What's my next step? Suggestions

[Hotdog71]

Here's where I'm at:

I know to watch the water temps and look for breaks, dropoffs, find the bait fish, fish the scum line -when there is one, use a couple of baits and presentations (flasher flies, spoons on downriggers, leadcore, copper, wire divers, boards), change out baits when there not working, not to run core in the channel or while combat fishing , ... you know, the basic stuff.

I had a great run this last year. At one point I had 21 trips in a row with at least one fish. Being able to fish night after night was really helpful, but I had a hard time getting more than one fish in the boat at times. I know it sounds a little greedy, but I love fishing. 2 of my friends, uncle, mom, 2 sisters, and my 10 yr old niece all got their first salmon. I've already been told they're ready to go again. I know there are going to be times that the skunk hangs around but I want to do the best I can.

I fish mostly out of Grand Haven. Usually my dad is with me, so for most of my trips I can only run 6 lines. Our most productive setup last year was 2downriggers, 2 dipsies, 2 long lines on boards.

Equipment available: 4 downriggers, 2 wire dipsies, 2 copper, leadcores-full and segmented, 2 sets of Walleye boards, numerous flashers/flies and spoons.

So what am I missing? Where do I go from here? What do I need to know to boat multiple fish each trip? I'm open to any suggestions or advice that you may have for me.

Thanks,

Bob

[KJ pluggin]

You seem to have a good start and a good mix of presentations. One of the key factors you did not mention was speed. If you are fishing and you know fish are in the area but you can not entice a strike, you may have to experiment with speed to find what the fish want. The direction you are trolling can also make a difference. Whenever you you change direction you should experiment to find the most productive speed. One thing you can do is keep a log when you are on the water. I usually document speed, direction, lure, depth, presentation, etc. when I catch fish. This will also help keep track of which lures work better in each situation. I'm sure the other guys on this site will have more good info for you. Good luck next season.

[2UNREEL]

This is a great question Bob. This can be a problem most salmon fisherman face and struggle to find the answer to. Here are a few things to try when trying to locate more than one fish.

- Talk to the bait shop and get a general knowledge of the depth range people are fishing(not always the best option but can give you a good starting point)

- Talk to everyone you see at the ramp or on the way out the channel that looks like they were salmon fishing.

- If you still don't have a clue what depth to start, begin trolling shallow and head west untill you hit fish.

- Scrape the bottom all the way to the top of the water column until you know what depth they are hanging in.

-TRUST YOUR FISH FINDER, if it found no fish use it to find the fish. Don't fish where there is no other fish.

- Don't stay in one area too long if you don't get any more hits move on and find more fish. If you caught fish in 100ft don't stay there all day, you might of caught a fish heading deep or moving in shallow.

- Get a lucky charm...ex: hat, sunglasses, rabbits foot, underwear...etc and stick to it.

- Go with your gut feeling and don't always follow the other boats out there.

- Fish the prime times sun up and sun down. Mid day fish can get spotty.

Good luck, I hope this helps

[Hotdog71]

Thanks Kyle and Andy,

Those are great points you guys made. I forgot to list my SubTroll as part of my equipment, but it has made a big impact on my success. I do get locked into trolling the same directions a lot, mostly because it was what worked before. About trusting the fishfinder, I had many trips where I dropped lines and headed west. Never saw one fish on the locator but had several hits. I'm wondering if I just have a poor locator or if I'm missing something. I've used it more for depth and terrian than finding fish. This year I was a little more successful in adjusting lines after seeing fish on the screen. As far as fishing prime times, I do most of my fishing in the evening including the sunset and some darkness. Should I be doing with my setups or lure selection?

Thanks for the thoughts guys.

Bob

[1mainiac]

I would find someone who does well and have them come fish with you a few times see what they suggest based on what you have to fish with. I have had guys come fish on my boat and they often pick setups I have but don't use or suggest changes in setups I allready use sometimes with good success. Sometimes there is nothing wrong with what you have but small changes can have a big effect on how it performs.

[KJ pluggin]

I do most of my fishing in the evening including the sunset and some darkness. Should I be doing with my setups or lure selection?

Bob

When fishing evenings as the sun is going down I will start switching out

my non-productive lures over to my glow program. If lures are working good I will leave them on until they shut off. When I am fishing after sundown generally everything I have down will have glow on it.

[DIRTY DOG]

Andy pritty much said it all. Dont rely on radio chatter unless you no the people.

Trust your fishfinder and if you turn around on a spot and dont get hit again ,keep going, some days i never turn around ,I will leave saugatuck and head for holland and make a straight south line till i get 10 or 12 mile south of saugatuck.

And most of all go with your gut feeling., most of the time if yu have faith in something it will work. And like jim said ,ask a few members to come allong and give pointers.

Well i now it's not very technical but its only fishing.

[Nailer]

First off I didn't read all the reply's, so excuse me if I repeat.

Your 6 rod set up is great. Flasher/fly run 6-8' behind both divers. Set divers on the 1.5 setting. Spoons or Plugs on both Riggers set 30-50' back. Lowest rigger will be the shorter lead. Spoons or plugs on the core rods. As soon as you see the sun getting close to the water, change out all your spoons for Extended Glow's (most like Moonshine). Your screen will fill with fish as the last light draws down. Raise the riggers to the top 40'. get ready for all fun to break loose. One early August night last year, we never got a bite till after the sun set, then 4 or 5?

When fishing out of Grand haven, most often your trolling direction will be South/South West. (into the current)

Keep this in mind, Salmon always feed up. Put your deepest set closest to the boat. If a Salmon comes to that lure and doesn't like it, soon another lure will follow a bit higher.

[Hotdog71]

Does anyone run a meat rig or a rig with artificial strips? Are the easy? hard? Worth the effort?

Bob

[Nailer]

Does anyone run a meat rig or a rig with artificial strips? Are the easy? hard? Worth the effort?

Bob

I have not used the artificial yet, but did have luck with the salted strips.

[ALLEYES]

Don't chase other peoples programs. Listen to their suggestions, but find a program thru trial and error that works for you and stick with it.

[killerbe20]

seems like you have a pretty good handle on things. you just have to get out as much as you can and fine tune your fishing.

Two keys to fishing for me:

1. location, location, location!

2. be there when they bite

talk to people and read fish reports. Found out a general area the fish have been caught lately. and remember, you can not make the fish bite. you may be able to persuade them a bit, but you cant make them bite. at least i haven't yet.

i personally have never fished the Michigan side of lake Michigan. Here in Racine, the sun up and sun down bite is usually closer to shore and near our structures. They come in and feed on the large amount of bait fish that come up off the bottom. Fishing out deep is usually not necessary.

My next suggestion my not be agreed upon by others. Fish the middle of the day, 8am till 4pm. Many people believe fishing is tough and it usually stinks during the day. In my opinion it is just more challenging and pushes your skills. My charters don't usually leave the dock until 7am or 1 pm if its an afternoon trip. That is the way I learned to fish.

Once you can consistently put fish in the boat during the off peak times, sun up and sun down fishing will seem like the fish just jump in the boat. start the sun up bite and catch some fish, build confidence for the day and stay out for all day. the fish do move and scatter during the day, but they still bite too. some times its just a matter of finding them.

everyone is going to have opinions and suggestions. you truly have to find out what works for you.