We are nearing completion of the spring preparation of Black Pearl.  I'm hopeful to launch around mid-April.  I will be keeping an updated weekly report on the Eldean Shipyard site and with Great Lakes Fisherman's Digest.  We are looking forward to an awesome 2022 season!

Well the Black Pearl has been in the water since late April.  Salmon fishing was excellent in May for both numbers and size.  We are currently targeting a mix of lake trout, kings, coho and an occasional steelhead.  Another Great Lakes Fisherman's Digest episode has aired and is on YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxVHxb_sivA
July and August may be very interesting with a chance at 30lb class kings,

Well I've been so busy I haven't updated the website in awhile.  Fishing has been outstanding this season.  A mix of king salmon, coho and stealhead has been the norm.  Fish can be found from 120-220 FOW.  They have been moving with the water warming and cooling.  We have been putting out Fish Hawk probe down each morning and then using that information to locate fish.  Traxtech riggers down 75-105 have been excellent when paired with Big Weenie meat rigs, paddles and flasher fly combos.  Blood Run wire divers back 220-300 on the highs and 150-200 on the lows have been taking fish with similar rigs.  Big Weenie Pole Dancer, Illusion, and Spotted Dick have been very good.  Blood Run coppers in lengths of 300-600 ft pulled by Offshore planers have been good as well with a mix of plugs, Silver Streak mag spoons, meat rigs and flasher/fly combos.  We were fortunate enough to finish in first place in the Big Red Classic and then come back for another win in Saugatuck aboard My Tyme.  What fun we've had the past few weeks!

Well the Black Pearl has been back at it the month of May.  At present we have been catching good numbers of coho and kings. Depths have varied but the 120-140 ft depths have held kings and coho early.  After the morning bite we have been sliding out to 180-190 and generally finishing off our limit.  Traxtech riggers down 40-60 ft have been very consistent with regular size Silver Streaks and Stingray size spoons.  Free sliders are a must.  We have been running a white paddle on the chute 90-150 down with good success.  Blood Run wire divers back 150-250 on the highs and 100-200 on the lows have been taking some nicer kings.  We have had good luck with Big Weenie meat rigs in Pole Dancer and Purple Haze.  Spin Doctors and flies have also been decent.  Offshore planers pulling 150-300 lengths of Blood Run copper have been doing damage as well. 
​We filmed another episode of Great Lakes Fisherman's Digest this past week which will feature some of this outstanding fishing.  This will air next February so in the meantime you should book a charter to experience it first hand:)

Fishing remains excellent out of Holland.  Over the past week we have had to contend with rough water, storms and even a tornado.  Despite this, salmon fishing has remained good.  At this point warm water has pushed inshore and this has had us fishing depths of 85-110 FOW.  This water has been holding all 5 species.  We were fortunate enough to hit a grand slam last week with great representatives of each species.  Salmon have been nailing our Blood Run wire divers and coppers.  The Traxstech ratchetting holders have made a huge difference in getting clients involved in the action.  We have had our hands full on a few occasions and these holders make it so much easier to handle a diver getting throttled by a big king.  Our high divers have been back 110-130 early and then 160-180 when the sun is high.  Lows have been 70-90 early and 110-140 later in the day.  We have been pulling Big Weenie meat rigs in White Leroy, JJ Boyfriend, Spotted Dick and Thruster Buster.  JJ Boyfriend with a White Leroy rig has been good both on divers and riggers.  Speckled Dick has been taking fish on riggers as well. 
​Long lines have been great.  8/10 colors of Blood Run leadcore paired with Silver Horde Ace High plugs have been good during low light hours.  Our 200, 225, 250 coppers have been good with Ace High plugs as well.  The plain glows and splatter patterns have been good in low light hours.  The new UV versions of these plugs have been producing unexpectedly well once the sun is up.  Our new Offshore SST Mag boards have been performing flawlessly in the heavy water.  On the 300+ foot coppers I have been running meat.  Purple Haze has been good when the sun is out and glows during rough conditions or low light.  I hear a shipment of fabled Familiar Bite herring strips and Ace High plugs will be making its way to Lakeshore Outfitters this week.  Good Luck this week!

Fishing has been great out of Holland.  Mid July brought great lake trout fishing with a few kings showing up.  Over the past week the numbers of large king salmon in the Holland area has increased greatly.  Catches are now consisting of a mix of kings, lake trout, coho and stealhead.  We fished the Big Red Classic over the weekend and experienced tough fishing following a hard east wind.  Day 1 we bombed following a weather delay.  Day 2 we rebounded greatly and at least were able to finish 9th in the 333.  Kings have been hitting Blood Run coppers in 150-400 ft lengths.  Plugs have had their days on the higher coppers.  Otherwise we have been running a mix of Spin Doctors and Big Weenie meat rigs.  Green Dot, Pole Dancer, Jill Billy, Living the Dream and Purple Haze have all been good.  Earlier in the week. Silver Streak Mag Blue Mango and Red Mango spoons were good as well.  We switched our planer boards over to the new Offshore magnum boards mid week.  These boards track way out to the side and do not dive when a 25lb king takes them for a ride.  The verdict from the crew was they are a huge upgrade.  These paired with our Traxtech arch holders have been deadly.  Our Blood Run wire divers have been good as well.  These have been out 160-225 on the highs and 100-140 on the lows.  We have been pulling the aforementioned meat rigs on these.  Our Traxtech riggers have been pulling paddles and taking a mixed bag of fish.  Meat has been difficult to find this week.  Lakeshore Tackle and Firearms has a great supply of meat rigs and will have a limited supply of Familiar Bite.  We have limited dates available in August so book soon.

Fishing is picking up out of Holland.  King salmon are just starting to show up as the water warms.  The fish are big this year with 20 lb class fish fairly common.  Steelhead have been around for the past few weeks.  Lake Trout fishing is great.  Steelhead have been coming on both Mini Streaks and Super Slims in mixed veggie, orange chilly willy and viper.  Kings have been taking Big Weenie Meat rigs and a mix of spoons.  Leadcore and short coppers have been good but the water is warming fast.  250-450 Blood Run coppers should take off over the next few days.
​Catering is now available in conjunction with Big Red Stop.  Fully catered charters will include two menu items, one side, two basic drinks and ice cream for $22.50 per person.  A lightly catered option will also be available.   Check out the "Rates" page for more info.

Fishing is good out of Holland.  Kings are starting to show up in 125-155 FOW.  Coho and steelhead are still abundant offshore as well in 200-270 FOW.  Blood Run wire divers towing Big Weenie meat rigs are producing big kings.  Spotted Dick, Thruster Buster, and Kevins Girlfriend have been good.  Speckled Dick 75-100 down on the chute has been good as well.  Magnum Silver Streaks in Lemon Ice and Super Screw have been good on 200-250 coppers.  Out deep 2/3/5 colors continue to produce with mini streaks and super slims. 

Winter was good to the Black Pearl.  The bottom was sandblasted in the fall and new bottom paint was applied.  The seats were redone thanks to Kenny at Canvas Innovations.  I spent hours behind a line winder going through every reel.  New Blood Run copper, stainless wire, mono and braid was spooled up.  Black Pearl is sporting new Traxtech downriggers, tracks, and rodholders.  These are sharp in the color black, of coarse, and a huge upgrade for putting more fish in the boat for our clients.  I owe many thanks to Jeff Miller, Aaron Sybesema, Tony Wolte, Wes Scott, Jason Curnick and Kyle Defouw for their help with these projects.  You find out who your friends are when you ask them to help bottom paint a boat:)

So....we launched on 4/25.  The following morning was nasty cold and windy but we couldn't wait to get the boat dirty.  Coho fishing was fast and furious in 120-150 fow just south of Holland.  We managed a quick limit with a nice king as well.  Riggers were down 35-70 ft.  Mini streak mixed vegies and a white paddle with a Poofster fly were good.  150 and 300 coppers produced as well.  Divers back 70-90 on the lows with white paddles and oceana flies accounted for a few fish as well.  With a new crew including my two year old Grady we went back out that afternoon.  He helped us crank in another bunch of coho and one king.  This time we found fish closer to 150 FOW and the action was furious.  Grady asked me to go all week so we finally had time on 5/1 before I had to work.  We managed 13 coho and 2 kings in 205-220 fow with similar set ups from 7-10 am.  Hopefully this awesome fishing for silvers continues.  The kings are just starting to show themselves in greater number the next few weeks..  The fish look very healthy and our Lake Michigan fishery is producing stellar catches.  Give us a call to get in on the action!

We have been fishing coho salmon for the past 10 days out of the ports of St Joe and South Haven.  Its nice to be back on the water.  Fishing has been spotty with catches ranging from 7 fish to 15 fish.  The coho are large for this time of year so we are hoping that will carry over to Chinook size.  We have been using J-9, J-11 Rapalas, Brads Thin Fish, and at times 00 dodgers.  Typical orange, red, gold colors.  Flat lines, 1/2/3 colors have been best.  At times riggers and divers are taking fish as well.  Lakeshore Outfitters has a good supply of Brads and Jointed Rapalas were on the way.  The team will be at the Grand Rapids show this week,  Come on up and say hello.  We will be in the Blood Run and Traxtech booths.  The Big Weenie and Silver Streak booths will be stocked full of stand by and new colors as well.