Well as you can see from the pictures we had quite the salmon fishing charter out on Lake Michigan. We (my buddy Mike, it was his 29th birthday, his girlfriend Amy, Mikes buddy Pat and his fiance and his really good buddy, and mine, Greg who is about the funniest story teller and best fisherman I know) arrived at Northpoint Harbor Illinois around 500am and got out on the water close to 530am.
http://www.confusioncharters.com/
We booked our charter with Confusion Charters with a pair of fairly young brothers but they knew the lake and our catch proved that. We ran straight east out of the harbor and began to rig up the lines both on plainer boards and down riggers. The smaller Coho salmon started jumping in the boat. Then there was a hit on the down rigger that was running at 75ft. My buddy Mike was the next person up to reel in what must have been a King however it broke off fairly far out from the boat. We all were giving him crap because he lost what was going to be our only King that day (they usually hit later on in the year). However since the spring had been unusually warm
they were hitting earlier than normal. So at 545am I was up and on the deep down rigger there was another hit. As I grabbed the pole out of the rigger I felt the full weight on the pole and the fun was on. At least it was a little fun until it felt like my arm was going to fall off. I held the pole at a 45 degree angle (that is what the charter captain told me to) and kept consistent pressure on the reel as the fish made several strong runs. I held and held this pole as my forearm was SCREAMING tired. This was the biggest fight I've ever had with a fish. The worst part is I normally reel with my left hand, however that is abnormal, most right handed people reel with their right hand. So I was 'backwards' for me which only meant that I was jerking the pole and reel rather than smoothly pulling the fish in. Despite all of the difficulties and a 6-7minute fight the fish was getting close to the boat. When we all saw the fins the oohing and aaahing started. It was a nice king and yet my arm was still about to fall off. Nobody ever told me that when you get a big fish your arm screams STOP and your wrist feels even worse. Once that fish saw the boat he gave one last run but at that point I was too stubborn to give up I knew the fish was tired and was about to give up. A minute or two later the Captain had the net in the lake and scooped up this REALLY nice 14.5 pound King Salmon.
Next up were the other 4 in the boat they all got quality Coho's. What happened next? Well nearly the same story all over again as I pulled in a mere 12.5 pound King. Well needless to say that got everybody in the boat a little fired up and it let me talk a little smack the rest of the way. Then at 6:06am another hit on the deep down rigger and it was Mike, the birthday boy, turn to reel in a nice 11 pound king. This time he actually was able to land the fish instead of busting it off 100 feet off the boat!
What a fantastic trip, Amy got herself a lake trout but the catch speaks for its self. A great charter trip that was a fantastic memory that will never go away as the pictures are worth 1000 words and I could not have spent my money a better way.
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