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Welcome to Big Bird Charters Sport Fishing Blog. With the temps rising and the snow melting, the spring fishing is soon upon us!
The Craze For Spring Kings & Coho
Salmon
In one regard, fish are very
similar to people as the warming temperatures emerge from the frozen land of
the Midwest.
People are more upbeat and excited to take advantage of the outdoors and
more comfortable weather. The spring
months that build our anticipation of fishing are creeping upon us as the fish
rise from “hibernation”.
As the river and lake thaws
and water temperatures rise, this spikes the beginning of our fishing
season. The Spring Coho Salmon gather
around the southern tip of Lake Michigan(Portage,
IN., Michigan City,
IN. area) due to warmer water temps because of shallow water close to
shore. Imagine how we notice a 10 degree
difference in temp, fish are exponentially more sensitive to temperature change. All fish have a temperature range in which
their bodies function with peak performance.
Coho Salmon – 40 to 52 degrees water temp. These Coho start to migrate north following
the bait
fish and desired water temperature which leads them straight to us in Saint Joseph, MI.
The Spring Kings follow a
similar pattern as Coho. Although these
juvenile salmon don’t necessarily congregate in the southern shores like Coho,
they are attracted to the warming waters of southern Lake
Michigan. They are most
lively in 40-48 degree water temps. They
typically start their spring run just behind the Coho. Needless to say, the fishing season starts
off with a bang and provides plenty of fishing action and savory table fare.
“BIG BIRD BLING” Lake Michigan Tackle & Baits
Our Spring gear includes
Shimano Ugly Stik rods (7’ and 9’) paired up with Abu Garcia Ambassador 7000
high speed reels and Okuma Convector reels.
The shallow water fishing gear include reels spooled with 20 pound test
mono-filament line combined with leadcore line, which allows for covering
different depth ranges. Our normal
fishing setup starts with downriggers(baits closest to boat), dipsy divers(sends baits
down and away from the boat), then our planer board lines which allows more
baits in the water by taking the lines out and away from the boat. We cover the water column range which often
makes for steady action!
As top producing baits and
colors change year to year, some baits have held a top producing reputation for
years on end. One “go-to” bait for spring
Coho is the “Brad’s Thinfish” crankbait.
The red body with black squiggles (presented to the right) is a
coho-killer and can be found in most tackle boxes upon Lake Michigan. Next up would be
the 6” Luhr Jensen red/orange dodger(image on left) paired with what many call a peanut fly or
Coho Candy. Blue and green color schemes
are the most common for Coho fishing.
Last year(2014) prevailed
some fast and furious Spring King Salmon fishing. Our top producing rigs involved our dipsy
diver rods in combination with an 8” flasher(Dream Weaver Spin Doctor - right image) and fly
known as a Blue Dolphin color scheme.
The “Electric Perch”(image to left) colored trolling spoon made by “Warrior” held it’s
own as well. Year to year the desired
colors can change, so we shall see what recipe our salmon prefer this season!
Thanks for dropping in and
checking us out! For those interested in
experiencing our Spring King & Coho Salmon fishing….dates are available!
