"We have some good fishing right through the season," Strong said. "Our spring fishing has been phenomenal the last couple of years. Our slowest fishing is probably during July."

Strong said the fishing usually kicks off as soon as you can get on the water in April. The fishing depends on the weather, but plenty of chinooks and cohos are available.

South Haven benefits from its proximity to the St. Joe, Black and Kalamazoo rivers. Prevailing winds stack warm river water along the shoreline in the spring, and salmonids and baitfish gravitate toward it. Most trollers head south in the spring from South Haven and key in on the shallows off landmarks like the Doctor's Row Cottages, Van Buren State Park and the Palisades Nuclear Plant. Trolling along the beach in 10 to 40 feet of water in the spring produces mixed-bag catches of cohos, kings, steelhead and occasional brown trout.

Wind and water temperature determine where the late spring and summer fishing takes place at South Haven. The lack of structure precludes any huge concentration of fish, but salmon headed north dilly-dally long enough to provide good fishing if the right water temperature and baitfish are present.

To try South Haven's brand of big-lake fishing, call (269) 342-5317, or at www.strongperformancecharters.com. For bait shops, lodging and other info, contact the South Haven Convention & Visitors Bureau at 1-800-764-2836, or go online to ByTheBigBlueLake.com.

GRAND HAVEN
"The spring fishing at Grand Haven is usually really, really good," claimed Capt. Mark Veurink. Last season was no exception.

The kings show up at the Grand Haven pierheads in early May. When reports of kings at South Haven and Holland come in, that means the chinooks will be at Grand Haven shortly.

The big draw here in the spring is the Grand River, which pumps out plenty of warm water that attracts baitfish and hungry kings. There is little structure to attract fish at Grand Haven. In fact, some of the best structure at Grand Haven is the nets -- and you had better learn the layout of the nets if you expect to catch fish there, and keep most of your gear.

"Working the color line can be a good tactic in the spring," Veurink said. Veurink uses his 35-foot Viking named Reel Action to skirt the color line where the dirty Grand River water spills into the colder Lake Michigan water. Kings in the 5- to 15-pound range pack into the dirty water in search of alewives. The fishing can remain hot at the pierheads well into June. Good catches can be made out to 100 feet in the spring. Both flasher/fly combinations and spoons take spring kings at Grand Haven. Hot combinations last year included a white/blue holographic Spin Doctor mated to a Blue Bubble Action Fly, a Fuzzy Bear Magnum Carmel Dolphin and a white/green Spin Doctor with a trailing Pickled Sunshine Action Fly.