Captain
Jason Baldwin

Member since June 2024 Chicago, United States
Background
I've been fishing since I was a small kid. My Grandfather and Uncles taught and helped me catch my first panfish. My father took me on a canoe / camping / fishing trip to Michigan when I was very young for trout, from there I quickly learned and started doing a lot on my own. Neighbors took me along when I was 12 or 13 to Canada for pike, walleye, small mouths and Lakers. Caught my first salmon off of my sail boat at about age 13 or 14, an 18 pounder. Became a first mate on Salmon Charters in Grand Haven, MI. Fished as a captain on Chinook pier in Grand Haven and in Saugatuck and fished many tournaments during that time, several on some iconic Great Lakes Captains winning boats. Later I Captained boats out of St. Joseph, MI and various other ports. I have fun fished all over the USA and other areas. I was one of the youngest Captains on Lake Michigan in the 80's and 90's getting my 1st Captains license at age 19. I logged over 7,000 hours in my 20's and countless hours since. I have a near Coastal 6 pack (can operate 100 miles from shore in any State of the US). I've commercial fished in Alaska for Salmon and fished many different Oceans, lakes and species of fish worldwide. Come take a trip with me on our beautiful newer Tiara, I promise to work very hard to make your trip enjoyable and successful. I am meticulous in keeping the boat and gear, safe and in great clean working order. Book & come fish with us today. Thank you for reading our profile. Capt JB
Techniques
I like all fishing, fresh and salt water. For Charters here on Lake Michigan, we troll using downriggers (3), dipsy divers, and planer boards for lure placement in the water column. Attached to our lines are combinations of spoons, flashers & flies, body baits and cut bait. Depending upon time of year and where fish are feeding all can work on any given day.

Hey, I'm Captain Jason Baldwin

Chicago, United States
Background
I've been fishing since I was a small kid. My Grandfather and Uncles taught and helped me catch my first panfish. My father took me on a canoe / camping / fishing trip to Michigan when I was very young for trout, from there I quickly learned and started doing a lot on my own. Neighbors took me along when I was 12 or 13 to Canada for pike, walleye, small mouths and Lakers. Caught my first salmon off of my sail boat at about age 13 or 14, an 18 pounder. Became a first mate on Salmon Charters in Grand Haven, MI. Fished as a captain on Chinook pier in Grand Haven and in Saugatuck and fished many tournaments during that time, several on some iconic Great Lakes Captains winning boats. Later I Captained boats out of St. Joseph, MI and various other ports. I have fun fished all over the USA and other areas. I was one of the youngest Captains on Lake Michigan in the 80's and 90's getting my 1st Captains license at age 19. I logged over 7,000 hours in my 20's and countless hours since. I have a near Coastal 6 pack (can operate 100 miles from shore in any State of the US). I've commercial fished in Alaska for Salmon and fished many different Oceans, lakes and species of fish worldwide. Come take a trip with me on our beautiful newer Tiara, I promise to work very hard to make your trip enjoyable and successful. I am meticulous in keeping the boat and gear, safe and in great clean working order. Book & come fish with us today. Thank you for reading our profile. Capt JB
Techniques
I like all fishing, fresh and salt water. For Charters here on Lake Michigan, we troll using downriggers (3), dipsy divers, and planer boards for lure placement in the water column. Attached to our lines are combinations of spoons, flashers & flies, body baits and cut bait. Depending upon time of year and where fish are feeding all can work on any given day.

My Charter Listing

Excellent
5.0 / 5
(8 reviews)
Chicago
Trips from US $450

Fishing Reports

TOURNAMENT WINNER: ANOTHER GRAND SLAM 5
TOURNAMENT WINNER: ANOTHER GRAND SLAM 5
Jun 20, 2025 Chicago
Hello, my efforts at all of the little things and dialing in the boat are beginning to pay off. On Monday June 16, 2025, THE Top Dog and his crew (Captain Mike Shine & Tony Boshold) beat a field of seasoned Captains and others in the annual Zillion fishing tournament held out of Belmont Harbor. We caught all 5 species of fish Brown Trout, King Salmon, Coho or Silver Salmon, Lake Trout and Skamania steelhead or Rainbow Trout, to take first place. We also won for catching the largest King Salmon. Our plan came together on the right day and we smoked the field. One veteran Captain stated that he had been doing this tournament since 2012 and that a boat had never gotten all five species since he's been doing it. So we are grateful to the Dragon fly (that came and landed on my hand and gave us a little positive luck), and of course to the fish gods we take a bow! We started at the R4 where surface water and down temps appeared perfect, and the fish were there and biting. We fished 50 to 80 FOW made a couple turns around the R4 and then headed east to deeper water to search for big Lake Trout and Rainbows (90 to 120 FOW) where we found both. We had our catch by 10:30 am and only needed to upgrade, which we did on the Lake Trout. We went back to the R4 on Wednesday and in a couple hours 2 of us, boated 8 coho, again today (Friday morning) we were 9 for about 13, 8 coho and 1 Rainbow. NBK, stubby dodgers, and moonshine lures were all good. Fish were biting from surface down to 50 feet. However the surface water temp is getting very warm, I'm sure it will push the majority of fish deeper soon, unless cooler water gets pushed in? Good luck out there and remember safety is number one.
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TOURNAMENT WINNER: ANOTHER GRAND SLAM 5
TOURNAMENT WINNER: ANOTHER GRAND SLAM 5
Jun 20, 2025 Chicago
Hello, my efforts at all of the little things and dialing in the boat are beginning to pay off. On Monday June 16, 2025, THE Top Dog and his crew (Captain Mike Shine & Tony Boshold) beat a field of seasoned Captains and others in the annual Zillion fishing tournament held out of Belmont Harbor. We caught all 5 species of fish Brown Trout, King Salmon, Coho or Silver Salmon, Lake Trout and Skamania steelhead or Rainbow Trout, to take first place. We also won for catching the largest King Salmon. Our plan came together on the right day and we smoked the field. One veteran Captain stated that he had been doing this tournament since 2012 and that a boat had never gotten all five species since he's been doing it. So we are grateful to the Dragon fly (that came and landed on my hand and gave us a little positive luck), and of course to the fish gods we take a bow! We started at the R4 where surface water and down temps appeared perfect, and the fish were there and biting. We fished 50 to 80 FOW made a couple turns around the R4 and then headed east to deeper water to search for big Lake Trout and Rainbows (90 to 120 FOW) where we found both. We had our catch by 10:30 am and only needed to upgrade, which we did on the Lake Trout. We went back to the R4 on Wednesday and in a couple hours 2 of us, boated 8 coho, again today (Friday morning) we were 9 for about 13, 8 coho and 1 Rainbow. NBK, stubby dodgers, and moonshine lures were all good. Fish were biting from surface down to 50 feet. However the surface water temp is getting very warm, I'm sure it will push the majority of fish deeper soon, unless cooler water gets pushed in? Good luck out there and remember safety is number one.
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Overview of 2025
Overview of 2025
Jun 11, 2025 Chicago
Well... it has been a very busy 2025. We put the boat in at Michigan City April 10th where fishing early season was fantastic, cohos and quite a few early Kings. The boat is now licensed in three states.... Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. Yes we passed all of our inspections and have all required equipment etc for all three states. Back to the fish report we came to Chicago around May 7th and have been running trips here. These photos are a combination of Michigan City Indiana and here in Chicago. Early season Chicago was pretty good. Not quite as good as last year but on certain days it has been. We have also had more King Salmon caught this year to date than last year. We've taken several trips out of Belmont and done well. Once we got into June it was a little spotty to find the silvers and a few days we spent catching big trout but then the silvers showed up again and we have been nailing them recently. This morning on a scouting trip we ran North in 50-80 feet of water and quickly caught 8 coho in about 90 minutes. Great eating fish. Two days the Top Dog Won the Zillion Fishing Tournament out of Belmont Harbor! The tournaments objective is to fish for as many species as you can catch of the five main known species, you have King & Coho Salmon, Lake, Brown and Rainbow Trout. Often 3 species catch will win the tournament, last year a boat caught 4 and edged the Top Dog by one spot. This year the plan came together and we caught a Grand Slam .... all five species, and the largest King Salmon. Anyway, I will make another report and include photos from the tournament.
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Week of August 24th
Week of August 24th
Aug 25, 2024 Chicago
The silvers are transitioning (4 yr olds prepping to spawn), moving. Therefore it became difficult to catch many silver fish offshore in one trip. Most Captains out of Chicago are targeting Lake Trout now, and we are lucky to get a few silvers, if we do its usually 3 yr old or less salmon and misc browns / steelhead. This started the last week in August, I'm writing this review on 9-4-24. The main bite right now is Lake Trout (2 per person max). The waters on top are warm so they will die once taken aboard the boat. At this point if you catch a couple salmon or other silver fish (rainbows, browns) consider yourself lucky (this is out of Chicago). Its best to head in after catching your lake trout (LT) limit so that you don't kill any (LT) by releasing them. Lake trout are pretty deep right now 80 to 130 FOW plus. Biting on silver flashers and spin and glos and/ fly's. There are a few silver fish around but not many. Trolling slow works great for trout 1.9 to 2.2 but if you keep it a little faster you might luck into some salmon. The photo added here was a great catch last weekend of August, a Grand Slam, 5 species... King / Coho salmon, Brown, Lake and Rainbow Trout. Good luck out there. Salmon may start to show up around the harbor mouths soon. I'm planning to fish them with loud ugly looking lures to entice a bite. Shore fisherman have begun to catch a king here or there. Once the water cools off near shore the steelhead and browns will likely follow the kings in close. You can't catch em if you don't try, so get outdoors and Capt JB
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Customer reviews

Rating summary
Excellent
5.0 / 5
out of 5 stars from 8 reviews
Boat
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Crew
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Experience
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Photos & videos by reviewers (28)
Amazing experience!
Amazing experience!
Amazing experience!
+25
Angler rating
8
0
0
0
0
Anglers claimed
Good experience
100%
Friendly captain
100%
Recommend this charter
100%
Appropriate for children
100%
Satisfied with the boat
100%
Caught fish
100%
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Showing:
5 of 8 reviews
Mia Z.
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Experience:
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Boat
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Crew
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Overall

Amazing experience!

VERIFIED   NEW  5 Hr Trip WEEKEND AFTERNOON 6 Max on June 29, 2025
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ We had such an incredible experience with Top Dog Fishing Charter! I brought my 15-year-old...
Mia Z. recommends Top Dog Charters
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Cynthia P.
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Experience:
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Boat
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Crew
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Overall

What a great way to celebrate our Dad!

VERIFIED   NEW  6 Hr Trip Weekend AFTERNOON 6 Max on June 15, 2025
Screaming from the rooftops that Top Dog Charters is the best! Captain Jason Baldwin and Jacques (or as we all called him,...
Cynthia P. recommends Top Dog Charters
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David J.
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Experience:
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Boat
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Crew
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Overall

Hard work pays off

VERIFIED   NEW  5 Hr Trip Weekday Afternoon 6 max on June 26, 2025
Jason & Mike worked together like a team.ย  The fishing was tough.ย  However they kept after it.ย  Different colors, changing...
David J. recommends Top Dog Charters
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Cole G.
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Experience:
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Boat
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Crew
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Overall

Great Time!

VERIFIED   NEW  5 Hour Trip โ€“ Weekend MORNING 6 Max on June 20, 2025
Captain Jason was very professional and got us on the fish quickly. Awesome boat and all the gear was top of the line. Highly...
Cole G. recommends Top Dog Charters
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Tatiana D.
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Experience:
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Boat
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Crew
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Overall

Lifetime experience

VERIFIED   5 Hour Trip โ€“ Weekend MORNING 6 Max on July 12, 2024
We consider ourselves lucky that weโ€™ve got on Captain Jasonโ€™s fishing adventure. He is so skilled, and fast reacting...
Tatiana D. recommends Top Dog Charters
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