Michigan charter captain, cinematographer putting salmon secrets on video
Grand Rapids Press
September 29, 2001

ST. JOSEPH -- It was 2 p.m. when we finally hit pay dirt. One of the rods dipped hard. A big Chinook salmon had taken the lure.

The big female leapt out of the water. Paul Locey of Kalamazoo pulled the rod and started reeling. The fish broke and ran, pulling off another 25 yards of line. Locey reeled some more and the fish broke again. A veteran of many salmon wars, Locey bore down and brought it in.

Captain Ken Neidlinger, the owner of SilverKing Sportfishing Charters and my host for the day, then netted the fine looking 22-pounder and smiled for the camera.

"We haven't been skunked yet," announced a wry voice from behind a video camera, now zeroing in on Locey hefting up the salmon for a trophy shot. "If we had, I'd have to enjoy myself and shoot shots of the river or do something about tuning up the Flatfish lures."

We had all started to wonder. It had been one of those days. Out on the water by 6 a.m., we didn't get a bite for five hours and then the first fish was foul hooked and released. This one came three hours later only to be followed quickly by another. Finally, we were into the fish.

The cameraman was John Holod, an internationally known cinematographer who teamed up with Neidlinger earlier this year to begin producing a special fishing secrets video set about catching salmon and steelhead on Lake Michigan and the St. Joseph River. The first of the two is expected to be complete by March.

"Guys could catch a lot more fish, but often don't have the knowledge. That's what we want to give them -- the where, how and when," said Neidlinger, who left the sporting goods industry to began his charter business in the 1960s. He has since parlayed it into a successful year-round endeavor.

An enthusiastic angler with a colorful personality -- he's known to wear an ascot -- Neidlinger is well known for his fishing expertise in these waters. Not long ago his clients had to wrestle with having five big Chinook to land at the same time and then five flopping around in the bottom of the boat. Over the years, they have hoisted a number of state record fish, from the 22-pound, 14-ounce steelhead and 22-pound, 4-ounce brown trout that list as the largest ever taken on the St. Joe River to a 40-pound, 8-ounce lake trout on Lake Michigan.

When the Bacterial Kidney Disease ravaged the Lake Michigan salmon fishery in the 1980s, Neidlinger got out in front of the problem. He switched to lighter tackle and fly-fishing reels so his clients could enjoy a quality sportfishing experience with ample fight even though the big salmon were gone. His attention to detail and acquired knowledge has led him to become a highly sought after charter skipper.

"It took me a good 10 years to master the river," said Neidlinger. "And now we want to tell others how to do it."

Neidlinger and Holod plan to produce a two video series; one for fishing from May to September on Lake Michigan and the other on fishing the river from September to May. The St. Joe River is a popular destination for steelhead and salmon anglers.

"We're going to cover the whole thing," said Holod, a Detroit native who added: "I fled 20 years ago on my Harley and haven't been back much since. "We're going to show people which lures to use at what time of year and how to rig and fish them. What they learn they'll be able to use on other waters elsewhere."

Holod, who lives in a fifth-wheel trailer that contains his video production facilities, has produced a number of travelogues and documentaries since he began his cinemagraphic career 12 years ago. On the road almost constantly, driving 50,000 miles each year, he makes his living lecturing and showing his films while alternating with travel to exotic locales like Alaska, Hawaii and Cuba for shoots.

His wry, quirky wit entertains his audiences. He began traveling as a young man and eventually moved west, where he settled into a life as a country western musician and ski photographer. He eventually turned to making travel films after first attempting to work with slides.

"I took my Harley on a Polish cruise ship and eventually developed a slide show about my trip in Poland," Holod said. "I grossed about $25 on that. No one wants to pay to see a slide show. That's something you do at the library on a Saturday afternoon for donuts."

In 1989 he bought his first movie camera and went to Hawaii to make his first film. His latest release documents his travel adventures along the 1,500-mile Alaskan Highway in a recreational vehicle. Over the years he has lectured to the National Geographic Society as well as the Carnegie Institute.

Capturing nature, he says, is part of his cinematic style. The St. Joe River, for example, is a thriving habitat for a variety of wildlife species and those that fish it often get to enjoy the sights. Those who buy the video will enjoy those sights as well. Producing a fishing video is a departure from the norm for Holod, but he says he is enjoying the project.

"I started fishing with Ken about six years ago," Holod said. "I'd stop in here every time I was headed out west. I like to fish and told him I'd like to do a fishing video. He said he didn't want to give up his secrets."

The pair eventually found common ground for the project and Neidlinger says he is having fun.

"We want to put more fun in fishing and have people go as light as possible and but still be practical," Neidlinger said. "They don't have to go out and buy telephone pole-sized rods you can hardly pick up and great big reels. You don't need that kind of tackle to be successful." Neidlinger says the videos will cover a variety of techniques from lure choices and tackle modifications to leaders and lines along with the special knots and fishing techniques that help.

"He films and I fish," said Neidlinger.

About that time, the third salmon of the day smashed his lures.