Reel Addiction Charters

      Fishing continues to be hit and miss in Northern Door County.  Evenings have produce more and bigger fish the last few days and most have come from deep water as warm water continues to linger off Rowleys Bay.
     This morning a group from all over the U.S., in Door County for a family reunion, fished for five hours with only 7 releases and 3 kings making it to the boat.  On a brighter note, they did save a bat that strayed way too far offshore.  Way to go guys!
     Yesterday evening a very proud Donald Jeffries from Shawano WI, watched his two granddaughters, Tricia and Emily, land a few nice salmon including one of the biggest of the year!  It tipped the scales at 20.3lbs.  Donald use to fish in the area in the 1980's and was happy to get back out on the water.  He commented that the fish are smaller and a lot less numerous than back in his fishing days.  The two young ladies did a great job handling the rods and the waves.  It was their first trip on the Great Lakes and I think they may be back for more in the future.
   

     Fishing continues to be slow off of Rowleys Bay.  Warm water refuses to move and we are hunting deep for fish.  Over the weekend family and friends visited and fished a couple mornings.  Fun was had by all on the boat but the catch was small.  They did catch 9 kings on Saturday morning but only 3 on Sunday.
     This morning a group from the Chicago suburbs landed 8 kings, released 1 shaker and ended the morning with 7 fish.  The bite was good early but ended around 6:30am.  All fish came from water 100 feet or deeper.  Check out the photos link for all of the recent pictures.  
   

     Friday was the worst day of the year to date.  We got a late start in the morning and landed 3 fish on only 6 releases total.   In the evening the Boomsma family fish for 3 hours and only landed 2 fish on 3 releases.  One of the fish was a shaker that they released unharmed but the other was a giant king that weighed in at just under 18lbs!  It was as big as the two little guys that caught it!  I will be posting pictures tomorrow.
    This morning things started to turn around a bit.  I fished with family and friends from 4:30am to 9am and we landed 9 fish and lost 4 others.  It started out as a great morning but then a front moved through and the fish seemed to quit biting at about 7am.  I have the night off to spend with our visitors but the same group will be fishing aboard the Reel Addiction tomorrow morning.

     After a great evening run yesterday that produced 9 nice king for a couple from Rochester, MN, today was a different story.  Fishing this morning was slow.  A family from Holmen, WI landed only four fish on 6 releases.  Despite the low numbers, all of the kids aboard caught the biggest fish of their lives and were happy they got up at 4:00am!
      This evening started well with 4 fish on and 3 in the boat in the first hour.  Then a really strong SE wind kicked up but the group from Avon, Indiana wanted to stay out longer in the 4 foot seas.  We managed one more long downwind troll but it didn't produce any more fish.  We picked up at 7:15 and headed to harbor.

      After west winds overnight moves some of the warm water out of the Rowleys Bay area, the fish bit better this morning.  The Cremers group, that fished yesterday morning also, landed 14 fish this morning.   Most fish came from water 90 feet or deeper.  The group is returning to Minnesota with 21 fish in the cooler.

     With the persistent easterly winds warm water has invaded the area around Rowleys Bay.  The last couple days fishing has slowed.  The thermocline was near 80 feet this morning and fish bit only until about 6am. 
     Yesterday morning a group from the Racine area landed 5 for 10 fish on a 3 hour trip.  Last night we were forced from the lake by 6:30pm by thunderstorms and lightning but did manage to get one king near 18lbs, pictured below, before we headed for harbor.  This morning and tomorrow morning a group from Virginia, MN, has the boat.  So far they landed 7 for 11 fish including one king that was pushing 20lbs.  It came on 300' of copper on a board and took about 20 minutes to land.  What a workout!

     A couple of groups from the Rhinelander, WI area fished aboard the Reel addiction the last couple of evenings.  Both groups had a great time and landed some big fish.
The winning bidder of the Nativity of Our Lord School auction, Randy Beard and family, fished on Friday night.  The landed 7 for 10 fish include a few in the 17 to 19lb range.  Of course the big ones got away!  Randy was going to make sure Fr. John of Nativity of Our Lord parish, received a nice fresh piece of salmon.
     Last night the Berwig family, also from Rhinelander, landed 10 for 16.  They did a great job handling the rods in the 3-foot chop, as strong south winds annoyed us most of the evening.
     This morning a couple from the Eden Prairie, MN fish in a little calmer waters.  They boated 10 fish, releasing 2 and coming in with 8 fish all over 12lbs.  
Check out all the fish racks on the photos page!

     After a beautiful Wednesday morning on the lake with a group from Winona, MN, more stroms and 30kt south winds interupted our morining trip today.  The same crew was suppose to take a second trip but we had to cancel it due to weather.  They landed 7 fish yesterday, including a nice, fat laker and they were hopping for a little better bite today but they didn't get a second chance.  
     I am keeping my fingers crossed that the weather will impove for a few days because I am booked solid through the end of next week.  Cancelled trips due to weather are a disappointment for everyone.   

      The last several trips have been with residents of Minnesota.  All have been pretty good runs.  Yesterday morning a group from Lindstrom, MN landed 7 fish.  Although the bite was a little slow and the Lake Michigan flu was caught by one angler, all had a good time. 
      This morning a group from La Crescent, MN, after having a bit of a late start, landed 9 fish, 6 of which were better than 10lbs.  Fish this morning were found in 90+fow and flasher flies seemed to be the ticket.  300 feet of copper on a board and dipsys set at 150 landed the majority of the big ones.  Check out their rack on the photos page! 

     Last evening and this morning the Greg Thorne family from Britt, MN fished onboard.  They had pretty good luck on both runs.  In the evening they landed 12 fish, releasing 4 shakers unharmed.  This morning they landed 14, releasing only 1 shaker.  The fish ran considerably bigger this morning than last night and the family had their hands full with some real fighters.  All and all, they are heading back to MN with 21 fish in the cooler.  They were an entertaining group with some pretty good stories!