what drives a fall salmon fisherman

[Steeldrifter 0]

With all the fall/salmon talk lately i wanted to take a minute to describe what the fall salmon season means to me

 

Some people (mostly non fisherman) cant quite grasp why a guy would drive 4 hours to stand in a cold river at an ungodly hour of the night just to catch a fish so heres my views on the craziness we call "fall salmon runs"

 

................................................................................................

 

The 2nd friday in september is the longest day of work for a Michigan salmon fly fisherman 8 hours seem more like 16 hours as i watch the clock slowly tick down to 5pm. I find my mind drifting from work to the long awaited first salmon that i know will be on the end of my fly line in a mere 10 hours or so. A fishing buddy that is going with me dosen't help pass time when he calls at lunch as says "man screw it lets go now ...haha"

 

After what seems like an eternitey the clock finally says its quitin time...woo whoo! After the short ride home to take a fishermans shower (wipeing face and arms with a wet cloth ) i see my buddy pull up in the driveway honking the horn hanging out the window yellin "LETS GO MAN THE FISH ARE WAITIN".

 

Bags rod tubes and waders are thrown in the back of the truck and we're off on the 4 hour trek to the river. Along the way we have to listen to the traditional hunting&fishing CD's Ted Nugents fred bear,spirit of the wild,sunrise....come you guys know you do the same thing

 

Just after dark we stop at the small town gas station to fill up on hot coffee and notice even only halfway there the air is 15 degrees cooler and quite brisk as we get out of the truck,ahh fall weather! Getting back on the road before we know it our little town is in sight and we see the motel sign lit up were we stay each year....WE ARE THERE!!

After getting the keys to the room and unloading our gear it's about 11pm...what to do now? the only thing that any self respecting salmon fisherman does on the night before the first day.....break out the vises and tie flies for the morning,do we need to tie flies? NO we should be pretty well set with the 500 we tied the weeks before the trip...but it's tradition.

 

After tying for a hour or so we decide to hit the sack since 4 am comes rather quickly but we go to bed knowing full well that there is not going to be much sleep since we're both as giddey as 10 year olds the night before christmas with the thought of what lays ahead of us in just a few hours.

After finally dozing off at around 3am that alarm sounds at 4am telling us its finally time,1 hour sleep is plenty for a true salmon fisherman.

 

After suiting up in the room we throw the rods in the truck and head the 1/2 mile to the access point. As the headlights pierce the darkness as we get closer to the access my eyes squint hard hopeing not to see the reflection of the lights off the back of some tail lights at the dirt parking lot telling me someone else was crazy enough to get up before us....no lights YES we are the first ones here!

 

As i get out of the truck the cool crisp fall air is filling my lungs and it tastes great,we grab the rods out of the back,switch on the head lamps and start the few hundred yard walk down the dirt path to the river. After about 3 minutes of walking i hear a very familiar and welcome sound...the river flowing over rocks in the night.

We turn left at the river and head downstream for about another 2 hundred yards and reach "our hole". Since its still only 4:30am we sit on the bank,turn off the head lamps and the conversation turns to salmon seasons of the past as we enjoy good friendship with a good fishing bud.

 

About a hour after we get there we see other lights start to come down the path as other fisherman are coming to see if anyone is in the hole....we can hear the disapointment in there voices as they see us and say "hey fellas good luck today" and head down father mumbiling "man what the hell time did those guys get up?" HEHE!

 

Finally the darkness gives way to the first bit of day break so we rig up and take our position....its just light enough to make out the dozen or so 3ft long dark shadows that are ziping around in the gin clear 3 ft deep water in front of us.

I strip out 25 ft of line and send my egg sucking leech/egg fly combo to the far bank....after about 10 or so repeated cast the line drifts then come to a dead stop for a split second.. then the rod jerks wildly forward as it feels like a runaway truck is suddenly on the end of my line as a 3ft long fish is out of the water 3 times before i can even take up the line from my stripping hand.

After a 20 minute battle that has me almost out of breath i finally get the fishes head up as my buddy slides the net under 25LBS of fresh salmon!

 

After the usal first fish hand shake the fish is unhooked,admired,has a quick pic taken and is sent on his way back to do his thing. As my buddy go's back to fishing i sit my rod down and take a seat on the river bank to light a smoke look at the fish still darting around on the gravel in front of me and bask in the glow of the first salmon of the year.

 

I exhale and wonder if i'm dreaming so i pinch myself...nope not dreaming....am i in heaven? nope...just a little slice of it in western Michigan called the Pere Marquette River.

 

SD

[Guest]

I didnt think there was such a thing as "fresh" salmon. Just kidding ya, when will these runs start?

 

And what type of flies for the fall run?

 

John

[Steeldrifter 0]

John they start showing up in the rivers about mid aug and are in the river full force by the first weekend in sept. The east side of the state runs a couple weeks later than the west so you can chase them well into late october.

 

Proven flies

 

egg sucking leeches/glo-bugs(egg fly) Green caddis larva/black stones/speys/wooly buggers/nymphs of many sorts/nuke egg...just to name a few.

 

I've found that the MI salmon are partial to purple in the ESL's and buggers.

 

SD

[Guest]

What??? What do you mean "is there such a thing as a fresh salmon?" Sheesh. What do you call these (and mind you, these are in the tribs off the main rivers away from the salt).

or

 

Just think, they get even brighter (actually, all three of those fish had sea lice on them). Just imagine those fresh ones from the Ocean and up in AK we catch over here.

 

Actually, we're blessed around here. We have runs of salmon/steelhead all year around. We have spring kings, summerchums, fall salmon (pretty much all species) and some of the runs go into deep winter (almost Feb). Then have summerrun steelhead and winterrun steelhead that LITERALLY have us fishing year around ONLY if you were pursuing steelhead ONLY! In fact, this last weekend had a great time. Lots of spring salmon and summer steelhead being caught all weekend. Only if I could've fished more (only about a couple hours, but had two on, crackered both steelheads off).

[Steeldrifter 0]

Nice looking fish Jerry those are real fresh looking

 

Wish we had year round salmon fishing here but i tryin make up for it when they are here by being on the river as much as i can

 

SD

[artimus 0]

steeldrifter,

 

I could not have said it better!!!

drive-3hrs

motel-dive

tackle and bait shop- $$$$$

fishing at Thornbury -%#*@*% (loogons)

breakfast at the Blue Orchid after fishing throught the night and first bite - priceless!!

 

I hear you brother.....I can't wait!!!

Fly list is pretty much the same for Huron and GB tribs on our side of the border.

 

Art

[Guest]

Great story SD!! It got my blood pumping!!

[stel 0]

Awsome read, Sd.

 

Why do I salmon fish? Picture this!

 

Weeks before this day go by sooo slow and the day I get out of work ususually takes forever and I am usually asked to stay extra or something

 

Finally, outta work. Truck is packed and I drive to oscoda AF(ast)AP within the speed limit. Get up there around 1 o'clock and ty my spoon on and walk out to the pier. It seems like the same guys from every year are out there casting for these silver torpedoes.

 

Take the camera and let it go off to make the spoons glow. Then ziiiiiing and there goes your lure out into the lake. You see that glow on the spoon get small and smaller and then kaboosh. Let it sink but always keep the line tight because you never know if it will take the lure on the sink side. Then start reeling in. Then someone shouts, look up and there are the northern lights with the stars all around you. Then you hear someone yell "FISH ON" and I know my salmon season has officially started.

 

I can't wait for this day!

 

Another reason I salmon fish beside all the fun times with friends, the fish, but the strangest and funniest things you see while salmon fishing

[Guest]

Damn, you're getting long winded in your old age. (toothless --> ) Nice piece though, how was your vacation?

[Frank G. Swarner III 0]

To me, Salmon/ Steelhead Season means a reunion with friends from surrounding states. Our group(SE PA conglomerate) usually fishes the same stretch of river every year along with a few groups of other guys from NJ, NY, PA. We don't keep in touch the rest of the year, so Salmon/Steelhead Season is a small fisheman's reunion.

 

Catch a few, stand around BS and smoke a cigar, catch a few more. Repeat the process for a week, go home and work for two weeks, back up to NY for another week, go home for another 2-3 weeks, back up to NY for more. I only wish the season was longer, but I guess if it was I wouldn't look forward to it so much.

 

I also look forward to fishing large powerful water because there aren't any big rivers where I live with Salmon or Steelhead. The Susquehanna isn't too far away but it's not the same as a Salmon River.

 

5 hr drive to NY - less than 9 weeks away!! Fish-on!!

 

Keep Tyin'

 

Chip

[Guest]

Steve-

 

You went to all that aggravation, typed ALL THOSE WORDS, when all you asked is "what drives a fall salmon fisherman" ??? - you could have easily answered it in two words.

 

Answer: His truck! (running and ducking... )

[Guest]

Nice Piece

 

I did a little scouting Sunday night and was pleased to see a few early arrivals. To say I was under-gunned with my 2wt. is an understatement.

 

Do to certain weather patterns much of the warm water near shore on the West side has been blown out and cold water welled in.

[Steeldrifter 0]

QUOTE (DFix @ Jul 27 2004, 04:52 PM)

Steve- You went to all that aggravation, typed ALL THOSE WORDS, when all you asked is "what drives a fall salmon fisherman" ??? - you could have easily answered it in two words. Answer: His truck! (running and ducking... )

...........

 

TB i had a great time up north last week the weather was pretty decent for most of the trip and the fishing was a "little" slower than normal but i did manage quite a few keeper sized bass 14-15" and one real nice 19" er. Being back at work after vacation on the other hand SUCKS!!!

 

Ralf i like the sounds of that bud should be a good year!

 

SD

[Guest]

Should be a good Fall for salmon and steelhead

lake levels are up good

 

 

OSD.

[sparkleminnow 0]

Aaand, just in time for salmon/steelhead season, I have a fly that slays on the Wisconsin side of the lake. It has worked on the Michigan side, but I haven't had much serious testing done there. I would include a pic, but I have to learn how to size photos to fit the limits of the board. Anybody interested?