Michigan King Salmon

This fun video was shot with a cell phone during a guided fishing trip on the Pere Marquette River.  Kevin and Todd didn't know that their buddy was doing anything besides taking a few photos.  It shows Kevin and the guys having to go into the wood after a hot early fall Michigan salmon.

This YouTube video was shot in August of 2009 with Brandon Butler of Driftwood Outdoors, Bill Konway of Bill Konway Photography and Kevin Morlock of Indigo Guide Service.  In the early part of the salmon run we often throw crankbaits to kings in the lower parts of our west Michigan rivers.  The kings are fresh, strong and full of fight!

Friends Bill Konway and Brandon Butler came up on a fishing/work trip in early September.  We had just got a fresh batch of salmon it was a great three days.  Bill made this post on his blog on September 7th, there are a lot of great photos on the original post, as well as tons of other great shots… must be nice to have talent.  Link to original post…

Pere Marquette Salmon

Just got home from an excellent trip in northern Michigan fishing for king salmon on the Pere Marquette River near Ludington, Michigan with friend and writer Brandon Butler and guide extrordinaire Kevin Morlock of Indigo Guide Service, (www.indigoguideservice.com).  Although I have fished for a lot longer than I care to think about, I have never done anything like this and can’t say enough about it!  During this time of year salmon from Lake Michigan begin to move into the tributaries to spawn, and eventually die.  The Pere Marquette is a totally wild water and has no fish stocking and yet is still one of the premiere waters for fishing.  The scenery is fantastic.  It seems more like another country or something rather than a short trip into Michigan.  

The fishing here is best done in a drift boat where the guide very skillfully rows you downstream around various sand and gravel bars and the hunderds of downed trees both above the water and below the surface.  The current of the river and natural obstructions create “holes” or deep spots that the salmon will pause in during their migration upstream.  The fish tend to strike a lure more out of the aggression brought on by the surge of spawning induced hormones rather than the need to feed.  The strikes are about enough to rip a rod right out of your hands and the run of these fish combined with their leaping abilities are enough to befuddle anyone especially when you consider you’re fishing in a body of water which at times is no more than 20 feet across.  Below are a few more of the shots I liked from the trip.  If you want to have an incredile time, do yourself a favor and get out here.B

Reference:  Pere Marquette Fishing Report — Hot Pere Marquette River King Salmon Fishing

 ***This article appeared in the 2010 FlyMasters Magazine on October 2009.  Click the link to visit the FlyMasters site.

      Each fall, anglers from every corner of the country converge on the rivers of the Great Lakes to chase big, powerful king salmon. The thrill of hooking into one of these brutes is worth the trip even if one has to walk from Texas. Yet, while nearly all these traveling fisherman agree on the salmons’ worth as a sporting challenge, most first timers, and unfortunately too many “old pros,” don’t understand how to properly fish them.

     Expectations must be reasonable. Snagging salmon is easy. Getting salmon to bite takes skill and patience.  I don’t understand how an angler can be elated with hooking 6 steelhead, but disappointed in a day when they only hooked 25 salmon, especially since they average twice the size of steelhead. Now, even the best angler cannot help but foul hook salmon in the course of honest fishing, but snagging should never be an angler’s goal.

     Salmon have a few tendencies that cause some anglers to stray to the dark-side. First, salmon are large and easy to spot. Second, they often congregate in large numbers. Third, they can be tight lipped. Fourth, and often the deal breaker, salmon won’t flee for cover when disturbed. They may boil about, but usually end up settling in the same hole.

     My goal, as a professional guide and devoted conservationist, is to help you achieve the excitement of “salmon fever.” I want you to catch fish, not because I’m hoping for a big tip, but because I want you to love salmon. The pure excitement and thrill of watching a 25 pound buck swing out, rush forward and smash your fly is a memory that will last forever.  Snagging the same fish is a shallow, prideless act, you  won’t want to tell a story about.

     Most fly fishermen are attracted to the sport because it’s dynamic and challenging. Over the last decade a positive change has occurred; anglers are now discussing the number biting fish they landed instead of hook-ups. This is a big step in the right direction.  As more anglers look down on “hook-up” style salmon fishing it will convert or displace snaggers while creating a better atmosphere on the water for everyone.

Starving and Angry but not Hungry
     During their fall run, salmon go through physiological changes. Their color changes, as does their body shape. Their reproductive organs also develop. To top it all off, they loose the desire to feed. The good news is, in order to compete for the best spawning opportunities and guard their nests against egg predators, spawning salmon become supercharged with aggression. The most common nest predators in this region—small trout, sculpins, and other small fish, crayfish and large aquatic insects—are easily duplicated as flies. Meaning, we have a chance at catching fish that are killing, not eating.

Be Quiet
     If you disturb a group of fish and immediately start flopping flies at them you’re essentially doing  all you can to eliminate your chance of getting bit.  You must approach salmon with stealth. If you disturb fish, give them 5 to 10 minutes to settle down.  Use this time to sharpen hooks, change flies or replace tippet.  It’s common to get bit on the first couple of drifts trough a new spot, but it’s quite rare to get struck on the 50th.

Give Them Something Different
     When you’re confident a hole is holding fish, but you haven’t had a hit after thoroughly covering the water, change flies.  Good water can be hard to find, so try several flies before moving on.

Fly Selection — Eat It or Get Out of the Way
     Most of the flies I consider top producers for west Michigan salmon are wets and streamers in the three inch range, and eggs the size of your thumb nail.  Normally, I go bright and flashy in dirty water or low light, and natural with little or no flash in normal to clear water.  Experimentation over numerous seasons has taught me salmon like some of the new UV tying materials.  Of course, all flies should be tied on high quality hooks, since spawning salmon have hard bony mouths.

     I find it difficult to accept the suffering salmon receive from the ills of misinformation and lack of understanding.  The Great Lakes states are blessed with abundant salmon runs providing a level of fly fishing opportunity most of the country should envy.  Do your part to protect this incredible resource. You, and those you educate, can help lead a movement of creating a much better experience on our region’s salmon rivers and streams.

Kevin Morlock is a guide for Indigo Guide Service in west Michigan.  (www.indigoguideservice.com)

The one fly in the article is a Morlock’s UV Rabbit in purple/black.  There is a recipe in our fly area, click to see the recipe.

Midwest Sporting Journal

Michigan Salmon Fishing Article

This article appeared in the Midwest Sporting Journal on October 20th, 2009 by Brandon Butler from Driftwood Outdoors.  You can find a link to photographer Bill Konway’s site here.

Pluck your favorite fishing pole from its resting place, tie on a lure, and head out to your driveway. Convince someone to get behind the wheel of your automobile and back it into the street. Go around to the back bumper, and hook your lure to the vehicle. Have the driver slam the gas, while you try to fight the car like a fish. Trying to land your automobile is what it’s like to fight a “king” in a river.

Chinook Salmon, referred to as king salmon because of their size, are the largest species of Pacific salmon. They were introduced to the Great Lakes in 1967 by the  Michigan Department of Natural Resources to help control the exploding population of alewifes-an invasive herring species found throughout the Great Lakes.

Salmon are anadromous fish by nature, meaning they are a migrating fish. Born in rivers or streams, king salmon migrate to the ocean, or in this case the Great Lakes, where they remain until reaching maturity, which is usually three to four years old. Salmon then generally return to the stream of their birth to spawn. They normally ascend rivers from the end of August through October. After spawning, having completed their lifecycle, salmon expire.

I recently returned from a trip for king salmon on one of West Michigan’s famed rivers. I fished with expert guide Capt. Kevin Morlock of Indigo Guide Service for three days, and am now a salmon fanatic. It’s hard for me to accept the fact that I have wasted a couple decades of my fishing life without having chased these brutes before.

Fly fishing is my forte, but this outing called for traditional bait casting equipment. The salmon were holding deep in the darkest pools of the river awaiting a surge of rushing water from a rainfall to trigger their forward migration. Salmon are not fans of bright sunny days, especially when the water is real clear. Don’t cancel a river salmon trip on account of bad weather.

Kevin and spent our days fishing from his boat, but the river was lined with fishermen finding success from the shore. While we were casting lures, fishing spawn sacks seemed to be the most popular method. As far tactics are concerned, your best bet is to find a hole a continue to work it while fish migrate through. With patience, and a little luck, you’ll strike a fish and experience a fight like nothing you’ve felt in the Midwest before.

There are some serious ethical issues surrounding salmon fishing in Great Lakes tributaries. Poachers are way too common. Salmon have qualities that cause some anglers to stray to the dark-side. Salmon are large and easy to spot, especially when congregating in large numbers. During their migration, they can be tight lipped. Watching these big fish swim by, blatantly ignoring your offering, can be too much for some to handle. Out of frustration, some decide to resort to snagging. Your goal should be to catch fish, not to poach fish. Snagging, which is illegal, eliminates the sporting aspect of salmon fishing.

If you do happen to experience the good fortune of catching a salmon or two or twenty, you don’t have to keep them all. Keep one or two for the dinner table if you like, but remember these fish have yet to complete their spawning cycle. There are state hatcheries planting fish, but natural regeneration is a beautiful thing. Let a few go, knowing you’ve done your part to ensure the future of salmon fishing.

If you love to fish, and you’ve spent your life living with a few hundred miles of the these Great Lakes salmon without ever experiencing the thrill of hooking into one of these monsters, you owe it to yourself to get up north. Your best bet for success is going to be hiring a guide on your first trip, but if you have the time and patience you can do it on your own. If you do decide to go the guide route, the team at Indigo Guide Service (www.indigoguideservice.com) will treat you right.Mi

If you want to experience these incredible fresh king salmon, drop us a line. We have days open for late August and early September.

This is a fun video of some of the guys fishing in August a couple years ago for early kings.

Fishing for king salmon and steelhead in West Michigan on the Pere Marquette River in August. With Mark Knee and Kevin Morlock of Indigo Guide Service and Walt Grau from the Spey Rod Outfitter and Guide Service. We were casting Storm Thundersticks on spinning gear and the fish were red hot.

Click here to visit the In-Fisherman site, it has an endless amount of top-notch information.

Timely Strategies For Salmon & Steelhead — Great Lakes Rivermouths by Jason Daley and Kevin Morlock can out in the summer of 2008.

Click here to view the article…

Click here to visit the In-Fisherman site, it has an endless amount of top-notch information.

"During late summer, mature kings return to rivers and streams to spawn, creating a unique opportunity for anglers looking to put their fish-fighting skills to the test."