Without giving away too many secrets, early season is always good for shallow water (less than 15 feet) fishing for lake trout, salmon, steel head and brown trout. The water temperatures away from shore are undesirable for most fish, so they seek out the warmer waters near shore. Also, the bait fish hang out closer […]
We're quite a catch!
– 3-time client, MikeMike and his crew after their day on the water. One Coho and lots of lake trout.
Thanks for the great charter. Will try to do again next year. Thanks to (deckhand) Doug as well.
– JimJim’s gang after the first day of fishing.
Brian – most appreciation from our entire family of fishers for the fine service and great experience. Max’s 8 pounder was exciting, but so was every smaller fish! You are a quality guy. Jack ain’t bad, either! Best regards to you and family
– Dane
Thank you! We loved our trip – more importantly, the groom loved the trip!
Back in the heat of Texas now, though
Missing that cool breeze off the top of Lake Superior.
– BobBob’s son with a nice Lake Trout. He later caught a small mouth bass in Lac La Belle.
Thanks so much for your time on Friday with my family giving them a great fishing experience. In my job role I work very closely with our safety department so I was very impressed with your safety orientation and explanation of all the safety features on the boat.
– Scott
Janice, Kathryn, and I truly enjoyed our fishing experience aboard the “Fishin Mission”. Definitely one of the highlights of our vacation. The salmon were great on the grill that evening.
– TimTim and Sharon with their limit of 10 fish for the day from Stannard Rock
Hi Brian! We had such a great time fishing last summer! Tim and I are looking ahead at our schedule and hoping to be able to book another trip with you! Sharon and I had one of the best times we have had for awhile. I shipped 30lbs of lake trout home and though they were frozen everyone had enjoyed some fantastic lake Superior lake trout. We have recommended your service to anyone who has been interested.
– RobPat and Rob with their catch
Just wanted to let you know I drove back a day early to use my day off to smoke the fish. I used a pickling spice brine overnight, let dry, and smoked at 180 deg. for 7 hours. An old captain in Grand Haven suggested a light brush of maple syrup just before done. The fish was fantastic! I can’t wait to share at work.
– CindyCindy’s Mother Helen with the biggest catch of the day… 13 pounds
We all enjoyed the time we spent out on the water. The fish tasted great and your son and you both were very enjoyable to be with. We will surely see you again next time we are up that way.
– Susan and MartinSusan Fighting a Laker
Great trip, hope to get back one of these years!
– Dan Langford (and his wife Ann who planned the surprise) - Pinckney, MichiganWow! What a way to celebrate my birthday! Couldn’t ask for better weather or a better fishing experience out at Stannard Rock. Not only did I catch the fish of a lifetime with that thirty-pound Laker, but diving off the boat at the lighthouse was the icing on the cake. Your pleasant personality, knowledge of the sport and the surrounding area, and many fish stories all helped to make the trip enjoyable – oh and I don’t want to forget the delicious smoked Lake Trout snack.
(more…)
“Thanks Brian – for a great day of late September lake trout fishing. If you ordered the weather it could not have been better. Sunny skies and calm winds made for some comfortable time on the water. The Fishin’ Mission is a great boat to get out on Superior in and the lake trout were biting pretty good with several over 6 pounds. Mike was delighted with the catch – for him a first!
If you want an enjoyable fishing trip with a great guy, give Sand Point Charters a call and schedule some time with Captain Brian! Thanks again from both of us!”
Steve Williams
Dock Building, Trolling and Fishing in General
So, what’s been happening here in the Upper Peninsula this spring? I’m happy to report that all the ice is gone from lake superior and the trout and salmon fishing season is starting off pretty well. Early this spring, I’ve been working on a new dock for my 30 foot charter boat, but is on […]
Off Season Indoor FUN!
I sat in on a special shout-out for TUNA – Dave Carraro of National Geographic’s hit show “Wicked Tuna” – where the curious audience fired questions at him to find out how he gets to be paid for this passion.
Effective Trolling Method
A while ago, I did a video on a dypsy diver, which is a device I use pretty extensively to fish for Chinook salmon. coho salmon, steelhead and lake trout. It’s a device that gets your lure down deep in the water column when fishing in water deeper than about 30 feet. Of course it […]
Ultroviolet Light and Fishing
Fishing can be a simple matter of throwing a worm on a hook, tossing it in the water, and hoping a fish grabs it, then reeling it in. On the other end of the spectrum, some of us like to be more scientific about it and complicate the equation. We try to figure out the […]
Tagged and Clipped Fish
The Michigan DNR and the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission stock lake trout and Salmon in Lake Superior (among other great lakes). They also track and monitor the habits of the fish by several different methods. One of the ways they do this is by clipping the adipose fin. (See Fin Clips on […]
Local Splake, Lake Trout and Walleye Plantings
I hope you all are doing well and enjoying the start of our long winter… at least up here in the U.P. it’s pretty long. I had an invite to ice-fish for walleye this week in Mn… Red Lake and Lake of the Woods, but couldn’t find any willing and able partners from our locale […]
Taking the Long Way to Charter Boaters Meeting
Tuesday, Oct 21st (see more pictures on my personal FB page and at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sand-Point-Charters-LLC/117105408355629?ref=hl My brother, Captain Mitch, his boy, Darren and I set out early, before the birds got up, on Sunday morning from the Houghton County Marina for a long boat trip. He’s piloting his 35 foot trawler all the way to Tampa, […]
Understanding Sonar
Sonar – The word comes from SOund NAvigation & Ranging. Some call them fish-finders and some just call them depth-finders. Call them what you may, but here I’ll clarify a common misunderstanding about what you see on the screen. What’s the difference between distance and depth when referring to sonar? There is a huge difference, […]
Skunks? No, but Learning How to Troll With Down-Riggers
Author of university improvement books, Bill, contacted me recently about trolling for Lake Trout. He had never fished on Lake Superior before, so he and his life-long buddy, Phil made the drive from Rhinelander, WI (after flying from Massachusetts) and got dropped off at the Lac la Belle marina for a day on the water. […]
Contact Captain Brian
Brian Helminen
Call (906) 370-2257
brian @ sandpointcharters.com
Mail to:
Sand Point Charters, LLC
22950 Airpark Boulevard
Calumet, MI 49913
Stay at Keystone Cottage, walk out the back door to the boat dock. Click for more details.
Follow along on our journey on the Yooper Looper! Click to see more.