Salmon Fishing Is Hot Weather Fun For Fishing Chicks From Indiana

Lake Michigan is a great place to Salmon fish during hot summer months. You have to have a good boat to get out where the water is colder. That means traveling a good ten miles straight out from shore. This is heaven for fishing for the larger fish rather than baiting up for Perch and Small Mouth Bass. You can get the pan-fish from shore but, if you want to try for something a little more exciting and a lot harder to land, a trip to the deep blue is where you want to go.The quest for Salmon and Trout, on this Great Lake. during hot weather is sure to be filled with fun and excitement.

My best fishing buddy was on vacation last week so we managed to hook up with another friend on our dock and cut some waves to the deep blue. No it is not the deepest part of Lake Michigan or the coldest but, if you know what the fish like then you can find them in accommodating water. This time of year they like the temperature that is found at 45 to 65 feet deep. The water is darker and colder there. The surface temperature might be reading around 62 degrees but straight down about fifty or sixty feet, the water is a cool 45 degrees. Now you locate the bait fish and you will find salmon feeding too. This is ideal catching water.

The plan was to leave the marina by 4:30 am but, the weather got ugly the night before and storms blew across the lake. We were up and ready but the sixty mile per hour wind gusts will keep you off the water if you have half a brain. We slept in until 8 am and then started gathering our cooler and clothing for the trip. We had to get a move on as we were only going to have 4 or 5 hours to fish. We had a birthday party planned at the house around 6 pm. It takes about thirty to forty-five minutes to travel from the shore to the starting spot where lines are carefully baited and put out in a selected order. We got the first line down by 9:30 am so we were making great time even though the water was still rolling pretty good.

Rollers on Lake Michigan can turn a stomach inside out if you do not have the gut for it. We were fine this day but, the following day we watched on, in pity, while one friend left his lunch on the deck. It is a sad sight and an awful experience for the unfortunate one. Rollers aside and pole number two in the water we were getting after it. We had 9 poles to put out and by the time we were letting the fourth one down we got our first fish on. This is where the excitement rises and you forget about the waves. It was a good fish and we got him to the boat but he never made the cooler. The fish wrapped a lead line and it was not our fortune to save the fish without damaging the line so we opted to save the line.

Salmon fishing equipment can get pretty expensive and you will learn fast to save equipment from damage and loss. The line on the one pole will cost $60. to replace. The pole cost about $250. and then add another $40 or so for leaders and rigging, it gets expensive quick. Now multiply that by nine poles and you can see how saving the equipment is so important. You fish but you fish conservatively. So we lost the first three fish on. That was okay and we did not get discouraged. We count all the bites we get and all the fish that make the cooler. Those are the keepers. Coho Salmon are my favorite to eat. The first one was a big Coho. We did not get him but we got the ones pictured below.

It does not require that you have your own boat to enjoy this sport. There are many good Charter Captains on the lake. They can take you out for a fishing extravaganza you will never forget. These guys fish for a living and they know where the fish are and how to catch them. It is rare to see one of the Captains come back without a boat load of happy people and coolers full of fish. It costs a bit to book a charter but you can split the cost amongst six friends and make a fun filled time for all. You do not have to purchase a bunch of expensive fishing gear and the charter crew will take care of all the hard work. They will usually clean your catch but you should always give them a generous tip because this is probably the most unpleasant aspect of fishing for these big ones. I linked to my favorite Salmon Charter Here so you can book a trip if you are in the area. It will be worth the time and money if you love to fish.