Waukegan - Full June and early July Recap

While the weather has been improving remarkably as we closed the books on June 2011, still volatile weather that has been the headline for 2011 since the early February blizzard, continues to make occasional appearances. What is most striking with this year's weather here (and really all over the country) is that while we always have our share of storms, the violent nature of what we have seen this year has been exceptionally vicious. What fatigued trees and limbs that weren't pulled apart in a wind event several weeks ago, were certainly dealt with in far harsher tones this past week in the waning days of the month. As if to bid June a final, forceful farewell, several funnel clouds reportedly touched down at the Navy Base, Waukegan, and Winthrop Harbor and smaller waterspouts were also spotted offshore on the water. I have attached several photos taken by friends from good vantage points of how a funnel cloud howled through the harbor area immediately after it appeared to have touched down at the ComEd coal burning power pant just north. The black cloud you see is is the dust from the coal mound located just north of the harbor. A remarkable event that inflicted meaningful damage to boats in both Northpointe Marina and Waukegan Harbor, it also brought many large old trees to their knees throughout the northeast side of Waukegan. Thankfully, the Independence suffered no injury except a shower of black dust from the coal debris.

It would be neglectful of me not to touch on the weather events of recent weeks but let's move on to the subject of the excellent fishing we saw throughout the month of June. A spring-like environment remained throughout the month and into the first few days of July with limits and full racks of big Coho Salmon. Veterans of Lake Michigan fishing can recall some characteristically tough fishing at times in June in years' past and while we have of course had a slow-ish day here or there this month, limits were common and the average haul we saw for each half-day trip in June exceeded 20 fish. In my experience as a Captain as well as a first mate years ago, this is the best fishing in June I had ever seen. Most other Captains that have been fishing since the 1970's agree as well.

The bulk of our catch remains as Coho Salmon which are getting quite large - running twice and three times the size these fish were in April and May - with some Rainbow, Brown, and Lake Trout mixed in. We continue to catch King Salmon as well however most of these fish seem more loosely scattered at the moment but that should change soon. Many of you are asking/waiting about the Kings and the honest answer is we caught many big Kings in April and May and it's only a matter of time before they return and start to crowd up in larger numbers near Waukegan ahead of their spawn in late summer and fall. Mountains of baitfish schools (and cold water) have kept large packs of Coho nearby. These factors should also help us start taking big Kings soon too. In the meantime we continue to enjoy the excellent Coho fishing even though we are well into summer. No real slow transition has occurred this season and I suspect that we will probably begin catching a mix of both Salmon species fairly soon.

Switching gears slightly, many customers have asked how business is this year. The answer is that if it weren't for weather related cancellations mostly over April and May and a little of that in June, business has been very good and quite a bit ahead of last year. June closed out the busiest month since I started Windycitysalmon four years ago and bookings for July and August are brisk. In fact only three morning slots on Saturday and Sunday's in July and August remain; July 30th, August 14th, and August 28th. Afternoon and weekday availability remain but a lot of those are filling in as well.

Attached are just a sample of photos of some of the many large catches we saw in late June as well as the first few days in July. Attached too are a few photos of the recent storm. Also, having completely sold out of short and long-sleeve, black XL Windycitysalmon T's, I have another 15 XL's being printed and due to clamor, am printing 15 XXL's. The XL's will remain at $12 each and the XXLs are priced at $16 each.

On a parting note, I want to tell you an odd story of a big (14lb) Steelhead and an unfortunate bird. The day was June 12 and we were on our way to a 29-fish haul. About 7.30AM or so and in offshore waters, a big fish crushed a small coho fly on a short-stretch behind an inside planer board. The fish went nuts on the top of the water and just below the surface as it wished to exit the vicinity of the boat and rid itself of the fly. After a 10 minutes or so, we got the fish on board and on the back of the deck when it protested it's new surroundings by crapping on the floor. What I saw immediately of the unwelcome material did not look quite right so after I got things in order and the line reset, I investigated further with a shot of water from the hose. Immediately it was clear that this big Steelhead had let fly with something unusual; they were bird feathers no longer belonging to its owner. The reality quickly set in that this big Steelhead - which often feed on the surface - had swallowed a bird in it's recent past and that fact was confirmed when I filleted it back at the harbor. My assumption is that this bird, which looked young, fell victim to it's own disorienting exhaustion over open water. Still attempting to get airborne again on the water's surface, it likely attracted the attention the big, hungry Steelhead and then became part of the food chain which eventually ended at the hands of fishermen. You can see this Steelhead hanging on the middle of the rack on the photo entitled '6-12am'

Thanks for reading and thanks to the crews that have been out this season so far. I'm looking forward to and expect the second half of the 2011 season to be as impressive as the first; It's almost King Salmon time!

Capt Rick