing a trophy musky, Read more

Green Bay Wisconsin Walleye

According to the first 2013 Walleye issue of In-Fisherman Magizine this is a list of the top 10 Walleye Destinations Stateside: Fort Peck Lake, Montana Pueblo Lake, Colorado Lake Oahe, South Dakota/North Dakota St.Louis River, Minnesota/Wisconsin Dale Hollow Lake, Tennessee/Kentucky Green Bay, Lake Michigan, Wisconsin Detroit River, Read more

Lake Michigan Ice-Out Action

Pastricks East Chicago Marina For Fantastic Ice-out Action! This is the time of year to get those planer boards and flat lines ready for action! FREE FISHING DAYS! Note: For the lucky ones that see this: Anglers that live in Indiana now have 4 free fishing days in 2013 Anglers have two [...] Read more

Release Me! Musky National Anthem

RELEASE ME! CLhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZLqZ_H_nZc&list=ALBTKoXRg38BD7UByjj-Uj_dNjPkL-9k9y Please “Release Me” let me go I don’t love you anymore To waste our lives would be a sin Release me and let me love again I have found a new love dear And I will always want her near her lips are warm while yours are cold Read more

A Bucktail Of Another Color

DO BUCKTAIL COLORS REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE? As the noted DING BAT Sarah Palin would say, “You Betcha!”…..Many of your noted Musky Hunters, including myself, say any color is ok, as long as it is BLACK! Indeed a black Musky Giant Killer bucktail is what I caught my biggest musky on. Of course, that only means it [...] Read more

Musky Killers!

CATCH… PHOTO…RELEASE! Catch, Photo, Release (CPR) is the common practice of musky anglers. The results of CPR have become obvious, more and bigger musky! CPR sounds easy, but even the most experienced musky hunter will tell you it can be difficult at times. Poor handling of a musky can defeat your best intentions of a [...] Read more

Muskies Hate A Deeper Eight

There is nothing more exciting in fishing than to see a giant Musky attack your lure right next to your boat! Unfortunately, most of the time a big trophy just follows the lure and slowly swims away. However, a properly executed ‘figure 8″ can trigger many muskies that have previously ignored your offering. Most good musky [...] Read more

Troll For Bigger Muskies

Trolling open waters for the big girls! Let’s face it…..it’s not getting any easier to catch a Musky over thirty pounds. Now days , I think the myth of 10,000 casts is getting closer to being true for a fish that size! Every year thousands of fisherman beat the waters on our northern Musky waters [...] Read more

Walleyes! Do The Jig

“There are two types of fisherman-those who fish for sport and those who fish for fish” Walleye fisherman do both! There are probably more articles written about walleye fishing than there are walleyes!! This article will be nothing new to most walleye fisherman, but for some it might help a little….. Walleye, walleyed pike, Read more

Think Like A Musky!

WOW! I Love This Spot! THINK LIKE A MUSKY?? BETTER YET: IF A MUSKY COULD THINK? I wonder who really has the advantage, you or the Musky? To hear some want-to-be Musky Read more

Port Clinton-Walleye Capital War

How many Walleye capitals can there be? You be the judge! IS PORT CLINTON OHIO…..The Walleye Capital of The World? Most Walleye fisherman living near Chicago would rather fish Port Clinton on Lake Erie than any other lake in the Mid-West. For my money, it is truly the hottest of all Walleye fisheries. The [...] Read more

Musky vs Chinook Salmon

There he stands, draped in more equipment than a telephone lineman, trying to outwit an organism with a brain no bigger than a breadcrumb, and getting licked in the process! Question: What would you rather catch, a 32 lb musky, or a 28 lb King Salmon? NOTHING MAKES A FISH BIGGER THAN ALMOST BEING CAUGHT [...] Read more

Pastrick Marina (Jerose Park)

Pastricks East Chicago Marina Seems to be the best all-around location in the south end. The first 30 boats to launch each morning are free. Then, it’s $15 to launch. Located off Cline Avenue near Inland Steel. West: West is best. You will be protected by the shoreline and have calm waters. South: [...] Read more

Skamania Madness

Skamania Steelhead often fight so hard that by netting time they have exhausted themselves! Their overwhelming size and unmatched fighting power draw Great Lakes fisherman from near and far to sample the incredible action! For those of you that don’t know, a skamania steelhead is actually a strain of Rainbow Trout, also known as steelhead Read more

Trolling??

This article is meant to be both humorous and educational depending on the reader! In some cases it might even clear up the thinking that some have about “TROLLING!” Trolling is the practice of dragging a lure through water to attract your target fish Most people know what trolling is when used in terms of fishing, [...] Read more

Great Lakes Salmon & Trout

YES! Enjoy the fight…..These are the fish that make it happen! IMAGES & DESCRIPTIONS OF FIVE GREAT LAKES SPORT SPECIES Coho salmon, also know as the silver salmon can be distinguished by the fine dark spots on the back and upper lobe of the tail fin, the long anal fin and gray gums. Coho feed [...] Read more

Lake Michigan Boating Myth

A Great Man Once Said: “There is nothing to fear, but fear itself!” One day I noticed my neighbor was getting his new 16′ deep “v” fishing rig ready for a fishing trip. I asked him,“Are you going to Lake Michigan?” He looked at me and replied, “Hell no, Lake Michigan is too rough for [...] Read more

Solunar Tables (Best Time To Fish)

THE MOON & FISHING SOLUNAR TABLES…..Best fishing Times On the good days there are always times when the fish seem more ravenous and more plentiful than at other times of that same day. These periods, as a rule, last about two hours. All of us try to plan to take advantage of those feeding periods [...] Read more

Sister Bay (Close Encounter Of A Thirty Kind)

CLOSE ENCOUNTER OF A THIRTY KIND SISTER BAY MARINA…..DOOR COUNTY PENINSULA WISCONSIN Some day when the fisher of men calls your number, consider yourself fortunate if you’re granted your last wish to fish just one more time. And if and when the opportunity presents itself, you just might want to make that last cast [...] Read more

Leadcore …..The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

(LEADCORE FISHING LINE) The Good, The Bad and The Ugly Some novice fisherman don’t even know what lead core fishing line is, let alone how, when and where to use it. Well, it is simply a braided nylon line that has lead in the center. It’s most commonly available in #18, #27, #36 pound tests, [...] Read more

Lake Trout (Portage Indiana)

Belonging to the char group, the lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) is known as togue (in the Northeast), mackinaw (in the West), and as gray trout in much of Canada. Native throughout Canada and across the northern United States, lake trout require cold, well-oxygenated waters from 43°F to 56°F. V Bread & Butter Lake Trout Within [...] Read more

Coho Salmon (The Wild One)

Coho Salmon…..why the wild One? Just after the ice is out in late Winter, and the waters of southern Lake Michigan warm up, thousands of Salmon fisherman swarm to the ports of Indiana to troll the shore lines for the “Wild One!, ” too experience more fun, excitement and confusion than a power outage at a [...] Read more

Planer Boards (Salmons Worst Nightmare)

Planer board trolling….. The public enemy of Salmon, Trout and even Walleye! Just after ice out in late Winter, when the waters of southern Lake Michigan warm up, thousands of Salmon fisherman swarm to the ports of Indiana and Illinois to troll the shore lines for wild Coho and fighting steelhead. The use of [...] Read more

Brown Trout (Longlining)

Here’s a twelve pound Brown I caught long lining with one of my Great Lakes Trolling Flies….. It was early Spring at one of Illinois/Indiana Lake Michigans warm water discharges at the southern end. Notice the small spinner and the (glow in the dark) bead above the body…..This is a deadly lure/flasher combination I Read more

Lake Michigan…..Kicker Motors

Relax just like the two Muskies when you have a kicker motor! Just recently, after launching out of Portage Indiana my 70 H.P Mercury acted up because of a faulty gas line at the ball. The motor quite and was difficult to get started. There was a 20 per hour south wind pushing my boat towards the open [...] Read more

Spring Walleyes…..Eye for an Eye System!

It’s no secret that jigs work on Walleyes. But read on for a system that is simply deadly on Spring Walleyes no matter where you fish! “There are two types of fisherman-those who fish for sport and those who fish for fish” Walleye fisherman do both! There are probably more articles written about walleye [...] Read more

Solunar Muskies

MUSKY HUNTERS! As you know, there probably has been more written about Musky fishing than there are Muskies! Maybe you think that you know most everything there is about the great sport, or maybe you are just starting out. Well, this article will add to what you think you know, or what you have read, or [...] Read more