welcome to the great lakes!
Thank you Alan! For those that haven't witnessed the awe and beauty of the Great Lakes, they are essentially inland freshwater seas. They are so vast that you can get far away enough from shore and not be able to see land over the horizon. The Great Lakes offer world class fishing for a variety of species; from smallmouth bass and walleye to salmon, steelhead, lake trout, musky, and sturgeon. While not a Great Lake, Lake St. Clair is one of the best musky fisheries in the world, being so numerous that they are often caught as bycatch by people jigging for walleyes or fishing smallmouth. Lastly, there is the stream trout. Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and upstate New York are chock full of choice trout waters, with Michigan having the most blue ribbon trout streams in the entire country. More than Wyoming, more than Montana, and more than Utah. It is a trout fisherman's paradise, whether you want to catch browns, rainbows, brook trout, or even potamodromous brook trout, known as Coasters which grow large in Lake Superior and migrate to streams to spawn. There is something for everybody in the Great Lakes. If you haven't visited, make sure to at some point and enjoy the inland Big Water.
I have never fished them but I have seen lakes Superior and Michigan and was impressed.
Excellent addition, Alan!
I provide and work on a lot of spinning reels for folks who fish the Great Lakes & Canadian waters also.
The fishery is possibly second to none for large Lake Trout, Pike, Muskies, Walleyes, and other species.
Basically inland freshwater oceans.
Thanks!
Best, Fred
The weather on the Great Lakes can rival the oceans as well...
Quote from: foakes on August 30, 2024, 04:24:29 PMExcellent addition, Alan!
I provide and work on a lot of spinning reels for folks who fish the Great Lakes & Canadian waters also.
The fishery is possibly second to none for large Lake Trout, Pike, Muskies, Walleyes, and other species.
Basically inland freshwater oceans.
Thanks!
Best, Fred
Once November rolls around the lake trout will be in shallower waters to spawn, making them good pier targets. The fish under 30" make for the best eaters, probably one of the best fish on the smoker due to the oil content. I usually go to the tip of the Thumb in Caseville at that time, fishing shiners off the bottom for burbot and casting spoons for lakers. Burbot is another great fish to eat, they are freshwater cod and fry up just like the saltwater cod at the pubs and restaurants. Michigan DNR considers burbot to be trash fish, so there is no limit. They have a sweet and flaky white meat and are excellent with a good batter recipe.
Thanks Alan !
All streams connected to the lakes should also be part of the sub board.
Quote from: Keta on August 31, 2024, 12:33:19 AMAll streams connected to the lakes should also be part of the sub board.
Good point. The kings are running the west coast of the state right now, but it is a little late at this point so more guys are catching boots (aka zombies) than silver fish. Cohos usually start to ramp up once the kings are finished, then once they're done it'll be steelhead from October until April. The east coast of the state doesn't get much in the way of kings anymore. Michigan and Wisconsin DNR stock kings according to the amount of alewives in the lakes, and on Lake Huron Michigan DNR and Ontario MNR do the same. On Lake Huron we get coho and Atlantic salmon. Coho will be a September and October thing, and the Atlantics are usually in the system come October and November. Like the west coast of the state, steelhead will be in from late fall until early spring. Atlantic salmon are one of my favorites. They get similar in size to steelhead but fight like a king, and make for excellent table fare. Probably my favorite to eat.
Ta Da...Recognition. Good addition. Dominick
Tincanary,
Don't leave out smallmouth and walleye. Do sportsfishermen target whitefish in the lakes?
One of my best friends moved to Illinois last year. He is just getting started fishing there, but has done some kayak fishing in some local lakes and some charters out on bigger water. So far, Salmon, trout, large and smallmouth bass, pickerel, perch, and pike. I'm down for some autumn light tackle steelhead fishing, it looks like around Milwaukee might be worth a look.
Many great memories of 25 years fishing Lake Ontario for salmon, browns, big "bows" and a host of other fish. The power of those lakes is awesome to witness. Many fond memories!
Randy McConnell
Reeltyme
No sharks, no salt, no problem!! Thanks Alan - Jimmer
Quote from: Keta on August 31, 2024, 06:18:55 PMTincanary,
Don't leave out smallmouth and walleye. Do sportsfishermen target whitefish in the lakes?
Whitefish aren't targeted much by recreational fishermen much due to the difficulty pursuing them on the big water, but they are heavily targeted by commercial fishermen. They can't be caught from shore too often and the areas of the Great Lakes where they are found can be too much for a more standard sized boat. I catch them off of the boardwalk in Port Huron during late fall, excellent eating. The chicken of the Great Lakes. If you're ever in the UP, just about every restaurant has it on the menu. They're amazing deep fried, baked, broiled, any way you can imagine.
Another fish I love is the white bass, they run the Detroit River in the millions come May. The hardcore walleye guys hate them because they're bait thieves, but one of my favorites to catch just because the action is so intense. It isn't out of the ordinary to have 100+ fish days.
(https://i.imgur.com/ygvulOD.jpeg)
White bass fight hard and are tasty.
We have mountain whitefish that are mostly ignored or tossed on the bank as trash fish. Our lakes are much smaller and they can be targeted. They are also in many of our cold/cool water clear streams.
White bass is yum
We get a few on the west side too
Surprised to hear about the Atlantic Salmon.
My Aunt and Uncle brought us from St. Paul up to Duluth once when I was a kid. Lake Superior did indeed look like the ocean. We stopped at a resort next to a stream somewhere and I hiked up a stream and started getting Browns on a small spinner. What a pleasant surprise! Just like a Nor-Cal experience, but better fishing and no competition. We had a smoked Whitefish picnic on the way back, great stuff.
Quote from: Gfish on September 04, 2024, 01:33:10 PMSurprised to hear about the Atlantic Salmon.
My Aunt and Uncle brought us from St. Paul up to Duluth once when I was a kid. Lake Superior did indeed look like the ocean. We stopped at a resort next to a stream somewhere and I hiked up a stream and started getting Browns on a small spinner. What a pleasant surprise! Just like a Nor-Cal experience, but better fishing and no competition. We had a smoked Whitefish picnic on the way back, great stuff.
Atlantic salmon used to be native to the Great Lakes but were extirpated in the late 1800s due to commercial fishing. Lake Ontario was the primary lake they were found but populations also existed in Erie and Huron.
They were landlocked and didn't migrate out to the Atlantic Ocean. LSSU (Lake Superior State Univ.) has a program where they pull the eggs from the St. Mary's River and hatch them, then release into the wild. Smolt sized fish are released in the Au Sable River, St. Mary's River, and Lake Huron in the thumb region of Michigan. The Atlantics don't get massive like the oceangoing fish, but get in the 10-15lb range like the steelhead here. As far as I know, the only natural reproduction occurring is in the St. Mary's River. The fish can't pass the Foote Dam on the Au Sable River in order to get to the colder headwater creeks.
Atlantic salmon used to be native to the Great Lakes but were extirpated in the late 1800s due to commercial fishing. Lake Ontario was the primary lake they were found but populations also existed in Erie and Huron.
They were landlocked and didn't migrate out to the Atlantic Ocean. LSSU (Lake Superior State Univ.) has a program where they pull the eggs from the St. Mary's River and hatch them, then release into the wild. Smolt sized fish are released in the Au Sable River, St. Mary's River, and Lake Huron in the thumb region of Michigan. The Atlantics don't get massive like the oceangoing fish, but get in the 10-15lb range like the steelhead here. As far as I know, the only natural reproduction occurring is in the St. Mary's River. The fish can't pass the Foote Dam on the Au Sable River in order to get to the colder headwater creeks.
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There is a very similar process in Pulaski New York. The state operates a hatchery at the head of the Salmon River that runs into Lake Ontario. The fish run up the river every fall and are "steared" into the hatchery through man made steps. Once they are in the hatchery pools they have the eggs or sperm miked out of them. They are grown to a fingerling size and released back into the lake. During each fall the fishing is crazy for them during the run with the average size being 15 to 20 pounds. Many fish run in the 22 to 28 pound range with 30 pounders being caught occasionally. There are several nearby smaller streams that support a small natural run as well.