Afraid to ask...but fishing is fishing

[mike]

Here I am on the walleye hotline but something new came up for me. I have an offer to go to Charlevoix Mich. the week of June 10 to fish in a Lake Michigan Salmon / trout tourniment. Problem is ...I only know how to fish Walleyes..
Never had this expierence before. The fish must be nearshore this time of year I suspect because the tourniment has many skill levels. I don't have any downriggers or any flashy salmon rigs. The best I can come up with is a snapweight system and a spoon. Am I wasting my time going ??
I just want to try something new.

[Swat1]

No Need to be afraid to ask Mike.

There are many ways to fish Salmon, Down Riggers being only one of the methods. You can use Dipsey Divers to get you down and out too.

The fish may or may not be close to shore at this time of year. Salmon and trout too are not traditional structure related fish as you commonly think of structure. The Salmon is a predator just like the walleye is and they will relate to where the bait is. The Bait fish they preffer are the Alewife and the Smelt. These bait fish are extreemly fragile and need to stay in certain temps of water to survive. The structure you therefore are in search of is the temperature break or Thermocline. You will want to run spoons or dodger fly combinations targeting this temperature line to maximize your efforts.

I would strongly suggest that you respool with a minimum of 17 lb line too. It can be done with lighter line but you risk more break offs when you run light tackle. You will also want High capacity reels as it is nothing for a big Lake Michigan King or Steelie to run out 100 yards of line on an initial run.

This type of fishing is great fun and easily as addicting as the Walleye.

If I can be of any more help to you please feel free to ask or Email me at Swat1@Walleyecentral.com and I'll be happy to tell you what I can. (I used to charter on southern Lake MI for salmon untill I moved here to the shores of Lake Erie)


Dan
Swat 1

[KevinA]

Chasing salmonids can be pretty equipment intensive. Alot of what you'll need will depend on what direction the wind has been in for the few days prior to the event. By that time of year (even more so with this warm spring) the salmon/trout will be hanging around the temps they like the most...maybe 45-55 degrees. They say 50-52 is the temp for kings & cohos, but find the baitfish & you'll find the game fish. If the wind has pushed the warm water out then the event will be closer to shore due to the cold water welling up..if the warm water is piling up on shore then head for deep water and look for temp breaks and the thermocline. Early in the year (Feb-March) you can do very well (in the right spots) with straight walleye gear...cranks do well. As the season progresses (like now & in June)then things switch over to dodgers or flashers & flies and spoons. Snap weights & spoons can do well if you don't have to get too deep (remember you'll be trolling faster so the lead core & snap weight tactics are less effective at getting down deep). You might think about picking up a couple dipsy divers (big ones) if you have equipment that can handle them. Dispys and a superline can get you down to 50-60 feet with a 200-300 feet of line out. If you're chasing kings the the big silver or white (size 0) dodgers and a green or white Howie fly can go a long ways. Blue and green pearl/sliver spoons of various combinations can be good for most anything. Steelies will like spoons at 2.5-6 mph, fish the top 20 feet faaaaar offshore, look for temp breaks, scum lines...orange crush is a good place to start. The colors that are hot and whether dodgers are better than spoons is sort of a flavor of the day thing. Check the following sites for current reports. A marine band radio will be a big help. You might hit the water a few days in advance to get a feel for things. It will be different. You get a good sized steelie or king on and you'll have your hands full...I mean really full. If you get in a tug of war loosen the drag & let them run. You'll lose a tug of war every time and a even a few where you did everything "right". If you get 1 out of two steelies to the boat you'll be doing great. Use at least 20# test if you value your equipment.

#####://www.great-lakes.org/index.html

#####://www.glangler.com/

Remember the safety equipment that the Coast Guard will require you to have.

[Fin Addict]

Good advice already given. God help you if you enjoy it. Your wallet will thin quickly as you will not be able to live without this gadget or that gadget. Since none of your friends will have the right gear, you will need some for them too.

There are good books on the subject and you should start reading now. A couple rod holders, some dipseys, spoons, dodger fly combos and a few cranks should put you on some fish. Remember not to exceed the rating of your rods when spooling up w/ heavier line. I have seen many 10 lb max rods spooled w/ 17-20lb test, explode on the first run by a big king. I would pick up a couple of the Penn 209 packages rather than risk destroying a good rod w/ a dipsey or a big fish. The extra spool capacity will also be a big plus. A decent steelie or king will spool a small spinning reel in a hurry. Good Luck!!

[vetspet(ind)]

i do a fair amount of lake michigan fishing altho this yr i have done more inland panfishing...live 1 mile off the port of indiana...good tips so far...i use 17 lb test on daiwa 47h reels ...works real nice for trolling...when i want to have fun i use my ambassador 6500's spooled w 10lb trilene and cast for salmon...got a 13 lb steelie on my 12 foot noodle last yr...really a lot of fun...did some fantastic king fishing last fall with a 6ft rod and the 6500 reel...most fun i've had since i began fishing the lake in 82.....fish have to be in close to get them good...sometimes i catch 3-4 big fish this way...arm is very tired by end of day....i use j-13 rapallas mostly...silver/black and firetiger....i use my small boat when i go casting so as not to disturb the charters and throw an anchor in the rocks and don't disturb anyone who wants to troll the mouth of the ditch in portage ind....i also have a larger lake mich boat which i use a lot...gps is very important as we used to argue where we got that last fish ...no more arguements....i use welded "o" rings whenever possible if steelhead are hitting ..they will shred split rings....or i get the 300lb test split rings....any more help ..just e-mail me....steve

[cisco]

A short answer to your question, Mike.
1) With all the east (NE, SE) winds we've been having, you will probably catch your fish in the top 20 feet of water.
2) Don't be afraid to run a couple flat lines straight back off the two corners -- use floatin, diving lures, e.g. #3, #4 J-Plugs.
3) Run one or two Yellow Birds to each side, with combos of spoons, plugs, and dodger fly.
4) Run a Dipsy to each side, on a #2 setting (you can use the handy depth card that comes with
Dipseys to tell how deep you're fishing.

With flat line(s), side planers, and Dipsyes, you will catch fish. If you've never caught a king salmon, you're in for some fun.