32 pound plus-Frankfort!!!

[beer and nuts]

According to the Tackle Box web site there was a 32 pound plus King caught recently. www.frankforttacklebox.com

[gomer]

yep its true, one of my buddies is a mate on a charter boat in frankfort and he said it was a true hog.

[andy capp]

A guy in our group keeps his boat there. According to him:
There have been a 32, 29 and two other 26's caught at the marina.
He caught a 26.6 last week

[Fishndude]

Nice. That is at least 2 Master Angler Award Kings, and there were only 6 registered for the entire State last year. I wonder how many don't get registered?

[Overdew]

Good news. I hope we can start hearing things like that out of Huron soon.

[Oldgrandman]

Originally Posted by PurePerfection

Trust me on this A LOT of people don't register for various reasons. I've caught master angler records before on a few species and never bothered to register them. I mean how does it bennifit me by doing so?

I know I have caught master angler fish like cats, perch, etc. and maybe a bass that I never registered. I will a trout salmon or walleye though.
As for a benefit the knowledge it's self is beneficial to others like the information in this thread.
Not to mention there are some things everybody does that are not always beneficial, it is just something to do if you choose to do so.

[Jason Adam]

There will be a ton of master angler chinooks out of Lake Michigan this year. The bait is overabundant. I think you will Some of the biggest kings in years.

[ds619]

Nice fish Heard of a 36 lb one caught also

[MPsteelheader]

all this about big kings...

hmmm so what happened to the baitfish propaghanda from last year???

i havent seen baitfish like this in a while on the lake

[ausable_steelhead]

There will be a ton of master angler chinooks out of Lake Michigan this year. The bait is overabundant. I think you will Some of the biggest kings in years.

How come we're not seeing many big fish in the reports right now? I see alot of 5-11lb fish, and quite a few 12-15lbr's, but most of the "big" fish right now seem to be 21-23lbs? Hmmm. I guess it is still a bit early, as kings do really pack it on in August. Nice king though, 32lbs is big.

[pikedevil]

The 36 pounder reported from frankfort a couple weeks ago was actually a 26. I talked to a few people that fish frankfort every day about that one. This 32 is the real deal though. Yes there are some big fish around but they are rare. 26 was big fish for ludington out of the thousands caught. I've caught over 300 fish from Lk Mich this year and am yet to top 20 lbs so they are still not a common thing. Having said all that there will be more 30 + caught this year, the fish are bigger then they were in 2004-2005.

[Jason Adam]

I have several people that I am freinds with over there that are not BS'rs that are and have been catching low - mid-20's with semi-regularity for a couple weeks(most of my buddies have each caught a few in that range since July 1st). Last year I didnt boat a 20LB king, and I spent probably 20 days in August alone in Ludington. Remember too that we are in mid-late July, not August. These are big fish for this time of year, even when you compare it to good years like 2000/2001. There is as much bait in Lake Michigan as these fish can eat.

[halfcore]

Originally Posted by MPsteelheader

all this about big kings...

hmmm so what happened to the baitfish propaghanda from last year???

i havent seen baitfish like this in a while on the lake

Most of the baitfish negativity was from alot of Lake Huron guys who said LK MI the last few years was like Huron was before it crashed. Of course the biologists they are not is now glaringly obvious. I remember a couple of threads where I was pummeled by several posters who proclaimed the sky was falling, etc....and that all of us Lk MI fisherman were in for a huge surprise, enjoy it while it lasts, etc.

Well, now here we are with bigger kings than in many recent years...and you are right...tons of bait! I am not a biologist but I still think the warm winter played a big factor in this years crop..

[BFG]

Not only have I seen more 20#+ fish this year, but I am sooooooooo excited about the 2-3yr. old fish that we are catching....they are fat and healthy as well.

If you didn't have a 9# coho last week at Salmonarama, you didn't make the board. I don't know how many 8# cohos I cleaned last week, but it was a bunch.

You can tell a lot about the fishery by looking at the mix of 4yr. old kings. Some of them are very short, but fat as can be. Take for example the 18.7# king that my buddy caught last Sunday in the Two in a Boat tourney. That fish was only 31" long. While standing in line to weigh, the guys in front of us had a 20.25# king that was 37" long. Bird Dog's fish was A LOT thicker, but the other was longer, which added weight of course. I'm sure Bird Dog's fish (and plenty more that I saw last week like it) was a victim of poor nutrition for some period of it's life...and has now packed it on in a big way, but not in length, just girth.

I also agree with Jason, it is mid-July, not mid-August. Those 18-20# fish will be 22-25#'ers very soon. I pulled 21 alewives out of a king stomach last week, and if anyone says that you should not be pulling mag spoons these days, they are nuts. All of the alewives were at least 5" long, with some up to 7".

Looking forward to Ludington in 10 days!


BFG

[salmon_slayer06]

The warm winter we had also affected Lake Huron. Alewives, shad, emeralds and shiners and other types of minnows have been running up the St. Clair River non stop since ice out. NO BODY has ever seen this kind of bait run ever! Ever. Even the old farts who have seen the good ol days even say the bait is thicker now than ever.

The Lake is full of bait, but there is still a lack of alewives. Theres lots of them that went up the river, but I think the Lake is so stripped of its nutrients the went way North to Rockport, Oscoda etc. The KIngs I have caught this year had no Alewives in them. I caught walleye with 7 inch alewives in them, but that was in the river. I don't know what to think. MAybe one or two more mild winters will do it.