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Who is Captain Mel?
Captain Mel is an
expert, professional, full-time fishing guide providing his services
in the Midwestern U.S. region. In the early 1970s, Mel offered his
services as a skilled guide for finding and catching Coho Salmon in
Lake Michigan off of the Port of Waukegan, Illinois. Since then,
Captain Mel has guided numerous fishing enthusiasts in their quest for
walleyes, muskies, and bass.
Mel has spent numerous hours on the water from
Chequamegan Bay Wisconsin to Lake Erie off the shores of Ohio catching
walleyes, bass and muskie. By taking advantage of an early
retirement, today Captain Mel fishes full time during an extended
three seasons. From "ice out" to "ice in."
Sport fishing may be Capt. Mel's specialty, but his
mission is to make sure his clients and their guests have a good time.
In addition, Captain Mel:
 | Is a licensed Charter Captain authorized by the United States Coast Guard |
| A member of
Walleyes Unlimited since 1976 and
current President |
| Since 1999 has places within the top ten of
annual Walleyes Unlimited fishing contests. |
| Is a member of
Muskies
Incorporated |
| Finished in the top ten in the Illinois
Chain-O-Lakes Walleye Tournament in 1999 |
What others are saying about Captain
Mel
This is the perfect time to fish for salmon
By
Jim Zegar | May 15, 2004
NEWS SUN OUTDOORS WRITER
"Mel, the port-side down rigger is gonna pop first. I
just know it. Look at the vibration of the rod tip. It will be our
first fish of the day."
"Yeah, sure," came his unconvinced reply. I knew he was laughing to
himself.
Capt. Mel Christensen and I had launched his Lund 2025 boat out of
Waukegan Harbor a few minutes earlier. Six trolling rods were rigged
for salmon and we were ready to bang 'em.
Two rods were set up on downriggers and four with Yellow Bird planer
boards.
I stood next to Mel as he sat behind the steering wheel. He was
watching the depth finder and guiding the boat toward a "hotspot"
waypoint marked on his GPS unit. I was watching that port-side
downrigger rod. Sometimes, when you're fishing, you just know.
It wasn't more than 2-3 minutes later when one of the rods suddenly
bent in half. I yelled, "Fish on!" and with the speed of a predator,
I grabbed it to fight the surging salmon. After a good run, I
brought the fish to the side of the boat where Mel scooped it into
the net. Into the cooler it went, five pounds of beautiful coho
salmon, the first fish of the day.
And which rod do you think it came on? Yup, the port-side
downrigger. I had called it!
 Lake
County offers access to world-class salmon fishing and now is the
time to get them. Boat launches are available at Waukegan Harbor and
Northpoint Marina in Winthrop Harbor. The fish are stacked up
between those locations and most days are in 10-35 feet of water.
Launch your own boat or hire one of the many charter captains
available. The salmon are there for you to take.
We fished this past Wednesday and had our limit of 10 fish (5 each)
in 2 hours or so. On some days, the action is even faster.
Three fish came on spoons and seven on tinsel fly/herring dodger
rigs.
All fish were in the 4- to 5-pound category, really big for this
early in the season. |
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