SAXON HARBOR, WI - Friday, April 25, 2008 - Ironwood fishing guide Bud Johnson was out at Saxon Harbor yesterday readying his boat, the "Cacchen" for the upcoming fishing season.

The season begins in mid-May and continues until September. Early fishing can be spotty due to the cold water. The fishing usually gets good in early June and continues for the remainder of the season. Lake Trout are the most abundant species of fish. Coho Salmon is the next most abundant, Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, and Chinook Salmon are caught frequently. Lake Herring are occasionally caught.

All fishing equipment is furnished and it consists of down-rigger rod controlled depth fishing using Cannon Down-riggers. Dipsy Diver are used to get a spread near the boat. The Fishing Ski method is used to run baits up to 240 feet from the boat.

The high breading of these two fishing system creates a very successful method. The average catch for a days fishing is fifteen to twenty fish.

All fishermen need their electronics toys to help them catch fish. The Cacchen is equipped with all of the "bells & whistles." For safety and navigation there are two VHF marine radios. One is permanently installed I-Com. The other is a handheld I-Com. For navigation a large Danforth magnetic compass sits in the binnacle and Garmin 230 GPS is at the helm with a handheld Garmin GPS 12 for back up. A Raytheon radar is our eyes in the fog. For fishing a Sitex dual frequency color video graph/plotter lets us know what is under the boat. A Horizon digital depth sounder, that is good to 500 feet, indicates the depth of water. Water temperature is monitored by a Fish Hawk temperature computer. It indicates temperature at surface and depth when the sensors are installed on the downrigger.

Bud's boat, the Cacchen, is a 38 foot Chris Craft Commander. The boat is inspected by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources as required by Michigan law. This inspection assures the passengers that the boat is a seaworthy vessel and that  all the required safety equipment is on board and  in good working order.

The lower cabin has a galley with hot and cold running water and dinette that will seat four people. Across from the dinette is a full length couch. A full service restroom is just off the main cabin. The forward V-berth has two full length bunks.

The aft deck, with over 120 square feet, has abundant room for the whole crew to enjoy the fishing experience. Central air conditioning is available if the weather becomes too warm. This doesn't happen too often on Lake Superior.

In addition to great guided fishing trips, Bud's Charter Service also offers sunset and custom cruises. For more information: Call Bud at (906) 932-5652 (Home); (906) 250-3324 (Cell); or email him at cacchen@chartermi.net. Bud's Charter Service has a website too. The URL is http://www.budscharters.com. The website can also be accessed by clicking the add to your right.

Jim Albert