Lake Michigan Salmon Fishing Trips

When my Dad and I first started salmon fishing with his boat, I had no idea what I was in for!

He had equipped the boat with all the neccesary equipment and when the time finally came we set out across manistee lake and through the channel to lake michigan.

We got to a spot where we heard the action was good, and pops said, "ready?" to which i replied, "yep" with a big smile. He then slowed the boat down to just an idle. There was a 350 GMC marine engine powering the boat which may not slow down enough to troll in some boats. Others may use a seperate outboard motor for speed control, but my dads boat slowed down plenty and we didn't have to use a smaller one for trolling.

His downriggers were all set up. He had four of these mounted on the back rail of the deck. He went down to the cabin and retrieved a long heavy rod and reel. Then he clipped on a lure called a j plug, and tossed the line and lure over. He let about fifteen yards of line out. He then put the rod in a pole holder that is attached (usually in the better ones) to the downrigger. So the lure was out there and we were dragging it slowly. Now a downrigger is basically a large reel of wire with a weight (cannonball) on the end of the wire. It has an arm that swings left or right from which the cannonball dangles. On the weight there is a small clip, my dad clipped the line to the cannonball's clip then gently moved it so it was dangling from the downrigger arm off the back of the boat. Most heavy open faced salmon reels have three settings on them to let the user choose to have the line come out free and loose, a setting that allows you to drag line out with a small amount of resistance, or the normal setting which has adjustable resistance for actual fish battles. He switched his reel to the setting that has a little resistance, but still lets out easily. He then turned on the electric downrigger and the weight disappeared under the water taking the clipped line with it. He lowered and lowered until the counter on the downrigger reached the depth that was satisfactory, then set the reels drag setting to regular and tightened up the line.

So, your line goes from the end of the pole, all the way down to the cannonball weight where it is clipped to it, and your lure is dragged fifteen yards behind it. These clips are pretty sensitive, but one needs to make sure the line on the pole is reeled up real tight as to bend the end of the pole over -tight. See pic. When a fish bites, the clip lets go, the rod end pops up, and a good amount of slack in the line has occured. One must quickly grab the pole, reel in the slack till you feel him there, and yank hard and upward to set the barbs of the lure's hooks into the big fish's mouth.

I understood then, how and why to fish this way. We set up the other poles the same way. Dad threw a high line out between them with a dypsy diver on the line. (See definitions) We were all set. The tigers were on the radio, the wind whispered through my hair, the smell of the fresh open air, and the soft sounds of water and seaguls mixed with the slow chug of the motor, together had quite a calming affect. I grabbed a snack as my dad told me about all the equipment and how to use it. He even let me steer the boat a lot. I was 14.

Some of the equipment we used seemed pretty nifty. I learned about a graph, a depth finder, a ship to shore radio, and trim tabs for the boat. stay tuned for more!

Angler - A person who is knowlegable in fishing techniques, and fishes frequently.

Bow - The front of the boat.

Stern - The back of the boat.

Trolling - The type of fishing consisting of putting along at a slow speed, dragging your line(s) behind the boat.

Downrigger - A crank or electric device utilizing wire and weight used to lower your lines deeper.

Cannonball - A weight one attatches to their downrigger wire in order to lower their lures to whatever depth. There are clips on the cannonball to secure the fishing line, but the clips allow for easy release when a fish hits. These weights have a fin to ensure that it doesn't twirl all around and tangle.

Depth finder - An electronic device used to measure the depth of the water accuratley.

Fish Finder (graph) - A device that is digital or that scrolls paper to accuratley mark where it see's fish you are close too.

J-plug - A type of larger lure used frequently in many shapes and colors to catch salmon. The action of the J-plug works well here in michigan.

Dodger n' Fly - a large 4-6 inch flashing shiny lure dragging a lead of line behind it with a large colorful fly at the end of the lead. These work real swell.

High Line - A pole that is not attached to a downrigger allowing its line to trail behind the boat just under the waters surface.

Dipsy Diver - Used on the high line. Made to adjust the depth of your high line. It attaches to the line and takes it to a deeper depth as you troll.

Planer board - trolls on top of the water and steers to one side of the boat when trolling. Lets you fish more lines at a time when you haven't anymore room, and more lines equal more chances of catching fish. your line attatches to the planer board with a clip device that lets go if a fish hits the line. your lure should travel several yards behind the planer board.

"The Box" - A loose term used to describe the container where you keep your fish. This is usually one of those really big coolers. "We had three in the box by 8 o'clock."

Knock-off - A term used to describe your line detaching from the cannonball from a strike, or other reason. Making the rod pop up from a tightend curved down position.

"Fish On!!" - Everyone watching the poles yells this to alert everyone of a knock off. It's best to reel in the slack line and set the hook as soon as possible after a knock off increasing the chances of the fish still being hooked.

Set The Hook - Term used to describe the action of reeling in the slack of line to the fish until you feel him, then yanking back on the rod sharply to embedd the hooks barbs into his mouth for better success. Used by fisherman everywhere.

Shelf - Here, on michigans north west coast, this term is used to describe an area of water usually 2-3 miles offshore where the depth of the water dramatically deepens from 40-70 feet down to several hundred feet. Salmon and trout are found at this dropoff, and most chartered fishing operations visit these area's with great results. Fishing may be better at the harbour mouth or thereabouts in the fall season due to the seasonal migration of salmon that head for upriver areas to spawn.

Spawn - Lay Fish eggs.

Billy club - Used to knock the fish out so he doesn't hurt you when you take the hooks out!

Slip - A rented spot for your boat in the water to tie up to. As in a marina

Marina - A large area of water containing many docks and slips. These facilities offer many benefits such as protection from bad weather and rough lake conditinons, fuel, supplies, rest rooms, picnic area, park w/ swings, fish cleaning area, charter services, security, parking, location close to local businesses, winter storage, and more.

Ship-to-shore radio - A marine radio used for communicating with other boaters or the U.S. Coast Gaurd. Much information can be learned about how eveyone else is doing and whats working best by just dipping in on their radio conversations. There's a channel for marine weather and advisories also.

Sea Legs - When the waves get big and make the boat tip and rock, one needs to keep their balance. When you get used to keeping your balance and have adjusted to basic tasks, its said you have " got your sea legs".

Trim Tabs - long flat boards that are hydraulicly pushed into the water on an angle from the back of the boat near the water level. Used to lower the bow of the boat when traveling fast. Allows captain to see better where he is going, and also increases speed.

I will add many more definitions in my next update. Have some Ideas? Please comment!

The exhilerating feeling of sheer freedom as you travel a couple of miles out to the shelf to wide open fresh air, only the sound of the trolling motor and seagulls as they hover closeby, and the amazing colorful sunsets that magically happen almost every day.

These are not small fish, and they put up a good fight. Sometimes we brought in two at a time!

The whole experience makes for very memorable times had by family and friends.