היומן של operculum_ben

I think I'll try to make some journal posts occasionally to talk about fishing or fish. It seems like a good creative outlet. I hope you enjoy.

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When lake surface temperatures plummeted and upwelling began around the river mouths in late September, I knew that any day salmon would start to enter the Lake Michigan tributaries of Wisconsin. This year I wasn't interested in catching chinook salmon but I was instead determined to catch coho salmon. I had caught coho before in Lake Superior and Lake Huron, but I never had been able to pour much time into coho exclusively in Lake Michigan. The coho in Lake Michigan also turn brilliant red unlike those in Lake Superior, but perhaps the most alluring part of Lake Michigan coho is that they get HUGE.

Pacific salmon (referred to as Oncorhynchus spp.) have an interesting and controversial history in the Great Lakes Region (for a historical overview of these species in the Great Lakes, I suggest reading Crawford 2001). Historically, coho were stocked to serve as a biocontrol for invasive alewife and provide a novel sportfishery while lake trout stocks had collapsed. Currently, in Wisconsin's Lake Michigan tributaries, natural recruitment of Pacific salmon is very low and most populations are maintained with extensive stocking. The stocking records are a great jumping off point for finding where these species (and brown trout) will be; finding places that have been stocked for at least 5 years ensures that the area likely has good returns, and that multiple year-classes of fish will be present.

I began my salmon fishing season at the Sheboygan River in early October. I figured only chinook would be present at this time, but I was very wrong! Generally, the chinook run starts well before the coho salmon run, and subsequently the peak of the chinook run is generally earlier. I believe an early cold-snap and rise in river flow brought the coho up the river sooner than I expected. Certain holes were loaded with piles of coho that I could not entice to bite on anything. Spoons, spinners, crankbaits, beads, and even spawn were unable to convert any of the jumping coho into biters! Quite frustrating. I sadly left with only one small chinook landed, but I was eager to return.

The following weekend I returned to the Sheboygan River and was still greeted with masses of chinook and coho in very low water. I decided to fish some of my favorite deeper spots with spawn and beads, but I was only able to catch more chinook. The coho seemed unwilling to bite any egg-style presentation so I decided to move around and throw a spinner. Within my first few casts, I hooked and landed a large male in the same spot I had caught multiple chinook.

At this point it was mid day and I decided to go north to the Kewaunee River to try my luck on some new water. Although there were many anglers that day, I found that getting away from the crowd helped me encounter many aggressive fish that would follow my spinners right to my feet! I landed two or three before leaving and quickly realized that egg imitations might not be the best presentation for these fish.

The following weekend I returned to the Kewaunee River to find coho waiting for me. They were still holding in "deep" pockets and were incredibly aggressive. Spinners continuously outperformed spawn, which at this point still hadn't been touched by a single coho. Although color didn't seem to matter, my personal favorites were black and orange spinners as the fish seemed to chase those to the shore more often than my other colors. I also had many chases on firetiger (chartreuse with orange, black, and green accents) but that spinner was stolen by a rock. One thing that shocked me was the size of these coho; it seemed like every one I caught was bigger than the last! They certainly dwarfed any coho I had caught previously.

I decided to end my coho season on more new water the following weekend, and went even further north to the Ahnapee River. Although I was unfamiliar with this location, I figured using what I had learned on the other two rivers would help me catch fish. After trudging through the woods and getting stuck in thigh-deep muck I was able to find coho similarly stacked up in deeper pockets of water. Again, they would not touch eggs but they were eager to chase and destroy spinners.

I had a great season fishing for Lake Michigan coho and learned a lot about fishing the Lake Michigan tributaries for salmon and trout. Even when the water was very low (near or at base flow), there were still salmon in each river I fished. Low water tends to make fishing difficult because it can make fish wary, but it also concentrates them. When the salmon are in the river and water is low, look for deeper pockets of water or more importantly deeper water surrounded by shallow gravel. Salmon will sometimes vacate their redds and move into nearby deeper holes if they feel threatened or exposed. These hyper-concentrated fish can be frustrating to target, but be alert and keep switching presentations until you figure out what will make them bite.

Keeping away from the crowd also seemed to increase my hookups. Salmon that have been pestered or snagged by anglers over and over can become difficult to catch. Also, constant angler movement in the water or near salmon redds likely makes them more cautious and probably decreases fishing success. I recommend exploring the river until you find a group of fish that seem active (i.e., jumping and chasing each other) away from crowds. This is easier said than done on some rivers.

Keep an eye on the USGS river gauges scattered throughout the state when planning to fish the Wisconsin tributaries, and also be willing to explore and hike especially when the water is low. Now I hope I can land some big brown trout before the rivers freeze up...