Mason County Cultural Trails
Mason County is home to several trails that tell stories with fascinating histories. Explore these self-guided tours to learn about each one!
Photo by Todd & Brad Reed Photography
Fishing is fun all year in Ludington!
There are numerous places for anglers to try their luck, and Ludington has such a great variety of fish. Some of the best charter captains on Lake Michigan make Ludington their home port, and will happily take your out on the lake to fish for salmon and trout.
Scroll below to learn about the best fishing each month in the Ludington area.
Launch the spring season with steelhead catches in the Pere Marquette River and suckers that are plentiful from the crossroads and bridges. The cool nights of April bring smelt dippers out with their lights and nets to bring in bucket loads of the silvery fish. Late April kicks off the walleye, northern pike, muskie, and trout season. Brook, rainbow, and brown trout are ready for the catching in the Pere Marquette River and along the Lake Michigan shoreline.
This time of year is great for charter fishing as brown trout, lake trout and some salmon and steelhead are prevalent. Fly fishing on the Pere Marquette River during this time of year is excellent. June is the time for perch fishing along the rocky waters off the Ludington Pumped Storage Plant and on the inland lakes of Hamlin, Lincoln and Pere Marquette. This is also the season for fine crappie and pike fishing on the inland lakes.
These are King salmon months and action is fast and furious. Charter boats often angle for salmon in the morning then move offshore to reel in a few steelhead to throw on the grill as well. Many charter captains and diehard fishermen flock to Ludington for the Ludington Offshore Classic Fishing Tournament in mid-July. It’s one of the most popular fishing tournaments on Lake Michigan, with over $100,000 in cash and prizes.
Charter fishing is still big business going into the fall. September is the month when thousands of mature salmon and steelhead mass off the river mouths for their annual migration upstream. On the inland lakes, crappie, bluegill, and small mouth bass fishing are excellent. October brings steelhead catches on the Pere Marquette River, where guides or charter captains can help you find the prime fishing spots. These jumpers are lively and, with minimal boat traffic at this time of year, the catches are even better for anglers. During the autumn steelhead and Salmon Runs, anglers line the banks of the Big Sable River which courses through the Ludington State Park. These fish jumping over the Hamlin Dam is a sight to see! This mile-long stretch from Hamlin Lake is a favorite as the catches are definitely worth writing home about.
Once the ice freezes in December, venture out onto Hamlin Lake for some bluegill or walleye fishing. January kicks off the northern pike spearing season and Hamlin, Pere Marquette, and Lincoln Lakes offer plenty of action. February and March bring crappie action on Hamlin Lake where perch, walleye, and bluegills also can be found. Fishermen brave the cold for the ice fishing tournament held in early February on Hamlin Lake.
Mason County is home to several trails that tell stories with fascinating histories. Explore these self-guided tours to learn about each one!
No matter your experience level, Ludington area charter captains will guide you in what to bring and what to expect on the big lake.
Disc golf is a big deal here in the Ludington area, with up to 20,000 people per year visiting one of our six courses.
Ludington’s natural resources, charter captains, and outfitters provide great salmon fishing on Lake Michigan and the Pere Marquette River.
“Fish on For Freedom” is a non-profit event that provides a free day of fishing to military veterans on Lake Michigan.
Here you will find past fishing reports for the Ludington area, including Lake Michigan, PM Lake, PM River, and Hamlin Lake.
If there’s one thing that Hamlin Lake is known for, it’s excellent fishing. Catch crappie, bluegill, and more across thousands of acres.
There are many places to launch a boat for fishing or recreation in the Ludington area. Most are free of charge, with plenty of parking.
This Hamlin Lake Fishing Map details what kind of fish you might catch in various sections of the lake. Helpful for all anglers.
Is your business located in Ludington? Contact us today to learn about advertising opportunities with VisitLudington.com.
THANK YOU!
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement | 1 year | Set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie records the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category. |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics | 1 year | Set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie records the user consent for the cookies in the "Analytics" category. |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional | 1 year | The GDPR Cookie Consent plugin sets the cookie to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary | 1 year | Set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie records the user consent for the cookies in the "Necessary" category. |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others | 1 year | Set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie stores user consent for cookies in the category "Others". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance | 1 year | Set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie stores the user consent for cookies in the category "Performance". |
CookieLawInfoConsent | 1 year | CookieYes sets this cookie to record the default button state of the corresponding category and the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie. |
elementor | never | The website's WordPress theme uses this cookie. It allows the website owner to implement or change the website's content in real-time. |
rc::a | never | This cookie is set by the Google recaptcha service to identify bots to protect the website against malicious spam attacks. |
rc::c | session | This cookie is set by the Google recaptcha service to identify bots to protect the website against malicious spam attacks. |
viewed_cookie_policy | 1 year | The GDPR Cookie Consent plugin sets the cookie to store whether or not the user has consented to use cookies. It does not store any personal data. |
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
_ga | 1 year 1 month 4 days | Google Analytics sets this cookie to calculate visitor, session and campaign data and track site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognise unique visitors. |
_ga_* | 1 year 1 month 4 days | Google Analytics sets this cookie to store and count page views. |
_gat_UA-* | 1 minute | Google Analytics sets this cookie for user behaviour tracking.n |
_gid | 1 day | Google Analytics sets this cookie to store information on how visitors use a website while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the collected data includes the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously. |