Sturgeon Bay beats Algoma

[Captain Scott Gutschow]

When the fishing is slow in other ports Sturgeon Bay's Bank Reef shines....DNR data proves that Sturgeon Bay charters caught almost 10% more fish per hour last year while fishing a shorter charter, and they caught almost 30% more fish per trip. This while Algoma charters ran to Sturgeon Bay to fish and those fish were added to the Algoma fish totals..... So to accurately compare the Sturgeon Bay numbers are even stronger that those gleaned from the Wisconsin DNR data.....

[Naz]

There is great fishing off of all ports. To say Algoma boats run to the Bank is really not an accurate statement though. Only a few of the 30+ boats in Algoma's fleet run north and only occasionally when there's a lull in the action south. Sturgeon Bay's Bank is a great fishing spot, no doubt, but it has its good days and slow days like any other. We should be promoting fishing, not worrying about if one port's captains averaged 0.8 fish more per trip last year or not. If we look at the stats, Kenosha beat SB by 1.2 fish per trip. Anyone here really think Kenosha fishing is better than up north? Lake trout and cohos, sure. Kings and steelies? No way. Let's not worry about the little stuff and concentrate on promoting the fishery for what it is ... the best summer salmon fishing in the world!

[Captain Scott Gutschow]

Kevin your right, but in a recent article you touted that Algoma caught the most king salmon, The DNR numbers show that Stugeon Bay charters catch more kings salmon (per hour and per trip)....than other ports ven when Algoma Charters sometimes run to Sturgeon Bay.... The fish Algoma charters catch are added to the Algoma totals so the numbers are actually farther apart than you think... Finally the charter fishing data is the most accurate data available, and is much better than the data from private anglers....
I guess if you really wanted to compare the quality of fishing you should also take into consideration the number of lines that charter boats run. This data is also avaiable and I've started to compile it... I'd guess we run less than 1/2 the lines that most charters do. Mainly because we concentrate on structure and avoid the heavy wieghts and birds most of the time... Our fishing stands out over the rest.... The fact that other charter boats run 15 to 20 miles to fish the bank when the fishing gets tough and that the Algoma Challenge was won fishing the bank helps solidify the quality of the Salmon fishing in Sturgeon Bay over most...

[Naz]

Scott, I simply gave the numbers of fish and trips run, and stated that some ports attract more anglers than others for a variety of reasons and thus the numbers are higher. Also, DNR creels by county and Algoma and Kewaunee have the luxury of two ports in one county (as does Manitowoc/Two Rivers, and multiple Door County ports, though a lot less fishing pressure than the one-port counties south of Manitowoc).

Again, though, misleading folks to think that Algoma charters spend the bulk of their summer on the Bank, when it's probably less than 10 percent of the pack spending less than 5 percent of their time up there, is foolish. Algoma has four current state record fish and can stand alone on its high-quality fishery. Sturgeon Bay has the structure, the Bank Reef, which makes it a unique destination best fished with a charter (or a top-notch mapping unit so you don't lose gear!). Both ports offer awesome angling. The top weight ever in the Algoma Challenge was taken on a small "tin" boat less than three miles south of Algoma, though you're right, several years the winning team motored up to Sturgeon Bay (twice in a 50+ foot charter boat, the awesome "Hour Time" of which you were a team member).

I know many charter captains were royally ticked when it was reported that the salmon catch was down 40 percent in '08 (off the all-time record of '07), but it was still good fishing when compared historically and anyone who fishes knows we had an odd year of wild water temperature swings, winds and $4 gallon gas keeping many folks home. The economy is not in better shape this year, but I think we'll continue to draw plenty of anglers to Door and Kewaunee counties. History as shown that in economic downturns, people continue to fish, and maybe even fish more (more licenses sold). We'll see. It's good to see some fish already being caught. Should really start popping in the coming week. Best of luck to you and your crew in '09.

[Captain Scott Gutschow]

Kevin,
I didn't mislead anyone... You added the (majority of time)... I said (sometime run)... You are chasing your tail.... I told the facts with the best data avaiable. I didn't exclude any ports or lump ports together to pad the numbers.... I just gave everyone good solid data which supports the quality of the fishing in Sturgeon Bay....More important than last years data is the tournament result in recent tournaments thoughout the lake which is nothing short of incredible...Limit catches of big fish! The lake is behind in water temps by a week or two but with tournament results like this we should have some incredible fishing this season.