The Silver King Charter crew would like to wish everyone a Happy Holidays. What a crazy year! We hope 2021 will not be worse than this year. Fishing on the other hand was solid in 2020. We averaged 12.25 fish a trip and minus a couple one and two fish performances we had a lot of happy customers. Coho salmon was our number caught species followed by Lake trout. Chinook salmon came in third and at one time several years back the Chinook was King every year. I don't think Chinook salmon will be the top fish in 2021 but we do think the catch numbers will increase. Starting in 2007 Chinook salmon stocking started to get reduced and by 2016 there were only 1.2 million stocked in Lake Michigan. This was down by 75% from the early 2000's The crash of the alewife and natural reproduction lead to the stocking reductions. Catching a Chinook salmon on Lake Michigan became real special for the few that were caught. But there is good news. In 2020 the Chinook stocking in Lake Michigan went from 1.2 million to 2.3 million. Almost double. By October we started to see these fish in our catch. 

What does this mean for 2021? The fish stocked in 2020 will be two year old fish and be much like catching a spring Coho salmon. There will be more salmon to catch in 2021 and this is very exciting. The plan by the Lake Michigan Fishery managers is to keep this stocking number for two more years and evaluate the state of the fishery. Since Chinook live three to four years we will continue to see the salmon numbers increase lake wide for the next three years. Coho salmon stocking has been steady for several decades at 2.4 million fish. Salmon are a schooling fish and can travel great distances fast. There are times they just are not in the area we are fishing. Does not matter if they stock four million Chinook. If they don't like the area they move. What is exciting going forward is when a school does swim in our area of the lake there will be more to catch. With more Chinook in the lake we hope there will be more days during the season when there are good numbers of salmon off the shores of Milwaukee. 

Thanks to many groups around Lake Michigan, with the big one being the WLBA, it was possible to stop the ending of Chinook salmon stocking and reverse course. The number at 2.3 million seems to be a logical step to improve the salmon fishing on Lake Michigan, without risking a lake wide crash due to too many predators in the lake. The reduction on Lake trout stocking also made this less of a risk. So your looking to book a Lake Michigan salmon charter in 2021. What do these numbers mean to you. You will have more opportunity to catch fish. We don't expect our Chinook totals for the season to double but we do expect them to increase. The three and four year old Chinook or the big ones are still at the same low stocking numbers. There are fewer or them but their size over the last couple of years has been 20 plus pound for the mature fish and many over 25 pounds. We expect our Chinook catch to continue to go up over the next three season. Water temperature, bait fish, current and weather will determine a lot as to how many we boat but the opportunity is going to go up. 

I have at6tached pictures of Chinook salmon our customers caught in 2020. We boated them from April through October but the best stretch is late June through mid August and when they stage to spawn early September. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-147 to book a trip Lake Michigan salmon fishing. Our firstmate Colin knows how to hold a King. The last picture is of me in April on our first trip of the year. Just me an Colin. We couldn't start running trips until late May. I really don't care for that mask. 

We usually don't fish in November but the weather was good and after being shutdown in April and May we decided to stay in through November 9th. We could probably stayed in through Thanksgiving but rarely do you get weather this late in the month. To risky. But the first part of the month we were able to get out and on November 8th it was 70 degrees for our last outing. The fishing was incredible. Much like the end of last year but this time instead of Chinook salmon it was Lake trout with a few Brown trout. We fished in 15 to 30 feet south of the Milwaukee reef from 58 to 56 hundred. We turned just before Grant Park. Same location we worked almost all of October. The Lake trout fishing was incredible, with 12 to 15 pound fish very common. We noticed a lot of smaller alewives in the fish that we had not seen for much of the year. For most of the season it was big size alewives. These little ones looked to be a year old and there were a lot of them in the stomachs of the Lake trout. Of course that is nothing new to see a Lake trout's belly full. They are the vacuum cleaners of Lake Michigan. We went out three times and the limits were quick. 

The spread was identical to my October report. We ran a few more Stinger Mass Confusions but that was it. All small size spoons on everything. One, two and three color leads on the boards, to mono dipsies out 30 feet on the line counter and dialed in at three setting and 2 riggers down 12 feet and set way back. The Lake trout like to dig down when they hit, so tangles happened in the shallow water. When we left the lake was 45 degrees top to bottom but we were shallow. The King bite did not materialize in our part of the lake this late fall but we did not try hard for them after mid October. The few that did had little luck, so we stuck with the hot bite and it was a lot of fun. 

I did not post in July, August and September but I will go back and recap those months this offseason. The fishing was steady throughout the year and with all the stuff going on this year it was needed. We are booking trips for the 2021 season. Please call us at 414-460-1467 tp get a date you want. I have attached some pictures of our last trips. My favorite is Colin cleaning fish. A seagull decided to poop on him and after that there were no more handouts. 

Happy Halloween to all as we close out October. We will be pulling the boat on November 6th and we hope that 2021 season is a little better for all. October looked to have a potential for a great Chinook bite at the start of the month much like last year. We were getting a good King bite leading into October but after almost 10 straight days of west winds the water froze out and the Chinooks took off. Because of so many west wind days we were forced to fish the shoreline but this is typical of October. But it pushed into a great bite. We spent almost the entire month south of town by the Milwaukee reef just inside the green can and fished from there to about 2,5 miles south just before Grant park. We stayed in 15 to 30 feet of water and caught all five species but the bulk of the catch was Lake trout. The trout were spawning on the reef and made for some decent fishing. We boated several 15 pound Lake trout and one Brown trout over 24 pounds. Near the end of the month and today we fished the Milwaukee harbor and the south end was the best. 

The spread we used never changed for the entire month. Two riggers down 14 feet with gold Natural Born Killer green tape Stingers. This has become our favorite spoon in October for shoreline Lake trout. We ran all spoons in October and the stinger size. They did not want large spoons. We ran two mono dipsies with one NBK like the riggers had and one yellow tux. Both of these were set at a 3 setting and 30 feet out on the line counter. We ran on, two and three color leadcores on he boards. The one colors had mass confusion copper spoons from Stinger. This is another spring and fall shallow water favorite. The yellow tux Stingers on the two colors and the gold NBK green Stingers on the three colors. In the harbor we added two more riggers down 25 and 28 feet. The best spoons where a Moonshine flounder pounder and the glow watermelon Stinger. Never changed a thing all month and the set just kept catching fish. 

We are going to fish a few more times in first week of November and then that is it. The weather looks to be nice the first week of the month. Start calling Silver King Charters now at 414-460-1467 to book your 2021 trip. We expect a lot more people to want to fish next year as we all get use to living with the damn virus!!! The picture are from some October trips this year. We are not done yet but just 6 more days.

The season always seems to speed by once it starts and with all the things going on right now we really only have just started. We missed out on some real good early season action but it is not even summer yet and the Coho salmon bite is on. We have already boated more Coho salmon than all of last year but 2019 was very bad for Coho. The action has been steady. Not lights out limit fast but very solid. We have had catches of 6 to 39 Coho in a trip over the last 3 weeks. We expect the action to continue through June. The Coho salmon have not lined up to make it easy. They are spread out from 100 to 230 feet of water. We have been fishing a 5 mile stretch straight out of the Harbor of Milwaukee. We had some good action down by Bender Park for the last part of May but we have been out deep all of June. We have caught some Chinook, Rainbow and Lake trout during this time but it is mostly Coho salmon. The surface water was warming up to above 60 degrees but our best bite was still in the top 15 feet of water. 

Our spread is simple right now with orange dodgers and green peanut flies on everything. We run 5/8 ounce keel weights on the mono boards set 20, 30 and 45 feet back. We also run a 3 and 4 color leadcore on boards too, We are using 2 dipsies a side set at 20 and 40 feet on the line counter. These rods are taking over 50% of the fish we catch. The outside downriggers are set 12 and 20 feet down. The two back riggers are the only rods we don't use orange on. We have a flasher fly combo we switch out constantly and a Stinger UV Blue dolphin on these set 35 and 45 feet down. We have caught a Chinook every third trip on these and we hope to start seeing some more Kings around soon. 

There will be a lot more good Coho catches to come and if the fish bunch up it could get ridiculous. If you want to catch salmon the next several weeks are the time to do it. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to get out on Lake Michigan, catch some fish and have a great time. The action has been good this season and we couldl all use a break from the real world right now. I have attached some pictures of recent catches and our favorite Coho salmon set up. 

We are nearing nearing the end of one of my favorite months of Lake Michigan charter fishing but with COVID-19 going on we did not fish as much as we would have hoped. The second part of May was full of rain and strong northeast and east winds that left water very muddy next to the shore and for the most part out to 70 feet of water. This mud has since spread out to cloudy the water as far as 275 feet of water in places. This has reduced areas to fish. Our best fishing for the past week has been in 60 to 80 feet of water a mile north or south of the green can off the Milwaukee reef. We have pulled Coho, Chinook and Lake trout in our catches. The Coho bite fell apart by Sunday and the Chinook bite by Monday. We moved to the Main and South gaps of the Milwaukee harbor Wednesday and Thursday as the water cleared just enough and started to catch limits of Coho salmon. There is a lot of bait tight to the walls and the surface temps are 54 degrees. There are not a lot of fish close to shore but it is a decent bite and they are salmon. We did fish a trip off Bender park and the boils in 15 to 20 feet of water too and the water was clearer and it was a steady bite of Coho. We feel there is a consistent bite all along the shore line now as the water is starting to clear up. That is were the bait is most consistent too. The Coho bite is just starting to get good off Milwaukee and there has been good Chinook action on most of your trips. We have pulled 6 Kings over 20 pounds. Lake trout are everywhere but we have not really put a lot of fire power toward them. 

Our spread is fading to orange as i right this but we have had good success on 4 - 10 color leadcores. Most of our Chinook and Lake trout are coming off these rods. The Stinger UV Blue Dolphin and the UV Green NBK in the sitngray size is best by far. These same spoons on riggers set 20 to 55 feet down are producing to. We have run wire divers with regular clear dipsies dialed in at the 3 setting and out 60 to 90 feet. We use a green blade with glow tape and a Howie Bull Frog fly. This is tking Kings and Lake trout. But as we move to shore it is orange on the boards. The Jensen dodgers on one side with keel weights and B&B dodgers on the other side. They are set back 15. 40 and 60 feet. We are using inside and outside dipsies at 15 and 30 feet. We have two outside riggers with set 6 and 8 feet down. All orange, all green or Willy peanut flies and they all producing. 

If the Coho are going to really set up the next three weeks are going to be very good and it looks like it is starting to. The water in 200 plus is still a little too cold but it could be soon when a line of fish sets up there too. The catches have been good and double digits, with some limits. This is the best tome for good salmon catches and the weather is stating to become really nice. Lake Michigan charter fishing is a fun experience any time but after being stuck at home and social distancing for the last 3 months this is a great way to have fun. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to get out on the water, catch some fish and drink your favorite beverage. The fish are biting now! Below is some pictures for recent catches and a 25 pound Lake trout we caught Monday. There is also a picture of our top Coho fly.

 

 

 

The best time of the year to catch big numbers of salmon has arrived. Mid-May through Mid-July is Coho salmon time and along with some Chinook salmon is the best time to catch salmon in numbers. We hope all of our customers are staying healthy amidst the COVID-19 outbreak but I don't want to talk too much about this, since that is all anyone is talking about. We know what it is and what to do to prevent it. The state of Wisconsin is finally easing restrictions and for the most part charter fishing is open on Lake Michigan for the Wisconsin side. Silver King Charters will be doing its part to keep you safe. We will be disinfecting the boat after each trip, provided plenty of hand sanitizer and the crew will be wearing face masks when needed. We will encourage all our customers to bring masks and use when needed. We believe charter fishing on Lake Michigan can be done safely and with many other events cancelled this summer it is a great way to have some fun. You can drink adult beverages too! 

We have been out several times in the last ten days and we have been able to put Coho in the boat each time. We have not been able to get into a groove yet but we are about to hit the water hard now. What we can say is there is a lot of bait around. Nearshore at times the graph cannot read bottom. We were in 50 feet of water and our graph read 20 feet for a long time. I though the thing was broken but we also snagged 12 alewives during this period. We ran several Coho set ups and had consistent action on them. The water around the Milwaukee harbor has been too muddy to fish, along with the shoreline, so we found the best action to be in 40 to 60 feet of water. This is were the water clarity began to turn green. We caught Coho, Chinook and Lake trout in this depth. The action was from the filtration plant up to Fox Point. The surface water temperature was around 44 degrees but Friday it was up to 49 degrees and 44 degrees down 30 feet. We did go out to 200 feet one day straight out the north gap and found surface temperatures at 39 degrees. This was a week ago and I am sure it has warmed up some. 

We took the Coho salmon on orange dodgers and Gen X or green peanut flies. We had this on a rigger two dipsies set at 30 feet on the outside and 20 feet on the inside. We had 3 mono boards, with 5/8 ounce keel weights, set 20, 40 and 50 feet back from the boards. All of these set ups took Coho. We have not had our normal time on the water and our catch rate on Coho salmon is down but the potential is there to boat double digit catches of Coho salmon right now out of Milwaukee. If the water clears up a little close to shore there could be a great bite but with the strong east and northeast winds plus the rain I think offshore will be the answer this Memorial Day weekend. We have been catching some nice Chinook salmon each time out and Friday we boated 4 Kings all over 15 pounds. These fish are very healthy and put up and very tough fight. We have been running some flasher and fly sets but the Chinook want spoons. The UV Blue Dolphin and Gold Hud Stinger spoons in the Stingray size are the ticket. Riggers set from 40 to 55 feet down and 5 or 7 color leadcores are the best set ups right now. Of course the Lake trout are being caught and I believe if we targeted them specifically we could take 20 trout easily in a trip. A good back up for sure. But we want to catch salmon right now. 

After this blow that is happening right now we will try out deep. Over the years out of Milwaukee somewhere between 150 to 250 feet or water can be an amazing bite for Coho salmon and Memorial Day weekend usually starts it off. The water is warming up, the bait is everywhere and we are already catching good numbers of salmon. Now it is time to dial in on them and the end of this upcoming week is shaping up to be a good one for fishing starting Thursday. We understand there is a lot gong on and it is affecting all business. This is the first Memorial Day that we have any spots open in a long time. We think the weather and the fishing are going to be good. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 and lets start having some fun catching fish and drinking the beverage of your choice. We will fillet your fish and you can grill them out that night. 

I have attached a few pictures of fish we have caught recently, a picture of our favorite peanut fly and the stocking numbers for Lake Michigan in 2019. The overall number is the lowest since in many years, maybe going back into the 1970's, but some of this decline is due to reduction in Lake trout stocking and this is a good thing. All the species are at low numbers to previous years, with the exception of Rainbow trout. There is a lot to be said about these numbers but the most important thing to be noted is the health of the salmon and trout in the lake currently. You don't catch a Chinook salmon that is 20 to 30 pounds that are eating water, so the reductions in stocking over the last 13 years have helped. It is now time to start putting more fish in the lake and reducing Lake trout stocking. With 2.4 million Lake trout stocked in 2019, which was lowest Lake trout stoking since 2004, and the increase stocking of Chinook salmon of 2.3 million lake wide in 2020 we are heading in the right direction. Not sure but 2.5 million Chinook, 2.5 million Coho, 1.5 million Brown trout, 2 million Rainbow trout and 2 million Lake trout stocked each year seems to be good numbers for a healthy and productive fishery in the lakes current state, 

 

We should be at the beginning of the best Lake Michigan charter fishing for salmon of the entire year. The fishing is there but the go ahead by the states is not. There is some hope though as Ohio opened up chatter fishing on Lake Erie. We believe sometime this month we will get the go ahead for our Wisconsin Governor. We were out fishing Saturday and had some Coho action off Wind Point in 89 to 90 feet. There has been good or even great Coho action south of Wind Point in 50 feet or less. Been a good start for sure down south and we expect a very good season on Coho salmon, unlike last year. The water was 42 degrees at the surface and 39 degrees down 30 feet. We fished in deeper water due to water clarity in shallow. The bait is loaded in close as the alewives have moved in. The smelt run keeps improving each year and the alewives that have showed certainly have not dropped off from last year. We are slipped at South Milwaukee Yacht Club. I have a huge thanks out to these guys for letting us slip at the marina. We still cannot slip at McKinley marina as it is the only marina not open on the Wisconsin side of Lake Michigan. We hope they open soon. So there is a lot of stuff going on with COVID-19 right now but the fish, lake and the rest of nature just keeps rolling. 

We have been out several times since early April. We have run Coho set ups each time but yesterday was the first day they were hit. Orange dodgers and green or Gen-X peanut flies were hit. Boards with 5/8 ounce keep weights about 30 feet back from the board or on mono dipsies 30 feet out on the line counter were all hit. We had about 10 bites and boated only 5 Coho but they were decent size compared to early April. We ran a smoked dodger and Milwaukee Special spin & glow on the bottom for 20 minutes and took 2 Lake trout. That was it but we will start fishing on a more regular basis now. 

Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467. We will be running trips soon and that great Coho action we are use to seen at this time of year is shaping up to be very good. I know there is still a lot of uncertainty in the air with the virus issues but we are going to have to get on with our lives soon and due to all the cancellations of concerts, sports and festivals you have to do something fun. Lake Michigan Charter fishing will be back and if is a fun adventure. You can also enjoy some adult beverages with family and friends, while catching fish. I don't have much in pictures from yesterday but I kept a few Coho salmon from the trip and ate them last night. Simple nothing better than Coho caught that day. 

Well April is almost finished and I should be writing about the best April in years but instead we are still waiting on our go papers from the Governor. The weather and the fishing was so right this April and the few times we went out we caught fish with ease. The Coho bite is on fire sown south and it is torture not to be able to take people out. Of course their a lot of people suffering right now both health wise and economic wise with the COVID-19 pandemic. But we cannot wait to take people fishing and forget about it for just a little while and catch some fish. Things are stating to loosen up as state parks and boat launches open up. We expect they will let us charter soon and I am sure there will be restriction put on us. We want to make sure our customers are safe when they fish with us so the boat will be wiped with down disinfectants after each trip, we will have hand soap, we will be wearing masks until things are under control. We want you to feel safe and we want to feel safe too so make sure everyone in your crew does not have flu like conditions when you come. So we just have to wait until the state lets us start chartering. 

We have been out and things are looking up. The Coho bite looks to be a good one this year. The Chinooks that are around look healthy and big. There is still a good Brown trout bite and of course plenty of Lake trout, if you can believe it. The bite down in Illinois has been real good for Coho and we have already been catching them in Milwaukee but the big schools are not here just yet. Water temperatures are warm and we have seen 45 degrees on the surface near shore. It is set up good and waiting for our customers to catch a lot of fish. I don not know when we will be able to start but the earliest is May 1st. We hope it is not much longer than this. We believe we can run trips safely with minimal risk of spreading the virus. Let us just say that going to the grocery store is probably 10.000 times worse. 

Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to book a trip and we will get you catching fish. We will play whatever music you want on SirusXM and bring something to drink, kick back and enjoy life. We will fish hard for you and make your time away from all of the virus stuff special. The pictures are from our last fun trip. I have my mask on and it really was not that bad. I am holding a 15 pound Chinook salmon. I think we will catch a few more salmon Milwaukee charter fishing this year.

Well COVID-19 has put the skids on just about everything. Lake Michigan charter fishing has been shutdown. For Wisconsin this will not be revisited until late April and then we will see. The most important thing I could say in this report is Social Distancing!! Do it and we will be back in business sooner for all business. We know that it will be sometime before stadiums are full, festivals are a go and live concerts start to happen but for charter fishing I think we will be back sooner. The great thing is it is a small group of your choosing. I know people will be itching to get out and do stuff. Lake Michigan charter fishing is the ticket. You get outside, catch fish and have a few beverages with friends and family. The best fishing of the year is in front of us and we have the boat in the water. My brother and I have fished a couple of times and it has been good. A mixed bag of Brown trout and Coho salmon. The water temperature has been in the low forties where we have fished. We have worked the shoreline from the Oak Creek power plant to the Main gap of the Milwaukee harbor and have caught fish everywhere. We finally have a good spring and the fish are biting and we cannot run a trip. Well there are a lot of people suffering worse and we just keep it in perspective. 

The little fishing we have done has been in 20 feet or less along the shore, with the exception of the harbor gaps. The closer to shore the better. We have heard Flicker Shads are the way to go but we don't like to mess around with that. We ran all spoons, with a couple of orange dodgers and peanut flies out. We are only running 6 rods, so it is a little tougher to dial in to a hot bite. The one color leadcores were the best by far. We had small copper Mass Confusion Stingers on these and these rods where hot. We caught both Coho salmon and Brown trout on them. The gold NBK green was good on a two color. We ran the orange dodgers on a dipsy and mono board and had just one hit on them over the last two trips. It was board heavy bite and very close to shore. We have seen a lot of Coho salmon caught and hopefully this translates into a great May and June for them. Water is warm for this time of year and we have seen some good amounts of bait. The smelt run seems to be decent for where it fell to. But the police shut this down when the groups of people grew to big.

So it is hard to say when we will be able to start Lake Michigan charter fishing up. I think sooner than later. We are hoping early May. When the state says go we are in the water already ans set to fish. Bring the beverage of your choice, some good friends and be ready to catch fish. We will filet them and you can have fresh fish on the grill that night. I have a feeling there will not be a lot of the bigger events happening this summer but you will be able to get on the water and catch salmon and trout. Lets get through this nasty virus asap and give Silver King Charters a call at 414-460-1467. We will be rolling right through October. Going to make this a fun season! Picture of a rain storm that hit as the sun was popping out and a picture of a 33 pound Brown trout we caught in April 2017 around this time. Stay healthy and safe. 

We hope to have the boat in early this year. The goal is March 27th and fishing on March 28th. The reason we think this will happen is there has not been much ice around. Lake Michigan has been less than 20 percent covered with ice at any time this winter and right now in the southern end of the lake it is just harbors that have ice. There have only been 5 years since 1975 with the same or less ice coverage during a winter. So unless we get an unexpected long freeze we will be fishing early. The benefits to these less cold winters are survival of little stuff in the lake. Young stocked fish and fish that just hatched last spring. The lake level is also at an all time high for this time of year and was at record highs all last year. This means that more nutrients is getting in the lake. This is a good combination for survival. We saw bigger fish last season and it looks like this trend should continue. A mild winter should only improve this trend. Milwaukee charter fishing in April is our best month for Brown trout fishing. We have had Aprils where we had some great Coho and even Chinook catches but normally we are strong on Brown trout and Lake trout. 

We are typically fishing close to shore or in and around the Milwaukee harbor in 15 to 40 feet of water. The harbor and river hold warmer water and have better action. We will also fish the Oak Creek power plant when weather permits. This also has warm water discharges. Lake Michigan is already warmer than usually right now. We are typically running boards with 1, 2, and 3 color leadcores. We also run mono dipsy's and shallow downriggers. We like to use spoons this time or year but stick baits are also effective. Our favorite spoons Stinger Gold Hud, UV Blue Dolphin, NBK Green and the Copper Mass Confusion. We catch a lot of Brown trout on these spoons. The Brown trout run between 2 to 12 pounds and we have caught many in that went 15 pounds or more. Our biggest in April was 33 pounds. When the water sets up right this can be as productive as any time during the entire season. 

It is setting up for an early bite this year although it still may be cold out while we are fishing the action should warm you up. Dress warm and give Silver King Charters a call at 414-460-1467 to get in on the best Brown trout action of the year during April. This is one of my favorite times of the year to fish. We will be in Milwaukee the entire month. I attached a couple of pictures of fish caught the first week of April in past years. 

Silver King Charters is getting ready for the 2020 season, which is only 50 days away. Last April we had some great catches of Brown trout and look forward to that early spring action this year that may start the last week of March. To all that fish with us I am sure we have brought up the shortage of Chinook salmon in Lake Michigan. In 2013 it was decided that the lake could no longer sustain the current stocking levels of Chinook, which was 3.24 million stocked in 2012. The alewife population was down and the thought was natural reproduction of Chinook salmon account for more than half the population of Chinook in Lake Michigan. By 2018 there was talk of eliminating Chinook stocking in Lake Michigan completely. A goal of some groups for many years. But many fought back on this idea and even asked for increases. During the 2018 and 2019 seasons the Chinook that were caught were big. A 20 pound Chinook became average and 30 pound Chinooks were the new big fish. It was obvious that some of the facts we were told were off about bait population and natural reproduction. Yes the fish were bigger but the catch rate was way down. Lake Huron, which is connected to Lake Michigan and fish can swim back and forth from did crash and the Chinook population did fall to almost nothing due to very little food. It was a good idea to take steps to prevent the same from happening in Lake Michigan. But for now it looks as if Lake Michigan has reached a balance with the mussel invasion and more fish can be put back into the lake. So what does this mean for the 2020 stockings. Well do to a lot of pressure from groups in Wisconsin, primarily the WLBA the stocking reductions were halted and now will be increased. We were dangerously close to having no Chinooks stocked but the tide has turned. The combined stocking of all four states surrounding Lake Michigan for Chinook salmon will now be at least 2.2 million, which is up from the all time low in 2017 of 1.37 million. This is a big increase and we have not seen this many Chinooks stocked since 2012. There were many who were involved in this increase but I believe if the WLBA did not exist then neither would Chinook stocking in Lake Michigan. Silver King Charters is a huge supported of them.

The stocked fish in 2020 will not help our catch rate this season but for seasons to come it will only get better. Lake trout stocking, which has been incredibly reckless over the last 15 years is still a problem. The Lake trout stocking for the first time in years has been reduced a small amount but one can only imagine how many are in the lake currently. I can say this with certainty that if you added up all the Brown trout, Coho, Chinook and Rainbow trout in the lake currently it would not come close to equaling the Lake trout heard and that is way under stating it. Lake trout live for a long time, eat constantly and have several restricted areas you cannot fish for them. There should be no more than 2 million total a year stocked in the lake! 

Lake Michigan charter fishing has some how weathered several major crisis over the years but still remains a world class fishery and for the immediate future things are looking up. With the way last year ended, with and incredible Chinook bite we are looking for some what of an improved King bite in 2020. Lake Michigan has not come close to freezing over and an early spring is almost certain. At least one where we can get in the water. The early bite of April is one of my favorite times to fish, with short run times and the best Brown trout fishing of the year. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to get on the books for some Milwaukee charter fishing in 2020. The pictures are a sunrise and sunset from a couple of days ago. There is barely any ice left in the harbor now. 

The boat is out of the water and in storage but before we pulled it we had the best 3 weeks of salmon fishing of 2019. The Chinook fishing was at its best from early October right up to October 31st when the door shut with very cold temperatures and a snow storm. This was the best stretch of Chinook fishing we had for Milwaukee charter fishing all season. Leading into this stretch are best trip for Kings was 7 fish in one trip and this only happened once. During this period our worst catch in a trip on Kings was 8 fish. We limited out on all trips after October 5th except for two trips and the last trip of the year we boated 30 fish, with 25 of them being Chinook salmon. The action was constant and quick. Every day kept getting better as more bait and more salmon kept coming into the area. It was common to boat 6 to 8 Chinooks over 13 pounds and many weighed 15 to 18 pounds. The bait was diverse too. We found Alewives, Shad, Shiners, Bloaters, Sculpin, small Whitefish and even a Smelt. These fish were loaded with bait and there was a lot of it around. It seemed more salmon came into the area through the month and it just kept getting better. It reminded me of what happened in the southern end of the Michigan side two years ago during May but that seemed better with bigger fish. But it was something close to that action as fish lined up right off Milwaukee. Because it was October not as many boats were out but on one Saturday I counted 40 boats and I hadn't seen that many since August. Many people asked me what this means for next year. This is a big lake and most of it is never fished. With fewer fish stocked the area you fish has to get lucky to have the right conditions and then schools of fish show up like this off your port. I remember a few years back when there was a huge school of Coho salmon off Port Washington in May that lasted several weeks. If the bait and conditions are right fish will fill into an area and make it a very hot bite. This was common years ago. So next spring there is always hope this could happen again but what I took out of this is the Chinook salmon are going to be healthy and big when they are around to catch. Lets hope that bait sticks around at the level it was in October. When the snow and cold hit on Halloween the water temperature dropped from 46 degrees to 42 degrees from the top down 100 feet. The bait and fish disappeared and we were back to Lake trout. Just like that it blew away but it lasted 3 weeks. Best King fishing I have seen in several years. 

Our spread and location did not change through this period. Many said we forgot how to catch Chinooks because of all the Lake trout we have boated. I began to wonder myself but you can't fish for what is not there. But once I knew there was a fair amount of Chinook around the spread was dialed by the second trip. We like to go hard with a set up once we see something the Kings like. Around Brew City there was a good Chinook bite and we used all green flashers with my brothers fly. In October we ran the white Hot Spot little boy blue flasher with the Howie little boy blue fly on all riggers and wire divers. The more chewed up the fly the better they worked as usual. The set on riggers was 40, 50, 80 and 100 feet down in 100 to 130 feet of water. The wire divers were at 150 feet on the line counter with magnum divers set at a number 2 setting. On the boards we used spoons. Easier to reel and very productive. We only go to flashers on the boards if we really need to. We ran Stinger stingray gold huds on all the board rods. We ran copper at 150, 250, 300 and 350 feet. Our bigger Kings came off these boards but are faster bite came on the flies. Three straight weeks that is what we ran and it was very productive. We took a few Lake trout and Brown trout during this period. There were actually a fair number of Seafer's around and we boated one to 3 every trip. 

What a way to end a challenging season. I will break the season down over the next several months. Silver King Charters will be back in the water on April 1st 2020 and we are already booking trips. Remember that Saturdays go quick. Salmon-A-Rama has only 6 spots left and this runs form July 11 through July 19. We hope mother nature is a little more fair in 2020 but as I right this the Milwaukee river has ice on it. Call us at 414-460-1467 to book a trip for 2020. There were some 30 pound fish caught in 2019 and from what we saw in October the trend will continue. I have attached pictures from the amazing Chinook bite in October, the snow storm that ended it and the last fish of the season. 

Well after boating a 31 pound Chinook salmon on August 30th the Chinook return to the Milwaukee harbor has been less than special for sure. We have boated no more than three mature Chinook salmon on any one trip in the harbor. The best effort was three Chinooks in a trip. The size has been very good, with fish going 16 to 25 pounds. We hope for another wave of fish before it is all done. The next several days will be the best hope for better results. The water temperature and water clarity have been perfect for fish to bite. The surface temperature is no more that 60 degrees and at times we have seen 48 degrees at the bottom near the gaps. The numbers are just not there. This year and next are low stocking numbers for Chinook and this is showing up now in a big way. We have also been out fishing Lake trout in 100 foot depth and when the wind is not hollowing form one direction or another this bite has been very good for the first couple of hours each morning. We have also fished the Green Can or Milwaukee reef. This has been hit and miss but when this fish are around it delivers a good mixed bag. A lot of shaker or small 12" to 14" range fish are around too.

For the  Chinook bite we have liked J-Plugs that have silver and lime green on them. We also like green flashers with green or bull frog flies. The Gold Hud has also produced on 2 and 3 color boards. We had early success in the North Gap and Main Gap but for the last several days you needed to be in the river channel or turning basin to get Chinook. I think a few more waves of fish are still to come. The Lake trout are from 43.04 to 42.59 from 90 to 120 feet of water. The riggers on the bottom with smoke or silver dodgers and the Milwaukee Special spin and glows have been best. The gold Hud Stinger on 3 to 10 color leadcores are catching a mixed bag of all species. The water is cold and 50 feet down is usually 48 degrees. The Green Can is where we have found the warmest water and at times it is 59 degrees down 60 feet. The morning bite has been far better then midday fishing. We have been catching a lot of magnum shakers of Coho and Chinook salmon. These fish have for the most part hit a size to keep on trips and this is good to see the young fish growing in size their first year in the lake. Some of the Coho are almost to very early spring time weight. The Chinooks are very decent size. 

We looked at the rest of September and October to be heavy on Lake trout, Brown trout and magnum Coho and Chinook ranging in 1.5 to 2.5 pounds. The lake has already begun to cool down considerable and it really never did warm up much anyway. This will help the nearshore bite that can be good fishing in the fall for many species. We still have some attempts at the Harbor fish before they spawn too. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to book a fall trip or a trip in 2020. We will be fishing until November 4th when the boat will be pulled out. I have some September pictures attached, with several Lake trout over 20 pounds and a nice Brown trout weighing 19 pounds. We were also lucky to have Santana Dotson and Gilbert Brown aboard from the 1996 Green Bay Packer Super Bowl team. They were incredible players and just as good at fishing. They caught their limit and Santana landed at 23 pound Lake trout. Gilbert finished the limit with a 11 pound Coho salmon. Amazing experience and great guys. The fish look small next to those guys. Have a picture of a Sheephead too. We have caught quit a few of these over the last several years. 

I just wrote a report on 30 pound fish and that we thought this September we could add to the collection because of all the big Kings around this year. It only took until this morning to do it. We boated a 31 pound Chinook salmon. This is our biggest Chinook ever boated and our second biggest a 30.6 pound Chinook happen this June. This is a year for Big Kings and they are just starting to come back to the ports they were stocked to spawn. We will boat a many Chinook in the next several weeks in the 20 pound range and now that we have  the 30 pound Chinook we hoped for we don't want to stop now. This fish was already very dark for August but the meat on these fish is still very good right now. The water temperature is perfect for harbor and just outside the Milwaukee harbor. It has been several years since we have had this good of conditions and the fall run is just starting up. We don't expect to boat big numbers during this period but we do expect some big fish. 

This fish hit a rigger down 18 feet with a number 3 Mongoose J-Plug. We had another one hit a wire dipsy with a green flasher and Willy fly on it set at 35 on the line counter. Another hit the same plug down 30 feet. We have two Kings hit a Gold Hud Stinger down 15 on a rigger. Not a lot of bites but it just set up today and should get better over the next week. These fish are fighting like crazy and it is truly combat fishing in shallow water. The west winds are cooling the water down and the fish are very active because of this. The water clarity was not the best the past two days due to big waves and rain but it is clearing up fast.

Give Silver King Charters a call over at 414-460-1467 to get in on some great early September action for Big Chinooks or great Lake trout fishing. Milwaukee charter fishing will see some big fish over the next two weeks. I have attached some pictures of the big King caught by Troy and his son Charlie. My brother Willy was the captain and is a big fish catcher.

We should be fishing but instead I am posting a report. We have not fished since Wednesday when we took back to back limits. We probably could have gone a couple of times over the last 4 days but with big wind from the north, then northeast, then east and now southeast the conditions were never all that inviting. The best seas were 2 to 3 feet and coming from two directions. As of now it may be a couple of more days before we go due to big south and then west winds. It usually drops some with wind switches but this is a bad stretch. The good thing is that there is still enough cold water around and with the west wind about to hit this could set up the harbor area for some very good fishing. All the big Chinooks around are getting ready to stage and spawn. Then next three weeks are a great time to catch big Kings if the water temperature is not too warm. It has been a cold water year and this could help us out. Right now it is 48 degrees down 62 feet at the Atwater buoy. This is the warmest time of the year for Lake Michigan and a lot goes into warming the lake up. The cold water hurt us at times this year, mainly with the Coho salmon bite. But it could really help out early September. We hope for not too cold and long of a winter, along with a warmer spring to help out next year. The Lake trout bite straight out of Milwaukee has been very good over the last this bite lasted until early October. Big trout and decent numbers. There are a lot of small Chinooks around to help out the catch. 

We have been fishing from 43.05 to 42,57 in 100 to 110 feet of water. We keep moving further north to get away from boats and it doesn't matter the bite is still good. Spin and glows with smoke dodgers near the bottom have been the ticket. We have boated a few Chinook too and a green flasher with a Howie Bull Frog fly down 50 to 70 feet has been best for us. The board rods have not been to productive but we are trolling slow for the trout. The couple of trips ran this last 4 days did the same and so the trout have not been affected by the blows. We are hoping by next weekend there will be enough cold water around the Milwaukee harbor gaps to produce a good Chinook bite. They will be coming in regardless but cooler water makes a better bite. The Kings fight real hard around the gaps and this year could be ridiculous. Now there have been over 10.000 30 pound Chinooks boated this year but all kidding aside there is a good chance this fall to boat a 30 plus pound Chinook. Probably the best chance in many years and we hope to boat one. 

Why are there some many big Chinook around. Lots of stocking and biology to this question. The main reason is the Alewive population is up and the Chinook stocking is at an all time low. This sets up pretty good for big fish lake wide. For the last 14 years the mumber one stocked fish in Lake Michigan was Lake trout. It still is this year but for the first time in a long time the Lake trout stocking was reduced to 2.7 million instead of 3.5 million. The Chinook stocking was down to 1.2 million as of last year and the goal as of 3 year ago was to reduce this to 400,000 and then maybe none. Thanks to a lot of people and the WLBA Wisconsin said the was too much and fought against the reduction. The hope is after fall fish management meetings the Chinook stocking goes back up. We believe that a stocking of 2 million Lake trout and Chinook salmon would give a good balance for sport fishing and the lakes ecosystem. Then keeping the Coho, Rainbow and maybe increase the Brown trout some. The key is the Lake trout that is managed by the Federal Government and treaties with the Indian tribes. We also believe for the next several years the limit for Lake trout should be 5 fish lake wide to help reduce the over population. Lake trout and Chinook salmon are the hardest on the bait fish and must be managed together to keep our fishery strong for everyone who fished Lake Michigan. Bottom line some of what the fishery managers did was very solid and led to a great year for big fish. Before I leave the subject there is no reason the refuge or mid lake reef should not be open to fish Lake trout. Only a couple of ports can reach it and few would burn the gas to do so unless fishing was very tough. It would take a fleet of boats to put a dent in the Lake trout on this reef. That said what is next.

The next several weeks are going to be good fishing. Chances to catch big salmon before they start to spawn. Good Lake trout action and one of the better times to catch Brown trout. So many years we know the water is going to be too warm to make this happen around the harbor. Our concern now is boat traffic. Weekdays are the best days to fish this time of year for reduced boat traffic. This September will as always have its wind issues but when we get out we expect good things. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to book a Lake Michigan charter fishing trip for September and October. We hope to run charters into the first weekend of November. We tried last year and did not work out with the weather. I have a picture of our last trip on Wednesday. We expect this action to continue. I have also attached pictures of the four 30 plus pound fish we have caught charter fishing. I think we have over 20 fish boated between 28 and just under 30 pounds. It is very special to crack the 30 pound mark. There are two Brown trout. I have a two pictures of one of those Brown trout. I had to hole that one and a 12 year old caught it. There is a Chinook and the whole family fought this fish at one time or another. Finally the epic Lake trout that when it hit Colin could not get the wire dipsy out of the rod holder for almost a minute. We want to catch our 5th 30 pound fish this fall.

The month started out with a bang on the Silver King. We boated a 33.6 pound Lake trout on August 1st. This was our first Lake trout over 30 pounds and considering how many my brother and I have boated over the years it is hard to believe it took this long. We have now boated three species over 30 pounds: 2 Brown trout and one Chinook, along with this Lake trout. The trilogy is complete. The Lake trout and Chinook bite started out very good this month. I would say it was the second best stretch this year out of Milwaukee for Chinook fishing. Mid June was probably the best Chinook action with a lot of big Kings caught for around ten days and then the beginning of Salmon-A-Rama was solid too on Kings. The stretch in early August saw Chinook from the two year old, three year old and four year old class. This made for better numbers caught. Good Lake trout fishing was found just below these fish. We worked 60 to 90 feet of water and the best bite was 10 miles north of Milwaukee. We did have a great Lake trout bite straight out of the Milwaukee Harbor in 100 to 110 feet of water. As the water became colder the bite in close became tough and the Lake trout spread out. We moved offshore in 170 to 250 feet where there was a good bite for Steelhead, Coho salmon and of course Lake trout. The first half of August led to an average of 11 fish per trip and this just seems to be the norm for 2019 Milwaukee charter fishing. The bite is solid but not outstanding. The bigger fish have made this a special season. We won Brew City finally and I have a chapter on this followed by the rest of what happen so far in August. 

 

On August 3rd we fished the Brew City Salmon Tournament out of Milwaukee. This is the 19th year of the tournament and is the biggest one day salmon and trout tournament on Lake Michigan. We average 100 boats each year, pay out the top 20 boats, have 25 big fish prizes and all prizes are cash. Go to the www.glsfclub.com to see results and information. We need to get this club to join the WLBA! We have finished four times in 2nd place, three times in 3rd place, twice in 5th place, once in 7th place, twice in 9th place and once in 10th place. We finally won it this year. We were the first boat in by an hour and thought for sure we were somewhere in between 2nd and 7th place based on what we were hearing from others fishing that day. We went 19 for 20 and our top 10 fish weighed 123 pounds and this was good enough to get it done.

We started Lake trout fishing and after destroying the Lake trout for a week leading into the tournament it was a tough bite for us the day of the tournament. We caught 6 Lake trout but we got the right 4 we needed. We had a 15.5 pound average on our top 4 Lake trout. You can only weigh in 4 Lake trout out of the 10 fish you can weigh in. We finished Lake trout fishing in one hour and 15 minutes. These fish were caught between 43.01 and 42.58 in 105 feet of water. Smoked dodgers and spin and glows on two riggers and two wire dipsies. We fished for salmon on the dipsies for 10 minutes to start in hopes of catching a silver fish but switched quickly to spin & glows on these. Our first fish was a Coho on the rigger in the first 5 minutes. We hoped to catch at least one silver fish while Lake trout fishing. We pulled a Rainbow on a 7 color leadore, using a Mongolian Green Moonshine. So we left trout fishing with 2 silver fish and a 15.5lb Lake trout average after an hour and 15 minutes. Great start and plent of time to catch 4 more silver fish, so we had 10 to weigh in.

We motored to 43.10 in 80 feet of water or 12 miles north. The best salmon fishing in the area was there. We decided to Lake trout fish first because most of the boats headed north to fish. We felt the bite would be tough to start with the heavy boat traffic and that boats would clear out when we got up there. They did. We trolled for an hour and 5 minutes before we had our first hit on a wire dipsy, which we lost. At this point we were running all green flashers and the famous Willy fly, which my brother ties, on downriggers 35, 45 and 60 feet down, dipsies and two copper rods at 150 and 200 feet. We had a 5 and 7 color with spoons. Shortly after we lost the first and only fish lost of the day we caught 4 silver fish in less than 15 minutes. Two on the up riggers, one on a wire dipsy set at 70 feet on the line counter and one on a 7 color. One fish was a 12" Chinook, another was a 10lb Coho and the other two were 8 and 4 pound Chinooks. This was at 9:00AM. We had our 10 fish and had 4 spots left to upgrade because we kept an extra Lake trout from earlier. We worked 85 - 90 feet from 43.12.5 to 43.14 for all the fish we boated up north. We caught another Lake trout on a 10 color with a Gold Star Green Spatter and another 12" Chinook. Both were released. We then caught a 12 pound Rainbow on a 7 color, with the Moonshine again. We took a 10 and 8 pound Chinook on the 35 and 45 riggers. Our last fish was a 12 pound Chinook on a wire dipsy set at 70 feet. We had 15 fish in the box at 11:00AM and were at the dock by 11:30AM. Never thought the total weight of 123 pounds would hold but by 2:00PM after all boats weighed in we won. Cannot believe it! Very special moment for my brother and I. I attribute the win to catching medium size fish in the 8 to 12 pound range for our silver fish instead of breaking off 20 plus pound Kings, which many did that day. It also helped to have at 15 plus pound average on Lake trout. I thought after catching a 33 pound Lake trout 2 days earlier our luck was spent. We took second place in the Rainbow and Coho divisions too. Last year we took 3rd place and moved 3 time to do it. Both years we were under power almost as much as we fished. You have to move from spot to spot to get what you need on this lake these days.

Next year the Brew City would like to do a Pro/AM tournament on the weekend of August 8th, 2020. The Pro division would pay out $12000 for 1st, $5000 for 2nd and $3000 for 3rd place. The only way this happens as if we get 20 boats to commit to the Pro division by January 1, 2020. It would be a 2 day Friday/Saturday tournament for the Pros. The entry would be $1000 for each Pro boat. We will see if we can make it happen. 

Since Brew City we spent a week fishing up north for a mixed bag of Chinook, Lake trout, Rainbow and Coho salmon. Same spread and location as Brew City. We fished deeper water for several days in the 150 to 250 range for Rainbows and Lake trout, using mostly spoons on leadcores from 3 to 10 color. Gold Hud and Orange Crush Gold Singer spoons were best as they have been offshore all year. We are currently back in our Lake trout spot crushing the Lake trout in 100 feet of water, catching limit or near limit catches. Big trout too.

Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to get in on early September Milwaukee charter fishing. We are hoping for some cool water and big Chinook salmon. This is the year of the big Chinook and they will be coming into to spawn soon. There was a 40 pound Chinook caught a week ago down in the southern end of Lake Michigan. We want another 30 pound Chinook and this is the time to do it. We also made it on the news with a 3 hour spot last Monday on Fox 6 Morning Wake Up. They did 5 spots of live footage of us fishing. I would like to thank Brain of Fox 6 and all those who produced it. You guys did a very professional job. Check it out on the web by looking up Fox 6 Morning Wake Up Live. Look for Silver King Charters. I made sure to pug all the ports and the fishery as a whole. I have attached multiple pictures of the 33 pound Lake trout, multiple pictures of the Brew City victory, the Fox 6 crew on the boat and other August pictures. We also caught our 2nd Pink salmon of the year. 

July was a solid month for Lake Michigan charter fishing. Again we were a little light on catch per trip at 11 fish a trip but it was for the most part consistent action. We started out the month with some good Chinook action and when the Kings slowed down we had consistent Lake trout and offshore for Coho, Rainbow, Lake trout and occasional Chinook. The theme remains big fish. We rolled into Salmon-A-Rama week with the intent of landing a big King. Although a couple 30 plus pound Chinook where caught off Milwaukee the King bite slowed by mid month. The eventual winning fish for Salmon-A-Rama was caught out of our port. We switched to Lake trout by the middle of Salmon-A-Rama and landed 5th and 6th place in the lake wide tournament, with two 21 pound Lake trout. This is the 8th consecutive year we have placed multiple charter customers on the salmon-a-rama board that stuck until the end and won them money. We fished offshore in 200 plus feet of water for much of the middle of July but the last week things set up in the 50 to 90 foot range and we started catch big Chinook and Lake trout again as the water cooled. Most of the last 10 years a 20 pound Chinook would be a really nice Chinook and it still is. In 2019 the 30 pound Kings are the ones to brag about. Many have been boated in all ports around Lake Michigan and it is only a matter of time before a 40 pound fish is caught. We boated a 31 pound King in June. Last year there were two 30 pound Chinook caught during Salmon-a-rama and this year there were nine. Hope it is a trend because these fish are an incredible fight. 

So for our Chinook bite when fishing from 60 to 120 feet of water has been about the green flashers and either Bull Frog Howie flies or the Willy fly. We run a 27" lead with 40 lb pink Ande flourcarbon leader. We like either Hot Spot, Pro Troll or Spin Doctors. Green with crushed ice tape on one side and silver on the other. This has been our top producer. The meat rigs worked realy good last year but not so much this year. Could be the meat we are using but not much success. The flasher flies are best on dipsies, up riggers and copper set ups. Our 150 to 250 coopers. For offshore it is spoons on 2 to 10 color leadcores. We like the Gold Hud, UV Green Dolphin and the Orange Crush Gold stingers the best. Green flasher flies on the dipsies and up riggers. Our deep riggers are white flashers, with bull frog flies. For the Lake trout fishing it is all smoke dodgers and spin and glows. We like the Milwaukee Special or the Lucky Charm. We have not had monster numbers this year but 8 to 12 fish catches have been very consistent out of Milwaukee this year. We have not had to deal with warm water very deep in the water column this year yet either. 

We are getting ready for Brew City this week and the Chinook bite has picked up. Hoping for the best. Give Silver King Charters a cal at 414-460-1467 to book an August trip and get in on some King action before the big ones start to spawn. I have attach some pictures from July. One shows a big Lamprey on a Chinook. Have not seen to many of these this year but this is one of the biggest I have seen. Another is a picture of our boat fishing at sunrise. 

 

Well this is a report I did not want to post. Why? The lack of Coho salmon caught during our most productive time to fish. The reason was cold water and lack of fish movement. This was our lowest catch total for Coho salmon in 20 years over this time period and it was by a large margin. Fish wouldn't cross over from the Michigan side or come in from out deep or come up from the southern end of Lake Michigan due to cold water temperatures and a very late spring. It was only by late June we were able to take off our winter jackets out on the lake. The best Coho action was in the very southern end of the Lake Michigan and if I had an Illinois charter license I think I would have gone. I hope next year at this time we will be back to normal but I don't know what normal is right now. I am confident though we should be good in 2020. The good news is there are still lots of Coho salmon left because the pressure from many ports on them was not so great. This means more will be in the catch as the season progresses and some big ones too. That is the theme of the 2019 season. Big Fish! We have fished the lake a long time and we are starting to see the alewive population slowly coming back in good numbers where we fish. That means bigger fish. We have boated 20 fish over 20 pounds through June and this includes a 31 pound Chinook salmon. Fish don't grow that big without a lot of bait around. They aren't drinking water to get that big. We also have a 18 pound Rainbow this season and many Steelhead over 10 pounds along with 4 Lake trout over 20 pounds. 

So the total catch rate is at 10 fish a trip through June and at this time of the year we like to be 15 to 20 fish per trip. That is what Coho salmon do for the fishing in May and June. It should be noted that the Coho stocking was not down from previous years but it is a big lake and if things don't line up in your area of the lake it can really affected the bite. But when you through a 20 pound Chinook in the box, who cares about missing 8 Coho in a trip. The fights have been amazing. The fish are well fed and full of energy. We have runs after the hit of 100 to 600 feet of line. The opportunity is there to catch a big King on every trip. We have been fishing all over but finished June fishing in 100 feet of water for Chinook or offshore for a mix of Rainbow, Coho and Lake trout. The offshore bite in June was real good from 180 to 300 feet of water straight out of Milwaukee. The Chinook bite was solid for about 10 days in 100 feet just north of Milwaukee. Flasher flies on the riggers and wire dipsies were best for the Kings. White flashers and Howie Bull Frog flies worked best set from 40 to 75 feet below the surface. When offshore it was 2 through 8 color leadcores that worked best. Stinger orange crush gold spoons or UV green dolphin and the gold hud were the best spoons. We did boat several 12 pound Steelhead and one went 18lbs. I am way past due for July reports and I will go over the month and jump into August next week. 

Every year has its trade marks and 2019 is about big fish and Big King salmon is the highlight for sure. It has been a long time since a 20 pound Chinook was considered average. Throughout the lake there will be many Chinook caught over 25 pounds and into the 30 pound mark. The only question is can someone land a 40 pound King this year. Call Silver King charters for some fun summer Lake Michigan charter fishing at 414-460-1467. The first 3 pictures are of the 31 pound Chinook and the next one is of a 18 pound Rainbow. 

 

 

 

We are through May and a week into June. Unfortunately the Coho bite has been less than stellar. We have caught Coho salmon but the catch rate on them is down 70%. The problem is a very cold start to the season. We are still wearing winter jackets on the lake. The water has been slow to warm and has caused the movement of Coho salmon to be slow. The big schools are still way south. We still believe there will be some good Coho fishing to be had in June but the window will be shorter. We went to Racine for a weekend to better our catch rate and although it improved it was not much. Maybe 5 to 10 bites more a trip. The good news is the Rainbow trout bite has been very good. There is a good amount of them from 90 to 250 feet of water from Port Washington back to the state line. The Chinook bite has not been great but when you hook into one the fight is incredible. There have been multiple 25 pound Chinook caught. The size will be great on the Chinook this year. The other good thing is there is a lot of Alewive around and today at the dock we saw thousands in the harbor getting ready to spawn. The fish that are out there are healthy. 

So we are running a spread to target both Coho and Rainbow. Many of our fish are coming off high boards, using orange Luhr Jensen or Gold Star B&B dodgers followed by green peanut flies. This is accounting for 50% of our fish. The inside boards are 3 to 8 color Leadcores. Are favorite spoon is the Stinger Stingray Gold Hud. We also like the Gold Yellow Tux by Stinger. The riggers are spoons on the outside riggers at 20 to 25 feet down and the inside riggers are white flashers with Howie Green Krinke being the top producer followed by the Bull Frog. We run three dipsies with orange Coho set ups and one wire diver with the same thing on the riggers. All the dipsies seemed to collect 2 to 4 fish a trip. We are fishing in 150 to 250 feet of water for best catches. We are trolling a little fast too. The water is cold and we are in 49 to 42 degrees for the most part. It seems right now the colder the better. The Rainbow trout account for at least half the fish, then Coho, with some Lake trout and Chinook. We have had some in close action but it rarely last. 

There are still plenty of Coho salmon to be caught and we still should have a couple of knock out weeks on them but not like a normal season. The fishing has still been good and the best Coho bite is still to come along with monster King salmon. Give Silver King Charters a call at 414-460-1467. The fish are big this year and fighting real good. We are back in Milwaukee and probably will not go back to Racine unless the bite really picks up. We caught a Pink salmon last Monday. We have been catching more of these each year. This fish was accidentally stocking in Lake Superior many years ago and has naturally survived over the last 40 years. I have attached a picture.

 

Well it is the middle of May and this is Coho salmon time. The highest catch rate of the year. The problem is the water is still very cold. As of Tuesday we saw 41.5 degrees on the surface in 100 feet or 4 miles off shore. The middle of the lake it is the high 30's still. Late spring to say the least but warm air and sunny days warms up the surface fast and will move fish. Today we saw 46 degree surface water in the same spot we were Wednesday. The bait is all around so the fish just have to find the our bait and they will stick around. There have been some descent catches of Coho down south but just random catches for us in Milwaukee and Racine was not much better for Coho. We expect the Coho action to pick up real soon. Our Brown trout action has fallen off and we are fishing Lake trout while waiting on the Coho bite. The Lake trout bite has been very good. We caught a 20 pound fish today. We have also caught a few Chinook and Coho while fishing Lake trout. Several limits and we are glad that Wisconsin raised the bag limit to 5 Lake trout per person. I have attached a picture of a Lake trout we caught this morning, with what was in its belly. many alewives. This is true for all the Lake trout we catch. They are vacuum cleaners when it come to alewives. They never stop eating. 

We have fished outside the Milwaukee harbor, with the main and south gaps being best. We have taken a mix of Coho and Brown trout here but the bite is average with 5 to 10 fish catches. This area will soon be a hot spot. We have moved offshore for a better bite on Lake trout. The action is best straight out from the harbor in 100 feet of water near the bottom. Spin and glows have been king and spin and glows with yellow in them are best. We like silver prism or smoke dodgers with them. We have caught a few Coho salmon on orange dodger and Next Generation peanut flies off boards on the surface but very few. We may try deeper this weekend for a Coho bite. The action on Lake trout has been steady. We took a few Chinook salmon on a white flasher with a Howie Bull Frog fly. 

Memorial Day weekend's have been known for some great fishing and hopefully on one of our trips we take a limit of Coho salmon. The next several weeks though should begin to see some great salmon catches, so call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to book a trip for the best time of the year for catch rate and salmon. Until then we will be catching something and probably Lake trout. Attached are some resent catches.

May Lake Michigan charter fishing and we are on the edge of our favorite time of the year. COHO SALMON TIME! The catch is still consists mostly of Brown trout but we are now starting to take some Coho salmon. We have been in, around and down the shore of the Milwaukee harbor. Some have ventured off shore of Milwaukee but with no success. The water as of Wednesday has reached 50 degrees on the surface by the river mouth and 46 degrees outside the gaps. Down 10 feet it is in the mid to low forties. Offshore the surface is at or just above 40 degrees and down 50 feet it is the high thirties. All is about to change soon as the water is warming fast now. The alewives started to show up mid last week in the harbor and on Wednesday we snagged about 25 alewives while trolling. Each day the schools have been getting thicker. The first Coho salmon we have taken outside the harbor occurred last weekend. Probably had 12 bites and landed 5 Coho over the last 4 days. The trips have been between 5 to 10 fish and this is a little lower than we like but mother nature has been tough this spring. Better times are almost here. 

The spread has remained unchanged, with the exception of a few Coho set ups on inside dipsies and outside boards. Orange small dodgers and green peanut flies. We like the Opti Dodgers because of the orange color they use. All of the Coho stuff is right at the surface and is now taking some bites ever trip. Not to the point to go with more orange yet because the Brown trout bite is still better. We are still running 1 - 4 color leadcores, mono dipsies and riggers from 10 to 30 feet down. All spoons and we are heavy on Gold Hud or UV Blue Dolphin Stinger spoons in the stingray size. There are a lot of big alewives around but we have snagged all year classes, which is great to see. We are not sure if we will go to do some Racine charter fishing yet this year. That will be decided by May 18th. Depends on how the Coho action sets up off Milwaukee. The last several seasons there was no reason to go south but every year is different. Right now most of the Coho action is from fish that wintered around the area. The big schools have not set up yet off Milwaukee or Racine. This should start any day now that the bait is showing up. I hope to have a report next time with lots or orange dodgers and Coho salmon. 

We have trips open for Mother's Day. Don't understand why mothers wouldn't want to fish that day. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to book a trip during the most productive time of the season. Mid May through June is our highest catch rate and the best time for salmon. A couple of pictures from the last seven days. A few Coho in the mix. 

We are at the tail end of April and Milwaukee charter fishing has been all about Brown trout. We boat the most Brown trout of the season in April and this action slowly gives way to the Coho salmon bite until it goes completely away by mid May. But we are still catching the Brown trout now. Most of our action has been the eastern part of the Milwaukee harbor. We have taken some fish in the river up to the turning basin. We had a big northeast blow Friday and Saturday that chalked up the water, making the bite challenging but we produced on all trips. The Milwaukee harbor makes trips possible on big winds and action can still be very good. The water is has warmed to 45 degrees in spots. The fish still have gobbies in them but the alewives schools will his the shores very soon. There has been some smelt action at Jones Island this year. Some have pulled pulled as much as 500 smelt in a night. Very good to what it has been over the last 20 years. 

The spread is all spoons still and we have been trolling fast for a good bite. We are now getting fish on our one color leadcores. Spoons with orange were the hot ones over the last week. Water clarity was poor and orange seemed to help. We used the orange taped Gold Hud Stinger in the Stingray size. We also liked the orange NBK in both sizes. The hot spoon for the one color leadcores was the Dreamweaver Magic Man. That was on fire. Again all our stuff was set in the top 25 feet of water, with 1, 2 and 3 color leadcores, mono dipsies and 3 riggers. All Brown trout from 2 to 14 pounds. We expect another week of this fishing but with reports of Coho salmon starting to appear we are ready to bolt at a seconds notice. 

Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to get in on the last of the Brown trout action and the first part of the Coho salmon bite. It looks to be another great year for the number one stocked salmon on Lake Michigan. The highest catch rate of the season starts very very soon. This is the time of the season we produce the most limits of salmon from early May through late June! Below are some pictures from the last several days.

The weather has been all over the place but what do you expect for April in Wisconsin. The harbor bite has been good for what conditions we have fished. Our worst outing was 2 fish with several double digit catches. The bite has been all Brown trout. We have ventured outside the harbor along the shore but our best action has been from the north gap to the river mouth. Water temperature on the surface is between 40 to 43 degrees. When you get into the river it reaches 47 degrees. Our best action has been just north or south of the river mouth. All the fish have been full of Gobies. What has prevented the bite from being better is water clarity. Several big storms but mostly strong winds has caused the water to be just a little too murky for a stronger bite. We need just a little clear water and the water temperature a little warmer and the action will really take off. The fish are from 3 to 14 pounds and all have had bait in them, which is different from the last couple of Aprils. 

Our mono dipsy diver rods set at 25 on the line counter has been the most steady producer, with Stinger Gold Hud the Stingray size spoon. This set up has boated fish every time. The next best has been our 2 deep riggers. These are set a couple feet from the bottom and have the same lure as the dispy, with the exception of an orange tape on the Hud. The boards have been ok and usually are the top producers this time of year. The one color leads have been almost useless but as the water warms a little they will probably be top producers. The two and three color leadcores have been alright. The green Natural Born Killer Stinger or the UV Blue Dolphin have been best on the boards. 

We should have a couple more weeks of good Brown trout action before transitioning into Coho salmon and the best catch rate of the season. We should start seeing more Lake trout in the mix too during the next several weeks. The Coho being caught down south look healthy and it should be another great spring on Coho salmon. We have openings next weekend, so call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to get in on early spring action. Attached is a few pictures from the last couple trips. 

Milwaukee charter fishing season for 2019 has begun. We put in on April 1st and have started to catch fish. We have fished the Milwaukee harbor and have been all over the area. The surface temperature is 41 degrees in the warmest areas and there is still large chunks of ice on the break wall. Our best location so far has been along the break wall from the Main gap to the north gap. All the fish we boated have been Brown trout, with the exception of one Lake trout. This is the first Lake trout we have ever caught in the harbor area. The fish have been full of Goby, which is a small invasive fish found at the bottom of the water column. The fish have ranged from 2 to 14 pounds so far. The action has been good but with bait starting to show up and the water temperatures warming it should only get better. 

We have run all spoons on all set ups. Our favorite ones have been the Stinger Gold Hud in both large and small sizes and the Stinger Glow Watermelon in the Stinger size. The best rods are the to deep riggers near the bottom, mono dipsies set at 30 feet on the line counter and the 4 color leadcores. The fish are down near the bottom and because that is where the Goby is located. We did not have a hit on the one color leadcores, which can be very good this time of year. We look to continue fishing the harbor for the next couple weeks. 

April is the best time for Brown trout and this April looks to be a lot better than last years weather, when it snowed 4 times and we had multiple days below freezing. Should be a lot of fish caught this month. We still have weekends open. I attached some pictures from this weekend and if you go to Silver King Charters Facebook you will see some video from the weekend. Still have not figured out how to put video on the website. I also included the stocking numbers from 2018. The over all number is down to 9.44 million fish. This is the lowest total in 25 years. Some of the reduction comes from no longer stocking fingerling Lake trout, which is a good thing. Coho salmon are still stocked around their 25 year average, which makes May and June such a great time to fish. Chinook salmon stocking went up 19% which is great. My personal opinion is that Chinook should be stocked at 2 million a year. This would give a decent catch rate, without damaging the precious bait population. Chinook are the only fish that is not stocked as yearlings. Lake trout have been reduced and are still the top stocked fish in Lake Michigan. We will not miss the reduction. Rainbow trout are at their 25 year average. Brown trout have taken a hit over the last 2 years and are down 41% from their 25 year average. The verdict is still out on the Brown trout but Milwaukee still have great Brown trout fishing. The total number is down but the matrix of fish stocked is good and the fished stocked are raised healthier than ever before to give them a better survival rate. 

Call Silver King Charter at 414-460-1467 to get fishing on Lake Michigan. The fish are biting! We actually did catch a baby Coho this weekend. I have a pic of that too. 

 

We are hopefully in the water on Friday Milwaukee charter fishing. The ice is still in the marina but it is melting very fast. My fisrtmates have already been out in aluminum boats and the Brown trout bite has been real good. The first several weeks of April can be very good fishing for Brown trout. Our typical spread is 3 boards a side, using 1, 2 and 3 color leadcores. Spoons on all rods. These usually do the bulk of the catching. We run two mono dipsies and spoons are also on these. Always good for several hits. We run 3 downriggers and they are hit and miss. Spoons are everything. We are usually fishing in 10 to 35 feet of water and fish can be skittish to downriggers in that shallow of water. They usually are good for a few fish. The Milwaukee harbor, river mouth and shoreline can all have good action in April. We hope to be catching next weekend. 

We talked about Chinook salmon last report. July through the 3rd week of August in the best time for them. By the middle of August the mature Chinook salmon are heading to the ports they were stocked, so they can spawn. The last week of August through the first 3 weeks of September is what we call combat fishing. The Chinooks stocked out of Milwaukee return home after 3 or 4 years in the lake. The salmon are staging at this point of the year and getting ready to run up rivers to spawn. These are all big fish and when you hook up that go complete crazy. We are in and around the harbor mouths where they return. The water is shallow and there is not a lot of room for them to go, so when they run it can get out of control fast. Great fights! Several years back this was my favorite time of the year because the return was great. Now with reduced stocking of Chinook this can be hit or miss during this period but when the window is right the action is solid. A good trip during this period is 10 to 12 Chinook but we usually average 4 to 5 Kings. Still worth the fight and pulling a 15 to 25 pound Chinook on a trip is very fun. If the harbor action is not set up we will head out deep for Lake trout and Steelhead. 

I really don't want to think about September right now because the next couple of months are going to be some great action on Lake Michigan. We are looking forward to netting our first fish of the season. I think I can remember every first fish caught since I have been chartering and it is always a special moment. It will be interesting to see what the lake has in store for us. Hopefully lees big winds. I have attached my last pictures of ice in the marina and a picture of our first trip last year. I have also included a couple of September Kings. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to start catching Lake Michigan salmon and trout. 

We are a couple weeks away from Milwaukee charter fishing season 2019. The hard winter has us eager to fish. We look forward to some good early Brown trout action this April. Probably some Lake trout and Coho salmon too but April is the best time of the season for Brown trout. We have talked about the great action in April for Brown trout and the best catch rate for the year for Coho salmon during mid May through late June. I will go over Early July through the 3rd week of August. Traditionally this was Chinook salmon time and the best time to catch them. It is still the best time to target Chinook but unlike the Coho salmon Chinook stocking has taken a hit. At one time Lake Michigan was stocked with 6.5 million Chinook annually. Incredible amount of salmon were in the lake because they live for four years. But due to declines in bait fish caused by mussels in the lake stocking had to be reduced. It is now down to 1.2 million annually but there is some percentage of natural reproduction that helps this number. All is not lost. The fish are healthy, better size and a great fight. It is worth a Lake Michigan charter fishing trip to experience this kind of action. 

So what to expect on a summer fishing trip these days. We target all species not just Chinook salmon. This time of year can be outstanding for Lake trout and Rainbow trout. We still get some Coho salmon and an occasional Brown trout. But we all want to land a King salmon and we always have stuff set for them. When there are good numbers around we switch out everything to catch them. But other times we are lucky to boat a couple on a trip. This is when the other species come in to play. During July through the 3 week of August we average 4 Chinook a trip but these fish add a lot of excitement to the trip. When there are good schools of Chinook in the area double digit catches are common. The size of a mature Chinook will vary from year to year but over the last 3 seasons a 15 pound Chinook salmon is common. We have boated many in the 20 pound class and some are pushing 30 pounds. These are very special fish. Mature Chinook are know for their long runs, peeling off 300 feet is nothing for a King salmon. They don't give up easy. Throw several Chinook in the cooler, with Lake trout, some Rainbows and Coho you have had a great time. Chinook salmon are a special fish that years back we were quite spoiled with but now it is really something to have one strike and blow away from the boat at fast speeds. If Chinook is your desire than July and early August is the time to book your trip. We do catch them throughout the season but no other time beats the middle of summer for the King bite. 

Like I mentioned earlier we should be in the water by April 1st and looking to capitalize on some good Brown trout fishing. Somewhere in the month we will boat some Coho salmon but it is hit and miss on these during April. Lake trout will also come into play as bait starts showing up along the shoreline. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to book your fishing trip in 2019. Soon we will be posting actual reports of fishing trips. I have attached what I hope to be the last ice fishing pictures of the year. Our firstmate Colin caught these Brown trout just last week. I also put a picture of the current state of the Milwaukee marina. The ice will go fast now. There are a few Chinook pictures too from last summer. 

 

We are less than 6 weeks away from catching fish and we still have a lot to do but we will be ready. I predict the first fish boated will be a Brown trout. Love that early action in April on Brown trout. Silver King Charters will be Milwaukee charter fishing the entire month of April to take advantage of the large harbor, river and structure along the shoreline. Call us to book an April trip. The Great Lakes is 66% covered with some form of ice right now as opposed to 2018 at this time it was 42% and 2017 it was 8%. What does this mean well lets hope for a warm March. Our first mate Colin had been ice fishing the big lake and catching some nice trout. I have attached a picture to this report of a big Brown trout caught a week ago. Hope to boat one of those this April. Lake Michigan is 50% iced over and this is the highest total in the last 3 years. 

Well we talked about April and for some limit action the first 3 weeks can be one of the best time periods of the season and the best time to target Brown trout. But the best catch rate is Mid May to the third week of June. Hands down we catch the most fish then. Why? Coho salmon. This is the number one stocked salmon in the lake and only Lake trout are stocked at a higher amount. Coho salmon is this the fish we catch the most of over the last 3 season and it is because their stocking numbers have not been reduced. This also leads to our highest amounts of limits during the season. It is still fishing and there are tough days during this time but we have averaged 18 fish a trip over the last several years and 80% of the catch is Coho salmon. Coho salmon are stocked at approximately 2.5 million fish a year lake wide. The are raised in a hatchery for almost 16 months before being release in ports throughout Lake Michigan. They summer out in the lake and by the following spring they are at a size to be caught. Early in the spring they are 2 pounds but Coho put weight on fast. By the end of June we are catching Coho up to 6 pounds. Come the fall these fish spawn and die after 3 years of life. What makes this a fun fish to target is when you get on a school it can be fast action and many shots of fighting fish. Coho salmon school up and will eat until bait is coming out of their mouths. We will run orange dodgers and green peanut flies for most of this part of the season and we run this set up on just about every rod we set. The trick is finding them and once you do it is fish on. 

Mid May through late June is Coho time and the best catch rate of the year. Give Silver King Charters a call at 414-460-1467 to get hooked up on a fun salmon charter fishing trip. Attached is a few sunrise pictures by the lake during this chilly winter, with a full moon rise during the super moon that just happened. 

This is my first report of 2019 and we are less than 3 months from catching our first fish Lake Michigan charter fishing. We hope to put in and fish the last week of March. In 2018 it snowed 4 times in April and that was probably as much as we got all last winter. This winter has been virtually no snow and mild temperatures. Our slip was actually open just a couple of days ago. In fact the entire marina was ice free. Winter will put the bite on us before it is all said but hopefully this will lead to an early spring. Last year we had our first trip schedule on the last day of March and it was cancelled due to high winds. My hope this year is to run a trip in March and November. 

We averaged 15.46 fish a trip last season and we were very pleased with that. Stocking numbers are down but we have adapted by targeting all five species to put more fish in the boat. Long gone are the days we would go after Chinook for 3 months of the year. The good news is when you do tie into a Chinook the size is up and they give a great fight. The breakdown percentage wise on numbers is: 15% of the trips caught 1 - 5 fish. We did not get skunked in 2018 but did have two 1 fish trips. 24% of the trips caught 6 -10 fish, 26% of the trips caught 11-15 fish, 15% of the trips caught 16 -20 fish and 20% of the trips caught 21 - 30 fish. It is fishing and from day to day anything can happen but when are the best chances at good catches. May 15th - June 20th is the highest catch rate. The first 3 weeks of April, if mother nature cooperates, can be very good action and July 4th through the 3rd week of August is your best chance at Chinook. Again any day can be the hot bite but those 3 periods delivered some great action over the years. 

I will go over April in this report. The primary fish of April is Brown trout. This is the best time to target Brown trout for the entire season. The fish average 2 to 12 pounds but we have boated some monsters, including a 33 pound Brown trout. We are usually fishing the harbor or the shoreline in depths of 10 to 40 feet of water. We use a spread or spoons for the most part. Cooper and gold spoons are usually are hot baits. We run 3 boards a side and these are 1, 2 and 3 color leadcores. We put out 2 mono dipsy rods and usually just 3 downriggers to target the bottom. The harbor will have the warmest water by the river mouth early in the month and can hold a lot of fish. Water clarity is our biggest problem during April With a lot of rain it can make the water too muddy but for the most part there is always a place to catch fish. We sometimes will head to the Oak Creek power plant, where fish and bait hold around the warm water discharges. The run time is about a half hour to get there but it usually pays off when it sets up. Again fishing is fishing and it can be tough on any given day but April is a month that we do catch limits when it sets up and it is the only time of year we can do that on Brown trout. As the month progresses we start to catch good size Lake trout along the shoreline. We see 10 to 15 pound Lake trout during this period. We have had Aprils in Milwaukee and Racine where the Coho salmon bite starts early and when this happens it can get crazy good. But for the most part it isn't until mid May when the Coho bite gets consistent. 

April can be very productive but when you book a trip you must remember that this month is closer to the end of winter that the start of summer. Dress warm! But when it sets up this period is as good as any throughout the season. We do give an extra hour of fishing for free on any trip Monday through Thursday during the month and with less fishing pressure I love to fish on those days. We fish out of Milwaukee during April as we do for most of the season. Milwaukee gives us a vast harbor to fish in if the weather is not the greatest but it also gives us warmer water for better action during the period. Give Silver King Charters a call at 414-460-1467 to experience early season Brown trout action charter fishing Milwaukee. I decided to put some sunrise and sunset pictures from last season on this post. 

Winter Solstice. Shortest day of the year and we are almost 3 months to Lake Michigan chartering again. A lot has happened since the last report. We fished several times in October but wicked winds prevented a lot of trips. The action started out solid as we kept rolling on Lake trout in 100 feet of water but a week of bad winds final wiped this option out. We then started fishing the shoreline for Brown trout and Lake trout. The problem was the Brown trout where not around and this hurt the catch rate. Usually the Brown action is solid in October but this year it was tough. Good for the spring of 2019 though. We also boated our 2nd Northern Pike on Lake Michigan in October. The highlight of the month. We stayed in until November 5th, which was one day too long. On November 4th on a Sunday we had a blow out of the East that was 35 to 40 mph for 20 hours straight. I thought the boat was finished. We had to put 4 bumpers and 6 lines on to hold it in place in a slip. Absolutely crazy! The boat came out the next day. 

Our season was solid with a 13.5 fish average per trip. The fishing was tougher than in 2017 but we really worked to catch all 5 species throughout the year. The days are gone when you can rely on one specie during a time period. Well with the exception of Coho in May and June. We look forward to next season and we are preparing each week to make sure fish keep coming in the boat. I will be breaking down the season in my next report. Over the last 3 seasons Coho is the number one fish caught by far and four seasons ago it was Lake trout. You have to go back to 2014 when Chinook were still king. But the good thing about our fishery is those Chinook are healthy and big. Have a great holiday's and catch you next year. Below is the end of our season. The wicked blow on November 4th I tailed a couple Kings running up the boat ramp. There was over 100 Chinook trying to spawn their that night. 

 

September 2108 in in the books and it ended up being pretty good. We did lose half our trips to high winds and because the harbor water was 69 degrees from top to bottom we had to cancel many trips we would have normally run in the harbor. September is usually tied wiht April as the two months we fish the Milwaukee harbor but things half to set up for this to be effective. East winds and lots of rain pretty much eliminated this and we only ran 4 trips in the harbor this September. The Chinook return was not that strong and a lot of the fish either shot up the river or went into the marina section early. This did set up other areas though. We either fished out in 250 to 300 feet of water or north of town in 100 feet of water. Both were productive when we could get out on the lake. We ended the month wihit a 12 fish average per trip. There was a good bite on 2 year old Chinook salmon and this was good to see for next year. We also he a good bite on Lake trout and this really was strong at the end of the month. September is usually a good Brown trout month and we did not boat a single one during the month. Our last trip in September we still had 65 degree surface water but down 40 feet it was 45 degrees in 100 feet.

Milwaukee charter fishing in the harbor was almost all #3 J-Plugs. Chrome and pearl plugs were the best. Riggers set near the bottom took almost all the fish and they were all 4 year old or mature Chinooks. We also had success on Fire Tiger J-13 jointed stick baits on 3 color leadcores. The Chinooks where good size, between 15 to 25 pounds but the bites were few and far between. We spent most of September in 90 to 110 feet north of Milwaukee, with 4 trips in the 250 to 300 foot range. But the best bite was in 100 feet. We ran one rigger at the bottom for Lake trout, using a spin and glow, with a smoke dodger. The last 3 trips of September we increased the spin and glow set up to two riggers and one wire dipsy because the Lake trout bite really took off. But for the most part the second deep rigger had a white flasher and Howie Bull Frog fly. The two up riggers had spoons down anywhere from 35 to 70 feet, depending on the water temperature. The break changed a lot during the month, going up and down with the wind changes. Was as deep as 75 feet and near the end of the month the break was 30 feet down. We had our wire dipsies set at 120 to 250 on the line counters and used whit flashers and either Bull Frog or Little Boy Blue for flies. The boards were all copper from 150 to 350 coppers and everything in between. We had all spoons on these rods. Our best baits were Stinger stingray size NBK, UV Blue Dolphin, Fickle Pickle and Orange Crush. We also liked the Moonshine UV wonderbread. That worked well for the last couple months. Again, it was better than expected September but over the last several seasons we are working to expand a wider bite than just harbor fish that are pre-spawning. The return is less in recent years due to stocking cuts and if things don't set up just right it becomes very hard to get bites. 

We are not done Lake Michigan charter fishing yet out of Milwaukee. We will be fishing into early November. The weather can be a problem at times during the end of the season but when we can get out there should still be some real good days of fishing left. We expect to still see young Chinook salmon in the catch. Lake trout and Brown trout will also make up a good part of the catch. The close to shore and harbor fishing should be more reliable as time goes on and the 100 foot contour has delivered over the last couple of weeks. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to get in on the last trips of the 2018 season. 

We are just about through August and Milwaukee charter fishing has been steady. We are averaging 11 fish a trip during the month and it has been a mixed bag. We caught the grand slam or all 5 species in 2 of the last 7 trips. Lake trout are the top species through the month but we are catching some Rainbow trout and Chinook salmon too. We have been in 340 feet to 30 feet of water and there has not been a hot spot anywhere for long. Two things that standout for the season have been lots of high winds and we have fished deep water for almost 70% of the season. The bite has just been more consistent out deep. We have had seasons we never got deeper that 150 feet of water but this season that is the starting point for most trips. It is just how things have set up. For the strong winds we have had enough of it. Many days this month we have had to deal with wave conditions over 4 feet or better and cancelling trips due to this. But when conditions have been fishable we are catching. Lake trout are everywhere we fish but for the first half of the month it was outstanding trout fishing in 95 to 120 feet of water straight out of Milwaukee. When this fell apart we moved into 30 to 50 feet and caught Brown trout, Chinook and some Lake trout. This held for several days until a big northeaster warmed the water up and sent us back out deep. We took a mixed bag of Steelhead, Coho, Chinook and of course Lake trout, Lake trout are the number one stocked fish in Lake Michigan and they are everywhere. The best depths were between 250 and 320 feet of water. Now the water has begun to cool down and this morning the surface temperature was 65 degrees and down 35 feet it was 48 degrees. We found this to be true from 100 feet to 65 feet of water. This will help a Chinook harbor bite once the water clears up from the big rains.

We have run a lot of different sets during this period but our stud flasher fly combo is the Howie Bull Frog with a white pearl flasher. This has been good on deep riggers and on wire dipsies. This combo is been on since Brew City. The only other bait on these 4 rods would be spin and glows for Lake trout. All the board rods and the side riggers have had spoons on them. We like the Moonshine UV pearl wonder bread the best. We also have run the mixed veggie and NBK green Stingers. For just about all the month the stud board rods are 300 and 350 coppers. A lot of reeling. Today we switched to leadcores for the first time since fishing in 30 feet of water. We liked 3,4,5,6,7 & 8 colors. The wire dipsies were set at 250 feet for a couple weeks today it was 125 on the line counter. We are seeing some good Chinook action now, with some magnum shakers and 4 year old Kings getting ready to stage. If the cold water creeps in just a little more and we can avoid a big northeaster there will be some good Chinook fishing in and around the harbor. We should see some 20 plus pound Chinook this September.

Silver King Charters will be fishing into the first week of November and there is still some good fishing to be had. Give us a call at 414-460-1467 and catch some fish before and after the football games.

 

We are now through July and I cannot believe how fast the season has gone. I always try to make the most out of each day but I wish I could slow it down some. The first part of July was solid through right up to July 20th when a big northeaster and then the full moon cycle shut things down for several days. We had good mixed bag catches, with Coho salmon at the start of the month and now Lake trout as of the last week being the top catch. This is still a good time to catch Chinook salmon and will remain so through early September. We were fishing in 200 to 300 feet of water over the last two weeks but in the last several days the hot bite is in 90 to 120 feet of water, either straight out of Milwaukee or several miles north. Wee have pulled several Chinook and Lake trout over 20 pounds too. On Saturday we fished Brew City salmon tournament and came in 3rd out of 98 boats. It was a tough field but my brother and I decided to go back to our old formula that we abandoned the last two Brew City tournaments and we went 27 for 28, catching 130 pounds of fish in only 4 hours of fishing time. It was an execution. We have three 3rd place and three 2nd place finishes in this tournament. We also took 5th twice, 7th once, 9th twice and several finishes 13th through 18th. I doubt we will ever capture first place but I will take top 5 all day in that kind of competition. We have won in all other ports from Port Washington to Winthrop but our home port has been a challenge. Great job to Payde Fore 2. 

Our plan for Brew City was to fish Lake trout to start and we landed 15 in 45 minutes and kept 7 of them. Our top 5 averaged 14.5lbs. We tried to pull a Chinook on boards during this but failed. The riggers and wire divers on the bottom in 105 feet did the work. We had a different color spin and glow on each rod, along with a smoke dodger. It was good and quick in 105 feet of water straight out. We pulled lines and went straight out to 200 feet of water to catch five silver fish. We ran 4 boards with moonshine wonder bread spoons on 350, 300, 200 and 175 coopers. These had worked during the week but failed on Saturday. We ran two spoons on riggers and flasher flies on the wire dipsies and deep rigger. The wires were set at 200 feet on the line counters and the riggers were 60, 70 and 90 feet down. We had one hit and one Lake trout in the first half hour. We pushed out to 265 feet and this is where we started to get bites. Our rigger with a pearl white flasher and bull frog Howie fly down 90 feet picked off a King. We quickly sent another one down to 100 feet and pulled a Coho salmon. Eventually all riggers and divers had this set up with this combo and we ended up taking 2 Chinook, 1 Rainbow, 1 Coho and 1 Pink salmon in an hour. Right depth and right bait! We now had 10 fish to weigh in and it was 9:30AM. We decided to pull lines again and run 30 minutes up to Fox Point. The home of so many great catches. We set in 130 feet and trolled from the wreck to the Point. Of course during this troll we pulled 3 more Lake trout because they are everywhere but we came for upgrades on silver fish. We got three of them and they were all Chinook. We only could keep three more fish at this point. We took two on wire divers set at 200 feet on the line counter and one on a rigger at 90 feet down. All three were caught on the pearl flasher and Howie Bull Frog fly. The problem was the first two were 9 and 12 pounds. We have been pulling 15 pounders as small ones all month. The last one was 18 pounds. The difference from 1st to 3rd place was our Kings were too small. In tournaments you got to move some to be successful. You also have to guess right. We did and it paid off. Wouldn't change a thing. Willy and I along with our first mates were surgical. What was the formula? Simple only one guy calls the shots and drives. Cannot leave it up to debate. We have done a lot of winning this way. 

Milwaukee charter fishing on Lake Michigan still has a long way to go in 2018 and this is the time for big Chinook salmon. There are not a lot of them but there are some monsters. Lake trout fishing is at its best right now and there will be some good offshore days for Steelhead. Near the end of August we will start to land some Brown trout too. This is a great time to book a trip on Lake Michigan, so call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to catch some August fish. The first pic is the Brew City catch and then Colin cutting the Patrick Cudahy sausage. The best prize to get!

 

We are now through Salmon-A-Rama and tough winds made it very challenging. We were unable to fish 4 of the 9 days and the last 3 days has warmed up the west shores off Milwaukee and south. We fished today and found 60 degree water down 100 feet and 58 degree water down 125 feet. Not ideal but looks like a good batch of west winds coming and this will improve things. We boated 142 fish during Salmon-A-Rama and this was a low for the last 7 years we have fished this with customers. We boated 7 fish 20 pounds or better, with are big being 26.29 lbs. This was good for 26th biggest overall. We felt that all top ten Chinook would be over 30 pounds due to all the reports leading into Salmon-A-Rama but as usual the scale shrinks fish. Only 3 fish were weighed in at 30 pounds and the tenth biggest was 27.5 lbs. We were fortunate enough to win big Lake trout at 23lbs and we took 5th place Lake trout too. This helped us to finish 2nd place in the Pro Top Ten. Craig from Kinn's Catch bested us with a few more big Kings. Great job guys! We only fished Lake trout at the end for 4 trips but in hind site we should have started earlier. 

Our breakdown for the catch was much like our season so far: 64 Coho, 44 Lake trout, 24 Chinook, 8 Rainbow and 3 Brown trout. Most of our fishing was done in 70 to 90 feet of water and flasher flies dominated. Only spin and glo's for Lake trout were as good. White flashers with little boy blue on all set ups seemed to be best with the challenging bite. Things have changed greatly with the big northeast blow but flashers are still better over spoons as of today. 

We are booked for Salmon-A-Rama starting today for 2019 and it will be from July 13th through July 21st. In seven seasons since the charter ticket has been introduced we have won money for 21 people for an average of 3 a year. Our customers get to keep all the money won, with the exception of the grand prize if $25,000, which we will take $5000. This year we had 4 winners and Gary Seeman netted a $3700 outboard Yamaha motor that he will easily sell for $3200, along with $100 big fish of the day. The breakdown by year is as follows:

2012: Lake trout 4th & 5th place and big fish of the day

2013: Rainbow trout 3rd place, Lake trout 8th place, Coho salmon 9th place, Chinook salmon 9th place and the Lake trout was 9th biggest in tournament overall

2014: Rainbow 1st place, Coho salmon 3rd place

2015: Lake trout 2nd, 5th and 8th places, Super Slam 1st place and 2nd biggest fish overall in tournament

2016: Chinook salmon 3nd place and 3rd biggest in tournament. Big fish of the day and 2nd place in Pro Top Ten

2017: Chinook salmon 4th place and 4th biggest of tournament. BIg fish of the day and 2nd place in Pro Top Ten

2018: Lake trout 1st place and 5th place. Big fish of the day twice and 2nd place in Pro top Ten

We had a great week with a lot of fun folks and we look forward to next year and hopefully we will be lucky enough to keep are winning streak alive. These trips book fast so call today.

Below is a few pictures from Salmon-A-Rama and Colin shows how to hold a fish to look crazy big. Gary and all our customers over the years, thanks so much for fishing with us. The season is not over with by a long shot and Brew City is next. Call Silver King Charters to get in on August and September fishing for big Chinook salmon, Lake trout and Rainbow trout. 

 

 

 

We are a 3rd of the way through July and Milwaukee charter fishing has been solid. We have had a few tough trips but for the most part are in double digits for the month and we are averaging 17.3 fish a trip. The story of the season is Coho salmon so far. Are catch has been 65% Coho and only 5% Chinook. The other 30% have been trout. The Coho bite is still making up a good part of our catch but the water is starting to warm and if we don't get a little cool down the Coho bite will slow way down. Today you could see a definite thermocline down 35 feet. It was 69 degrees on the surface and 65 down 35 feet but started to drop there. There is lots of bait around and things are set for some good Chinook and Lake trout action. We are looking for what happened earlier this year in the southern half of the Michigan side. We have been fishing in 165 feet to 250 feet of water in the top 70 feet and north of Milwaukee for all of July. We are catching everything but Brown trout and heavy on the Coho salmon. 

The spread still has orange dodger and green half flies on the inside dipsies, 3 color leadcores on boards and a side rigger down 15 feet. These are the most effective rods. The back riggers have white flashers and Howie Bull Frog flies set at 55 and 70 feet. The other side rigger has a chrome flasher and Green Krink Howie fly set at 35 feet. The inside leads are 5 through 9 color, using blue dolphin UV Stinger spoons. The wire dipsies are set at 150 to 175 on the line counter and we have green flashers with Howie Bull Frog flies. This has not changed for the last 10 days and has delivered but I think we are going to start loosing some of the orange stuff if the Coho bite slows.

This is the time of year we have our best opportunity for big Chinook salmon Milwaukee charter fishing. We are hoping it sets up soon. We are taking some big Kings but we want a few more in the catch. There have been many Chinook report at or near 30 pounds and we have had several in the 24 to 26 pound class. Could be some special fish caught next week. Salmon-A-Rama starts this Saturday and we hope to put some of our customers on the board as we have the last 6 years. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to book at July or August trip and land a big one! The pictures are from some of our early July trips. 

 

June is now in the books and Milwaukee charter fishing has begun to transition out of Coho to a mix of Coho, Chinook, Lake trout and Rainbow trout. A week ago we were targeting Lake trout but have since moved off shore in 150 to 250 feet of water. Constant northeast and southeast winds has taking its toll on bites closer to shore. The water has not gotten super warm but 60 on the surface with 50 degree water right to the bottom in 90 feet. We are in desperate need of some west or southwest winds to turn the 100 foot and shallower bite back on. I have a picture of one of our last Lake trout trips before it fell apart. We are now out in the 200 plus zone and fishing the top 60 feet of water. Surface temperatures have been 51 to 56 degrees out there and we get into 49 degrees down 50 feet. All of our bites are coming in the top 60 feet of water, with a lot of them in the top ten feet. We are catching everything but Brown trout. We pulled a very quick 2 man limit today. 

The spread is a blend of orange dodgers on the high boards and inside dipsies, with green peanut flies. We are using 5/8 ounce keel weights on the board rods, with the line 25 feet back from the board. The dipsies are set at 20 feet on the line counter and set at 1.5 on the dipsy. The outside dipsies are wire and 125 on the line counter. We have white flashers and Howie Bull Frog flies. All the riggers have the same flasher fly on them and our set at 25 feet down to 65 feet. The riggers are not as good as boards and dipsies. We are also running a 6, 7, 8, and 9 color leadcore on boards. Spoons on these rods, with NBK or Blue Dolphin Stingers. These are both UV spoons. We have has a couple of tough trips were we fell under 10 fish but for the most part 15 fish plus catches. 

I was asked about the Chinook bite and we are catching them. They are very good size this year and we will have some good days on them but they only stock 1.2 million a year now and the rest is natural reproduction of some amount, so there are less around. We will get them but not at 15 to 20 a trip. A really good Chinook day is 10. The first week of July looks to continue with some good catches, so call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 today. 

We have received some great reviews from actual customers this season and they are much appreciated. We also received a couple poor ones from guys on our dock. To make clear we do not guarantee limits or near limits but we do guarantee a fish during a 5 hour trip or the trip is free. No strings attached. Our goal is certainly more than one but if we fail its free. We are not the cheapest charter on Lake Michigan or even on our dock but we are very reasonable priced. My brother and I both have full time jobs and do not rely solely on charter fishing for are incomes.  We charge $530 a trip, including sales tax and will not surprise you with extra charges. We do have a surcharge of $25 for the Salmon-A-Rama week and this is very well noted. We take 5 people of less not 6 and have not advertised 6 for 2.5 years. Some of our repeats bring 6 people but we prefer to run 5 or less. We have seats for 5 people. Final we have 2 new engines with no issues. We spent a lot of money to upgrade our engines and we put 100% of our profits back into our operation. We did have 13 trips affected last year with engines issues but 7 of those we gave to other charters and the 6 we ran we did as well or better than all charters out of Milwaukee on those trips. We know that 90% of our trips come from repeat business and we appreciate this but I felt it necessary to correct some of the guys reviews from our dock. Our goal is safety, a fun trip and catching fish. I have heard to many say people really don't care how many fish they catch but I know for certain they don't mind catching more. Those who fish with us know we never give up. We never got into chartering for the money and I really believe that is what makes us successful. Thanks again for all who fished with us this season and we will keep putting fish in the boat for you. 

I have attached pictures from some of our latest catches, including the Whitefish we caught on a spin and glow. The double rainbow was priceless. 

 

 

Milwaukee charter fishing has changed some in the past several days. As of Saturday morning we were fishing in 170 to 230 feet of water straight out of town. We had been there for several days catching Coho on the surface but this started to fall apart some by mid Saturday, so we decided to start trout fishing mid day and have been there since. We are now working 100 feet of water, with spin and glows on the bottom and orange dodgers on the surface. This mixed spread has been taking some Coho salmon and quite a few Lake trout. We don't think the Coho bite is finished yet but it is slowed down for now. We have taken some really nice fish of late, including a 14 pound Coho, 18 pound Brown trout and 26 pound Lake trout. 

The spread right now has inside dipsies, side riggers and board rods all running orange dodgers and green peanut flies. The outside dipsies and back riggers are running spin and glows and smoked dodgers. All are taking some fish the back riggers near the bottom in 90 to 100 feet of water are best. We are pulling up some big Lake trout in the 15 to 20 plus pound class. 

Over the next two weeks we will be catching a little of everything but there will still be some good Coho fishing and we should start seeing more Chinook salmon in the mix. The Lake trout fishing should remain decent to very good throughout summer. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to get in on early summer action and big fish. There is a picture of the 14 pound Coho below. 

Milwaukee charter fishing has been very good this June so far. We had only a couple of tough days and the back end of yesterday was one of them. We had to cancel today due to weather. We have been in double digits or limits for all but one trip this June and 90 percent of the catch has been Coho salmon. They are starting to hit 4 to 5 pounds more consistent and we still have plenty more to catch. In addition to the Coho we are taking 1 to 3 Chinook a trip and some or these Kings are pushing 20 pounds. We boated on yesterday that was 25 pounds. Around Lake Michigan 20 pound Chinooks have been common and there have been some 30 pound Kings pulled. It is going to be a great season for big Chinook. We started the week working 40 to 60 feet of water but ended the week out in 95 to 115 feet just north of the Milwaukee harbor. When we started the week the concern was the surface temps were warming up to fast and would kill the Coho bite at the surface. The exact opposite is the issue now with 47 degree surface temperatures out in 100 feet. Northeast winds have been the story for the last week and every day East winds have influenced the weather. We expect to find a new depth of water locations early next week and continue catching Coho. 

Our spread has changed little over the last 3 weeks. Orange dodgers on everything with green peanut flies. We have increased our use of white flashers, with Howie little boy blue or bull frog flies. We have 3 riggers using this at 75, 55 and 30 feet. We are trying to capitalize on the Chinook bite. Everything else in the top 10 feet of water. We find the key is to troll faster to get bites. Simple fishing for now but it will start to change in a couple of weeks. 

So each season I stress that mid May through the 3rd week of June is the best catch rate of the season of salmon and it is not over. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to get in on the last of the real good Coho salmon fishing of the season. Kings are next but right now we are talking double digit or limit catches. Love those Coho salmon. Below are pictures from last week, including the 25 pound Chinook. 

 

 

Milwaukee charter fishing is as good as it gets right now. We started out June with limit catches and some were very fast. June started with a big northeast blow and this set up the Coho fishing. It was good before it is great now. Last week we were fishing in 150 to 200 feet of water in the top 20 feet. By Saturday we were in 100 feet and by Sunday we started in 70 feet and finished the day in 35 feet of water. The water temps got cold and were as cold as 42 degrees out deep. This pushed fish in close. There is lots of bait and lots of fish setting up a good run of fishing. The catch is almost all Coho salmon but we are pulling some Chinooks on every trip. With all the bait around the fish are putting on weight fast. We are starting to see 5 pound Coho's regularly. I mean this is real good fishing.

Our set up is simple. Orange dodger and green peanut flies on everything. All baits are set in the top 10 feet of water, with the exception of the two back riggers. These are down deeper depending were we fish. White flashers and little boy blue Howie flies are taking the Kings. This is the best time of the season to catches limits of salmon. I cannot stress this enough. It is still fishing and we did have a 4 fish day early last week but for the most part we are catching a lot of fish. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to get in on the action now! Our price is $530, including sales tax for a recommended five hour trip. We take up to 5 people max but the price is the same for less and it is just your group. Oh and our engines will not stall. Need to clarify these things sometimes. The pictures are from thi last weekend. 

We are through May and how time flies. I always say that the best time to catch salmon in numbers is mid May through the third week in June and it held true once again. We started taking limits around May 15th and rolled through the rest of the month ending with a limit or 20 last night. It was heavy on Coho salmon, with a few Rainbow trout, Chinook salmon and Lake trout. We started with some good fishing in the South Gap of the Milwaukee harbor. Quick limits for about a week but then it was 150 to 215 feet of water due east. We fished there for the last 8 days. The run time was 25 minutes but well worth it once we got there. It has been a long time since I have seen bait on the graph like I have this spring. The harbor continues to fill up with alewives to a crazy level. Out deep every fish is coughing up alewives. It shows in the size and health of the fish too. It is very common to here of 20 plus pound Chinook salmon and there are sum pushing 30 pounds already. This will be a year for big Kings!

The bite is in he top 10 feet of water no matter where we fish and the bait of choice is orange dodgers and green peanut flies. We are still running mono on the boards with 5/8 ounce keel weights. We are also running a 3 color leadcore on the inside boards. The dipsies are mon and braid, with two a side. The outside set at 30 feet and the inside at 15 feet. On the up riggers we are 8 and 12 feet down. The two back riggers are set 40 and 75 down with white flashers and bull frog Howie flies. We are taking Kings on these. Speed is key and I don't think you can troll too fast at this time. We are going slow if we are at 2.6 mph. We had to cancel trips today due to a strong northeast wind and this will mix things up but over the next 3 weeks we expect more of the same fishing. 

Milwaukee charter fishing is real good right now and this is the time to book. We did not make it to Racine this season although Coho fishing has been very good there too. We are excited about all the big Chinook salmon being caught in Michigan right now because some of this action is headed are way. Big Lake trout are also in the mix now too. Great time to fish so call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467. This is shaping up to be a real good June. The pictures are from the last two weeks. 

Wisconsin charter fishing has been hampered by some tough weather. Since we started on March 30th we have had to cancel more trips then I can remember this early in the season and most of the bad weather falls on the weekends. Lots of strong winds. Even when we go some of those trips have been tough due to weather. But throughout a season things go in cycles and we are due for a great run of good weather. The good news is when we have gone over the last 10 days the fishing has been good and we are catching Coho salmon. We are still Milwaukee charter fishing but if we do Racine at all it will be for Memorial Day weekend and that is it. We are going to make a final decision on Thursday. The Coho fishing has been getting better each day. The bait in and around the Milwaukee harbor has just gotten to be ridiculous now. We have not put much effort to fish anywhere else because of the amount of bait found in this area. The Coho salmon are not in massive schools but there are enough around to catch a bunch. The other early item from this season, other than weather, Coho and bait is the Chinook salmon. We saw how the crazy good fishing was in the early tournaments in St Joseph and Michigan City Michigan. Quick catches of Big Kings with weights averaging in he upper teens and some fish over 25 pounds. We took a 23 pound Chinook Saturday and there are now reports of Kings being caught in multiple ports on the Wisconsin side on a more consistent basis. These fish are big and health, making July and August look fun. We will still be heavy on Coho salmon for the next several weeks and should only get better throughout this period. 

We ran all orange dodgers and small peanut flies on every rod this weekend before cancelling on Sunday due to weather. Every bite came in the top 10 feet of water and they were all Coho salmon. We eventually put a UV Blue Dolphin stinger on a deep rigger and it took two Chinook salmon set at 25 feet down. All the action was in 30 to 40 feet of water. We have been trolling fast on these fish at about 2.6 to 2.8 mph. Each trip over the last week has been double digits, with several limits. We expect it to get better. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to get in on the best catch rate for salmon of the season. We are just getting into the best time of this part of the season now! Pictures are from the weekend and the one Chinook with the scale attached to it was 23 pounds!

Milwaukee charter fishing is heating up. about 10 days ago a massive amount of alewives showed up in the harbor and now the Coho salmon are starting to show up in numbers. This is the most bait I have seen in years and a lot of big mature alewives are around. The graph is sometimes balked out with bait. The Coho bite has steadily improved each day as more fish come in to take part on the bounty of bait. This is not yet the crazy good bite but it is very close to happening. We are starting to get limits and some very quick. The hot set up is a peanut fly on a orange double zero dodger. It is on everything. The Coho have ranged from 2 to 4 pounds but will only be growing with all the bait around. This is shaping up to be a good bite. We have not 100% ruled out Racine charter fishing yet but right now it looks good in Milwaukee. 

The orange is on dipsies set just under the surface. On riggers set 5 to 10 feet down. On boards from the surface down 8 feet and these are all mono. We are fishing in 30 to 50 feet of water. The hot bait is pictured below with several nice recent catches. We expect to catch a lot of Coho salmon coming up in the next 6 weeks. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to catch salmon now. This is the best fishing for numbers the entire season!

Milwaukee charter fishing in May has been up and down so far. The fishing has not set up yet or should I say the Coho salmon are not here in numbers. The bait just showed up in the harbor this Sunday and we are starting to take a few Coho but the next several days will tell how good the bite will be. If we don't see improvement we are moving to do some Racine charter fishing. The Coho salmon have started down south but it has only been over the last several days it has been good. One way or the other we will start taking good amounts or Coho salmon. The bite of late has had a little of everything but still May has been more Brown trout than anything. We have taken 20 Coho so far this month but we are seeing the big schools yet. We have boated several nice 15 to 18 pound Chinook salmon, along with a few Rainbow trout. Most of our fishing has been around the harbor but we have gone down to the Oak Creek power plant and as far north as Atwater beach. We have yet to fish beyond 50 feet of water but all this is about to change. 

We are still mostly spoons, with Mass Confusion Stinger standing out the best. Some Coho were caught on orange dodgers with a generation X peanut fly or a green peanut fly. Soon this will be the set up on all the rods. Other than that we did not have a red hot set up this last week. The water temperature in the harbor is up to 55 degrees on the surface and just outside and along the shore it is between 45 to 48 degrees. The Milwaukee harbor is so loaded with big alewives we snagged 18 in less than 45 minutes this morning anywhere we went, so we had to get out of the harbor. The fish will be right behind this bait.

Call Silver King Charters now because it is about to go off. The best catch rates of the season start now and go right through mid to late June. We cannot emphasis this enough: The best catch rate for salmon on Lake Michigan is mid May through the 3rd week of June. Call us at 414-460-1467 to get in on the action. 

 

Silver King Charters first month of Milwaukee charter fishing this season has come to an end and it went by fast. We fished a lot of Aprils and tough weather is a part of the month but this April will be remembered for strong winds, very cold temperatures and snow. Hopefully at least the snow is done for.  As I right this report it is 70 degrees outside but Saturday and Sunday morning it was only 30 degrees when we started to fish. We had some up and down trips, including on 1 fish effort but at the end we did have several limit catches and managed 10 fish a trip. We will take that considering the weather. we landed 2 Rainbow trout, 2 Chinook salmon, 1 Coho salmon, no Lake trout and the rest were all Brown trout. May will start with a blend of species but Brown trout, Lake trout and Coho salmon. But somewhere in May it will be 90% Coho salmon. This weekend Coho salmon started to show up in catches and we are starting to gear up for what we hope is going to be a lot of salmon caught over the next 7 weeks. 

We fished Saturday and Sunday in the harbor and caught a lot of Brown trout. We did boat are second Chinook of the year on Sunday near the south gap. Most of the action came on one and two color leadcores with singer size Mass Confusion copper spoons. The Chinook came on a gold Singer Hud off a mono dipsy. The water temperatures at the surface in the harbor where between 40 and 52 degrees. Right outside the harbor we saw 42 degree surface temps. Bait fish are starting to show up in the harbors now and water temps going up we are going to be in for some good fishing. Saturday was too rough to fish out on the Lake so the harbor was our only option but the fishing was good. On Sunday we went back to the harbor and it was tougher. Could have been due to the full moon and wind switch. Most of the action was around the river mouth or south of it and dirty water did make the bite a little more challenging. 

May is the start of our highest catch rates of the season. I cannot emphasis this enough: from mid May through the late June is the highest catch rate of salmon on Lake Michigan. Coho salmon are the number one stocked salmon in Lake Michigan and this is the best time to catch them. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to book a trip during this time to get in on your best opportunity to catch good numbers of salmon. The pictures are from this last weekend. The one picture shows how aggressive Chinooks can be, with a Gold Hud Stinger spoon buried in his mouth. 

 

We got back to fishing last weekend after the horrific blow and snow of last weekend. There was no way we could have fished two weekends ago with gust of 50 mph out of the northeast, snow of over 6 inches and temperatures below freezing. The snow is all gone after the worst storm of the entire winter and Lake Michigan fishing is starting to take off again. We fished Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The water was no warmer than 40 degrees on the surface and we didn't see that until Sunday. Both Saturday and Sunday we experienced a very thin layer of ice that covered most of the area of Milwaukee we tried to fish. The harbor was ice free but too murky. The water and air temps were above freezing but there was a very thin ice layer everywhere. I heard that because there was no wind or clouds at night that this ice forms because of evaporation or radiant freezing that is common on ski hills at this time of the year. Freaked me out but I think we are done with ice on southern Lake Michigan now. 

The bite got better each day we fished and the best spot was south of Milwaukee in 10 to 30 feet of water. We mostly caught Brown trout but we did land our first Chinook salmon of 2018. It was 17 pounds and gave an excellent fight. It hit a UV Blue Dolphin Stinger spoon on a rigger. The best spoon was a green natural born killer Singer on the mono dipsies set at 20 feet on the line counter. Boards took a few with one and two color leadcores and stinger confusion spoons. The bite was tough but we were able to get some good size fish on all trips. 

The rest of this week looks more favorable, with water clearing and warming up. We expect the Milwaukee harbor area to pick up this weekend and the Lake trout bite to become a little stronger. I have attached pictures of the Chinook, along with some nice Brow trout and the ice sheet. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to get in on the last of April Brown trout action and the beginning of the May Coho salmon bite. Lets hope we have seen the last of the snow. 

Milwaukee charter fishing and in general Wisconsin charter fishing on Lake Michigan has gotten off to a slow start. Last year at this time fishing was on fire but due to vey tough weather conditions it has not been to consistent this season. We had our second weekend in the last 3 get blown away by gale force winds. The first time was out of the south but this time it is out of the northeast, with some gusts reaching 50 mph. Things were just stating to really take off as the bite was getting good but it will be several days before this will start up again. We were out mid week and took a fast limit of Brown trout around the Main gap of the Milwaukee harbor. We also caught our first Coho salmon too. The bite was near the bottom and our back riggers did most of the work down 28 feet in 30 feet of water. The water temperature was up a couple of degrees on the surface to 40 degrees. The gold hud stingray from Stinger was the best by far. We did not get any hits on the surface. We had heard the bite was good along the shore and Oak Creek power plant too. The bite was really starting to go but this last gasp of a winter has slowed things down. The one picture attached is a wave going over my car by the break wall today in the parking lot by my slip. Yeah, no fishing this weekend.

The good news is the best of April is still to come. Some great action is going to happen baring any hurricane winds. The water is just starting to warm a little and a little is all we need. Timing is everything on Lake Michigan. We look to finish strong this month and though we have averaged 10 fish a trip and a couple limits so far it should get better these next couple weeks. We look to add Lake trout and Coho salmon to the catch but Brown trout will still be number one. Call us at 414-460-1467 to book a trip with Silver King Charters this April and fish the best time of the year for Brown trout. 

We have officially started the Milwaukee charter fishing 2018 season and for the third straight season we took a limit. The weekend saw a double digit average on Brown trout. We did pick up one Rainbow. We fished mostly the Milwaukee harbor but did take a few passes through the Main and North gaps. Saw marks but the water was too murky to get bites there. The surface temperatures were from 37 to 39 degrees everywhere we fished. Even by the river mouth. Very could water still. I think the warmest air temperature was 35 degrees on Saturday. Our best action came near the bottom and we fished in 17 to 35 feet of water. Not too many marks but there are fish around and we had over 45 hook ups. 

Our top producer was the gold Hud Stingray from Stinger. The Hud  was the stud. It worked best on the two deep riggers and the two 3 color leadcores. The action was not fast but we kept poking away. The water and air temperature is about to start warming up and this will produce a better bite for sure. We are expecting 50 and 60 degree weather with some rain and this will do the trick. 

This is the best time of the year to catch Brown trout and we have already caught some big ones. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to get in on April Lake Michigan charter fishing. I have attached some pictures from this weekend and I hope the last snow I fish in.

We just put the boat in the water yesterday and were going to fish today. Had the crew down but just couldn't pull the trigger. Gale force south winds and we decided wisely to reschedule. The Brown trout bite is good though right now but mother nature is still liking winter at times. Boat is running great and thanks to a great mechanic Mike we have our second new engine in and she runs sweet. We are going to start catching fish here real soon so I need to finish breaking down last year. I will tackle August in this report. When Chinook salmon our scarce we turn to Lake trout and that was what happened in August. We had a big northeast blow at the end of July and our King fishing never quite recovered after that. Our breakdown was 64% Lake trout, 24% Chinook salmon, 8% Brown trout, 4 % Rainbow trout and only 3 Coho salmon. We have had years where Lake trout were top dog for the season but only August did we really rely on them. 

The good news was there where a lot of 20 pound fish around in both Chinook and Lake trout. We came close to 30 pounds in both species. We almost exclusively fished 100 to 115 feet of water straight out off Milwaukee. The hot set up was downriggers right on the bottom with spin and glows, with smoked dodgers. Took all the Lake trout. It was a bunch of everything for the rest of the species. We did hit the harbor at the last week of August as cold water returned for several days but it did not last. When we had the chance though we used plugs on the riggers and white flasher and bull frog flies on the wire dipsies. Brown trout and Chinook salmon came in the Harbor. We average 10 fish a trip in August but some of those coolers of Lake trout were incredible. Thirteen pound averages were common. In 2016 we had a great Rainbow trout bite out deep and boated 400 in 17 days but this did not materialize in 2017. 

I have some pictures of August last year and a picture of our boat motoring in the harbor yesterday. We cannot wait to get into the April Brown trout action. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to get in on April Milwaukee charter fishing for Brown trout. Wish we could have gone today Ross but we made the right decision. 

Book your April Brown trout trip today. Call 414-460-1467

We are just 10 days away from the start of the 2018 season. We are looking forward to another good April fishing for Brown trout. I am going to breakdown our July from last season in this report. July is the best month to catch Chinook salmon. The way Lake Michigan is stocked now there are fewer Chinook roaming the lake. Typically Lake Michigan sets up with a thermocline by July and there is a temperature break from warm to cold water. It makes it easier to then target fish, especially Chinook. By mid August the salmon start to head back to the ports they were stocked in and this greatly reduces the amount of Chinook in our area. The good thing about charter fishing Milwaukee is that there is a lot of bait and structure to attracted Chinook while they are still roaming Lake Michigan in search of food. 

Last July broke down like this: 37% Chinook salmon, 30% Coho salmon, 18% Rainbow trout, 15% Lake trout and just 2 Brown trout. May and June are the best times to catch salmon in numbers but July is King month and combined with Coho salmon the catch was 67% salmon. This is not always the case in July but it always is the strongest month for Kings. We hit double digit catches on 70% of the July trips but limit catches start to drop back in July. The size on the other hand goes up. We boated 33 fish over 20 pounds and had one Chinook miss 30 pounds by 2 ounces. That Chinook took 4th place overall in Salmon-A-Rama and we boated 9 Chinook over 20 pounds that week. This can be a strong month on Rainbow and Lake trout but last season the Coho bite stayed strong until mid July and was a good Chinook bite. Salmon comes first on the Silver King. 

Our number one set up during this time was the Howie little boy blue fly and a white flasher. This was on our wire dipsies and riggers much of the month. We liked Modified Blue Dolphin Stinger spoons on the cooper boards. Most of our fishing was done in 80 to 100 feet of water, with the best bite from 30 feet down to near the bottom. The stocking has hurt total catches some but has brought back the size in Chinook and there is nothing better than catching a four year old Chinook in the middle of July on Lake Michigan. Wire dipsies were the top producer on big Kings. 

July is the month for King salmon, so call Silver King charters at 414-460-1467.

The 2017 total stocking numbers for Lake Michigan were released. This is the total stocking numbers for all four states boarding Lake Michigan. The total salmon and trout stocked was 9.82 million. This is the lowest it has been going back to 1995 on the chart below and probably since the beginning of the 1070's. I have circled this in red, along with the total number of Brown trout stocked. The Brown trout have dropped due to Wisconsin stopping the stocking of the Wild Rose strain of Brown trout. Hopefully this will be brought back. I have circled the Chinook salmon total in yellow. This was reduced again but it could have been far worse. The original plan was to stock less than 800,000 lake wide but thanks to the WLBA Wisconsin didn't reduce its stocking of Chinook. It sounds like Michigan will increase their stocking of Chinook for 2018. The Coho salmon are circled in green. Number is steady as it has been for the most part since Coho were first stocked in Lake Michigan. For Lake trout circled in purple the numbers are down but most of the ones cut were fingerlings that have less chance of survival. The Rainbow trout are not circled and have remained the same. 

So what does this mean to you for your Lake Michigan charter fishing trip with Silver King Charters. Well not much for 2018. Most of these fish will not be caught for another year, so the 2016 and 2015 numbers matter more. The 2017 Coho will be a target though this spring and the number is good. We always say to come in May and June to have your best chance to catch salmon. Coho have not been reduced and this is the time to catch them. The Chinook salmon are healthy and up in size from what we saw in last years catches and we expect the same in 2018. How many we catch and how frequent depends on how the lake sets up but July through mid August is your best chance. In 2016 there were a lot of Brown trout stocked in Milwaukee. We expect April to be good for Brown trout fishing this year. Lake trout will be solid, since they are the top stocked fish in Lake Michigan. We can now catch 5 Lake trout per person per trip:) Again thanks to the WLBA. Rainbow fishing will depend on how the offshore fishing sets up but should be good from late June through August. 

All and all the numbers are a little lower but we expect to be catching a lot of fish over the course of 2018. Call us at 414-460-1467 to get in on early Brown trout action in April. We boated many last April, including a 33.5 lb Brown trout. Milwaukee charter fishing starts March 31st for Silver King Charters!

I was going to do a breakdown of our July in 2017 but I have some good news to report. Last season was the first time since I have fished Lake Michigan that we could keep 5 Lake trout. Over the years the limit had been 3, 2 or even 1 Lake trout a trip. Last year an emergency ruling was put in place that allowed us to keep 5 Lake trout a day and the season was open year around. Great news because it is the number one stocked fish in Lake Michigan and it is also by far the most populated in the lake. The reason for the increase was primarily forage or bait fish. Since 2007 Chinook stocking have been reduce to help save the fragile bait population. At the same time the Federal government increased the Lake trout stocking. Made no sense but the idea was to stock more to help natural reproduction to take hold for the Lake trout. In the end it created a bigger burden on the bait fish. I can tell you personally I have never cleaned a Lake trout that was not stuffed full of alewives and to a sick level. I have counted 40 plus alewives in bigger Lake trout and I have seen some with over 100 bait fish in them. A Lake trout does not stop and the huge population feed hard. The one exception I have found is during the fall when Lake trout spawn. Only then do they slow down on their massive drive to feed. 

So the emergency ruling came to an end in 2017 and the DNR was going to go back to the 2 fish limit. But thanks to the Wisconsin Lakeshore Business Association the emergency ruling will become law. Meaning we can keep 5 Lake trout and fish year around for them. It has not been signed yet but we should be good to go by the beginning of the season. I am a member of the WLBA and it is comprised of all the people who rely and fish Lake Michigan in Wisconsin and even other states. If you care about maintaining a world class fishery for Lake Michigan this is the organization to join. I was skeptical at first but the proof is in the results. If the WLBA was not around Chinook stocking levels in Lake Michigan would be below 600,000 and probably be discontinued. But last year the WLBA fought to stop the continued reduction for Wisconsin and was able to keep our stocking totals at 800,000 for Chinook, while other states cut. The WLBA has also begun the fight to increase hatchery space and bring in private hatcheries to assure fish our raised to stock. This has been a tough fight for those in the front line but all of us who join can help then out big time. 

I have been an active member of one of the Lake Michigan fishing clubs. My hope was when I became a board member that I could get all the clubs in Wisconsin and eventually all four states to join as one. This way we could have a unified voice to keeping our fishery strong. Didn't work out the way I thought. Way too much division for people who love to catch salmon and trout. But a ninth our miracle happened when a bunch of concerned people involved in the fishery said enough was enough and formed the WLBA. They went to the decision makers at the state level and began to take action to save the fishery from some poor choices. There is no doubt that the fishery must be managed properly but should be managed to provide a diverse fishery. Now most of the clubs that could not unify with one another are joining the WLBA and hopefully by year end all will join.

Several years back the Wisconsin fishery manager was at a meeting talking about stocking options for Lake Michigan. The one thing I remember him saying was he strongly believed we could have it all. The stocking of Brown trout, Rainbow trout, Lake trout, Coho salmon and Chinook salmon. But done right. The over stocking of Lake trout at the expense to the other diverse species was a poor decision and allowing us to catch 5 a day at least brings a little balance to it. There are a lot of moving pieces to the fishery and they are constantly changing but to have the great fishery of Lake Michigan disappear should be unexceptable to all. The more that join the WLBA the more good ideas to keep this great fishery of ours going for years to come. Below is some pictures of 20 plus pound Lake trout we caught. My favorite picture here is the 10 fish limit of Lake trout a couple caught on a day that Lake trout was all that was biting last year. Having the 5 fish limit gives you more opportunities to catch more fish. We put in March 30th so call us at 414-460-1467 to catch the first fish of our season on March 31st, 2018.

We are more than half way through February and very close to fishing. We will have a second new engine installed, along with 2 more digitroll Cannon downriggers and a whole bunch of new goodies. When we start it will be about the Brown trout in April but today I will recap June of last season. We did go down to Racine as we usually do in May and then we return sometime in mid to late June. There was a season we stayed until the first week of July. The reason is Coho salmon. They typically migrate from the southern end of Lake Michigan and that is why we go to Racine. This puts us closer to fish and if we need to we will go all the way to the state line to catch fish. But the last two seasons it has been as good in Milwaukee and Port Washington as it has been south, if not even better. Why? Well there are lots of factors that determine fish movement. Water temperature, current, bait and how fish our stocked. More Coho salmon are now being stocked north of Milwaukee and this may explain some or the reason why Coho salmon fishing has been stronger north of Wind Point. The winters have been very mild the last two years and there has been a lot of bait found off the shores of Milwaukee and Port Washington the last two years. Three seasons ago during one of the DNR's trawls to find out the status of bait in Lake Michigan they had their biggest haul of alewives off Port Washington. It was huge. The DNR said it was an anomaly and it may have been for the over lake but that many alewives in one area is going to attract fish.

In 2106 we stayed in Racine the whole 7 weeks and did good but we could have done better up north. In 2017 we spent just 9 days before coming back to Milwaukee and we were there for all of June and the rest of the season. Milwaukee charter fishing was on fire from mid May through late June. Fishing is typically strong during this time due to the Coho salmon bite. June ended up being our best month for total fish. The breakdown was 77% Coho salmon, 13% Lake trout, 5% Chinook salmon, 5% Rainbow trout and only 1 Brown trout. Come in April for the Brown's:) As you can see by this breakdown how important the Coho salmon are this time of year and how important it is to be where they are. That is why we will move this time of year to Racine if we need to. Too much of the bite relies on the Coho. A must stock fish for the DNR and currently the second only to Lake trout in stocking numbers. More than half our trips ended in a limit catch. Great eating fish and fun to catch. If you are looking to catch big numbers of fish numbers Mid May through late June is the time to fish. I cannot stress this enough. The size come in July and August. 

So to put in more concise it was outstanding Milwaukee charter fishing in June. Our top bait was the half cut fly, which is a size up from the peanut fly. Our favorite color was green and we used it with an orange dodger. At this time of the season we had 6 boards with this set up and they were from the surface down 20 feet. As the water warmed we went way from keel weights and started using leadcore and copper on the boards. Anywhere from 2 to 8 color leadcores and 30 to 150 feet on the coppers. The lead used double zero dodgers and the copper used B&B dodgers. All orange in color. The dipsies where still orange on both sides set at 25 to 60 feet on the line counter. Both side riggers where orange but one now had the larger orange dodger on it down 20 feet. The two back riggers were now tipped with white flashers and the Howie Bull frog fly. We did use some spoons on inside boards and times and some wire dipsy set ups, using Spin Doctors and bull frog flies. But for the most part it was orange and green. The Coho candy!

We fished all over with this set up. In front of the harbor gaps, between 80 to 120 feet of water and in 10 to 20 feet of water along the shore. The Coho schools constantly moved throughout the month and a hot spot didn't last long but before long it was hot again. When you take a couple of passes through an area without a Coho bite they probably are not there and it is time to move and we did a lot of that throughout the month. But when you got on a school it was great action. There was certainly off days but it was not until the last week of June that we failed to hit double digits in our catch. 

The 2018 season is just about to start and April looks to be setting up for some great Brown trout action. But Mid May through most of June is the best time to catch a Coho salmon on Lake Michigan. Give us a call at 414-460-1467 to hook up on some early season action charter fishing Lake Michigan. Below is some picture for hot baits and fish caught last June.

This winter has not been to bad for Southeastern Wisconsin. Drought situation with several warm ups have kept the snow totals low. The great news is that Lake Michigan is only 11% covered with ice currently and 20% was its worst in early January. There are several good factors about this. One is there is a very good chance we can start fishing on April 1st. Some years there is too much ice for us to get in the marina. But more importantly a less harsh winter bodes well for the newly hatched or stocked fish in the lake. Much better survival. A wet spring is also important. This winter is by no means over but by mid February the worst of the ice building will be past us and things are looking good for not too much greater ice build up. We are well into our build up for 2018. The only thing really left is to install the new engine. Probably will be in March sometime but we are very excited to have two brand new engines going into the season. Every year I put all our profits back into the business to make sure each year runs as smoothly as possible. For my brother and I it is more of a passion to fish then a job.

          Last update I recapped April. Today I will go through May. In May we had our highest catch rate for the year at 18.1 fish a trip. May and June are typically going the be the best catch rate due to the way Lake Michigan has been stocked in recent years. Coho salmon is the number one stocked salmon in Lake Michigan for the last decade and this is the time to catch them. Only Lake trout have a greater stocking number each year. We limited out more than 50% of our trips during this month. The breakdown was 82% Coho salmon, 8% Chinook salmon, 4% Rainbow trout, 3% Lake trout and 3% Brown trout. The Coho salmon are a great fish to target in May and when you get on a school it can be fast action. Over the years we have been down in Racine to get the best bite on Coho but the last two seasons Milwaukee and Port Washington were the hot ports. Tough to say which ports will be hot this season but we will be where ever they set up. The last two season had mild winters and more Coho are being stocked north, so this may contribute to better fishing further north than Racine down to Chicago.

         The first 10 days of May where tough. Wind was bad and things didn't set up. We had only 3 trips we didn't make it to double digits in May and two came in this first week. But like always by mid May the Coho where all over the place. We started in Racine and the action was ok. We only spent a week here though. We were running out to 200 plus feet of water and out of Racine that is a distance. My last trip I got smoked on a two boat trip and had enough. Went back to Milwaukee and went 13 straight trips with limits and everyone finished early. Great action. I cannot stress this enough: If you want to catch a lot of great eating fish the best time to go is mid May to Mid June. It is still fishing and there are tough days but the catch rate is this period is on average the best. The stocking numbers on Coho salmon has been an average of 2.5 million a year for over 25 years. These fish are raised in hatcheries for more than a year and stocked in the spring. The following spring is when we start to catch them and they spawn that fall. Coho average 2 to 3 pounds in the early spring and by mid summer range 4 to 10 pounds depending on the bait. They are fun to catch and the best eating fish out of Lake Michigan. Some years we get summer Coho at 15 pounds plus and boated several last year over 10 pounds. Our big was 13 pounds and can be found in one of the pictures below.

          Early in the season we ran a lot of spoons. Stinger UV Blue Dolphin and Modified Blue Dolphin were best. We also had success on the Gold Hud orange and chartrusse. Once we were into the Coho it was orange dodgers and peanut flies. We ran a side of boards with  orange B&B dodgers with 26" 30lb fluorocarbon leader and green peanut flies. The other side of boards was orange double 00 dodgers at a 17" lead and peanut flies, using 30 pound test fluorocarbon leaders. We had leads from the boards on the B&B's from 12 to 50 feet. We used 5/8 ounce bead chain keel weights about 6 feet back from the dodger and ran these 12 to 60 feet back from the boards. We had one mono and one braid dipsy on each side of the boat. Orange dodger and green peanut fly on all four set ups. We had the mono at a 30 degree set and the braid at a 15 degree set. The outside was 30 to 40 feet on the line counter and the inside was 10 to 15 feet out on the line counter. The two outside riggers where set with an orange dodgers and green peanut flies set 5 and 8 feet down and 5 and 10 feet back. The two inside riggers usual had spoons and one was a gold hud and one a UV Blue Dolphin. Didn't change a thing for the last 3 weeks of May. Rolled around the gaps to 100 feet to 10 feet along the shore and just kept catching Coho salmon. Wiped them out!

        Love this time of year because it is simple. Don't have to over think it. Just have to find them. I have some pictures of the baits and fish. I also put on picture from NOAA on the current ice cover for the Great Lakes. Call us to book a mid to late May trip and as long as mother nature isn't too nasty you will not be disappointed. Call us at 414-460-1467 to book a trip for the highest catch rate of salmon for the season.
 

This season of Milwaukee charter fishing saw a lot of big fish come to the boat but none bigger than a 33.90lb Brown trout. It was caught on the second weekend in April by a 12 year old boy. An epic fish that my first mate was not going to let go under the knife. When our customers decided to not have it mounted our first mate Colin did and down to the Lake Michigan Angler it went. While I was watching the Wisconsin Badger finish off a perfect season Colin texted me a picture of the mount and as always they did a great job. This fish came on a Michigan Stinger Glow Wonderbread, which can be seen in the picture of the me holding the fish. We boated this fish in the Milwaukee harbor right in the channel between the Main gap and the river mouth. The fish took about 15 minutes before we netted it and the fight can be seen in video on our facebook page. I would for sure say it was a top ten fish caught this season on Lake Michigan and probably top five. I know there was a big King caught in Michigan that went over 40lbs. Considering the big fish in Salmon-A-Rama was a half pound smaller this was a big fish!  

           Our big fish on the other four species where 13.52lb Coho salmon coming in May, 29.56lb Chinook salmon during salmon-a-rama, 25.32lb Lake trout coming in mid August and a 13.82lb Rainbow trout coming in late July. We hope to see some more big fish in 2018. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to book your trip for 2108.

Silver King Charters is officially done for the season. We pulled the boat today and she is going into heated storage. We plan on installing a brand new 350 Crusade fuel injected engine and a new transmission, along with a dripless seal on the starboard side. We did the port engine at the beginning of 2016. We are also installing 2 brand new Cannon downriggers to compliment the two we put on in 2016. Last season we put on all new covering and seats. Silver King Charters does apologize for 13 missed trips this season due to engine issues but that will not be the case in 2018.

             I will be breaking down the season by month over the next several weeks but as a whole it was a solid season. There were a several weeks that were tough but as a whole it was solid fishing. This season like last the number one fish caught was the Coho salmon. This is the number one stocked salmon in Lake Michigan and the second highest fish stocked overall. The Lake trout is number one and it has been for 13 years now. Lake trout, Brown trout and Chinook all came in very close to second plus or minus 20 to 30 fish. The low was Rainbow trout. We were done by 300 Steelhead this year from last but the offshore but did not set up as well and there was better fishing closer to shore. We had 55 fish over 50 pounds and this has not happened since 2013. Great size and great fights. Are big was caught in April on our 4 trip of the year. It was a 33.5 pound Brown trout, caught by a 12 year boy. I would have to say this was one of the top ten fish for weight caught in Lake Michigan this season. 

           We will be busy getting the boat ready for April 1st 2018 and I will give a breakdown of the season with pictures and hot lures for each month coming up. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to book a trip in 2018. We will be ready to catch fish Lake Michigan charter fishing.

October was the tale for two halves. The first two weeks were much like the last week of September. We had a lot of high winds, which cancelled trips and poor water conditions. The water temperature was the same from top to bottom out to 100 feet an caused a sluggish bite and tough to find fish. We averaged less than five fish a trip in the first two weeks of October and it was the worst period of the year along with the end of September. Every season has its dog times. We have had some early Octobers Milwaukee charter fishing that were great but not this year. The last two weeks the weather cooperated and water temps set up. We fished exclusively the shore line in 20 to 30 feet of water and averaged 6 to 12 fish a trip. We where catching Lake trout and Brown trout, with some good size. Are big Laker was 20 pounds and the big Brown was 18 pounds. Another positive was the small Browns were 2 to 3 pounds. Usually we see these fish at a pound and a half. This made for some solid catches.

       The spread we used was all spoons and mostly Singer stinger and stingray size.  The hot spoons where gold hud, UV blue dolphin and the standard blue dolphin. There where others that caught fish like the orange uv dolphin was good for Brown trout. We ran 3 boards a side and these were 1, 2 and 3 color leadcore. For the dipsies we used mono line and the line counter was between 20 and 30 feet dialed in at 3. We used 3 riggers set at 12, 15 and one right on the bottom. This was the set for all trips in the last two weeks in October and was very effective in the shallow water. The fishing was best when the surface water was above 50 degrees but by the last week it had dropped to 46 degrees. Didn't see much bait in tight like last year but the fish were healthy. The last fish of the year came on October 31st and was a 20 pound Lake trout shown in the picture below. We pulled 55 fish of 20 pounds or great this year. We haven't had this kind of success on size since 2013. 

        Call us at 414-460-1467 to book for 2018. We are putting a new engine in the starboard side, 2 new Cannon downriggers and some other goodies. I have a picture of one of the Cannon downriggers we installed late in 2015. I cannot say enough good stuff about these downriggers. I have not had any issues and they are built solid. We are able to read bottom and jig with these riggers when fishing Lake trout. The rod holders are second to none. We cannot wait to install two more this offseason. We will be ready to catch fish on April 1st. The last two April 1st trips we have limited out! Thanks to all who fished with us in 2017 and making it another great season fishing salmon and trout on Lake Michigan. 

 We are deep into September, with big winds and warm water making things challenging. We have been fishing on again off again in the Harbor. When we out in the lake it has been 100 to 120 feet of water and right on the bottom. The catch is a mix off mature King salmon and Coho salmon, along with Lake trout and Brown trout. The water in recent days has cooled some where we are now seeing low 50 degree water as shallow as 40 feet of water right at the bottom. This will make in and around the harbor better because there are a lot of fish stacked in there now.

          Silver King Charters has boated over 50 fish of 20lbs or more this season and the last 10 have come this month. The Chinooks are good size this year. We have had season over the last several years where we only boated one Chinook over 20lbs. We should have a few more cracks at some big ones this month before they start spawning.  The Coho salmon have not staged yet but they are close. There are some 15 to 18 pound Coho being caught. It was a solid year on size for salmon. Should be another good spring on Coho next year too.

         In the harbor it is our two deep riggers with a UV stingray Blue Dolphin Singer spoon and a UV blue flounder pounder magnum size Moonshine getting it done. The plugs have started to work in the last several days on riggers and our favorite is the size 4 Mother of Pearl Luhr Jensen J-Plug. We run one wire dipsy with a white flasher and little boy blue Howie fly and one mono dipsy with a spoon like those on the riggers. The boards have not been productive in the harbor.

        In the lake it has been heavy on spin and glows right on the bottom producing Lake trout. We take a few Chinook and Coho off the up high riggers, with white flashers and either bull frog flies or little boy blue made by Howie. Boards are all copper between 200 to 400 feet. All spoons and the same as in the harbor. The good thing is that the water has cooled and we have started to fish in 50 to 60 feet of water on the lake.

        It will be Harbor and lake fishing depending on the action and the seas through the rest of this month but there are some big fish to be had. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to get in on some fun Milwaukee charter fishing. We go until November 6th this year. 

           August has been up and down for Silver King Charters. Twice we were down with engine issues that cost us a week total but all is resolved now. Then high winds that seem to occur every weekend now has cancelled trips but we have been Milwaukee charter fishing in between all of that. The two things that are the highlight of August are big Chinooks and big Lake trout. We have boated 30 fish in August that were 20 pounds are bigger. Half and half trout to salmon. The Lake trout fishing in August has been real good and the small ones are around 10 pounds. The mature Chinooks may not be in great numbers but the ones that are around are big. A twenty pound King is very common and it take a 30 pound King to be special this year. There was on caught this season that was 41 pounds.

           Most of our action has been in 100 to 115 feet of water. We are fishing Lake trout on the bottom with smoked dodgers followed by spin and glows. The water is 70 degrees on the surface, with the break anywhere from 60 to 80 feet down through the last 4 weeks. We have been targeting Kings with white flashers and either Boy Blue or Bull Frog Howie flies. We have these on riggers down 55 to 100 feet. We are also running copper on our boards. Anywhere from 175 to 400 coppers. The spoons are cracked ice magnum Pro King, flounder pounder blue magnum Moonshine and the blue dolphin stingray Stinger. These worked in the lake and also in the harbor, where Kings are starting to stage. Right now water is too warm but for a couple of days it there were some high 50 degree water temps in the harbor that got the fish to bite. We need some west winds to set the harbor up for a reel good September.

           We expect to have some more good weeks of Lake trout fishing and the next 3 weeks we hope to have one of our clients land a 30 pound King. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to book a September trip and land a big fish before the season ends.  

           Well a lot has happened since my last report. Salmon-A-Rama was a huge success. Many fish were caught but the highlight was big Kings. We boated 9 over 20 pounds and one that was 29.5 pounds. This ended up being the fourth biggest fish of the contest. We had four people win money this year and we came in 2nd place with 225 pounds of fish in the Pro division. 

            The week after Salmon-A-Rama we were hit with strong northeast winds and this changed Milwaukee charter fishing up. The water warmed up to 69 degrees on the surface with 59 degrees down 60 to 70 feet. Big change and fish took time to adjust. We had the Brew City on Sunday because of the wind on Friday and Saturday. Silver King took 13th place and we were happy with that. Only two boats weighed in 10 fish and only 6 caught 9 fish and that is what we ended up with. Brutal day and the worst catch rate in Brew City history. Congratulations to Anger Management and Captain Tom Zapp for catching 89lbs in 9 fish. We were close but couldn't get our last silver fish quick enough to fish trout.

           Since then we have taken it out on the trout. There is some great Lake trout fishing off Milwaukee right now and we are averaging 13 pounds a trout right now. The warm water has pushed the trout out and down. We are fishing right on the bottom in 100 to 115 feet of water. We are using spin and glows, with smoked dodgers to do the damage on multiple set ups. We pulled 4 over 20 pounds this weekend and had a trip with 230 pounds for 17 trout. We are targeting other fish and taking Chinook, Coho, and Rainbows in the 50 to 70 feet of the water column. As this water sets up better more silver fish will be caught and we can use this warm water to our advantage.

          We will be fishing through October 31st this year and we are sure to have some great trips throughout this time. Give Silver King Charters a call at 414-460-1467 to get in on the last 2.5 months of the season. Big Kings and Big Lakers will be caught. 

           Milwaukee charter fishing remains solid. We are averaging 16 fish for the season although the start of July has been up and down we are at 12 fish for trip this month. Chinook are in the mix and we see about 2 t o3 a trip but it is definitely a mixed bag. The catch almost always includes Lake trout, Rainbow trout, Coho salmon and Chinook salmon. The water is cold and this has made the bite tough at times. In areas we see 43 degrees on the surface and other areas it is 65 degrees but go down 20 feet and it is in the forties. There is a lot of warm water built up due to a warm start in May but west winds have prevented much build up on the western shores off Milwaukee. It will not take much to get some warm water near shore and a good northeaster would do the trick to really make the fishing turn on. All that said the fishing is still good.  

           The spread is still targeting the top 40 feet of water. We are using 1 through 3 colors, with orange Coho rigs along with the inside dipsies set at 35 feet and the one side rigger down 15 feet. All has the orange on. The catch is still 50% Coho. We are running 5 through 8 color leadcores, with Stinger stingray sizes spoons. Gold hud and carmel dolphins are best. These have been taking all four species. The wire dipsies along with the other riggers are white flashers and double aqua flies. Wire set at 85 to 120 on the line counter and riggers from 20 to 50 down. We are fishing between 75 to 120 feet of water. All rods contribute but the orange is still the strongest.

           We are on the eve of Salmon-A-Rama and this is the 5th year we have purchased the charter ticket. We have been on the board for the last 4 years and will attempt to do it again this year. We are booked for the event and all we need is some luck and a no quit attitude when fighting fish. Brew City Salmon Tournament is on July 29th and I have already received a lot of entries, so sign up soon. Call Silver King Charters to book a trip for August, September or October at 414-460-1467. There is plenty of great action to still be had.  

           Tonight is the night of a very special full moon that I had planned to fish but instead I will be heartbroken. It has been a long time since my last report and a lot has changed. The Coho world started to slow down considerably on June 22nd. The water became real cold and shut the bite down. Up to then we were still catching limits. Too much west winds. We had been fishing north exclusively but eventually we moved south and found some warmer water that helped the bite. This is where we have been fishing now for the last week and we are back into double digit catches.

          The best depths are in 70 to 120, with fish found from 15 feet down right to the bottom. The catch is a mix of Coho, Rainbow, Lakers and Chinooks. We still have orange in the spread. One rigger down 15 feet, the inside dipsies set at 40 feet on the line counter and the outside boards with 2 to 4 colors. The water temps have been warming over the past several days with some northeast and southeast winds. The surface is now at 65 degrees which we hope stays around.

          Wire dipsies are now being run on a consistent bases. We have been using white flashers, with green or aqua flies set from 100 to 200 feet on the line counter. We are running a side of copper and a side of leadcore. The leads are between 5 to 8 color and the copper are between 100 to 250 feet. We are running spoons on the leadcores, with the Stinger stingray sizes carmel or blue dolphin. For the copper it is white flashers, with green or aqua flies. The two back riggers are flashers with aqua flies and on the up high rigger it is a carmel dolphin.

          The bulk of the catch is Coho and Rainbow but not by much. We average 2 Kings and 3 Lake trout too. We have pulled some nice sized Chinooks with one over 20 pounds and several pushing that. The catch of late has been between 5 to 25 fish depending on the time of day. We are hoping that a thermocline sets up to shrink the target zone and make fishing even better.

          Salmon-A-Rama is coming up and we have one spot open for Tuesday July 18th, starting at 10:00AM. We hope to have another great run this season and have several of our customers win some money. Brew City is also coming up on July 29th. I just did the mailing yesterday for those who were in last years event. All 50 cash prizes are back for this year! Call Silver King Charters today at 414-460-1467 to book a trip this season.

         The Milwaukee charter fishing report is the same since we got back from Racine. Lots of limits and lots of Coho salmon. Keep the cold water around we keep catching the Coho. The water is starting to warm up on the surface at times and we have seen 58 degrees at times but the southwest blows come at the perfect time and knock it back down to 49 degrees. Keep the water temperature below 60 degrees down 10 to 15 feet and we keep catching. We have averaged 20 fish a trip over the last 4 weeks and the spread is almost all orange dodgers. Why mess with success.

         We have fished 15 feet of water out to 130 feet over the last week but 80% of the bite is in the top 10 feet of water. Most of the catch is Coho, about 80% with some Kings, Rainbows and Lake trout thrown in. Green peanut flies and orange dodgers on all set ups except the back 3 riggers and these have little boy blue Howie flies, with white flashers. Simple set up. We drive until we start getting hit and then focus on that depth. It does change day to day.

         This is the highest catch rate for salmon during the season and it is starting to come to an end. When the Coho go the salmon catch drops and turns more to trout. We expect it to continue at least another 10 days but if it is like last year it could go deep into July. The bait is here so southwest winds are key to keeping them from blowing out deep. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 now to get in on this outstanding Coho salmon action before it is all gone. 

          It is a carbon copy of last weeks report for charter fishing Milwaukee. Outstanding Coho salmon fishing with limits or close to limits. We have moved into a little shallower water and the surface temps are now at 51 degrees but the Coho are still on the surface for now. We are still catching a couple of Lake trout, Rainbow trout and Chinook salmon on each trip.

         The only change to our spread is that we are now using 1 and 2 color leadcores on our inside boards. As the water warms we will start going deeper on these boards with leadcores. We are still all orange on the boards and dipsies. Still white flashers and little boy blue Howie on the riggers, with the up high rigger using orange. Our favorite fly is a green peanut for the Coho.

          Very good fishing and now is the time to book because when the Coho bite slows the salmon catch will drop and we will start fishing more trout. It is still rolling so call us at 414-460-1467 to get in on the action.

         Ok, Milwaukee charter fishing is as good as it gets right now and should continue for at least a couple more weeks. We fished in 15 feet of water out to 150 feet of water and caught fish everywhere. The bite is 85% Coho salmon, with some Chinook, Rainbow and Lakers. The best bite is in the top 10 feet of water, where the water temperature is between 44 to 48 degrees on the surface. We have had almost all limits, with the exception of Sunday afternoon due to very strong winds but we almost got it done then too.

        Very simple set. Orange dodger and peanut fly, either green or black and purple. All mono boards, dipsies set high and one rigger tipped with orange down 6 feet. The other three riggers are set at 100, 80 and 40 when we are in deep water. They have been taking Lakers and Kings. Whit flasher and Little Boy Blue fly by Howie.

        This is incredible fishing right now and the best time to catch the best eating fish. Coho's are everywhere and getting bigger by the day. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 now to get in on this great bite. 

          Well a lot has changed since our last update. We fished out of Racine when we could due to strong winds. When we got out it was offshore starting in 180 feet of water. Fish were on the surface down to 140 feet. Mostly Coho salmon. We average 15 fish during this period but is was a struggle. We moved back to our Milwaukee slip on Monday. There is more bait and therefore more fish. We have ran three trips so far out of Milwaukee and limited out quick on all three. Mostly Coho salmon, with some Chinook. The best depth was 80 to 150 feet or water. Most of the Coho were on the surface and the Kings were coming 40 to 80 feet down. We also boated a 13 pound Coho salmon. We made the right move coming home. All the fish in Milwaukee are stuffed with alewives where in Racine it was not the case. There is no doubt Racine is in for a real god Coho season but for now and going forward Milwaukee will be just as good if not better at times.

            The spread is simple orange dodgers and either black/purple/gold peanut flies or green peanut flies on all boards and dipsies. All are set in the top 10 feet of water. The two side riggers the same set at 5 and 13 feet down. The two deep riggers are using white coyote flashers, with little boy blue or green Howie flies. The action is very good and the Coho are between 2 to 5 pounds.

            This is it. The best time of the year to catch good numbers of salmon. I think it will continue to be very good throughout mid to late June for Coho salmon. I cannot emphasis this enough, this is the best time to catch salmon! Call Silver King Charters right now at 414-460-1467 to start catching. 

          We are now Racine charter fishing and will be fishing out of this port for another couple weeks at least. This weekend was all Coho salmon. We averaged 17 fish a trip and we fished between 150 to 240 feet of water. The action was not concentrated but we picked away at them. We took fish from the surface down to 60 feet of water and again there was not much consistency of where they hit.

          Our hot set ups were dodgers and flies on the high mono boards. We let out 12 to 30 feet of line on these and the fish were hitting just below the surface. The Howie green fly and black and purple flies worked best. On one side we ran two 00 dodgers with 17" leads and the other B&B's with 26" leads. Both took fish.  On the dipsies we ran two aside at 15 and 30 feet on the line counter. Same flies along with the Next Gen fly. These were ok but not as good as the boards. We ran spoons on a 7 and 9 color leadcore boards are two high riggers. The riggers were set at 30 and 40 feet. The best spoon was the chartreuse gold hud and the gold hud Stingers. On our deep riggers it was whit flashers with Howie super frog or frog flies. There was not one that stood out of all these set ups but by Sunday afternoon orange dodgers where on the surface and dipsies were taking over.

            Silver King Charters will be in Racine for at least a couple more weeks and we hope the fish start to move in closer to shore but when we get on schools of Coho salmon it is fast action out deep on in close to shore. This is flat out the best time of the year to catch salmon, so call us at 414-460-1467 to get in on the action and have salmon to smoke on the grill this Memorial Day.

           Another big blow from the north limited us this last week. We only fished a couple of times and with limited success. Our shallow program fell apart due to poor water clarity. We managed some nice Brown trout but far fewer than our 16 fish average for the season. The best bait in the murky water was the Blue Dolphin UV stingray. It produced most of the fish on dipsy set at 15 feet on the line counter and our one color leads. We did venture out to 130 feet on Sunday before pulling and going back into the shallows. We just didn't get deep enough for Coho action.

          We begin our southern offensive this weekend Racine charter fishing. We look forward to this ever year because this is the best time of the year to catch good numbers of salmon. The number one stocked salmon is Coho and they have been stocked the same amount in Lake Michigan for over 25 years. This year looks real good on Coho salmon and they are starting to show up everywhere. The alewives are loaded up in the Milwaukee harbor and showing up in Racine too. The Coho bite is still best out deep but we hope to see some showing up along the shore in Racine. If not we will find them.

         Silver King Charters will be in Racine for the next 5 weeks feasting on Coho salmon. Last season we averaged 19 fish a trip trough this period and we hope to do better this year. Now is the time to call and get in on the best salmon action of the year.  These are also great tasting fish. Racine is only 40 minutes south of Milwaukee and we are located at Reef Point marina. Get in on the fun it should be a great spring.

           Well fishing has remained real good but weather has not. We have had on again off again big north east blows that have slowed us down. The worst is they hit last weekend and looks like the same to start this one. When we have been out its been good. Lake trout are now in the mix with Brown trout as we have been fishing the shore in 30 feet of water. It has been has been a split between the two but we did pick up our first King last week. We have run the same spread since April 1st. The surface water is between 44 to 46 degrees depending the day and yesterday we caught our first fish with and alewife in it. Of course it was a Lake trout. We are now seeing schools of bait near shore.

            We begin Racine charter fishing on May 13th. The Coho salmon are starting to show up down south and within a week or two it should be going real good. This is the best time to catch salmon and the Coho salmon is the number one stocked salmon in Lake Michigan. There where 2.5 million stocked for the season. There was a warm winter and should be good survival for us to catch. May and June is the time to score Coho salmon, so call Silver King Charters now to get in on this great fishing. It has already been a great spring for Brown trout now lets get the salmon.   

           Milwaukee charter fishing continues to remain solid. We are still averaging 15 fish a trip and still almost all Brown trout. For most of the week it was still the harbor and still the same set up but on Saturday the bite slowed and we had to move. We fished the shore on Sunday just north of the Milwaukee harbor and hooked up on some nice Brown trout and Lake trout. The harbor is starting to warm and the bait has not shown up yet. It still will have some good days this April but the better bite for now is along the shore.

            We fished 20 to 40 feet of water and the surface temp was 44 degrees and stayed that down 15 feet. We ran 1, 2, 3 and 4 color leadcores on the boards and they all took fish. Gold Hud stingray spoons were good of the 4 color and Mass Confusion stingers on the 1 and 2 colors were good too. We ran the UV blue dolphin stingrays on the mono dipsies, with the line counter set at 25. The riggers did ok and the best spoon there was the lemon cracked ice stinger. Very good on the Lake trout. There was good size to the fish but the bait we found in the fish was gobies. Alewives are not in yet but when they show the Coho salmon will be there too. We figure 7 to 10 days for those who want to book a trip to catch them.

             Silver King charters will be in Milwaukee for another week or two before we start Racine charter fishing for Coho salmon. There are Coho being caught now but the big schools are still off shore. Any day they should show. Call us at 414-460-1467 to catch some spring trout and salmon.

         We are still Milwaukee charter fishing and will be through April before heading to Racine. The Brown trout bite is still solid and the last several outings have seen some better size, with fish in the 5 to 8 pound range. The one change is the water temp is between 48 to 53 degrees on the surface in and around the Milwaukee harbor, causing a little less concentration of Brown trout.

         We have been using the same spread since we started and the top spoon is the copper Mass Confusion stinger and stingray spoons. We also have had success with the gold Hud UV stingray. Are best rods are the 1 and 2 colors, with these spoons. They have taken two thirds of the Brown trout.

         Silver King Charters will be fishing Browns and Lakers through the end of April in Milwaukee and then headin to Racine for Coho action. Call us at 414-460-1467 to book a trip to catch Coho salmon. This is the number one stocked salmon in Lake Michigan and May and June is the best time to catch them.  

          Milwaukee charter fishing has started out hot. The Brown trout bite is incredible. We have fished 6 times with customers, friends and family and limited each time. Most of these Browns are 3 to 5 pounds but we boated a 33.5 pound Brown trout on Saturday. This is the second 30 plus pound Brown we have caught in the last 3 years. The action is in and around the Milwaukee harbor and there is a great year class of these Brown trout from a couple of years ago. Silver King Charters has not boated more Brown trout than all of last year. We didn't target them much last season and the spring was not so good weather wise. This year it is perfect and there is no better time to take advantage of it them now.

        We are running our boards with 1, 2 and 3 color leadcore, with all spoons. The Singer Mass Confusion is the top spoon on the boards and works best on the 1 color. We are running one dipsy a side dialed in at 3 and set at 20 feet on the line counter. These are mono dipsies. Gold Hud Stinger on one side and Blue Dolphin UV Stinger on the other. We are running 4 riggers set at 7, 10, 15 and 20 feet. The big Brown came on a rigger and this was a Glow Wonderbread Stinger. All spoons and gold or copper are best.

        This action on Brown trout will not last. As soon as the water warms things will cool down but we expect April to remain strong. For the  first couple weeks we have found no bait in the fish. They are healthy but nothing was around to eat. On Sunday we saw Commerants diving and Gulls were picking bait off the surface. It looks like shiners have come into the harbor, which should draw more fish. The water temp is still at a high of only 45 degrees in most parts of the harbor but there are some spots at 50 degrees. My brother went smelting last week and netted some smelt on the south side of the harbor but there was not great numbers.

          This is the time to get in on great action for Brown trout. The 2017 season has set up great for it. Give Silver King Charters a call at 414-460-1467 to start catching April fish. It is real good right now.

 

          Silver King Charters started Milwaukee charter fishing this weekend and the Brown trout fishing is crazy good. We took a two person limit with ease on Saturday. We fished the Milwaukee harbor and hooked up early and often. I doubt there is a hot bait because they hit everything we put out. The UV Stinger blue dolphin and UV green NBK were probably the best. The fish were all between 3 to 6 pounds.

        We ran a spread of 1, 2 and 3 color leadcores, 2 dipsies both set at 20 on the line counter and 3 riggers set at 9, 15 and 23 feet down. All spoons and it just didn't matter. We caught fish from the north gap to the south gap. The water was murky from the rains and northeast winds but this did not slow the bite.  

         Right now the fishing is as good as it gets for Brown trout and it should continue for a couple more weeks. There seems to be a great year class of Brown trout from 3 years ago and for right now there is not a lot of bait around the harbor, so action is really good. We will be in Milwaukee through April taking advantage of this Brown trout action. Call us at 414-460-1467 to get in on this great action.   

          Silver King Charters is a week from putting the boat in and staring to fish. We cannot wait to start fishing because the early spring has lead to some outstanding catches on the lake already. The Brown trout fishing has been off the hook good. April is a great month to target Brown trout, along with Lake trout and some Coho salmon action. We have been ice free now for several weeks and this spring is ahead of schedule. I am sure it will snow a couple times on the boat in April but it is spring and the worst is behind us. April but even more so May and the early part of June hold some of the best catch rates of the season. This is due to how Lake Michigan has been stocked over recent years. Below is the lake wide stockings for 2016.

Brown Trout:                 1.51 million  This number is at the 10 year average but expected to fall some in 2017

Chinook Salmon             1.67 million  This number is slightly down from last year and is the lowest since 1972

Coho Salmon                  2.49 million  This is about average and the goal is 2.5 million

Lake Trout Fingerlings     0.00 million  This was a purposed cut that may end up being put in this spring or .50

Lake Trout Yearlings        3.02 million  Standard number for the last 12 years

Rainbow Trout                 1.97 million  This is up some from recent years

Total Stocked                  10.63 million  This is the lowest overall total in 25 years.   

    So what does it all mean. Well they are still stocking fish and we will still be out there so you can catch them. The overall numbers are down because of the Chinook salmon cuts. In 1995 they put 6.5 million Kings in the lake now only 1.67 million and for 2017 it will be 1.3 million. There is some degree of natural reproduction going on for Chinook and this helps the number but right now it is in 4th place for stocking numbers. The Lake trout is the number one stocked fish for the 12th year running. But the key number is the Coho salmon. This stock rate has stayed steady for decades now and if you are looking for the best time to catch these salmon it is May and June. Brown stockings continue to remain the same for now and April is the best month to target them.

     The Chinook have been reduced because they are the top predator and easy to produce. If they just stocked Chinook salmon in Lake Michigan they could only put 5.26 million in the lake because that would equal the bait consumption of the 10.63 million fish they stocked in 2016. We always look at total stocking lake wide because Chinook, Coho and Rainbow travel all throughout the lake searching for food, so where these fish are stocked only matters when they come home to spawn. The lake biologist use this equation for how many of each species equals on Chinook on food consumption.

Coho Salmon       3.2

Rainbow Trout     2.4  

Lake Trout          2.3

Brown Trout        2.2 

        The reason for all the caution on stocking is the bait population has fell off considerable but with proper management Lake Michigan fishing should be great for many more years. The increased Lake trout stocking has hurt bait population but hopefully cuts will come soon that will really help to stabilize the predator/prey ratio.

        I have more about stocking numbers in my March of 2016 report and will throughout the season bring up more on the topic but what you want to know is what will the action be like when fishing with us this season. Again, this April should be one of the best we have had in years as long as mother nature doesn't go crazy. This should be a great month on Brown trout. We will be in Racine for most of May and June targeting Coho salmon. This is the number one stocked salmon in Lake Michigan and May and June are the best times to catch them. We have never gone wrong in Racine. It always delivers great catches on Coho salmon and the best catch rates of the season. We will be back in late June and will be Milwaukee charter fishing for the rest of the season.

        Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to get in on April Brown trout fishing and then come back for some great salmon fishing in May and June. With the warm weather and lots of small bait there will be many of the 2.49 million Coho salmon they stock in 2016 ready to be caught. 

           The Milwaukee charter fishing season for Silver King Charters. We will be in on March 31st this year and will fish on April 1st. Milwaukee is ice free and hopefully the snow is all gone. Should be gone this weekend. The Brown trout bite has been solid already this March and we look to have some good catches this April.

           April charter fishing is average temps in the mid 40's early on but the fish don't care. They can be very active around the warmer harbor waters and Oak Creek power plant. The size of the Brown trout vary from 2 to 15 pounds and they are a great fight in the spring. We also can have some great Lake trout fishing at this time too, with some up to 15 pounds. I am not a cold weather fan but we would not be fishing in April if we were not catching. Most of our fishing will be done in 10 to 20 feet of water and leadcore is our top set ups. We use 1, 2 and 3 colors and mostly stinger spoons in cooper or gold colors.

          I just need my fishing & trolling license and my brother and I will be set for another season. There are 5 weekends in April this year and we would like to be catching fish on all five weekends. If mother nature is good it should be a great start to the season.  

           Wisconsin charter fishing for the 2017 season is going to have more opportunities to catch fish. The Wisconsin DNR has opened the limit for Lake trout to 5 fish per person instead for the previous 2 fish per person limit. The season for Lake trout is now open year around. They did not open the Mid Lake reef or the Refuge for Lake trout fishing though. This would have been nice since we are one of the two port in Wisconsin who could get out to fish it. The Lake trout is the number one stocked fish in Lake Michigan over the last 13 years and for sure there are two many in Lake Michigan for the current forage, so this is a good move. The thanks has to go to the Wisconsin Lakeshore Business Association, who worked to help all of us continue to enjoy a great fishery. Early they where instrumental in keep the Chinook plants from being cut. Hopefully they can get the Federal government to reduce Lake trout plants.

            What this means to you when fishing with us. There are days when one species will be dominant in the catch. On the days this is Lake trout instead of catching 2 fish and then you are down unless something else turns on you can now catch 5 Lake trout. This gives you more chances or fighting and catching fish on a trip. I don't know anyone who wont like that. Lake trout are the best smoked fish you can have and they are highly recommended to be served this way.   

            Milwaukee charter fishing offers excellent Lake trout fishing because so many Lake trout are stocked on the Mid Lake reef and we are so close to it. There is lots of great structure out of Milwaukee that will hold Lake trout during the season. We will not always be targeting them but when they are biting you will be catching more fish!

            The boat is ready to go in March 31st and we start fishing April 1st. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to get in on early spring Brown trout action, with Lake trout and some Coho salmon too. With the mild winter April looks to have some great action. 

           As Silver King Charters prepares for the Milwaukee charter fishing season we just had a week of 60 degree temperatures that we could have been chartering in. This winter has been a warm one. The ice is gone on the southern end of Lake Michigan and little is left anywhere with small chance of returning. My firstmate has been fishing and catching Coho salmon already. Two days ago he and some friends landed 25 of them in Racine. These fish look good for this time of year and we are excited to start fishing them.

           Winter still has some supervises for us and the water temps when my firstmate was fishing was only 34 degrees and this was by the green can in Racine. The fish had some shrimp, red worms and grubs in them. The bait that usually swims to shore in spring is not here yet. There are reports though up and down the lake of Coho salmon at all the warm water discharges. The real action has yet to come but good signs for spring.

          Lake wide stocking number totals for 2016 are just about to be released and the Lake trout decision should be known soon. We hope that the limit for Lake trout goes to 5 fish, since it is the number one stocked fish in Lake Michigan.  

           We start fishing the first Saturday in April and have opening available. We hope to have a great start this year and that the water is a little warmer than normal for April.  We should have good Brown trout action but some Coho salmon would be a great bonus. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to start fishing in April.

           We are in full swing with boat prep before our put in date of March 31st. You never know if you can get in this early and there has been years we were forced to wait a couple of weeks due to ice. This will not be one of those years. With the lake at less than 10% covered with ice and that is up north and in tight by harbors we know we will be fishing April fools day. This is the second mild winter in a row after two extremely harsh ones and this can only help the fishery. New hatches of bait and stocked fish from last year should fair well this winter. Last spring there was a good amount of bait on the western shores of the lake.

            We will be ready to fish for April and are excited by the warm winter but we know that snow still flies in April along with some real cold days. That said this warm winter and early ice out will make for a great April when the weather is too wicked. Brown trout, Lake trout and Coho salmon will be in the mix. April is a great time for Brown trout and we will be starting out of Milwaukee. In and around the Milwaukee harbor is some of the best Brown trout fishing on Lake Michigan. We also have the Oak Creek power plant that holds a lot of fish. We are putting a lot of work into the boat and equipment this offseason to deliver on these fish as soon as we hit the water. Give us a call at 414-460-1467 to get in on some April fishing.

           What a great stretch of weather we have had the last couple of weeks. Temperatures in the 40's and rain. My kind of winter. The reason I like these winters is that there is always better survival on Lake Michigan when winters are mild. As I type this the lake is at 10% ice coverage and at its peak it was at 20%. This is almost exactly what it was last year at this time. Winter will still have some cold periods but not enough to get the lake even close to freezing over. In 2013-2014 winter the lake was 91% ice covered and 2014-2015 it was 75% ice covered. This was not good for young fish to survive.

          After last years mild winter we had a good survival of alewives and it was much needed. This year we hope for the same. But these mild winters also help stocked fish survive along with good natural reproduction. This means more fish will make it through their first year in the lake. Last season we had a great Coho fishery because of all the young bait and good survival of the fish that were stocked. Coho are stocked a year in advance of when we start catching them, so mild winters have an immediate effect on Coho salmon.

        Last spring there was some outstanding fishing, with Brown trout early and Coho salmon right through June. Minus some tough weather in April, which we hope to avoid this year, the fishing was great. We are going to be fishing April 1st this year to capitalize this action. The weather may be cold but there will be some good fishing to be had. Last April we took many Brown trout in the 10 to 15 pound range and a lot of this action is close to shore. We hope to get on the Coho bite early too. Two year ago we took limits of Coho salmon in early April. We hope mother nature cooperates but we already have won with this mild winter through the coldest part of winter. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to book your April trip.

          Lake trout! This has been the number one stocked fish out of the 5 species we fish for since 2006. That was the first year they took over for Chinook as the top stocked fish. That year was when Chinook salmon stocking was decreased and Lake trout stocking was increased. Since that time Lake trout have been the top stocked fish over Coho, Rainbow and Brown trout. In 2017 some changes will be made to stocking and catching Lake trout in Lake Michigan and Wisconsin.

          The one thing that sounds for sure is that Lake trout fingerlings will not be stocked starting in 2017. This accounts for about 450,000 of the average 3.5 million stocked each year. Starting in 2018 further reductions on Lake trout will occur for the yearlings. These numbers are not firm yet. The reason is forage or bait. The Lake trout population takes a toll on the dwindling bait in Lake Michigan.

         Things that are still being worked out for the start of the 2017 season is how many, where and when Lake trout can be caught. In 2015 we had our highest catch of Lake trout in one season. There were not many salmon around and we leaned on them hard. That was the first time we caught more Lake trout than Chinook. In 2016 I know a lot of you got on the boat expecting much the same but salmon were around and our trout count went way down. Nice to have that mix of species and this is what the Wisconsin DNR is starting to do for us. But in 2015 when it was trout heaven we could only keep two Lake trout per person and if other fish were not cooperating the action was over quick at times.  

          For 2017 the bag limit looks to be going to at least three per person and there has been talk of even five, which is the limit for other species. That means for five people we are at least talking 15 instead of 10 fish if the trout are biting good. More fish and more action! The overall limit of fish will still be five per person but more of the catch can be Lake trout. I hope they go to five. Again, we want a mix heavier on salmon and so do you but this is a good option when times are tough.

         The area we can fish for trout looks to be opening too. In between Milwaukee and Port Washington is the mid lake reef or refuge or the forbidden zone if you wanted to catch Lake trout. This is one of the areas that the Federal government has concentrated its stocking efforts. This is an area that is considered good for Lake trout natural reproduction. This area looks to be open for Lake trout by April. If so it will provide a great opportunity to catch Lake trout. It also is a good area for other species but fishing there has always netted good Lake trout catches. When times are tough we now have a good spot to run too.

        We should be able to fish Lake trout anywhere and from April 1st through October 31st, which is our season. More opportunities for you to catch more fish. We are very lucky to be in the area we charter out of Racine and Milwaukee. We have always had good trout fishing due to where the Lake trout were stocked but to be able to now fish the refuge and to keep more of them per trip will just make a good thing better. The change is an emergency action being taken by the Wisconsin DNR to help maintain bait fish and give fishermen more opportunities to catch the number one stocked fish in Lake Michigan.

        We start fishing April 1st and this can be a great time to catch Lake trout as they come to shore to feed on spawning bait. This is also a great time to catch Brown trout. We always seemed to take a few early Coho salmon at this time but because of anther warm winter and very low ice levels on the lake we might see better action early on Coho. April is a great time to fish when the weather cooperates, so call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to get in on April and May action.  

          Well I had a client book a trip today and last season she caught a Pink salmon. I remember Colin saying we just won the lottery and that was the first time he had every seen one up close. We were one short of catching six species that trip and I don't know what we would have called that. Maybe the ultimate grand slam. Turns out two weeks later we landed another one and then a week later caught another. We always tell our customers that it is unusually to catch anything other than Chinook, Coho, Lakers, Rainbow and Browns. But last season there were quite a few Pink salmon caught in Wisconsin ports. I heard of many caught further north.

          In the 1950's Pink salmon were accidentally stocked in a Lake Superior tributary. they have spread throughout the Great Lakes over the years. These fish only average 3 pounds at maturity and spawn every other year in great numbers. Their life expectancy is 2 years. This is not a fish we target because they are few and only have a shot a catching one every other year. That being said it shows that natural reproduction occurs in the Great Lakes because few have been stocked over the years in the Great Lakes and almost none in years. The Pink salmon don't depend on alewives either. Nice story but it is kind of like winning the lottery in catching one.

         This story does tie into Chinook salmon, which we are depending more on natural reproduction for. We have seen in strong years like 2012 natural reproduction was definitely a contributor for some percentage. Also stocking survival was higher due to good amounts of bait. But the Pink salmon story does show movement of salmon from lake to lake, especially Lake Huron to Lake Michigan. For now there is no reason to believe that Chinook fishing cannot continue to be productive on Lake Michigan but stocking must be a part of this.

         One thing that did come out of the 2017 stocking report was the cut of German Brown trout. The Wisconsin DNR is stopping the planting of this strain. We hope that  enough people get involved to bring this fish back. They were a good target in the spring, fall and when things get tough during summer. We should still have success on these fish over the next couple of years though. The Seeforrellen Brown trout will still be stocked. This is a Brown trout that can grow much bigger. We landed on 32 pounder two years ago. So Brown trout will still be in the mix.

         Silver King Charters starts up April first and I can say right now we will not catch a Pink salmon in April we will be catching a lot of Brown trout. This is one of the best times of the season to target Brown trout, so call 414-460-1467 to get in on early season Milwaukee charter fishing action.   

          Happy New Year to all our past customers and friends. This is when our 2017 season begins. With boat, equipment and yes crew maintenance we have a lot to do before we put in March 31st. Yes you can call us and book on April 1st and catch the first fish of the season. Last season we took a limit on our first trip.

         Last year we put a new motor in the port side. We are going to wait another season for the starboard side. We already replaced the all the coverings for the boat with new glass and cushions this November. We have many new items for the season to make your trip safe, fun and lots of fish.

         Weill for 2017 they have reduce the stocking of Chinook salmon lake wide from 1.8 million to 1.35 million. The good news is that Wisconsin did not cut Chinook stocking and we will still have the same return on Chinook in the fall thanks to the group at Wisconsin Lakeshore Business Association, who fought to keep Wisconsin stocking the same. The Coho stocking remained the same and has averaged a little under 2.5 million a year for 25 years. That is why we say if you want to have your best chance at catching salmon May and June are the months. This is the best time to catch Coho salmon.

        Chinook catch rates will depend on many factors such as survival of stocked fish, natural reproduction that varies from year to year and how the lake sets up with currents and water temps. There will be strong weeks during summer for Chinook fishing but not consistent throughout. We are lucky to have good Lake trout fishing off Milwaukee and some rule changes for this season are going to really help out. I will talk about this next time. Stay warm and we will be working hard for the start of 2017. 

December 17, 2016

        One of my customers called me today to book a trip and told me that Facebook has ruined my reports that I give throughout the season. I know my clients like the fishing reports to see what is going on before their trips or when the hot times are to come. I must admit that two years ago a was a Facebook virgin and it is addictive but I will get back to giving more updated and frequent reports. Well we are out of the water as of November 2nd and it was a very good season. With reduced stocking and less bait Lake Michigan has become less predictable. That being said it is still an outstanding fishery it is that we have to fish smarter to deliver.

         In 2015 our top specie caught was Lake trout and this was the first year that ever happened. Coho and Chinook came in 2nd and 3rd. With the Lake trout being the number one stocked fish in the lake it will be a top target when salmon schools are not in the area. There have been some stocking changes lake wide for 2017 and also some new regulations. I will save this for my next report. In 2016 the catch breakdown was 37.5% Coho salmon, 25.7% Chinook salmon, 15.8% Lake trout, 15.8% Rainbow trout and 5.1% Brown trout. It was great to see the salmon catch making up 63.2% of the catch and we will take that any year.

        The Chinook stocking has been reduced and that is why we say book in May and June to catch your salmon because that is the best time for Coho salmon. The Coho have never been reduced and spring is an easy time to catch them. That being said the western shore of Lake Michigan got the loin share of the salmon this year. Bait and lake current conditions helped this and created some great fishing. We laid off the Lake trout because there were salmon around for much of the year but this will not always the case.  

        For the season we averaged 13.2 fish per trip. Considering the day in and day out conditions and reduced stockings we were very pleased with this. Our goal is to keep this average at 10 fish or better based on current stocking totals. 

        April was a tough month. I want to point out if mother nature gives us half way decent weather April is very good fishing. It was a real bad weather month this year. I will remember 2016 as the year of a super mild weather and all an all one of the best weather years I have experienced but April just turned out to be the worst. March was better. We only were able to get out a handful or times and averaged only 6 fish a trip. April is a great month and don't get discouraged to book a trip here. We are owed a good April in 2017.

      May was solid but the first 10 days were much of the same as April. In 2016 we were taking some nice limits in early May but each year is different. May ended up with a 12.91 per trip average and Racine didn't deliver as well as past seasons. It still was solid. Mostly Coho salmon throughout the month and they were good size. We expect a very good size on Coho salmon for 2017.

      June ended up being our best month. We averaged 18.68 fish a trip. This was some great fishing and we were taking some nice Chinook along with Coho salmon. There was a great hatch of bait in 2015 and this turned the salmon fishing on for 2016. We hope the bait hatch and survival of that bait is solid in 2016.

      July again was solid and  on Chinook and for the first couple of weeks a good Coho bite as well. We averaged 14.77 fish per trip and took many 20 plus pound Chinook. Our biggest came during Salmon-A-Rama when we scored a 27 pound King. Great catch by a young lady and she was in first place for 24 hours. I think she had the 4 biggest fish of the event. We will be in salmon-a-rama again this year so call now because there are few spots left.

       August slowed a little but we ended up with 12.53 fish per trip average. We spent 2 weeks off shore fishing Steelhead and a bulk of our Rainbow catch came in this month. The great thing about Steelhead is they love to bite in the afternoon so the fishing doesn't slow down. Steelhead stocking is going up for next year but I will write more on this next time.

      September use to be one of my favorite month but lately it has become somewhat unpredictable due to salmon returns. We still catch some big retuning Chinooks but it is not what it use to be. We took a hit in this month and only averaged 6.7 fish a month. Count the shaker Brown trout this goes way up but we don't count them. Again we caught some real nice fish but didn't get the numbers.

      October had some strong winds and hurt us on our catch. Again don't be afraid to book in October but if it is not right we are not going. We averaged 6.8 fish this month per trip and we usually are around 11 or 12 fish during this month. Several trips were cut short due to weather and several more out right cancelled. There is good fishing in the month it just is unpredictable weather.

      Very solid year and we will be happy with a repeat. No skunks and our worst trip was 2 fish. For tournaments there are less to fish now a days but we came in 6th place in the SU Open Wisconsin, 3 biggest Chinook in Salmon-A-Rama, 2nd place in the Super Slam of Salmon-A-Rama "21lb average for 10 fish" and in Brew City well we fished for one hour before giving up. Nothing to do with fishing just my brother and I working some stuff out. We will do very good next year for sure.

         But the main reason this was a great season is because on all the great customers we had throughout the season. That is why I do this. I have so mush fun watching people getting a rush out of catching salmon and trout on Lake Michigan. That is why my brother and I fish as hard as we do. We always want one more until the last lure is out of the water. There were rumors of us getting out but really what else would we do. So for now we will keep on fishing and if that day comes that we will not give 100% from beginning to end we will get out.

         I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy new year and thanks so much for making fishing fun. I will write a report on the stocking and regulations early next year and go through some of our hot set ups. I know it will all change next year.  

October 19, 2016

          Silver King Charters is two weeks out from pulling the boat but we are still catching fish. We have been fishing 120 to 280 feet of water this October, with decent results. The catches have been between 7 to 13 fish. Chinook, Lake trout and Rainbows have been the species. The bite is from 50 to 150 feet down. We pulled a couple of nice Chinook, including a 16.5 lb King today.

         The best baits are white flashers and little boy blue Howie flies on the deep rigger set at 110 and 150 feet down. This set up is taking the Lake trout and Chinook salmon. Our Rainbows are coming off the up high riggers down 50 feet and leadcore set ups in 8 and 10 colors. The happy meal Moonshine and gold hud Stinger are best. We have also taken some Lake trout on a wire dipsy, with the line counter at 300. We are using a magnum Walker diver dialed in a #2 and spin and glows. The action has been steady and the water is starting to cool off. Inside of 100 feet the surface temp is 50 degrees but when you get out to 120 feet and deeper it warms to 58 degrees.

          We will be Milwaukee charter fishing through Monday October 31st and then put the boat away until April. Still time to call Silver King Charters and catch a salmon or trout before the 2016 season is over. 

October 4, 2016

          We have made it to the last month of Milwaukee charter fishing. The last two weekends have been brutal and we had to cancel some trips. But this is what can happen this time of year. We did get out Sunday and Monday. The fishing was solid with a limit one day and 10 fish on Monday afternoon. The great thing was the fish were nice size 2 and 3 year old Chinooks. We had 3 to 12 pound fish and all looked healthy. We were fishing in 150 20 220 feet of water and the fish came down 90 to 150 feet. The water was 62 on the surface and it broke about 80 down and was 59 degrees.

          We ran boards, both copper and leadcore, wire dipsies and riggers but only the riggers produced. The one set at 150 and the other set at 120 caught everything. White coyote with a little boy blue Howie fly did the trick. Solid action and hopefully these fish stick around.

         October can be challenging with the weather but when we get out it usually is good action. We are hoping someone books are last trip of the year. This will be Monday morning on October 31st and that is Halloween, so you know it has to be good. Call us at 414-460-1467 to get in on the last month of 2016 salmon and trout fishing.  

September 26, 2016

         We have had one of our best harbor King bites in the last several years. Good water temperatures and fish actually returning makes a difference. It is all a timing thing when Chinook return to spawn and this year it all worked out. It was not like years gone by when you could load the cooler but we took Kings  in the harbor on every trip. This was a struggle at best over the last couple of seasons. Our best was 13 Kings and we did this four times. We took five over 20lbs and the best was 24lbs. Many were in the upper teens. Outstanding fights with these fish. We also boated Brown trout, with some Coho and Rainbow.

         We ran the same spread each time. Two leadcores a side, with one being a 2 color and one a 3 color. Our best spoon was the gold Stinger hud in the stingray size. We also ran the silver hud and orange NBK. On the dipsies we had one mono and one wire. The wire dipsy had a white flasher and Howie bull frog fly. This was a good producer for big Kings. The mono we used the gold hud. We ran 3 riggers and the deep one we used a j-plug on. Silver plugs with lime green color to them were best. These took some nice Chinooks. We were pleasantly surprise at the action this fall because since the Chinook cuts it has been very unpredictable. We did see a lot of 2 year old male Kings early in September around 6 to 10 pounds but by mid September they were all teenagers.

         Silver King charters will be Milwaukee charter fishing until the end of October. We have seen some decent catches during this month and as long as the weather cooperates we will catch fish. Call us at 414-460-1467 to get in on the last month of the season.  

September 6, 2016

         Milwaukee charter fishing was all over the place last week. We started the week in the north gap targeting staging Chinook salmon and Brown trout. The water was a perfect temperature and there was lots of young of the year alewives around. We were taking 9 to 15 fish a trip and most of these fish were Chinook. We landed a 20 pound King and a couple more in the upper teens. The top bait was the gold stingray Stinger spoon followed close be the orange UV NBK. With strong northeast winds this was shut down by Wednesday afternoon. We headed out in the lake Saturday and fished in 100 to 130 feet of water for Labor Day. The fish were 65 feet or deeper after the water warmed up. The catch was strong on Lake trout, with some Rainbows, Chinooks and Coho. We boated our second Pink salmon in as many weeks.

          We ran spin and glows on the back riggers for the Lake trout. Once we found them it was great action and we took several in the upper teens. Spoons were good on coppers set at 200 - 400 feet of copper. The silver hud, blue dolphin and green NBK all worked. We ran white flashers and boy blue Howie flies on the side riggers and wire dipsies. Solid trips that were one limit, double digits and one that we only had 5 fish. But great trips and lots of fun.

           Silver King Charters has two more months to go before the season is complete. This has been a great year and we want to finish strong. We still should have one more shot at the Kings before they spawn. The Rainbow fishing out deep has been exceptional and we hope to have a few more rounds out there. The in close bite should set up this October and we will target Brown trout, Lake trout and young Kings. There should be some Coho action too because the Coho stocked this year have already getting close to 2 lbs. Call us at 414-460-1467 to get a trip in before or after the football game.

August 23, 2016

         Well 2016 is making everyone look like rock stars after the tough 2105 season. With the reduced stocking on Kings in 2012 the fishing at times can be challenging but the fish set up just right for Milwaukee this year and it has been a great season. We had a great run of offshore fishing on Steelhead. We were fishing from 220 to 300 feet of water in the top 50 feet of water. Speed was key and you had to be trolling fast. Yellow and chartreuse Stinger spoons were best. Our favorite was the Mongoose UV.  After the blow on Thursday and Friday of last week we started fishing in 90 feet of water and took limits of Lake trout. There were Kings and Coho's in mix too. The water cooled down in close after some west winds and we were fishing in 30 to 40 feet of water the last couple of trips. We were able to land back to back grand slams and even caught our first Pink salmon ever. Check out our facebook for pictures.

        The offshore fishing is still good but we have not been back for several days due to strong winds but the in close bite has been just as good with staging King salmon in the mix. We are running 2 to 8 color leadcores in close, with stingray Stinger NBK UV green, gold and silver Hud spoons being our best. We are also running white Hot Spot flashers with little boy blue flies and on one rigger and the dipsies. These are taking some of our bigger Kings in close.  

          Again with fewer Kings around it is how each port sets up and the western shore of Lake Michigan set up great. Milwaukee has been solid all season and we have averaged 16 fish a trip for the year. September and October can be some great fishing. Big Kings early in September and then a mixed bag for until we pull the boat at the end of October. Great time to target Rainbow, Brown and Lake trout. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to get in on the last of 2016 and follow us on Facebook.  

August 11, 2016

         I have yet to write a full report this summer. See how far I get. After the tough 2015 season we are having one of the better years fishing in a while. Of course 2012 was ridiculously good but this year has been solid throughout. We are a third through August and the worst 5 hour trip we have had is 3 fish. Many limits and a 15 fish average per trip has led to a lot of happy customers. The great thing is that is has been well over 75% salmon. So many factors led to this year but the bottom line is to get out here now before this great season ends. We have had a great Chinook bite over the last several weeks but during this last week the Steelhead bite has been outstanding. We boated one today that was just under 17 lbs. We are also starting to catch Coho salmon stocked this year that are closing in on 2lbs. The Coho size next spring is going to be big. These young fish were stocked when there was a lot of small bait around and they fed well.

        We are still all white flasher and boy blue flies on the riggers and dipsies. We were using J-Plugs on the coppers last week but now have switched to spoons for the steelhead. We are using leadcore from 4 to 10 colors. Stingray Stinger spoons, Silver Hud, Blue Dolphin Modified and Green NBK are all working. The water is warm but the Steelhead are coming in the warm water. Last week the thermocline was a far down as 100 feet in places but it has come up some. The good action on Steelhead starts in 140 all the way out to 250 feet. There is still good King action north of town and good Laker action south of town in about 100 to 120 feet.

        Brew City Salmon tournament was August 6th and we had 115 boats entered. I run this event and apologize for some of the mix ups in weighing in and DQ's but after several days we got it right. We had over 60 cash prizes in the tournament and next year my goal is 70 cash prizes and 125 boats. We will have this tournament running very smooth next year! Congrads to Al Johnson of Rainmaker for the win and 137 pounds of fish. One of the best on the lake and great job. We ended up having our worst trip of the year and weighed only 3 fish. Too much fighting each other and not fighting fish. I can only say it will be a long time before I let that go and I can only hope we never have what happened that day ever happen again. The results are posted on www.GLSFCLUB.COM.  

         We have been fishing every day since with double digit catches. The rest of August looks to be good fishing and we want to finish strong before the Kings swim home. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to hook up and possible catch a 20 plus pound Chinook salmon. 

August 2, 2016

        This has just been a great season for salmon fishing. First the great Coho fishing this spring that took right into great Chinook fishing. The way it use to be and should be. Our catch has been 79% salmon, where last season it was mostly Lake trout and Brown trout. The mature Chinooks have been easily 15 lbs and we have boated 30 fish at or above 20 pounds. Just this last week we took two Coho salmon that were 10 lbs each. There was a strong north blow at the end of last week and this has warmed the water. The surface is in the high 60's and the break is down at least 50 feet. This is what we wanted and the fishing is really good. August should continue to deliver great salmon fishing as fish get ready to spawn and feed hard.

       Before the blow we were fishing anywhere from 15 feet to 80 feet of water and lots of spoons off of 1 color to 7 color leadcores. After the blow it is all flasher flies on riggers, wire dipsies and half of our copper set ups. We are fishing in 80 to 120 feet and targeting 50 feet down to the bottom. We run one side of spoons but the flies are doing most of the work. We like the 150 to 300 coopers but all are catching fish. We have used chrome, green and white flashers with success. Bull Frog, Super Frog and Boy Blue are all working from Howie. It is great fishing out of Milwaukee right now and there are some really nice Chinooks going to be caught this month. Are catches have averaged 15 fish all season and we see this continue for the next couple of weeks.

 

July 21, 2016

         The weather is hot the water is ice cold and the Kings are biting. We have been fishing in 15 to 40 feet of water over the past week. Water temperature is at best 50 on the surface and as cold as 46 degrees down 15 feet. Willy and I use to love this water in summer when we fished the shore. The Chinooks are right on the shoreline feeding on bait. Our catches have been 8 to 24 fish a trip and most of them are Chinook. We boated two over 23lbs this week. Some Rainbows, Lakers and Coho are in the mix. 

         We are running 1, 2 and 3 colors, 2 dipsies and 2 riggers. All have stingray Stinger spoons on them. We still like the blue dolphin. That's it and the fish are fighting hard. There is no quit because there is no warm water to wear them down quick. This has been a great King year and it should continue through mid August before they start to swim home. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to start catching King salmon.   

July 14, 2016

         Milwaukee charter fishing has been HOT! We have been back from Racine since June 24th and have averaged 17 fish a trip and most are salmon. Split between Coho and Chinook. Never saw the Chinook bite coming but most of the Chinook in the lake are on the west side making it very good out of Milwaukee. We have had catches from 7 fish to 30 fish but high teens to low twenties is common. Don't know how long it will last  but we usually say July 4th through late August is the best time for Kings.

         Our hot two baits are white flashers with Howie Bull frog or Super Frog on Wire dipsies or riggers. The other one is the Stinger Blue Dolphin on leadcore or copper, either stinger or stingray.  The regular, UV or modified all are working. Those two baits are the hot ones and taking most of the fish. Water temps have been going back and forth causing us to almost daily reset the spread for fish 20 feet to 100 feet of water. Lots of bait is keeping the fish around though. There is 20 pound Kings being taking and we caught a 27lb fish Monday.

           Now is the time to go so call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467. Best salmon fishing in several years! 

June 29, 2016

         We are back Milwaukee Charter fishing as of Friday. Racine charter fishing was solid this May and June but although there are a lot of Coho around they spread out this year and did not concentrate in the southern end of the lake. But the volume of Coho made up for it. We did have limit catches but not quick ones. We have a couple of 5 fish days and several 30 fish days but our average was 16 fish a trip in Racine this season. The hot port this spring was Port Washington and who would have figured that. There were Port boats in Racine to start the spring. But the Coho explosion happened. The stoking of 2.76 million last year, great hatch of alewives last year and a very mild winter led to great survival and healthy fish. We are now catching 6 and 7 pound Coho. We had a 10 pound Coho 2 days ago. We should continue to catch Coho throughout the season due to the amount around but it will probably be offshore.

       Since moving back to Milwaukee we have taken 4 straight limit catches of 20, 30, 15 and 25 fish. The majority of this catch has been Coho salmon. We are now catching more Chinook salmon though. We have landed 18 Kings in these four trips and this is better than all the time in Racine. Very promising. Many in the 15 to 20 pound class. There fish are the most healthy I have seen since 2013. We have been running an orange dodger with a beefed up Coho fly on our boards and our dipsies. But we are sending these deeper in the water column. Our dipsies are set at 100 and 60 feet on the line counters and we are using 5 through 10 color leads. These are the best producers and they are also taking Kings. Our riggers are all white flashers, with Howie Bull frog and Super Frog flies.

        We have been fishing in 60 to 90 feet of water and there was a lot of warm water around. Mid 60's on the surface and 60 all the way down to 50 feet. But the fish didn't care because of all the bait around. The fishing is just really good right now and should remain solid. If you want to catch salmon it is happening now and we have some spots open this weekend. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 and start catching salmon. 

June 15, 2016

        We have been busy fishing and I have not even completed one report for my customers in a couple tries. We are Racine charter fishing through June 24th and will be back in Milwaukee on June 26th. We have next week open and the fishing has been decent. We were blown away on Sunday and had to cancel but last week and the start of this week has seen good catches of Coho salmon. We had several limits and 20 plus fish catches. We had some catches in the 6 to 10 totals on Saturday. But we are still doing good on the Coho's.

        The surface water is now 60 degrees and stays this down 20 feet. A good thermocline is starting to set and we have not had this for 2 seasons. We are still catching fish on the surface but if the water cooks a little more our orange set ups will be gone. We are still running orange dodgers and peanut flies on all boards and dipsies, plus one rigger. We do run two leadcores at 7 and 9 colore and Blue Dolphine Stinger is our best spoon. The other three riggers are little boy blue on white flashers down 25, 55 and 75 feet. We have been fishing north of Reef Point Harbor in about 75 to 90 feet. Lots of fish from the surface to the bottom. We have taken some Chinook salmon of late on these riggers. All fish are well feed and lots of bait around.

         Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 for next week to finish off our southern season on the Coho's. Follows us on Facebook to see pictures.  

June 6, 2016

        I stopped half way through my last report and forgot to get back to it so here is the next one. We fished our first tournament of the year and finished 6th place in the SU Open Racine. We managed 77 lbs but 53 of those were in Lake trout and we failed to get good size on silver fish. Congrads to Jim of Jawzon for 1s place. Fishing has been good out of Racine over the last week. We have had some 8 and 9 fish trips but we have had more trips in the upper teens and 20's. The catch is mostly Coho salmon right now and we have boated three that were over 6lbs. The fish are coming in 40 to 65 feet and our best action is in the top 20 feet. The fish are real healthy this year.

         We still have orange dodgers and peanut flies on our two outside boards, four dipsies and two outside riggers. All are set in the top 10 feet and account for 90 percent of the catch. We run two leadcores and one rigger with spoons, along with a white flasher and boy blue fly on a rigger. All get hit. The schools are not condensed and as plentiful but there is enough to pick away at and catch good numbers.  We have strong west winds over the past two days and this is cooling the water down but the Coho fishing should continue to remain solid through June.

         If your looking to catch salmon this is the best time to get good numbers. We averaged 15 salmon a trip over the last 7 days and it looks like this should continue over the next couple of weeks. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to start catching salmon.  

June 2, 2016

        Silver King Charters is in its last month of Racine charter fishing. The all but slam dunk great bite in the southern end of the lake has been good but with Coho salmon moving up north this year in good numbers it is not as crazy good as other seasons. We averaged 14 fish a trip in May and the majority of these fish were Coho salmon. Not one spot has set up and remained hot for long so we are always moving to find fish. On Sunday we boated 5 fish in the morning and 20 fish in the evening. Yesterday afternoon we took 5 fish and then a limit of 20 this morning. Good fishing though and we are taking salmon for the majority of the catch. The Coho are about 4 lb average and this is up a least a pound from last season.

        For most of May it was orange dodgers on the surface with mono lines and keel weights. Orange dodger on all dipsies and Orange dodger on at least one rigger. We have been running white flashers with little boy blue  

May 25, 2016

        The great 2016 Wisconsin Coho massacre is on! I have always believed that the Coho fishing may be good north but it is always better south of Wind Point. Not this season. The Coho are everywhere up and down the western shores of Lake Michigan. In 2015 they stocked 2.76 million Coho and the mild winter, with small bait lead to high survival. It does not matter what port you fish out of in Wisconsin or Illinois we will catch them. We are still in Racine and the fishing is good but the fish are spread out and we have had several trips that we did not hit double digits since we started down here. But we are getting limits too but not as quick as in the past. This is still the best time of the year to catch salmon in numbers.

        We have fishing the Racine harbor mouth several times but this has been feast or famine. The better fishing for us has been in 120 to 250 feet of water. Over the last couple weeks we have been catching fish from the surface to 150 feet down but over the last three days the best fishing was in the top 20 feet of water and using orange dodgers and peanut flies. Mono boards and dipsies have taken over. The surface temp is now about 50 degrees helping the bite near the surface. The catch is close to 90% Coho salmon and they are the best eating fishing salmon or trout in Lake Michigan. 

         This is a great year for Coho salmon on Lake Michigan and the fish are good size. We will be in Racine for at least another ten days but we might head back to Milwaukee earlier this season because the bite is equal to Racine. We have openings this Memorial Day, so call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to get in on the blitz of a great year class of Coho salmon.  

 

May 16, 2016

        Well we are Racine charter fishing now and the Coho salmon are lined up from Chicago to Sturgeon Bay. Good for all. Lots of small alewives in the fish we are cleaning and the Coho salmon are close to a 4 lb average if not better.  With the 2.76 million Coho stocked for this year and the high survival rate over the winter along with the perfect size bait this appears to be as good as 2011 for Coho salmon. Time will tell. The bulk of the fish are still offshore in Racine and because of strong northwest winds we fished close to shore. On Saturday afternoon and early Sunday morning there were snow flakes, with the mornings stating at 39 and 37 degrees. I sure hope that is over. We went 12 for 13, 9 for 12, 5 for 10 and 10 for 13. All Brown trout and Coho.

        We didn't get out to the hot bite in 200 plus feet due to high winds but it was decent fishing. The bite transitioned from spoons to orange dodger and peanut flies as more Coho's showed up. Our boards with orange on just below the surface took most of our Coho and the gold hud stinger on riggers down 12 to 15 feet took some Browns. We fished in 15 to 25 feet of water. Not mush to report but this week things should be much better weather wise and catch rate should go up. Lots of fish around right now. Should be a great rest of May and June. The water is still cold with 50 degrees right next to shore and 41 degrees out deep. This is the best time of year to catch good numbers of salmon. 

May 12, 2016

        Silver King Charters is now Racine charter fishing. We fished yesterday in 170 to 200 feet of water and went 15 for 16 "limit" on Coho salmon. The fish were hitting from the surface down 120 feet. Took fish on riggers, with the deep one set at 120 "Boy Blue/White Flasher", next at 90 feet, 50 feet and 35 feet all with stingray blue dolphins, Orange dodger peanut flies on the rest near the surface. The riggers all got hit twice. The boards and dipsies took the rest. All the fish had real small alewives in them. Great sign. Also these Coho salmon weighed 3 to 5 pounds. Check the face book picture.

        We have had a tough spring with the weather. More north wind then anything else. Hopefully we start seeing some better days but these north winds seem to have set up a good line of fish from Milwaukee back to Chicago. Just need them to set up a little better for some of the best salmon fishing of the season. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to book a May or June trip to catch Coho salmon.     

May 9, 2016

        Well I lied, we did our last Milwaukee charter fishing trip Sunday morning because of more Northeast winds. I really appreciate my groups switching there plans and coming to Milwaukee. We were set to head to Racine on Friday but the strong winds on Saturday kept us from going. We fished the harbor and caught Brown trout and some Coho salmon. It was tough due to the water clarity. We went 6 for 6 "accidently threw one back!", 9 for 11 and 10 for 19. The one thing that was good to see was one year old alewives. I found several in all the fish we cleaned. There was also some 5 to 6 year old alewives that we snagged and actually would pull the boards just a little. But this is the first time in a couple of years I have seen one year only alewives. Hope there are a lot of them out there.

           Our hot set ups were 1 color leadcores with copper stinger spoons. We also did good with the UV Stinger blue dolphin on mono dipsies and riggers. All our baits were set in the top 15 feet of water. The weter temperature was between 46 to 50 degrees. All of our action came right in front of the river mouth of the harbor. There was good bait and it was just a little warmer there.

          We took he boat to Racine Sunday afternoon and will hopefully be catching Coho salmon this upcoming week. We have had many days or northeast winds and this has slowed the Coho action but it is coming and we just need a little cooperation from mother nature. The good news is the Coho's are good size this year and there has been a really good stocking for this season. So call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to book a May or early June charter and lets start catching these salmon and stop talking about them.    

May 2, 2016

         We did our last Milwaukee charter fishing trip this weekend and will not be back in Milwaukee until June 26th. Just about all Brown trout in April. The good news is that the fish were decent size. Most of the Brown's we landed were in the 5 to 12 pound class. No monsters but no dinks either. Every time we had to fish it was not good weather. We saw snow early and even last weekend it was 39 degrees when we started. I hope that is in the past. We also had a northeaster for the last week and this has made fishing challenging.

         Throughout April our top bait was the stingray gold hud from Stinger. Same as last fall. Our best set ups were the 1, 2 and 3 color micro leadcore board rods. It wasn't even close. We are heading to Racine to begin the southern offensive. We will be there for all of May and most of June. The target is Coho salmon and this is the best time of the entire season to catch good numbers of Coho salmon. They are starting to show up and this year had a very good stocking class of 2.76 million Coho. We hope to catch our first limit very soon.

           We go to Racine at this time of the year because we have a better chance of limits. It may be good further north but it is always better down south. Call us at 414-460-1467 and get in on some great salmon action! 

April 25, 2016

          Milwaukee charter fishing remains solid. We have been out several times and have had decent success on Brown trout, with a few Rainbow trout coming out of the river from spawning. The fish are decent size ranging 4 to 12 pounds. We have fished mostly the harbor area. The water is now 53 degrees in spots and when we were outside the harbor down by the green can we saw 47 degrees. This time last year that spot read 39 degrees. We found a lot of 5 year old alewives in the trout and our bigger size spoons were working the best.

         We ran 1, 2 and 3 color leads, mono dipsies set at 22 on the line counters and riggers from 9 to 25 feet down. All had stingray size Stingers on them, with the gold hud being the best. We are looking forward to Coho fishing down south now. Silver King Charters will either be going Friday or the following Monday, depending on weather, to Racine.  The Coho bite has started and spring is hands down the best time to catch salmon during the season. Call us at 414-460-1467 for a May or early June trip. There were 2.76 million Coho salmon stocked for this season!

April 19, 2016

          We fish we caught on Sunday. All Brown trout and all good size between 6 to 12 pounds. Have a video on Facebook of first fish. All fish came on spoons run 10 to 18 feet down by the river mouth of the Milwaukee harbor. The fish had gobies in them but there were big schools of bait around the inside of the Main gap all the way to the river mouth. There was about 250 Cormorants feeding on top of the bait coming up with fish each time they dove. Said to see considering the forage problem we face, 

           The water temperature in the slips is 50 degrees at the surface and is between 44 to 48 degrees in the harbor. Down 15 feet it was still in the low 40's. Things are going to warm up fast this season and real good Coho fish should be happening by months end in Racine. The smelt are still around. I went up to Big Bay park, which is just north of Milwaukee and pulled 20 smelt in two pulls. That was enough for me but over the last 10 years it would have taking me a month of pulling a net to get as many. 

          The fish all hit Stinger stingray size spoons and color was not so important as the depth and staying around the river mouth. The good news is there are some Coho salmon off Racine now and we will be heading there next Friday. We are going to fish Brown trout one more week first. It has been a solid bite with a lot of nice size fish. Wee still have a couple spots open this weekend, so call Silver King Charters to get in on some good Brown trout action.  

April 13, 2016

         The first two Saturdays in April were snow and real cold. I think the snow is done! This weekend it will be in the 60's and sunny. Going to be great fishing. We will be targeting Brown trout this weekend out of Milwaukee. The fishing has improved and there are some real nice trout being caught. The better news is that Coho salmon are being taken in good numbers down south and they are bigger than average this year. This may be our last Brown trout weekend so take advantage.

        The hope was that all the talk of good hatches of bait would lead to bigger Coho salmon and it has. This should be one of the better Coho seasons both in numbers and size. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to get in on some great Brown trout action this weekend and then slam so Coho salmon in May and June. We cannot wait to dirty up the boat.  

April 9, 2016

        As I write this post I am supposed to be fishing but we got to the boat and it was 21 degrees with a 20 mph north wind. I told the folks it just wasn't worth it. The coldest start I ever had was 29 degrees and I was not going through that again. I am a Cabo San Lucas kind of guy and I don't know how much longer I can do this weather. That being said we put in April 1st with no problems and it proceeded to snow and blow since. I am contemplating taking it out of the water if it will bring back warm weather. The new engine runs sweet and Centerpointe Yacht services did a great job with a lot of hurdles. We spent a week breaking it in, with anticipation of fishing today but we can wait for better weather than this.

        The Brown trout fishing was outstanding in March and ok last week. We just need to get back to a more normal spring weather pattern and fishing will take off again. Boards with spoons and stick baits in shallow and the Browns are there, with Lake trout and occasional Coho. Lots of bait around when we were running all over the place last week. Even the smelt have returned in some what decent numbers this spring, so there is hope.

        We will be Milwaukee charter fishing through at least next weekend but we will be eventually heading to Racine for Coho salmon. May and June are the best month of the whole year to catch salmon in good numbers! Silver King Charters will be back in Milwaukee the week of June 27th for the rest of the season. Call us at 414-460-1467 to get in on April Brown trout fishing. The weather cannot be any worse than today and there will be some great days of fishing this month. 

March 23, 2016

         The 2015 lake wide stocking numbers for Lake Michigan have been released, so I am going to post them with past years numbers and go through some information that people frequently ask on trips. These numbers are the combined stocking efforts of Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin and the Federal Government, which stocks Lake trout. All numbers are rounded to the nearest ten thousands so 1.45 would be one million four hundred and fifty thousand. The Lake trout totals include a small percentage of fingerlings. All fish are stocked as yearlings, with the exception of a small percentage of Lake trout and all Chinook. The Chinook need to be stocked before smolting, so they can imprint on the location they were stocked and find their way back when they spawn. There is a higher survival rate for fish that are stocked as yearlings.

         Salmon at most live for four years before spawning and dying. Coho salmon it is three years and because they are stocked as yearlings they spawn after only two years in Lake Michigan, meaning the 2015 stocking is what we catch this year. So all of the salmon stocked from 2012 back have spawned and died already. The Coho salmon stocking lake wide was 2.76 million for 2016 and the average for the past 20 years was 2.49 million. Coho salmon been stocked in consistent numbers in Lake Michigan over the past 20 years and the spring bite for the southern half of Lake Michigan is still as good as it has been. The Chinook stocking has been reduced but Chinook salmon are naturally reproducing in the northern rivers on the lake and years that natural reproduction is strong the Chinook fishing is better. There is a good chance that 2015 was a good year for natural reproduction.

        Over the past 21 years the average stocking per year lake wide for Coho salmon is 2.46 million and if 2015 there was 2.76 million stocked. That is why we tell our customers that May and June is the best salmon fishing during the season because this is the best time to catch Coho salmon. This is why Silver King Charters moves from Milwaukee, so we are located in a great spot out of Racine to catch Coho during May and June. They are simply the number one stocked salmon right now, so May and June is our best catch rate of salmon for the season. We move back to Milwaukee in July to capitalize on great Lake trout fishing and steady Chinook fishing.

       Lake trout our the number one stocked fish in Lake Michigan since 2006 or the last 10 years period. These fish spawn on reefs in Lake Michigan and not in rivers like Brown trout or Rainbow trout, so they have a better chance of survival after spawning. All salmon and trout are salmonid but the difference is that salmon spawn after they die and trout do not. Lake trout do not have the tough experience of running up rivers to spawn and this gives them greater chances to live longer. There is also a limit of 2 or 3 of them a day depending on the state. The Federal goverment stocks Lake trout and the rest of the five species are stocked by the states. 

        There are Lake trout in Lake Michigan over 20 years old, so some of the Lake trout from 1995 on this list could still be swimming around. Lake trout are also naturally reproducing on the reefs in Lake Michigan. Right now the only other  fish of the five species that naturally reproduce in good numbers is the Chinook salmon but this is not as consistent as Lake trout reproduction. With the Lake trout being the number one fish stocked, natural reproducing, a lower bag limit, high survival rate and the longest living of the five species there is no doubt they are the top prey fish in Lake Michigan. They are the only natural fish to Lake Michigan of the five species.

         Now the final two species the Rainbow trout and Brown trout. The stockings on these two fish have been steady over the last 21 years averaging 1.59 million on Brown trout and 1.81 million on Rainbow trout per year. Brown trout like structure close to shore and usually are found in 80 feet or less. Milwaukee to Racine offers some of the best Brown trout fishing because of all the great structure. Rainbows are much like Coho and Chinook salmon. They are a schooling fish that can travel great distances in the lake, so when things set up right for our area the fishing is fantastic for Steelhead. These fish are commonly found off shore in 250 feet plus of water. Chinook salmon can travel the length of the lake in 3 days. Coho salmon not as quick but can go anywhere in Lake Michigan in several days searching for food.

        So what does all of this mean to you planning a Lake Michigan charter fishing trip. Lake Michigan is still an outstanding fishery but it has changed some from the 1990's and early 2000's. Chinook salmon fishing will have some real good years when natural reproduction is strong but other fish will be targeted more than in the past. Lake trout fishing is outstanding on Lake Michigan. Coho salmon fishing is still very strong but May and June are the best times to target Coho. Brown trout fishing, which was a fish targeted early or late in the season, is now a fish we will target all throughout the season to fill the box up. Steelhead action is still as good as it has been but again these fish need to set up off the port you are fishing. Silver King Charters will target all five species depending on the day to make sure you go home with a good catch and a fun experience.   

Year	Brown	Chinook	Coho	Lake	Rainbow	Total
1995	1.88	6.55	2.40	2.26	1.88	14.97
1996	1.79	6.19	3.11	2.11	1.85	15.05
1997	1.80	5.74	2.62	2.24	1.86	14.27
1998	1.74	5.72	2.06	2.30	1.62	13.44
1999	1.65	4.32	2.76	2.34	1.68	12.77
2000	1.67	4.05	2.50	2.26	1.24	11.72
2001	1.75	4.52	2.77	2.38	1.85	13.26
2002	1.75	4.02	2.69	2.23	1.86	12.54
2003	1.65	4.42	3.12	2.60	2.08	13.88
2004	1.60	4.30	1.69	2.35	1.58	11.53
2005	1.52	4.31	2.56	2.89	2.17	13.45
2006	1.61	3.25	2.43	3.26	1.79	12.34
2007	1.47	3.17	2.27	3.62	2.00	12.54
2008	1.47	2.73	2.03	3.12	1.62	10.96
2009	1.63	3.02	1.75	3.18	2.07	11.64
2010	1.43	3.29	2.52	3.43	1.68	12.34
2011	1.34	3.22	2.57	3.46	1.83	12.41
2012	1.52	3.24	2.74	3.60	1.93	13.04
2013	1.44	1.76	2.55	3.44	1.91	11.09
2014	1.22	1.81	2.38	3.48	1.93	10.82
2015	1.54	1.79	2.76	3.45	1.69	11.18

 

March 13, 2016

     Well we are less than 20 days from launch. The old motor is out and we only have one engine right now, so we are not going anywhere as of now but the new engine should be installed by the end of the week. We are ready to go with everything else and cannot not wait to boat the first fish. Lake Michigan is definitely  warmer than the last couple season at this time. Lets face it two tears ago over 80 percent of the lake was still iced over at this time and it was not much better in 2015.  

       This winter the worst Lake Michigan was covered with ice was 20 percent and this was short lived. The surface temperature is 36 to 39 degrees close to shore out of Milwaukee. The last couple of seasons the temperature was just 38 degrees when we motored to Racine by the third week of April.

       What does it all mean. Good early spring fishing. Everything should start up earlier. The boats fishing right now are doing well on Brown trout and catching a few Lake trout.  The Lake trout season opens on April 1st and that is when we start. You need to find the right overall depth and sweet spot in the water column and the action is good. Boards with spoons and stick baits are the ticket. I have broke down and purchased the mighty flicker shads. Lets face it spoons are good but I was sick of hearing that the hot bit was on body baits and the Flicker shad was usually the one.

       Silver King Charters is looking to capitalize on what looks to be one of the best April's in sometime. We will start Milwaukee charter fishing first but at some point we will be heading to Racine, when we here the Coho salmon bite is going. Call us at 414-460-1467 to be the first to boat a fish with us in 2016 this April. 

 

March 4, 2016

           We are fast approaching the beginning of the 2016 season. The southern half of Lake Michigan is ice free. There is little ice left in the Milwaukee harbor and with temperatures above 40 degrees all of next week it should wipe out the ice. Surface temps are already much better than last year and the Brown trout fishing on the lake is already very good. We start April 1st and look to have some of the best April fishing we have seen since 2012.

            There has been a lot of small perch and shad in the harbors and we are hoping that this translates into a good hatch of alewives. Water temperatures should be above normal and hopefully lead to earlier Coho salmon action. We thing that the Coho will be good size early this year. There is little doubt that a good thermocline will set up this summer and make our fishing better. Call us to start catching fish in April at 414-460-1467.  

February 11, 2016

            Well we heard form the fishery expert that this El Nino, which is the biggest in recorded history, will be responsible for great things over the next 4 years. After each of the previous big El Nino's we have seen better fishing because it helps the food that all the little guys feed on multiple and survive. This causes an explosion in bait fish and also natural reproducing salmon. It is all set up to be some good fishing. We know that it will never be as great as the years before the mussels but  we have had some great fishing like in 2011 - 2013 and this was set up by a great year class of bait.

             We are really looking toward April and May. We know weather can sometimes be challenging but when it is decent the fishing is really really good. We have been getting the boat ready for the season and we are now putting new line on all the reels.  With the mild winter the fishing should start out real good. There are small boats already taking advantage of the water. Lake Michigan only froze over 20 percent this year and it does not look like it will eclipse that. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to get in on early action. April is Brown trout and Lake trout. May is Coho salmon and some of the best catch rates of the year.

February 3, 2016 

            As I write this we have just missed another big snow storm and have received only rain. We have had one snow storm in November and one in January and that is it. We have had two cold blast and I think the coolest it has been is 7 degrees. Both cold spells lasted only 3 days each. Mild winter and that is just what Lake Michigan needed. The last two winters the lake has frozen over 90% and 75 percent. This year its peak have been 20% and right now it is 13%. We know there was a good hatch last year of bait fish. The mild winter will help them survive. I found out more good news yesterday at the Great Lakes Milwaukee Chapter board meeting, which I am Vice President of. There was a huge hatch of algae late last summer and it lasted through December. This was the good algae that feed littler bait fish and it covered half the lake. I don't know all the details but the source is a credible biologist who will be speaking at the New Berlin Ale House at 7:00PM February 9th.

            What does it all mean. We have a great chance at an good size increase of bait fish this season. We will know how good this spring when we start catching Coho salmon. They love the small bait and if they are full of them the next 3 seasons could be very good on Lake Michigan. Silver King Charters starts fishing on April 1st out of Milwaukee but we will be in Racine as soon as the Coho bite goes. With this mild winter it may be April 1st. We have not had a solid hatch since 2010 and that led to one of the best King fishing years in memory. Because of reduced stocking it will not be that good but with natural reproducing fish surviving it will be solid. There is good reason to be optimistic.

           My favorite time of the season is spring because for the most part April through mid June has the highest catch rates. May through mid June also has the best salmon catches of the season and Silver King Charters will be right were the fish are. Call us now at 414-460-1467 to get in on the spring action.  

 

January 10, 2016

          Well I cannot believe it is 2016 already. Silver King Charters is in full swing preparing for the upcoming season. We will put in on April 1st and be Milwaukee charter fishing on April 2nd. But it is time to reflect on the 2015 season. Every season has it highlights and 2015 we pulled a record number of Lake trout. The Coho salmon bite was solid in the spring but off from the last couple of seasons. Looks to be strong though for 2016. The Chinook salmon bite was week and ended up being one of our poor season in many years. Stocking is down and there was a poor natural reproduction for that year. In addition the water was very cold. We had solid Brown trout action and this carried us in April and October. The Rainbow bite was ok but size was down in 2015.

          With all that said Silver King Charters managed 10.08 fish a trip. Very good considering when some of those trips took place. We did have one skunk but this was in the harbor on a very poor day. We took many Lake trout limits this summer and boated over 200 Lake trout over 13 pounds. The big fish of the season was a 32.5 pound Brown Trout and this came just two days before Salmon-A-Rama. Yeah, a $20000 fish just 48 hours early.

         Lets start with April. We started Milwaukee charter fishing April 3rd and it was solid. Brown trout, Lake trout, Rainbow trout and Coho salmon were in the catch. We fished shallow south of Milwaukee or just inside the harbor. Stick baits and small spoons worked best. We never got deeper than 30 feet in April. Although the fishing was good it was great down south as the Coho salmon bite started to take off. We always start in Milwaukee but as soon as the Coho go we go to Racine. Usually this is at the start of May but it could be earlier. This season we took off to Racine in between trips. Once we got there it was a limit catch. I cannot stress this enough, if you want to catch good numbers of salmon the best time is May and June. The last third of April was outstanding Coho salmon fishing, with limit catches.

         May started with a thud! Racine charter fishing is known for some outstanding Coho fishing but some bad weather system and unusually cold weather hampered the fishing. The Coho schools blew as far south as Chicago leaving us with Brown trout and a few Chinook salmon. It was tough fishing for the first half of May. But as the weather became more consistent the fishing improved and by the end of May we were near or at limits on Coho salmon. We also had a great offshore bite and caught a great mixed bag of Chinook, Lake trout, Rainbow trout and of course Coho salmon. Our warm winter this year should make the 2016 May solid throughout. When the bite was on we averaged just under 20 fish a trip, which is normal for May. Again we were charter fishing Racine at this time and it is just 40 minutes south of Milwaukee or 50 minutes north of Chicago.  

         June started real good as it usually does. We fished from the harbor mouth to 280 feet of water. South of Kenosha t o north of Wind Point. When you found the fish it was double digit or limit catches. The first half of June still had a strong Coho bite. By mid June we were taking limits of Lake trout in our catches and this lasted right through our last day charter fishing Racine. The Coho salmon bite became less consistent and we relied on multiple species to good numbers.  On June 6th we fished the SU Open Wisconsin finishing 9th. We struggled that day and only landed 9 fish. On June 20th we fished the Kenosha Coho Classic. We caught our fish and a lot of Lake trout but not good size. I think we finished 12th. Tough start to tournament fishing but it laid the ground work for some special days later in the season. We were dialed in for the last tournament in June the Morris but a bad carbarator knocked us out.

        We started July back in our home port Milwaukee charter fishing and began a blitz on Lake trout. Silver King Charters took limits 80 percent of our trips in July of Lake trout. Their were many in the upper teens. We also took a mix of Chinook, Rainbow and Brown trout. It was solid action and with a base of Lake trout most trips saw double digit catches. We were fishing mostly north of Milwaukee and from the shore to about 100 feet of water. Two days before Salmon-A-Rama we boated our biggest fish of the year and it was a 32.5 pound Brown trout. If this wasn't the biggest fish caught on Lake Michigan in 2015 it was for sure top five! Would have for sure won Salmon-A-Rama.

         Salmon-A-Rama took place between July 9th through the 19th and once again we purchased a $500 ticket to make all of our clients eligible. Once again we booked the entire week full. We again for the 4th year in a row put our customers on the board and won them money. We came just 30 minutes from winning the $20000 grand prize for biggest fish and this was a 23.5 pound Lake trout. It was a heartbreaker. We took 3 places in the Lake trout division and won the Super Slam by 20 pounds. Silver King Charters has won 18 prizes in the last four years in Salmon-A-Rama, so call us at 414-460-1467 to get in on the fun July event. This will fill up.  

         August was another good month of Lake trout fishing but we also had our best stretch of Chinook salmon fishing during this time. There was about 10 days in the middle of the month that we took 4 to 12 Kings a trip. This along with Lake trout and Rainbow trout put our catches at 12 to 25 fish a trip. Great fishing! The rest of the month we spent Lake trout fishing then going in close for Brown trout. Again we fished in 100 feet or less. Cold water this season kept the fishing close to shore for the most part. Milwaukee charter fishing this summer was definitely a mixed bag of species, with a heavy dose of Lake trout.

          September use to be a great month for spawning King salmon but with the reduction on Chinooks we have suffered during this month. Silver King Charters decided to change tactics this September and get away from the heavy effort on 4 year old Kings and target other species and non spawning Kings. This started out great but a week into the assault we were hit with 2 weeks of bad winds. This was much like the first couple weeks of May. Every season we are dealt some nasty stretches of bad winds and weather. You never know when it will come during the season but when it does our best efforts will be effected. This forced us to fish in areas that were not as productive at times. It was not until the last week of September that we started to get back into a normal pattern. The bite at that time was mostly Brown trout, Lake trout and a few returning Coho salmon.

         October was more favorable and the weather was great for the time of season. We did not have a good Chinook bite like years past during October but the Brown trout and toward the end Lake trout action was decent. We fished mostly in 10 to 35 feet of water, with only a couple of trips in the 100 foot mark. Over the years October is usually a solid month to fish weather pending.

          So every year is different and this year it broke down with Lake trout being the our number one catch followed by Coho salmon and then Chinook, Rainbow and Brown trout. All of the last tree very close to one another.  For years Chinook was number one by a long shot but with the way Lake Michigan is stocked now the only way Chinook will be number one is if we get a great hatch and strong natural reproduction. The last time we had this was in 2010. We had a great hatch of bait and very good survival of all things little that year. This led to some great fishing through the 2013 season, including one of the all time best King years in 2012.

         What does 2016 have in store for us. Well even the expert are poor at predicting year to year but this is what I know. We had a good hatch and probably the best since 2010. Not as good but decent. We had a record warm December and this should lead to a mild winter. The last two winters wiped out a lot of new hatches. We need a wet spring for nutrients in the lake and this should lead to more bait, better survival of stocked fish and natural reproduction of Chinooks.  Only time will tell how much better but over the next couple of seasons it should improve.

         The immediate effect will be in the Coho salmon bite in spring. If there was truly a good hatch of bait and this is always tough to tell and it survived we will see larger Coho salmon. Coho love small bait and more will survive if it is around. I already stated that May and June is the best time of the year to catch salmon on Lake Michigan because the stocking is still relatively the same as it use to be for them. So this real good time of year could be outstanding in 2016. I cannot wait to lay a spread of orange dodgers and peanut flies into a Coho school.

         We slide back to Milwaukee for the rest of the season. July and August is still the best time to target Chinook salmon. We had two weeks in July and two weeks in August where I can say that the King fishing was decent. During those weeks we caught Kings on just about every trip and some of those trips were in the 8 to 12 fish range on Kings. Going forward if we do see a good hatch of alewives from 2015 we will probably see an increase in natural reproducing Kings and this will start to show up in 2017. But as I right this we are having a warm winter and this means a thermocline. This will help the bite in the summer of 2016.

         Silver King Charters is looking forward to the 2016 season and we work every weekend during the off season to make sure your trip will be fun and safe, with a good catch of fish.  We are putting in a brand new fuel injected 350 crusader, new cushions and of course new line one every reel. Call us at 414-460-1467 to get in on some great April and May fishing. Silver King Charters starts fishing April 1st and there will be no ice to deal with this year.

October 16, 2015 

         Yes, Silver King Charters is still rolling but the end of Milwaukee charter fishing for 2015 is coming. The early blow of October made fishing tough but the lake is now setting up for fall. Water temps are slowly dropping and fish are becoming more active. Our bite has been mostly Brown trout, with a few Lake trout. We have been fishing close to shore in 20 to 50 feet or water and will probably do the same this week. The catches last week were between 4 to 8 fish and we intend to improve on this for the rest of the month.

         In close we are using 1 to 4 color leads on boards, The Hud special silver by Stinger is on just about everything. The boards are best. We get a couple hits on riggers and dipsies but in shallow water the boards produce best. We will probably be in shallow again this weekend but more than likely hit the 80 to 100 foot make and see if we can get in on some late season Lake trout action.

       Silver King Charters runs through October 31st and we still have some openings. Fishing will get better in these last two weeks. We are also booking for 2016! Remember that the best salmon bite of the year is May 1st through the end of June. 

October 1, 2015

         Bet you thought I forgot about these reports. Just super busy. Well Milwaukee charter fishing took a hit the  Friday morning of September 11th. We went out just as a big north wind started and caught a limit of Lake trout. Headed back to the harbor that trip and have been there for the most part since. This last weekend on our afternoon trip Saturday we did get back on some great trout action but by this Tuesday it was over with the mother blow from the north. This one looks like it will last through this weekend and scramble Lake Michigan good. We hit double digits on September 11th and September 27th and that is it. Otherwise the trips have been 1 to 7 fish. We even had a skunk but it was a shorten trip in the harbor. All Browns, Chinooks and Coho in the harbor. When we get out on the lake we get Lakers, Browns and a few salmon. This has been the toughest fishing since early May.

        In the harbor we run 2 and 3 color leads with spoons. Three downriggers with 2 spoons and one plug. The dipsies are mono and usually a spoon and a fire tiger jointed stick plug. Our favorite spoon is the stingray Stinger Hud Special in silver on everything spoon related. Is it the hottest, well nothing is all that hot but it is the best producer. I would say that half the catch is Brown trout and then 25 percent Coho and Chinook. Not much of a Knig return and they are all stocked fish. It will improve but we are going to have to wait for this northeast blow to knock down some first.  

         The weather has made things tough but October has all been real good fishing when you can get out. Silver King Charters will be running trips right through October 31st or Halloween. So call us at 414-460-1467 to get in on the last month of Lake Michigan charter fishing. We are also booking for 2016 too.

September 8, 2015

        The 2015 summer season for Milwaukee charter fishing is just about over but Silver King Charters will be fishing until October 31st. This was one of the best Labor Day weekends we have had weather wise in several years. Good seas and decent fishing most of our fishing was done in 50 to 70 feet but we did run out to 300 feet on Monday afternoon. For the week we went 7 for 9, 9 for 13, 9 for 12 "23 pound Lake trout", 12 for 15, 10 for 13, 8 for 10, 7 for 10. The catch was mostly Lakers, Chinook and Rainbow.

        The action was a little slower this week but still decent catches. The Lake trout were coming on spin and glows near the bottom and leadcores between 5 and 8 colors. The hud and NBK green were best. For the other fish it was all boards from 3 to 8 color leads and the same spoons. When we were out in 300 feet the best action came in the top 60 feet and it was mostly Rainbow trout. The water is still cold from top to bottom making it tough to target fish but the 60 to 70 foot contour is probably the most consistent right now. The harbor has some Kings and Brown trout but not really good numbers, so we have not been there much this last couple weeks. We will probably hit it a couple times this week.

          Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to get in on some fall action in September and October. Good time to get some fish smoked for the holidays.   

August 31, 2015

            I cannot believe that August is over but we still have two more months of fishing. The trout fishing is been outstanding this last week and it looks to continue this Labor Day weekend. We went 9 for 11, 15 for 20 "limit", 17 for 23, 10 for 13, 9 for 12, 11 for 13, 4 for 8 "very short trip", 12 for 15 and 14 for 17. Milwaukee charter fishing is producing the best trout fishing of the season right now and the Chinook will be returning to spawn soon.

           We have been fishing from 12 to 65 feet of water. The Lake trout are in 50 to 65 feet of water and 3 to 8 colors are doing the best with Stinger Hud Specials in gold or silver, with the stingray size working best. We are catching Browns in 10 to 20 feet near shore on in the harbor on a variety of spoons, using 1, 2 and 3 colors. The riggers and dipsies have been less productive but spoons have been the best on both when they work. We also like the NBK green Stinger on the riggers. Long leads on the riggers gets a few. The water was ice cold this week and the best we found on the surface was 52 degrees. Even in the river mouth it was 49 degrees down 12 feet. Chilly water spreads fish out. But there is a good concentration of Lake trout off Milwaukee right now and it is just some great action.

           We still have some dates left to fill this weekend, so call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to hook into a big trout or a returning King salmon. No better way to spend Labor Day then catching fish! 

August 24, 2015

            Charter fishing Milwaukee continues to be good. The water is very cold right now due to all the west winds. we went 11 for 15, 7 for 11, 7 for 16 and 13 for 16 over the weekend. It was a mixed bag of Lakers, Kings, Coho and Rainbows. We have been fishing in 50 to 85 feet but the fish are spread out because to the cold water. The surface water is anywhere from 46 to 52 degrees and down just 20 feet we have 41 degrees.

            We have had most of our success on spoons with leadcore on boards. The best are 3 to 10 color and the Hud Special is the best spoon. Spin and glows for Lakers has also worked. Cold water has made it a little more challenging for flasher and flies.

           We will be out most of the last week of August and we still have availability this weekend. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to catch the mature fish before they go into the harbor to spawn.  

August 21, 2015

            Milwaukee charter fishing has been solid this mid August. We have had some very good catches, with some or our best Chinook salmon fishing of the year. We went 13 for 17, 20 for 23 "limit", 14 for 26, 11 for 14, 25 for 33, 15 for 21, 14 for 19, 8 for 13 and 15 for 20 "this morning". Of course the Lake trout fishing has been very good but over this period we have been boating Kings every trip but one and we have had a couple trips going double digits on Kings. We have been liking 60 to 110 feet of water and this changes daily and even hourly with current and wind. As I post this the west winds have froze out the area around Milwaukee and the western shores of the lake but we are still finding fish in 60 to 80 feet.

           Our top set up last week was Howie little boy blue fly and white flashers "Hot Spots" on just about everything. Yeah, it was old school fishing at its finest. Well for these days anyway. Coppers from 150 to 250, wires at 100 to 150 on line counter and riggers from 30 to 60 down. We are running spoons on leadcore at times with the Stinger Hud special being the best. These are 5 to 10 colors. I would say this was the best fishing since the spring with Coho salmon. which is always the best catch rate.

          This fishing should be good like this but soon the mature Kings and Browns will be in the harbor. This will probably happen by the first week of September. Silver King Charters has open dates in September and October. We fish until October 31st on Halloween, so call us at 414-460-1467 to help catch the last fish of the season.  

 

August 10, 2015

           Silver King Charters finished July with a 10 fish average per trip and for the first 10 days of August we are at a 10 fish average. Double digits is a great day on Lake Michigan. The catch is big on Lake trout, with a mix of Chinook, Rainbow and Brown trout. We fish in 80 to 100 feet for Lake trout and 50 feet or less for the rest. This last week went 16 for 20, 12 for 17, 2 for 2 "very short trip" 5 for 13,  10 for 15, 12 for 14 and 9 for 10.

          Our program is Lake trout first and then go in close for Browns, Kings and Rainbows. You have to be willing to move and reset with shallow stuff to produce more fish. We run 1 through 6 color leadcores in close with spoons. The Hud special by Stinger is best. Out deep it is 5 through 10 color leadcores with spoons and spin and glos down deep. Our favorite fly is Little Boy Blue by Howie, with a white blade. Gets a King or two each trip. Fishing is challenging but if you are willing to move around you can put together a nice box of fish.

          We have September and October openings for Milwaukee charter fishing and we go until October 31st, so call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to get in on some good fall fishing. 

August 4, 2015

          Well we did a lot of fishing over the last week to the lead up to Brew City Fishing tournament. Of course we had some solid trips going in to Saturday and then it got tough. We went 15 for 18 but 9 of these were Lake trout and you can only weigh in 4 of them. Silver King Charters finished 5th place with 79.6 pounds in ten fish. The highlight was a 16.5 pound Lake trout that won the big Lake trout. Congrad's to Craig of the Crabby on his 113 pound catch. We had 95 boats fish this year and everyone was all spread out because the fish were scattered. We moved 4 different times to catch our fish. Tough day. Thanks to all who participated and we look forward to next years Brew City on August 6, 2016. We hope to have 4 places for big fish, another wards 20 big fish places!

July 24, 2014

          Milwaukee Charter Fishing has been solid this week, with double digit catches. We have taken Lake trout, Chinook, Brown trout, Rainbows and Coho. The first three are the bulk of the catch. We went 16 for 18, 23 for 28, 18 for 29 and 11 for 15 in the last 4 trips. We have fished all over from the gaps to 100 feet of water and had success. The thermocline is anywhere from 15 to 30 feet down but at least there is something.

          We don't have a great set up but spoons and flasher flies are both working. We have been using 125 to 200 on coppers and 3 to 10 color leadcores and they are all producing. Wire dipsies are set at 100 to 175 with white flashers and little boy blue flies. Our riggers use two spin and glow set ups at the bottom and a spoon and flasher on the up riggers set at 30 to 45 feet. When in the gaps it is all spoons for us.

         Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to start catches fish! We have a special for next week Monday through Friday: all trips are 6 hours for the price of 5 hours.

 

 

July 20, 2015

         Another www.salmon-a-rama is in the books and for all accounts is was another great year, with the exception of one. We had the first place fish for most of the contest going into the last 30 minutes when we were knocked out by a 25 pound Lake trout caught by Jace who is only 8 years old. Good by to $20000. Well maybe next year. We still had 3 customers in the money and all in the Lake trout division. Tim took 2nd $1100, Evelyn 5th $600, and Samantha 8th $300. Great job guys and to all that fished with us that week. We also won the Super Slam with all your help. Tim, that was a heartbreak of major proportions!!!

        Well our program for the 9 days was to concentrate on Lake trout and we caught a lot of them. Well over 250 for the 9 days and of course had to throw back a lot of them. Our bait was the spin and glow on the two back riggers. We caught some other stuff but really did not target much else, so don't have much else to report. The best depth was 90 feet on the bottom.

      We were back at Milwaukee Charter Fishing today and the water is chilled. It is 63 on the surface and 43 down 18 feet. West winds will change  things all this week and there should be a good shallow water bite now. We of course took a limit of Lake trout and 4 Chinook today. The kings hit spoons on riggers down 30 feet.

       Call now to book your salmon a rama spot for 2016 and see if you can be one of the lucky ones to win cash. Brew City is in two weeks and we have a special from July 27th until July 31st: All trips are 6 hours for the price of 5 hours! Call Silver King Charters today and help us get ready for the big tournament.  

July 9, 2015

          We are less than 36 hours from www.salmon-a-rama and we still have 3 spots open. Saturday July 11th at 3:00PM and Sunday July 12th at 10:00AM and 3:00PM. We get people on the board each year and it could be you. This morning one of are clients boated a 32.4 pound Brown trout, which 6 of the last 7 years would have won $20,000 for someone if it would have been caught just a couple days later! We are catching fish and the last 3 trips we have gone 13 for 17, 14 for 17, and 16 for 19. Some really nice Lake trout, Chinook salmon and one incredible Brown trout. I will put a picture on the slider of our home page.

         The water is 59 degrees on the surface and 54 down 50 feet, so fish are spread out some but our best action is 40 feet down to the bottom. I really think you can get action from the shore out the 150 feet right. The fishing is starting to get better and we look to have a solid weekend. Not to much more details since we are close to the big tournament. Call us at 414-460-1467 and start catching fish. The Brown came on a spoon 150 copper.  

July 7, 2015

           Milwaukee charter fishing was steady over July 4th weekend. We went 12 for 14, 6 for 9, 10 for 14, 10 for 12 and 8 for 12. We have been around 10 fish a trip of late but the lake is starting to set up and this should lead to some better catches. Lake trout and Chinooks along with a couple of Coho and Rainbow have been the catch. We have been working 80 to 110 feet of water over the last week and it seems to be best at 40 feet to the bottom.

            Our boards have been spotty and we are running leadcores from 5 to 10 colors. Not really a hot bait on these but spoons are better than flashers for us. The Oz pro king has been working. The hottest rods are the deep riggers for Lake Trout and Kings. White Flashers and boy blue flies or spin and glows. The up riggers have been one flasher and one spoon and get a fish a trip. The dipsies produce the best King bite with white flashers and green or boy blue set at 125 to 175 on the line counter. The good thing is the water is setting up for a thermocline this year and that will eliminate water.

            We are getting ready for www.salmon-a-rama. We have only three spots left and they are on this Saturday and Sunday. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 and see if you can win some cash by catching a big fish on your trip. Fishing usually turns on during that week!         

July 2, 2015

           Lots has happened over the last 10 days. We finished our southern offensive Racine charter fishing, missed out fishing in Morris and have started our northern offensive Milwaukee charter fishing. To recap Racine it was still a very good time down there and we saw some limits and many double digit catches but the Coho salmon fishing never set up. There were fewer Coho salmon this year and most of them stayed south. Next year there will be the normal amount stocked and we should be back to a more traditional spring. We finished 20 for 21 "limit", 12 for 15, 20 for 23 "limit", 12 for 15, and 10 for 14, 8 for 16, and 5 for 12. Our carborator started to fail after our last trip and just before heading to Morris, causing us to miss the big tournament. We were able to fix it in 24 hours thanks to Travis of Angry Pirate but not quick enough to fish it. Lots of Lake trout at the end of our Racine stay and we fished Wing point in 100 feet during that last week.

             We started Milwaukee charter fishing Sunday and have worked the 100 foot contour since we have been back. We have gone 10 for 15, 9 for 13, 5 for 8, 15 for 18 "limit", 6 for 7, 8 for 10 and 13 for 15. Lots of Lake trout and Chinook salmon. We have boated 2 Coho and 2 Rianbows since being back. The hits are coming 30 feet to the bottom.

             Our wire dipsies are set at 125 to 210 feet with white flashers and little boy blue flies. We run one side or copper at 125 to 300 with white flashers and either green or little boy blue flies. The other side is 6 to 10 color leadcores. Cracked ice pro kings are working here. Also NBK's. The riggers have a spoon and flasher fly on the up high riggers set at 40 to 55 feet. The deep ones are either spin and glows or flashers. You know what the Lake trout like! The thermocline is setting up this season and should help to concentrate fish.

            Silver King Charters will be out of Milwaukee through October but July is a great month to fish. We still have www.salmon-a-rama.com dates open and we have a special for the last two weeks of the month during the weekdays. Book a trip aboard the Silver King and start catching fish.  

June 22, 2015

        Lake Michigan charter fishing remains steady. We started the week with a tough outing and had another that lasted only 45 minutes on a calm day. Take Dramamine even on a calm day if you are prone to motion sickness. We went 5 for 10 "tough bite", 10 for 15, 3 for 7 "fished 45 minutes", 16 for 17 it in 2 hours", 17 for 21, 12 for 14, 20 for 21 "Kenosha Coho Classic", 10 for 10, 20 for 24, 18 for 21 and 10 for 15. At the beginning of the week we fished in 50 to 60 feet but have moved out this weekend to 90 to 110 feet of water. The catch has been Coho, Lake trout and a few Kings, Rainbows and even a Brown trout.

         We have been running a mix of stuff to catch fish. Orange stuff on the outside boards and inside dipsies. These are still delivering Coho. The dipsies are set at 12 feet on the line counter and the boards are 20 to 30 feet back on the boards. We like B&B's on the boards. The wire dipsies are white flasher and Bull Frog or Green Krink Howie flies. They are set at 90 to 120 on the line counter. The inside boards are primarily leadcores from 3 to 10 color and we still like Huds and NBK stingers in both stingray and stinger size. We have been using some copper from 50 to 250 feet with flashers but with limited success. The riggers have been good with flasher flies on the insides and spoons on the outsides. These are set 20 to 50 feet down. White or chrome flashers with bull frog and green flies. We are using spin and glows at the back end of the week on the deep rigger for lake trout and we all know there are a lot of them around.

         We finished 12th place in the Kenosha Coho Classic and it has become painfully obvious that if you don't fish Lake trout in these tournaments this year you will not do good. We are quick learners and hopefully we will improve our results in the Morris this weekend. Congrads to Jim of Stormtrooper for his victory this weekend, catching 98 pounds of fish. He is a tough out in any tournament! 

        Milwaukee charter fishing starts June 28th for Silver King Charters. There are big trout up there and some nice size Kings being caught. Call us to fish before going to Summer Fest. We are 15 minutes walking distance from the fest. Also fish with us during the 4th of July weekend and catch some fresh fish for the grill. We also have times open on the 3rd of July, so you can fish before the big fireworks event downtown. We also have two opening still for the salmon-a-rama week. Call us at 414-460-1467.

June 15, 2015

          Racine charter fishing has remained solid with double digit catches. About half the catch is Coho salmon and they  are averaging 3 to 4 pounds. The rest of the catch is Kings, Lakers and Rainbows. Have seen more two year old Chinook than I have seen in several years. There must have been good survival in 2013. Silver King Charters went 20 for 20 "limit", 17 for 24, 20 for 24 "limit", 15 for 21 "limit", 13 for 19 and 12 for 35.

           We have been working 40 to 60 feet of water from the surface down to the bottom. The orange stuff takes 33 percent of the fish. B & B's are better than the 00 dodgers. The leadcores  are 3 to 7 colors with spoons on all and NBK green or silver Hud in the stinger size being best. Some nice Kings coming on these. The wire dipsies are white flashers, with green krink or bull frog Howie flies set at 90 to 120 on the line counter. The riggers are orange dodger on the up high, spoons on the next two down and white dodger and bull frog on the deep. All deliver fish.

            Silver King Charters will be back Milwaukee charter fishing on June 28th. But right now fishing is good and looks to remain so for the next several weeks. The water is starting to warm up, good amounts of bait and the fish are in good numbers. Call us to get in on the action. We have dates open, so call 414-460-1467 and start catching fish. 

June 8, 2015

          Racine charter fishing has been consistent over the last week, with double digit catches. The only exception was Saturday during our first tournament. We were one fish short and finished in 9th place. One more fish weighing one pound and we finish 4th. Ouch! The catch is 60% Coho and the rest made up of Chinook, Rainbow and Laker. We went 10 for 13 "limit", 9 for 9 "SU Open", 10 for 15, 12 for 20 and 15 for 18 "limit". We have been from in front of the harbor to 120 feet and it varies day to day. Unstable weather conditions.

          The water is still cold and most of the action is in the top 40 feet. Orange dodgers and peanut flies are still big producers on boards, dipsies and riggers. White flashers and Howie Bull Frog or Green Krink are good on riggers and dipsies. Spoons have been good on the boards both leadcore and copper. NBK green Stinger is best. We are using 3 to 7 color leads and 50 to 150 coppers. Riggers are set from 15 to 55 feet down and wire dipsies at 90 to 120 on the line counter.   

          Hopefully we can avoid wicked winds this weekend. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 and get in on the best Coho salmon fishing of the season. We head back to start Milwaukee charter fishing on June 28th. We still have 2 spots open for Salmon-A-Rama, which gives you a chance to win cash on your trip! 

  June 1, 2015

         Well May is complete and although fishing overall was good it was not on par to what May fishing traditional has been and that is lights out fishing. The last couple of cold winters has set things back a little and by the end of May things really starting picking up. The first 3 weeks of June will probably be some of the best weeks of fishing this year. We were blown out this weekend due to a very nasty north wind that made Lake Michigan in the southwest half unfishable starting at 8:00am Saturday morning. But before that the offshore bite was real good. We went 19 for 24 "limit" and 21 for 38 "limit". Both were done in under 3 hours. The catch was half Coho salmon and the rest Chinook and Steelhead. 

        The bite was anywhere from 150 to 260 feet of water. The best action was in the top 50 feet of water, with most of the fish coming in the top 10 feet.  The best set up for Coho and Steelhead was orange dodgers and green peanut flies on mono boards or dipsy all set 6 feet or less from the surface. We ran a side of copper and a side of leadcore. The best leads were 3, 5 and 7 color. The best coppers were 75 and 125 foot. Stinger size Stinger spoons were tops on these board set ups, with the Hud Special and Blue Dolphin being are favorite. On the riggers and wire dipsies it was white flashers and Howie Bull Frog flies. These took most or the Kings. Riggers set 40 to 60 feet down and the dipsies 90 to 120 dialed in at #3. The Howie Fly Bull Frog once again a stud. No big surprise there. The surface water did warm up to 51 degrees in places but after this big blow for 48 hours things will change.

        Again Silver King Charters will be charter fishing Racine for June. Once again if you are north of Wind Point your catch rate drops considerable.  So the extra 40 minute drive south by car from Milwaukee is well worth it. We are looking to fill the next 3 Friday mornings and we are offering 7 hours of fishing for the price of 5 and these 3 weeks look to be some of the best fishing of the season. Call us at 414-460-1467 to get in on some great fishing. We are back in Milwaukee on June 28th.

May 26, 2015 

        Racine charter fishing has improved this past week. It was a solid weekend of fishing but still not at the crazy good pace we usually see this time of year. But fish have moved in to the area and with some warmer water temperatures and more consistent weather we should still see some very good Coho salmon fishing. We have been hampered with front after front and consistent wind switches but soon it should set up for several real good weeks of fishing. Silver King Charters went 9 for 13, 20 for 28, 14 for 20, 12 for 18, 8 for 15, 11 for 14, and 15 for 19. Half of these fish were Coho salmon and the rest a mix of Chinook, Rainbow and Lake trout.  The Chinook were in the 14 pound range and some of the Steelhead were pushing 10 pounds with the big at 12 pounds. Look at the Photo Gallery for some pictures from the weekend. 

       Early in the week we were fishing the river mouth with decent success but by the weekend we pushed off shore to 150 to 210 feet of water. I want to thank Rich of Stellar for the hot tip that lead to a good weekend. I wish we could have capitalize more on the fish out there but we had some decent catches. The bulk of the fish came off boards using orange dodgers and green peanut flies. These were mostly Coho and Rainbow in the top 5 feet of water. The next best set ups were 3 to 8 color leadcores with Stinger spoons. The Hud was good and the Blue Dolphin. Wire dipsies set at 120 on line counter took some nice Kings. We had white flashers and bullfrog flies here. We also ran orange dodgers on dipsies at 15 to 30 on the line counters and these took some fish. The riggers were slow and took only a few fish mostly Chinook and Lake trout. Flasher flies were on these. For the most part we trolled east and west coming going through pods of fish. The water temperature was around 45 to 47 degrees on the surface. 

        The Coho salmon should be moving into the more shallow waters where there is lots of bait right now. There should be good action by the river and in 50 feet of water soon. This bite will probably continue until the water starts to warm up too much pushing fish back out. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to take part in some real good Lake Michigan charter fishing.  

May 20, 2015

         Silver King Charters has some openings this Memorial Day. Coho salmon fishing has begun to improve with our last 3 trips going 24 for 33, 14 for 20 and 17 for 25 "limit". The catches were primarily Coho and the best bait is orange dodgers and peanut flies. We are Racine charter fishing in 15 to 25 feet of water along the shore line out or Reefpoint marina. 

         These are the best eating fish of the season and now is the time to start catching them. We have also been catching Rainbow trout and Chinook salmon. Give Silver King Charters a call at 414-460-1467 to book a trip this Memorial Day Weekend. 

May 18, 2015

        Racine Charter Fishing has been up and down of the last 10 days but today was the first sign that the main school of Coho salmon are not far off. We had some tough trips of late going 10 for 13, 5 for 8, 4 for 6, 3 for 6, 6 for 10, 9 for 14 and 24 for 33. These were mostly Coho salmon and we fished everywhere from the state line to 160 feet but the salmon are starting to filter and fishing should only get better. This years bite may be starting later but there will still be some excellent fishing in May and June.

        Our best action is on Stinger spoons and orange dodgers and green peanut flies.  Blue Dolphin was good. We are running spoons off riggers and flies on all the rest. When said and down our best bite was in shallow and up near the surface. There are fish in the 100 foot mark and this is mostly a spoon bite but with the near shore bite slowly coming together I think we will be hitting that. There are some Kings in the mix too but right now it is going to be primarily Coho salmon. 

        Again it has been a disappointing start to May but eventually the month delivers and when it does limit catches happen. The good thing is we have not beaten up on them to much yet. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 for Memorial Day and catch some fish for the grill.  

May 11, 2015

       We are always honest at Silver King Charters with our reports and this was really hurts to write. We only went twice going 1 for 2 and 2 for 5. Had to cancel Sunday due to crazy winds. Worst week of May we have had in over 10 years. But with that said things are looking up and I think have reached the bottom. Alewives just started showing up in good numbers on Thursday and the Coho salmon are showing up in their usual haunts for May. Good catches in Chicago and across the lake in the southern ports in Michigan and Indiana. Fish will start filtering in to Racine and Kenosha now that alewives are in the area, with each day getting better. So the best catch rates of the year are coming and lets hope that means limits soon.

        I have nothing on what was hot but I will break it down thoroughly for you. Caught a Coho on a orange dodger and green peanut fly six feet down and six feet back on the starboard outside rigger. Very hot set up for things to come. The outside mono dipsy caught one Brown and lost two others. It was dialed at three and 25 feet on the line counter. I was using a stingray gold hud. Had an orange NBK stingray size on a back rigger 50 feet back and 15 feet down. We fished in 12 to 25 feet of water. The temps were 46 degrees top to bottom. That is the most detail I will give for such little action. Was a real bummer!

        I have to admit I was concern for the Coho bite this year but the early action was probably fish that wintered in the area. The big schools we expect just have not shown up yet and by all indications it will be a decent spring for Coho salmon and maybe a great one if things set up right. No the less double digit catches will be the norm real soon. Call Silver King Charters to get in on this action. Lake Michigan charter fishing is really just getting started now for the 2015 season.     

May 4, 2015

        Well April ended strong with our last trip going 15 for 20 and we threw back 6 shakers. We don't grow them just catch them. But May started with a big dud! We went 5 for 7 on an 8 hour trip. The worst May trip in 3 years. Lots of things happened to contribute to this but the number one reason was lack of Alewives near shore. When they show up it will change everything. There was also a full moon and flat calm conditions. When the bait comes in we should be good.

        We are heavy on spoons right now. The peanut flies have not taken off yet and that is due to lack of Coho salmon in the area. Our hot spoons are NBK orange, Hud in both gold and silver. These are both stinger and in the stingray size. Could probably just run these. They are best on the 1, 2 and 3 leadcores and off the riggers. We are still in 15 to 30 feet but we did blow out to 50 feet on Saturday to try and improve are catch rate with no success. The temperature was 40 degrees on the surface and we marked nothing. The temperature was 47 degrees in close. If things don't improve the next step is offshore in 200 plus feet. I hope that we can avoid that and alewives start to show up.

         Racine charter fishing always seems to have a sweet spot from May 15th through June 15th, so the best is to come. Memorial Day weekend is always a safe bet to catch fish. Silver King Charters has spots open that weekend, so call us at 414-460-1467 to book a trip. Also don't forget to take your Mother out fishing next Sunday to catch a salmon!

April 27, 2015

       Fishing was decent this week with more salmon in the mix then trout. We went 20 for 25 "limit", 13 for 21, and 10 for 14. We had to cancel the some because of strong winds. We saw a mix of Coho, Brown trout and Chinook salmon. It was heavy on the Coho, which are averaging 2 to 3 pounds. There have been some real nice Kings being taken in the 10 to 15 pound range. Right now it is mostly gobies in their stomach with an occasional large alewive. Hoping to see bigger schools of alewives soon.

        All action has been between 15 and 30 feet. Stick baits are giving way to more of a spoon bite. Larger spoons are definitely giving way to smaller ones. The stingray size Stinger spoons are working best and the orange killer has been the best of those. The alewives are big, with few small ones around and that is why larger spoons. Probably why smaller Coho salmon too. At least early on. Orange dodger and peanut flies are taking Coho salmon but not at a real good rate yet. Probably another week or so it will be all we use. Dipsies and riggers worked best this weekend. Good catches of Coho salmon have just started at the border and by the time you get to the Oak Creek power plant it is more Brown trout then anything else.

        Silver King Charters is now Racine charter fishing and we should be starting to catch consistent numbers of Coho salmon. We have already had several limit catches but the best is yet to come. May and early June is the best time to catch numbers because the Coho salmon stocking has not been reduced and most of these fish are located in the southern end of Lake Michigan. They are also outstanding to eat. Call us at 414-460-1467 and book your spring trip for this great action. 

 

April 23, 2015

       It is Earth Day today and I think the earth is freezing. There has been light snow the last couple of days in Milwaukee and we have regressed back into winter. But the fish are still biting. Action is still close to shore and the water has started to clear up. With no rain in the forecast and the wind from the west the last several days the bite has come back. Fish are still in tight to shore. We are using a blend or body baits, spoons and peanut flies to catch fish. It has not set up into a complete fly spread yet but more and more fish are starting to come off the orange dodger and peanut fly.

       We are out Friday and Saturday and although I hate the cold I know we will be catching fish and that will help to warm us up. Coho, Brown trout and an occasional Chinook has been the catch. We hope to have warmer temperatures soon but if you don't mind the cold the fish are still biting. Call us at 414-460-1467 to start catching fish. 

April 20, 2015

            Lake Michigan charter fishing can be humbling at times and this weekend was the case. Failed to hit double digits and every moment was a nice stiff north to northeaster. It was brutal! The highlights was each trip delivered a 15 pound King. The fishing was good right up to the weekend but unfortunately we are only out on the weekends in April.

           We fished in 15 to 30 feet of water with mixed results. The best baits were stinger stingray green nbk's off riggers and orange dodgers on dipsies just a couple feet below the water. The Kings came on the nbk's and one on a dipsy and peanut fly. All salmon this weekend. The Coho salmon were all in the 2 to 3 pound range and still on the small side. The week leading up though was still solid for Coho and Brown trout. The wind switch really shut them down. The water is now 45 degrees near shore and it was pretty muddy too which did not help.

           We are out again on Friday and hope more consistent weather or at least a more favorable wind. The upcoming weeks still promise very good catch rates and hopefully we have paid are dues this weekend. Give Silver King Charters a call at 414-460-1467 to hook up on the spring action.

 

April 13, 2015

          Milwaukee charter fishing was solid again this week. We fished with another boat Saturday and we took 8 and they had 14. Mostly Brown trout on stick baits. Smithwicks and Brads were the best off boards. Want to thank Chris and his dad Tom from the boat Legacy for delivering a good catch. We went further south Saturday afternoon and Sunday and took limits, ending up 33 for 39 on Sunday. All but 3 were Coho salmon and it was quick action. I must admit I don't care for the body baits but the collection is growing fast for those couple of weeks a year that they are the difference over spoons and flies.

          All the action this year has been in 20 feet of less. Stick baits are hot right now even for the Coho bite. But the orange dodger-peanut fly did take half the fish on Sunday and look for this set up to dominate over the next 7 or 8 weeks. The mud lines were the best areas after all the heavy rains. The surface temp is about 39 to 40 degrees. Boards have taken most of the fish in the shallow water.

          The Coho are 2 to 3 pounds right now. A little on the small side for this time of year but they will start putting on wait soon. All they have in their bellies are small shrimp or gobies right now. Typical in recent years. Expect alewives to show up soon and the Coho size should be 3 to 4 pounds by Memorial Day. The action is very good though and should remain this way through mid June. This is the best time of the year to catch good numbers of fish and limit catches, which makes up for size. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 to get in on the hot bite. Best eating fish of the season!  

April 6, 2015

           Silver King Charters put in on April 3rd with no issues and caught a couple fish driving to the slip. On Saturday we fished and the bite was ok. Mostly Brown trout, with a couple of Lakers and one Coho salmon. All fish came on spoons, with the hot bite being 3 color micro lead around the north and main gaps. The Stinger gold Hud was the best producer. We are Milwaukee charter fishing this up coming weekend but will be burning down to Racine after that. The fishing is very good down south. The Coho bite has been strong for a couple of weeks now.

           The 2015 spring Coho salmon fishing appears it will be solid, with limit catches already occurring. This bite usually runs into mid June and is when the most limit catches occur. The Coho is the best eating fish out of the five species. The great thing about early spring fishing is the salmon are close to shore, so travel time is minimal to get on top of fish.  

           Silver King Charters will be Racine charter fishing from mid April through the last week in June and with another strong Coho bite expected we cannot wait. Book now for the best catch rate of the 2015 season and call 414-460-1467.  A lot of fish are about to be caught in the next couple months! 

March 30, 2015

           Silver King Charters puts the boat in Friday and we start fishing Saturday. The Brown trout fishing has been good over the last several weeks and ice is a non issue at this point. Lake trout season opened on March 1st and the bite should be solid soon for Lake trout too. Spoons and stick baits off one, two and three colors have been good. The Coho salmon bite is also starting to take off with the best months being May through Mid-June. The Coho size is right where it should be for this time of year and it should be another solid year for Coho.

           We will be out of Milwaukee through April and then down charter fishing Racine for May and June. These three month net the best catch rate during the season. Fishing is close to shore for the most part and the action is near the surface. If you like consistent action this is the time to book. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 and start catching fish on Lake Michigan. 

March 16, 2015

            March is making up for the cold temps of February and with this warmer weather Silver King Charters will begin Milwaukee charter fishing by the first weekend of April. There are already small boats out catching Browns and Rainbows. Lake trout season opens up on March 1st and April is one of the best times to catch them close to shore. The fishing should be really good this springs from the early reports. Down south there have been some Coho salmon caught and these fish are looking to be about normal size for this time of the year, which means there must still be food in Lake Michigan:)

           In April we are only out in the weekends but starting in May we are going seven days a week. April and May are consistently high catch rates. More limits happen during these months percentage wise then any other time of the year. We will be Racine charter fishing starting May 1st and it looks to be another solid Coho salmon year. Call us at 414-460-1467 to get in on this great action. 

March 2, 2015

        Silver King Charters has been working on the boat and gear over the last couple of months in anticipation of the 2015 season. We are hoping to be in the water by April 3rd but if the ice holds on we may need to hold off a week. April and May are some of my favorite months to fish because of the great action.

        April we start out Milwaukee charter fishing and take advantage of the outstanding Brown trout and Lake trout action in and around the expansive Milwaukee harbor. This is a great time of the year to catch a limit. The temperatures may be cold but the action can be very good.

        May and early June we head south for some Racine charter fishing. From year we can take advantage of the annual Coho salmon run that starts in Indiana and Illinois. We are able to right to the state line if need be. The Coho salmon schools are tight and plentiful. Once you find them they are going to be very active and lead to limit catches. Silver King Charters averages its highest catch rate of the season during this period. 

         We will be ready for this great spring action and if you like catching lots of fish this is the best time of the year to do it. The Coho salmon is also the best tasting fish. Call Silver King Charters at 414-460-1467 and get the date you want to fish before it is taken. 

January 4, 2015

             Silver King Charters hopes you had a Happy Holidays and New Years. Well 2014 is in the books and it is time to look back on the season. Willy and I would first like to thank all of you that chose Sliver King Charter to for their Lake Michigan charter fishing experience. We enjoyed fishing with you and hope you will keep coming back to catch more fish. We love taking people out on Lake Michigan to experience this wonderful fishery. We would also like to thank all of our firstmates this year: Collin, Matt M, Dave H, Andy K, Matt L, Kurt S, Steve L and of course Samantha. They do an outstanding job for us to help you catch more fish.

            This was an up and down season that saw the catch more diverse than ever before. The Chinook salmon count was down but the other four species kicked in. We were able to average 11.4 fish a trip and although this was a low for us over the last several years most struggled to hit double digits. The break down was 34% Coho salmon, 26% Chinook salmon, 25% Lake trout, 8% Rainbow trout and 7% Brown trout.

           Once again our spring fishing from April through the third week of June was our best fishing for numbers. Only twice during this time did we fail to get double digits. Out of the these trips 76% were limit catches. Most of these fish were Coho salmon and we were Racine charter fishing during this time. We normally are in the water by the first of April but the polar vortex kept ice on the water and we did not get in until April 18th. It looks better this winter for an early start in 2015. I always mention on our charters that there is no better time to put fish in the boat than this time period and the Coho are the best eating. The trade off is size but the action makes up for it. We averaged 14 fish/trip in April, 19.7 fish/trip in May and 16.4 fish/trip in June.

            We started Milwaukee charter fishing in July and the Chinooks were not around in great numbers. We would have gone back to Racine but it was worse there. We were able to target all five species and provide good action. The highlight this summer was big Rainbow trout. Silver King Charters boated 18 over 12 pounds and 10 of those were 15 pounds or bigger. We still put Chinooks away but only averaged 3.5 a trip and our best was 11 in one trip. Again the other fish made up for the summer totals. We averaged 9.1 fish/trip in July and 9.7 fish/trip in August. We keep are numbers real at Silver King and from what we saw this season this was very good action for the southern end of Lake Michigan. The low point of the season was a zero for zero performance in early July. Never had gone on a trip in my life and did not even have a hit but that is why we have a no fish no pay. Something that is gone from most charter services on Lake Michigan as fishing gets a little harder. That was our only skunk but we had a couple 1, 2 and 3 fish days too. Luckly not too many.

            September was our toughest month with only 5.8 fish a trip. This is usually a solid month but the fishery has changed over the last several years and we are working to improve this month. October was back to 9.6 fish a trip and most of these were Brown or Lake trout. During this period we did catch some real nice Lake trout, with 4 of them over 20 lbs.

           Are big fish for each species was 23lb Chinook, 12lb Coho, 18lb Rainbow, 16lb Brown and 23lb Laker. We fished four tournaments this season and finished 2nd, 13th, 5th and 7th. We did better in the year long Salmon Series finishing 1st at Brew City and 5th overall. We had a solid year and lost a fish in two of these that would have won it. I lost one so I cannot complain.

           We bought a Salmon-A-Rama ticker again and took 1st place Rainbow 17.9lbs and 3rd place Coho 11.5lbs. We also had the 12th largest fish Chinook 21.3lbs. We were completely booked and once again delivered prize money for our clients. This is our favorite time of the year and we are buying a ticket for 2015, so book now to get your chance on winning cash up to $15000. Great job Leon on that 1st place Bow. We know he is coming back.

          Silver King Charters is looking forward to making more memories in 2015. Spring Coho fishing looks to be good again this year, so book your Racine charter fishing trip now. Great numbers, great eating and great fun! We hope to have a stronger Chinook bite but we will deliver fish Milwaukee charter fishing and some big ones too. I will post some updates leading into the season but now I better get back to working on the boat. Stay warm this winter and book early to get the date you want. Weekends go quick!