TOPIC:

Some of the old timers here probably remember Jack Parry, who wrote an outdoor column for decades in the Gary Post, wrote on outdoor topics for other publication and was a charter captain for many years. One of Jack's favorite nicknames for lake trout was "fork-tails" because their tail is decidedly "forked." Yes, even back in the day, lakers were important component to Indiana's Lake Michigan fishery.

Some good news for a change after dismal reports and chemical spills.

The Indiana Shoals are loaded with trout, right now. I had a group of Kentuckians the last couple days. On Tuesday, with the lake still clouded up from the blow and chopped up from overnight storms we hugged the Inland Wall and put together a modest catch of cohos and a nice steelhead - first steely on the boat this year.

Yesterday, flat calm and sunny, I put the chart cursor on a spot about a quarter mile west of where the gong will be deployed and headed out across the shoals. There, we had a steady bite of fork-tails all morning and the new limits in Indiana allowed the fun to keep on going.

I had four rods dedicated to the forkies, all of them took fish. Two wire divers, 150 out, two 'riggers right on the bottom. Chrome or "trash can" dodgers ahead of spin-n-glows did the work.

Glad to hear the new limit already providing some positives!

Thanks for the report. How was the water clarity out by the gong?

Not crystal clear but better than nearshore. Could see an orange diver maybe 7 feet under the water.

Meant to ask, Ben, some of the females appeared to have ripe eggs. No sperm sacks in what I assume were males. Vestigial egg sacks in others. Eh?

Sounds like what happens when they reabsorb their eggs... we occasionally see that in the spring. Was it a mix of egg sizes within the same fish? Were there a lot of ripe-looking eggs in the fish? Don't happen to have a picture do you?

What do you do with them after you catch them? Mixed reports on eating them, most being negative. Any suggestions?

I filet the fish, trim all the belly meat and visible fat and suggest cooking techniques that eliminate more fat. I explain the consumption advisories - how they differ from state to state and for people of different ages and sex, where to find the advisories and send them home.

This has all been hashed and rehashed here and elsewhere.