Back to Basics – Fishing L. Michigan Piers

Over the past few years, I’ve really gotten into trolling out here on the Big Pond. I like how you can go out, find your own piece of water, run a bunch of lines, and sometimes really dial in just what they want. Plus, the fight is great and table fare isn’t too bad either ;). But, before I owned my own boat, I used to just shore fish all the time and loved it. I still do love fishing from shore, and do it a couple times a year just to “ground” myself and get back to how my love affair with Big Lake fishing started.

Well, last weekend was one of those times for me. I decided to ditch the boat for the weekend and meet up with a good old friend out on the pier heads. Long story short, we were not disappointed. Going into Friday night, I honestly did not have very high hopes, as fishing this year has been tough, even out in the boat running up to nine lines at a time… For some reason though, I did not care. I was just looking forward to spending an evening on the pier with a good friend.

My attitude quickly changed as a picture message came through before I was even at the parking lot. My buddy had beat me out there and literally hooked up on his second cast with a big four year old king! Next 10 minutes found me franticly unpacking my gear and racing down the breakwall to the end of the pier. I got there just in time to see my buddy lose another fish. Looking at my buddy grinning ear to ear, he said one word “plastics”, and I knew it was on.

We spent the next 4 hours or so beating on big kings off the breakwall. All jigging plastics on 10lb braid and 7ft walleye rods. If you’ve never experienced this bite, all I can say is that it is absolutely the most fun a guy can have in fresh water. These fish rip drag like no other and will put you fish fighting skills to the test. I don’t know how many fish we hooked, but we landed a dozen and kept 5 smaller ones. Which ended up being way too much to carry all the way off anyways….

By sundown, our secret was out and we literally got elbowed out of our spots, but once again could’ve cared less. Our arms were shot, smiles glued to our faces, and honestly more meat than we could handle. The wind also changed, water dirtied up and bite died, so it worked out perfect for us. I guess sometimes the fish gods just smile on you and you end up in the right place in the right time. Usually when you least expect it.

I guess if I learned one thing this weekend, it was that, when things get tough, sometimes it’s best just to stop caring so much and get back to how it all started.

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Nice write up Nate and congrats on a great evening of pier fishing!

Nathan-

In the Milwaukee area? I would love to learn more about lead core and such, and really missed out by being gone for the IDO get together. I tried jigging the harbor area a couple times late and early in the season and never hooked up… but the reward on it is so attractive. I could take the boat, and just work around the gap. I’m in Racine, os it is close…. always thought I needed to wait till late in the season.

Love the write up…. I shore fish on the WI river a couple times a year, taking the street bike up for a few hours of fun. Always come back happy.

Congrats on the great experience.

Nice! That had to be an absolute blast on walleye gear.

How about some details on your tackle? I’ll be over there this weekend and that would be a nice option. Thanks.

Setup is really basic and probably something most guys allready have. I like something 7-9ft and medium to medium light in action. I know lots of guys that prefer 9-12ft rods for pier fishing, but IMO that’s overkill. If you’re gonna get tooled on a 7ft rod, your getting tooled on a 12ft rod. Its all about knowing how to turn fish and knowing when to put the berries to em and when to just let em burn out. That all comes with practice. I also like the increased accuracy and feel you get with a shorter rod. Sometimes the fish are in one little spot and being able to cast accurately can be very important. I also think sensitivity is crucial as well. Lots of guys will disagree with me here, but I think those guys are also missing lots of bites they never know about.

Despite how hard these fish fight, often times the bite will be nothing more than a “walleye- tick” and sometimes even just an absence of feeling. Jigging for salmon is definitely a technique where the phrase “hook-sets are free” comes into play big time.

For a reel, go with at least a 2000 series. I prefer a 2500 or 3000 myself for increased casting distance and line capacity. These things can burn off 150ft of line in mere seconds.

Spool that thing up all the way with AT LEAST 150yds of 10-15lb braid. I go with a full 300 myself, but thats probably overkill. A 20+ lbr is definitely capable of burning off 500′ and you never want to see that backing knot.

At the business end of the deal, I use a 6ft section of 12lb 100% flourocarbon. Tied to the braid via back to back uni knots. You want a flouro leader for sure. Not only do these fish have sharp teeth, our bottom is covered in zebra muscles, and a good flouro will save you time retying. Also, stealth never hurts in our clear waters.

For baits, use minnow\ fluke style batis on 1-4 to 1/2oz jig heads depending on depth, wind, current, and how deep in the water column your fishing.

Phew….. thats a lot of info there, but should get you pointed in the right direction. This bite occurs every summer, but the windows can be short. Its all about timing. And of course…. luck.

When you start to see the backing, its time to start the karate chop on the back of the rod. Got spooled a few times down there is 12 or 14# mono back in the day, the ol chop would stop them every now and then!!!

Mark