My wife,brother-in-law and I fished the harbors and tributaries of Lake Michigan and are just back from the trip.We had a ball,a cool front has the opposite effect on salmon as it does on walleyes,we were in fish the whole trip.We kept six fish for the smoker and two younger ones for baking.
If you have never tangled with a chinook,I highly recommend it.It will put a smile on your face that the tax collector can’t erase.
I got all of the smoker fish finished.It turned out doubly great,I lost much of the weekend for fishing purposes cause I had to babysit the smoker….but it was rainy and nasty so bein in the boat would not have been all that pleasant.
I have three marinate recipies that get used for fish,one with white wine for a slight “pickeled” taste,one with brown sugar (that recipe really firms the fish..yummy),the third contains lemon juice and is my Mrs favorite,I tell er it matches her personality. 
Nothing beats a tasty smokey tail!
I did that two weeks ago. Same story except I smoked when I got home. Turned out so good that I plan to smoke most of what I have froze once I finish the frozen smoked fish. My brine recipe has pinnaple juice, terriaki and brown sugar as main flavor ingredients. Its awsome.
So want to share????????????????????????? 
1 GAL Water
1/2 Cup pickling salt
1 Cup unsweetened pineapple juice
1 Cup terriyaki sauce (any brand)
1 Cup brown sugar
mix above, marinade salmon strips/chunks (not too thick!) for longer than
usual (upt to 2/3 days), rinse w/water, pat dry… let stand to air dry for
an hour, then smoke as desired. You can add other spices as well.
Where did ya go??
What worked best??
I might try this year also….
I usually go to the Two rivers area.
“Where did ya go??
What worked best??
I might try this year also….
I usually go to the Two rivers area.”
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Sorry for the delayed response,I just got home.The weather really dictates where I go.I’ll fish from Sturgeon Bay to Two Rivers.I’ll fish the harbors or wade the rivers,and don’t waste a bunch of time if the fish aren’t there!MOVE,north early in the season or warm weather,south later or in cool weather.This weekend,I’d be thinkin Two Rivers or Kewaunee.
For the harbors I use two setups.One is a slip sinker rig with a salmon grade 2/0 treble.Attach an earplug to one barb a miniture marshmellow to a second(this will suspend the treble).The third barb gets a spawn sack if you have one a marshmellow if you don’t.Heave that one towards anything that will channel fish(harbor wall,dock,bend in river etc.)OPEN BAIL..again…OPEN BAIL and leave that one sit.The second rig will get spoons,crankbaits,countdown rapalas,spinners etc.It’s fishin,ya gotta find what they want.
For the river just find a place you can access the water without tresspassing,put the waders on and go!You are only fishing water that is 6″ to 4′ deep.Here I use the floating treble method or the MOST deadly is a 9 wt flyrod with flys that I tie at home.Think 2″ streamer olive/brown or brown/white and you’ll be o.k.
Hope ya go it’s a party!
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