yooper
New member
Fishing for King salmon - which grow to nearly 40 lbs - is a very popular sport here in the Great Lakes region.
I fish for them in the Straits of Mackinac (pronounced Mack-a-naw) from July thru mid-August. The Straits are located where the Upper Peninsula meets the lower Peninsula, and it is also where lakes Huron and Michigan join. It is here that the salmon live and hunt baitfish for most of their lives.
We use downriggers due to the fact that we fish in well over 100 feet of water. Heavy rods and line-counting reels spooled with 17 lb test are the norm. We troll with spoons that imitate baitfish and come mid-July this is one HOT fishery as the fish are gorging themselves for the upcoming spawning run.
And man, what a blast to hook into a 20+ lb. fish! The line releases and you hang-on for dear life! The fish often will peel over 200 feet of line out as it makes the initial run when hooked. You slowly crank the reel and watch the line counter number get smaller and smaller until the fish is a mere 40 feet from the boat. You see the dorsal fin break the surface and your partner gets ready to net him when...... WHAM! The fish takes-off on another run and soon 200 feet of line has just been peeled out again!
In late August, the fish leave the big water and begin their spawning run up the St. Mary's river. They stop feeding and we switch to large body baits with alot of wobble and vibration,because the fish bite only out of mere aggression now. They are harder to catch now as they are intent on spawning.
Finally, by mid-Sept the spawning run is over and the fish are dealing with a body that is slowly shutting down; soon they will be dead.
Here's a picture of me with 2 Kings I caught in the Straits this past July. Both fish are over 20 lbs. and notice how silver they are? They don't look like that come Sept.... by then they're nearly black!
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VEGETARIAN: Indian word meaning 'Bad Hunter'
I fish for them in the Straits of Mackinac (pronounced Mack-a-naw) from July thru mid-August. The Straits are located where the Upper Peninsula meets the lower Peninsula, and it is also where lakes Huron and Michigan join. It is here that the salmon live and hunt baitfish for most of their lives.
We use downriggers due to the fact that we fish in well over 100 feet of water. Heavy rods and line-counting reels spooled with 17 lb test are the norm. We troll with spoons that imitate baitfish and come mid-July this is one HOT fishery as the fish are gorging themselves for the upcoming spawning run.
And man, what a blast to hook into a 20+ lb. fish! The line releases and you hang-on for dear life! The fish often will peel over 200 feet of line out as it makes the initial run when hooked. You slowly crank the reel and watch the line counter number get smaller and smaller until the fish is a mere 40 feet from the boat. You see the dorsal fin break the surface and your partner gets ready to net him when...... WHAM! The fish takes-off on another run and soon 200 feet of line has just been peeled out again!
In late August, the fish leave the big water and begin their spawning run up the St. Mary's river. They stop feeding and we switch to large body baits with alot of wobble and vibration,because the fish bite only out of mere aggression now. They are harder to catch now as they are intent on spawning.
Finally, by mid-Sept the spawning run is over and the fish are dealing with a body that is slowly shutting down; soon they will be dead.
Here's a picture of me with 2 Kings I caught in the Straits this past July. Both fish are over 20 lbs. and notice how silver they are? They don't look like that come Sept.... by then they're nearly black!
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VEGETARIAN: Indian word meaning 'Bad Hunter'
