"I would say we had our normal spring fishing for the cohos, although they were slightly bigger," said Southern Lake Michigan Management Unit fisheries biologist Jay Wesley. "The southern Lake Michigan chinook fishery was good early. I think ports like Grand Haven and St. Joe had good fishing, particularly early in the season. The kings just follow the alewives."

Lake Michigan's forage base seems to be in better shape than Lake Huron, but the trend toward smaller fish is similar. "The age structure is increasing on kings," said Wesley. "The size of the fish is going down and the catch rates are going up. That's because the fish are hungry. We're seeing similar signs to what we saw when we had the BKD (bacterial kidney disease) outbreak back in the late 1980s." Wesley said that biologists are keeping a watchful eye on the situation and may have to cut back further on chinook plants to protect the delicate forage base.

Like Lake Huron, natural reproduction is contributing more and more fish to the chinook population on Lake Michigan. "Natural reproduction is definitely on the increase," said Wesley. "The last study we did in 1993 showed about 30 percent of the chinook were naturally reproduced fish. That figure may be even higher now."

Pier-anglers and small boaters get a jumpstart on the St. Joe fishery in late March or early April. Salmonids are attracted to the tepid outflow of the St. Joe River and water discharged at the Cook Plant near Bridgman. Pier-anglers tempt spring cohos and browns with chunks of fresh steelhead spawn or spoons. Trollers pull a selection of body baits, crankbaits and small spoons in hot colors to fool the cohos. Concentrate on the 5- to 15-foot depths.

By late April, spring kings arrive on the scene at St. Joe and the chinook fishing remains hot into June. Savvy skippers switch to magnum-sized spoons then to mimic the adult alewives that are drawn to the harbor mouth and to discourage the cohos from intercepting their offerings. Limits of silvery spring kings to 20 pounds are common.

Fishing moves offshore during June where steelhead and lake trout can be caught over 200 to 300 feet of water using downriggers, in-line boards and lead-core rigs. Kings become increasingly scarce until they return to the river mouth in August. Warming water and migrating alewife schools beckon them northward.

To sample St. Joe's hot spring salmonid action, contact Capt. Dave Ellis at (269) 383-4481. Information on lodging, accommodations and bait shops in the area can be had by contacting the Four Flags Area Tourism Council at (269) 684-7444 or on the Web at www.fourflagsarea.org.

Capt. Chip Klein is a self-described "mudder" and there are none better at working the color line at Grand Haven. "The key," said Klein, "is to play the wind and then stitch the edge right where the dark-stained water and the clearer lake water meets. Sometimes, the kings will be in the clear water, sometimes in the dark- stained water. Either way, they won't be far."

Klein deploys a spread of in-line planers, downriggers and divers off his 31-Tiara Hit Man when targeting Grand Haven's spring salmon. Lures run the gambit from magnum spoons and body baits to little Atomic plugs that Klein swears by. Limits are common. The kings hang around the pierheads well into June before heading to deeper water and points north.

For information on accommodations and things to do in Grand Haven, contact the Grand Haven-Spring Lake Visitors Bureau at 1-800-303-4092 or online at www.grandhavenchamber.org. To book a charter with Capt. Chip Klein, call (616) 638-7226 or contact him online at fishjam2@attbi.com.

"It took a long time for the fish to show up last spring," said veteran charter captain George Freeman. "We were having to run way south past Little Point Sable for almost the entire month of May to find any fish. Things improved a little during June, but it really wasn't until August that the kings showed up. Fishing was incredible then."

August finds schools of maturing kings relating to structure found both north and south of the Ludington. A focal point of the fishery is Big Point Sable Lighthouse where "The Ledge" concentrates husky kings and boats. Anglers will find more elbowroom, and nearly as many fish, five miles straight out of the harbor where the bottom drops from 100 to 150 feet and south to the Consumer's Energy Project.

August kings at Ludington can be caught on a variety of baits, but you'd be hard pressed to find a better combination than a white Spin Doctor flasher mated to a green fly. The rig accounts for plenty of big kings during August. Like Lake Huron, the size of chinook salmon seems to be decreasing on Lake Michigan, but there were plenty of 30-pound-plus behemoths taken from the lake last year. A good portion of those came from the waters off Ludington during August.

Ludington has one of the busiest charter fleets on the Great Lakes, especially in August. To find a reputable captain, contact the Ludington Area Charter Boat Association at 1-800-927-3470 or online at www.LudingtonCharterBoats.org, and book early.