GLF

Not only salmon are left in the lake. In fact I find I switch over more to browns and steelhead catches when the majority of hte kings shoot up the rivers.

Are you targeting the shallow water? Must be plenty of parking at the boat ramps.

Hey Jim...Did you come up past the bridge? What kind and color of boat was you in?

Is there more lead in the heavier lead core lines, or is that just the strength of the outer sheathing?

Does everyone remember in the 70's when no one went to the beaches because they smelled like fish so bad? The beaches had alewifes washed up all over the shores. When you go to the beaches now, very rarely do you see an alewife washed up.

The only reason why I asked, the 2 - 3 year old salmon is still in the lake.

Snap weights add to a 4 or 5 color core will sink it down to a full core depth.

Steve

How much weight is needed to achieve this?

While we are still on lead core. What lb test does everyone use for lead core?

Welcome to Great Lakes Fisherman Ken! This is not a website where salmon fishing is a small piece of the pie. Salmon fishing here is the whole pie! If you need anything, just let out a yell.

Mike

In my book spearing does not have anything to do with Angling.

20 some years ago the Wisconsin Native Americans began there walley spearing it made me sick to catch a northern with spear holes in it and gunny sacks of walleys laying in the ditchs with rotting speared walleys.

Does GLF support Spearing?

If it does I will be vacating this board.

The reports I posted came directly from the dnr's website. http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10364_10888-34956--,00.html I have speared for pike in the past. The last time I pursued pike with a spear was 1983. Its not my cup of tea, but it is a legal fishing method in the state of Michigan.

Great Lakes Fisherman is mainly a salmon fishing website. I started the website 3 weeks ago. Salmon reports this time of year are hard to come by, so I have been using general fishing reports for filler until salmon and trout fishing take off.

I will be more selective in the future with posts that I make.

GLF

We will be having a posting contest on the site for the month of February. The person who has the most posts for the month of February will receive two $25 gift certificates at www.fishdogco.com.

On January 31, I will be doing some maintenance on the site. I will also write down how many posts everyone has. After I am done with everything, I will make another post stating that the contest has started.

Moderators and myself are not eligible.

Good Luck!

But the lighting a Lunkers was better.. All I can see in your avatar is your nose and mouth... Thats why I say it doesn't look like you.

Its those trash fish fishing glasses I have on Guess I should have worn them to lunkers

Silver One was nice enough to take me fishing on the river today. Put in below the Allegan Dam. We fished for 6 hours between the M-89 bridge and the Allegan Dam. We missed two hits. We were trolling Hot-n-Tots. One hit came on orange and one on chartruse and orange. We talked with other people along the river. We came accross two boats that had one fish each, and we came accross one boat that had two steelies and one brown trout. The one that had the 3 fish was using skein. Lots of other boats we came accross did not have any. The water temperature was 34.8.

It was a nice day to be on the river. There's always next time!

Blue & red hat..... and you dont look like your avatar

Put the glasses on that fish picture and its a spitting image. Notice the shorts and the t-shirt are the same. Pictures where taken the same day.

Yellow shirt RED hat???

Your ice cold wayne Take a look at my avatar. Thats a dead give away.

Great Lakes salmon fishing ranks among Michigan’s premier angling opportunities. Every spring and summer, tens of thousands of anglers head onto the lakes from ports throughout Michigan, hoping to catch coho and chinook salmon.

But the coho and chinook have not always called the Great Lakes home. In the 1960s, the Great Lakes saw an overpopulation of alewives--small, silver, non-native fish that entered the lakes through shipping channels. As alewife numbers grew out of control, they died and washed ashore on Great Lakes beaches by the millions each spring. Department of Natural Resources leaders introduced salmon to eat the alewives, and this successful importation also worked to create a billion-dollar sport fishery that today draws anglers and tourists from all over the world.

Salmon are an anadromous species, which means they live in lake environments but spawn in rivers and streams. Salmon live in the Great Lakes as adults for approximately four years. Each fall, when cooler temperatures and rainfall trigger their instincts, the adults head into the state’s major rivers to spawn. Unlike most fish, salmon die after spawning.

The fall salmon run provides recreational excitement for anglers of all ages. This is the time when anglers who do not own boats large enough to navigate the Great Lakes have an opportunity to catch some of Michigan’s largest, most powerful sport fish.

The fall salmon run also provides fisheries managers with the ingredients for the next generation of salmon. Weirs and holding pens in five locations along Lake Huron and Lake Michigan tributaries collect thousands of the migrating fish as they move upstream.

“The work done at the weirs is the cornerstone of Michigan’s salmon program,†said DNR Fisheries Division Chief Kelley Smith. “Without the weir program, we would not be able to maintain Great Lakes salmon.â€Â

Each female salmon holds 4,000 to 7,000 eggs, called roe. DNR employees gather the fish in holding pens and net them individually to collect the roe from the females and sperm, called milt, from the males. When the roe and milt are combined and the eggs fertilized, the mix is taken to state fish hatcheries for incubation. The vast majority of Michigan’s salmon begin their lives in hatcheries.

Michigan’s six state fish hatcheries are open to the public, and most offer guided tours and educational programs at on-site interpretive centers. Wolf Lake Hatchery in Kalamazoo, Platte Hatchery near Honor, and Thompson Hatchery near Manistique are responsible for producing coho and chinook salmon.

The hatcheries deliver up to 5.6 million chinook and coho salmon each year. They supply all of Michigan’s salmon, as well as sending several hundred thousand fingerlings to Indiana and Illinois for Great Lakes stocking programs.

Chinook salmon hatch in November and are released into designated rivers the following May, but coho live in the hatcheries for up to a year-and-a-half before they are released.

“A large portion of our time, space and energy at the hatcheries is devoted to trout and salmon,†said DNR Hatcheries Manager Gary Whelan. “Recent renovations throughout the hatchery system allow us to monitor and adjust every step of the hatching and rearing process--from water temperature and quality levels to flow rates in the raceways, to disposing of fish wastes. Michigan’s hatchery system is among the best in the nation, in terms of being environmentally responsible and producing healthy, high-quality fish.â€Â

Although many of the adult salmon in the rivers each fall are caught by anglers, this harvest represents only a fraction of the total salmon population. The rest spawn and die.

To address the waste issue, the DNR works with a contracted company at fish weirs along Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, which processes the salmon into food.

“This program is a very successful partnership,†said DNR Fisheries Division Chief Kelley Smith. "It prevents waste of a nutritious food source, and helps fisheries managers focus on their work to ensure future generations of Great Lakes salmon.â€Â

The fall salmon run continues through October and early November on many Michigan rivers. For information on where to see the salmon run or to visit a weir or hatchery, call 517-373-1280 or visit the DNR Web site, www.michigan.gov/dnr.

Must be no one went out last year

1/4 cup butter

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 quart vegetable stock or broth

1 quart half & half

1/2 cup sherry

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tsps lemon juice

1 tsp Tabasco sauce

1/2 tsp old bay seasoning

1/4 tsp ground white pepper

8 oz. SeaBear Smoked Salmon chopped

fresh rosemary sprigs

Melt butter in Dutch oven, whisk in flour until smooth. Cook stirring continuously for 5 minutes, gradually stir in vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add half & half and next 6 ingredients cooking until warm. Add chopped salmon and top with fresh rosemary sprigs. Makes 3 quarts of bisque.

What you need:

1/4 cup butter, melted

3 tablespoons prepared Dijon-style mustard

1 1/2 tablespoons honey

1/4 cup dry bread crumbs

1/4 cup finely chopped pecans

4 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley

4 (4 ounce ) filets salmon

1 lemon, for garnish

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

2. In a small bowl, stir together butter, mustard and honey. Set aside. In another bowl, mix together bread crumbs, pecans and parsley.

3.Brush each salmon filet lightly with honey mustard mixture, and sprinkle the top of the filets with the bread crumb mixture.

4.Bake salmon in preheated oven until it flakes easily with a fork, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and garnish with a wedge of lemon.

What You Need:

2 cloves garlic, minced

6 tablespoons light olive oil

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

2 (6 ounce) Wild Salmon Dinner Fillets

Preparation:

1.In a medium glass bowl, prepare marinade by mixing garlic, light olive oil, basil, salt, pepper, lemon juice and parsley. Place salmon fillets in a medium glass baking dish, and cover with the marinade. Marinate in the refrigerator about 1 hour, turning occasionally.

2.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

3.Place fillets in aluminum foil, cover with marinade, and seal. Place sealed salmon in the glass dish, and bake 35 to 45 minutes, until easily flaked with a fork.

Poached Salmon with Lemon Mayo

Salmon

3 8-ounce bottles clam juice

3/4 cup dry white wine

3 lemon slices

3 fresh dill sprigs

4 whole peppercorns

4 6- to 8-ounce salmon fillets

Mayonnaise

1 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Butter lettuce leaves

4 lemon slices

8 lemon wedges

Tomato wedges

For salmon:

Combine first 5 ingredients in deep skillet. Simmer 10 minutes to blend flavors. Add salmon, cover and simmer until just cooked through, about 9 minutes per inch of thickness. Transfer salmon to plate, using 2 spatulas as aid. Reserve liquid in skillet. Cool salmon. Cover and chill until cold. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead.)

For Mayonnaise:

Boil salmon poaching liquid in skillet until reduced to 1/4 cup, about 20 minutes. Combine mayonnaise, lemon juice, lemon peel, chives and parsley in medium bowl. Mix in 1 tablespoon poaching liquid. Season to taste with pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)

Line platter with lettuce. Top with salmon. Make cut in each lemon slice from center to edge. Twist lemon slices and place atop salmon. Garnish with lemon wedges and tomatoes and serve with mayonnaise.

Ingredients:

1 clove garlic

1 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves

5 tablespoons olive oil

juice of one lime

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

2 pounds salmon fillet -- skin on

1 large ripe tomato -- seeded and chopped

Prep:

Preheat oven to 400¡ F. Place the garlic, cilantro, 2 tablespoons of the

olive oil, the lime juice, salt, and pepper in a blender or a food processor.

Processuntil creamy.

Brush a baking pan or sheet with the remaining oil and

place thesalmon in it.

Spread the cilantro mixture on the salmon, scatter the

tomato over it, and sprinkle with a little more salt and pepper.

Bake, uncovered,

until the salmon is done (peek in between the layers of flesh with a thin-bladed

knife), 12 to 15 minutes. Serve immediately.

4 4-6 oz. salmon steaks

-----sauce-----

3 tb Melted butter

1 tb Lemon juice

1 tb White wine vinegar

1/4 ts Grated lemon peel

1/4 ts Garlic salt

1/4 ts Salt

1 ds Hot pepper sauce; (optional)

Combine the sauce ingredients stirring thoroughly. Generously brush both sides of the salmon steaks with mixture.

Barbeque on a well oiled grill over hot coals. Make a tent of foil or use barbeque cover and place over salmon. Barbeque 6-8 minutes per side depending on the thickness of your steaks.

Baste frequently. Turn once, brushing with sauce. Steaks should flake easily when tested with a fork.

Ingredients

4 servings

Head, tail, backbone of fish

4 tb Butter

6 Peppercorns

1 c Hollandaise sauce **

2 Shallots, sliced

1 1/2 tb Flour

1 c Water

4 tb Milk

1/3 c White wine

Salt and pepper

2 lb Fillets of steelhead

Cucumber and lemon slices

1 Bouquet garni

1/4 ts Thyme,

1/2 ts Tarragon

1/2 lb Mushrooms

HOLLANDAISE SAUCE:

2 Egg yokes

Salt

Fresh lemon juice

1 pn Cayenne

1/4 lb Cold butter, 8 pieces

Instructions

This lordly French dish is prepared in a variety of ways, but basically it is fish fillets served with two sauces and mushrooms in between. The fillets from small salmon, walleye, lake trout, and channel cat are all superb prepared in this fashion. If the two sauces seem too time-consuming just note that this dish is excellent if only the wine sauce is used.

Put the fish head, etc., peppercorns, and shallots into the water and wine, bring to a boil, then simmer gently for 30 minutes. Strain and set aside. Arrange the fillets in a shallow glass or earthenware fireproof dish that has been liberally buttered. Add the bouquet garni. Pour in the reserved fish stock and poach in a 325 degree oven for 20 minutes. Saute the sliced mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of butter for 5 minutes, coating and stirring a couple of times. Reserve. Prepare the hollandaise and hold it by covering with a lid. Make the wine sauce by melting 2 tablespoons of butter in pan, then stir in the flour and cook a few minutes. Turn off heat, pour in the liquor from the poached fillets, then stir and thicken over the fire. Add the milk, then stir until it bubbles. Season to taste. To assemble: lay the fillets on a fireproof dish and cover with the wine sauce. Now dot the top with mushrooms. Ladle the hollandaise sauce over all and glaze under the broiler. Garnish with cucumber and lemon slices or with watercress.

Hollandaise Sauce

In a very heavy pot set over a flame tamer, whisk the eggs until they are well blended, turn lemon-colored, and start to thicken. Be sure heat is low. Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice when thickening starts. Start adding butter one piece at a time, whisking each piece until is absorbed with the eggs. Continue until all the butter is used up. It should take about 2 minutes, at which point the sauce will be thick. If at any point you sense that the is about to separate, quickly add a teaspoon of cold milk or cream. Now whisk in about 1 more teaspoon of lemon juice, a pinch of salt, and optional cayenne. Taste to see that the sauce is lemony enough for your taste.

Ingredients

2 tablespoon butter

5 medium shallots, peeled, minced

1-5 pound whole dressed salmon

3 cups dry white wine

to taste salt ground white pepper

1 bouquet garni

2 tablespoon butter

3 slices white bread

2 tablespoon vegetable oil

4 egg yolks

1 cup heavy cream

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Melt two tablespoons of butter in a saucepan. Add the minced shallots and cook until golden. Spread into a baking pan large enough to hold the salmon.. Scale salmon. Wash under cold water. Pat dry. Place the whole fish, lying flat on the baking pan. Season the cavity with salt and pepper. Add the bouquet garni. Dot the fish with the two tablespoons of butter. Cover the pan with aluminum foil, and bake Measure the salmon at its thickest part. Bake 12 minutes per inch thickness. Baste the fish occasionally. While the fish is cooking, remove the crust from the bread. Cut the slices into triangles. Heat the oil in a frying pan. Fry the bread triangles in oil until golden brown on both sides. Remove from pan and keep warm. When the salmon in done, transfer to a large serving platter. Remove skin from the top side. Cover with foil, and keep in a warm place. Strain the cooking liquid and reduce to two cups. Beat the egg yolks with the cream. Pour into the reduced hot cooking liquid and whisk over low heat until the sauce thickens lightly. Do not boil the sauce as it may separate. Season to taste.

PRESENTATION

Starting at tail end, use a fish knife and fork to cut the top fillet into serving size portions. Slide knife between the fillet and bone to lift the portions. Arrange each portion in the center of warm plates. Before serving the bottom fillet, lift off tail and pull backbone away from flesh, removing the head all in one piece. Bottom fillet is now boneless and easy to lift into serving size portions. Free skin from portions before serving. Spoon the sauce over salmon. Garnish each plate with two slices of fried bread.

Anglers are spearing northern pike inside the pier in front of Jerry's Marina. Some nice catches have been taken, including a 21 pound 44 inch fish.