The Three R’s of Fishing #1
By Lake Michigan fishing charter Capt. Jim Hirt
As with all sports and activities basics and fundamentals are the foundation from which a sound well played game is achieved. The name of this article could have been the twenty five R’s of fishing because many small details will make or break your day on the water. However I decided to focus on only three of the fundamentals, rigging reacting and record keeping. Read all my articles and see video fish reports at http://www.jimhirt.com
Rigging
This is a vast subject with a different definition to most anglers. To me it means assembling the correct components in the best way to meet the current conditions. Let’s get into specifics. The rod, reel, line and terminal tackle are the foundation to success. In my earlier days of fishing the selection of a fishing rod was confusing. The more people you talked to the worse it got. My experience over the years has lead me to a simple conclusion, heavy weight rods for big fish with high test line. Light weight rods for small fish on light test line. Following the recommended line weight marked on the rod will put more fish in the cooler. A rod that is too stiff will not bend with light line. The result will be lost fish from failure to maintain a tight line to the target. You will also be able to use smaller snaps and terminal tackle on light line with a light action rod. This will enhance the lure action with improved presentation.
Reacting
Reacting to changes will improve your success. The speed of your bait whether it is a spoon, jig, or crankbait is important. The right lure at the wrong speed will be less productive. The correct speed is dictated by many variables.
Variables
Always consider the mood of fish and the environment they are in and adjust to the conditions. This will help you find the best speed. Mood is defined by weather and the time of year. High and low barometric pressure are a part of the weather question. They both have a significant impact on the mood of all fish. Activity level in fish will change with the movement or lack of barometer movement. You must know what the weather has been preceding your fishing trip. This information will set the stage giving you the information you can use to your advantage. A clear blue high sky after a low pressure front is every anglers nightmare. Fish get spooky, neutral or negative in these conditions. For these types of days a slow spot on the spot presentation is key. Work your favorite location with precise boat and lure control. Inactivity is normal, when this happens pick your favorite locations on any body of water and look for your target species in the next break to deeper water.
Baits, speed and location
Work smaller spoons, lures or baits in a slow systematic presentation. If motor trolling is your method of fishing use small spoons. Present them at slow speeds and fish them near the bottom. On the other hand steady barometric pressure for an extended period of time with overcast sky conditions is time to grab your pole and to head for the water. Don’t miss these ideal days. The fish will be up on the shallow flats, near shore and active. Pound these fish with big baits and fast erratic actions. Work hard, work fast and cover a lot of water. This sets up a great opportunity for trolling big water. The correct lure color for overcast will put more fish in the boat. Silver or gold has long been the standard until resent years. Cutting edge anglers are now going to glow in the dark lures. The visibility of glow spoons far exceeds the old standards. Badger Tackle has great line up of glow spoons. For the anglers that run a boat speed from 1.5 to 3.5 MPH I would recommend the Vulcan magnum. This is a tough heavy weight spoon with a slim profile that fits well with most freshwater and saltwater forage base sizes. The other one I like is the Reaper. Run the regular size on clear calm days and magnum at first light, overcast or whenever you are down deep or in a low light presentation. The Reaper is a wide spoon with a crippled baitfish action for trolling at speeds of 1.0 to 2.5. The Striper and Salmon fishermen say it is a perfect match to the Shad and Alewife forage. Both are exclusively sold at http://www.badgertackle.com/ you won’t be disappointed. Good Luck let’s go fishing! Jim charters out of Milwaukee, WI. with Blue Max Charters. He can be reached at 414-828-1094 or web site at http://www.bluemaxcharters.com Copyright© 2011 James J. Hirt, All Rights Reserved.
Great Lakes Lure Set Ups 2011 Part #2
By Lake Michigan Fishing Charter Milwaukee Capt. Jim Hirt
Current information is critical to being at the top of your game in any sport. Fishing is no exception and perhaps more critical than other sports. This article will focus on what to use and where for the 2011 season. Read all my articles and see video fish reports at http://www.jimhirt.com
Mini sets what goes where?
On the deepest lines in the coldest water I fish for Lake trout. All the deep lines are matched for speed, color and preference of the target. This is a good time to talk about color as it relates to the amount of light. You may or may not remember learning the colors of the rainbow in school. The colors are remembered by this acronym “ROY G BIV”. These letters mean red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. There are exceptions to every rule. Most of the time I run lure colors of red, orange, or yellow when that lure is presented in the portion of the water column with the most light. The other end of the rainbow blue, indigo and violet are used in darker or low light situations. You may ask what about silver and white? I consider these as neutral or they will work in any type of light. All the other colors fall into either bright or dark. Bright lures are used in bright light conditions dark lures in low light.
Now let’s get back to setting our deep lines. Go with colors for low light that work well at a speed you intend to run and in the size of the baitfish. Large Reaper magnum glow spoons, dodgers or flashers with flies, or spin-n-glows and lake trolls work most days. Look for temps below 45 degrees for the biggest Lake Trout. This presentation is usually on downriggers working below 100 feet deep. I will get into downrigger presentation in another article.
Midway down the water column
The next mini set will run in water above the deep lines. Fish the 48-53 degree water spreading the lines to run about every ten feet of depth. Here we are looking for Chinooks and Coho salmon. I like a mix of dodgers, flashers flies and spoons. Of these three choices spoons are the easiest to present and most productive. There is a variety of ways to work the middle of the water column but, without a doubt lead core and copper lines on planner boards will be the most successful.
High lines
The balance of my lines will run in 54 degrees or warmer water looking for rainbows and browns. Depending on how much warm water you have to work with you can cover it with long lines, diving planers and lead core. The mini set in the warmest water with lots light should have the lures with fastest action and brightest colors. Minnow type lures are a great productive choice with their fast action.
Summary
Run Mini Sets for all your targets in the temperature zone you expect to find them. Temperature is the key to success with the correct color and action in the depth of water you are fishing.
Check out http://www.badgertackle.com for Reaper, Vulcan and Nestor Wobbler spoons proven and tested by anglers worldwide. Have a great fishing season. Captain Jim. 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© 2011, James J. Hirt, All Rights Reserved.
Great Lakes Lure Set Ups 2011 Part #1
By Lake Michigan Fishing Charter Milwaukee Capt. Jim Hirt
Current information is critical to being at the top of your game in any sport. Fishing is no exception and perhaps more critical than other sports. This article will focus on what to use and where for the 2011 season. Read all my articles and see video fish reports at http://www.jimhirt.com
What to use and where?
In this article I would like to help you define when and where to use spoons, minnow type baits, flasher flies, dodger flies, squids and a variety of other lures. The way I decide what to use is determined by many variables. Let’s look at each of them separately. What we are looking for is the right color, size, lure action and location that will get your target species to strike.
Two ways to go
This is the first of two approaches with every fisherman putting his own twist on each. Some fishermen believe it is better to run all of the same kind of lure at one time and use a selection of colors or sizes. This type of presentation is called bait sets. Let’s say they are running six rods. They will run the same type of spoon on each rod in a variety of colors and sizes, or all flashers and flies in different colors. Bait sets work well when you know what’s happening but you leave no room for error. If you’re hot you’re hot or if you’re wrong you may not be in the game.
Second set up
The other approach to presentation is running a different lure on every line. This set up is called shotgun. Mixing lures this way is tricky; some lures may be too fast or too slow to work well. On most days, I run a mix of different lures doing what I call Mini Sets to minimize this problem. This is what I might do in a summer presentation. I am usually running 12-16 rods. I split up my rods into three mini sets.
Check out http://www.badgertackle.com for Reaper, Vulcan and Nestor Wobbler spoons proven and tested by anglers worldwide. Have a great fishing season. Captain Jim. 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© 2011, James J. Hirt, All Rights Reserved.
In the last article, we started with the importance of location, tackle, temperature and good record keeping. I also covered some of my key ways to find fish in early spring on Lake Michigan and the hot set ups to keep the rods dancing.
Let us now go into more detail on location of temperature breaks and how to work them. The first and perhaps most important is how to find these sometimes subtle temperature changes. Your primary tool, and one you cannot do with out, is a surface temp gauge. I use the one built into my fish locator. It also has a graph to show the temp history over the last hour. This may not be necessary but it can help when mapping temp over a given area. The big pond is very cold in May also some years even into June. Your ability to monitor temp and stay in as close to the target species preferred temp will make or break your day on the lake. Let us assume most of the lake is in the forty-degree range and your target species is Coho, browns or Chinooks. All of these fish are looking for two things, temperature as close to their preferred range and food. I will go into food and or forage in another article for now let’s focus on temperature.
Out of Milwaukee we are fortunate to have several rivers flowing into a large harbor. The rivers warm earlier than the lake and the mouth of a river is a place to start with a temp check. In addition, you should be checking each of the three gaps in the break wall that creates the harbor. A south wind will push the warm water out the north gap. This will turn the fish on in this area while the south gap is too cold for productive fishing. The way I start any day is to work the warmest water or water nearest to preferred temp I can find. After working this water, I move to cooler water. Sharp temp breaks are usually better at holding fish then gradual changes. Always consider the wind direction, not only when you are fishing but what it has been doing over the last several days. A light east wind on our western shore moves warmer surface water on shore and contributes to a rise in temp and a good bite close to the shoreline. All harbors with rivers have some current flow and the wind determines the direction that warmer water will flow when leaving the harbor. Fish that warmer water and into the cooler lake water keeping an eye on your temp gauge. When you get action note your location by land sightings and temp. Stay with that temperature to find active fish. If you have worked the harbor and gaps with no or slow action, look for temp breaks on the lake created by shifts in wind direction.
Another option is to check tight along the shoreline in protected bays. At times I will run my lures in the shallow warmer water on side planners keeping the boat out in the deeper cooler water. Also check out any warm water discharged from power plants. We have this opportunity south of Milwaukee by twelve miles at Oak Creek. I will go into details of spring lure selection and presentation in the next article good luck 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© 2011, James J. Hirt, All Rights Reserved.
Milwaukee Fishing Lake Michigan Salmon Report 10/6/10
By Capt. Jim Hirt
The high wind out of the north has not effected the fishing. The water temperature will be the key to finding fish on your next trip out. As of Monday morning the warm water is in and the fish were out. A temperature break was in 120 to 170 feet of water. The best action for Chinooks and Lake Trout was 110 to 140 down. Magnum spoons are the best option for all size fish. To see my how to video fish report go to http://www.jimhirt.com
Patterns and programs 120 to 170 feet
The temperature break to 50 degrees is at least 100 feet down. The deepest we have caught fish is 145 feet down with the majority of our fish coming 95 to 130 feet down. This is my recommendation for location after the gale force wind. Head out 80 degrees from the north gap and set up in 100 feet of water. Check the down temperature and key on 50 degrees. Use Fish Fry Magnum Glow Spoons at first light working lines at all depths.
You will find great action on Rainbows with 2, 4, 8 and 10 color leadcore with Badger Tackle Vulcan and Reaper Magnum spoons. Downriggers 95 to 140 down are taking two and three year old Chinooks. I use Church Walleye Planner Boards for all my lead cores.
Some of our best producing spoons have been Vulcan Magnum Silver Lizard, Reaper Magnum Peacock Silver, and Magnum Fish n Chip. For small spoons the Vulcan Dolphin Green Silver and combinations of silver spoons with green or blue accent colors. Run the boat speed at 1.6 to 2.1 MPH.
Vulcans, Nestor Wobblers and Reapers are sold only on the web at http://www.badgertackle.com 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© 2010, James J. Hirt, All Rights Reserved.
Milwaukee Fishing Lake Michigan Salmon Report 10/4/10
By Capt. Jim Hirt
The high wind out of the north has not effected the fishing. The water temperature will be the key to finding fish on your next trip out. As of Monday morning the warm water is in and the fish were out. A temperature break was in 120 to 170 feet of water. The best action for Chinooks and Lake Trout was 110 to 140 down. Magnum spoons are the best option for all size fish. To see my how to video fish report go to http://www.jimhirt.com
Patterns and programs 120 to 170 feet
The temperature break to 50 degrees is at least 100 feet down. The deepest we have caught fish is 145 feet down with the majority of our fish coming 95 to 130 feet down. This is my recommendation for location after the gale force wind. Head out 80 degrees from the north gap and set up in 100 feet of water. Check the down temperature and key on 50 degrees. Use Fish Fry Magnum Glow Spoons at first light working lines at all depths.
You will find great action on Rainbows with 2, 4, 8 and 10 color leadcore with Badger Tackle Vulcan and Reaper Magnum spoons. Downriggers 95 to 140 down are taking two and three year old Chinooks. I use Church Walleye Planner Boards for all my lead cores.
Some of our best producing spoons have been Vulcan Magnum Silver Lizard, Reaper Magnum Peacock Silver, and Magnum Fish n Chip. For small spoons the Vulcan Dolphin Green Silver and combinations of silver spoons with green or blue accent colors. Run the boat speed at 1.6 to 2.1 MPH.
Vulcans, Nestor Wobblers and Reapers are sold only on the web at http://www.badgertackle.com 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© 2010, James J. Hirt, All Rights Reserved.
Temperature is the answer to more fish. You will find action from 30 to 106 down when the temps are right. Look for 50 degrees and run tackle above and below the temp break. This is the place in the water column where you see a dramatic shift from the warmer surface water to the colder deeper water. This break moves with the wind and is different every day. You must present tackle for all species from the top ten feet of water to the bottom in all depths you fish. I would like to be more specific however it doesn’t work that way. Yesterday the best action was in 80 to 90 feet and you can bet that this will change tomorrow.
A nice mixed bag will be your reward. On the high lines (2,3, and 4 color lead core) the Vulcan regular size Dolphin Green Silver is picking up Rainbow Trout. Mid way down the water column in a temperature of 50 degrees use Magnum Reaper spoons in silver with green or blue green accent stripes. The Magnum Peacock and Fish n Chip have been my go to spoons on a SWR. The Magnum Peacock and Fish n Chip have been my go to spoon for my 5, 6, 8 and 10 color lead cores. Downriggers are also producing with the same spoons and some flasher flies. The best depths for downriggers have been 45, 60, 70 and 100 feet. The Chinooks are in depths of 30 to 140 feet of water. Lake Trout are always available near the bottom even on the slower days when you slow the boat down to 1.5 MPH measured at the ball with the Depth Raider. The Depth Raider is an essential part of your tools for trolling with the current we have on Lake Michigan. Speed up to 2.1 when working the Kings Let me tell you where and what to use. To see my how to video fish report go to http://www.jimhirt.com
Travel northeast out of the North Gap about 4 miles at a 55 degrees compass for the cold water that holds the fish. Look for fish from 10 to 100 down on all presentations. Slide Divers with 90 feet of line out are also working with magnum Reaper Peacock or Fish n Chip spoons. Glow spoons have also been working all day long in the magnum size like the Reaper Fish Fry.
Vulcans, Nestor Wobblers and Reapers are sold only on the web at http://www.badgertackle.com 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© 2010, James J. Hirt, All Rights Reserved.
Milwaukee Fishing Salmon Reports August 23rd 2010
By Capt. Jim Hirt
Widely scattered is the best way to describe recent action for salmon and trout Milwaukee. You must present tackle for all species from the top ten feet of water to the bottom in all depths you fish. A nice mixed bag will be your reward. On the high lines (2,3, and 4 color lead core) the Vulcan regular size Dolphin Green Silver is picking up Rainbow Trout. Mid way down the water column in a temperature of 50 degrees use Magnum Reaper spoons in silver with green or blue green accent stripes. The Magnum Peacock and Fish n Chip have been my go to spoons on a SWR. As usual temperature is the key. The Magnum Peacock and Fish n Chip have been my go to spoon for my 5, 6, 8 and 10 color lead cores. Downriggers are also producing with the same spoons and some flasher flies. The best depths for downriggers have been 45, 60, 70 and 100 feet. The fish are in depths of 60 to 170 feet of water. Lake Trout are always available near the bottom even on the slower days when you slow the boat down to 1.5 MPH measured at the ball with the Depth Raider. The Depth Raider is an essential part of your tools for trolling with the current we have on Lake Michigan. Speed up to 2.1 when working the Kings Let me tell you where and what to use. To see my how to video fish report go to http://www.jimhirt.com
Travel northeast out of the North Gap about 4 miles at a 45 degrees compass for the cold water that holds the fish. Look for fish from 10 to 100 down on all presentations. Slide Divers with 110 feet of line out are also working with magnum Reaper Peacock or Fish n Chip spoons. Glow spoons have also been working all day long in the magnum size like the Reaper Fish Fry.
Vulcans, Nestor Wobblers and Reapers are sold only on the web at http://www.badgertackle.com 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© 2010, James J. Hirt, All Rights Reserved.
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March 14, 2011 5:05 pm | 
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