Fly Fishing Lake Michigan Harbor

Back in the very late 90's I was stationed at Great Lakes Naval Training Center teaching MM "A" school. This was my last stop before making an exit from THE NAV. As happens in every port on Lake Michigan, kings and cohos, along with trout, would come into the harbors at the spawn. I was on nights for the last 6 months of my duty, and I made a routine of night fishing down at the marina a couple nights a week. The most fun was fly casting under the street lights and watching the kings chase my hand tied flash buggers on a size 2 or 4 streamer hook. They were black, chartreuse or orange krystal flash yarn buggers that drew lots of attention, especially from the big males. Try it out during the runs spring and fall. It's a blast!!

Jimmy

I lived in Port Washington for several yrs (late teens - early twenties) and flyfished quite a bit there off the breakwater and also used to wade the water in front of the water treatment plant north of the breakwater. Took a few smaller cohos on smelt Streamer patterns. Also spring run Brownies on smaller streamers. They like florescent orange patterns. Rainbows on flashy silver/blue, silver/green. Take a bigger rod 8wt and stout leaders.

Yes, Door County a bunch, smallmouth and carp. Milwaukee for smallmouth, about 20 years ago, the population was just starting to pickup. And Chicago about 20 years ago, for smallmouth, it was very good.