Captain Geoff's Blog
Fishing Report - June 25th
On behalf of the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff with your fishing report for June 25th.
We’ve told you about the great Lake Michigan tackle selection at Midwest Shooters, but now let’s talk great prices. Need more fishing rods. Midwest Shooters has 20% off all rods including Shimano, St Croix, G. Loomis, and Shakespeare. Some of these are rods you almost never see on sale. Looking for spoons…Midwest has hard to find Fish Lander spoons for $3.00 while supplies last. Get Coyote flashers for only $5.99 as well. I have shopped these sales bins and there are lots of great colors left, not leftovers. Check them out while supplies last.
Unstable weather this week has had the fish on the move. They are being found in patches which means fisherman need to cover water. Most are fishing from 70 early, out to a range of 90 to 150 during most of the day. Fishing has been good straight out of the gap most days, but there seems to be good fishing both north and south in those depth ranges. Most have not had to range far to find biting fish as they have been very cooperative biters for most of the season, so far.
Bull frog, aqua, and LBB flies are still the best bets. More rainbows have been showing up lately, so fishing orange, pink, or purple spoons on yellow birds is a good option, particularly with sunny days ahead. Weapons have been the strongest presentation with 8 to 12 oz weights run back in the 90’s early, then 120 to 200 feet back later in the day. The dipsey bite picked up a little in the past day or two with halographic or blue bubble flashers chased by LBB flies.
This week’s captain’s tip has to do with those slow periods on bright sunny days. I’ll mention again last week’s tip about thinning your presentation out. Visibility is 50 plus feet under water and too much flash can spook neutral fish. Work the bottom hard with j-plugs or a flasher and spread the rest out as much as possible. If a fish keys on a bait and then sees four more, it is more likely to spook more so than to strike.
The next event is this Sunday, June 27 for the Big Brother’s Big Sister’s event. Stu Natale has put the call out for boats. Time is getting short so give Stu a call and take a kid fishing. If you can help with this event, please contact Stu at 262 376-9812.
On behalf of our new sponsor, Midwest Shooter Supply and the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff wishing you all great fishing.
Fishing Report June 22nd
On behalf of the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff with your fishing report for June 22nd.
We’ve told you about the great Lake Michigan tackle selection at Midwest Shooters, but now let’s talk great prices. Need more fishing rods. Midwest Shooters has 20% off all rods including Shimano, St Croix, G. Loomis, and Shakespeare. Some of these are rods you almost never see on sale. Looking for spoons…Midwest has hard to find Fish Lander spoons for $3.00 while supplies last. Get Coyote flashers for only $5.99 as well. I have shopped these sales bins and there are lots of great colors left, not leftovers. Check them out while supplies last.
We hit a short lull in the fishing over the weekend. However, I would have to say we have been pretty spoiled for the past few weeks. Fisherman are still landing double-digit numbers with coolers full of big kings. A few rainbows and coho have been mixed in but the kings have been aggressively feeding even if the numbers have slipped a little. The fish continue to hang in the 70 to 140 range starting shallower early and moving out as the sun gets high.
It would be fun to talk about some new baits, but the bullfrog flies again behind white flashers are still the hottest presentation. Little boy blue behind white or chrome flashers on a dipsey are also good for a fish or two early or late. Pro king spoons in glow ladderback early and flashier presentations later in the day are still taking fish. Pink alewife and black/ gold are also good selections.
This week’s captain’s tip has to do with those slow periods on bright sunny days. I’ll mention again last week’s tip about thinning your presentation out. Visibility is 50 plus feet under water and too much flash can spook neutral fish. Work the bottom hard with j-plugs or a flasher and spread the rest out as much as possible. If a fish keys on a bait and then sees four more, it is more likely to spook more so than to strike.
The next event is this Sunday, June 27 for the Big Brother’s Big Sister’s event. Stu Natale has put the call out for boats. Time is getting short so give Stu a call and take a kid fishing. If you can help with this event, please contact Stu at 262 376-9812.
On behalf of our new sponsor, Midwest Shooter Supply and the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff wishing you all great fishing.
Fishing Report - June 18th
On behalf of the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff with your fishing report for June 18th.
Many of you might be aware we have a new sponsor for the 2010 fishing hotline, Midwest Shooters Supply in Lomira. But if you’re like me, you didn’t know that they have the best Lake Michigan tackle selection in the area. Not only is the selection large, but they have gone to great trouble to put some of the latest and greatest stuff on the shelves right along with all your tried and true tackle. Stop out to Midwest Shooters Supply at the intersection of Highway 41 and Highway 67 in Lomira. Please tell them Captain Geoff sent you.
If anyone had asked me for fishing predictions for the past 24 hours, I would have guessed that the high pressure and bluebird skies yesterday, followed by a line of thunderstorms overnight would have made for a lot of long faces. I am glad to report this has not been the case at all. This morning the fish were very active biting immediately after the early morning storms rolled through. Yesterday some charters even came in early with limits of fish under the bright blue sky.
The fish are still hanging in the 80 to 120 range, but bites continued out to 160 this morning. Very few reported bites on the surface, but fish are hitting weapons very hard along with lead core and riggers. Dipseys have been good very early and very late in the day, but seem to shut off during the brighter hours. Eight to twelve ounce weapons run from 100 to 200 feet back have been very hot. Riggers down 70 to 110 are also getting hit.
We seem to be back to the bullfrog flies again behind white flashers. Little boy blue on a dipsey is also good for a fish or two early or late. I did not get any updates on good spoons so we’ll assume the pink alewife and black/gold Pro Kings are still a safe bet.
This week’s captain’s tip is actually charter captain blasphemy. Sometimes less is more. If fishing is really tough but you are marking a lot of fish, try thinning the herd a little. If you are running 8 or more lines, try pulling half of them. Pick some favorites, spread them out and set the rest aside for 30 o 60 minutes. You may find you have better action on 5 rods than you did on 10. If it doesn’t work, you can always put them back out and it gave you something to do for awhile besides sacrificing all the change in your pockets to the fish gods.
This years first event is Sunday June 27 for the Big Brother’s Big Sister’s event. Stu Natale has put the call out for boats. If you can help with this event, please contact Stu at 262 376-9812.
On behalf of our new sponsor, Midwest Shooter Supply and the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff wishing you all great fishing.
Fishing Report - June 16th
On behalf of the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff with your fishing report for June 16th.
Many of you might be aware we have a new sponsor for the 2010 fishing hotline, Midwest Shooters Supply in Lomira. But if you’re like me, you didn’t know that they have the best Lake Michigan tackle selection in the area. Not only is the selection large, but they have gone to great trouble to put some of the latest and greatest stuff on the shelves right along with all your tried and true tackle. Stop out to Midwest Shooters Supply at the intersection of Highway 41 and Highway 67 in Lomira. Please tell them Captain Geoff sent you.
First of all, thanks to all those who participated in today’s disabled vets fishing event. The turnout was great, the weather was excellent, and the fishing was decent, too. It was a great event as it is every year and what a great way to say thanks to the men and women who served and sacrificed for our country.
Great fishing continues this week with big catches of big kings coming in from most trips Monday and Tuesday. Things did slow a little today, but not for everyone. Most of the action was reported in 70 to 120 feet of water. However, a few maverick fisherman wondered out to the 250 to 300 range looking for action and rumor has it, they found exceptional fishing out there. I don’t have more info than that, but will seek more details. If any of you venture out there, please let us know what you find.
As for spoons, pink alewife and black and gold pro kings have been reported as hot baits. Richard’s aqua bullfrog and little boy blue mirage behind white or chrome flashers have been very good. You might even need to pull out the j-plug box and soak a few of those with these big kings hanging around. But don’t tell anyone I told you that.
This week’s captain’s tip is actually charter captain blasphemy. Sometimes less is more. If fishing is really tough but you are marking a lot of fish, try thinning the herd a little. If you are running 8 or more lines, try pulling half of them. Pick some favorites, spread them out and set the rest aside for 30 o 60 minutes. You may find you have better action on 5 rods than you did on 10. If it doesn’t work, you can always put them back out and it gave you something to do for awhile besides sacrificing all the change in your pockets to the fish gods.
This years first event is Sunday June 27 for the Big Brother’s Big Sister’s event. Stu Natale has put the call out for boats. If you can help with this event, please contact Stu at 262 376-9812.
On behalf of our new sponsor, Midwest Shooter Supply and the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff wishing you all great fishing
Fishing Report - June 12th
On behalf of the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff with your fishing report for June 12th.
Many of you might be aware we have a new sponsor for the 2010 fishing hotline, Midwest Shooters Supply in Lomira. But if you’re like me, you didn’t know that they have the best Lake Michigan tackle selection in the area. Not only is the selection large, but they have gone to great trouble to put some of the latest and greatest stuff on the shelves right along with all your tried and true tackle. Stop out to Midwest Shooters Supply at the intersection of Highway 41 and Highway 67 in Lomira. Please tell them Captain Geoff sent you.
King salmon are still the story as there seems to be a great population of four year olds in Port Washington. The numbers have been down a little, but a dozen kings will make most as happy as 20 coho.
A ton of fish were right in front of the gap this morning, but I did not catch up with anyone who put some baits in front of them. Most set up in 60 to 70 with action early. The bite seemed to shut off pretty quickly, but then action picked up again after 8 o’clock out to 120 feet.
Surface temps broke the 60 degree mark, but the cooler water is not down far. This along with cloudy skies had the fish up high. That forecast continues through tomorrow so work the top 60 feet of water. Birds have not been taking many fish for most, so use those lines to run weapons, dipseys, or stack your riggers.
Black and gold Pro Kings and pink alewife saw some action today. Aqua flies behind white or green flashers were the most commonly reported hot setup.
This years first event is Sunday June 27 for the Big Brother’s Big Sister’s event. Stu Natale has put the call out for boats. If you can help with this event, please contact Stu at 262 376-9812.
On behalf of our new sponsor, Midwest Shooter Supply and the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff wishing you all great fishing.
Fishing Report - June 10th
On behalf of the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff with your fishing report for June 10th.
Many of you might be aware we have a new sponsor for the 2010 fishing hotline, Midwest Shooters Supply in Lomira. But if you’re like me, you didn’t know that they have the best Lake Michigan tackle selection in the area. Not only is the selection large, but they have gone to great trouble to put some of the latest and greatest stuff on the shelves right along with all your tried and true tackle. Stop out to Midwest Shooters Supply at the intersection of Highway 41 and Highway 67 in Lomira. Please tell them Captain Geoff sent you.
I don’t know what has the kings all stirred up, but whatever it is, I hope it continues. Big angry kings have been breaking lines, straightening hooks and busting rods this week. Those who have found some time to get out between the howling winds have come back with the 300 yard stare, also known as the “been spooled.”
Tuesday had cool air, east winds and rain, but kept the fish active into early afternoon. Wednesday was bluebird skies and howling west winds so fish were active early, but slowed later into the day. The afternoon winds were 20 plus so I don’t know much of the afternoon bite.
The west winds have likely cooled the water down close to shore, so start shallow early. Depending on light conditions, you may be able to work there into late morning, but if it is sunny, work your way out.
Best depths the past few days have been 70 to 150 feet. Of course there are concentrations within that range depending on where you are. South, the deeper water seemed to hold more fish and north it was closer to the 90 to 100 range.
Check with Richard for bullfrog and aqua flies to run behind white flashers. Birds had been slow on Tuesday but reports of better action yesterday mean you need to keep some coho and rainbow rigs running the surface.
Weapons have been hot with between 8 and 12 ounce weights run anywhere from 80 to 150 feet behind the board.
This years first event is Sunday June 27 for the Big Brother’s Big Sister’s event. Stu Natale has put the call out for boats. If you can help with this event, please contact Stu at 262 376-9812.
On behalf of our new sponsor, Midwest Shooter Supply and the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff wishing you all great fishing.
Fishing Report - June 7th
On behalf of the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff with your fishing report for June 7th.
Many of you might be aware we have a new sponsor for the 2010 fishing hotline, Midwest Shooters Supply in Lomira. But if you’re like me, you didn’t know that they have the best Lake Michigan tackle selection in the area. Not only is the selection large, but they have gone to great trouble to put some of the latest and greatest stuff on the shelves right along with all your tried and true tackle. Stop out to Midwest Shooters Supply at the intersection of Highway 41 and Highway 67 in Lomira. Please tell them Captain Geoff sent you.
It seems you will have to get up mighty early to fill a cooler these days. Bites after 8 to 9 o’clock were hard to come by over the weekend and today. Colder water has moved a lot of fish into shallower water, but that that means deeper light penetration. Once the sun gets high, the bite gets tough.
Many good reports of fish and bait in 70 to 90 feet of water with good catches early in those depths. A few fish can still be caught on riggers run 10 feet off the bottom in those depths, but most ranged back out to the 100 to 150 foot range for a bite later in the morning.
Bullfrog flies are still catching fish, but aqua now seems to be the hot color behind white or green flashers. Magnum Pro King Black/ Gold, black purple, and green glow served our club president well this weekend in the spoon department.
Action on birds has waned with the barely present coho, but if you have room in your spread, run a couple for the rainbows and the occasional coho near the top.
A captain’s tip for the day. Sometimes when a particular presentation gets hit several times, say for example a particular spoon on an outside rigger, we put an identical one down next to it or on the opposite rigger. Then we often wonder why it does not get hit. Or worse, they both shut down. Take a look at what you have around the hot bait. Often it is not the bait alone, but the combination of baits you are running the entices the strike.
This years first event is Sunday June 27 for the Big Brother’s Big Sister’s event. Stay tuned for more info.
On behalf of our new sponsor, Midwest Shooter Supply and the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff wishing you all great fishing.
Fishing Report - June 5th
On behalf of the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff with your fishing report for June 5th.
Many of you might be aware we have a new sponsor for the 2010 fishing hotline, Midwest Shooters Supply in Lomira. But if you’re like me, you didn’t know that they have the best Lake Michigan tackle selection in the area. Not only is the selection large, but they have gone to great trouble to put some of the latest and greatest stuff on the shelves right along with all your tried and true tackle. Stop out to Midwest Shooters Supply at the intersection of Highway 41 and Highway 67 in Lomira. Please tell them Captain Geoff sent you.
If this were Americas most wanted, today’s show would be about the coho. Everyone is catching a few, but this time of year we should be catching a lot more. If you have any information on the location of the coho biomass, a reward may be in order.
Tough day of fishing for most today. The day started off for us like we were going so need two coolers with 5 fish right off the bat in 70 feet of water. Unfortunately, they seemed to shut off very quickly and every fish after that was a grind. Most fisherman worked the 80 to 140 range with mixed results. The fish were there, but not biting very well. If there were a hot bait, I would report it, but the only thing hot today was the mid-day weather on shore. White flashers with Bullfrog flies took some kings early on riggers and dipseys. Orange double-o’s with Richard’s fruit punch fly took a couple cohos and a rainbow for us as did the blue green gold.
Colder surface temps may be partly to blame for the great fishing dying off this week. The cold front rolling through as I type is not likely to help, but as fisherman, we are always optimists. If you are out tomorrow, don’t be afraid to start shallow. Lots of bait in 50 to 70 feet will draw biting fish and with a little luck, the bite will carry further into the day.
This years first event is Sunday June 27 for the Big Brother’s Big Sister’s event. Stay tuned for more info.
On behalf of our new sponsor, Midwest Shooter Supply and the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff wishing you all great fishing.
Fishing Report - June 3rd
On behalf of the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff with your fishing report for June 3rd.
Many of you might be aware we have a new sponsor for the 2010 fishing hotline, Midwest Shooters Supply in Lomira. But if you’re like me, you didn’t know that they have the best Lake Michigan tackle selection in the area. Not only is the selection large, but they have gone to great trouble to put some of the latest and greatest stuff on the shelves right along with all your tried and true tackle. Stop out to Midwest Shooters Supply at the intersection of Highway 41 and Highway 67 in Lomira. Please tell them Captain Geoff sent you.
After an outstanding Memorial Day weekend, the boat landing has been pretty quiet all week. A few charters went out this week and reported tough fishing around the low pressure front that come through Wednesday.
What we do know is there are still a lot of fish out there in the 60 to 120 foot range and they are hanging around a lot of bait. One private boater started fishing early Wednesday morning and was about to pull lines and give up on a slow day when the fish turned on around 8:30.
While I don’t have any other new information for today’s report, I can offer a tip from the captain. When working tough fish, play around with your speed. Don’t be afraid to drop it into the neutral for 5 to 10 seconds to let your baits drop. Putting the boat back in gear will create the appearance of fleeing baitfish and can trigger strikes from neutral or negative fish. Start a few fish feeding and others within a school will follow suit instead of missing out on eating opportunities.
This years first event is Sunday June 27 for the Big Brother’s Big Sister’s event. Stay tuned for more info.
On behalf of our new sponsor, Midwest Shooter Supply and the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff wishing you all great fishing.
Fishing Report - May 30th
On behalf of the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff with your fishing report for May 30th.
Many of you might be aware we have a new sponsor for the 2010 fishing hotline, Midwest Shooters Supply in Lomira. But if you’re like me, you didn’t know that they have the best Lake Michigan tackle selection in the area. Not only is the selection large, but they have gone to great trouble to put some of the latest and greatest stuff on the shelves right along with all your tried and true tackle. Stop out to Midwest Shooters Supply at the intersection of Highway 41 and Highway 67 in Lomira. Please tell them Captain Geoff sent you.
Another great day on the water. The fishing was a little tougher this morning with many people coming in with light coolers. However, some managed to find some magic and did well. Many are working the 60 to 70 feet of water in low light with some success. As the sun gets higher, moving out to 100 to 180 has been best.
Not much change in the best of baits. White flashers, either glow or fish scale, have been good down 70 or more with bullfrog, green crinkle or aqua flies. On top Richard’s Blue Green Gold or champagne is tops for coho and rainbows. Cracked ice spoons have also been taking fish on weapons or dipsey’s here and there.
The water cooled a bit today with surface temps in the upper fifties which should really help the surface bite tomorrow morning. Cooler weather should keep that going and some clouds tomorrow will slow the run to deep water. If you are out really early, don’t be afraid to work the 50 – 70 foot range or even the fish hanging in 35 to 40 feet. Those fish have been left alone for the most part so they should not be too educated yet.
A tip from the captain, if you are struggling but marking active fish, try making course adjustments of 5 to 10 degrees every 10 minutes or so. Sometimes, with strong currents as we have had, they want to see the bait behave a certain way. Angles can be critical to success.
This years first event is Sunday June 27 for the Big Brother’s Big Sister’s event. Stay tuned for more info.
On behalf of our new sponsor, Midwest Shooter Supply and the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, this is Captain Geoff wishing you all great fishing.