Captain Steve Martin joined the Great Lakes Fishing Podcast for Episode 235. Steve owns and operates Mi-Hi Charters. He starts his season on Lake Erie fishing for walleyes and fishes the second half of the year out of Frankfort, Michigan, chasing trout and salmon. 2025 will be Steve's 40th year of charter fishing. This interview is a conversation for my trip to Michigan in late August.  

Chris Larsen  

We're in Frankfort, Michigan, today.  You fish out of two different ports. You fish out of Lake Erie and then come up here during the year. Tell us a little bit about how your season progresses.   

Captain Steve Martin  

We start down on Lake Erie on May 10th-12th, somewhere in that range. With nice weather, the walleyes start to stack up in the bay there. So, we fish for walleyes until July 1st, then move up to Frankfort on Lake Michigan and fish for salmon. We start around July 10th and go till around September 10th.   

  

Chris Larsen  

What does your walleye program look like on Lake Erie?   

  

Captain Steve Martin  

We're planer board fishing. We normally use big planer boards, dual skis, five lines per side, and two dipsies per side. Our usual spread is 12-14 rods.  

  

Chris Larsen  

What are you using? What's on the business end of those lines?   

  

Captain Steve Martin  

We use Big Jon diving discs with Silver Streak Junior Spoons for walleyes. We also troll Storm Wiggle Warts, which are just crankbaits. No diving discs are needed for those. We run them as a flat line but off the planer boards.   

  

Chris Larsen  

What's a day like for you?  

  

Captain Steve Martin  

As far as fishing goes, it's usually busy. Lake Erie is an awesome fishery. I usually have a mate fishing with me, so one guy per side, and we're pretty busy. Stuff is going on all the time.   

  

Chris Larsen  

I don't want to age you, Steve, but you've got a little bit of gray hair. How has that fishery changed throughout the years since you've been fishing?   

  

Captain Steve Martin  

The zebra mussels have cleaned the water up, so there are a few different color patterns. It hasn't changed that much. There are more color patterns than anything. We're still using the same baits. The spoon industry was started maybe 15 years ago.  Before that, it was all Storm Wiggle Warts. If you didn't catch them on a Wiggle Wart, you pretty much didn't catch them. But now we run the diving disc with the spoons. So that's changed.  

  

Chris Larsen  

You talked about those Juniors, and you've talked a little bit about color. What are some of your favorite color patterns for walleyes at that time of year in Frankfort?   

  

Captain Steve Martin  

It varies. There's a spoon we nicknamed the MiHi. It's gold and orange.  We run lots of pinks. Walleyes are not as color-sensitive as salmon, so you can run a wide range of colors. We'll run one color for a week. You know, they'll wear the color right off the spoon.  They'll eat it right off and it still works. That's not the case so much up here.   

  

Chris Larsen  

So, you've got a boat down there, and then you've got a boat up here. What is it about Frankfort? You could pick anywhere to put a boat and fish. What do you like about this area?   

  

Captain Steve Martin  

It's just a beautiful place to fish. The scenery is second to none. I've been around Michigan, and I've fished in a lot of different ports. We have the Sleeping Bear Dunes, we have nice scenery, and the fishing is really good.  

  

Chris Larsen  

Tell me about how the port sets up as you leave the marina. What does it look like as you head out?   

  

Captain Steve Martin  

You know, it's a typical port for getting out of here. There's no wake until we get to the lake and then we have close fishing. We're lucky in that respect. Our bank's about two miles out, and we have another deep drop-off to the south, about two and a half miles away. We have a lot of structure in Frankfort to fish. 

  

Chris Larsen 

What's the bottom structure like in this area?  

 

Captain Steve Martin  

It's pretty soft. It's mostly clay bottom, but now, with the zebra mussels, we do have weeds. Twenty years ago, you could take a cannonball and drag it on the bottom while fishing for trout. Now, you must be careful as you'll get weeded up. There are weeds down there now with the zebra mussels.   

  

Chris Larsen  

How deep is it as you're going out?   

  

Captain Steve Martin  

It's flat here until you get to the drop-off. And then, as you go to the north, the drop-off gets steeper and steeper. It goes from 60 feet to 120 feet in probably two or three football fields. It's a steep bank. And then we have an outer bank, we call it, that goes from 180 to 240 quickly.  

  

Chris Larsen  

And what is the fishery like? What are the target species out here as you're fishing?   

  

Captain Steve Martin  

This year, we're catching a lot of king and coho salmon and lake trout. Frankfort's always been known for lake trout, so if the fishing's slow, we always have lake trout. It's been a good thing for us. We have three or four different places that hold lake trout. I know the salmon fishing this year is better than it's been in a decade. It's just phenomenal this year.   

  

Chris Larsen  

I've heard that. The size structure, too, has been up from what I've heard: there are a lot of big fish.   

  

Captain Steve Martin  

The cohos are nice: probably averaging six to ten pounds. A bigger one here and there. And the kings are 15 to 25. A 33 or 32-pounder was caught in the tournament yesterday—some nice kings. We had a nice box of kings this morning, and we had many 18 to 20’s in there.   

  

Chris Larsen  

So, there are a lot of fish and a lot of big fish, and you're saying it's one of the best years you've seen in 10 years. What do you think has led to that?   

  

Captain Steve Martin  

Last year, we had a good alewife spawn, which the cohos really liked. The cohos like the young-in-the-year alewife that gives them size quickly, and that's probably what contributed to the nice-sized coho. The baitfish are on the comeback. Wisconsin and Michigan also upped the planting of the kings, so they're pouring a lot of fish into the lake right now.   

  

Chris Larsen  

So, there are a lot of fish in the water and a lot of food for them to eat.  

  

Captain Steve Martin  

Let's hope the food holds up.   

  

Chris Larsen  

So, with all that going on, does it make it harder to catch the fish with more bait out there and more options for them?   

  

Captain Steve Martin  

No, it holds the fish here more. If you have bait fish, the big fish will be around. A couple of years ago, when bait fish was low, the kings would come and go because they were going to return to where they spawn. They'll come back, but they're a little bit more finicky if there's no food around.   

  

Chris Larsen  

Tell me a little bit about your program. How do you fish for them? Does that change throughout the year from July when you get here until September?   

  

Captain Steve Martin  

If we're targeting lake trout in July, we're fishing on the bottom, primarily or close to the bottom. We use some cowbells and magnum spoons. We always fish with four divers: a high and a low diver. We also fish a lot of lead core and copper lines. My standard set-up is 13 rods. That's usually how we start.   

  

Chris Larsen  

So, early in your season, it's a laker fishery, and it changes to salmon as it progresses?   

  

Captain Steve Martin  

That's what has been happening, but this year, we didn't have to fish trout too much because there were so many salmon around. I only targeted trout on three or four charters after I started. There's been quite a few salmon around. We did fish in combination with both salmon and trout.   

  

Chris Larsen  

When fishing the salmon around here, are you running spoons, or what do you typically run?   

  

Captain Steve Martin  

Yes, a lot of spoons. As the season starts, we're usually running spoons and rotators… Dreamweaver rotators. As the season progresses, we run a lot of plugs, a lot of number three and number five silver horde plugs.   

  

Chris Larsen  

What are some of your favorite colors to run out of Frankfort?   

  

Captain Steve Martin  

Chilly Goose has always been my favorite- it's a greenish spoon. Those are some of my go-to spoons we've been running for the last week. Colors similar to that, and Blue Dolphins are always good in Frankfort.   

  

Chris Larsen  

You know, I talked to my boss, Trevor Sumption. He's a guy that you know well. Before coming out here, he's like, "Steve is a killer. And if there's fish around, he's going to catch them." I know people don't like to brag about themselves. Still, I've talked to a few people and thrown your name around, and everybody's like, "Oh, that guy catches fish." What do you think it is about how you fish that makes you successful? 

  

Captain Steve Martin  

One of my older charter captain buddies always told me that you have to pay attention to the little details. He always told me that if you have 13 rods out, you get a bite on every rod. If every rod gets a bite, you've had a good day, especially if the rods get multiple bites. Details as to what you're running, things of that nature. And my experience. Where to go, how to set up. You know, one of the things for me is the Fish Hawk. That's my first rod in the water. It tells me the story of the day: it tells me what the temperature is, what my speed is, where the current is. That's always my first rod in. I run it on my center downrigger.   

  

Chris Larsen  

What are you looking for typically for temperature? What's the number that you like?   

  

Captain Steve Martin  

In the early part of the year, in the low 50s, this time of year the kings are a little bit more tolerable. So are the cohos. They're getting ready to spawn. So, some of them may be up in the warmer water. But today, primarily, the fish were in the 50s. There are a couple of fish right at the end; we kind of drop down as the day progresses and the sunlight gets in the water. We dropped our program down a little bit. Our last fish was probably 85 down. We started in the morning at 45 & 50.   

  

Chris Larsen  

You've had a long career. You've been doing this for a long time. Suppose you have somebody aspiring to be a charter captain, or maybe they're just getting started. What advice would you have for them to extend their career and be able to do this as long as you have?   

  

Captain Steve Martin  

You have to enjoy it; that's the number one thing. I've been fortunate to do it. Next year will be my 40th year, and everybody asks me, "When are you going to retire?" And I say, 'Well, I'll retire when I don't enjoy it anymore." I don't mind reeling in fish, but I like to see a bite. That's my thing, and I like watching people reel them in. Regarding young guys getting into the business, it's a fair amount of work. You have to be dedicated to it. To make a decent living at it, we're running two trips a day. We start our day at 4 a.m., and then we end our day at 11 p.m. We have a couple of short naps in between and get back at it again. It's a short season in Michigan, so you have to make hay while the sun shines.   

  

Chris Larsen  

You also have to work with clients. I mean, you're working with people, and a lot of the time, they come on the boat and may not know a whole lot about what they're doing. Can you tell me a little bit about some of the things that you do to put people at ease and help them have a better day?   

  

Captain Steve Martin  

We try to coach them as best we can. We can tell their personalities and how they are. Today, we had an older lady from Virginia. She'd never fished before. She lost a couple, but that's how it goes. And then you just keep coaching them, and sooner or later, she's going to get one in. We just help them along and watch the enjoyment, and they'll get them in. They'll wear them out.   

  

Chris Larsen  

You all had a pretty good day today.  

 

Captain Steve Martin  

We did. 

  

Chris Larsen  

Tell me about your day today.  

 

Captain Steve Martin 

We ended up with 18 but probably had 25-30 bites. So that's a fantastic morning for a half-day salmon charter, or for any salmon charter, really.   

  

Chris Larsen  

Things are rocking pretty hard there. Is there anything you wanted to discuss today that I didn't ask you about?   

  

Captain Steve Martin  

I think we pretty much got it. It's a great fishery here in Frankfort. Like you said, you'd never fished here before, but it's a beautiful place to be.   

  

Chris Larsen  

Steve from MiHi Charters, I appreciate you spending some time with us today. If somebody wants to book a trip with you, how do they get in touch with you?   

  

Captain Steve Martin  

They can call me at 248-763-2769, which is our business line, or visit mihicharters.com.