Milwaukee Fishing Lake Michigan Salmon Report 7/4/11
By Milwaukee Wisconsin fishing charter Capt. Jim Hirt
Milwaukee Salmon Fishing Heats Up!
Coho, Chinooks and Rainbow make up the majority of the catch with an occasional Lake Trout. Surface water has warmed to 58 degrees and most of the action is 25 to 50 down in the 48 degree water. Spoons are now more important than ever to improving your catch. They should be your go to bait as the water approaches the most active range of your favorite species. To get my fish reports and how to videos first go to http://www.jimhirt.com By subscribing you will keep ahead of the other anglers. When I post you will get it fast!
How
With the warmer water the most aggressive Coho and Chinooks are coming on magnum spoons. Reapers and Vulcans made by http://www.badgertackle.com have been working for us. The Magnum Reaper Fish n Chip is the hot bait for the bright blue sky condition we have had the last two days. I have been running this spoon on all twelve of my lines and getting action all day long. 150 copper behind a Church Walleye Board is one of our best presentations. Six, eight and ten color leadcores are also working. Coho are from 25 feet to 50 down on downriggers as well. Chinooks are in pockets of colder 46-48 degree water. Wire divers have replaced the braid divers set to #2 with 60 to 120 feet if line out. The surface is almost sixty degrees and it is time to work the Rainbow Trout in the top twenty feet. Two and Three color leadcore with the Regular Vulcan Dolphin Green and Silver has taken Rainbows to twelve pounds the last several days. A little faster speed about 2.5 is required for Rainbows. I use the Depth Raider to measure speed at the ball. The big Chinook are hitting on Reaper Magnum Glow spoons. The boat speed of 1.9 to 2.2 has been best.
Where!
Fish east of Milwaukee 45 to 200 feet of water. Head out the Main gap Milwaukee 65 degrees. Fish northeast in White Fish Bay for the best action. 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© 2011, James J. Hirt, All Rights Reserved.
Milwaukee Fishing Lake Michigan Salmon Report 6/27/11
By Milwaukee Wisconsin fishing charter Capt. Jim Hirt
Coho Good, Chinooks Good In Milwaukee!
Coho have slowed down some but still a big part of the catch. Deep water is the place to go with fish going down to find their preferred temperature. Surface is warming and the key is looking for fish by temperature. To get my fish reports and how to videos first go to http://www.jimhirt.com By subscribing you will keep ahead of the other anglers. When I post you will get it fast!
How
With the warmer water the most aggressive Coho and Chinooks are coming on magnum spoons. Reapers and Vulcans made by http://www.badgertackle.com have been working for us. The Magnum Reaper Big Joe Silver has been leading the pack for top producer over the past two days. This spoon on 150 copper behind a Church Walleye Board is one of our best presentations. Six, eight and ten color leadcores are also working. Six inch flashers or dodgers with green or blue Johnnie peanut flies must be part of your presentation for Coho. Coho are from 35 feet to the bottom on downriggers as well. Chinooks are 60 to 125 down. Slide Divers have not been that productive on the bright sunny sky we had over the weekend and should improve on overcast days ahead. The surface is almost sixty degrees and it is time to work the Rainbow Trout in the top twenty feet. Two and Three color leadcore with the Regular Vulcan Dolphin Green and Silver has taken Rainbows to nine pounds the last several days. A little faster speed about 2.5 is required for Rainbows. I use the Depth Raider to measure speed at the ball. The big Chinook are hitting on Reaper Magnum Glow spoons. The boat speed of 1.9 to 2.2 has been best. Tie your flies 16 inches on 6 inch dodgers, 18 inches for 6 inch flashers. All orange dodgers and flashers. I hope this helps.
Where!
Fish all the way out east of Milwaukee to 200 feet of water. Head out the Main gap Milwaukee 85 degrees. Fish east out in 180 to 240 feet of water for the best action. 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© 2011, James J. Hirt, All Rights Reserved.
Milwaukee Fishing Lake Michigan Salmon Report 6/1/11
By Milwaukee Wisconsin fishing charter Capt. Jim Hirt
Best Coho Fishing ever in Milwaukee!
Had fantastic action on Coho Salmon and the Chinook are coming on strong. Photo of Joe Milton and company. They know how to put them in the box. To get my fish reports and how to videos first go to http://www.jimhirt.com By subscribing you will keep ahead of the other anglers. When I post you will get it fast!
How
Coho are coming on all size spoons. Reapers and Vulcans made by http://www.badgertackle.com have been working for us. The small Reaper Peacock and Fish n Chip has been hot on the lead cores. Six inch flashers or dodgers with green or blue Johnnie peanut flies must be part of your presentation for Coho. A hot presentation for us was a size O orange dodger with a 21.5 inch lead to a medium size blue fly. Coho are in the top 35 feet and Chinooks are 30 to 45 down. Steady action on Slide Divers set to #3 no ring and 55 feet of line out. Run 4 and 5 color Cortland lead core and downriggers 12 to 48 feet down. Speed has been very critical with the 47 degree water. I use the Depth Raider to measure speed at the ball. The big Chinook are hitting on Reaper Magnum Glow spoons. The boat speed of 1.9 to 2.2 has been best. Tie your flies 14.5 inches on 6 inch dodgers, 12 inches for 6 inch flashers. All orange dodgers and flashers. I hope this helps.
Where!
Fish are from the harbor break wall and all the way out north of Milwaukee to 120 feet. It can be a zoo in close with all the traffic and it may be better to head out the north gap Milwaukee 70 degrees and fish northeast out to 70 to 100 feet of water. 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© 2011, James J. Hirt, All Rights Reserved.
Fishing Lake Michigan Salmon Report 5/22/11
By Milwaukee Wisconsin fishing charter Capt. Jim Hirt
Coho Fever and it just got better in Milwaukee!
Had fantastic action on Coho Salmon, Lake Trout and check out the photo of TJ from Brookfield Wisconsin with great Chinook Salmon. To get my fish reports and how to videos first go to http://www.jimhirt.com By subscribing you will keep ahead of the other anglers. When I post you will get it fast!
How
Coho are coming on all size spoons. Reapers and Vulcans made by http://www.badgertackle.com have been working for us. The small silver Vulcan has been hot on the lead cores. Six inch flashers or dodgers with green or blue Johnnie peanut flies must be part of your presentation for Coho. A hot presentation for us was a size O orange dodger with a 21.5 inch lead to a medium size blue fly. Coho are in the top 35 feet and Chinooks are 30 to 45 down. Steady action on Slide Divers set to #3 no ring and 35 feet of line out. Run 2,3,4,and 5 color Cortland lead core and downriggers 12 to 48 feet down. Speed has been very critical with the 51 degree water. I use the Depth Raider to measure speed at the ball. For spoons use the regular size Silver Vulcan. The big Chinook are hitting on Reaper Magnum Glow spoons. The boat speed of 1.9 to 2.2 has been best. Tie your flies 14.5 inches on 6 inch dodgers, 12 inches for 6 inch flashers. All orange dodgers and flashers. I hope this helps.
Where!
Fish are sucked up to the break wall and all the way out north of Milwaukee to 100 feet. It can be a zoo in close with all the traffic and it may be better to head out the north gap Milwaukee 70 degrees and fish northeast out to 70 to 100 feet of water. 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© 2011, James J. Hirt, All Rights Reserved.
Milwaukee Fishing Lake Michigan Salmon Report 5/19/11
By Wisconsin fishing charter Capt. Jim Hirt
Coho Fever Hits Milwaukee!
Eight to twelve foot waves have kept everyone off the lake until yesterday. We went out in the rain and two to four footers with an occasional six. Had fantastic action on Coho Salmon and Lake Trout. Six man limit in four hours with many lost fish in the high waves.
How
Coho are coming on all size spoons Reapers and Vulcans made by http://www.badgertackle.com have been working for us. Six inch flashers or dodgers with green or blue Johnnie peanut flies must be part of your presentation for Coho. A hot presentation for us was a size O orange dodger with a 21.5 inch lead to a medium size blue fly. Coho are in the top 20 feet and Chinooks are 30 to 45 down. Steady action on Slide Divers set to #2 and 25 feet of line out. Run 2,3,4,and 5 color Cortland lead core and downriggers 12 to 48 feet down. Speed has been very critical with the 43 degree water. I use the Depth Raider to measure speed at the ball. For spoons Use the regular size Silver Vulcan. 1.6 to 1.9 has been best speed! Tie your flies 10.5 inches on 6 inch dodgers, 12 inches for 6inch flashers and 22 inches on the size O dodgers. All orange dodgers and flashers. I hope this helps.
Where!
Head out the north gap Milwaukee 60 degrees and fish northeast out to 70 to 125 feet of water. 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© 2011, James J. Hirt, All Rights Reserved.
Milwaukee Fishing Lake Michigan Salmon Report 5/3/11
By Wisconsin fishing charter Capt. Jim Hirt
Early spring Coho plentiful in a mixed bag!
We were out the last five days except for Saturday. High winds and waves have held down the pressure of the small boat anglers. When will this ugly wet cold weather end? Don’t miss any opportunities to get out.
How
Coho are coming on all size spoons Reapers and Vulcans made by http://www.badgertackle.com have been working for us. Six inch flashers or dodgers with green or blue Johnnie peanut flies must be part of your presentation. Coho and Chinooks are in the top 30 feet with action on Slide Divers set to #2 and 25 feet of line out. Run 2,3,4,and 5 color Cortland lead core and downriggers 12 to 45 feet down.
Where!
Head out the main gap Milwaukee and fish north out to 40 to 50 feet of water. Water color may be an issue if it is cloudy move in and out of the cloudy water for the best action. The color break is holding most of the fish. Fish slow, very slow for great action. Lots of big Lake Trout out there too long leads on downriggers with magnum spoons will put them in the box
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© 2011, James J. Hirt, All Rights Reserved.
By Wisconsin fishing charter Capt. Jim Hirt
Don’t know which way to go for spring salmon fishing. Allow me to break it down and offer some suggestions for wherever you fish. Let’s discuss presentation, lures and location to jump start your spring. Should you have a question please e-mail me from my Website contact us page http://www.bluemaxcharters.com I will be pleased to answer. My charter season will be under way soon and it may take a while to get back to you. Read all my articles and see video fish reports at http://www.jimhirt.com
Top producing spring lures
Article number one focused on presentation and this is very important. Now let’s talk about water temperature and it’s relationship to the correct lure. The best way to break this down is categorize the lure type by temperature Fahrenheit.
Thirty three through Forty degrees
Cold water means slow to dead slow presentation. Since this article is about trolling I will not go into what an angler might use for lures when shore fishing or when the boat is stopped. For trolling very cold water small seems to work better than large and I go to my smallest lures in this cold water. My set up for this scenario would be half of my baits as one half ounce or smaller spoons and the other half under two inch crank baits. These small baits must work and provoke a strike at speeds less than 1.5 miles per hour trolling speed. Color is determined water color and light. Bright colors or glow colors are always part of my program in spring.
Forty one through fifty degrees
Beef up the size of your lures is the way to go. Use the same spoons and cranks in larger sizes as you used for the colder water. I would add to my program a few stick baits in the four inch size. Depending on the water color some of the stick baits in the natural color patterns can be very effective. A increase of boat speed will be required and necessary to bring these baits to life. These larger baits should be run from 1.7 to 2.0 boat speed.
Above fifty degrees
At this point you are reaching the optimum temperature of cold water class fish like salmon and some trout. Their metabolism cranks up and you may increase speed, bait size and lure action.
Magnum spoons or flashers with flies are a great option for these temps.
Hot location focus on temp breaks
Wind will dictate where you find the best concentration of fish. Monitor the direction of the wind and this will help you find where warmer water is stacking up. Surface temperature gauge is a must and your key tool to find any increase or decrease of temperature watch it closely! River mouths and break water gaps are important spots to investigate. Anywhere you find a increase in water temperature you will most likely find fish.
Hot spoons for spring
I keep talking about Vulcan spoons and more anglers are finding out that this spoon will out produce most spoons in their tackle box. Reasonably priced and nearly indestructible they just keep on producing. The regular size is a good bet for spring. Vulcan spoons are sold by http://www.badgertackle.com 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.
By Wisconsin fishing charter Capt. Jim Hirt
Don’t know which way to go for spring salmon fishing. Allow me to break it down and offer some suggestions for wherever you fish. Let’s discuss presentation lures and location to jump start your spring. Should you have a question please e-mail me from my Website contact us page http://www.bluemaxcharters.com I will be pleased to answer. My charter season will be under way soon and it may take a while to get back to you. Read all my articles and see video fish reports at http://www.jimhirt.com
Top producing presentations
Here are some ways to present lures in spring. This time of year look for most of your fish in the top 50 feet. Keep your eye on your locator and also work deeper marks when you see them. My experience this time of year is the deeper fish are less active and tend not to bite. Most often you will not mark well above 30 feet because those fish are outside the cone of your locator’s transducer. However that’s where most of the fish are.
Leadcore on boards first choice
The primary presentations I use at this time of year are Church Tackle Walleye boards, Slide Divers and leadcore. If your budget allows, I would recommend trying a leadcore line set up. This presentation will work when all others are dead and this is the best bet for spring
Basics
The basics of leadcore are simple. The most expensive part is the reel. It must have enough line capacity to handle the twenty seven pound leadcore line plus Seaguar fluorocarbon leader and Power Pro 50 pound backer line for a total of anywhere from 300 yards on a half core to 600 yards double core. I run my half cores or five colors on a reel that holds 300 yards of 20 pound test. This is the smallest reel a half core ( five colors ) will fit on. Line counter reels are not necessary. Leadcore sinks at a rate of 4-5 feet per color. A half core will run about 24 feet deep.
Loading the reel
When loading this reel, start with 200 yards of Power Pro 50 pound then strip the lead out of the end of the leadcore and tie a Willis Knot to the leadcore. Finish with another Willis Knot and 30 feet of a 20-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon to a ball bearing cross lock snap. You will need a medium heavy action 8-foot rod to work with lead. You may run this with a Church Tackle Walleye planer board if you are going to use multiple set ups.
Presentation Tips
Snap on your favorite lure and let out all of the line to the Power Pro backer. 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 don’t fish lead early in the morning. I use it when the early bite is over. Some of my biggest fish are caught on this presentation.
Lures for leadcore
I keep talking about Vulcan spoons and more anglers are finding out that this spoon will out produce most spoons in their tackle box. Reasonably priced and nearly indestructible they just keep on producing. The regular size is a good bet for spring. Vulcan spoons are sold by http://www.badgertackle.com Three Must Read Salmon Tips number two will continue with more lure choices in the next post. 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.
By Milwaukee fishing charter Capt. Jim Hirt
I received this e-mail recently and thought it was a good question that more anglers would be interested in. Should you have a question please e-mail me from my Website contact us page http://www.bluemaxcharters.com I will be pleased to answer. My charter season will be under way soon and it may take a while to get back to you. Read all my articles and see video fish reports at http://www.jimhirt.com
Captain Jim:
I was reading an old article you posted a few years back regarding trolling cowbells and spin-n-glows. I was wondering if you could tell me what your leader setup is on a rig like that.
I made 5 cowbell rigs, 24 inches long, followed by a spin-n-glow on a 24 inch leader as well. I was going to attach that directly to a 3 way swivel but was wondering if I’ll need a greater leader length?
Lake Trout head to tail
Before we get directly into the answer I would like to provide more information on this species and presentations that are effective for them. I would like to explore location, presentation and lure selection for Lake Trout. Fishermen everywhere covet them for their table excellence giving them a nickname of poor man’s Lobster. Lake Trout baked or poached and served with melted butter is a feast fit for a king.
Ecosystem of the Lake Trout
This slow growing member of the Char family can attain a life of over fifty years and have been known to grow to more than 50 inches and reach over 100 pounds. Lake Trout are mature enough to reproduce when they are six or seven years old. Some Lake Trout respond to a homing instinct. They return to the same spawning grounds year after year, while others do not. This trout lives in deep cold lakes. Their preferred water temperature is 50 degrees or below. In the summer they stay deep and can usually be caught by deep trolling. But as the water cools with the fall season and into spring, artificial lures and flies may take lake trout fished shallower, near shore.
Rules of the road
Finding a trophy may be a difficult task although I feel following a few rules will augment your odds for success. I have found that in twenty years of fishing my biggest have come on spoons. I believe the reason for this is spoons will maintain an attractive appearance at very slow speeds. When you think Lakers think slow. This very cold water species has the slowest metabolism of all the game fish. If you have not caught a Lake Trout, you are trolling too fast. The bigger the Lake Trout the colder the water they prefer and the slower they move. A quality large spoon that trolls well at speeds below one mile per hour is required. Keeping in mind that you will be working in deep water below 100 feet.
Don’t forget about color
The color choices should be in the bottom half spectrum of the rainbow. There is not much light down there and green, blue, indigo violet colors will sustain some color at these depths. A silver plated spoon will reflect light better in low light and used in combination with the colors is a good choice. You might try the new Badger Tackle Reaper glow in the dark spoons as well. They were very productive for me this last season. The lack of light has brought me to my favorite presentation. In some cases bouncing the bottom is the only way to provoke a strike.
Set up defined
Use a wire line rod with 30 pound wire terminated with a plastic keel. The plastic keel has three positions to attach to it. One goes to the wire line another directly to the weight. Some anglers use a mono line from the keel to the weight so if you get hung up the mono will break and you won’t loose everything. Use eight ounces to one pound weight for good contact to the bottom. The third position is used for the connection of bait or lure. Use a three foot 40 pound monofilament lead to an 8 inch silver or glow in the dark dodger and a 3 foot lead to the spoon. Cowbells are a similar presentation with a few changes. From the keel attach the cowbells and then two foot leader to the spoon. When you would like to use a Spin N Glow attach a three foot 40 pound leader behind the Cowbells then the dodger and two feet to the Spin N Glow.
Working it
Troll with the bottom contour letting out enough wire to allow the ball to bounce on the bottom. A word of caution, some bottoms have lots of hang ups and it takes a constant vigilance on your part to avoid hanging up and still keep constant bottom contact.
As you read earlier, when the water cools in fall they return to the same spawning grounds year after year. The eggs are deposited over a boulder-strewn or rubble bottom structure, in depths from 40 feet to about one foot. This affords the angler another opportunity to get into some serious laker action. Work this shallow water with the same wire line rod. Go with 4 ounces of weight no flasher and standard Reaper Big Joe red/green or Reaper Peacock blue/green spoons. Motor troll the shallows while hand holding the rod bouncing the bottom as you go it‘s a blast.
Let’s wrap this up with my favorite Lake Trout lures. Dodgers and magnum spoons are my first choice with dodger Spin n Glows a close second. The two most productive Lake Trout spoons for me in recent years are the glow in the dark Reaper Green Fox Glow and Fish n Chip Silver both sold by http://www.badgertackle.com The standard Reaper in the silver combinations are best for shallow water.
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.
By Lake Michigan fishing charter Capt. Jim Hirt
This is article number two of a two part article. Look for part number one for rigging tips. This article will focus on reacting to change. Read all my articles and see video fish reports at http://www.jimhirt.com
Reacting to time of year
Time of year is also to be considered when trying to catch moody fish. As the seasons change, so do the temperatures of the water. Fish are cold blooded and their metabolism changes as their body temp changes. Most anglers know there are cold and warm water species of fish. Which means all fish if given a choice will find their preferred temperature range. In fact too high or too low beyond their limits will cause stress and eventual death. In large fresh water lakes, the time of day isn’t nearly as critical at locating the depth of the preferred temperature level for the fish species you’re seeking.
Thermocline Explained
Lakes layer into three separate layers of water in the spring and stay that way until cold weather. The middle layer, where there is a larger concentration of dissolved oxygen, baitfish and therefore predator fish, is called the thermocline. It can usually be found anywhere from ten feet to the bottom. This is a temperature layer, as well as an oxygen-saturated layer, and fish will relate to it as both a comfort zone and one where their body metabolism functions the most efficiently. These fish will be suspended and feeding on alewives, smelt or other forage fish.
Temperature by species
The peak feeding and optimum temperature for Coho and Chinook is 52°, with an active range from 44° to 58°. For Lake Trout the peak feeding and optimum temperature is 51°, with activity from 43° to 53°. Fish will rarely venture out of these zones, once stratification has taken place, except to catch a meal and then will quickly return to it. The only exception is when fish are spawning. One thing to remember when fishing the thermocline is that its depth can change from day to day because of wind and wave action. It may be several feet deeper or shallower from one day to the next so you’ll have to relocate it each time you go out. Having said all that, when fishing in water temperatures near the bottom of your target species preferred temp, adjust to small spoons like the regular size Vulcan Spoon exclusively sold at Badger Tackle in a slow presentation. At their optimum temp go aggressive with large baits in quick presentations. Most anglers under estimate the speed of their quarry.
Keep good records
I cannot stress record keeping too much. Your ability to document good and bad days will be your magic rabbit in the hat. This info will shorten your learning curve and should be reviewed before every fishing outing. Record the date, location, weather, lures or bait, presentation, for each type of fish you catch. 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.
Fishing report | captjim | 
July 4, 2011 4:21 pm | 
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