Captain's Blog - Northern Adventures Fishing and Guide Service, LLC.

Looking Back at 2011

2011-12-26T12:57:00.000-08:00

It is the day after Christmas and what a year it has been! I have had the chance today to sit back, relax and reflect on the past year. There were highs and lows, as there is with any fishing season, but for the most part we were on cloud nine all year long. The fishing and catching was the best that I can remember in quite some time. We had several "Fish of A Lifetime" caught this year. I would like to say Thank You to the some of the sponsors that helped put these TROPHY fish into several peoples hands. They are Vicious Fishing, Castaway Rods, WaveSpin Reels & D and R Sports Center. Once again Thank You!

It all started the first week of May when I started putting the miles on after the season opener to find fish for some up coming trips. Fortunately, I found the little bronze buggers right away and they were hungry. It was on from there and I never looked back. We had our day's that were tough early, but the quality was out of this world!

The month of June was great as it always is. We caught fish almost every place that we went. The size was great and the numbers were great as well. Again, there were a couple of tough day's, but that's fishing. A highlight in June was the opportunity that I had to film a show with Shaw Grigsby. The show will air sometime between now and March. Keep your eyes open on the Sportsman's Channel for "One More Cast" with Shaw Grigsby. It was a great time and we even caught some fish.

July started with me being out in Richmond, VA fishing the first of three Northern Opens. What a learning experience that was. Take a person from Michigan that has fished clear water all of his life and go fish the James River. It was an awesome time, but I was not ready for fishing tidal chocolate milk. I learned alot and with any luck I'll be back this June to fish the Open again! Once back home though, I was extremely happy to get back on the smallies.

The end of July and beginning of August, I bounced back and forth between smallmouth and salmon fishing. We had really good fishing all the way around and before I knew it Northern Open number two was here. I found myself fishing good ole Lake Erie again and I really love this body of water. I didn't have the finish that I hoped for, but that is motivation to keep fishing until you get where you want to be.

When September arrived there was a definite slow down with the fishing. I started to get geared up for heading out to Kansas and preparing for the last Northern Open on Oneida Lake in New York. A quick trip out to Kansas to get set up for hunting season and then it was back on the road to Oneida Lake. I was really surprised with Oneida! This is an awesome fishery, but can be a little tough to figure out. After several day's of pre fishing, I had the walleye bite figured out, but wait, we're supposed to be fishing smallmouth!! I didn't have a bad finish compared to the start, but once again my motivation increases!

The month of October was very unique this year. The smallie fishing was good when you found them, but finding them proved to be difficult from time to time! We finished strong on the inland lakes, but Grand Traverse Bay threw a few curve balls to say the least. Lake Michigan however, had some of the best late season salmon fishing that I have ever had the opportunity to be a part of!! I hope it is that good again this coming year.

With the fishing all done for me, it was time to head to Kansas and begin chasing monster whitetails. I had the opportunity to help 180 Outdoors (www.hunt180.com) an outfitter in SE Kansas. What an awesome season it was. The quality of the deer killed was actually making dreams become reality! The biggest deer that hit the ground was a giant 177" deer that weighed in right at 300 pounds!!! I am really looking forward to next year!

Now that the year is almost up, I can't help but look forward to 2012. Be sure to keep up to date on all of the new happenings as I update Facebook and Twitter. Hope to see you on the water or in the woods. Good Luck and Happy Fishing.

Capt Chris

Legends of the Fall

2011-10-04T10:47:00.000-07:00

Wow! What a season it has been. I know it has been quite some time since my last post, but that happens when you are busy! So let's try and get caught up from the beginning of August and we will work our way through this past week.

I was finishing up salmon fishing and getting ready to head to Sandusky, OH for the second stop on the B.A.S.S. Northern Open tour. Arriving at Sandusky was great! The last time I fished here it was a great tournament and I finished 11th. I really enjoy chasing smallies in big water. I had a great first day, but couldn't get the job done on the second day. I ended up falling instead of climbing the leader board. I ended up 38th. It was a little disappointing, but you learn something new at every tournament and you just have to continue to build on what you learn.

After Sandusky I headed home to continue guiding on Grand Traverse Bay. Man it felt good to be back on home water! The fishing was great and then for no apparent reason it slowed to a slow crawl. We were still catching fish, just not the size or numbers I was hoping to see. We caught several 1-3pound fish and had the occasional lunker that would show up. Most of the fish were being caught on a dropshot in deep water.

As September arrived, I had a few day's off and headed to Kansas to prepare for the upcoming deer season out there. After I returned for Kansas it was back on the water and the fishing had improved dramatically. We were catching quantity and quality. We finally broke the six pound mark after quite a dry spell for big fish. I was bummed that I had to leave for Oneida Lake for the last B.A.S.S. Northern Open. I hated to leave good fishing.

Once I arrived in New York at Oneida, I quickly realized that this was a different fishery than I was used to. Practice was brutal for all but two day's. The wind blew out of the Northeast for what seemed like an eternity! I figured out the walleye bite in short order, but struggled with the smallies. I finally put it together and had a solid plan going into the tournament. The best plan however doesn't always work. Day one was dismal at best and I didn't even catch a limit. I picked myself up on Day two however and had a great second day climbing from 125th to 68th. I know we hear this a lot, but I never give up!!

On the ride home, I was getting excited to return to the land of giant smallmouth. You always here stories of giant fish being caught in the fall. The last couple weeks of September and all of October can be some of the best fishing of the year. The scenery with all of the fall colors a blaze is breathtaking in itself, not to mention a five pound plus smallie pulling on your string. Some of the biggest fish of the year will be caught in the next few weeks. I am looking forward to chasing the Legends of the Fall! Until next time, Good luck and Happy Fishing.

Capt Chris

Catching Up

2011-08-03T12:16:00.000-07:00

What a season it has been so far. Not only has the fishing been great, but the weather for the most part has been great as well. That is until the last couple day's. So with this opportunity, I am catching up on the report and giving an update on the products used over the last couple months.

The fishing has been rock solid all season. From pre-spawn to the spawn and now we are fishing post spawn fish that have moved deep. The drop shot seems to be the ticket right now. We are catching several fish in the 2-3lb range with a few bigger ones mixed in. These fish are eating Gulp and finesse style baits on a regular basis. Some day's they are a little finicky, but they are eating once you find what they want.

I wanted to report on a couple items that were new to me this year. Being on the water almost everyday in all types of conditions puts products to the test and this is what I have observed.

First is the Frabil FXE storm suit. This rain gear has worked great when it needed to. I have been in some extreme down pours with lots of wind and this suit kept me dry. This suit is also easy to put on and take off in a hurry when needed, also, the suit is very comfortable to wear. I would recommend this rain gear to anyone for sure.

Another item that I credit for several big fish being caught this year were my sunglasses. I purchased Costa's this year with the 580 lens in a blue mirror and a copper lens. The clarity of these lenses allowed me to see fish that others couldn't see. What a great lens!! If you sight fish, be sure to check out Costa's line of sunglasses. They have several different frames and lens combinations to fit you and get you seeing more fish!!

I have a new rod for drop shoting this year and it is from Castaway. The rod that I am using is a SKMDSM7. This has the new Microwave guides and has performed flawlessly!!!!! The sensitivity is great and the rod cast light weight tackle better than any rod I have used to date. These rods have done battle with over a thousand smallmouth this year and have held up to the daily abuse! Definitely a great rod and gets a 5 star vote from me.

It will be back to smallmouth smashing and salmon fishing as soon as the wind let's up. I can't wait to get back after em!! Until next time Good Luck and Happy Fishing.

Capt Chris

Happy Face-Sad Face

2011-06-18T13:25:00.000-07:00

Today is the day before Father's Day. As I wright this, I am reminded of the two greatest things in life, my daughter and my son. So many great times have been had with them out on the water and at home. This is the Happy Face.

I have been on the water more this year than I ever have in the past and haven't spent the time with my children that I normally do. Make no mistake, I am not complaining, I'm just proud of these two great kids and cherish the moments that I do get to spend with them on or off the water. Happy Face again.

There are many things in life you try to teach your children as they grow. One thing that I have tried to teach them on the water is the catch and release side of conservation. Ray Scott, the founder of B.A.S.S., started the catch and release mentality years ago on the tournament trail. This is more important here in Northern Michigan than other places in the country. The growing season here is shorter and the fish do not grow nearly as fast as they do in the south.

My children have asked me several questions about keeping fish. The main question is why do we keep walleye and salmon, but we don't keep bass. My explanation is simple. Our state plants walleye and salmon, but bass are not planted. Our bass population depends on natural reproduction. They seem to understand that some fish need to be harvested for eating, while others are just more fun to catch over and over.

In this state, there are several species of fish that are not planted and depend on natural reproduction as well. The perch is a prime example. There has seemed to be an endless supply until 10 years ago when over harvesting finally took it's toll. Do we still catch perch? The answer is yes, but not like it used to be.

Why am I rambling on this subject? The answer is simple. Over the last two weeks the fishing has been great to say the least. Unfortunately, I have witnessed the bass come onto there beds and be harvested relentlessly. I watched one boat keep 14 fish off of bed's in one morning. Here is the Sad Face. If these fish on there beds are continued to be harvested, we may not see the effect right away, but we will in the future.

I understand that all fish species need to be harvested, including bass, but if harvesting fish off beds continues the World Class fishery that we have here will be decimated in no time at all. Sad Face again. I would like to see trophy fish for generations to come.

I have been blessed to be able to get my kids out and enjoy both harvesting fish to eat and catch and release for fun. I hope this will continue until my children are able to teach there children the same things. Catch and release is the way to ensure our World Class smallmouth fishery will stay intact for generations to come. Until next time, Good Luck and Happy Fishing!

QUANTITY & QUALITY

2011-05-26T17:26:00.000-07:00

Since my last post ten day's ago, I have been on a terror in the land of the smallmouth! The fishing on the inland lakes has been absolutely fantastic to say the least. The quality and quantity of fish that have been caught is absolutely amazing.

Quality has been the most consistent. Most fish that have been caught are in the three to five pound plus range. Several fish have been over six pounds. The biggest smallmouth of the year so far was caught just the other day and it came in at 7lbs 4oz!! What a giant fish!!!!

Quantity has not been an issue other than wearing a guy out. The best day of my fishing life was just the other day. We boated 201 smallmouth with over 100 of these fish over four pounds!!!!! That is no fish story. My arms are still rehabilitating themselves. The average day has bee 20-50 fish with the occasional 100 fish plus day in there. What a great start to the year.

The lakes are still extremely cold for this time of year. Almost all of the inland lakes are still in the low to mid fifties for temps as of today. I was on Grand Traverse Bay looking for fish and the water was 41 degrees!! Holy coldness!!! Back to the inland lakes I went and it has been great. Most fish are responding well to jerk baits and starting to eat lipless cranks fairly well.

I'm looking forward to being on the water for the next few weeks straight! Until next time Good Luck and Happy Fishing.

Capt Chris

Spring Madness

2011-05-15T08:10:00.000-07:00

What a last couple of weeks. The fishing on the inland lakes has been spectacular for early spring. The water temperatures are still cool for this time of year, but the fish have responded nicely. Several smallmouth, as well as a few largemouth have been caught. The quality of the fish has been absolutely amazing!! We are only two weeks into the season and have boated four fish over six pounds and several over five pounds. The three biggest fish of the year so far a 7lb smallmouth, a 6lb 12oz smallmouth and a 7lb 3oz monster largemouth that is my personal best largemouth bass ever! What a great start to the year.

These fish have slowly starting to get more active as the water warms. The water temperatures are still in the mid to high 40's for the most part, but a few lakes have crept into the mid 50's. Most of the fish we have been catching are still fairly deep. The shallow jerk bait bite has been slowly picking up. A twister tail grub has been good as well fished on a slow steady retrieve.

There is a shallow bite that has produced fish also. I have been making extremely long cast into 2 feet of water with a small #8 X-Rap targeting fish that are desperately trying to warm up and feeding on shiners doing the same thing. The ability to cast this small bait a long distance, has been due the new Microwave guide that Castaway has introduced to there spinning rods. The performance of this guide is awesome! The Microwave guide has definitely increased the distance that I am able to cast. The complete set up is a WaveSpin 3000z spooled with 8# Vicious Pro Elite fluorocarbon on a Castaway SKMDSM7. Be sure to check these rods out at www.castawayrods.com.

I'll be giving fishing reports and reviews on the equipment/products that we are using to catch these monster smallmouth in the coming weeks. I need to get back out on the water and enjoy the Spring Madness while it last! Until next time, Good Luck and Happy Fishing.

Capt Chris

Fishing Again

2011-05-09T09:15:00.000-07:00

After a long cold winter, the season has finally begun. We are fishing again here in Northern Michigan even though the temperatures don't seem to be much different than a month ago. It has been a slow warm up but the fishing has started off extremely well.

Most of the lakes here have not warmed past the 50 degree mark as of today. The fish are slowly starting to move up, but most are still being caught deep(25-45 feet). We have caught several fish in the 3-5 pound class this year already and were just getting started!

The majority of the bites have been on a jigging spoon or blade style bait. The few shallow bites have come on jerk baits or twister tail grubs. The most interesting bites this year have been the number of northern pike we have caught in deep water. These fish have been real aggressive and fun to catch even though they are not the intended species.

I'm looking forward to getting back on the water! The wind is howling here today, so I'll get caught up on a few of the "honey do" items and then it's back to fishing!Until next time Good Luck and Happy Fishing!

Capt Chris

Getting Ready

2011-04-11T10:00:00.000-07:00

Here in Northern Michigan, the ice is finally starting to disappear after a long winter. If all went well when the boat was put away, getting the boat ready should be a fairly easy chore. I look forward to getting out on the water as soon as the ice is gone. Hopefully this will be in the next few day's.

Over the winter, you have a lot of time to look at new and old tackle. You remember the baits that worked, as well as the ones that made there way to the recycle bin. There were baits that consistently caught fish and ones that worked for a special situation. Now after going to Outdoor Expo's, looking at catalogs and reading product reviews all winter, you have ordered or bought a new arsenal of tackle/gear for the season ahead.

This year we will be using some of the same gear as last, but there will be some new additions as well. For starters, sight fishing is a very large part of smallmouth fishing in these parts and good glasses are the key to success. Costa Del Mar has a 580 lens that is out of this world for clarity!! I have these in different lens colors so I am able to see the best, depending on the brightness of the day. Costa glasses are available in several different frame styles and lens colors. Be sure to check them out.

Another important piece of equipment is your rain gear. Frabil has introduced a new rain suit that has been thought out really well! There are several features on this suit that will make fishing in the rain a lot more comfortable for me this year. This suit is definitely worth a look at!

A new addition in the line department will be the Vicious Pro Elite Fluorocarbon. This is a new line for Vicious. This fluorocarbon has less memory, cast smoother, has great knot strength and abrasion resistance. These are all essential qualities for fishing in clear water. I am excited to "GET VICIOUS" on the fish this year!

There is a company that has been out for a while, but I have never fished there baits. The Zipper Worm Company has a great selection of soft plastics and jigs. They are unique in there design and have my interest. I will be giving a few of there baits the ultimate test for Mister Bronzeback this season. Check them out at www.zipperwormcompany.com

It has been fun getting ready for this upcoming season. With the new gear and anticipation of catching the first bronzeback of the season, I am ready to go have some fun! You can follow Northern Adventures Fishing daily on Facebook www.facebook.com/northernadventuresfishing or on Twitter at Fishin4alivn. I will be updating the fishing report often as possible. Until next time Good Luck and Happy Fishing!

Capt Chris

Family, Friendships & Fishing

2011-02-07T12:34:00.000-08:00

It has been quite some time since my last post!! Between hunting trips, end of season fishing trips, and holiday's, the time has flown by. It is now time to open the chapter on 2011. I look forward to what this year will bring in the way of family, friendships and fishing. These are three of the most important things to me in life.

Family to me is the most important thing of all! My wife and kids always make me happy no matter what. I love spending time with them whenever possible. We look forward to the slow time of the year so we can spend quality time together. Unfortunately, there is no warm weather get away this winter season, just hot chocolate after shoveling snow. I can't wait to get the boat out and take them on the first fishing trip of the year! It is always a great time.

Friendships come and go through the years, but every year I look forward to new friendships that will be made fishing. It is always fun to meet new people and go different places to fish. Watching people catch fish to me never gets old, especially when it is there personal best or there first. Let us not forget about good times to be had with old friends. Fishing with old buddies is a good time that never gets old. There always seems to be the one that got away or a fish tale of great proportion to be re-lived.

Fishing for me, has been more along the lines of work now for over 20+ years. I still look forward to the challenges of figuring those finned critters out. Also, I enjoy taking people fishing, no matter if they are a rookie or the next Fishing Hall of Fame inductee. This is always rewarding no matter what the outcome. This is why fishing never gets old to me.

We will see what 2011 has to offer in the way of family, friendships, and fishing. I'm sure it will be great. Hope to see you on the water Until next time Good Luck and Happy Fishing.

Capt Chris

What to do?

2010-10-09T08:54:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful time of year! The leaves are turning to there vibrant colors,the smallmouth are starting to put on the feeding frenzy, the madness of chasing whitetails has begun and waterfowl season is in full swing. This leaves me with this question every year. What should I do, hunt or fish? I'm not sure If their is a right answer for this. I love all of it! Lately the fishing has been fairly tough. However, it has picked up steam here lately.

Since my last post, I have been out to Kansas chasing the MONSTER whitetails that live out there. What a great hunt, seeing friends you haven't seen in a while and enjoying the outdoors. I spent a full week in the stand and did not fill my tag. That is completely fine with me. I saw several deer all week long and had opportunities to shoot small bucks, but that is not what you travel 1200 miles for! I'll make the journey back in December to see if we can seal the deal then.

For now, I am getting back into the fall fishing groove. The fish are starting to sense the change of season on all fronts. The salmon fishing in the rivers is still going and the big lake is starting to heat back up with steelhead and three year old salmon action! On the inland lakes, perch and walleye action is heating up as well. The inland water temps range from the high fifties to low sixties depending on what lake you are on. The smallmouth are starting to move up on the flats from the depths. Some lakes they have been shallow, less than 12 feet. Other lakes they are still up to 40 feet deep. I am looking forward to the upcoming week! I will let the weather dictate the question of what to do. Until next time, Good luck and Happy Fishing!

Capt Chris

The Doldrums

2010-09-24T19:50:00.000-07:00

What a change the last few weeks have brought to the entire fishing community here in Northern Michigan. We went from the best fishing some of us have ever seen, to the worst fishing that I can remember. Mother Nature has not been very friendly to either big lake or inland lake fisherman. The bite has been extremely difficult.

Over the last week I have been chasing the mighty bronzeback with little success. We did catch fish, however nothing like it was three weeks ago. The fish in the bay have moved to the deep haunts and hideaways. Most of the Smallies we found were from 35 feet to 60 plus feet of water. The average size was down as well. I did switch gears and go inland for a couple days. The fish that were caught were dandy's, just not many. These fish were found in less than 12 feet. The water temps are still in the low to mid 60's and it won't be long before the fall Malay begins.

The salmon bite on the big lake has been extremely poor to say the least. I have talked with several charter captains that say the same thing 1-5 fish a trip if your lucky. I did run a salmon trip last week and for the first time ever in four hours of trolling never had a bite!!!!!!!!! not even a sniff. The up side to the salmon bite is there are several fish in the river ready to do battle with any angler that wants to chase them.

The other up side is walleye's and perch have begun to put the fall feed on. As of yesterday there are scattered reports of decent perch and walleye action on a handful of lakes in the Traverse City area.

I will be back at it next week after a quest in the land of Oz for a giant whitetail. There early muzzle loader has presented me with a tag and I am going to take full advantage of the early season. Until next time Good Luck and Happy Fishing.

Capt Chris

Fishing is Fun!

2010-09-13T09:42:00.000-07:00

Over the last week and a half the charter fishing has slowed a little and the preparations for hunting season have began. Since my last post, I have been out to Kansas and back to prepare for hunting out there. I have a muzzle loader tag in hand and I am extremely excited to get the first crack at the giant bucks that roam out there.

Since my return, I have been fun fishing(practice) for the upcoming Lake Leelanau Invitational. This is the twenty third year that this tournament has been happening. It is a great time to get out, have some fun and see people you don't see every day. best of all you get to go fishing!

Practice can be mind boggling on this lake. One day they are there and the next, gone with no real explanation why. I know this is true anywhere you fish, but here it happens more than any other place I have fished. Practice started out with a bang catching good fish cranking and throwing a spinner bait. The biggest was a 5 1/2 pound fish. I caught a handful on a drop shot, but they seemed to be smaller fish. This was a lot of fun being out on the water, looking at some slight changes in color on the trees, feeling the cool northwest wind blowing on you back and ultimately felling Mr. Smallie pull on your string.

Day two was great as well, I met my friend Jon in the morning and we headed to the lake. He asked if I had brought my rain gear, fortunately I did. We fished for a couple hours catching a couple here and there, then the rain started falling. We laughed and joked as the rain kept coming down & down & down. We only caught a few fish, but we were mainly looking, rather than fishing. After driving around and fishing in the rain for over five plus hours, we felt like we had a game plan. Did I mention it rained while we were on the lake? Neither one of us were ready to throw in the towel, nor be the first to give in, but finally I mentioned it was five o'clock somewhere and off the water we came. Drenched and cold it felt good getting back on shore.

Tournament Day was a complete opposite of the day before. High sky's and beautiful sunshine was the hand we were delt on Sunday. The conditions did get extremely tough in the afternoon. The wind whipped the lake into a mess to say the least. Up and down, side to side we bounced. We ended up catching three smallies for the tournament, but we had fun all day long. No matter how tough thing's were, we did the best we could on that given day. We fished hard all day long.

At the end of the last few day's and as I write this, I am reminded that fishing is fun no matter what the outcome may be. From the highs catching big fish to the lows of being cold and drenched You have to be thankful that you get to spend time in the outdoors. Until next time Good Luck and Happy Fishing.

Capt Chris

No Fish Story

2010-08-31T15:05:00.000-07:00

WOW! WOW! WOW! is just a minimal description of today's fishing. I was once again on Grand Traverse Bay with a past client Bill and a friend of his Dave(two great fisherman). They were fishing up on Burt and Mullet over the last few day's and had been catching really nice smallies up there. They had no idea, nor did I of the fishing we were about to encounter today.

We left the dock at 6:45 and we were fishing shortly after. The first two fish set the tone for the day a 6 3/4 pounder and a giant over 7 pounds were the start of today's Malay! It was non stop action almost all morning. We caught fish from 12 inches all the way up to the 7 pound giants(aka SEA DONKEY). Over fifteen of the fish went over four pounds. We caught fifty four fish today in all. The best five would have went well over thirty pounds thanks to two seven plus pounders, two six plus and several in the five pound class. I have had several good days on the bay, but as far as big fish with numbers of them, today takes the cake!!

We fished in 20-30 feet of water today. We were using a Castaway Skeleton series dropshot rod with a WaveSpin DHxL spooled with 8# Vicious fluorocarbon. The preferred fish food was a Poor Boys Goby fished on a drop shot.

Bill and Dave will be sending me pictures of the giants that we caught today and I will be posting them when I get them. Until next time Good Luck and Happy Fishing!!

Capt Chris

Season of Change

2010-08-29T07:58:00.000-07:00

Wow,what a blur the last three weeks have been. The last time I remember writing was when the fishing on all fronts was the best summer fishing that I have experienced in quite some time. The smallmouth and salmon were chewing on anything that you put in front of them! The action stayed good for me right up to the time I left for the BASS Northern Open on the Detroit River. There is not much to say about the time I spent there other than it was a huge learning experience. This was my worst tournament to date and the only thing left to do is learn and move on!

Now that I have returned home and started chasing smallies again, I have noticed a change in the air as well as on the trees. Although minimal, there are a few tree's starting to show the colors of fall(today's forcasted high of the upper 80's has me wondering though). The first real cool down of the season arrived Thursday and Friday mornings trip greeted us with temperature's in the 40's. The run across the bay was definitely an eye opener! We ended up catching over thirty smallmouth with the biggest about 2 1/2 pounds. Lot's of action, but not the giants the bay is known for. We had several laughs and had a great time catching fish.

There are a few salmon starting to charge up the river for there annual spawning run and several fish are still out in Lake Michigan waiting for Mother Natures cue to run the river. This is usually triggered by a huge North blow and rain. Until this happens the action will be fast and furious as the fish try to fatten up for there journey up the river.

It is definitely the season of change as fall begins to settle in the air. The honking of geese become more noticeable, the mornings are cooler, the color's begin to show, the fishing will heat up and the dust gets knocked off the bow case. These are all signs that I look forward to every year.

Until next time enjoy the changes and good luck fishing.

Capt Chris

Return of The Giants

2010-08-07T15:32:00.000-07:00

Today was absolutely amazing!! The giant smallmouth that have been a little harder than normal to find, finally showed up today. The action was fairly steady with a couple dry spells. We caught 25 fish in five hours with several large fish, the biggest was a six pounder. Our best five fish would have weighed in at 23-24 pounds. One of my clients caught two 4.5 pounders and a 5 pounder today. Most of the fish were in the two to three pound range with a few smaller fish mixed in. All of the fish were caught on a drop shot in 15-30 feet of water. The smallies were chewing on a Poor Boy's goby and a Berkly Gulp 5" leech. I can't wait to get back out there and chase those giant smallies!!

Until next time, Good Luck and Happy Fishing

Capt Chris

8/5 & 8/6

2010-08-06T14:47:00.000-07:00

The last two day's have been very good fishing considering the conditions. Thursday, I found myself fishing salmon out of the port of Frankfort. The big pond was once again all riled up and it was like being in a washing machine for the first few hours of the trip. The waves were 4-8 foot and coming from three different directions. We had a hearty crew and battled through it(even after a little chumming)! The action started slow, but finished with a bang. We caught 12 total fish with a real mix of species. The only one missing for the Great Lakes Slam was a Brown Trout. We did land a 9.5 pound Coho salmon, a real dandy. I hope this is a sign of things to come for this fall. Most of he action was on Silver Horde green splatter plugs(riggers) and a blue "Chilly Willy" Silver Streak spoon on a double core. The fish were starting to move up in the water column to the 75-95 foot range.

This morning we were fishing Grand Traverse Bay for smallmouth. We had really nice conditions to start with this morning. The fishing started of with a few bites here and there with mainly small fish. As the morning continued on we found some nice two to three pounders that were willing to cooperate. A front blew through around 9:30 and the wind picked up out of the North, churning the bay pretty good. The bite slowed for almost 45 minutes as we repositioned and fought the choppy water. Then the fish god's smiled on us and we found a few more fish that were willing to bite. In all we landed 34 smallmouth, not bad for a morning fishing trip. Today's gear consisted of a Castaway drop shot rods with a WaveSpin DHxl reel spooled with 8# Vicious fluorocarbon line. We fished drop shot rigs in 16-25 feet of water.

Until next time Good Luck and Happy Fishing!

Capt Chris

Big Waves & Good Fishing

2010-08-04T07:09:00.000-07:00

The last couple day's on the big pond have treated the fisherman to some very rough water. The NOAA weather forecast wasn't what I would call spot on! However we still fished in 4-6 foot waves with the occasional 7-8 foot gorilla wave that would just show up out of no where. I felt like we were in an episode of "Deadliest Catch" minus the crab pots. OK, maybe it was'n that bad, but it was still pretty sporty.

The fish were still cooperating, but the big waves made it a little bit more difficult to keep them hooked up. Most boats have had catches fro 10-18 fish a trip. The fish have been hanging out in the deep water. Last night our best was a rotater with a Rapture Sour Apple fly on the center rigger at 105 feet. The deep program has been the ticket. The fish have been biting in the 85-150 foot water colum over 150-600 feet of water. For the best action get out the copper line and long lead core with plugs and spoons. The riggers and divers have been best with rotaters, paddles, flies and meat. Untill next time, Good Luck and Happy Fishing.

Capt Chris

Fantastic Fishing

2010-08-01T09:26:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a last few day's! The fishing has been absolutely spectacular. From salmon to smallmouth, you couldn't ask for better action.

For the smallmouth action, I fished with a father son team that I have fished with before and it is always a pleasure to have the family aboard for some fantastic fishing. They made there way there way here all the way from California to enjoy the great smallmouth fishing on Grand Traverse Bay. Bart and his three son's have fished with me over the last couple years and have reaped the rewards that the bay has to offer for smallmouth fishing. They have seen the best and have had some tough day's, but they are always ready for what ever the day has in store. On this particular trip we fished drop shots and the always reliable tube. The fished seemed to enjoy the Berkley Gulp products as well as the Poor Boy's drop shot goby the best. We fished in 12-40 feet of water and found most of the action in the 18-30 foot depths. We caught 23 fish in a few hours of fishing that were as big as three pounds. The action was steady and as always a lot of fun when it comes to smallies.

The salmon action has been out of this world for the last week. I have been fishing out of Frankfort for the salmon. The last few trips for me have produced numbers in the high teens and last night we caught 20. We had to sit on the cooler to get it to close. This was a 150 quart cooler. The fish have been chewing plugs, meat rigs, and paddle/fly combos the best. All of the fish seem to be 12-18 pounds with the occasional 20+ fish. They have been feeding in the 75-150 foot depths over 150-275 feet of water. Meat has been the best producer overall. Three to five hundred feet of copper with the plugs and Moonshine spoons have worked as well.

Well it is off to fish again this afternoon. Looking forward to chasing the mighty Chinook. Until next time, good luck and happy fishing.

Capt Chris

Back In The Saddle

2010-07-27T10:21:00.000-07:00

Wow! What a last couple of weeks. The family and I made the big trip out east to Lake Champlain For stop #1 on the BASS Northern Open Tournament Trail. The fishing was great and we had an awesome time out there. I found plenty of Smallmouth and largemouth(with the help of the Humminbird 998 side imaging unit) that were willing to bite for me in practice. I thought that Things would go great for the tournament, boy was I mistaken. As every fisherman knows they don't always read the script. I finished 71st overall. Not great, but not bad for a field of over 200 boats.

I returned to the salmon fishing yesterday. I was fishing with Captain Dave Rusch aboard the "Family Feud". This is where I will be fishing mainly for the next three weeks. Wow, what a great return. The fish were chewing extremely well!! We caught 16 in just a hair over 4 hours. Several fish in the 14-16 pound range and a couple keeper lake trout. They were in the 80-100 foot range chewing on plugs, spoons and paddle/fly combo's. The action was pretty much non-stop. The crew decided that they had enough fish and we returned to the dock with a cooler full!

I will be trying to keep everyone posted on the fishing action. Good luck and Happy Fishing!
Capt Chris

The Start of a New Beggining

2010-07-11T15:34:00.000-07:00

We are up and running with the new blog page here at Northern Adventures. I will try to give as much up to date information as possible. This will range from the who, what, where, when and how. I hope you will find the information useful and interesting.

Today, I found myself back fishing a salmon tournament out of Frankfort, MI aboard the "JAWBREAKER" Captained by Randy Gum. This was the annual East Shore Shoot Out. We had a great time and ended up fifth place overall. We had several opportunities to put the fish in the boat to win the tournament, but never could quite get it done. It felt good to be back chasing the mighty Chinook again. We caught the majority of the fish on plugs today from 80 feet to 120 feet.

Well it is time to get ready for the next tournament. I am switching gears to go chase bass on Lake Champlain. Until next time Good luck and Happy Fishing!!

Capt Chris