Door County Salmon Fishing with Silver Strike Charters

As I walked to the Baileys Harbor Yacht Club Marina, the Silver Strike came into sight. A beautiful 31’ Tiara Open, the Silver Strike is quite a sight to see.  After some quick introductions, the twin 454 engines roared to life and the mate began picking out lures for the days catch. We pulled away from the dock and were on the way to the fishing grounds.

The ride out was beautiful, couldn’t have asked for better weather. The mate was busy putting brightly colored lures on the 12 rods that lined the back and sides of the boat. Captain Jason Peggar took us to the spot they had been fishing the day before. Once the mate got the lines set, we began trolling up and down the shores north of Baileys Harbor. After only a few minutes, we got our first fish on.  It hit on one of the down riggers and felt like a big fish. Half way in, Jason jumped to the other side of the boat and began reeling in one of the rods. Another fish! He handed off the rod and began pulling in the rods of either side. The morning bite had begun. Within the next ten minutes we had five fish on.  There was only three of us plus the captain and first mate so everyone was reeling.

After only being out for an hour and a half, we had our fifteen fish limit plus two for the crew and were on our way in. Not a bad day on Lake Michigan at all, beautiful weather and great fishing.  One member of our group, Don Coury owner of St. Paul Flatbread Company, was leaving Door County that afternoon and wanted to take his five fish with him so Don filleted them up and prepared the rest to be processed at Hickey Bros. Fish Market. If you don’t want the hassle of packaging up your catch, Capt. Jason said that Hickey’s will freeze and hold your catch for the length of your trip for a very minimal cost.  We arrived back at the dock and hung up the twelve remaining fish for pictures. We had to show off our catch!

I have talked to Capt. Jason since we went out last week and he said the fishing is phenomenal with their biggest catch pegged at 33 fish this morning. He says it’s because the lake flipped and conditions are good: cold water, south wind, fronts moving in.

The guys on Silver Strike don’t fish because it’s their job. They fish these waters year round which gives them the advantage of knowing what’s hot, where the fish are and what they’re biting on. This year, Captains Andy (below on right) & Jason(on left) took 2nd place in the Brown Trout Tournament in April with a monster 19lb brown caught with less than one hour left of the tournament. First Mate Don brought in the 3rd place fish. These guys know their fishing!!!

Silver Strike runs 3 trips a day to accommodate the demand for salmon fishing out of Baileys Harbor. They offer two options when booking charters:  basic trip or mid day special. The basic trip is a 5 hour sunrise/sunset trip.  You can request a private boat or an individual rate, which includes other fisherman up to 6. The mid day special is a 3.5 hour private boat.

The charter fishing season in Door County consists of 4 types of fish. Brown trout & Rainbow trout seem to bite early in the Spring with an occasional Chinook & Coho Salmon. Salmon fishing goes into full swing in June and lasts through the end of October.

Crew:

• Capt. Andy Isaacson
• Capt. Jason Peggar

Mates:

• Don Petersilka
• Sid Johnson
• Spencer Johnson

www.doorcountycharterfishing.com

920.854.6069