The Ludington Area Charterboat Association attempts to summarize the fishing over the past several days, providing general information about the fishing; the general location of the best fishing areas and the best depths and bait types.
In general we do not identify specific bait companies or individual baits.
Some LACA Captains also produce individual fishing reports which indicate the specific baits they have been using. Please check the LACA website for individual Captain fishing reports.
Fishing was spotty this this week. One Captain reported taking 14 one day and 4 the next. North winds pushed in some cold water on Monday, but it has mostly dissipated now. Fishermen from the boat ramps are having a hard time finding the fish. As is often the case, early morning and late evening are the best bite times.
Captains are searching wide area of water for the fish. However most of the fishing has been to the north, usually in water deeper than 100’ There does not seem to be any particular baits that work better than others, however there seems to be more interest in plugs this week. Many are still using spoons, some medium or large rotators and paddles with flies. Meat rigs are also being mentioned. Lead core, copper wire, dipsy divers fished deep seem to be most effective. Lake trout are also being taken on or near the bottom from 80′ to 130′. Slow trolling w/ p-nuts type gear is common for Lake Trout. There have been only a few Steelhead in the reports. There were no reports from fishermen to the south or in deep water in the past few days.
Please continue to monitor our Net alert on our home page for any changes in the locations of tribal trap nets in the Ludington area. The “Net Alert” will be updated as new information becomes available. The current Alert has 11 nets located from the 43° ’50′s to the 43° ’59′s, from south of the Consumers Pumped Storage Plant to near the bathhouse area. Many of the nets in the locations last identified in the fall of 2010 are still in place. These net flag buoys are still in the same locations as last year. Please check back frequently. Net location data is updated whenever possible.
For access to the Coastwatch Lake temperature contours in the Ludington area, choose our link to: www.coastwatch.msu.edu
A Coastwatch tip: If the current port map is not clear due to clouds, you may find a better recent image in the Coastwatch archives accessed from the page bottom links.
Links from our site lead to local and marine weather reports. For current and future Great Lakes wind and wave conditions, try the link for the Great Lakes Environmental Research Labs: www.glerl.noaa.gov
New this year: The University of Michigan has placed a research buoy in the Ludington area. It is located at N 43°59.599′ W 86° 33.567′ in 90′. The buoy’s information includes wind, wave and temperature data, including temperature data from the surface to more than 70′ deep.
Special Note: Unfortunately, the buoy has had problems and has not been in operation for the past two weeks. An effort to repair it is scheduled for this weekend.
The buoy is currently off-line for repair. It is hoped that it will be up again, soon.
It is still on station, and the light is still working.
The information can currently be found on the internet at: http://uglos.engin.umich.edu/station_page.php?station=45024.. Scroll down the page past the buoy image for complete wind/wave/temperature data.
The buoy is located approximately 4 miles from the pier head on a bearing of 288°: N 43°59.599’ W 86° 33.567’ in 90′. It has a white light, which flashes on a 5 second cycle. It is presents a very bright image on Radar. Please be careful to avoid boating and fishing in the immediate vicinity. Give it a wide berth w/ your divers and long lines.
Thank you for visiting the Ludington Area Charterboat Association website.
The Ludington Area Charterboat Association.
www.ludingtoncharterboats.org