March 13, 2008

I have to tell you that my little adventure on White Lake with the local writer didn't turn out quite as planned. Before I get in to the details, I have to tell you a little about this guy. He shared with me last night that he had two missions in his life before he leaves this earth. The first item was to harvest a whitetail deer. He has good record of his ancestry back to the civil war and claims that no family member since has harvested a deer. I didn't ask how many times he had hunted, but thought it to be a fine goal to have. Seeing the season doesn't open for another seven months, there isn't much I can do to help this cause. The second goal was to catch a walleye through the ice. I'm thinking I can help this guy with a little time, starting next year. We left the ice empty handed, but enjoyed the company and the wonderful afternoon on the ice with some comfortable weather.

This weekend I will be working the Grand Rapids Sportfishing and RV Show at the DeVos Center. I will be working in the Precision Angling booth for Off-Shore Tackle. If your in the area, or looking to get out of the house for a few hours, stop and see me. The show should be very entertaining even if your not in the market for a new boat or RV.

I put my ice fishing equipment away this afternoon. I still have a couple of things to take care of, but this closer feels pretty good. Next week I will start with ordering new equipment, loading the boat, and getting a few maintenance items taken care of prior to taking the boat out April 1st.

Looking ahead - For those of you looking for some spring fishing, consider booking a trip with me in mid to late April in Muskegon for the spring walleye bite. Should be a great spring with the numbers of fish we caught this past summer and fall. There should also be a strong year class of fish this year that will be 16" - 18". Last summer it seemed that every other fish was a 14 1/2" - 14 3/4" and should be all of 15" this spring.

Memorial Day Weekend - Booking trips for Lake Erie Memorial Day Weekend. This is my first trip over every year and we have an absolute blast. The spring run walleye are falling back out of Detroit River and are looking to put on the feed bag. Last year I took two close friends with me for their first Lake Erie fishing adventure. I have heard the stories repeated for the last 10 months, and they never get old. If you haven't experienced Lake Erie walleye fishing before, give it a try. You can be that guy or gal at work telling stories and showing off the pictures of your awesome Lake Erie trip. You don't want to miss it.

Close of season coming...

The walleye season is quickly coming to a close for inland waters. When I say inland waters, Im speaking of the water inside of the Lake Michigan shoreline. March 15th is the last day until April 1st for me. I know, two weeks off with no fishing "boo-hoo". That two weeks is the most time all year where I dont fish. It's a much needed break and time to prepare for the 2008 season. I have two short weeks to get my ice-fishing gear put away, get my new rods and reels put together, stock the tackle boxes and get all of the pre-season work done on my boat. I put many miles on during the year and there things like new bearings on the trailer and touch up work on the boat that must be done during this break. I get my boat out of storage April 1st and begin fishing outside the shoreline in Lake Michigan. The fishing historically picks up in mid to late April as the post spawn walleye fall back out of the Muskegon River and start what I call "the feeding frenzy". Im going to be taking a local writter out Wednesday night on White Lake for some last minute walleye ice fishing. I try and get this guy on the water a couple of times a year. I send him weekly fishing updates on my success or short comings to help him develop a weekly fishing report for the Muskegon Chronicle. He works with some local guys he can trust to develop this weekly fishing report. He often gets the abuse when guys show up and dont catch fish, but I can tell you that his reports are generally right on the money. As they say, 10% of the fishermen catch 90% of the fish.

Welcome To My Captain's Log

Hello and welcome to my Captain's Blog. Because this is my first entry, I'll take a moment to introduce myself. I am a Charter Captain from Muskegon, Michigan. I specialize in Walleyes, Pike and Panfish and I am happy to travel to many lakes throughout Michigan. Please visit my website at www.tkocharters.com. Please check back often as I plan on updating this blog regulary to keep you informed on the fishing conditions in West Michgan.