April 16, 2009 Fishing Report
High water on the river and cold water on the lake has kept the fishing slow at this point. The steelhead are on the beds in the Kalamazoo River and in the St. Joe River, however the water is still high (but receding) which makes the fishing tough. The most productive method is back rolling spawn along the bottom into the bedding area.
On the lake, the water is still 38 degrees and with the NE, E and SE winds will not warm up very fast. Most of creel consists of Lake Trout (which, with the season closed, need to be returned). There are an occasional chinook and brown trout showing up, however not very many at this point in time. The good news is that the coho that are being caught in the warmer southern basin are running 4 to 6 pounds instead of the 2 to 4 pounds that they ordinarily weigh. This should mean that when the coho migrate up to us in the next couple of weeks, they should be a good size. Hopefully, the chinook will also show this increase in size.
If you need more information or would like to reserve a fishing date, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com or call me at 888-253-8372 toll free.