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, but is getting better every day. Some Captains are reporting good catches, some near limits Fishermen from the boat ramps are finding more 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’. However there has been a very good pierhead fishery in the mornings and evenings the past few days. 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. Most fishermen are concentrating on King salmon. Only a few lakers were reported There were some Steelhead in the reports, especially early in the past week. Many Captains are reporting larger fish this year. A 32 pound fish was weighed in on Wednesday:

Photo courtesy of the Ludington Daily News
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
Special Note: Unfortunately, the new U of M buoy has had problems and has been removed for repair. It is hoped that it will back in the water soon.
Thank you for visiting the Ludington Area Charterboat Association website.
The Ludington Area Charterboat Association.
www.ludingtoncharterboats.org