I was legitimately out fished by my wife on this trip and nothing else could have made this angling and camping adventure more perfect.
I’ve mentioned fishing-Karma numerous times throughout my posts and I’m not changing my stance now. Whenever fishing with close friends and family, I always want others to find success and possibly hook into the catch of a lifetime. There’s no better feeling and it doesn’t matter in the least whether I had success or not.
After our lobstering break in the Keys, Meg, Trigger and I packed up the car and headed back to Cleveland to pick up the truck and camper. We decided our next fishing destination should be Michigan, which is only about 6 ½ hours away. I’ve had success fishing Michigan with friends a few years prior. We rented a not so rustic cabin with a bar and pool table overlooking the Pere Marquette River with exclusive access and no other fisherman on the water. This time Meg and I stayed in the comfort of our Northern Lite camper in the bed of our truck. The campsites were mostly free, but crowded with people and more fishermen than I can count.
Our original plan was to fish the Pere Marquette, the Manistee and on to the Au Sable before returning to Cleveland. But, like most extended fishing trips, you have to be prepared to change at a moment’s notice and adapt.
We tried to camp on the Pere Marquette on our first night. We drove through four campgrounds, all on a first come first serve basis. It was a Saturday and not surprisingly every campground was full. It also appeared there were numerous people actually living full-time in the campgrounds. With no site available, we added another hour to our initial drive and headed north to the Manistee as campgrounds were available on-line allowing a guaranteed place to sleep for the night.
As usual, I was up before first light and as quietly as possible, exited the camper ready to catch a Chinook salmon. The walk from the camper was roughly a quarter mile downhill. As I approached the access area, I was excited to find there were no other fisherman on this small stretch of the river. However, the fish weren’t rising or actively moving upstream to spawn. After an hour and half of trying every option available, another fisherman 400 yards downstream approached to try his luck. He was an older gentleman. Based on his setup and approach, it seemed like he knew what he was doing. After an additional thirty minutes of fishing, I decided to call it a morning. As I exited the river and passed by, we started talking about the numerous rivers in the area and the time he’d spent angling in this region.
After our initial ten minutes of discussing general fishing tactics and strategies, I asked if there were any spots he would recommend based on his local knowledge. He said, ‘right now the Coho are extremely thick in the Platte River’. He mentioned the river was one of the biggest hatcheries for Coho in the U.S. and provides stock for many other rivers throughout the country. The Platte River wasn’t on my list for consideration but after his enthusiastic explanation of the current Coho run, he had me convinced this was destined to be our next stop. I walked back to the camper to discuss the change of plans with Meg. Based on my version of the story, she happily went along with the plan.
Upon our arrival to the Platte, we stopped at the fish hatchery to gain the most up to date info on the current Coho run. The DNR person explained, based on the number of Coho they are producing, it’s necessary to manage the number of fish allowed upstream through a gated weir and most importantly the lake connecting to the upper river and ultimately the hatchery. Apparently, there were some local concerns as the fish were allowed to freely swim from Lake Michigan, through the river, through the lake, and finally arriving at the hatchery. The controversy started due to the abundance of fish and their inability to continue upstream to spawn beyond the lake based on the depth and size of the river. Therefore, during drought years, the fish would end up spawning and dying in the lake causing an excess of carcasses washing up on lakefront properties.
To help alleviate the issue, the DNR started limiting the number of salmon through the weir allowing better spacing throughout the run. The fish were stacked up by the thousands awaiting their chance to continue their journey. Meg used the GoPro to capture a video of salmon milling at the gated weir access.
Although impressive for us watching the sheer number of fish awaiting their chance at return, it was also obviously impressive to every other fisherman in that region of Michigan. I know it’s not my river and I don’t have any right to complain about the number of fishermen converging on this condensed section, but combat fishing wasn’t the goal of the trip.
Our only real option was to find a less congested area. The weather in Michigan was beautiful all week: perfect fall days, no rain, no wind, sunny and cool. Due to the lack of rain, current water levels and size of the river, we knew the mainstream of the Platte wasn’t a viable option. We were only a few miles from the river mouth feeding into Lake Michigan.
When river levels and flow are this low, the remaining fish in the run are eagerly waiting their turn to enter the river system.
Here’s a picture of the river mouth:
Meg and I decided to concentrate our efforts on the fish still in the lake circling the river mouth. Don’t get me wrong, we weren’t the only fishermen with this idea. However, targeting this area would dramatically increase our odds of catching salmon in pristine chrome condition.
After scouting our options, we decided to head to the local tackle shop. Meg said her grandfather always advocated the use of local lures and tactics. Back in the day, while frequenting unfamiliar rivers and streams, he would purchase flies from people selling their favorite pattern off their front porch and local hand-made lures at the tackle shops.
She picked out two of the Michigan local favorites:
We went back after setting up camp for the late afternoon/evening bite. This is what it looked like to the south of the river mouth as the sun was setting:
Yes, it was crowded to the south, but nowhere near the concentration of people in the main river. They would wade out as far as possible into the lake, close to the river mouth, allowing the maximum casting distance to present their lure of choice. Other fishermen using bait, would wade the same distance placing a 4’ or so pole holder in the sandy bottom, wade back and contently rest on their bucket awaiting the strike from a more warm and comfortable position. I did find it ironic how their well-thought-out strategy for comfort soon became a full-on sprint through forty yards of water in an attempt to set the fish that finally took the bait. Their catch rate, based upon the delay, was about 30% from my estimation. I must admit, I found it amusing and it only confirmed our strategy of wading with rod in hand.
The north side of the inlet: less crowded and we chose that option the following morning.
Maybe they knew something we didn’t, but I’ll take less fishermen with only slightly less odds of catching a fish every time.
The water was crystal clear and reminded me of wade fishing in the Caribbean for Bonefish. There were schools of minnows at your feet and an occasional salmon unaware of your presence, passing by and darting away as soon as they realized their directional error.
This is Lake Michigan. I can only imagine this is a rare occurrence. The timing has to be perfect for everything to align. From general weather, wind, water temperature and most importantly salmon anxiously waiting their turn to enter the system.
Meg and I waded out together side by side. When reaching the depth we found the most optimal, we separated just enough to allow adequate distance between us without crossing lines. But, staying close enough to deter other fishermen attempting to occupy the space between us.
We noticed a pattern. Instead of blindly casting into the lake, we would wait for some kind of movement: either fish jumping or a ripple in the water. Within 30 casts or so, I had already lost two salmon messing around with the GoPro instead of properly setting the fish. I’ll admit I was a feeling a little nervous at this point knowing I had missed my chance for any content for this post.
And just like that, the potential to save the post was at hand. Meg locked into a 10lb bright silver Coho. Now I’m really nervous. Not because of Meg’s angling ability, because there are only so many chances in a day to hook a salmon at the river mouth and I had already squandered two. Knowing the entire post was hinging on that fish being landed, I started to give her advice on landing the fish. The advice was sound but, in watching the video you’ll clearly see, I need to shut up…
And yes, she caught the Coho on the local lure.
