The Fish Doctors

Fishing Report - End of Season

Posted by Captain Geoff on Oct 4, 2011

On behalf of the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff with your end of season fishing report.

It has been pretty tough trying to find days to get out the past few weeks. But, when we have, the fishing has been very good. Forgive the lapse in reports, but the fact is we have only been out a few times with the business season winding down. The days we have been out have been preceded and followed by big blows and rough seas.

Two and three year olds have been moving around in the 70 to 200 foot range depending on the water conditions for the day. Lots of fish to be caught yet if you find a day when the lake will cooperate. Looks like we have a good stretch of weather coming up so get another trip in before you winterize the boat this year.

We have still been using flasher fly combos, but this is typically getting down to spoon season. Don’t worry too much about being the first one on the water. The fish operate on banker’s hours this time of year. Sleep in, get breakfast and have lines set by 7 to 7:30 and you will not have wasted your morning if they are still biting.

Shore anglers are getting big fish in the harbor using cured skein or spawn sacs or by casting stick baits in firetiger. Spoons are a safe bet too most days.

This is last minute, but I received an email from our Milwaukee contingent. How would you like to assist with the stocking process? The following are some details if you would like to volunteer some time to our fishery. This is a process we might also look into for stocking in Port Washington. They use pens to isolate the new stock until they get their bearings. They appear to be having a much better survival rate and lower predation with this method. Here is the email sent to Milwaukee GLSF members.
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We got an E Mail the other day that the DNR wishes to plant some trout in Milwaukee this Thursday. They are bringing about 10,650 Brown Trout and 6800 Rainbow Trout, all from the Lake Milles Hatchery. They want to place them in the Net Pens this Thursday. I told them we would be ready.

We need your help to take the pens to the dock, assemble them and place them in the water. If you can be at the Sailing Center at noon on Wednesday, October 5th, your help could be used.

We will need help again, Saturday morning at 9am, to remove the nets from the water, wash them, disassemble them and pack them back in storage at the Sailing Center. Again, many hands make quick work.

I know this is a busy time of year, but if you could spare a few hours, you’ll have earned the Feel-Good Award in assuring that the DNR’s planted fish, have an increased rate of survival, helping them reach catchable and eating size.

Net Pen Placement – Wednesday, October 5th at noon, Milw Sailing Center

Net Pen Take-Down – Saturday, October 8th, 9am, Milw Sailing Center
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Contact the Milwaukee GLSF for more info if you would be interested in helping.

Our sponsor, Midwestern Shooters Supply, would like to thank you for your business this year. When you stop in, please also make sure you thank them for sponsoring this hotline.

On a personal note, thanks to those of you who have come to me and shared your appreciation for the hotline. I wish I could do more frequent reports and be there to answer everyone’s questions. As my business builds I am finding less time and it is getting more difficult to keep up. But I do want to provide you all with a starting point and arm you with some basics before you hit the water. I hope it has helped. I am sure you all miss the days when Bill did reports daily. I used to listen them myself when I was a weekend warrior after a week in the cubical. It was a spectacular year of fishing and I hope for many more to come. I look forward to the start of next season and bringing you Port Washington’s best next season.

Fishing report - Sept 13th

Posted by Captain Geoff on Sep 13, 2011

On behalf of the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff with your fishing report September 13th.

Cool air and north winds are announcing that fall is ever closer. Many are starting to think more about the bow season or duck hunting than Lake Michigan fishing. What a great time to visit Midwestern Shooters Supply. They cover it all with a great selection of firearms and hunting supplies, bow hunting gear, and Lake Michigan Fishing Tackle. It is the ultimate September store because you may be torn where to spend whatever is left of your play money. There are toys from end to end for the outdoor sportsman.

Those that have been able to get out have enjoyed awesome fishing again. The two and three year olds set up from 150 out to 350 feet of water and were snappin all last week and weekend. The biggest problem was the winds creating seas of 3 to 8 feet depending on the day. Sunday finally offered a break and the fish kept on biting. Many stayed in or near the harbor for four year olds and had good success there as well. There has been warm water stacked in the shallows which has made for shorter bite periods, but a 20 lb king running the spool low makes up for some slow periods.

Bullfrog behind white or chrome flashers was the most consistent presentation in deeper water. Rainbows were taking the same but also liked spoons with purple or pink. Some big cohos are in the mix as well. Run an orange dodger, small or large, with a 3” blue green gold and you have a good shot at 10+ lb cohos.

Some big fish are also being caught in the harbor using cured skein or spawn sacs.

On behalf of our sponsor, Midwest Shooter Supply and the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff wishing you all great fishing.

Fishing Report - September 6th

Posted by Captain Geoff on Sep 6, 2011

On behalf of the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff with your fishing report September 6th.

Cool air and north winds are announcing that fall is ever closer. Many are starting to think more about the bow season or duck hunting than Lake Michigan fishing. What a great time to visit Midwestern Shooters Supply. They cover it all with a great selection of firearms and hunting supplies, bow hunting gear, and Lake Michigan Fishing Tackle. It is the ultimate September store because you may be torn where to spend whatever is left of your play money. There are toys from end to end for the outdoor sportsman.

Kings are starting to stage close to the harbor and decent numbers of four year olds can be caught in 40 to 120 feet of water. The rainbows are still mingling in with the two and three year olds which were being caught from 100 to 200 feet of water.

The usual suspects have been good performers in the flasher fly department with the green hot spot with bullfrog or LBB making a strong showing. If you are making the trip out to the deeper water, run some Pro Kings with purple and black to get some aerial acrobatics out of the rainbows. A pro king with some pink has been good for kings and rainbows on a downrigger in the mid thirty to mid forty depths.

On behalf of our sponsor, Midwest Shooter Supply and the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff wishing you all great fishing.

Fishing Report - August 31st

Posted by Captain Geoff on Aug 31, 2011

On behalf of the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff with your fishing report August 31st.

Labor Day is just around the corner. Believe it or not, signs of fall are already showing. It really has been a spectacular year of fishing and you have been fortunate enough to find a day to fish the past week between the blows, you can attest that that the great fishing continues. Aside from a couple slow weeks in July and a few days here and there since, the fishing has been some of the best I have ever seen.

Kings are starting to stage close to the harbor and decent numbers of four year olds can be caught in 60 to 120 feet of water. It is getting to be J-Plug time and you should make a run to Midwest Shooters supply and check out their selection of J-Plugs and Silver Hordes.

Coho are also making a periodic showing out in the deeper water with great catches coming in from 200 to 400 feet of water this week. The rainbows are there as well and you can expect a mixed bag with the occasional king mixed in too. The trick is to find a day when you can make the trip as even the charters give a sigh facing the rough waters we have had out the past week.

The usual suspects have been good performers in the flasher fly department with the green hot spot with bullfrog or LBB starting to make a strong showing. If you are making the trip out to the deeper water, run some Pro Kings with purple and black to get some aerial acrobatics out of the rainbows. They had been hitting so aggressively that they are shredding baits and line.

Please be careful to with the strong winds in the forecast. We have seen lots of smaller boats out in seas that really exceed the limitations of the vessel. I am certain the last guy that got rolled over out there was saying to himself that he has been out there many times before and never had a problem, as he was launching his boat.

On behalf of our sponsor, Midwest Shooter Supply and the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff wishing you all great fishing.

Fishing Report - August 23rd

Posted by Captain Geoff on Aug 23, 2011

On behalf of the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff with your fishing report August 23rd.

Thanks to all of you who participated in the contest. Congrats to the winners. I hope the baits you won served you as well as they have served me. Thanks to Midwestern Shooters for sponsoring the contest and for extending the charter discount to the winners.

Gas sales are still booming as we continue to chase fish from 8 to 14 miles out. But it is hard to leave the good bite as big rainbows are still hitting hard out there. The king salmon numbers are improving and there have been reports of a night bite in 80 to 150 feet of water the past couple nights. This is still a little risky as that bite has been more off than on the past couple months.

It will be interesting to see what we have for spawners when they make their final run. That will tell us the most about the state of the king salmon population this year. Were they out there somewhere or are the stocking reductions off balance again.

Mistake has been the hottest fly of late, with bullfrog and LBB always safe bets. Spoons have been taking rainbows and kings in purple and black combos. Aside from your standard Pro Kings, the Pink Alewife spoon from Silver Streak has been solid on a lead core.

Fishing the thermo cline has been the key to success. However, that has been a moving target and we are expecting strong south winds today which should bring in cooler water and bring that thermo cline closer to the surface. A subsurface speed and depth sensor is very valuable in changing conditions, but graph will show you w thermo cline by cranking the gain up if it is well established. Set lines above and below it for best results.

On behalf of our sponsor, Midwest Shooter Supply and the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff wishing you all great fishing.

Fishing Report - August 19th

Posted by Captain Geoff on Aug 18, 2011

On behalf of the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff with your fishing report August 19th.

This is the last week for your opportunity to win the prize package. All you have to do is email Captain Geoff with your best bait. We want to hear about a bait that has been working for you so we can put it on the report. To email Captain Geoff…go to www.thefishdoctors.com and click on the Contact link. Fill out the form with your best bait and you have entered yourself into the drawing for the following:

· A bait, picked by Captain Geoff and pre-rigged, in the case of a flasher fly.

· You will get the charter captain discount for a day of shopping at Midwest Shooters supply. Bring your family and fishing buddies and get big discounts on all the tackle you can carry out. This includes rods, reels and even on the rarely discounted Shimano gear.

· You will get $50 off of a 5-hour fishing charter with The Fish Doctors of Port Washington, and lastly,,,

· You will be entered into a drawing for a FREE 3 hour evening charter for September of this year.

Whatever it will take to turn the fish back to the west does not appear to be in our immediate future if you look at the weather forecasts. Stable weather with lots of sun is all we should expect for the next several days and that is not going to turn the near shore lake temps in our favor. Expect to pay for your fish at the pump as the best catches have been coming in from 250 plus during the week. There have been some kings caught in the 100 to 180 range, but you will end up killing a lot of yearlings in the process of finding bigger fish.

Mystery has moved to the top 2 with LBB. Mystery is traditionally a good August fly and presents well in the deeper water. Spoons with purple or pink have still been good for rainbows. Lead core has been the most consistently good presentation, but riggers from 65 to 115 feet down, dipseys and weapons have been very spotty, but they should be run to complete your spread.

Reports from you guys add green crinkle and aqua flies to the mix according to Randy. Natural born killer, and the orange double o with Blue Green Gold on a 6 color were Will’s favorites. They were a last two week’s winners. Congrats guys.

On behalf of our sponsor, Midwest Shooter Supply and the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff wishing you all great fishing.

Fishing Report - Aug 16th

Posted by Captain Geoff on Aug 16, 2011

On behalf of the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff with your fishing report August 16th.

This is the last week for your opportunity to win the prize package. All you have to do is email Captain Geoff with your best bait. Everyone needs the help of their fellow angler the past couple weeks and it has been challenging to say the least. We want to hear about a bait that has been working for you so we can put it on the report. To email Captain Geoff…go to www.thefishdoctors.com and click on the Contact link. Fill out the form with your best bait and you have entered yourself into the drawing for the following:

· A bait, picked by Captain Geoff and pre-rigged, in the case of a flasher fly.

· You will get the charter captain discount for a day of shopping at Midwest Shooters supply. Bring your family and fishing buddies and get big discounts on all the tackle you can carry out. This includes rods, reels and even on the rarely discounted Shimano gear.

· You will get $50 off of a 5-hour fishing charter with The Fish Doctors of Port Washington, and lastly,,,

· You will be entered into a drawing for a FREE 3 hour evening charter for September of this year.

This weekend had us on the chase again, and most were weathered out for fishing on Sunday. The lake got a needed shake up, but winds from the north bring warm water and the thermocline at 35 feet is now at 65 feet. You will need to adjust your presentations to accordingly. Huge rainbows continue to surrogate for the king salmon this season. Let’s hope we can keep up with them all year. They have moved out a little with the best depth ranges being from 180 to 220 and 250 to 350 yesterday. Until we get a good west wind to push some warm water out, I would set up in 150 and point east.

Mistake and LBB have been the best flies for us. Spoons with purple or pink have also been good for rainbows. Lead core has been the most consistently good presentation, but riggers from 65 to 85 feet down, dipseys 75 to 120 feet back and weapons targeting 50 to 80 feet of water have all been good producers a times.

Reports from you guys add green crinkle and aqua flies to the mix according to Randy. Natural born killer, and the orange double o with Blue Green Gold on a 6 color were Will’s favorites. They were a last two week’s winners. Congrats guys.

On behalf of our sponsor, Midwest Shooter Supply and the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff wishing you all great fishing.

Fishing Report - August 11th

Posted by Captain Geoff on Aug 10, 2011

On behalf of the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff with your fishing report August 11th.

This is the last week for your opportunity to win the prize package. All you have to do is email Captain Geoff with your best bait. Everyone needs the help of their fellow angler the past couple weeks and it has been challenging to say the least. We want to hear about a bait that has been working for you so we can put it on the report. To email Captain Geoff…go to www.thefishdoctors.com and click on the Contact link. Fill out the form with your best bait and you have entered yourself into the drawing for the following:

· A bait, picked by Captain Geoff and pre-rigged, in the case of a flasher fly.

· You will get the charter captain discount for a day of shopping at Midwest Shooters supply. Bring your family and fishing buddies and get big discounts on all the tackle you can carry out. This includes rods, reels and even on the rarely discounted Shimano gear.

· You will get $50 off of a 5-hour fishing charter with The Fish Doctors of Port Washington, and lastly,,,

· You will be entered into a drawing for a FREE 3 hour evening charter for September of this year.

What a great week of fishing. Rainbows are so much fun to catch and the coho continue to get bigger. Trophy sized kings make up for the lack of numbers. The fish were even so kind as to move a little closer to shore throughout the week and charters were starting anywhere from 80 to 100 feet and not going past 200 feet.

Mistake and LBB have been the best flies for us. Spoons with purple or pink have also been good for rainbows. Lead core has been the most consistently good presentation, but riggers from 35 to 65 feet down, dipseys 60 to 90 feet back and weapons targeting 35 to 70 feet of water have all been good producers a times.

Reports from you guys add green crinkle and aqua flies to the mix according to Randy. Natural born killer, and the orange double o with Blue Green Gold on a 6 color were Will’s favorites. They were a last two week’s winners. Congrats guys.

On behalf of our sponsor, Midwest Shooter Supply and the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff wishing you all great fishing.

Fishing Report - August 5th

Posted by Captain Geoff on Aug 5, 2011

On behalf of the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff with your fishing report August 5th.

OK non-twitterers. Midwest Shooters would like to give you an opportunity to win as well. For this week, you can enter to win the contest also. All you have to do is email Captain Geoff with your best bait. Everyone needs the help of their fellow angler the past couple weeks and it has been challenging to say the least. We want to hear about a bait that has been working for you so we can put it on the report. To email Captain Geoff…go to www.thefishdoctors.com and click on the Contact link. Fill out the form with your best bait and you have entered yourself into the drawing for the following:

· A bait, picked by Captain Geoff and pre-rigged, in the case of a flasher fly.

· You will get the charter captain discount for a day of shopping at Midwest Shooters supply. Bring your family and fishing buddies and get big discounts on all the tackle you can carry out. This includes rods, reels and even on the rarely discounted Shimano gear.

· You will get $50 off of a 5-hour fishing charter with The Fish Doctors of Port Washington, and lastly,,,

· You will be entered into a drawing for a FREE 3 hour evening charter for September of this year.

It came as a great relief this past Saturday when we were able to locate some biting fish. Serving as stand-ins for the missing king salmon are the coho and rainbow in good numbers. Kings are being caught but they tend to be under-weight with empty stomachs and curled up tails. It gives us hope that they are here, but no one knows why the low activity level. Hopefully it will be a spectacular August.

Charters have been starting in 150 to 200 feet of water and fishing east. Through the week they have been going out as far as 400 plus feet or turning in 300. The fish are scattered throughout and it is mostly about getting the right speed and angle as you run through the schools of fish. If you get multiple hits, make sure to note your speed and direction and duplicate it.

Mistake and LBB have been the best flies. Spoons with purple or pink have also been good for rainbows. Lead core has been the most consistently good presentation, but riggers from 35 to 65 feet down, dipseys 60 to 90 feet back and weapons targeting 35 to 70 feet of water have all been good producers a times.

On behalf of our sponsor, Midwest Shooter Supply and the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff wishing you all great fishing.

Fishing Report - July 30th

Posted by Captain Geoff on Jul 30, 2011

On behalf of the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff with your fishing report July 30th.

OK non-twitterers. Midwest Shooters would like to give you an opportunity to win as well. For this week and next, you can enter to win the contest also. All you have to do is email Captain Geoff with your best bait. Everyone needs the help of their fellow angler the past couple weeks and it has been challenging to say the least. We want to hear about a bait that has been working for you so we can put it on the report. To email Captain Geoff…go to www.thefishdoctors.com and click on the Contact link. Fill out the form with your best bait and you have entered yourself into the drawing for the following:

· A bait, picked by Captain Geoff and pre-rigged, in the case of a flasher fly.

· You will get the charter captain discount for a day of shopping at Midwest Shooters supply. Bring your family and fishing buddies and get big discounts on all the tackle you can carry out. This includes rods, reels and even on the rarely discounted Shimano gear.

· You will get $50 off of a 5-hour fishing charter with The Fish Doctors of Port Washington, and lastly,,,

· You will be entered into a drawing for a FREE 3 hour evening charter for September of this year.

Those of us who have been out there every day are counting the days. We are now at 15 straight without a real good consistent bite. A very occasional double digit day is showing up on some boats, but often they consist of a good number of small fish. Not too many fisherman holding their heads high these days. The good news is, there are still big fish being caught. We have a 27, 24 and 22 in the boat in the past couple weeks and that makes up for some slow fishing.

Again, there is no consistent location or depth. Fish are being caught from 50 to 150 mostly and most are from 30 feet down to the bottom. It seems like lead core has been the most consistent presentation, but I would not fire dipseys, riggers or weapons to run more lead.

I have not heard of any hot spoons and I even experimented by running one side of my set up, all spoons. I did not have a bite on a one of them, but I had not bites on the flasher fly side in that two hour stretch. The best advice I can offer is run your favorite stuff and be prepared to cover some water. The diligent will be rewarded with a few fish and some nice days on the water. Until the bite is back, just enjoy the scenery and company.

The Lion’s club fishing derby is currently under way and runs through Sunday. Tickets are locally available, or call the club for more information.

On behalf of our sponsor, Midwest Shooter Supply and the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff wishing you all great fishing.

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