Ralph & a Father's day King Salmon

I never want to here a fisherman tell me there’s no place for him to fish in Wisconsin. You could never in a lifetime fish all of Wisconsin’s some 15,000 lakes. But what about the big lake? The amount of species of fish as well as different types of fishing opportunities on Lake Michigan can be overwhelming. From the smallmouth bass up in Door County to the spring Coho salmon run along the Wisconsin, Illinois border and every county in between is host to unbelievable fishing.

My first experience fishing the big lake was when I was a young boy growing up in Milwaukee. My father took me downtown to the lake front to fish for perch. I learned that a hellgrammite (the larvae of the Dobsonfly or dragon fly like bug) was an awesome bait and since then was never afraid to put anything on a hook. I think if most children were introduced to hellgrammites as young children, putting a worm on a hook would be a piece of cake. Although the perch fishing on the lake certainly isn’t what it used to be, the harbor fisherman still do very well on trout and salmon.

One boring afternoon in the summer my son Sean and I headed down to the Kenosha harbor with some night crawlers. We noticed no one was catching anything in the harbor so we fished out off the rocks using a small jig and piece of night crawler. We caught several rainbow trout off the rocks and had a ball. Minnows as well as spawn sacs also will catch fish. A slew of lures are available for catching trout and salmon in the harbors with Cleo's probably leading the pack.

I have heard lots of people talk about the pros and cons of chartering a boat on the lake and although it’s not cast and reel fishing, it is great fun. There are literally hundreds of good charters on Lake Michigan. They all seemed to have similar knowledge of the fishery and what to do at certain times of the year. Early in the year (May) I have chartered boats along the Wisconsin/ Illinois border. We had our limit of fish in just a couple of hours. We caught a mixed bag of Lake Trout, Steelhead (rainbow trout), Chinook salmon, and Coho Salmon. Most of our fish were Coho, and averaged about 3-5 pounds.

We used green and blue tinsel flies on our trolling rigs for salmon and steelheads and crank baits on down riggers for brown trout. The crew on the charter did everything for us except reel them in. We basically just sat there until a fish was on (which wasn’t long), then got the rod out and reeled them in. They put up a respectable fight and the combination of fairly heavy line along with a yellow bird or dipsy diver on the set-up made for an ocean like experience.

We wanted bigger fish and our next trip sent us up to Port Washington in late June for some big King Salmon (Chinook). As the summer moves forward the fish get bigger. They gorge themselves on alewives and grow quickly. Although you usually don’t get the quantity in late June that you do the months before, the size increase makes up for it.

The lake gets deeper as you travel north and we didn’t have to go far from shore to pick up fish. It was father’s day and my dad, brother, and son were with me on this trip. We caught several 15-20 pound Kings as well as some Lakers, steelhead and even a lone Coho salmon. With some fantastic pictures and enough fish fillets to last all summer we headed home.

I’ve even tried do it yourselfer trips emulating what we had learned with the charter outfits. We had our limits of salmon quickly.

Safety is a major issue when fishing by yourself on the big lake. One time we used a twenty foot center console deep-v with a 90 hp Yamaha. This to me seemed to be the minimum size boat that should be out there. Luckily I noticed the gas gauge on empty and headed in just before we would have run out. The weather can change quickly on the lake and while calm one minute, you can be in three to four footers the next. Always carry a weather radio, marine radio, sealed cell phone and all other safety equipment before heading out. The big water seems to claim lives every year.

The rivers that flow into the lake like the Root and Pike Rivers also have great spawning runs that provide fly fisherman as well as spinner fisherman with some exciting action. Every year people from around the world come here to fish. Although I haven’t tried this type of fishing yet, it’s definitely on the horizon.

The Bass and Northern Pike fishing has also really improved. Even the Bass Masters Classic was held on Lake Michigan out of Chicago a couple years ago. Not to mention the Smallmouth fishery. Which some say will likely give up the next world record Smallmouth.

The DNR website as well as a slew of others provides plenty of information on fishing Lake Michigan.

So if you’re looking to take Dad on a trip for father’s day or just looking to try something new, check out the vast opportunities on Wisconsin’s side of Lake Michigan.

Rick with son Cory & a nice Salmon

Cory and a small Lake Trout