Although the piers are still
ice covered, it does not stop the hardcore anglers from dropping their
lines. Coho Salmon fishing is picking
up, but still a slow catch rate. The
pier fisherman are also catching Steelhead, Brown Trout, and White Fish. Yesterday, a five foot long Sturgeon found
itself hooked on an anglers line, what a catch!
It was caught and released, as Sturgeon are not legal to keep at this
time. The basic baits used are spawn
bags and chunks of skein. The rig consists
of a slip sinker ahead of a barrel swivel on the primary line(usually a 1.5 oz.
to 2.5 oz. pyramid sinker). A 3 to 4
foot floro-carbon leader is then tied to the barrel swivel with the hook at the
end. An egg loop knot is used when tying
to the hook for using skein. The loop
harnesses the bait in place, otherwise much time will be spent on just changing
out bait.
Another gathering spot for
fisherman is the Berrien Springs Dam. This
dam is at the top of the St. Joseph River and separates the river from Lake Chapin. Many of the big game fish that have made it
this far upriver congregate and also navigate through the fish ladder of the
dam. When the fishing is ON, the
shoreline is packed with anglers. To
avoid tangles, they systematically cast their drift lines in rhythm with each
other. When the rhythm is off, everyone
knows it because the tangles and tempers flare up. Many anglers use corkys, wobble glos, flys,
skein chunks, and spawn bags. They
basically have a drop sinker ahead of their leader and bait, cast upstream and
let their bait drift downstream….and repeat until someone yells FISH ON!
For those fishing by boat in
the river, fishing is still a slow catch.
The best steelhead river fishing is taking place up by the dam. They use the skein and spawn bag rigs as well
as trolling plugs like hot n’ tots, flat fish, and mag lips.
Ice cover on Lake MI.
is still very prevalent, but it won’t be long until we are back out on the big
lake! I will cover more Lake Michigan Salmon Fishing trolling techniques as we get into our season. To all anglers….be safe, keep your hooks
sharp, and fish hard!
CAPT. ERIC – BIG BIRD CHARTER FISHING
