Miss VanDusen and a chinook from West Bay that ate a glow-in-the-dark plug.
Big Daddy Dave and his trophy one-hooked/one-lassoed perch from Long Lake.
Rumor has it there's a few perch, like this one seen on an Aqua-Vu in West Bay, being taken here and there!
There’s a nip in the air here in NW Lower Michigan… Fall’s growing nearer. And if you’re an angler, that’s a good thing—the bite, no matter the species, is only going to get better.
I went out onto West Grand Traverse Bay this morning with my bud, Captain John VanDusen, his daughter and boyfriend, and did a little trolling for chinook. We went two for four in a couple hours of fishing. The fish came in the twilight of dawn on a glow-in-the-dark plug. The water temperature was real scattered in the strong SW winds; one fish came 45 feet down, the other 65 feet down. Most every boat near us in “The Hole” had a fish on at one time or another.
I hit Long Lake for walleye last night, the bite not nearly as good as when salmon trolling this morning. We caught a couple under-size walleye while jigging a Hopkins jigging spoon over 30-plus feet of water (as well a couple dink perch), and later, caught another short walleye on a floating Smithwick Rogue in 8 feet of water. We then trolled small cranks along shallow weed beds after dark, only to have a couple hits. My big moment on Long Lake last night was hooking a small perch on my blade bait, and at the same time, lassoing another bigger one in my superline. (See photo.)
Speaking of perch… There’s rumor of a few perch being caught in both East and West Grand Travers Bays and a few inland lakes like Big Glen, North Lake Leelanau, Long Lake, and Crystal Lake. I’ll report back on the perch bite as soon as I find out more.
As always, BE SAFE ON THE WATER!
Dave ~ WildFishing
