steeliebob Posted July 15, 2015 Posted July 15, 2015 I quit salmon fishing, well not quite but close. I am having just as much fun catching pike that are just about as big as the salmon and are very good eating. THe ones in the photo are from last night 38 inch 15 pounds and 34 inches 12 pounds.
steeliebob Posted July 15, 2015 Posted July 15, 2015 The DNR is trying to sell everyone on Atlantic salmon. I don't think that many people will bite and it will be a big bust costing the DNR millions of dollars. If people sell their boats and get out of fishing for salmon they won't buy another boat to fish for atlantics that weigh on average 8 pounds. That is a joke. If the DNR wants atlantics they need to get the true atlantic salmon planted not the landlocked ones that currently get planted. People want salmon that grow to 30 pounds and rip line of from your reel. Most people don't want the lake trout either, they can't even free the hook from a release.
danthebuilder Posted July 15, 2015 Posted July 15, 2015 The DNR should plant stripers. They're the 2nd best sportsfish after kings. They almost planted them in the 60s but instead went with the kings. They like warmer water so they would be closer to shore in the summer and higher in the water column. They eat tons of stuff and not just alwifes. No more long coppers needed.
SUPERTRAMP Posted July 15, 2015 Posted July 15, 2015 Big warm water influxes, in particular with the grand I think are helping to congregate bait with the extra cold water this year. We couldn't find water warmer than 53deg last week unless we were in and around the mud in GH it seemed.The ideal temps for Kings is not 52 to55 degrees, it is 43 to 48 degrees, We have decreased plants, and the returns are reflecting that decrease, wait until 2017, 2018 it is going to get worse not better. St Joe plants down for 250K to 48K fingerlings this year. 1 way to help is to set a minimum size for kings of 18", that will save those 12" fish I see being butchered at the cleaning stations, and that the Charter captain when asked replied well they are paying to catch fish not put them back. Good old school thinking will take away all our fisheries.
southtrollsouth Posted July 15, 2015 Posted July 15, 2015 The jury is still way out on what exactly the future holds. Two severe winters have set mean water temps back about 10 degrees from normal. Cool summer weather is not heating up the water. Cold water = lazy fish, hot water = 2012 mayhem.There is fantastic silver fishing for more than just a day in several Wisc/Illinois ports and northern Michigan ports. Frequent double digit silver catches in Ludington recently.Lake Ontario has been worse than Lake MI until this past week, along with mid-East Erie very slow on walleye until last week. It is almost all due to water temperatures and persistent east/north/northeast winds and no hot air temps to warm the top and create thermals.Strong El Nino this winter and forecasted hot summer next season will both be needed to bring Lake MI back up to normal water temps and stratification. Silver fishing for if nothing else than that will improve.As for the stocks/cuts/population etc...natural reproduction is very strong. Can't remember the last king caught that had a fin clip. Natural reproduction should boom this year with high and cold water. Remember that most of the nat reproduction is not in Michigan..but Ontario rivers near Georgian Bay. There are no greencoats standing there counting salmon as they swim by, so you won't have a "return" number to fret about. I have pics of silver kings that have run most Michigan rivers and Ontario tribs already dating back to this past May. In the Pacific Northwest, they are called springers.Kings and coho's are eating Gobies down near Chicago btw, they are starting to figure it out.
sparky30 Posted July 15, 2015 Posted July 15, 2015 That is the ideal temp for them, but they do seem to be out of temp more and more, the bait is in there due to the nutriants from the mud/polutants so thats where the kings hold. As far as the size limit deal how much would it do when most of those small fish would die from being drug around anyway. I wish there was better way of releasing but alot of times it isnt practical. It will be 5 years before they resurvey the king size, that is how they will decide weather or not to increasekings, not by number of ales but size of 3 year old fish, I believe they will not increase stocks untill over 50% of 3 year old females are 18lbs or better is what it was, unless they have changed that. The fishing will getworse from hear on out untill plants are bumped up. They do NOT want to plant atlantics, its kinda a last resort they are very expensive to raise and generally dont do that well and are very nomadic. As well as small, they don not avrage 8 lbs for land locks. more like 4-5
chandler Posted July 15, 2015 Posted July 15, 2015 As said Grand Haven and Musk. pump out lots of warm water, and polution which attracts bait, thats why fish hold around it more, even natural reproduction doesnt have alot to with it, the little man which is very high on that list had next to zero return last year, an all time low return to the wier. As far as charter reports take them with a grain of saly that i there livelyhood and there not gunna post the 1 2 and 3 fish trips, who would want to go. There will be good days but they are few and far between and not near as good as what used to be considered good.Charter boats are doing well. The past 2 weeks we haven't had a day under 6 fish. Lots of kings and steelhead in that mud out of grand haven. Waters so cold that the fish are stacked up in there. The graph is loaded with fish all day. Fishing has been pretty good. Haven't headed out past 50 foot either. Fishing should pick up as soon as the water warms up. Lack of fish is mostly because the fish are scattered and (at least in grand haven) those fish are able to go into the mud where all the bait is and feed all day and night. Every fish we've been cutting open has been loaded with bait. There's no reason these fish have to feed. They don't need to. Once that warm water comes in the fish should start biting better. At least that's my opinion.
SUPERTRAMP Posted July 15, 2015 Posted July 15, 2015 Wow, 6 fish per day, that is really discouraging, as recent as 4 years back we were averaging 12 per trip for the season. I guess success is not measured in totals, but quality is down for this year too.
fishy1 Posted July 15, 2015 Posted July 15, 2015 I will just say that we went through similar years in the 80's when we had BKD and the fishery bounced back.I think most people have gotten spoiled by the great years when even the clueless could catch a ton of fish.Now it is fishing not catching !
tgafish Posted July 16, 2015 Posted July 16, 2015 It will be 5 years before they resurvey the king size, that is how they will decide weather or not to increasekings, not by number of ales but size of 3 year old fish, I believe they will not increase stocks untill over 50% of 3 year old females are 18lbs or better is what it was, unless they have changed that. The fishing will getworse from hear on out untill plants are bumped up. They changed this. I forget what they changed it to but I believe it is tied to a predator prey number ratio. Covered it during the meeting in Ludington. Thank goodness the charters are taking out shakers and hammering the lakers. Need to build up some ale year classes:thumb:
chandler Posted July 16, 2015 Posted July 16, 2015 They changed this. I forget what they changed it to but I believe it is tied to a predator prey number ratio. Covered it during the meeting in Ludington. Thank goodness the charters are taking out shakers and hammering the lakers. Need to build up some ale year classes:thumb: Think we've had one shaker the past two weeks too. And no lakers at all. Kings are actually getting pretty good. Everyday there's a few 18-20# fish caught on the docks. There's a lot of bait out there. And not enough fish. Should have been more fish planted.
tgafish Posted July 16, 2015 Posted July 16, 2015 Think we've had one shaker the past two weeks too. And no lakers at all. Kings are actually getting pretty good. Everyday there's a few 18-20# fish caught on the docks. There's a lot of bait out there. And not enough fish. Should have been more fish planted.Glad you're doing well in the mud in GH. Kill all the ale eaters you can. You're comment about more fish being planted is insane.
sparky30 Posted July 16, 2015 Posted July 16, 2015 Never said they werent there in the mud, been saying they are. I have been there a few times myself and done well in it.
chandler Posted July 16, 2015 Posted July 16, 2015 Never said they werent there in the mud, been saying they are. I have been there a few times myself and done well in it.I gotcha. Yeah they're in there and stacked just so much bait that they're too stuffed to eat. We're in there changing out our riggers constantly cause you're snagging ales. Most of the time you can hear the riggers humming just going through all of them. Full moon last week paired with all the bait made that fishing slow. Those fish are just feeding all night and then don't eat in the morning. Every now and then they bite good. Fishing can only get better!
sparky30 Posted July 16, 2015 Posted July 16, 2015 (edited) I guess im the opposit, I havent found an ale in a fish last 2 trips there. Steelhead or salmon, Steelies, were packed full of lady bugs, kings empty. Edited July 16, 2015 by sparky30
steeliebob Posted July 16, 2015 Posted July 16, 2015 You think that the salmon are going to Canada to spawn. If they are coming up from Lake Huron and Lake Michigan you would think that the fishing would be good in the Straits. Good salmon fishermen are getting one fish per 7 trips. So far this year I have heard of two kings being caught out of St Ignace. Last year I caught 8 kings in a local river all fall August 1 through October 30. Don't hold your breath that they are spawning in the UP and Canada as they have to show up first. A great spawning year would help even with low numbers of salmon.
CSmalligan Posted July 16, 2015 Posted July 16, 2015 Does anyone know how the Wisconsin fishing is compared to the Michigan side of Lake Michigan? I would assume their experiences would be the same as ours.
steeliebob Posted July 16, 2015 Posted July 16, 2015 Does anyone know how the Wisconsin fishing is compared to the Michigan side of Lake Michigan? I would assume their experiences would be the same as ours.Fair numbers in NE Wisconsin.
steeliebob Posted July 16, 2015 Posted July 16, 2015 This is the way it is......So you have a $35000 boat and $15000 worth of gear designed for catching salmon. Sell it all for $20000 and suck up the loss or you be happy to catch lake trout, browns, steelhead, and atlantics. I think that the biologists have to get their head out of the mud because the alewives will rebound. When they do it will be faster and harder than the DNR anticipates them to. In other words they won't be able to plant enough salmon fast enough. The guys that quit salmon fishing and sell out are not going to turn around and get new gear. I would like to have all of the money that the DNR will be losing in the next few years. I know that I sure have saved lots of money since the salmon numbers went south.
gmfishon Posted July 16, 2015 Posted July 16, 2015 Glad you're doing well in the mud in GH. Kill all the ale eaters you can. You're comment about more fish being planted is insane.Why is that insane ? He is basicly saying the dnr was way off there assessment of the bait population and hence the plants should not have been cut. Bottom line is some places have had some good fishing when conditions are right, there is way more bait than the dnr claims, they need to change where and when they do the trawl samples.
Gnarf Posted July 16, 2015 Posted July 16, 2015 I think he's saying it's insane because the numbers of alewives still need to go way up before planting more kings.
jerryriggin Posted July 16, 2015 Posted July 16, 2015 Yea it sucks for now with not very many kings but hopefully the bait can rebound enough. Or you guys on the gold Coast could have a lake like we do on the sunrise side. With no KINGS!!! It's been 13 years since it crashed and it still hasn't rebounded. We have all the gobies and shiner minnows a fish could want to eat but kings don't do well without alwives.
KICK'R Posted July 16, 2015 Posted July 16, 2015 Does anyone know how the Wisconsin fishing is compared to the Michigan side of Lake Michigan? I would assume their experiences would be the same as ours. Here is a picture from my buddy last weekend in northern WI started st 345am had his limit by 5am
slickwater Posted July 16, 2015 Author Posted July 16, 2015 I wonder how stripers taste. They might not fight as hard as a king but hey they would be better than Atlantics.
CSmalligan Posted July 16, 2015 Posted July 16, 2015 Kick'RWhen you speak to your Wisconsin buddy, what story is their DNR saying about the health of the fishery?
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