Action is fast and furious right now (May 09) out of Holland Michigan. The salmon have migrated north from the bottom end of the lake in about one weeks time following the baitfish and the “right” water.

Exceptionally heavy coolers are the norm right now, with a mixture of BIG Kings up to 20lbs, as well as coho, lake trout and steelhead. School sized kings are showing up as well, hitting higher offerings. 2009 is shaping up to be one of the best salmon fishing seasons ever!

Spring time salmon fishing on southern Lake Michigan from the ports of Michigan City Indiana and St Joseph Michigan is about as good as it gets. The south end of Lake Michigan warms up first and the baitfish, salmon, and trout swarm into the shallows to feed.

Most of our Indiana charters and Michigan Charters focus on fishing in 50 foot or less of water. The first few weeks of April will find Profishient cruising between sandbars just south of St Joseph looking for the first coho of the year, along with local brown trout. By the middle of April, the king salmon (chinook) begin to invade the shallows following the preferred baitfish Alewife. During this time, we are fishing mostly surface lines with small crankbaits and spoons including Dreamweaver Super Slims, Michigan Stingers and Silver Streak mini’s. Gold, Copper, Orange, Pink and Yellow are dominant colors this time of year. Around the middle of the month of April out of St Joseph begins the orange dodger/fly setups for Coho, still on the surface. King salmon can be found mixed in the top layer of water hitting nearly any offering suitable for cohos.

After the bottom end of the lake begins to warm up significantly around the middle of May, the majority of the coho and king salmon begin to migrate north towards the ports of Saugatuck and Holland. Profishient Charters follows the salmon on their migration routes, chasing them from nearshore waters to well past 10 miles offshore, depending on the migration patterns.

Consistent spring king fishing continues in Holland Michigan through the middle of June until Lake Michigan begins its summer transition. During this 3 week period, the lake stratifies and sets up in early July with the summer thermocline. This transition period can be tricky fishing, with scattered pockets of fish, as well as skamania steelhead heading towards river mouths of the Kalamazoo River and Lake Macatawa.

Once July hits, the kings move back nearshore and we run our fishing charters mostly within 3-10 miles from the Michigan shoreline. Excellent catches of kings up to 20 pounds are the norm, as well as good catches of Lake trout.