- Nick Nied
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We are inching closer to the start of the 2023 Lake Michigan charter fishing season. We are almost ready to drop the boats in, and with a little help from mother nature, we will begin chartering April 1st. As of right now, the entire Waukegan Harbor and Marina is ice free and has been since the end of February. I cannot remember a time the marina had no ice on it this early. Because of this, April fishing looks to be good this year and we expect to have a better opener than last.
Summer months are our busiest for a lot of reasons: the weather is typically good, children are out of school, and people are taking vacations. July is also when we have our best Chinook action of the year. A thermocline has unusually set-up and this makes it easier to target Chinook. Over the last three years, the catch rate has improved from season to season. When we left the lake last October, we were catching a lot of two-year-old Chinooks that were two to four pounds and this should lead to a good Chinook bite this season.
Depending on the current water temperature, we could be fishing in 15 to 25 feet of water or out in 300 feet of water. During the summer, we spend most of our time between 80 to 100 feet and the runtime to this depth out of Waukegan Harbor can be as short as a 10-minute boat ride.
Chinook salmon are the Kings of Lake Michigan and put up a great fight no matter the size. When you hook a 15+ pound Chinook salmon, it can take 200 feet of line out without stopping. This is why they are so fun to fight! During July when we fish deep water, there can be a good rainbow trout or steelhead bite. Rainbows jump almost immediately, and this leads to an exciting fight. As long as the water is cool, lake trout are present everywhere, regardless where we are fishing!
We are booking up fast for the 2023 Lake Michigan Charter Fishing season so call Spendthrift Charters today to book your charter! Contact (847) 816-7390 to schedule your Great Lakes fishing charter. Below are some pictures from previous fishing charters. We are already booking up fast for this season so reserve your spot soon!