Fishing Report Milwaukee, Hot Locations For Salmon And Trout
By Capt. Jim Hirt
The wind and rain have been a problem lately. I have been out on most of the days when we have had good lake conditions. We are catching more cohos than any other species. Cloudy days bring better action on silver spoons and sunny days bright orange or red are working. Usually my spring coho come on flasher flies, not this year. On most days I start out with a mix of flasher flies and spoons in a variety of colors. As I start producing fish, changes to the most active lures are made. I am finding that at the current water temperatures of 44-50 degrees on cloudy days small spoons like the Vulcan #2 Silver Star, Silver Sky and Spring Green are out producing the flashers. The sunny days Michigan Stinger’s Orange and Red Shanster, Orange and red Chip Shanster, have been best. Michigan Stingers with the needle sharp VMC hooks are almost 100% for fish on and fish in the cooler. The good news is the spoons are not as speed sensitive as the flashers. For those of you who do not do well with flashers try some small spoons. Downriggers down 15-30 feet, Slide Divers set on #4 with 40 feet of line out and Yellow Birds are the presentations I have been successful with. Action has been good where ever you find a temperature break. The harbor gaps and tight along the shoreline are all good places to try. The big kings are scattered. They like the bigger spoons such as the Titan #3 in most of the silver and glow color patterns. Some of the boats have been out in deeper water, but the water inside of 45 feet has worked for us. The boat speed of 2.2-2.4 on the Depth Raider gave the best results. The contents of the fishes’ stomachs showed they were eating well. There are some 2-inch Alewives in the fish we caught. We also snagged some big ones on our lures.
I would like to share with you some of my key locations to find fish and the hottest set ups for early summer presentation. The most important factor at this time of the year is water temperature. I recommend a must item for you is a surface temp gauge. Your gauge can be a simple hand held thermometer or a unit built into your fish locator.
Early summer is a great time for Coho and Chinooks. They prefer water temps in the mid fifties. Think about it, the temperature of Lake Michigan is in the 48-degree range. The most active fish are in the top twenty-five feet of water. Find the warmest temp you can. Sometimes I am fishing a temp break of only a degree or two. You will find these temp breaks at mouths of rivers, power plants and protected bays. The wind direction will be a major player in warm water location. The surface warms first and wind will move this water around. On Wisconsin’s shore a light east wind does wonders for improving action. The reason I used most of this article on temperature is because it is a key factor in finding fish. Temperature is almost more important than the type of lure you use.
Motor trolling is the method I use for most of my fishing, and I will explain one of my basic setups. If possible I would max out the number of rods, because more is better this time of year. I fish 50% of my lines on Yellow Bird planer boards. Find a brand you like and run all the same type. The balance of my lines are on Slide Divers and downriggers. For lures I like small #2 Vulcan spoons. On most days all of their colors will work. The water is too cold for flasher flies and they will be used when the water warms to over 52 degrees. When fishing early in the season, fish metabolism or body temp is very low and requires a slow presentation. I run my boat speed between 1.8 and 2.4 miles per hour. The color of the lure is dictated by the amount of light and water color. On most days, in clear water, I use silver or glow lures. Hotter colors work best in cloudy water. You can’t go wrong with chartreuse in both conditions. The new glow in the dark lures are an excellent option. The old rule of thumb applies, bright lures bright days, dark lures dark days. Good luck! Jim charters out of Milwaukee, WI. with Blue Max Charters. He can be reached at 414-828-1094 or visit his web site at http://www.bluemaxcharters.com Copyright© 2006, James J. Hirt, All Rights Reserved.