King Salmon

[ozark trout fisher]

Thanks you guys are awesome! Honestly I get more information about those rivers here than most forums that are actually centered towards Michigan.

[cnr]

You're welcome. I have a passion for that area and spend 1-2 weeks every year up there chasing migratory fish. I absolutely love big fish in small water.

Here's a King pic from a few years ago. Anyone who says they don't eat is wrong. Look a where the egg fly is in the mouth.

[ozark trout fisher]

You're welcome. I have a passion for that area and spend 1-2 weeks every year up there chasing migratory fish. I absolutely love big fish in small water.

Here's a King pic from a few years ago. Anyone who says they don't eat is wrong. Look a where the egg fly is in the mouth.

king3.jpg

Great fish, my friend! If I even have an opportunity to catch one like that I'll be pretty happy.

[fshndoug]

I fish the Pere Marquette every year for kings the last week of September.The kings will start moving in by the middle of August in the lower river.Alot of the guides throw Storm

Thundersticks in firetiger patterns on 7ft spinning rods and braided lines or 15-20 lb flourocarbon.I use 9or 10 wt. 9ft rods and waterworks 3.3 fly reels.Using a 6wt. will not cut it.The fish are too fresh and tough.You can get on Baldwin Bait and Tackle website for current reports on the PM river.Schmidts fly shop to my understanding has been sold so Ray does not run it anymore.The best fishing in early August on the PM is for brown trout at night.If you fish at night be familiar with the river,it is darker than a cave at night .No city lights to help out.You can call me Doug Piper at 816 289-5174

[Gavin]

I've landed plenty of silvers and sockeye on a 6wt. Best probably 14-16lbs. Have a 9' 6" 8wt Thomas & Thomas 8wt that I'd part with for a very reasonable price.

[Al Agnew]

Hey, if you think you might do it more than once, go ahead and buy an 8 wt...doesn't have to be the best one out there. I fished the Pere Marquette a couple of years many years ago (mid-September in the Baldwin area) and used a 7-8 wt. BPS rod that I got for something like $75 at the time. But then, several of the fish we hooked took us almost all the way through the backing. The funniest one was a big one my wife hooked. The fish was on a redd, and she drifted an egg fly into its mouth. She reared back on the rod and the fish didn't budge. She tugged and pulled and the fish just sat there. Finally I told her that I was going to have to go in and flush it for her. I waded up to the edge of the bed and the fish shot out of there heading upstream like a southbound freight train. She just stood and watched all her fly line disappear and then most of her backing before the fish stopped. I got up on the bank and hiked upstream, trailing her fly line. It went up through the riffle at the head of the pool, into the next pool, and then I could see it going right through the middle of a big downed tree. I shouted back down to her to just give the fish slack and see what happens. I could see the fish just sitting there just above the tree. She did, although it couldn't have made much difference, but the fish just turned, swam back downstream, right through the same path it had taken through the tree, back down through the riffle, swam right past her, through the next riffle downstream as she took up all the slack that had somehow not gotten snagged in that tree, and then started taking her line out again as it headed for Lake Michigan. One of our friends was down in the lower pool, and I shouted to him to net that fish as it went by. He just stuck his net out and the fish swam right into it, nearly jerking the net out of his hands. It was about a 20 pounder.

[ozark trout fisher]

Well, I'm planning to leave on Saturday morning. The plan is to spend a couple days floating and trout fishing on the Pere Marquette, and then hopefully find some salmon on the Little/Big Manistee after that. I hear there are some in those rivers but doing any good with them is far from a sure thing- especially for someone who knows essentially nothing about salmon fishing past what I've read/learned on this thread. If that doesn't pan out, it'll probably just be more trout/smallmouth fishing on those same rivers. I don't think I care too much either way.

Thanks a ton for the help, and I intend to post a report!

[cnr]

There will be early Kings in both the PM and the little Manistee. They will be very low in the watershed and close to the lake. Probably not a lot, but they will be there.

[Jeff Tief]

Anybody fish the White River around Hesperia,Mi?We fished it several years ago in October and had a great time.Not as much water as some of the other streams but had a lot of fish and not a lot of people.

[fshndoug]

I have never seen a smallmouth on the PM.As for Kings,good luck.They are still out in 130 feet of water in Lake Michigan.If you want smallies go to Burt or Millet lake in upper Michigan