Captain George Freeman

I am George Freeman, Captain, owner and operator of Free Style Charters in Ludington, Michigan. I was born and raised in Michigan’s capital city of Lansing, and was serving in the U. S. Navy during the Vietnam War when the first salmon were harvested on Lake Michigan. I got hooked on salmon and steelhead fishing in Lake Michigan’s river system, and in 1979 started fishing them in the Big Lake. I would trailer my 22 ft. boat to central and northern Lake Michigan ports spring, summer and fall when I could get time off from my job at General Motors. With the downturn in the auto industry in the 1980’s I decided in 1983 to get my captain’s license, to help pay for my fishing habit. As my fishing skills improved so did my client list and I purchased a bigger boat, a 31’ Sea Ray which I used until I purchased my current boat, “Free Style”; a 1990 31’ Tiara Open in 2007. I have fished as a full time captain since 2001. Over the years I have seen many changes to both the number of fish available and the techniques used to catch them. I am well versed in fishing lead core, copper line, wire divers, flashers, spoons, plugs, etc. About 10 years ago I dedicated myself to adding cut bait to my spread for kings. I have continued fine-tuning this technique and am considered a leader in cut bait fishing on Lake Michigan. I share the results of every single charter I run on the fishing report page at www.freestylecharters.com. I have been a part of tournament-winning teams and have several top 10 finishes with ‘Team Free Style’.