Hamilton Reef
05-09-2006, 12:31 PM
Manistee boat wins Mich. City tournament
5-9-2006 By BRIAN MULHERIN Daily News Staff Writer
bmulherin@ludington 843-1122, ext. 348
Michigan City’s salmon tournament trophies have been coming north for many years now. This year was no exception as boats from Manistee and Ludington swept the top three spots in the Hoosier Club Coho Classic.
Blue Runner of Manistee took first, edging out Best Chance Too, a boat that calls Ludington home in July and August. Ludington-based charterboat Hunter, captained by Mike Bucholtz and Russ Boonstra, was third.
Gary Schaefer, captain of Blue Runner, said fishing was fantastic — just not in Michigan City.
Schaefer and his crew ran 34 miles each way each day to pursue big king salmon off the shores of St. Joseph, Mich.
In the end, between their 67 pounds from Saturday and their 74 pounds of fish from Sunday, only three fish were lake trout and the rest were Chinook salmon, Schaefer said.
Schaefer said his hot colors were Fishlander magnum spoons in Sledgehammer and Sister Sledge color patterns. The “sledge” patterns have been described as a rootbeer-colored dolphin pattern by some anglers.
Why magnum spoons when the Department of Natural Resources is talking about a big year-class of two- to three-inch-long alewives from last year?
“We found some big bait the weekend before and that’s why we were mostly using magnum stuff,” Schaefer said. “It was just a basic king program up there. (Down)riggers and divers early and lead core when the sun came up.”
Schaefer and his crew of Stewart Christiansen, Taylor Pierson, Chelsea Peabody and Bob Guenthardt took home about $7,000 in cash and prizes.
“It’s a great tournament,” Schaefer said. “They’ve got a lot of ways to win prizes down there, which is really nice. The marina was awesome, the weather was great, the fishing was good. We burned a lot of fuel, but it was worth it.”
5-9-2006 By BRIAN MULHERIN Daily News Staff Writer
bmulherin@ludington 843-1122, ext. 348
Michigan City’s salmon tournament trophies have been coming north for many years now. This year was no exception as boats from Manistee and Ludington swept the top three spots in the Hoosier Club Coho Classic.
Blue Runner of Manistee took first, edging out Best Chance Too, a boat that calls Ludington home in July and August. Ludington-based charterboat Hunter, captained by Mike Bucholtz and Russ Boonstra, was third.
Gary Schaefer, captain of Blue Runner, said fishing was fantastic — just not in Michigan City.
Schaefer and his crew ran 34 miles each way each day to pursue big king salmon off the shores of St. Joseph, Mich.
In the end, between their 67 pounds from Saturday and their 74 pounds of fish from Sunday, only three fish were lake trout and the rest were Chinook salmon, Schaefer said.
Schaefer said his hot colors were Fishlander magnum spoons in Sledgehammer and Sister Sledge color patterns. The “sledge” patterns have been described as a rootbeer-colored dolphin pattern by some anglers.
Why magnum spoons when the Department of Natural Resources is talking about a big year-class of two- to three-inch-long alewives from last year?
“We found some big bait the weekend before and that’s why we were mostly using magnum stuff,” Schaefer said. “It was just a basic king program up there. (Down)riggers and divers early and lead core when the sun came up.”
Schaefer and his crew of Stewart Christiansen, Taylor Pierson, Chelsea Peabody and Bob Guenthardt took home about $7,000 in cash and prizes.
“It’s a great tournament,” Schaefer said. “They’ve got a lot of ways to win prizes down there, which is really nice. The marina was awesome, the weather was great, the fishing was good. We burned a lot of fuel, but it was worth it.”