"Fishing was pretty flat in July last year," Veurink noted. Normally, anglers at Grand Haven head west to the 260- to 300-foot depths for a mixed bag of salmonids, but last year, that didn't happen. "The way the temperature was, the fish were out 12 or 13 miles then," Veurink said. With gas at close to $4 per gallon at most marinas, you had better be sure the fish are there before you make the costly run out there.

Anglers at Grand Haven may be able to stay close to home and catch lake trout this summer. "There were so many little lake trout, it was hard to believe," Veurink said. A hotspot for lakers out of Grand Haven is four or five miles south of the harbor where you find a sand/clay bottom.

August and September usually provide some hot fishing for mature chinooks right outside the pierheads at Grand Haven.

"Last year was short and sweet," Veurink said. "The hot fishing lasted about three days. Usually, the fishing is phenomenal for about three weeks right through mid-September." Veurink said pre-spawn kings jump all over flasher/flies and plugs then. "Last year, there were more cohos than normal," Veurink said, noting that most were 6 to 8 pounds, with a few pushing 12 pounds.

To contact Capt. Veurink, call (616) 638-3331, e-mail at actionfly@Email.com.

MUSKEGON
Phil Retherford cut his charter-fishing teeth fishing out of Alpena on Lake Huron with his dad. But having fished out of Muskegon on Lake Michigan for six years now, Retherford said there isn't much difference between there and Lake Huron.

"The colors you use over here are a little different," said the younger Retherford. "They tend to be brighter colors. On Lake Huron, we used a lot of black, purple and raspberry. Over here it's more chartreuse, green and orange." Retherford said flashers, flies and cut bait are a proven combination at Muskegon, just like they were at Alpena.

One thing that is vastly different in Muskegon versus Alpena is the number of salmon in Lake Michigan.

"The spring fishing last year was good, but not as good as in 2005," Retherford said. June was especially slow. "We didn't have the fall fishing like we normally have in Muskegon Lake either. Typically, the kings just pack into the lake, and the fishing is good for several weeks. But last year, they were only there for a few days. We did catch some browns on the beach last spring though."

Like most Lake Michigan ports, Retherford said lake trout were plentiful off Muskegon, "but there was never any big trout. They were mostly undersized," he said.