WHITECAPS CHARTERS WITH CAPT. JACK DUFFY
There are fishing trips and then there are fishing adventures. A fishing trip may be nothing more than catching panfish on live bait near home.
A fishing adventure is something else indeed. It is a happening, a wonderful outdoor experience, and one filled with angling excitement that will keep a hot fire burning inside every person aboard the boat.
Capt. Jack Duffy is the kind of licensed charterboat skipper who has a zest for life, a burning desire to make every fishing trip memorable and the stuff of which fishing dreams and legends are made. He is outgoing, wildly in love with fishing Lake Michigan for trophy Chinook and coho salmon, and the creamy-spotted lake trout that makes anglers enjoy catching fish. He also catches brown trout and high-jumping steelhead.
One thing about Duffy: A trip from his home port of Leland, is an unforgettable adventure. He works very hard to get clients into fish. He’s a one-of-a-kind, genuinely unforgettable fishing expert.
Call 231-883-7530 to book your fishing adventure with Capt Jack Duffy.
His 27-foot Tiara is well-known as the “Whitecap” fishing out of Leland, Michigan. It is designed for comfort and safety with plenty of room in the stern to do battle with big fish.
Whitecap has the latest electronic equipment will help anglers catch fish.
Leland has been the Lake Michigan port for big Chinook salmon since the early 1970s, and nearby North and South Manitou islands helps funnel these hard-fighting game fish into his fishing area. It’s here, off the Manitou Islands during the summer months where the possibility of limit catches attract destination-oriented and walk-on anglers.
Fishing with Capt. Jack Duffy on the Whitecap is an adventure that anglers will want to book from one year to the next. His boat, moored in historic Fish Town, puts anglers close to the fishing action within minutes of leaving port. Fishing with this master angler, featured in “Outdoor Life” and “Sports Afield”, is one of life’s great experiences.
Call 231-883-7530 to book your fishing adventure with Capt Jack Duffy.
salmonjackleland@aol.com
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Whitecap Charters with Captain Jack Duffy
Captain Jack Duffy
With over 40 years on Lake Michigan, Captain Jack Duffy is a Fishtown legend. He’s a U.S. Coast Guard–licensed guide who once held the state record for brown trout (31½ lbs!) and has been featured in Outdoor Life and Sports Afield.
The Legend Runs Deep – Captain Jack Duffy and the WhitecapEvery photograph in this collage tells a story — a bent rod, a broad smile, a cold morning on the big lake. But behind every picture stands one man who’s spent a lifetime chasing the rhythm of Lake Michigan: Captain Jack Duffy.This season aboard the Whitecap began like they all do — before sunrise, with coffee steam in the cabin and that quiet hum of expectation as the harbor fades behind the stern. From those first runs in May to the crisp mornings of late September, Captain Jack put his crews on fish and turned ordinary trips into lifelong memories.There were days when the bite came fast — lake trout stacking up off Pyramid Point, kings rolling in the blue water off the Manitou Passage — and there were slower mornings when the lake made you earn it. But no matter the weather, there was always that steady voice at the helm, reading the wind and watching the rods like only a veteran can.When the final fish hit the cooler and the season drew to a close, the Whitecap came home to Leland one last time. The boat now rests, the decks rinsed clean, the season tucked away like a good story waiting to be told again.Because that’s how legends are made here — not in the size of the fish, but in the people, the mornings, and the captain who knows how to find them.Fish fade, memories stay — that’s how legends live on.
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In the Wake of Legends: Whitecap Charters 2025The Whitecap is pulled from the water, washed down, winterized, and set aside until the lake softens again in spring. Captain Jack Duffy closes another season on Lake Michigan, a season filled with moments that will carry well beyond the dock.From the first runs in May when the mornings were still cold enough to see your breath, through the high sun days of July when the kings ran hard and the lake trout filled coolers, to the shifting winds of September when salmon nosed into the rivers, the Whitecap carried crews across them all. Families, friends, and first-timers bent rods and filled the rails, their shouts rising over the hum of the motors. Some mornings the fish came fast and furious, other days the wait was longer — but every trip carved its own story, as it always does.This year saw limits of trout pulled from the depths off Pyramid Point, kings fought to the net in the shadow of the Manitou Passage, and the kind of calm-water sunsets that stop everyone in their tracks. There were fathers passing rods to sons, daughters holding up their first salmon, and old friends returning for another go at the fish that make these waters famous.For Captain Jack, the measure of a season isn’t only in pounds of fish, but in the faces on the dock when the catch is hung and the photo is taken. This year, like every year, those faces told the story — tired arms, wide grins, and the satisfaction of time well spent.The boat is quiet now, resting for winter, but the season lives on in memory: the tug of a fish, the bend of a rod, and the steady hand of a captain who knows these waters as well as anyone.Fish fade, memories stay — that’s how legends live on.
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Leland, Sept. 23rd – Morning CharterThe morning broke gray and cool over the harbor at Leland, with a restless sky hanging low over Lake Michigan. Aboard the Whitecap, Captain Jack Duffy pointed the bow toward deeper water where the lake trout were holding. De Wayne, Myrtha, and Brent settled in, the chill in the air quickly forgotten as the first rod bent under the weight of a trout.One by one, the fish came steady, each battle pulling smiles across the rail. By mid-morning, the trio had lined the dock with a handsome catch, highlighted by a lake trout that tipped the scale at 14 pounds — a broad-shouldered fish that spoke of the lake’s wild character.Back at the slip, with the catch displayed beneath the Whitecap sign, the story of the morning was written in silver and gray, a reminder of what makes a September day in Leland so unforgettable.#Lelandmichigan #leland #lelandfishing #fishtown #leelanaucounty #m22life #whitecapcharters #lakemichigan #laketrout #charterfishing #puremichigan #fishing #lakemichiganfishing #lelandharbor #salmon
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Leland Harbor
10:52 pm,
Nov 1, 2025
38°F
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Whitecap Charters with Captain Jack Duffy
Captain Jack Duffy
With over 40 years on Lake Michigan, Captain Jack Duffy is a Fishtown legend. He’s a U.S. Coast Guard–licensed guide who once held the state record for brown trout (31½ lbs!) and has been featured in Outdoor Life and Sports Afield.
The Legend Runs Deep – Captain Jack Duffy and the WhitecapEvery photograph in this collage tells a story — a bent rod, a broad smile, a cold morning on the big lake. But behind every picture stands one man who’s spent a lifetime chasing the rhythm of Lake Michigan: Captain Jack Duffy.This season aboard the Whitecap began like they all do — before sunrise, with coffee steam in the cabin and that quiet hum of expectation as the harbor fades behind the stern. From those first runs in May to the crisp mornings of late September, Captain Jack put his crews on fish and turned ordinary trips into lifelong memories.There were days when the bite came fast — lake trout stacking up off Pyramid Point, kings rolling in the blue water off the Manitou Passage — and there were slower mornings when the lake made you earn it. But no matter the weather, there was always that steady voice at the helm, reading the wind and watching the rods like only a veteran can.When the final fish hit the cooler and the season drew to a close, the Whitecap came home to Leland one last time. The boat now rests, the decks rinsed clean, the season tucked away like a good story waiting to be told again.Because that’s how legends are made here — not in the size of the fish, but in the people, the mornings, and the captain who knows how to find them.Fish fade, memories stay — that’s how legends live on.
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In the Wake of Legends: Whitecap Charters 2025The Whitecap is pulled from the water, washed down, winterized, and set aside until the lake softens again in spring. Captain Jack Duffy closes another season on Lake Michigan, a season filled with moments that will carry well beyond the dock.From the first runs in May when the mornings were still cold enough to see your breath, through the high sun days of July when the kings ran hard and the lake trout filled coolers, to the shifting winds of September when salmon nosed into the rivers, the Whitecap carried crews across them all. Families, friends, and first-timers bent rods and filled the rails, their shouts rising over the hum of the motors. Some mornings the fish came fast and furious, other days the wait was longer — but every trip carved its own story, as it always does.This year saw limits of trout pulled from the depths off Pyramid Point, kings fought to the net in the shadow of the Manitou Passage, and the kind of calm-water sunsets that stop everyone in their tracks. There were fathers passing rods to sons, daughters holding up their first salmon, and old friends returning for another go at the fish that make these waters famous.For Captain Jack, the measure of a season isn’t only in pounds of fish, but in the faces on the dock when the catch is hung and the photo is taken. This year, like every year, those faces told the story — tired arms, wide grins, and the satisfaction of time well spent.The boat is quiet now, resting for winter, but the season lives on in memory: the tug of a fish, the bend of a rod, and the steady hand of a captain who knows these waters as well as anyone.Fish fade, memories stay — that’s how legends live on.
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Leland, Sept. 23rd – Morning CharterThe morning broke gray and cool over the harbor at Leland, with a restless sky hanging low over Lake Michigan. Aboard the Whitecap, Captain Jack Duffy pointed the bow toward deeper water where the lake trout were holding. De Wayne, Myrtha, and Brent settled in, the chill in the air quickly forgotten as the first rod bent under the weight of a trout.One by one, the fish came steady, each battle pulling smiles across the rail. By mid-morning, the trio had lined the dock with a handsome catch, highlighted by a lake trout that tipped the scale at 14 pounds — a broad-shouldered fish that spoke of the lake’s wild character.Back at the slip, with the catch displayed beneath the Whitecap sign, the story of the morning was written in silver and gray, a reminder of what makes a September day in Leland so unforgettable.#Lelandmichigan #leland #lelandfishing #fishtown #leelanaucounty #m22life #whitecapcharters #lakemichigan #laketrout #charterfishing #puremichigan #fishing #lakemichiganfishing #lelandharbor #salmon
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