In this article we will continue with successful methods of catching trophy fish. I would like to explore location, presentation and lure selection for Rainbows. The excitement of Rainbow Trout fishing is on the top of my list. When you hook up with a fish that goes air-borne, it is an experience you will never forget. This trophy fish is not as commonly caught on Lake Michigan as the other species primarily due to their summer location. Where there are exceptions, most of the time deep water is the best location to find them. Look for them in 150 feet of water and deeper. This fish likes deep water but don’t look for them on the bottom. Fishing the surface down to forty feet should be your target.

The primary forage for Rainbows, up to six pounds, is aquatic and terrestrial insects, crayfish and other crustaceans. Rainbows also eat fish, as well as plankton, snails, leeches and fish eggs. They take a variety of anglers’ flies, lures and baits. The presentation of choice for fish under six pounds is flashers and flies. Big bows are more likely to forage on baitfish and spoons would be the way to go for trophies.

The water temperatures in June make it the best month for all size Rainbows. Rainbow Trout are a cold water fish that cannot survive when the water temperature rises above 70 degrees Fahrenheit for an extended period of time. Their optimum water temperature is about 55 degrees. Although they do best when the water is less than 70 degrees, they can withstand temperatures into the 70s if there is plenty of oxygen.

In June the surface water near shore warms first. This warming trend extends to the deeper surface water as the season continues. A temperature break where the warm near shore surface water meets the colder off shore can be dynamite in holding trophies.

In forage-rich Lake Michigan, they grow 30-32 inches long and may reach 16 pounds by the time they are five years old. On charter we have boated Rainbows to 21 pounds.

Please allow me to give you an overview of the optimum conditions for predictable success. This is a fish with banker’s hours. I never work them before 10 in the morning and by 4 in the afternoon they are off the best bite of the day. They like the bright light and your lures should be for the brightest conditions.

If you recall from one of my earlier articles on lure color as it relates to light, you should use lures that are at the top end of the rainbow that are red, orange, yellow and green. Combinations of these colors on a silver spoon will get the action started. Two of my favorites are made by http://www.badgertackle.com the Vulcan Dolphin Green and Silver and the Reaper Big Joe Silver. These lures are sold only at badgertackle.com

A stealthy approach is necessary for the biggest fish. Several that can be used are trolling downriggers with leads to 100 feet or more and leadcore is another good choice. Three to five colors of lead will put your lures where they belong. Get away from the boat in water undisturbed.

The basics of leadcore are simple. The most expensive part is the reel. It must have enough line capacity to handle the leadcore line plus mono and Dacron for a total of anywhere from 300 to 600 yards. I run my three to ten colors on an Okuma Convector CV45D. This is the smallest reel a full core will fit on. Leadcore sinks at a rate of 4-5 feet per color. A half core will run about 24 feet deep.

When loading this reel, start with 100 yards of a braided Dacron then strip the lead out of the end of the leadcore and tie a Blood Knot to the leadcore. Finish with a Willis Knot and 60 feet of a 20-pound monofilament to a ball bearing cross lock snap.

You will need a heavy action 8-foot rod to work with lead. The most effective way to present this is with a Yellow Bird Big Bird planer board if you are going to use multiple set ups. Snap on your favorite lure and let out all of the line to the Dacron. Then install your board so it does not release. I usually run them 150 feet off each side of the boat. Very wide turns and low boat traffic are a must to avoid tangles and getting run over.

I set my drags light. When the reel starts to scream, adjust the drag as necessary. Reel in the line until you can reach the board and hand release it. Now the line is clear to bring in the fish.

I will continue with trophy variables for Lake Trout in the next article.

Good Luck

Let’s go fishing! Captain Jim.

Jim charters out of Milwaukee, WI. with Blue Max Charters. He can be reached at 414-828-1094 or visit his web site at http://www.bluemaxcharters.com Copyright© 2007, James J. Hirt, All Rights Reserved.

Officials are poisoning waterways in order to kill massive numbers of Asian carp, an invasive species that threatens the multi-billion dollar Great Lakes fishing industry. The poisoning also collaterally kills thousands of other fish species. Critics want to know if this is the right thing to be doing?

Tom Remington

By Captain Jim Hirt

Let’s continue with ways to land more of the fish you have on the line. We covered quality hooks and correct setting of the drags on your reels. They probably rank as the top two in importance, although there are many other ways to get the fish to stick.

To me there is nothing more vital to my success on the lake and satisfaction of my customers than a high ratio fish on to fish in. I am sure there are some that will disagree with a procedure I use to allow a greater numbers at the end of the day.

I pull my lines and stop the boat on all of the fish over ten pounds or at least that’s my goal. Occasionally, in the heat of the battle, a larger fish will end up close to the boat before we can clear lines. Then I will take the boat down as slow as we can to avoid getting the fish around my other lines. The longer you drag the fish around the more time they have to get off.

Over the years I have found that the harder you pull on the fish the harder they fight and more likely they will come off. This also allows me to run smaller terminal tackle and lighter lines both of which improve presentation. I know pulling lines is a lot of work but I would rather do that than disappoint a customer and friend.

I have the pleasure of a new group of fishermen twice a day with a wide variety of experience. Most of who have never caught a fish before. My youngest this year was three and oldest was eighty-seven. We managed to boat over 80% of the fish we had on.

There will be more on this subject in the next article. Good Luck!!

Jim charters out of Milwaukee, WI. with Blue Max Charters. He can be reached at 414… or visit his web site at http://www.bluemaxcharters.com

Copyright© 2009, James J. Hirt, All Rights Reserved

*Update* – March 13, 2008 8:21 a.m.

It seems that since I was sent the photos, these weren’t taken on Lake Huron. Snopes has more on the real story behind this and a lot more photographs too. Check it out here.

I received these photos and a brief explanation yesterday from a reader in Michigan. I found the photos to be remarkable and thought I would take a few minutes to share with you.

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Gee, this global warming thing is really something……

Michigan has had the coldest winter in decades. Water expands to freeze, and at MacinawCity the water in Lake Huron below the surface ice was supercooled. It expanded to break through the surface ice and froze into this incredible wave.

Tom Remington

By Capt. Jim Hirt

I would like to describe a scenario most of you have probably run into at one time or another. Clear Blue Bird sky, calm water, nothing biting – zip, zero, nada, nothing!! Perhaps there was an early first light bite and you missed it. Maybe you have friends on board and they can only fish from noon to four in the afternoon. Not the best hours of the day. Well what do you do?

Charter Captains deal with this on many days each season. Let’s start with how we got here. Attitude of fish is set up by many factors – some being weather, barometer, light, water temperature and phase of the moon. The list goes on forever. You get the picture.

Unfortunately most of the best times to fish are not an option to a good share of the fishing community. Don’t despair. All is not lost.

This is not an answer that will create a flurry of action so wild that you can’t keep up with the tackle. It will however put a few fish in the cooler and avoid the dreaded SKUNK! Most of the factors mentioned put the fish in a neutral or negative state. These types of fish will not take an aggressive presentation. Put away the plugs, flasher flies and magnum spoons. Go stealth, Go long, Go light, and Go small.

This all means to present small spoons at great distances on light line in waters undisturbed. This is not a new concept. Far too many fishermen use a heavy mono line on tough fishing days and it becomes ineffective. Heavy 20-30 pound line must be used on rotators, flashers and dodgers. Don’t go with light line on these or you will loose them.

Several stealth presentations come to mind. I could just skim over all of them but I would like to focus on just one with all the details necessary. An effective tool for the tough days is what I call the LTLR (light line rig). It is easy to rig, however, it does require specialized tackle.

I run a medium-sized Okuma Convector CV-20D line counter reel capable of holding 300 yards of 12-lb. line with a smooth drag and an Okuma CGL-C-762ML medium-light rod. I have found this combo to be superior for this application. A low visibility Seaguar Invizix, fluorocarbon, 12-lb line is the key to this presentation’s success.

Attach the spoon with a size #1 Sampo 30-lb. coastlock snap. With this type of day, four down riggers offer the stealth you are looking for. Too much tackle will spook the fish.

The light line requires a rubber band release. Don’t go with any of the regular releases or a big Chinook will break your line. Run 80-120 foot leads off the down riggers with at least 20 feet of separation between them.

It is a proven fact that small lures are the way to go on neutral or negative fish. For this reason I use a size #2 Vulcan spoon and match the color based on the amount of light. This 3-inch spoon closely resembles the profile of the smaller Lake Michigan baitfish and trolls well at all speeds.

Have a great fishing season. Let’s go fishing!!

Jim charters out of Milwaukee, WI. with Blue Max Charters. He can be reached at 414-828-1094 or visit his web site at http://www.bluemaxcharters.com

Copyright© 2006, James J. Hirt, All Rights Reserved

By Capt. Jim Hirt

Small changes in tackle and presentation will make a big difference in the number of fish in the cooler. It does not cost a lot of money to improve your technique. As a charter captain I am invited to fish with many other fishermen during the course of the season. I know everyone has a different way of doing things but I am always surprised to see how each of us approaches the fundamentals.

I believe presentation is more important than any other factor when fishing any body of water. The best anglers catch more fish because they focus on getting as close to a natural presentation as possible. Every time you go fishing, whether it’s for salmon or any other specie, think about how your bait is working.

One of the biggest mistakes I have seen is the lack of a Fluorocarbon leader from your main line to the bait. Salt-water anglers have been using leaders to enhance the action of the lure, reduce the visibility of the line and create a more stealthy natural presentation for a long time.

Its time to get on the wagon. A spool of 18 lb. Seaguar Fluoro Premier fluorocarbon leader for $9 will put more fish in the boat! Most anglers do not consider the terminal tackle that important. The last ten feet of your line is critical to producing.

What do you use to attach your lures? Snaps are rated by pounds of pressure they will with stand. Use the correct size for your target species. You wouldn’t use a deer rifle for rabbit hunting so, don’t use a 150 lb snap for 30-pound fish. Try the smaller snaps. I use a 30 lb Cross Lock Ball Bearing snap on all of my lines except for the diving planers and flashers or dodgers. They take a lot of abuse and for them I use a 75 lb snap. Premium Ball Bearing snaps cost more but they’re worth it. The smaller snaps won’t last as long so replace them frequently or fatigue will cause them to fail.

One last word on this subject is that good drags on your reels are necessary. Set the drag correctly and keep your thumb off the spool. The rod should fight the fish not the reel.

Have a great fishing season.

Let’s go fishing!! Jim charters out of Milwaukee, WI. with Blue Max Charters. He can be reached at 414-828-1094 or visit his web site at http://www.bluemaxcharters.com Copyright© 2007, James J. Hirt, All Rights Reserved.

Posted by Tom Remington

Recently I was contacted by Matt Whetstone of Cadillac News out of Michigan. He wanted to feature an article about the debate in that state over a proposal to raise license fees for hunting and fishing. Under one proposal, the cost to a hunter wishing to purchase a big game hunting license and one antlerless deer permit would cost $105.00.

What Mr. Whetstone was looking for was someone to present to Michigan readers the positive aspects of raising the license fees and someone else to present the downside. I took the downside approach as I believed that kind of an increase to hunt a deer is ridiculous.

The upside to fee increases was presented by Bob Garner of the Natural Resources Trust Fund.

Today, that article is featured on the home page of the Cadillac News. If interested in what I had to say and what Mr. Garner had to say, please visit the site and read the entire article.

Here’s a snippet from my portion.

Sport license buyers are no different than most consumers in that they are willing to pay the price for perceived value. When that perceived value remains unchanged and the cost increases too much too quickly, bad things happen.

And from Mr. Garner.

If you have the point of view that hunting and fishing licenses are just a tax on the sports we all love, it is likely you wouldn’t support even a dime increase in the license fees. But that’s not what they are. Licenses to hunt and fish came about because conservationists who enjoyed the outdoors and wanted to see the next generation enjoy it campaigned to have licenses and to have those fees put into a dedicated fund.

Tom Remington

Reports say that the wild lake trout continues to make a strong comeback in the Great Lakes even though a recent count showed numbers down slightly. The Ironwood Daily Globe has the story.

Tom Remington

The Sierra Club and a hunting and fishing preserve in Marquette County have petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service asking that the coaster brook trout be put on the endangered species list.

The coaster brook trout migrates into the Great Lakes from tributaries and spends the majority of its life there. The endangered species status would give the trout protection in an effort to keep the fish from becoming extinct.

This link will give you more information about the coaster brookie.

Tom Remington