Capt. John King's Lake Michigan Trolling Guide

Month-by-month trolling recommendations built from 25 years of Capt. John King's dated fishing logs (2000–2024) and his Tips & Tricks articles, centered on the central Lake Michigan ports he fished most: Frankfort, Onekama, Manistee and Ludington.

How to read it: Depths are lure depth ("down") unless marked FOW (feet of water). Speeds are GPS speed over ground in mph. Copper and lead core are listed by length (300' copper) or colors (10-color lead core = 300').

Note: The fishery has changed over the years. Kings became scarcer after stocking cuts, and by 2020 John put the King peak at about the 3rd week of August instead of late August/early September.

Season at a glance

Month Targets & where Depth / water temp Speed (mph) Delivery Capt. John's lures & colors Shop today
Jan–Feb River Steelhead; big lake closed for most boats River holes; 33°F water slows fish Back-trolling Drift boat, plugs Plugs; gold in the morning, chrome in the afternoon Off-season: DIY flies and meat rig kits
March Late river Steelhead; shoreline Browns once boats launch 6–12' FOW ~2.5 Planer boards Stickbaits Salmon Buster 4.0
April Shoreline Browns; Coho off southern ports; first deep Kings at St. Joe Browns 3–10' down, 36–45°F, stained water. St. Joe Kings 85–105' down over 115–120' FOW 2.5 on boards; 1.3–1.8 for deep Kings Boards 100–150' back, 3/8–5/8 oz keel weights, 15# leader Copper/gold with red or orange: Copperhead Mamba, King Midas Mamba, Gold HRP, Monkey Puke Mamba, Laser Glo HRP. No silver in cloudy water. Salmon Buster 4.0, keel weights
May Spring Kings: southern ports late April, Manistee mid-May; harbor Kings on east wind Harbor ~17' down; shelf ~50' down over 100–130' FOW; southern ports 50–120' down Slow 2 riggers, 2 divers, 3- and 5-color lead core 10" BTI + 2-fly meat rigs on divers: Black Mamba/Clear Red, Monkey Puke, Green Double Glow, Krystal Killer, Mountain Dew Flasher + Meat Rig combos
June Inshore Kings scatter; go 7–15 miles offshore to temperature breaks Inshore 60–100' down; offshore top 30' over 400–900' FOW ~2.0; spoons 2.0–2.6 Riggers/divers inshore; boards and surface lines offshore X-Glow Yellowtail BTI + 2-fly; X-Glow Green Frog BTI on divers; Black Mamba SUV and Laser Glo HRP spoons Glow flashers, spoons
July Adult Kings stage on the shelf; prime begins 3rd week of July 40–100' early; 80–190' late July; 43°F a good start 1.8–2.5 3 riggers, 2 divers, 300' copper, lead core Early: White Lightning, Silver Bullet, Pearl Glo fly. Late: Black Mamba, X-Glow Frog, Green Double Glow with meat Silver Bullet, White Lightning
August Peak for adult Kings (now about the 3rd week of August) 80–150'+ down over 150–250' FOW; most bites in 38–44°F 1.2–2.0 Deepest rigger runs meat on a 10–20' lead; divers 100' back; 300' copper 12" King Kryptonite + 3-fly Undertaker on the deepest rigger; X-Glow Frog; Ghostbuster; Super Silver Bullet. Glow gets hot. Meat Rigs, Ghostbuster combo
September Adults until mid-month, then rivers; mid-day shelf bite 80–125' down over 120–180' FOW; 52°F at 80' to 38°F at 125' ~1.5–2.0 3 riggers, 2 divers King Purple Glow BTI + X-Glow fly; Monkey/Leland Puke BTI + X-Glow Sea Green fly; double snelled trebles Trolling flies
October Steelhead and next year's Kings (1–2 fishable days a week) Top 20–60' 2.5 (1.5–3+) Boards with 1/2 oz keel weights; shallow riggers; Dipsys on 3.5 Salmon Buster 4.0 HRP patterns; 4.0 Bluetail off a rigger at 13'; orange/red spoons Salmon Buster 4.0
Nov–Dec Late Steelhead on calm days; river Steelhead Surface to ~40' 1.2–3.3 Riggers 20–27', Dipsys 30–40', inline boards Salmon Buster spoons Spoons

Month by month

January–March: rivers, then shoreline Browns

  • Capt. John guided Big Manistee River Steelhead from a drift boat, back-trolling plugs. Gold produced in the morning and chrome in the afternoon (3/6/00).
  • He launched the big boat in late March and switched to Lake Michigan Browns whenever the river was slow.
  • Winter is the time to tie flies, build meat rigs and sharpen hooks. John called fly building "a great offseason project."

April: shoreline Browns and the first deep Kings

  • 239 fish (mostly Browns) on 22 charters in spring 2000 off Manistee, mostly from Cooper Creek to Big Point Sable. A chop beat flat calm.
  • Spoon program: big boards, 100' lead in a chop and up to 150' when flat; 3/8–1/2 oz bead chain keel weight 5'+ ahead of a plain snap; 15# mono; 2.5 mph; water 36–45°F; 6–12' FOW.
  • Colors: every April 2015 bite came on copper and gold with red or orange accents; no bites on silver in cloudy water. Winners included Copperhead Mamba, King Midas Mamba, Gold HRP, Monkey Puke Mamba and Laser Glo HRP.
  • Deep spring Kings (St. Joe, 4/29/06): Green Double Glow BTI with matching meat rig, riggers at 85', 95' and 105' over 115–120' FOW, 1.3–1.8 mph.
  • Clean every line every 20–30 minutes when weeds are in the water.

May: spring Kings

  • Lilac rule: when lilacs are in full bloom at a port, spring Kings are on. Southern ports start late April; Manistee is about 3 weeks behind.
  • After east winds, Manistee's harbor and mud line loaded with Kings; limits came 17' down (5/16/06).
  • Shelf Kings 50' down over 100–130' FOW, trolled slow (5/3/06). South Haven Kings 90' down over 110–140' FOW.
  • 3- and 5-color lead core produced well at Manistee (5/6/06).
  • 5/17/06: a 6-King limit, all on 10" BTIs with 2-fly meat rigs; Black Mamba/Clear Red took 4 of 6 on divers.
  • 2-fly spacing: 12" from the bead chain to the first fly, 12" to the second fly, swivel, then 14–15" to the Magnum meat head.

June: the transition month

  • When spring Kings scatter, run 7–15 miles offshore to temperature breaks and fish the top 30' over 400–900' FOW for Steelhead, Lakers and juvenile Kings. Check NOAA surface temperature charts first.
  • Inshore Kings: 60–70' down over 80–200' FOW (6/12/04); 80–100' down over 120' FOW north of Big Point Sable, 10 for 12 on an X-Glow Yellowtail BTI + 2-fly (6/30/06).
  • 6/21/06: X-Glow Green Frog BTI on both divers and Mountain Dew BTI on a full lead core, all hits in 110–120' FOW tight to structure.
  • Spoons (2015): inshore Kings 30–70' down on Black Mamba SUV Salmon Busters; Laser Glo HRP on a sharp temperature break 13 miles out.

July: adults stage and prime time begins

  • "Whites and silver/chrome are good attractor colors until about the 2nd–3rd week of July when the glow stuff gets hot."
  • 4th of July 2020: a 4.65 White Lightning Salmon Buster 50' down just above the thermocline at 2.5 mph, pre-dawn. A diver with a White Lightning 10" BTI and Pearl Glo fly took another King at 7am.
  • 2004: Kings 80–95' down tight to structure. Black Mamba with a clear-red meat rig took a 29 lb tournament King at Ludington.
  • Late July 2008: Kings 100–190' down. Best with meat: Black Mamba, X-Glow Frog and Green Double Glow; with flies: gold and pearl glow BTIs.

August: peak attractor season

  • Capt. John's model trip (7/31/08, Manistee): 150–190' FOW. Riggers moved from 70'/100' to 100–120' by 8am on 12–20' leads, 20' apart. Deepest rigger: 12" King Kryptonite + 3-fly Undertaker. Second rigger: 12" X-Glow Frog + matching 3-fly. Two Dipsys on setting 2 with big rings pulling X-Glow Green Frog BTIs with 2-fly rigs. Most bites at 38–42°F. Speed 1.2–1.4 in near-flat water. About 10 Kings in 2 hours.
  • 8/10/16 evening trip: thermocline ~60'; best 60–70' down; 2.0 mph. 100' rule on riggers, two wire divers, two 300' coppers and a 10-color lead core on boards. X-Glow Ghostbuster, X-Glow Frog and Super Silver Bullet. Finished with a 28 lb King.
  • Glow takes over as Kings mature.
  • North winds push cold water, bait and Kings onto the beach. Then fish 7–20' FOW with boards on 100'+ leads, or the harbor.
  • Spooky Kings in clear water: use the 100' rule, divers 100' out, and copper or lead core.

September: mid-day bites and the run

  • Labor Day 2008, 9:15am–4pm: rigger bites at 87–125' over 120–140' FOW; divers with King Purple BTI + X-Glow fly.
  • 9/2/08: meat on riggers 80–125' took deep-hooked fish; flies on divers 55–70' took chin-hooked fish. Double snelled trebles landed 10 of 11 bites.
  • Late September: Steelhead in the top 60'; juvenile Kings deeper around bait. Adults head into Manistee Lake and the rivers.

October–December: Steelhead and next year's Kings

  • "First week of October is best for Lake Michigan with excellent numbers of Steelies." After mid-September you may get only 1–2 fishable days a week.
  • 10/26/15 Manistee: HRP-pattern Salmon Buster 4.0s on big boards with 1/2 oz keel weights and 5'6" leaders; a 4.0 Bluetail off a rigger at 13'; 2.5 mph. Two-person Steelhead limit including a 35" hen.
  • November: riggers at 20' and 27', Dipsys at 30' and 40' on setting 3.5, inline boards; orange spoons hot.

Spread setups

Delivery Capt. John's settings Line & hardware Best use
Downriggers 100' rule early (depth + lead = 100). At 80–120' down: deepest 10–15' lead, middle 20–25', highest 30–40', 15' apart. At 150–200': all leads 10–12'. Black's release with latex bands (4.3–4.4 lb); double bands past 100' All season; the deepest rigger with meat is the most productive
Wire Dipsy divers Setting 1.5–2.5 with a big ring; 100–250' out; 5–6' leader to the flasher 30# 7-strand stainless on 1,000' spools; larger reels; Super Snubber May–September with 10" BTI combos
Braid / Slide divers Reach 100'+ 35# braid (.010"); 15–30' of 30# mono leader; never braid straight to a flasher Deep summer and high fish
Copper 300' of 45# fishes ~60' at 2 mph Long roll-over rods; big boards Mid-day, light traffic, spooky Kings
Lead core 3- and 5-color in spring; 10-color in summer 27# lead core on boards Spring Kings; summer fish 60–70'
Planer boards 150' flat / 125' ripple / 100' chop; inlines 70–100'; 3–4 per side, equal lengths 200# board line; 20# main, 15# leader; keel weight 5'+ ahead of the lure April Browns, June breaks, fall Steelhead

Color patterns Capt. John documented

John's spoon colors match his flasher and meat rig colors, so a hot combo color is also the spoon to run.

  • Black Mamba: season-long; with a clear-red meat rig it won big fish at Ludington in 2004 and filled the 2006 BTI debut limit.
  • X-Glow Green Frog: late July–September as Kings mature.
  • King Kryptonite + Undertaker: the deepest rigger, May–September, 100–120' down.
  • Monkey Puke / Leland Puke: May divers, September–October off-peak bites, April Browns.
  • King Purple Glow: best-selling glow BTI of 2008; September divers.
  • Double Glow (green, blue, clear, pearl): deep spring Kings; late summer riggers.
  • Silver Bullet / Super Silver Bullet: the late summer chrome program.
  • White Lightning / Moon Jelly: early July spoons and BTI + fly on divers.
  • Ghostbuster: August 2016 28 lb King; free-slider spoon.
  • HRP and Laser Glo HRP: surface Steelhead in October and June; April Browns.
  • FireDot: working since 1969 for Coho and Kings.

Color rules: Red works deep. Whites and chrome early; glow from the 2nd–3rd week of July. In cloudy April water use copper, gold, red and orange. Charge glow with a UV light and keep glow tackle out of full sun. See our Color Guide.

Time of day and conditions

  • Location beats color. If you have tried depths and speeds with no bites, the fish are not there. Move.
  • Mid-day: deep summer fish switch on after 8:30–9am and the fleet leaves by 10. Go deeper, troll 1.5–2.0, stagger rigger leads, and run copper and lead core.
  • East wind (spring): harbors load with Kings.
  • North wind (summer): cold water pushes bait and Kings to the harbors and the beach.
  • South/southwest wind (summer): builds a deep thermocline that concentrates Kings on the shelf.
  • Bait: bites come as fish leave a bait pod; balled-up bait means predators are near.
  • Structure: troll along the drop-off; structure acts like a fence that concentrates fish.

Seasonal summary

  • Spring: April Browns on boards with Salmon Buster 4.0s at 2.5 mph. Spring Kings by the lilac rule, harbors after east winds, then the shelf 50–100' down with BTI + 2-fly rigs on divers and lead core.
  • Early summer: offshore temperature breaks in June; white, silver and chrome early in July.
  • Peak: 80–150' down in 38–44°F water at 1.2–2.0 mph. Meat on the deepest rigger, divers 100' out, copper when traffic allows. Switch to glow as Kings mature.
  • Fall: Steelhead and juvenile Kings in the top 20–60' with spoons on boards; the first week of October is the best window.
  • Winter: river Steelhead; restock and build tackle.

See the Trolling Cheat Sheet for all of Capt. John's key numbers in one table.