A couple of windy days kept us off of the water, but early today, trolled in close for Coho but had no luck. The boys wanted to try their “hot spot” in the channel, so we stopped therefor 20 minutes and they caught several rock bass. (I hope they remembered to empty them out when we got home)
Had a sightseeing charter to see the Gull Rock light, Manitou light and the Mendota this afternoon. After they got their pictures, we saw a big freighter coming toward the Gull Rock passage, so in orderto get a close look, I dropped some fishing lines and trolled around until the freighter passed. Quite a sight up close and surprising how big the wake is behind them.
We ended up trolling for a short time (about 1/2 hour) and picked up 2 lakers,one at 2 lbs and the other 3 lbs.
I forgot to take pictures today, so the pictures you see here are from last Saturday with the boys. At that time I also forgot to post anything about it. We caught 4 lake trout, and one was 12lbs, pretty unusual for fishing in close, but very common for Stannard Rock lake trout fishing.
On Wednesday, one of our windy days, I spent the day smoking fish all day. Anyone who charters now will go home with some smoked fish, if they want it. Everyone seems to love it, especially when it’s fresh out of the smoker and still warm. I usually heat it up in the microwave just a little and it seems to give it more flavor. My smoked fish is mild, light on the smoke and light on the salt with a sweet taste from brown sugar.
Going out in the morning for a 1/2 day with a party of 3 from lower Michigan and will report on our day tomorrow evening. 
Brian Helminen
