IDO Slammin Salmon Get Together:

The idea of an IDO Salmon fishing get-together has been getting batted around in another forum and there seems to be enough interest to get the ball rolling.

So this post is in an effort to see just how much interest and how many people would be willing to make the trip to Milwaukee for the first ever IDO Salmon Slammin fishing get-together.

Local boy eyecatchum – aka Nathan Kaminski has volunteered to help out with suggestions on good places for people stay, tips on where and how to catch fish and hopefully, area’s on the lake that would be a good place to start once you get there.
Several other guys who fish this port on a regular basis are also more than willing to help out anyone who attends so if learning how to catch salmon during the summer on Lake Michigan has ever been something that interest you, this would be a great time to shorten that learning curve considerably.

At this time, we’re thinking about holding this event on the weekend of July 25, 26 & 27th.

As of right now, we’re mostly trying to gauge interest so if you would like to participate, reply here and let us know.

If you have a boat but need a rider, post it. Same goes if you would like to fish but don’t have a boat.
If you can help out in anyway, post your reply letting us know.

So, lets here what y’all got to say! Hopefully we can make this happen and have a great time doing it.

I am interested, have a boat but am unsure what equipment is needed to chase these fish as I never have before. I am sure others are in the same boat as me (ha ha….get it?). I fish lead core and use planer boards rods for walleye so I do have a clue somewhat.

So, what is needed?

Joel, I can most likely make the 25/26th. For me, it will be strictly pending weather and jig bite. I’m running the bass boat still, so winds dictate what I do. Often in late July I could be jigging the harbor or metro or jigging lakers out on the hills out from racine. Would be awesome if a major thermocline develops so I can get on a surface bite well off shore I can take one guy or two with me

Randy – we’d be more than happy to have your help with this.

Weather wise, we’ll just have to see what mother nature gives us but wouldn’t it be great if we got a nice steady west wind for a few days prior to this date? Bringing in a nice dose of cold water from out deep could setup a decent jig bite in the gaps. A lot of people with walleye gear would have a ball with that bite.

I’d be interested but have no clue how to start. Done have the boat or any know how. Please let me know more info

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I’d be interested but have no clue how to start. Done have the boat or any know how. Please let me know more info

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Keep checking back here. Randy has already said he has an open seat. Could very well be more open seats available when more people see this thread.

As for the know how, those of us who do it every year are more than happy to share info. We’ll touch on techniques, tackle, equipment and such a bit later. For now, I just want to gauge interest.

If some one has a open seat im more then able to go. Hope this goes though

I would be there in a heartbeat Joel except the last weekend in July is when we have our annual family pig roast up at my parent’s farm

I am interested. Have a 1976 22′ Barnegate Cruiser Inc, that was a back up charter out of Kenosha. It has been in storage for 3 years. Need to get it out and knock the dust off. I could take 1 or 2 depending on how many come with me. Weather permitting of course.

Obviously, Im all in for this. But wanted to say a few things off the bat. Ive got lots of friends around here that I usually fish with, but I’m telling them all that this weekend is off the books. Im going to keep my boat open to take at least one or two guys from out of town with me. Sounds like Randy’s game to do the same if weather cooperates, and Im hoping we can find a few other at least somewhat local guys to do the same.

My point is, if you think this isnt an option for you because you dont have the right boat or gear, we will try our best to find a way for you to still get in on the action.

Next thing Id like to mention is that a lot of people think that you need downriggers and tons of special equiptment to do this. Wrong again. Leadcore is one of the top producers out here, so any of you walleye guys that know how to do that, can come here and catch fish too. Even if you dont have leadcore setups, you can use snapweights to get baits down and catch some fish that way too. (Thats how I started) And, if you want to maybe spend a little money, but not break the bank, just buy two dipsys and we can help you get those setup fairly cheaply. To be honest, downriggers are becoming some of the slowest producers out here with our ever clearing water.

My point here is that, if you have a boat and some gear plus an interest in salmon fishing, but never knew if it was really for you? This weekend will be a great opportunity to come get your feet wet just a little and see if its something you want to get into further.

Lastly, as both Joel and Randy alluded to, July is typically the month we are most likely to see the jigging bite go, if it does. Strong west winds can bring an upwelling of cold water near shore once the thermocline has setup in the lake. Combine that cold water with bait and you have a recipe for mayhem! If the jig bite happens to go that weekend, anybody who doesnt come will probably be kicking themselves for a long time, as this is the coolest bite in freshwater IMO.

Big thanks to Joel Ballweg for getting the ball rolling on this whole thing, I think it will be an awesome way to put faces to names and maybe expose a few people to a new type of fishing they havent really experienced before.

I would be in…always ready for an adventure
I would need a ride….I don’t think my flat would cut it

Been a long time…..

I am interested. I would be willing to leave my local crew on shore and take a couple of IDOer’s instead.
I started salmon fishing with 2 dipsies, snap weights, and 16 ounce lead pump handles. You definitely don’t need to invest a lot of money to give salmon fishing a try. My only warning is: Once you try it, you may be hooked for life!

I get the feeling there’s going to be a lot of wife’s who are not going to be very happy with us if we get there husbands hooked on salmon fishing.

That sounds like a blast

I’d love to go, but unfortunately that weekend probabaly won’t work for me

I really hope this gets going, cause If I can’t do it this year, I’d plan on it next year

I’ve got the perfect boat for that big water fishing in the Ranger 619

There would be plenty of room for an extra guy or two for sure

I would be interested in joining the group. I have tried about 3 years ago to fish out of the harbor but was not that successful. real windy , and didn’t have a clue what I was doing. I would most likely need to boat up with some one. please keep me informed if it’s a go. I do have some trolling gear but limited. I do also have a boat it’s small 16.5 alumacraft Magnum with a 50 on it.

I will try to make it. If I do I will possibly have room for a couple non boaters. I have an Alumacraft TP 185.

I may be interested…

I wanna check with my buddy G.. his boat and his gear !!!

I know a couple IDO’rs are up in Canada right now and wont see this for at least a week. IF they are available, I don’t see why they would miss out.

eyecatchum is spot on with not needing a lot of gear to at least try it. I started with a 1972 14′ sylvan and an rude 25hp. 4 pole holers – 2 dipseys and and 2 Deep 6’s. For obvious reasons we respect the lake for how rough it can get, but ultimately you do need to know your limitationms if the winds kick up.

As for the fishing = water temp + depth = fish Granmted, back in the early 80’s the lake wasn’t nearly as clear as it is now near shore. But even back then fishing out in 300 fow, the water was clear enough to see a down rigger ball easily to 20 or so feet. Yet we caught a ton of fish on wiggle warts & #7 shad raps with 12′ noodle rods on 10# mono just long lining.

BTW – Does McKinley Park have a park area and grills? Would be cool to grill a few up with all of us there

I will see if I can make it. My wife is out of town that weekend so would need to find somebody to take care of my dogs. If I can’t get that squared away, I could maybe do one day.

If I can make it work, I would have room for two guys.

And you can catch big fish in walleye boat with walleye tackle if need be. The fish in the picture came on a spoon behind 6 colors of Suffix 832 advanced leadcore on a regular off-shore planer board. It was on one of my old walleye planer board rods I was using because I broke the tip off one of my salmon rods.

ya killing me!

I will be with the family on vacation!!!

Great to see this amount of interest. Plenty of time to between now and July 25th for more people to see this.

My boat could carry 4 people total and I will most likely forgo my usual crews leaving at least two open seats for newbies. I will reserve the 3rd available seat for another experienced crew member. After last year, I learned the value of having at least one other crew member with some experience.

My event coordinator (FW) is out of town on business but if this weekend is open I’m interested in coming out for sure. I’ve got a pretty long list of people that I try to get out there each summer, so I would most likely need to bring at least a partial crew, but could possibly have room for one or two IDO’rs.

I haven’t fished Milwaukee for years as I typically fish Keewuanee or Sturgeon Bay, but last time I did we put a hurtin’ on ’em. It will be fun to have another go at it.

I’ll be prayin’ for west winds so more can take advantange with minimal gear! I caught the fish in the photo below after a 4 day west wind lake shakeup on a spoon behind 3 colors of lead.

Great to see so much interest in doing this right off the bat! You’ll have to bear with Joel and me on this as were kinda organizing it by the seat of our pants. Its looking like the weekend will be a go for sure and we just need to hope for good weather. In the coming weeks, Joel or myself will be throwing up new threads pertaining to this event, but please keep checking back on this one as it will be the Main thread with the most information. We’ll need to do some type of formal head/boat/gear count in the near future to see exactly how many people we’ll be expecting. (Maybe BK can help us out with a poll or something)

Again, we’re really excited about this whole deal. Now, we just have to figure out all the logistics…..

I threw up a fairly general post on the general discussion topic with a link to this thread. I would expect a few people to notice it there that wouldn’t here. I’m sure BK could pin it to the top if we asked him to.

when did John get a second dog? I’m in if someone needs a deck hand. I could probably get the better half to watch a dog or two if needs be.

found this phone vid of my nephew’s first chin jigging in Racine

http://youtu.be/mRM7JjSZr7Q

This is on my list for the summer anyway with a new bigger boat coming. I have several leadcore setups, a couple dipsy rods, and might consider a couple more. Might have to just plan for that weekend.

This sounds and looks awesome. Don’t think I could commit to three days, but I would like to make at least one. Sold our big boat in May, so I would be looking for an open seat. I would of course be wiling to pitch in for gas and what ever necessities needed for a day.

FDR

As we get closer, I suggest we have a confirmation post thread going, where we state that Yes – I am going on these dates XXXXXXX, I am a Boater , I will be trolling or I will be jigging, and I have X open seats

OR

Yes I am going saturday only, I am non-boater – I need a seat OR I am already committed on a boat

I just don’t want anyone feeling like they may be shut out because they are a non-boater or don’t know anyone. If we put some time of confirmation post together, ultimately someone wioll need to manage matching people up and then move them off the list to a “see you there list”????

Just a random thought

This is on my bucket list. I would be there in a heart beat, but we will probably be moving in to our new house the last weekend in July.

If this event happens next year I am all in.