888-253-8372
616-335-2076 Cell 616-836-2748
CaptRon@CharterMichigan.com
Check our calendar for available fishing dates
When is the best time to go?
When is the best time to schedule a trip? The common answer is when the fish are biting, however you and I know this is almost impossible to predict. In Saugatuck we are very fortunate to have some excellent fishing from April though October. Naturally, some months are better than others, however the fishing is usually good year round. Most people book trips in July and August, since this is when our salmon start to show up.
The four year old Chinook salmon start to move into their spawning rivers in mid August and (if the water temperature cooperates) continue into September. While the largest fish are usually caught in mid August into September, our average catch is greatest from mid July to mid August. Water temperature is the key factor in predicting when the fish will run the river. If the water and weather is warm, you will see a great impact on the fishing.
April we are looking for Brown Trout and smaller salmon. May usually produces large number of fish (salmon and steelhead). The fish may not be as large as in August and September, however the action can often be fast and furious Although the salmon may not be “large” (5 to 12 pounds), a 12 pounder will often outfight a 25 pound salmon in September.
If you can, fish mid week. Boats tend to spook fish and mid week has less traffic than weekends and makes fishing easier.
Remember that fishing is always good. It is just that catching is sometimes better one day than another.
Half day or all day? Which is best?
We run 6 hour (or angler limit) as our half day trips, which gives you about 4 1/2 hours of fishing (depending on how far we have to run). I recommend our all day trips are either 8 hour or 10 hour (or angler limit) since this will give you much more fishing time and we can move to other areas of the lake. This recommendation is due to two factors.
- Even though we fish almost every day, we might not start out in the right spot (remember this is a big pond) and an all day trip permits us to pull lines and move off shore or to a place where the fish are hitting. Half day trips limit this movement.
- Fish will go on the feed in one area and then stop biting. An all day trip allows us to pull lines and move to a second or third spot.
