Plugs are a hands-down favorite when the kings show up at the Grand Haven pierheads. “The best baits are plugs,” Kerridge claimed. “Atomics are killer. Use the pearl/black dot and metallica in the No. 5 plug. Use lighter colors, like chrome/redhead, when the sun gets up. Dreamweaver’s new cut plugs have been good, too.” In addition to plugs, flashers and flies also have their day. Kerridge said Spin Doctors and snowman- and icicle-colored flies fished behind a 1-pound drop has been a deadly combination. Spoons have their place, too, and Kerridge said the brighter the better. A hot one last year was Dreamweaver’s Gangster.

Kings also stack up outside the Grand Haven pierheads and in a 60-foot hole just south of the breakwaters. “Two- or three-color lead cores can be killer then,” advised Kerridge, “but you need to be careful because of the boat traffic.”

To book a charter with Capt. Willis Kerridge, contact him at (616) 292-4113. For area info, contact the Grand Haven-Spring Lake Visitors Bureau at 1-800-303-4092 or online at www.grandhavenchamber.org.

MUSKEGON
“The kings at Muskegon typically show up the last two weeks of August,” said Matt Schalk from Muskegon. “Labor Day weekend was fantastic last year.”

Annual plants of close to 150,000 chinook fingerlings have bolstered the port’s once diminishing salmon fishery. Increased natural reproduction from the Muskegon River has relegated this port to the position of one of the top chinook destinations on Lake Michigan.

“When the chinooks show up depends on water temperature,” Capt. Scott Shelagowski claimed. “If the lake rolls over, the fish can be at the pierheads in July. Typically, though, it’s right around Labor Day weekend when the fishing gets hot.” Shelagowski said anglers can target schools of staging kings outside the harbor in 50 to 60 feet of water. Some rockpiles located in 35 to 40 feet of water south of the harbor hold pre-spawn salmon.

“J-Plugs are the prime bait,” Schalk claimed. “The chartreuse scaly in the No. 4 or 5 size was hot.” Other hot lures at Muskegon included the flashing green-glow and chrome/redhead colors. Shelagowski advised downsizing your plugs when the fish get finicky or when fishing pressure is intense. The plugs produce off downriggers and divers.

Schools of chinooks can be found stacked just inside the Muskegon channel all the way to the Muskegon Yacht Club. Other hotspots are in front of the paper mill and the “Clipper” and on the north side of the lake off the conservation club. The depth varies from 32 to 50 feet in these locations, and it is key to keep your plug within 3 feet of bottom. Watch the graph constantly and work your downriggers. Keep the leads short.

Not everyone trolls for Muskegon Lake salmon.

“Jigging can be dynamite,” Matt Schalk stated. Right off the channel in Muskegon Lake is a hotspot for jigging. Savvy anglers use Swedish Pimples, Hopkins Spoons, Kastmasters and other heavy spoons and trolling motors to slip the current and stay on the fish. The solid thump of a king slamming a jiggin’ spoon is a whole different ballgame.