Early Season Brown Trout Action on Lake Michigan

What a crazy year it’s been! Typically to me March means hitting the South end of Mille Lacs or small local lakes chasing crappies, but with the recent temps leaving us with no ice to fish and me daydreaming about open water trolling there was no choice but to try something a little different. So when I got a call from my friend Chad asking if was interested in a March trip to Lake Michigan chasing early season Brown Trout I jumped at the opportunity.

Not only was the timing perfect given the lack of ice and the CRAZY weather last weekend, but the type of fishing we were planning to do fit perfectly in my wheelhouse – pulling cranks in shallow water! Our game-plan was to use stickbaits with smelt coloration while experimenting with several different brands/sizes and go from there. We would going hit the lake at first light on Friday and start trolling South until we either found fish or ran the boat out of gas. Luckily we didn’t have to wait long!!

Although I’ve been to Lake Michigan several times for Salmon during the summer this was my first time fishing shallow and targeting Browns so I was extremely excited and when the alarm went off at 5:00 I had no trouble jumping out of bed and was ready to go… Unfortunatly my enthusiasm was put on hold as our trip began with “one of those days” when it seemed like the odds were stacked against us even getting to the lake. Finally our first lure actually hit the water just after 9:00. (Helsinki Shad Huskey Jerk #10) As I ran it back 65′ and set the rod down to attach a planer board there was a quick twitch of the tip and then it almost went flying out the back of the boat… FISH ON!!

What had started out as a day where everything seemed to go wrong quickly turned into one of the best of trolling that I’ve ever experienced. Over the next 3 hours Chad and I boated 14 fiesty Browns and lost at least a dozen more that we had on. Not a bad start to the trip and quite possibly the only time I may be able to say that I limited out on my first day ever fishing a new species in unfamiliar water!

However as good as the fishing was we still weren’t 100% satisfied with our performance. Yes, we had caught plenty of fish, but we also lost almost as many and Chad had lost a toad that easily would have been the big fish of the day. As I was quickly learning Brown trout aren’t quite the same as a walleye or even a pike. Their power is equal to that of a Salmon and they jump like a Smallmouth on steriods… The standard hooks on a rapala might fill the table with some nice 3-6 lb fish, but we weren’t going to land any of the super tankers we were after without something a little stronger. After a quick stop at the bait shop to pick up some stronger VMC hooks we hit the water again this time joined by Chad’s dad.

By Friday afternoon the wind had shifted and the fishing was much slower but with new VMCs our hooking percentage increased as we went 3 for 5 that evening. Saturday the wind continued to dictate our fishing as we were only able to make it out in the morning before getting blown off the lake by around 11:00. Boat control was more difficult, the water was starting to get stirred up, and the fish had moved but we eventually found them and ended up going 5 for 8 but again no tankers.

After getting pounded by waves all day the water was pretty stirred up on Sunday and in areas where we could clearly see every little rock in 10+ FOW on Friday morning we could barely see bottom in 5-6′ now. With the turbid water conditions we decided to stay a little shallower and keep moving to see if we could find an area that was less turbid… Finally after almost 3 miles of trolling we found a stretch of clear water and it was game-on! Again the new hooks did the job as we managed to go 6 for 9 and I landed our only 2 double digit fish for the weekend and my new PBs for both Brown and Lake Trout!

All said and done, not only was it AWESOME to be back out in a boat, but I have to say it was one of my best fishing trips to date. The excitement of targeting a new species on unfamiliar water and the reward of putting the pieces of the puzzle together was an amazing experience!

One of my favorite parts of fishing is spending time on the water with friends and family and this weekend was what it’s all about. Thanks to Chad for inviting me and playing guide for the weekend. It was a blast!!

If anyone is looking for an “outside the box” type of trip that you can do with your existing boat and gear this is a great opportunity. Not only is the fishing exciting but the water clarity and scenery on the big lake is second to none!