August

08/24/10 – The water has remained cool and probably will not heat back up this year to any extent. But that is okay, September is coming and the big lakers will be stacking up as usual. Lakers are eagerly biting but the salmon and steelhead are becoming more scattered.

The full moon came through for us this month with 22.3 lb laker on Sunday. This 38 1/2" fish put up a great fight and we returned it to the lake to be caught again.

08/17/10 – Windy, windy, windy. After a spectacular summer of good weather and calm seas, we have hit a stretch of wind. Strong SW winds have taken our 60F water and blew it away, leaving us with chilly 40F. Being off the water gave me a needed rest and fun trip to Duluth with the family. The good thing is we seem to be on the back side of this windy system and hopefully it will be back to calm seas by Thursday.

I have made a few trips lately to the Manitou Falls and the shipwreck Amboy. A cool tip from one of my Guests was to use my sun glasses as a polorizing filter for my digital camera gave me this photo of the shipwreck.




08/12/10 – We have had a quite vocal visitor at the boat landing for the past few weeks. This immature bald eagle has been watching us closely as we clean fish after our trips. It has even become bold enough to take fish skeletons right off the dock. After grabbing this fish it flew to Gull Island and was joined be two mature eagles.

08/7/10 – Not much time to make fishing report entries this time of the year. Fisherman´s Picnic is happening this weekend in Grand Marais and the North Shore is busy. Even though our water temps are fluctating between 40F & 60F, fishing has been great. Still catching a good mix of lakers and salmon.

July

07/29/10 – North Shore Slam are the words of the day. This past week we completed the NSS on one fishing trip and had a double NSS on the next, missing a triple by 2 fish. 60+ degree water has been the norm lately until yesterday. Strong north west winds blew all day dropping the near shore water temp to 40F. It will be interesting where we find fish today.

07/21/10 – Fishing action continues to be hot, both the catching and the weather. Warmer than normal water temps has allowed me to wear shorts quite regularily this summer. What a change from last year when I didn´t get to wear them at all.

A couple noteworthy happenings this past week. We caught a herring. This is the 3rd herring to be boated in 12 years, so not a very common occurance. Warm water seems to encourage the big fish to bite. Last Saturday we doubled up on 15lb & 20lb lake trout. When we were done I had lines tangled and under the boat, but boy was that fun. Full moon is coming soon I can't wait.

07/11/10 – Scattered thunderstorms with lightning is keeping us off the lake today. So taking the time to get things updated and a trip to Duluth with the kids. Fishing is excellent. We are catching a good mix of fish with a lot of large lake trout. Yesterday we missed catching the North Shore Slam (catching all 5 species in one trip – lake trout, king, coho, pink & steelhead) by one pink salmon.

The new boat big fish record has fallen again and this time it beat the all time Tofte Charters record as well. Gordy Salisbury caught a 24lb lake trout on Friday July 9, breaking the previous record of 23.5 lbs. It was a great group effort clearing lines and fighting the fish while I steered the boat in the rough seas.

Another great fish was caught a week prior by the Fabyanski group, 18lbs and 37". Both fish were released.

I also had time to upload new photos to the photo gallery, checkout the nice fish we have been catching.

June

06/30/10 – Excellent fishing this past week as we slipped fishing trips in between rain & fog. Water has stayed warm and salmon are starting to show up. The full moon came through for us again and this beautiful 19.1 lb, 37" lake trout was caught on Saturday.

We almost caught another big fish on Sunday, but only hooked his lunch. One of the downriggers popped, fish on for a couple seconds and then nothing. Reeled in the line to find this 1/2 digested eelpout on the hook. Many times lake trout will swallow prey bigger than their stomach. The tail of the prey sticks out of their throat until the front is digested. Still hungry it seems, a big fish swallowed our spoon and we hooked its lunch in the back of its throat.

06/20/10 – Happy Father´s Day

06/19/10 – Rains this week made the lake a bit murkey instead of crystal clear. This threw off the bite slightly but they are getting back into a consistent pattern. Starting to find some suspended fish as the surface water temp approaches 50F.

06/11/10 – Off the lake today because of a NE blow making 3' – 5' waves and they are calling for it to rise to 4' – 6'. Either way it is not much fun, so we will wait for calmer seas. Lake trout continue to bite in good numbers.

I am often asked if we can see land across the lake. The answer is always no but we do see the mirage of the Apostle islands often. I try to explain the phenomenon of a mirage, it is a reflection of the object upside down and above the original object. This happens with ships as well. Many times we see the mirage of a ship that is over the horizon and hidden, but we can see the mirage moving along. The picture to the right is a ship and its mirage blending into one. Pretty cool if you ask me.

06/03/10 – Water temps are rising into the 40's, which is about a month a head of schedule. Let´s hope the warm water continues. Past fishing logs have shown that the warmest summers were the most productive.

May

05/31/10 – Happy Memorial Day

05/27/10 – Memorial Day weekend is shaping up to be a great time on the shore. Nothing but sun in the forecast, highs in the 70's and light winds predicted. Perfect conditions to be on Lake Superior.

05/23/10 – Great weather provided us with good fishing all week. The new boat is running perfect and proving to be a fish catching machine. Rod holders are here and mounted, the only thing left to install are the downrigger pluggins and a few cup holders. Lake trout are happily cooperating with an occasional king salmon.

05/12/10 – There have been quite a few first for TCII this week. The first cruise on Lake Superior, the first fish – a 4lb lake trout, which is also the first laker, first king salmon came on the next trip, and our first limit of fish on the next trip. I am looking forward to a lot more "firsts" this year.

05/08/10 – The long journey from Ohio is over and the boat is now home. Work is underway to equip TCII with safety equipment and fishing gear. We will be on the lake fishing next week.

April

04/30/10 – The April 28th pickup date was pushed back a week to allow for late arriving parts to be installed. May 4th is now the new date. Once I get the boat here and on the water we can start talking about fishing again.

04/03/10 – What a fun time I am having! Since I am not on the water yet and the warm weather has cut our ice fishing short. I have been spending a lot of time planning the layout of the boat. A new Humminbird graph is on order, as is the track for the sides & back of boat, rod holders, downrigger bases, wiring ... April 28th is the scheduled day for pickup.

(Factory Photo)

March

03/11/10 – After many years of dreaming, hoping and hard work a new boat, Tofte Charters II is becoming a reality. TC II is a Baha Cruiser 277 GLE, with a length of 27' 7", a 9' 6" beam and a 8.1 inboard mercruiser engine. For those of you who have been on my boat before, this is 6' longer and a 1' wider than the original Tofte Charters boat. Not to mention a much faster motor. The boat currently resides in Port Clinton, OH and a trip is slated for April to drag her home.

(Factory Photo)