Lake Michigan, IN Fishing Report

Right now the best action of the year is occuring. Limit catches - mainly cohos but the cohos have switched from bugs to meat and are gaining weight. Many 4 pounders in our box yesterday. Steelheads and chinook salmon added to the catch as well. Orange dodgers with blue/green/gold flies were the best ticket, but red ThinFins took several fish. I'm sure I could have taken many other colors or models out of the box and done as well. Speed was in the middle 2s, Caught fish from the surface to 18 feet, but the high presentations were best. I have some open dates in the next week or 10 days. Call me @ 877-725-6665. See my rates at www.brother-nature.com

Salmon fishing is very slow. The cohos have all but disappeared around the lake. Increasing numbers of kings are reported but the star of the show is now lake trout on the Indiana Shoals. We are fishing in 40 to 60 feet of water, near the bottom and catching quick limits. Most fish are in the 10 to 20 pound range. I use braid and wire line so you can feel every fin movement. They'll flat wear you out! 

The water temperature is getting into the "perfect" range and with no storms this week, should clear enough to get the salmon going. It's also time for the alewives to spawn and king salmon will be on the prowl. Put some big spoons or J-Plugs in the bottom 3rd of the water column and hang on! A few people have targeted Lake Trout on the Indiana Shoals with success. Dodger/spin-glows on the bottom are hard to beat! 

Rough weather continues to plague us this spring but the water in the shallows is warming and good numbers of coho are showing. Crankbaits continue to provide the bulk of the action with fluorescent red patters beating others. Some fish coming on small orange dodgers with 1 1/2-inch flies. Blue-green-gold is always a producer. There are some lakers out on the Indiana Shoals. 

The lake is warming ever so slowly this year. Salmon are showing in warm water areas and extreme shallows on sunny days to warm up a bit. Best action is coming on trolled crankbaits such as ThinFins, ShadRaps and Jointed Raps. The slow warming should extend the nearshore fishing period on through this month. 

If it's action you want, now is the time to get up and go to Southern Lake Michigan. Fast action on coho salmon and brown trout can be expected for the next several weeks. Check out what dates are available at www.brother-nature.com

Have had a couple of reports of people launching small boats and threading their way to Gary to fish for browns. No reports of cohos, yet, but it won't be long, I'm sure. Winter is losing it's grip. My first scheduled charter is one month away. The last week of March (spring break week) is filling fast so if you are interested, pull the trigger soon!  www. brother-nature.com

Last year many people were getting out in late February. It's now early February!  Opening day is getting closer......

The winter is getting colder and that should force more salmon down to our end of the lake. Depending on what the second half of winter is like, we are only 4 to 6 weeks away from OPENING DAY. 

THINK SPRING, it's just around the corner

The Brother Nature is still dry docked and will be until March. Lakers are on the reef north of Port of Indiana. Streams are low but do have fish in them. The only lake reports I have are brown trout hitting in Milwaukee. Merry Christmas to all.

The Brother Nature is dry-docked for the season so I only have second hand reports at this time of the year. Word is lakers are stacked on the reef north of the Port of Indiana. There should be some lakers at EC and MC, as well - no reports. Water is still dirty from Sandy and haven't heard much from the perch jerkers. 

Had a request for a fishing report. It's October 30. Hurricane Sandy came ashore yesterday. Winds on Lake Michigan are gusting over 50 knots. Waves are almost 30 feet. Air temperature is around 40. Hey, let's give it a shot......

I was asked by a member to update my fishing report - a request I'm happy to fulfill. I just wish I had more to say. The Brother Nature is stored for the winter. I haven't fished for a couple weeks. Reports from the streams sound slow but I don't track it. I'll be at the Northwest Indiana Steelheaders Show in Michigan City January 12 and 13. 

I made one last trip last week as much to drain as much of the gas in the tank as to denude the lake of wayward salmon. Hooked up at the crack of dawn while setting lines and caught a decent female king salmon (Queen?). No more bites the rest of the morning. Streams are getting some fish, but other than lakers coming in to spawn in November, it's "wait 'til next year" for the Bro. Boat is all winterized, cleaned and going into it's winter sleep. 

It's just about over for the 2012 season for the open lake season. Stream fishing should be heating up. On the lake, the fall storms and fronts have mixed the water and the only cold water is miles offshore - and other than lake trout, the only fish are the immature ones we'll be targeting next season. Time to winterize the Brother Nature, sharpen hooks and look for other opportunities to have fun out-of-doors. The 2013 season starts in March.  

No signs of a big spawning run of kings getting underway at Portage or East Chicago.  A few kings here or there, most boats getting zeroed out. There are some spawning cohos being taken by trollers at Portage in 45 feet of water, The lack of kings is disappointing since I anticipated an early run. I'm not quite ready to call the 2012 run a bust. Water temps and clarity are satisfactory. Just have to keep trying. 

Recent north winds filled the southern end of Lake Michigan with warm water. The active, feeding salmon are far-far away and very deep. The spawners have yet to make an appearance nearshore. The overall water temperature is dropping which should help kick-start the spawning run kings.  Give it a week or 10 days.