GLF

Silver One was nice enough to take me fishing on the river today. Put in below the Allegan Dam. We fished for 6 hours between the M-89 bridge and the Allegan Dam. We missed two hits. We were trolling Hot-n-Tots. One hit came on orange and one on chartruse and orange. We talked with other people along the river. We came accross two boats that had one fish each, and we came accross one boat that had two steelies and one brown trout. The one that had the 3 fish was using skein. Lots of other boats we came accross did not have any. The water temperature was 34.8. It was a nice day to be on the river. There's always next time!

Put the glasses on that fish picture and its a spitting image. Notice the shorts and the t-shirt are the same. Pictures where taken the same day.

Your ice cold wayne Take a look at my avatar. Thats a dead give away.

Great Lakes salmon fishing ranks among Michigan’s premier angling opportunities. Every spring and summer, tens of thousands of anglers head onto the lakes from ports throughout Michigan, hoping to catch coho and chinook salmon. But the coho and chinook have not always called the Great Lakes home. In the 1960s, the Great Lakes saw an overpopulation of alewives--small, silver, non-native fish that entered the lakes through shipping channels. As alewife numbers grew out of control, they died and washed ashore on Great Lakes beaches by the millions each spring. Department of Natural Resources leaders introduced salmon to eat the alewives, and this successful importation also worked to create a billion-dollar sport fishery that today draws anglers and tourists from all over the world. Salmon are an anadromous species, which means they live in lake environments but spawn in rivers and streams. Salmon live in the Great Lakes as adults for approximately four years. Each fall, when cooler temperatures and rainfall trigger their instincts, the adults head into the state’s major rivers to spawn. Unlike most fish, salmon die after spawning. The fall salmon run provides recreational excitement for anglers of all ages. This is the time when anglers who do not own boats large enough to navigate the Great Lakes have an opportunity to catch some of Michigan’s largest, most powerful sport fish. The fall salmon run also provides fisheries managers with the ingredients for the next generation of salmon. Weirs and holding pens in five locations along Lake Huron and Lake Michigan tributaries collect thousands of the migrating fish as they move upstream. “The work done at the weirs is the cornerstone of Michigan’s salmon program,†said DNR Fisheries Division Chief Kelley Smith. “Without the weir program, we would not be able to maintain Great Lakes salmon.†Each female salmon holds 4,000 to 7,000 eggs, called roe. DNR employees gather the fish in holding pens and net them individually to collect the roe from the females and sperm, called milt, from the males. When the roe and milt are combined and the eggs fertilized, the mix is taken to state fish hatcheries for incubation. The vast majority of Michigan’s salmon begin their lives in hatcheries. Michigan’s six state fish hatcheries are open to the public, and most offer guided tours and educational programs at on-site interpretive centers. Wolf Lake Hatchery in Kalamazoo, Platte Hatchery near Honor, and Thompson Hatchery near Manistique are responsible for producing coho and chinook salmon. The hatcheries deliver up to 5.6 million chinook and coho salmon each year. They supply all of Michigan’s salmon, as well as sending several hundred thousand fingerlings to Indiana and Illinois for Great Lakes stocking programs. Chinook salmon hatch in November and are released into designated rivers the following May, but coho live in the hatcheries for up to a year-and-a-half before they are released. “A large portion of our time, space and energy at the hatcheries is devoted to trout and salmon,†said DNR Hatcheries Manager Gary Whelan. “Recent renovations throughout the hatchery system allow us to monitor and adjust every step of the hatching and rearing process--from water temperature and quality levels to flow rates in the raceways, to disposing of fish wastes. Michigan’s hatchery system is among the best in the nation, in terms of being environmentally responsible and producing healthy, high-quality fish.†Although many of the adult salmon in the rivers each fall are caught by anglers, this harvest represents only a fraction of the total salmon population. The rest spawn and die. To address the waste issue, the DNR works with a contracted company at fish weirs along Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, which processes the salmon into food. “This program is a very successful partnership,†said DNR Fisheries Division Chief Kelley Smith. "It prevents waste of a nutritious food source, and helps fisheries managers focus on their work to ensure future generations of Great Lakes salmon.†The fall salmon run continues through October and early November on many Michigan rivers. For information on where to see the salmon run or to visit a weir or hatchery, call 517-373-1280 or visit the DNR Web site, www.michigan.gov/dnr.

Must be no one went out last year

1/4 cup butter 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 1 quart vegetable stock or broth 1 quart half & half 1/2 cup sherry 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 2 tsps lemon juice 1 tsp Tabasco sauce 1/2 tsp old bay seasoning 1/4 tsp ground white pepper 8 oz. SeaBear Smoked Salmon chopped fresh rosemary sprigs Melt butter in Dutch oven, whisk in flour until smooth. Cook stirring continuously for 5 minutes, gradually stir in vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add half & half and next 6 ingredients cooking until warm. Add chopped salmon and top with fresh rosemary sprigs. Makes 3 quarts of bisque.

What you need: 1/4 cup butter, melted 3 tablespoons prepared Dijon-style mustard 1 1/2 tablespoons honey 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans 4 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley 4 (4 ounce ) filets salmon 1 lemon, for garnish salt and pepper to taste Preparation: 1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). 2. In a small bowl, stir together butter, mustard and honey. Set aside. In another bowl, mix together bread crumbs, pecans and parsley. 3.Brush each salmon filet lightly with honey mustard mixture, and sprinkle the top of the filets with the bread crumb mixture. 4.Bake salmon in preheated oven until it flakes easily with a fork, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and garnish with a wedge of lemon.

What You Need: 2 cloves garlic, minced 6 tablespoons light olive oil 1 teaspoon dried basil 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped 2 (6 ounce) Wild Salmon Dinner Fillets Preparation: 1.In a medium glass bowl, prepare marinade by mixing garlic, light olive oil, basil, salt, pepper, lemon juice and parsley. Place salmon fillets in a medium glass baking dish, and cover with the marinade. Marinate in the refrigerator about 1 hour, turning occasionally. 2.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). 3.Place fillets in aluminum foil, cover with marinade, and seal. Place sealed salmon in the glass dish, and bake 35 to 45 minutes, until easily flaked with a fork.

Poached Salmon with Lemon Mayo Salmon 3 8-ounce bottles clam juice 3/4 cup dry white wine 3 lemon slices 3 fresh dill sprigs 4 whole peppercorns 4 6- to 8-ounce salmon fillets Mayonnaise 1 cup mayonnaise 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley Butter lettuce leaves 4 lemon slices 8 lemon wedges Tomato wedges For salmon: Combine first 5 ingredients in deep skillet. Simmer 10 minutes to blend flavors. Add salmon, cover and simmer until just cooked through, about 9 minutes per inch of thickness. Transfer salmon to plate, using 2 spatulas as aid. Reserve liquid in skillet. Cool salmon. Cover and chill until cold. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead.) For Mayonnaise: Boil salmon poaching liquid in skillet until reduced to 1/4 cup, about 20 minutes. Combine mayonnaise, lemon juice, lemon peel, chives and parsley in medium bowl. Mix in 1 tablespoon poaching liquid. Season to taste with pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.) Line platter with lettuce. Top with salmon. Make cut in each lemon slice from center to edge. Twist lemon slices and place atop salmon. Garnish with lemon wedges and tomatoes and serve with mayonnaise.

Ingredients: 1 clove garlic 1 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves 5 tablespoons olive oil juice of one lime salt and freshly ground pepper to taste 2 pounds salmon fillet -- skin on 1 large ripe tomato -- seeded and chopped Prep: Preheat oven to 400¡ F. Place the garlic, cilantro, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, the lime juice, salt, and pepper in a blender or a food processor. Processuntil creamy. Brush a baking pan or sheet with the remaining oil and place thesalmon in it. Spread the cilantro mixture on the salmon, scatter the tomato over it, and sprinkle with a little more salt and pepper. Bake, uncovered, until the salmon is done (peek in between the layers of flesh with a thin-bladed knife), 12 to 15 minutes. Serve immediately.

4 4-6 oz. salmon steaks -----sauce----- 3 tb Melted butter 1 tb Lemon juice 1 tb White wine vinegar 1/4 ts Grated lemon peel 1/4 ts Garlic salt 1/4 ts Salt 1 ds Hot pepper sauce; (optional) Combine the sauce ingredients stirring thoroughly. Generously brush both sides of the salmon steaks with mixture. Barbeque on a well oiled grill over hot coals. Make a tent of foil or use barbeque cover and place over salmon. Barbeque 6-8 minutes per side depending on the thickness of your steaks. Baste frequently. Turn once, brushing with sauce. Steaks should flake easily when tested with a fork.

Ingredients 4 servings Head, tail, backbone of fish 4 tb Butter 6 Peppercorns 1 c Hollandaise sauce ** 2 Shallots, sliced 1 1/2 tb Flour 1 c Water 4 tb Milk 1/3 c White wine Salt and pepper 2 lb Fillets of steelhead Cucumber and lemon slices 1 Bouquet garni 1/4 ts Thyme, 1/2 ts Tarragon 1/2 lb Mushrooms HOLLANDAISE SAUCE: 2 Egg yokes Salt Fresh lemon juice 1 pn Cayenne 1/4 lb Cold butter, 8 pieces Instructions This lordly French dish is prepared in a variety of ways, but basically it is fish fillets served with two sauces and mushrooms in between. The fillets from small salmon, walleye, lake trout, and channel cat are all superb prepared in this fashion. If the two sauces seem too time-consuming just note that this dish is excellent if only the wine sauce is used. Put the fish head, etc., peppercorns, and shallots into the water and wine, bring to a boil, then simmer gently for 30 minutes. Strain and set aside. Arrange the fillets in a shallow glass or earthenware fireproof dish that has been liberally buttered. Add the bouquet garni. Pour in the reserved fish stock and poach in a 325 degree oven for 20 minutes. Saute the sliced mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of butter for 5 minutes, coating and stirring a couple of times. Reserve. Prepare the hollandaise and hold it by covering with a lid. Make the wine sauce by melting 2 tablespoons of butter in pan, then stir in the flour and cook a few minutes. Turn off heat, pour in the liquor from the poached fillets, then stir and thicken over the fire. Add the milk, then stir until it bubbles. Season to taste. To assemble: lay the fillets on a fireproof dish and cover with the wine sauce. Now dot the top with mushrooms. Ladle the hollandaise sauce over all and glaze under the broiler. Garnish with cucumber and lemon slices or with watercress. Hollandaise Sauce In a very heavy pot set over a flame tamer, whisk the eggs until they are well blended, turn lemon-colored, and start to thicken. Be sure heat is low. Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice when thickening starts. Start adding butter one piece at a time, whisking each piece until is absorbed with the eggs. Continue until all the butter is used up. It should take about 2 minutes, at which point the sauce will be thick. If at any point you sense that the is about to separate, quickly add a teaspoon of cold milk or cream. Now whisk in about 1 more teaspoon of lemon juice, a pinch of salt, and optional cayenne. Taste to see that the sauce is lemony enough for your taste.

Ingredients 2 tablespoon butter 5 medium shallots, peeled, minced 1-5 pound whole dressed salmon 3 cups dry white wine to taste salt ground white pepper 1 bouquet garni 2 tablespoon butter 3 slices white bread 2 tablespoon vegetable oil 4 egg yolks 1 cup heavy cream PREPARATION Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Melt two tablespoons of butter in a saucepan. Add the minced shallots and cook until golden. Spread into a baking pan large enough to hold the salmon.. Scale salmon. Wash under cold water. Pat dry. Place the whole fish, lying flat on the baking pan. Season the cavity with salt and pepper. Add the bouquet garni. Dot the fish with the two tablespoons of butter. Cover the pan with aluminum foil, and bake Measure the salmon at its thickest part. Bake 12 minutes per inch thickness. Baste the fish occasionally. While the fish is cooking, remove the crust from the bread. Cut the slices into triangles. Heat the oil in a frying pan. Fry the bread triangles in oil until golden brown on both sides. Remove from pan and keep warm. When the salmon in done, transfer to a large serving platter. Remove skin from the top side. Cover with foil, and keep in a warm place. Strain the cooking liquid and reduce to two cups. Beat the egg yolks with the cream. Pour into the reduced hot cooking liquid and whisk over low heat until the sauce thickens lightly. Do not boil the sauce as it may separate. Season to taste. PRESENTATION Starting at tail end, use a fish knife and fork to cut the top fillet into serving size portions. Slide knife between the fillet and bone to lift the portions. Arrange each portion in the center of warm plates. Before serving the bottom fillet, lift off tail and pull backbone away from flesh, removing the head all in one piece. Bottom fillet is now boneless and easy to lift into serving size portions. Free skin from portions before serving. Spoon the sauce over salmon. Garnish each plate with two slices of fried bread.

Anglers are spearing northern pike inside the pier in front of Jerry's Marina. Some nice catches have been taken, including a 21 pound 44 inch fish.

The Bay has poor ice conditions. At Palmer Road there is some new shelf ice but due to the recent snow it is not safe. Fishing is slow near the Hot Ponds.

Still no ice and plenty of open-water. Anglers are fishing from boats. Plenty of yellow perch were caught in front of Rat Island using minnows.

Hi Tom! Thanks for taking the time and doing an intro. This forum is dedicated to salmon fishing. We look forward to your stories and tips. If you need anything, just let out a yell!

The large presence of alewife in an area has been shown to directly affect the biodiversity of that area, even during annual lows in the population size. In some places in the Great Lakes, fish populations have been shown to consist of nearly 75% alewife. Weinstein and Logan show clearly in their paper that a species with that amount of dominance drastically effects local diversity of an ecosystem. In particular, alewife feed on eggs and larvae of other fish species, a major method in which they outcompete other zooplanktivores. There has been some suggestion that alewife carry the virus VEN, or viral erythrocytic necrosis, however this does not seem to be a particular threat, as VEN has not shown to be fatal. Species that feed on landlock alewife have shown to be thiamin deficient. As alewife dominate local communities, this may be an issue for predators that can find little else to feed on. Alewife have been shown to cause both early mortality syndrome (EMS) and Cayuga syndrome in lake trout and Atlantic salmon populations, and thiamin deficiency may be to blame. Finally, mass die-offs in alewife populations occur periodically, and this can cause both aeshetic and hygenic problems for humans in the area as hundreds or thousands of alewife decay on the beaches. This, of course, also places economic strains on local economies that must pay to remove the fish, often by bulldozing them. Control Level Diagnosis: "Minimal Priority" - Alewife have invaded the Great Lakes system, and the ecosystem is fundamentally changed. Alewife are so fundamental part of the ecosystem that removing them now could potentially do unforeseen damage along all trophic levels. As Atlantic salmon are re-introduced into the environment, increased predation may result and alewife populations will decline naturally. Alewife have been present in Lake Ontario for over 150 years; their presence is not only stabilized, but their status as "non-native" may become less clear as time goes on. If our definition of non-native is based in the exploration time period, the introduction of alewife came soon after that. In addition, it is not impossible that alewife could have arrived in the Great Lakes via other routes. Their introduction seems more "natural" as their range could have overlapped with the Great Lakes anyway. In addition, they are not causing major financial problems, and in fact can be beneficial to local economies. This diagnosis, however, applies only to the Great Lakes and other areas that alewife have invaded. Plenty of freshwater lakes throughout the northeast are susceptible to introduction and subsequent invasion by alewife, and in places that have not suffered invasion yet, natural resource managers must be wary of accidental or inentional introductions by humans. If introduced, alewife can cause large-scale changes in the ecosystem, including the decline of native species, and overall biodiversity. Control Method: Population reduction is essentially the only possible method of control in the Great Lakes at this point. Increasing the effort to re-introduce Atlantic salmon to the area would certainly help, as well as increasing support for native species that may feed on alewife eggs. Active culling may also be beneficial in reducing local populations, particularly if done during times when alewife are either congregated together for spawning, or in winter when they are more susceptible to cold temperatures. Containment may also help in terms of legislating the distribution of Alewife. Vermont already has passed laws making transportation of alewife, dead or alive, illegal, but the law goes further to bar people from capturing them. Increased fishing of alewife, as long as their use is monitored, may be beneficial in reducing population size. Ensuring that alewife do not spread beyond their current range should be the focus, at this point, as removing them from the Great Lakes is unlikely.

Common Name: Alewife (Gaspereau, Sawbelly, Spreau, Kyak, Kiack, River herring, Glut herring) Scientific Name: Alosa pseudoharengus Classification: Phylum or Division: Chordata Class: Osteichthyes Order: Clupeiformes Family: Clupeidae Identification: Adult alewife are typically 10 to 12 inches in length (25 to 30 cm), with a green back and silvery belly; they have a single black spot located behind the eye. The scales that line up in a row along the belly give it one of its common names, the sawbelly. The blue-back herring (A. aestivalis) is a physically similar species, and it is difficult to distinguish between the two. The only definable difference (alewife tend to have larger eyes, and blueback herrings have more "compressed" bodies, but these are difficult to enumerate unless directly comparing the two species in hand) is the color of the peritoneum in the two species. The abdominal cavity in the blueback herring is much darker, almost black, whereas the alewife has a paler abdominal cavity with some black spots. Misidentification between the two species may cause problems in identifying range and abundance. Original Distribution: The alewife used to be a purely anadromous species, breeding in freshwater rivers but returning to the ocean to complete their life cycle. They were typically found from Newfoundland to the Carolinas, preferring depths of approximately 150 to 350 ft off the coast, and spawning populations were found among the tributaries at a maximum of about 100 miles inland. Current Distribution: Although the means of introduction are still debated, the alewife seems to have entered the Great Lakes at about the time of canal building in the late 19th century. Perhaps using the Erie as a mode of transportation, the alewife range increased greatly as they entered the Great Lakes and from there became established in all five lakes; cold temperatures in the winter have been known to kill off large populations periodically, but typically the alewife can survive most winter temperatures even in the northern parts of Lake Superior. These introduced populations have forsaken the second part of the anadromous life cycle, and do not return to the sea as adults. Instead, they spend the entirety of their life in fresh water. There are also a number of separate isolated inland populations in Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee. Site and Date of Introduction: Alewife were first detected in Lake Ontario in 1873, Erie in 1931, Huron in 1933, Michigan in 1949, and finally Lake Superior in 1954. The Ontario population should be only considered as the first date on record, not necessarily the introduction date. Modes of Introduction: There are three main introduction theories for the alewife. It was first recorded in Lake Ontario in 1873, and some believe that it was native to the lake, but spread to the others with the decline of Atlantic salmon and lake trout, two natural predators of the alewife. Others have suggested that it was introduced when Ontario was being stocked with American shad in the 1880s. The third theory contends that the alewife used the newly-built Erie canal as an opened introduction point, connecting the Atlantic with the Great Lakes. All the Southern lake populations were introduced as a result of intentional introduction. If the alewife had been native to Ontario previous to the opening of the Erie canal, it would have had to have traveled up the St. Lawrence river from the Atlantic earlier in its natural history. Genetic evaluation, however, shows that the Great Lake populations and the Atlantic populations are similar enough that the introduction was a recent event, and that the introduced population probably proceeded through the Erie canal. Their introduction into the lakes would not have been possible if not for the over-fishing of the Atlantic salmon and lake trout, or the alewife's ability to survive living only in freshwater, contrary to its natural anadromous life cycle. Reasons Why it has Become Established: The alewife is mostly a filter feeder, but has been known to be piscivorous, feeding on fry as large as 50mm. Before their introduction, the Great Lakes ecosystem functioned with Atlantic salmon as the main predator, with no dominant filter feeding species. As the Atlantic salmon populations declined, the alewife would have found a suitable ecosystem with no strong competition for food resources. Introduced sea lamprey populations may have contributed to the decline of native species that could have outcompeted the alewife. The extreme temperatures of the lakes generally support populations off alewife - although Lake Superior can occasionally get too cold and kill of a populatoin. Average temperatures are also suitable for spawning, between 12 and 22.5 degrees Celsius. It is also important to note that Alewife were once an anadromous species, and its vagility was appropriate to this life cycle. A spawning female lays somewhere 100,000 eggs, as an adapatation to the hazards of moving downstream and into the open ocean. Landlocked populations, though, may not face the same perils, and so their survival rate would increase. Current landlocked populations suggest that, on average, a female lays 17,000-38,000 eggs while breeding, but upon first introduction from the Erie canal, the initial populatoin may have had a much larger reproductive rate, allowing for the establishment of the species. The alewive's ability to adapt from an anadromous life cycle to a landlocked one was a key factor in their establishment. While anadromous populations prefer slowly moving waters, and lay their eggs on sandy or gravelly bottoms, the landlocked populations show no preference for breeding grounds. Similarly, landlocked alewife were able to move from being exclusive filter feeders to also feeding on copepods and larvae. Alewife are generalists, which pre-supposes them to invasion. Ecological Role: alewife are important zooplanktivores. They feed extensively on zooplankton, as well as small insect and fish larvae. They have three different feeding methods: gulping, individual particulate feeding, and filtering. Gulping involves opening the mouth wider for larger objects, as opposed to particulate feeding, during which the alewife open their mouth a small ways. When filtering, the alewife leaves its mouth open and captures any zooplankton and other small organisms present in its feeding area. Alewife may be good competitors for this particular niche, based on their success at transforming the zooplankton community in the Great Lakes. They also seem to have out-competed any native zooplanktivore species. Alewife serve as food for larger organisms, including Atlantic salmon and lake trout. Herons and other pescivorous birds, as well as otter, mink and other aquatic mammals are all alewife predators. In addition, humans have been known to consume A. pseudoharengus. There are no known large species, however, that depend on the alewife for food - its removal from the Great Lakes, in other words, would probably not be particularly detrimental to larger species. There are also a number of parasites that have been found in alewife, including Acanthocephala, cestodes, trematodes and copepods. Benefits: Alewives feed on zookplankton so extensively that they increase water clarity in the Great Lakes; this may, most of the time, serve as an attraction to tourists who want "purity" in the lakes, but this can cause large algal blooms from time to time. Alewives also serve as a food source for many predators, including the diminishing Atlantic salmon. As conservationists attempt to re-stock the Great Lakes with the once-native salmon, alewife may become an important resource. Humans also consume alewife, and states along the Eastern seaboard have taken measures to support dwindling populations of anadromous alewife. Maine, in particular, has seen a dramatic decrease in population sizes, and has made efforts to restore historical spawning runs. Fishing licenses for alewife, as well as the potential tourists they invite, can be beneficial for the local economy. Threats: Alewives have fundamentally altered the Great Lakes ecosystem. Since their invasion, all trophic levels have been effected by their extensive predation of zooplankton. This ecosystem now, in some places, significantly revolves around the alewife. Native zooplanktonivores have been out-competed. Zooplankton are fed upon extensively, clarifying the water but also allowing for algal blooms. Any potential damage from the alewife has already been done, as integration into the ecosystem seems to have come to completion, at least if temperatures in the lake remain stable. Warming in Lake Superior may cause an increase in alewife populations, leading to greater changes in the ecosystem.

Since we are talking lead weights on lead core. I went out with a guy last year and he had slip sinkers on a couple of lead core rigs. I kick myself in the a$$ for not paying better attention.

If you are a Charter Captain please send me a private message after you register.

What is the name on everyone's boat? How did you come up with the name?

Being a fishaholic is a hard disease to cure. I have had for over 30 years. Only cure is to be on the water. welcome to the site!

I just saw the weather forecast for this weekend. Looks like it is suppose to be 48 on Friday and 42 on Saturday. I wonder if the steelies will be hitting

So far I have heard green, yellow, and blue. What are the rest of the colors on a 10 color spool?