Fishing on Lake Michigan has continued to be above average this spring despite the bad weather. The majority of the fish being caught are Coho Salmon, with a few King Salmon and Steelhead adding to the limit. Dodger and Fly combinations are still the best bait. Size 00 dodgers in orange or yellow, rigged with a Peanut fly in green-silver, blue-silver, and blue-green colors 16 inches behind the dodger has had the most success. Run these on Yellow Birds or Dipsey Divers for the best action. Don't forget to run size 0 dodgers and Howie Fly combos, or Fishlander Spoons 30 - feet to 80 - feet down on your dowriggers for the occasional King Salmon lurking in the deep. Chrome dodger with a White Howie Fly or a smoke dodger with a "Little Boy Blue" Howie Fly have seen the most action. Spoons in silver or purple colors have been the best. Fishing the 80 - feet to 140- feet depths has been the most productive this week. Look for clouds of bait fish on your graph, and you will find the salmon and trout. The Lake Michigan Fishing Report is provided by Captain Bob Rossa. www.MigratorCharters.com

05/14/04

It's that time of year again, Coho Mania is at it's peak on the Illinois shore of Lake Michigan! Limits of Cohos (5 per person) are the rule rather than the exception, with two or three salmon on at a time. The surface temperature is at a perfect 52 degrees, so 90 % of the salmon and trout are in the top ten feet of the water column. This makes trolling with yellow birds and Luhr Jensen dipsy divers deadly, because you can keep ten to fourteen baits at a time in the top ten feet. The limit in Illinois is three rods per angler. 
Dodgers and flys, and spoons are the favorite bait this time of year. I use Luhr Jersen's 00 size dodger in orange, red, and fire dot colors. The flys are run 16 inches behind the dodgers and are the smaller Howie Peanut flys in a number of colors. Green - gold, blue -gold, two tones in green, and blue - green are the best color combos, but lately, the fishing is so good, any color fly that is wet will catch a coho. The Fishlander spoons in the number one size has been the hottest spoon going. They have a huge assortment of colors, but if you stick to the same colors as the flys we use, you will be successful. Go to www.fishlander .com, to find your favorite colors.    
The Cohos (they are unusually large this spring) will be the main catch this time of year, but some King Salmon, Brown Trout, and Rainbow Trout will also be taken this time of year. The good thing about the Spring Coho Run is it can be enjoyed not only by the charters boats, but also by the small boaters. The fish are close to shore and are in the top ten feet where they can be caught flatlining. A word of caution: please check the weather when you are out fishing. Remember, the water temperature is only 52 degrees at the surface. You won't last long in that water temperature! Spring weather is very unstable in the Midwest, and even though you are close to shore, hypothermia will start in a matter of minutes.
I hope this report will help you fill your cooler with salmon and trout. Have a safe, successful, and fun spring fishing the western shores of Lake Michigan.
                                               
                                                                  Good Fishing, Captain Bob Rossa
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LAKE MICHIGAN SALMON FISHING AT IT'S FINEST
Chicago Lake Michigan salmon fishing charters

Migrator Charters with Bob Rossa
14513 Kishwaukee Valley Road
Woodstock, IL 60098
Phone 1: (815)338-8093
Phone 2: (815)575-4665
Email: captbobcharters@aol.com