October 26, 2013
Well the 2013 Lake Michigan charter fishing season is over for Silver King Charters. We pulled the boat today and put in in storage. We managed one more trip last weekend and went 10 for 12 "Limit, with 7 additional shakers". Had one Chinook slam a board and scream out line so fast we thought it was snagged on the bottom but it was a nice 15 pound King. During our last 5 weeks or fishing we had our best success on Chinooks of the season and we hope this translates to a strong King bite in 2014. The 3 year old Kings were 10 to 15 pounds, with one gong 17 pounds.
The fish were in 50 to 70 feet of water and it was an all spoon bite. Small Stinger spoons were the best on riggers and boards. We did not have much success at the end on dipsies but really did not need them. Leadcore set ups from 5 color to 11 color were hot and riggers set at 25 to 45 feet down were best. Water temperature was 48 on the surface and 44 at the bottom. The fish our full of bait.
It was a successful season and we need to thank all who fished with us for that. We give it our all every trip and most of them had successful catches. We will be posting how the season played out and some of the more interesting stories but again thanks so much in helping me and my brother live out a dream and hopefully create some great memories for you, your family and friends. We cannot wait until next season.
October 13, 2013
Milwaukee charter fishing has been solid for the first couple of weeks in October and the weather has been like summer. Are catch has been 90 percent Chinook salmon this month and some of the 3 year old Chinooks are 15 to 17 pounds. This is bigger than the 4 year olds of 2012. Could be some big fish next year. During our last several trips we went 9 for 13, 18 for 23 "limit", 10 for 14, 12 for 14 and 6 for 12.
We are working 90 to 120 feet of water and the fish are coming 30 to 80 feet down. We are using spoons on everything but the dispy divers, where we still have white flasher and boy blue flies. Are spoon of choice is small Stinger natural born killers, either orange or purple. These our boards are now all leadcore with 7 to 12 colors working. Riggers are set from 30 to 90 feet down. Trolling north is best by far.
Silver King Charters has one more weekend left this year and we have openings. Catch some great eating and fighting Kings before the season ends. Call us at 414-460-1467.
September 30, 2013
Lake Michigan charter fishing can be hampered by weather this time of year and we have had more than our share of cancellations this month due to wind. We are due and when we get out on the lake charter fishing Milwaukee has been for the most part real solid. We only went 4 times this week going 20 for 27, 19 for 19 "best hook up to catch ratio of the season", 12 for 18 "limit" and 2 for 4 "ouch!".
We are working 110 to 200 feet of water from 50 to 140 feet down. Our riggers are set at 55, 65, 100 and 140 feet, with all white flasher and Howie little boy blue. The wire dipsies are set from 175 to 250, with white flashers and little boy blue flies. The boards have copper sets at 150 to 350 feet. All of these are tipped with small stinger spoons. The purple killer has been solid. The break on Sunday had come up to 45 feet, so I don't think we will be fishing too deep much longer.
Silver King Charters will be running through October 20 this year, so you have three more weekends to get out and catch some salmon for the grill. The fishing is still good and hopefully mother nature gives us a break in October. Call us at 414-460-1467 to catch your fall salmon and trout.
September 23, 2013
Milwaukee charter fishing has been solid out of Lake Michigan. We have completely deserted the harbor for many reason but the biggest one is the return is not as strong as years past and many of the salmon have gone up the river already. The lake when weather permits has been good. For our last trips we have gone 10 for 17, 7 for 12 "Two 20 pound Lake trout", 15 for 24 "limit", 13 for 15, 8 for 12 "shortened trip" and 5 for 9.
We are fishing in 100 to 150 feet of water from 50 feet down to the bottom. We are running all white flashers with little boy blue Howie flies. On the wire dipsies we are 150 to 230 on the line counters. The riggers are 50 to the bottom and the water is still warm with the break 65 feet down at times. Our best riggers is right at the bottom pulling Kings and Lake trout. The boards are copper sets between 150 to 350 feet and again all flashers.
We are catching two and three year old Chinook salmon, with some as big as 15 pounds. Good signs for next season on big Kings. There are still mature Coho salmon in the mix and Lake trout round out the catch. Silver King Charters is still catching fish through October and we should have some decent fishing. Weather is always a concern during this time of the season, so if we think it is not right we will let you know and you can reschedule or not go. But there will still be some great weather days and it is a lot of fun catching salmon in the fall. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to catch some fish for the grill before the big football game.
September 13, 2013
It has been a while since my last report. Milwaukee charter fishing usually has a hot harbor bite this time of year but it really never materialized. We gave it several attempts but when we final were skunked on our last harbor run we quit and went back to the lake forgoing the big Kings, which are too few returning and most have headed up the river. We will be back in the harbor before the year is out but it will be for Brown trout.
Our last several trips went like this, 13 for 16, 7 for 15, 5 for 12, 0 for 3"First skunk in 130 trips", 6 for 12, 1 for 9, 20 for 37, 20 for 26, 9 for 11. We boated many 20 plus pound Kings in the harbor but not enough fish. The best effort was 7 fish in there.
The is producing again and the bite ranges from 100 to 250 feet of water. The fish are 40 feet to 100 feet down and flasher flies are the vest combination. Howie little boy blue with a white flasher on everything. Copper sets on boards from 150 to 400 foot sets are working good. Once you find an area they are biting find a good direction and keeping working that area. Lots of nice Coho salmon are still out there and we have taken many 10 to 14 pound Coho. The rest of the catch is 2 and 3 year old Chinook, Lake trout and Rainbow trout.
Silver King Charters will be charter fishing Lake Michigan until the end of October, so call us at 414-460-1467 and get in on some fall salmon fishing action.
August 28, 2013
Milwaukee charter fishing has been tough over the last ten days but some real nice Kings have been pulled on many of these trips. The water temperature is cold top to bottom all over until you get out to 300 feet of water. Wild currents effected the fishing earlier last week before the cold temps. Fishing should improve as the big Chinooks start to stage around the harbor before they spawn. This was probably our toughest stretch of the season though and here are the stats: 7 for 10 "awesome trip girls", 7 for 10, 5 for 8, 3 for 4, 4 for 8, 8 for 13, 10 for 16, 4 for 8. Yeah that hurt to type out but we are honest with our reports.
I have really no hot information to put in this report. We fished everywhere from Fox Point to the Oak Creek Power plant and all the way out to 200 feet of water. The big schools of Rainbows have pushed back out to 300 plus feet of water and everything else has scattered because of cold water. Small spoons on 2 to 8 color leadcore in 30 to 60 feet of water is taking fish. Out deep the same except a side of copper would be wise a little deeper in the water column. Flashers out deep are still producing on the riggers and dipsies but in close we are using more spoons. For the harbor, which we have started to fish we are using mostly spoons and stick baits.
Every year has a couple of tough patches and we hope to be on the back end of this one. It just takes a little while and fish will start to school up in areas. We will probably be harbor fishing for 4 year old Kings or out deep for Rainbows, Coho salmon and 2 and 3 year Chinook salmon. September and October usually set up for some solid fishing and hopefully by this weekend we are over this funk.
Silver King Charters has a couple more openings for Labor Day weekend, so call us at 414-460-1467 and catch some salmon and trout on Lake Michigan.
August 19, 2013
We have spent the last week in 150 to 180 foot depth and had some decent catches. The catch is a mixed bag of Lake trout, Rainbow trout, Coho salmon and Chinook salmon. We catch one Chinook over 20 pounds on just about every trip but still hoping for a 30 pounder. The trips went like this: 18 for 27, 25 for 33, 13 for 22, 14 for 29, 12 for 18, 13 for 23, 10 for 18, 13 for 21 and 11 for 19. I can say there were too many lost fish for our liking during some of these trips but fishing for Coho and Rainbow you tend to lose fish. But still too many for us....
The highlight was a 11.5 pound Coho, which is big for the year. We also had a five year old reel in an 8 pound King. I have seen grown men not handle a fish as good as he did. The captain might have helped a little. The fish are coming anywhere from 20 to 120 feet down but we like 40 to 75 foot area in the water column. The fish are active in the warm water where the food is. We like Howie little boy blue, with white flashers on all riggers and wire dipsies. Copper is working better on boards, with small stinger spoons. We are using 125 to 350 coppers and the dipsies are set anywhere from 105 t o175 on the line counters. It changes day to day. The riggers are anywhere from 35 to 100 feet down. Fishing is good and with fewer mistakes we should have 15 to 20 fish trips last week.
The fishing is good right now and Labor Day weekend still has openings. This is a great weekend to hook up on some big Chinook salmon before they spawn. These 20 plus pound Kings are fighting hard and you will not forget the experience. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 and try some King fishing, while enjoying the Harley 110th weekend.
August 13, 2013
Lake Michigan charter fishing has improved off Milwaukee over the last week, especially for big fish. We have now boated 65 Chinook salmon over 20 pounds this year and this is a record for Silver King Charters. Over the last several trips we have gone 13 for 20, 18 for 26, 8 for 12, 18 for 23, 15 for 19, 5 for 10 and 25 for 32 "limit". We have seen a mix of Chinook salmon, Rainbow and Lake trout and over the last two trips some real nice size Coho salmon are being caught.
We have fished all over the place but for the most part we have been in 85 to 110 feet of water. Most of our fish are coming in the top 50 feet of water, with the exception of Lake trout. Over the last couple of days we have been in 140 to 190 feet of water and again the best action is from the surface to 60 feet down. The water is warmer than we like up high but that is where the bait is and also the active fish. We are liking the white flasher, with Howie Boy Blue or Double Aqua on riggers and dipsies. Are wire dipsies are set at 100 feet on the line counters. The riggers are set 30 to 60 feet down. All are starting to produce.
On our board rods we run one side of copper and one side of leadcore. We are using 4, 6, 8 and 10 color leads, with small stinger spoons. It does not seem to matter the color but they need to be a small spoon. On the coppers we are running white flashers and green of boy blue flies. They are 100, 150, 200 and 250 foot coppers. All are producing but each has their day. Monday we lost a monster King salmon on a 10 color and it was easily over 25 pounds. Had an issue with another boat. We are still looking for the 30 pound Chinook salmon and have a month to do it.
Silver King Charters fished the 120 boat Brew City Tournament Saturday and again we came in 2nd place, with 179.3 pounds of fish for 10 fish. Good enough to win any other year but one other boat caught 212 pounds. Nice job Craig. We would not have done as good as we did with out a tip from our good friend Steve Lesch, who came in third place with 166 pounds. He gave us a tip at 8:30AM and we picked up and moved 20 miles south. We had less that 4 hours to fish when we got there and made a huge come back. This was one tournament we were happy with 2nd place. Silver King Charters has now gone 2nd, 3rd, 2nd and 2nd in the last four years of this tournament and one of these years we might get it right.
Milwaukee Charter fishing is about big King salmon over the last part of August. There is also great Rainbow trout fishing offshore. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 today and catch a trophy salmon before they start to spawn and are gone for the season.
August 6, 2013
Well Milwaukee charter fishing has been up and down, with an average of 11 fish a trip seeming to be what it amounts to. The good news is lots of big fish. Silver King Charters has over 45 Chinook salmon caught that weighed 20 pounds or more. The big for us is 26.5 pounds. We hope the 30 pounder will come soon. There was a 36 pound King pulled out of Milwaukee this last week and this is the biggest on Lake Michigan in some time.
This is our stats for the last several trips: 24 for 33, 20 for 30 "limit", 9 for 16, 9 for 19, 15 for 16, 9 for 16, 6 for 8, 9 for 19 and 13 for 21. The catch is made up of Chinook, Lake trout and Rainbow trout.
We have been working in 85 to 150 feet of water. The constant wind switches has pushed the thermocline up and down and fish all over. It has been tough to get a steady pattern this year. There is lots of bait and fish can be more picking on what and when they eat. We find spoons to be good one day and flasher flies the next. Sometimes the evenings are when they go and sometimes in the morning. It is driving us nuts!! When we set out we put a side of spoons out and flashers or plugs on the boards. Whatever they want we switch over quick to capitalize on the bite. The wire dipsies are consistent with flashers and seem to take our bigger fish. The settings are constantly changing on these and you must find the right depth for each day. Our riggers are either hot or ice cold. Three flashers and one spoon are usually the set here. I wish there was some solid bait that produce every time out like last year but the fish are very picky. Don't get down if you have a couple tough outings because this year when you pull a twenty plus pound King it makes up for it in a hurry.
Last weekend we won the Port Washington Salmon Shootout. We took 2nd last year but won it convincingly, with 132 pounds of fish for the 10 fish we weighed in. It was a nice tournament win but the big one is this weekend. The Brew City Tournament is this Saturday and we have over 90 boats entered. If you are going to get in you better do it soon. Weather looks to be good and there are lots of ways to win. This is the one that Silver King Charters wants to win the most but it has eluded us. The last 3 years we came in 2nd, 3rd and 2nd place. We will probably bomb this year but one fine day it will happen.
Silver King Charters is looking forward to some more big Kings caught by our clients this season and Labor Day weekend will be a great time to do this. The big Chinooks start to stage outside of Milwaukee before spawning and our an outstanding fight. Call us at 414-460-1467 to hook up with a big King salmon.
July 30, 2013
The last couple of days has seen Milwaukee charter fishing more stable weather and better fishing with it. The weekend was tough and Sunday we went 9 for 20 and 11 for 19. But the last two mornings have been better fishing going 12 for 17 "limit" and 12 for 17 "limit". Fishing was steady and we finished early. The catch was 75% Chinooks. with a 22 pounder Monday and three 19 pounders today.
The depth has been 90 t0 115 feet of water and the fish are coming below 40 feet. Are deeper riggers have been taking most of the fish. We are now back to flasher and flies on all riggers and wire dipsy sets. White flashers are preferred, with Howie boy blue or green crink. Copper on the boards has been ok, with the 300 copper producing the best. We right now are using flashers but spoons on leadcore will come into to play as the thermocline comes up. There are also a decent amount of Rainbows around but it is nice to see Kings of all year classes around. Good signs for August and yes we still need a 30lb King!
The Brew City Tournament is set for August 10th and it is starting to fill, so get your money in now. This is one of the best times of the year for Chinook action and considering what has happened this year this will be the only time for Chinook action. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 and help us get the 30 pounder!
July 27, 2013
Well before this weekend we averaged 10.5 fish a trip over the last 24 trips. Very good for last coupe of weeks. Here is how we did over the last several days: 3 for 8, 16 for 17 '' Great Job"", 12 for 23, 4 for 12, '' Very tough seas'', 21 for 28 "" best weight of the season, thanks Willy for saving Saturday. "" .
Winds have kept fishing very unpredictable but if you know where fish are stay in that location and work in and our of that depth. Fish will not travel far if the wind changes every day. We have worked from 115 to 65 feet over the last 4 days and the fish have moved every day. Rainbows are a big part of the catch, with Chinook salmon a close second. The evening trip today was outstanding, with 15 King salmon that were all 10 pounds and over. The fishing is the best for Chinook right now and we have over 30 20 plus pound Kings this season. We had a cancelation tonight and it was booked 30 minutes later for tomorrow. Now is the time to catch big King, provided we don't get a big north blow in the morning.
The fish have been fussy and you need to work your spread but the one thing consistent is the mature Chinooks are out of temp. Get your stuff up high in the water column and be patient. We have been running all white flashers and either Boy Blue or Green Ckrink Howie flies. We also like Stinger Blue Dolphin spoons on our boards. Tonight was proof of that. There is not a lot of fish around, so when you find some action stick with that area.
Folks we had a client concerned with the waves for a Sunday trip today and they cancelled. We are up front about conditions and will not put you out in dangerous situations. This morning we felt sorry for are clients but it was fishable. But the lake laid down nice since and will be very good by Sunday. Don't get caught up in weather forecast because they are usually wrong. There lose we booked another trip and conditions now look great and we just caught 21 fish tonight.
We now have only one morning left until August 11 and that is July 30th. We have a 6 hour for the price of 5 hours that day and weather looks great. This is King time so call now to get in on a screaming Chinook salmon by calling Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467. FISH ON!
July 21, 2013
www.Salmon-a-rama.com. 2013 is finally over and we had four of our clients win cash this year, including a 3rd place Rainbow trout. Check out the standings on the website. The big fish of the contest was a 28.5 pound Chinook salmon caught by a good friend of mine Andy. Once again Milwaukee was the place to be for big fish. The fishing was tough all over with spotty times of success. Silver King Charters averaged 11.5 fish a trip for 19 trips during Salmon-A-Rama week. The 200 fish we boated were caught all over the place but for numbers you need to be 180 to 280 feet of water. When out deep the catches were 15 to 20 fish, with one trip are 10 fish. In close there where trips of 10 to 14 fish but also trips of 3, 5, and 7 fish. For good size, especially King salmon you needed to be in 60 feet of water or less. The standings show that there are many trophy fish this year but totals are down from last year.
The four year old Chinook salmon is averaging 19 pounds and this is up about 6 pounds from last season. The really big ones are 25 to 30 pounds and these fish are a rush to catch. We are a flasher fly boat but this week it was a spoon oriented program. In close we ran leadcores from 2 to 8 colors and spoons were also on the riggers and even on the dipsies at times. Out deep it was all spoons and most of the fish came in the top 70 feet.
The water became cold with a strong west wind late in the week and the break was right near the surface. We took a 26.5 pound King just 25 feet below the surface and many big fish are coming there. Pro King cracked ice and oz are working along with Stinger blue dolphin spoons. The fly program is starting to come back to life though and white flashers with aqua or boy blue Howie flies have been best. These will be the combos that start doing the damage soon.
Milwaukee charter fishing for Chinook salmon is always most consistent and best for big fish the last two weeks of July and first two weeks of August. This is when stocked fish out of this port come back and we had a good amount stocked 3 years back. These fish will be big and feeding hard, while they get ready to spawn. The 30 pounder is coming. The Brew City tournament is set up perfect this year for these fish. A record could be set on August 10th.
Silver King Charters is offering a great special for the two weeks leading up to Brew City. All weekday morning trips are 6 hours for the price of 5 hours. This gives you more time to land a big fish on your trip. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 and book a Lake Michigan salmon fishing trip before the year of the big Kings is done.
July 18, 2013
Well Salmon-A-Rama week has only 3 days left and the big fish is 28.5 pounds. 3 of the top five Chinook salmon have been taken off Milwaukee. Silver King Charters has put 3 of our clients on the board: 4th place 26.49lb Chinook, 7th place 10.54lb Coho and a 2nd place 16.54lb Rainbow. We are hoping for more and great job to those who landed these big fish.
The week has not been easy and we have had to work to produce fish and here are the counts: 10 for 13, 5 for 10, 20 for 32, 15 for 28, 20 for 29 and 19 for 27. We have been fishing 90 to 100 feet or 180 to 240 feet. The King action is better in close but for numbers you must go deep, where there are plenty of Coho and Rainbow.
Flasher and flies are king for the Chinooks but spoons out deep on boards have been taking the Steelhead. Fish seem to be high in the water column, so the boards are 4 through 8 color or 75 foot to 150 foot copper sets. The riggers are also set higher in the water column. Once you find active fish stay on top of them because there are not a lot of spots were they have been active. West winds for the next two days should get the Chinook bite to become descent and we will start to run trips a little shallower. The one good thing is these fish are big and great fighters!
Milwaukee charter fishing is heading into the peak time for big Chinook salmon and Silver King Charters is offering a special for the weekday mornings of July 29th and August 5th. All 5 hour trips will be 6 hours for the price of 5 hours. This gives you more time to hook into a big Chinook salmon. Call us at 414-460-1467 and experience Wisconsin charter fishing on Lake Michigan.
July 14, 2013
www.Salmon-A-Rama.com has started and all week our clients will have a chance to win cash prize when they catch big fish on Silver King Charters. Today one of our clients named Joe caught a 26.49 pound Chinook salmon and he is currently in first place for the Chinook salmon division and second place overall. We are still have 7.5 more days to put some more client on the leader board.
Fishing over the last week has been tough but we are starting to find some concentrations of fish in certain areas. Our last several trips have gone 7 for 10, 8 for 9, 7 for 8 " 23lb Chinook caught by a 6 time gold metal Olympic champion for the 1996 Russian men's gymnastics team", 11 for 15, 4 for 7, 15 for 25, and 13 for 20 "26.5 pound Chinook salmon".
We have been slowly dialing into the fish this year. Things have been tough with fish scattered and water temps all over the place but like ever year it eventually sets up. We are starting to see this. Big fish and catches are getting back to double digits. Fish are coming in the 100 foot mark early and 240 to 300 feet in later in the day. The Chinook salmon are the biggest we have seen in years due to all the bait in Lake Michigan right now. Whether we are out deep or in 100 feet these fish are coming in the warmer water from the surface down 70 feet. Flasher flies are top producers, with white flashers and Howie Boy Blue flies. Spoons do some of the work, with Pro King cracked ice being solid. Our riggers and wire dipsies are best. Boards have struggled to produce but 6 and 8 color leadcores or 100 and 200 coppers seem to be the best numbers.
Silver King Charters is running a special for the weekday mornings for the weeks of July 29th and August 5th. All 5 hour trips will be 6 hours for the same price. These our two of the best weeks of the year to hook up with big Chinook salmon and with so many 20 pound Kings around your chance are good to have the fight of a life time this season. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 and try Milwaukee charter fishing this season.
July 7, 2013
A lot has happened since our last report but my computer crashed and just got back up and running. Milwaukee charter fishing has improved, with Steelhead and Chinook salmon starting to show up. Our catches have a mix of Coho, Chinook, Lake trout and Rainbow trout in them. The thermocline is just starting to set up and as it does we should start to see the catch going more to Chinook salmon. This is going to be a great year for size. We have already boated 6 twenty plus pound Kings and over the last week there has been three 27 pound Kings caught in the area. This will be the year for a 30 pounder!. There is so much bait this year, which is the exact opposite of last year.
Here is how Silver King Charters has done of late: 20 for 23, 14 for 20, 16 for 20, 18 for 25, 20 for 25, 3 for 7 "very tough afternoon bite!" and 15 for 22 "limit". Numbers are a better and size is good on the mature fish. We have been running a variety of spreads depending on the time of day and we do not have a lock down spread yet but conditions are starting to get to a point that eventually we will. We are running both copper and leadcore on the boards, with Stinger spoons and flasher flies. The fish are spread out in the water column, so we try to find a hot depth and match this with a board set up. Our best depth is 100 to 115 feet of water and we have not left this for the last 10 days. People sometimes have a hot bite inside or outside this depth but we have had consistency working these waters. The orange dodger and green peanut fly is still catching Coho salmon on occasion, so it finds its way into the spread on a regular basis.
Our dipsy sets are wire now and flasher flies. We have moved them up and down in the water column and every day there is a new hot number but it is generally between 95 to 200 feet on the line counter. The riggers have down most of the work over this period. We spread out all four riggers, with one on the bottom and then we go 15 to 20 feet up from there. We are getting hit from 40 feet to the bottom. Flasher flies are on these sets but the only consistent is white flashers. It is a struggle to find the right sets to get hits and we are changing up more than we like right now but things are slowing coming together and the good sign is we are seeing different year classes on the Kings and some Steelhead.
We have only one more spot for Salmon-A-Rama week and that is July 16th in the afternoon. Our next special will be on Monday-Friday for the weeks of July 29th and August 5th. All morning trips will be 6 hours for the price of 5, which is a $75 savings. These are two of the best weeks to catch mature Chinook salmon and with so many big Kings around you could catch one in the upper twenties or even thirty pounds this year. The reason for this special during a great fishing period is because of Brew City. It is our biggest tournament out of Milwaukee and we want to be on the water as much as possible. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 and hook up with a big King today.
June 28, 2013
It has been a little bit since my last report but super busy fishing. Lake Michigan salmon fishing is in the middle of transitioning into a summer pattern and the only thing I can say about this is it is almost over! Fishing has been tough all over the lake these last 10 days! Silver King Charters is now Milwaukee charter fishing and these are our last trip totals, 27 for 32 limit", 18 for 20, 10 for 15, 6 for 10, 8 for 12, 4 for 4 "very tough trip", 14 for 17 "20lb King salmon", 4 for 5 " only fished 1.5 hours due to bad storms, 9 for 11, 13 for 16. Numbers are down but today we started to see Chinook salmon in several year classes and this is a good sign that the Chinooks are starting to show up.
We have been working in 85 to 120 feet of water over this period of time and fish are coming from 20 feet down right to the bottom. The fish are scattered and it makes it tough to target. We are still catching some Coho salmon on orange dodgers, mostly on dipsies and a couple on boards. We are running the deep riggers with flasher flies and usually with a white blade. Spoons are taking fish on riggers and leadcore boards. We like the stinger blue dolphin and pro king cracked ice. There is tons of bait around and the mature Chinooks are big and fighting better than they have in years.
Silver King Charters finished in 9th place in the Geoffery Morris tournament in Winthrop Habor this last weekend. We were in 5th place after day one but could not get it done the second day. This is a Pro tournament and only 8 boats caught their limit the first day, we were one of them and only 4 the second day. Only a handle full of Chinook were caught.
Milwaukee charter fishing is heading into its best fishing of the season and we are only days away from Chinooks showing up in numbers. We only have 3 openings left for Salmon-A-Rama this year. They are Tuesday morning and afternoon and Thursday afternoon. This is a chance to win cash up to $15000 while fishing on your charter. Read more about this on the rates page. This is going to be a year for big Chinook salmon and we are just about to get into the best time of the year for Kings. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to expierence Milwaukee salmon fishing.
June 18, 2013
Lake Michigan charter fishing is in its transistion stage as warm water starts to accumulate, which will eventually set up a thermocline for the rest of the summer season. We are almost through this period but it slowed the bite down a little. For our last three trips we went 12 for 18 "limit", 11 for 20, and 15 for 30 "Great to see you Jim and your crew. Lets make it four in a row!" Most of these fish were Coho salmon averaging five pounds.
There is a ton of bait around and this is going to set up for season of big fish. We fished the Kenosha Coho Classic on Saturday. We won this last year and only caught five fish this year. It was our worst tournament performance in 4 years but every once in a while you must be humbled. The good news is we caught the biggest fish of the day, which was a 24.5 pound Chinook salmon. We fished to hard for Kings and there are still not enough around. Soon but not yet.
Our best set ups are dipsies with orange dodgers and green flies. The riggers are good with white flashers and a variety of flies. We have been fishing in 50 to 70 feet of water and the best depth is 10 to 45 feet down. Our boards have not been as productive over the last 5 days but as things set up these will again be hot. We have high speed reels on all board rods, so you are not reeling for ever on leadcore or copper sets.
We are Milwaukee charter fishing starting Sunday and look forward to some big Chinooks this season. We have already pulled two 20 plus pound Kings this year and that is 1 more than all of last year. Don't forget about our Salmon-A-Rama special, which gives you a chance to win cash, including the grand prize of $15,000. Call us at 414-460-1467 and get in on the summer fun.
June 13, 2013
Lake Michigan salmon fishing is going through a transistion period right now. This is when the thermocline starts to set up dividing cold water and warm water. Right now we are spack dab in the middle of this. Fishing is still good but not off the hook like is was for the last 6 weeks. Our last four trips were 13 for 18, 21 for 26 "limit", 12 for 21 and 11 for 17. Again most are Coho salmon but we are now taking some Kings. A seventeen year old girl took a nice 20 pound Chinook salmon Monday. Last season we only had one Chinook at 20 pounds and this came in September. The picture is on our gallery page. The Kings look to be 4 pounds on average bigger this year and we are right at the begining of the season for them.
We are still using the ofange dodger and peanut flies on 3 dipsy rods, one rigger and one side of boards. These are still solid producers but we are setting them deeper into the water column. The other three rigggers are flasher flies or spoons. We are using leadcore setups, with spoons on the other side of boards. Both board setups are producing equally. Our final rod is a wire dipsy with a flasher fly and this producer a couple fish a trip. You need to get creative during the transistion period and you can still catch good amounts of fish each trip.
Silver King Charters is back Milwaukee charter fishing on June 22nd and by then we should have a good amount of Chinook salmon to fish for. Our big special Salmon-A-Rama had to more spots booked this week. Only weekdays remain but it is a great week to fish. Call us at 414-460-1467 to book your summer Lake Michigan charter fishing trip.
June 9, 2013
Lake Michigan Charter Fishing has remained good this week. We are starting to see the beginning of a transistion on the lake as the water slowly warms up. We ended our week going 24 for 40 "one short of limit Ouch!", 30 for 37 "limit, 4 for 8 "shortened trip", 21 for 28 "limit" and 13 for 20. Almost all these fish were Coho salmon.
We are starting to see the schools break up and move away from shore. Over the last several weeks the salmon have been close to shore and they have been easy targets. For the most part this is over but we are still able to target schools of fish between 60 to 120 feet and when we find them it is important to stay on top of them. We are still heavy with orange dodger and peanut flies but we are starting to run spoons and 8" flashers on the riggers. I think next week we will probably go with a side of leadcore and spoons instead of the orange stuff. We still have explosive moments with the Coho salmon and this should continue for a couple more weeks but this is the time of year when Chinook salmon, Lake trout and Rainbow trout start to show up in the catch. Eventually the bulk of our catch will be Chinook salmon.
Silver King Charters is just about finished with its Racine charter fishing season and will be Milwaukee charter fishing on June 23rd. The King salmon look to be bigger this year and we have no doubt that many twenty plus pound Chinook will be caught. Salmon-A-Rama week is coming up starting on July 13th. During this week you have a chance to win cash, including $15000! There is no extra cost to you just a chance to win cash. See our rates page for more details. Call Silver King Charters today at 414-460-1467 and book your 2013 summer Lake Michigan charter fishing trip.
June 4, 2013
Racine charter fishing keeps on rolling and Coho salmon are still making up the bulk of the catch. Silver King Charters had another great week going 15 for 21 "limit", 27 for 37 "limit", 20 for 28 "limit, 8 for 20, 20 for 31 "limit", 25 for 50 "limit"(and yes we lost 25 fish! But it was a great crew.), 23 for 30 "limit". Everyone of these fish was a Coho salmon averaging around 4 pounds. We are seeing some at 8 pounds now and they are all stuffed full of bait. It has been incredible fishing this spring for Coho salmon!
Our spread is simple: orange dodger and peanut flies. Color does not matter on the fly but location does. When you start getting bit work that area. Coho salmon school up and where there is one there will be more. The bite has been so good that as long as you have the orange dodger and peanut fly down when you go over the school you will catch them. The surface water is still between 48 to 50 degrees and this cold water will keep the bite strong. The fish are primarly in the top 15 feet of water. Right now this pattern does not look to change.
Silver King Charters fished our first tournament of the year, the Salmon Unlimited Open: Wisconsin out of Racine. We put all of our fire power into catch Chinook salmon and were able to come up with three. This was good enough for 3rd place. Right now there are not many Chinooks in the area but this should start to change in the next couple weeks. The entire field only caught 19 Kings, which shows that things are a little behind this year due to the late spring. I would like to congratulate Ted Foti of the Sea Mate for winning the contest. We hope for a better performance next tournament.
Silver King Charters run in Racine is almost over before moving back home to start catching Chinook salmon Milwaukee charter fishing. We still have Saturday June 8th open for both moring and afternoon and folks it is great fishing right now. Call us at 414-460-1467 to catch some fish this weekend.
May 27, 2013
It was another great weekend Racine charter fishing on Lake Michigan. We only have about 3 more weeks of condensed Coho salmon schools before they spread out and go deep, so nows the time to get in on the action. We finished the week going 22 for 32 "limit", 21 for 35 "limit, 18 for 27 "limit" and 27 for 37 "limit". Lots of limit catches! Once we find a school we are able to target them and give you some great action.
Lake Michigan charter fishing for Coho salmon is at this time of year is about orange dodgers and peanut flies. We are using these on our boards, dipsies and up high riggers. One of these devices will be hot at times thoughout a trip and produce Coho salmon. We are running are two deep riggers for Chinook salmon and Lake trout but there are just not enough of them around right now to target. Last year it was the opposite and Chinooks was all we could catch but this is a more normal spring. It will not be long before we transition into a Chinook spread but right now there are too many Coho salmon and they are a blast to catch. It is all about finding a school and once you do go back and forth over them with the orange dodger spread and you will catch plenty of fish.
This is a real fun time to fish with Silver King Charters because most trips will end up with limits or near limit catches. These are great tasting fish too! My brother and I have had several Coho salmon dinners over the last couple weeks and it is our favorite fish out of Lake Michigan. We have Friday afternoon open this week and the following Saturday June 8th is open. We also have Fathers Day open. Times are booking fast for our remaining 3 weeks in Racine so call Silver King Charters now at 414-460-1467 to get in on some outstanding action. We are back in Milwaukee on June 23rd.
May 22, 2013
We ran a morning trip today and went 32 for 42 "limit". Fishing has been really good over the last two weeks and there are a lot of salmon in the area. Once we find them the action is fast. We have open times for Memorial Day weekend and the action should remain steady for the next several weeks.
Our hot bait remains the same. Orange dodger and peanut fly on ever setup. The best fishing remains in the top 10 feet of water. We are finding Coho salmon in close and out around 50 feet of water. There is so much bait around that these fish are not going anywhere soon. This is a great time to experience Lake Michigan Salmon fishing. Give Silver King Charters a call at 414-460-1467 and we will put you on fish.
May 20, 2013
What a great weekend of fishing! Racine charter fishing has been good the last couple of weeks but was on fire this weekend. We finished going 28 for 32 "limit", 28 for 38 "limit" and 11 for 11 "limit". All Coho salmon between 4 to 6 pounds. The fishing was fast action to say the least. The Coho action should continue into mid June but I doubt the fish will bite any quicker than this weekend. This is a great time to catch alot of fish and they are also great for the grill this time of the year.
The hot and only bait is orange dodgers and peanut flies on everything! The fish were off the river mouth this weekend but they most certainly will move this week, with wind switches. There are a lot of fish around right now and once you find a school they can't resist the orange dodger. We are out tomorrow and we still have openings for Memorial Day weekend. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 and you will be hearing us say Fish On!
May 17, 2013
Seriously folks it is on! The Coho salmon schools are in and feeding hard on huge bait schools. It is realy good fishing right now. These fish are averaging 4 to 5 pounds and some are pushing 6 pounds and are the best eating fish of the season. The action is fast and tons of fun. We went 29 for 38 "limit" today and it was super fast action. Racine charter fishing and Kenosha charter fishing should remain hot for the next 3 to 4 weeks, with Coho salmon being the primary target.
The top bait is the Coho candy or orange dodger and peanut fly. Boards, dipsies and riggers with this set up delivers. This is not rocket science but you do have to find the fish. Right now they are close to shore but they will move from day to day. I need to say it one more time: call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 now and experience Lake Michigan Charter Fishing at its best! It is great fishing action. We have a picture on the top of our gallery from today's charter fishing trip! Collen you were a rock star. Great job!
May 12, 2013
Lake Michigan charter fishing has vastly improved over the last week in the southern part of the lake and this is why we are charter fishing Racine and charter fishing Kenosha waters. There is lots of bait around and this is attracting schools of Coho salmon. We finished our week going 18 for 27. Out of these fish we had 16 Coho salmon. For those of you out with us last year at this time you know the Coho's were real, real small but the 2013 crop is back to normal size. These fish are averaging 3 to 5 pounds and with all the bait around they will be adding weight in a hurry.
The hot set up is simple right now. Orange dodgers and peanut flies on just about everything. Most of these fish are coming in the top 10 feet of water and for right now the best overall depth is about 50 feet of water. The surface is still around 43 degrees, so this action will only improve over the next several weeks as the surface temperature goes up.
The rest of May looks to be very good fishing. Everyone ask me when is a good time to catch fish. This is it. Coho salmon action is usually concentrated for several weeks, making them easy to target. Plus they are the best eating fish in the lake. We are catching some Rainbow trout and Brown trout with the salmon. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to get in on the fun.
May 8, 2013
We took the boat down to richer waters to start our 50 days of Racine charter fishing. My brother and I were only out breifly on Sunday but there is a lot of bait in the area and we caught a coulpe nice fish. The Coho salmon are a pound or two bettter than last season. The reason we come to Racine, which is 40 minutes south of Milwaukee, is because there is so much bait and fish in the southern end of Lake Michigan early in the season. We are able to fish from Wind Point all the way to the Illinois border. The bait and fish our starting to come together and we are looking forward to catching many fish while in Racine. It is well worth booking a trip with Silver King Charters during this time because we have some of our best catch rates of the season over the next several weeks.
April 28, 2013
Wow! What a difference a week makes. We learned how to catch fish again and this Sunday took out some frustrations going 23 for 30. I need to thank Matt of "Shock Hazard", who was fishing from shore and found some Coho salmon action about 15 miles south of Milwaukee. While I was their on Sunday Jason Woda gave me some great tips about the area and then Chris of "Legacy", who was fishing south of us put the finishing touches on things. All this information took what was some poor fishing around Milwaukee and made it great. I owe you guys!
We were fishing the famous "Blue Balls" south of Milwaukee in 15 feet of water. Spoons on 1 and 2 color leads were hot. We ran plugs on the other side of our boards and they were good too. We took 1 Lake trout, 6 Coho salmon and 16 Brown trout. Some of the Coho salmon came off peanut flies and orange dodgers on dipsies. All in all a great day compared to what has been happening the last three weeks around Lake Michigan.
Silver King Charters is going to start Racine charter fishing next week and will not be back to Milwaukee until June 23. The fishing should be better down south, with warmer water. It was nice to have a good outing in Milwaukee after such a cold and wet start.
Call us at 414-460-1467 to get in on charter fishing Racine and charter fishing Kenosha. This can be some of the fastest action of the season.
April 24, 2013
Well folks spring looks like its finally arrived. At least this week. The temperature is going to be in the 60's on Saturday and 70 on Sunday, with southwest wind. You could not ask for better. Sure beats 28 degrees we started fishing in last weekend. With only a few showers this week the water clarity has greatly improved and along with warmer temperatures means better fishing this upcoming weekend. Silver King Charters plans to take it out on these fish this weekend. Call us at 414-460-1467 to book a Milwaukee charter fishing trip this weekend and hook up with Brown trout, Lake trout and some salmon. The weather is going to be great!
April 21, 2013
Well we fished twice Saturday and for a start of the season it was awful. We went 0 for 1 "Free Trip" and 2 for 2. We have only been skunked 3 times in the last 400 trips but it happens. Out of our two and 4 other Milwaukee charter fishing trips run that day there were only 6 fish caught, so I guess we did not do so bad. It was the coldest start to a fishing trip we ever had. The temperature was 28 degrees when we left the dock and we needed to chop ice off the dock ropes just to leave for the trip. A thin layer of snow covered the bow as we departed. It was a bachelor party that was ready for the conditions but unfortunetly the fish let us down. I hope they spent there money on something more fun that night.
Fishing was poor because of 10 days of non stop rain, which muddy up the best fishing waters and the lake was pounded by strong winds for several days. We tried to get out of the mud in 60 feet of water but the water was 37 degrees from top to bottom and there was virtually no marks on the sonar. For the afternoon trip we went inside the harbor where there were some fish but poor visibility. We managed a couple 4 to 5 pound Brown trout but it was very tough fishing. Conditions should improve by next weekend because air temperatures will be higher and rain totals will be back to normal. The harbor area should be fishable for the first time in 2 weeks and that is where the most fish are located right now.
There are few Lake Michigan fishing charters that will offer a No Fish - No Pay policy but Silver King Charters strongly believes if we cannot catch you a fish we probably should not have gone that day and you should not pay. But we are always tring for a limit not just one fish. Things will get better and I am sure that next weekend I will have a better report. I cannot tell you what was working because we tried it all and nothing worked. I still believe this will be a stong season and 12 days ago limits were common before winter return and we had multiple stong rain storms. We cancelled last weekends trips and I almost wonder if I should have this weekend too. On a good not everthing worked great on the boat. Call us to book a trip and don't be scared off about booking in April because when it start up again the Milwaukee harbor and just outside the harbor is a world class fishery. I sure hope the guys in the bachelor party had a warm and fun night.
April 13, 2013
We are in the water as of April 4 and I feel that the Silver King has been a curse to Lake Michigan and Wisconsin in general. The weather has been either wet or cold. It feels like February and not April. We were all set to run trips today but there was no choice but to reschedule. Strong west winds and the Milwaukee river mudding up the entire harbor made conditions poor. It did not help that it was 34 degrees with on again off again snow. This is ridiculous!! We spent the day putting some finishing touch on the boat and installed a new stereo, with Sirus XM.
We have added more high speed reels for our board rods. I know that many of you appreciated that when fighting fish on leadcore or copper set ups. We have also added a few more combinations to cover more of the water column. The fish our out there and as soon as this crazy weather passes we will be catching them. Silver King Charters has two more trips next week and conditions look to be similiar but we think the harbor area will have cleaned up enough to fish. Before this crazy weather there were plenty of Brown and Lake trout being caught. Only one boat was out in the harbor today and he did not last long. We should have a couple of good weekends left with solid trout action before we head to Racine, so Give Silver King Charters a call. We are totally ready for Lake Michigan charter fishing.
March 31, 2013
Well Silver King Charters will not be in April 1 because there is still ice in the harbor slips and this is no April fools joke. But we should be in the water by Friday. Last year at this time we had already seen 80 degree days and people had been fishing since the beginning of March. We are going to run a shake down trip this Saturday and be ready to rock. The fishing in and around the Milwaukee harbor has been solid. Brown trout with some Lake trout have made up the catch. We are going to cover a little water on Saturday and see if we can find a few Chinook salmon. Most April fishing trips see catches of Brown and Lake trout but last year the King salmon were in full swing. Milwaukee charter fishing has some good action in April and is one of the better months of the year to catch Brown trout.
We already have several trips booked in April - This is the only month we run on just the weekend!
Call Silver King Charters now at 414-460-1467 and get in on the first bite of the 2013 season.
March 13, 2013
Lake Michigan Charter fishing is almost here and Silver King Charters is just about ready to put the boat in the water. The 2013 season looks to be a very good year for Chinook salmon fishing. We will start the season Milwaukee charter fishing in April. This is a great time to chatch Brown Trout and Lake trout, with a few Kings thrown in. We will then begin Racine charter fishing in May. Outstanding Coho salmon fishing, with trout and Kings thrown into the mix. Coho salmon are the best eating fish in the lake and a lot of fun to catch. We have our highest catch rates year after year from early May through the middle of June. We are back in Milwaukee on June 22 and this is the time for the King salmon. We are expecting another real good year for Chinooks.
We are booking trips now and Saturdays always go fast, so if this is your day call ahead to assure your date is secure. We run trips all week except for April, which is limited to weekends only. There are a lot of Brown trout around the Milwaukee harbor area right now and we cannot wait to have you land the first fish of the season. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to book your Milwaukee charter fishing or Racine charter fishing trip for the 2013 season.
January 5, 2013
I hope everyone had a wonderful holidays and we would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year. But let reflect back on 2012 because it was one of the best fishing years we have seen in a while. I would say it was the best since 2007 and one of the 4 best over the last 20 years. It was because of a great Chinook salmon bite that started in April and did not stop until October. Over the last 4 years Lake Michigans Chinook action has been hit and miss but due to an up tick in stocking 3 years back the fishing really took off.
We ran 125 trips and averaged a little over 14 fish a trip 04 1760 total fish but a more accurate way to look at it would be a fish was boated ever 14.1 minutes of fishing time. This was outstanding!!! We did not have one skunk all season. There was 1 trip with only 1 fish, 3 trips with 2 fish, 1 trip with 3 fish. Silver King Charters had 51 limit catches in 2012!
The top species was Chinook salmon at 58%, Lake trout was next at 21%, Coho salmon were way down this year at 9%, Rainbow trout at 8% and Brown trout at 4%. There really was not a slow time this year, with the exception of October and this was mostly weather related. Octobers are usually very good months. For most of the year we fished from 85 to 115 feet of water and the weather was consistently hot. One thing I can say is it was a bumpy year on the lake but the fish love a chop.
Fishing was pretty staight forward for us this year. We ran white flashers and boy blue flies on riggers and dipsies. On the board medium size spoons on the boards. Without the Coho's being around in numbers we did not run our normal orange spread for long this year. We usually like the green set ups but this year white ruled. Both Racine and Milwaukee were smoking hot and stayed that way all year.
Silver King Charters had a solid tournament year and we fished 7 contests. We came in 2nd place in the SU Open Wisconsin, 1st place in the Kenosha Coho Classic, 16th place in the Morris Inventational "Winthrop Harbor", 4th place in the Super Sweepstakes, 2nd place in the Port Washinton Salmon Shootout, 2nd place out of 116 boats in the Brew City Milwaukee, lost on on 5th place in the SU Open Illinois becuse we were two minutes late coming in:( and finished in 3rd place for the overall standings in the Southwest Salmon Series Challange. A very outstanding peformance in 5 differnent ports fishing against the best.
Silver King Charters fishes tournaments so we stay on top of our game and it also gives us a great pulse of how fishing is progressing throughout the season. We are also able to test out new techniques and see how they are working against other top fishing boats. This in turn gives you a captains who are best prepared to catch fish and make your trip memorable.
The 2013 season looks to be another good year but it will be tough to top this season. We start out fishing in Milwaukee on April 1 through April 30 for Brown and Lake trout. Silver King Charters heads down to Racine for 7 weeks of hot Coho and early King action. We are back in Milwaukee for the rest of the season to take on the Chinook salmon along with Rainbow and Lake trout. Charter fishing Racine and Charter fishing Milwaukee assures that we have you on a hot bite throughout the season.
Call now to make sure you get the date you want. Last year every Saturday morning and evening was booked and most Sundays too. We run trips every day of the week starting May 1 through September. April and October we run trips only on the weekends. Silver King Charters cannot wait to yell FISH! this season and hand a rod off to a customer. We will be updating the website with more upcoming information leading into the season. Until then stay warm.