Kings Push Shallow After North Wind Flip
It has been an interesting week on Lake Michigan. Strong currents resulted in some major tangles one evening. The following morning our autopilot stopped working while fishing in 4-foot waves, and then a trolling bag rope broke, wrapping the bag around the prop. Hopefully we got all of that out of the way for the rest of the season! When it rains, it pours.
We’re still running Manistee fishing charters while we wait for autopilot parts to arrive on Thursday. Wiley has been running the back of the boat by himself while I stay at the helm. Heavy boat traffic has also kept things interesting.
Salmon
The salmon bite improved this past week after a north wind flipped the lake Sunday night, pushing king salmon shallow. Monday morning we caught kings in as little as 35 feet of water, with surface temperatures in the low 50s.
Short lead cores and downriggers set 25–50 feet down were the top producers earlier this week. The thermocline should set back up quickly, and as usual, the shelf should be the best place to start during first and last light.
The plug bite is also starting to heat up. Try a variety of sizes and styles. We usually run full-size Silver Horde Cut Plugs but have also been having good success with smaller 4-inch plugs. As the day progresses, expect the fish to work their way deeper.
Steelhead
We have found steelhead in the top 50 ft anywhere from 250 – 350 fow. Spoons have been the ticket. Smaller spoons with lots of flash. Leadcores and riggers have been the ticket for these chromers. We have caught these fish mostly mid-morning while looking for deeper kings.
Lake Trout
We haven’t been targeting lake trout lately, but we’ve caught a few while salmon fishing. One trip produced four lake trout in 350 feet of water, where they were mixed in with kings and cohos.
Flasher/fly combinations caught every one of those fish. Lake trout are almost always attracted to rotating flashers, so don’t be surprised if one grabs your salmon presentation.
If you’re planning a Manistee fishing charter this August, fishing should continue to improve as the thermocline re-establishes itself and salmon settle into more predictable patterns. Morning and evening remain the best windows to target king salmon, with fish sliding deeper as the day progresses.
