"Last year there was one we call 'The Shamster' that was red hot," said Klein. "It's a bright orange or red spoon with a gold or silver back. It didn't matter if you were out deep or in close. It was a king killer."

Grand Haven kings are where you find 'em.

"There's usually some pretty dependable fishing straight out in 260 to 300 feet of water," advised Klein. "You're going to find a lot of juvenile fish there. The bigger fish like the warmer water."

Klein said that generally what you'll find is that there is a lot of baitfish way out that run on the small side. Juvenile salmon are usually abundant around the small baitfish. Big bait -- and big kings -- is more likely to be in close. A hotspot is a hole just south of the harbor in 65 feet of water.

"You can find some great fishing when you can find 47-degree water close to bottom in 65 to 80 feet," claimed Klein. Normally though, Klein doesn't hunt temperature. "I don't pay too much attention to temperature. If I see fish on the graph, I put my lines there."

Temperature becomes even less important when kings converge on the Grand River in late August. Action can be hot then around the pierheads and up the river. The river has a 30-foot channel, and when the kings disappear at the pierheads, savvy skippers chase them up the river. Klein said that flasher/fly combos, magnum-sized spoons and plugs work then. One of Klein's personal favorites is a pearl with black dot Tomic plug. The area around the color line where the river spills into the big lake can be a hotspot.

To book a charter with Capt. Chip Klein, contact him at (616) 677-1860 or online at www.hitmanfishingcharters.com. For information on lodging and accommodations in the Grand Haven area, contact the Grand Haven-Spring Lake Visitors Bureau at 1-800-303-4092 or online at www.grandhavenchamber.org.

LUDINGTON
Since salmon were first introduced to the Great Lakes, Ludington has been one of the premier salmon ports in our state.

Kings salmon naturally gravitate to the waters off Ludington. Kings encounter the first real structure when headed north at Ludington and often take up residence there. Rivers in the area are a natural attraction for spawning fish. Deep water off shore provides a safe haven for schools of baitfish and juvenile salmon.

Besides the fishing, Ludington has great facilities for the visiting angler. Motels and campgrounds abound, the beaches are some of the best in the world and the town has an atmosphere that angling families can appreciate. With salmon numbers on the decline in Lake Huron, anglers from the Tri-Cities and Flint with trailerable boats can jump on U.S. Highway 10 and make the short jaunt to Ludington. When word got out last year that the kings were hot at Ludington, boats would be lined up for blocks waiting to launch at the public ramp on Loomis Street.

Kings show up at Ludington in May and usually stay for the balance of the summer, but a slug of bigger kings usually makes an appearance in mid-July. The chinooks suddenly appear at the pierheads to slash spawning alewives and then disperse to deep water or to shadow structure.

The main structure at Ludington is "The Ledge," which stretches from a few miles north of Ludington past Big Point Sable toward Manistee. The bottom there is undulating as you move to the west before dropping sharply from 70 to 200 feet. Kings stack up along the ledges and take advantage of currents that funnel baitfish schools past them.

Anglers flock to The Ledge from mid-July through Labor Day as the number of mature kings build. On peak weekends in August it's not uncommon for 300 boats to be plying the waters near the point. Action is often frantic at first light before boat traffic spooks the kings to deeper water.