Beginner advice needed

[Scott K]

I'm going to take my boat out on Lake Michigan and give it a try even though I am not really equiped for the big lake. 17' boat, no down riggers, only 2 poles that I think would be considered big enough for out there and the only lures I have are ones bought for walleyes and bass. I'm not going to buy anything for this outing so I'm just going to make do with the gear I have. I do have some planer boards if anyone thinks that will help. My dad will be going with us so we are going to stay in pretty close to shore and he gets a little nervous out there.

Should I use the planer boards?
What type lures and color should I use?
What is the best depth to try?
How fast should I troll?
Should I just go parallel to shore or zigzag or does it matter?

I'm probably to launch at Port Sheldon but I'm willing to try somewhere else if you think it would help.

All advice welcome.

[Far Beyond Driven]

The only time you'll stand a decent chance of getting fish in close at Port Sheldon is when the browns and steelies are in the sandbars, usually in late October until ice up, and then ice out until mid-May. To be honest, I really don't catch many browns out of Port Sheldon. In fact, very few compared to most other ports. Come to think of it, since the brown trout fishing really fell off about 6 years ago, I've taken over 100 browns, and not one has been out of Port Sheldon.

I would wait until early April and then hit St. Joe. If the coho are in, you really can't not catch them. There will be browns in close too, and you really never know what you'll find in the river plume around April and May down there. We took 71 coho / browns / steelies in three trips to St. Joe this spring. Really need a 5 coho limit as we were tossing them back to get our other fish to limit.

I'd run planer boards. Most walleye gear will be fine as 90% of these fish are 4# and smaller. Oranges for the coho, natural colors for the browns. Stay about on the second sand bar in about 8' and work the troughs on either side. When the water is in the low 40's, stay around 2.0 mph, as it warms up, don't be afraid to run into the mid 2's. The deeper you go - more coho, the shallower - more browns. If traffic is intense I'll put the lures right behind the boards and fish inside the first sand bar in 2-3' of water.

We start in my 14' as soon as the ice is out - usually mid March. Kind of cool being the only boat out there right snug against shore in the shadows of the dunes. On the other hand, it's freaky going out in 34 degree water when the coast guard and sheriff boats are not dropped and the dunes block your cell signals - if any thing goes wrong you're pretty much on your own to save your butt. It's nice when the other boats show up, but then, I kind of like not having the no wake buoys in Lake Mac and am sad when the first boat ends up at Eldean's.

[Far Beyond Driven]

If you still want to get out this year, pick a harbor with a river mouth (the bigger the river the better - hint maybe look about 10 miles north of Port Sheldon) and work the pier heads and edge of the river water for steelies. Flat lines and planer boards are great for this - and most plugs will work. Metallics, oranges, yellows, fire tiger. 1/4 ounce hot and tots are a favorite. For steelies you can troll hot - up to 3 mph. Just be ready to freak out when a 30" silver bullet goes ape poo jumping behind your boat - and if you land 50% you're doing well.

Watch the pier reports here to see when they're in, but give the pier guys at least 150' if not more to ply their trade. Cleo's hurt.

[paulywood]

This is pretty good advice. Kevin fishes a lot of a little boat and you should be able to put a few fish in the boat. Good luck.

[Bdwauk]

The advice above is great and accurate. I reccomend using the internet to check weather and wave conditions. The internet is accurrate 95% of time. This will keep your Dad comfortable and all of you safe.
I started Coho fishing in a 12' boat with a 9.9 HP motor. Used 2 Bass fishing rods pulling bass/walleye baits. Got my limit and was hooked!
Please respect this water! The cold water temperatures will make it very cold out there, and very Dangerous if you were to have a problem.
St. Joe has great spring fishery. St. Joe river has salmon in it now and very navigable with your rig.
Good luck, and be safe.
Brett

[smoke73]

The internet is accurrate 95% of time. :lol:
Must not have fished any given weekend this year?

[Scott K]

If you still want to get out this year, pick a harbor with a river mouth (the bigger the river the better - hint maybe look about 10 miles north of Port Sheldon) and work the pier heads and edge of the river water for steelies. Flat lines and planer boards are great for this - and most plugs will work. Metallics, oranges, yellows, fire tiger. 1/4 ounce hot and tots are a favorite. For steelies you can troll hot - up to 3 mph. Just be ready to freak out when a 30" silver bullet goes ape poo jumping behind your boat - and if you land 50% you're doing well.

Watch the pier reports here to see when they're in, but give the pier guys at least 150' if not more to ply their trade. Cleo's hurt.
Yeah, defo want to get out this year yet, hopefully this week weather permitting. Heading a little farther north sounds good. Thanks for the info.

[Scott K]

The advice above is great and accurate. I reccomend using the internet to check weather and wave conditions. The internet is accurrate 95% of time. This will keep your Dad comfortable and all of you safe.
I started Coho fishing in a 12' boat with a 9.9 HP motor. Used 2 Bass fishing rods pulling bass/walleye baits. Got my limit and was hooked!
Please respect this water! The cold water temperatures will make it very cold out there, and very Dangerous if you were to have a problem.
St. Joe has great spring fishery. St. Joe river has salmon in it now and very navigable with your rig.
Good luck, and be safe.
Brett

I will certainly be paying attention to the wave conditions. Can you get a forecast that is more than just the next day? The websites I've looked at only show today and the next day. I'd like to be able to at least try to plan this a couple days ahead of time.



This is the best one I've found. Is there a better one?
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/product.php?site=grr&product=nsh&issuedby=grr

[JasonCarp]

I go to Wood TV's website to look at the webcams for Grand Haven. One north of the pier and one south so if it daylight you can get a pretty good look at the water. Not perfect but it helps.

[paulywood]

Try this one:
http://www.weather.gov/forecasts/graphical/sectors/centgrtlakesLoop.php#tabs