Question
I am going to Isle Royale (northern most part of michigan) and I am bringing fishing tackle and we are kind of depending on fish for our 8 day hike. I am an experienced fisher and I just want some pointers on inland lake fish. There are bass, perch, walleye, salmon, trout, catfish and the god aweful carp. Which would be the easiest way to fish for what fish? Bass I am not worried about, I know how to catch them, its walleye and salmon I want, and I am not sure the best way to go about it. Any info would be freakin sweet. thanks
I am going to Isle Royale (northern most part of michigan) and I am bringing fishing tackle and we are kind of depending on fish for our 8 day hike. I am an experienced fisher and I just want some pointers on inland lake fish. There are bass, perch, walleye, salmon, trout, catfish and the god aweful carp. Which would be the easiest way to fish for what fish? Bass I am not worried about, I know how to catch them, its walleye and salmon I want, and I am not sure the best way to go about it. Any info would be freakin sweet. thanks
Answer
For walleyes your best bet is to target rocky points or rocky lats with curly tailed jigs and minnows or tipped with night crawlers. If you have a canoe you can look for necked down areas between islands and drift through these areas with Lindy rigs tipped with minnows or night crawlers or bouncing jigs along the bottom. Casting towards shore from a canoe with deep diving minnow baits in silver with black back or gold with black back can be effective at times. Jigs work well at almost anytime for walleye and you can catch perch and small mouth bass on them as well. Salmon tend to stay in deeper colder water most of the time. If you go early enough in the season you might find them within the top 10-20 feet of the water column and be able to catch them on spinners or spoons. Mid to late summer your best best if you are in a canoe is to target necked down areas between islands with water over 50 feet and jig with big spoons such as a cast master in silver, rainbow color as well as gold. One thing to try if you are fishing in between islands is to start fishing the side closest to where the wind is coming from first. Bait fish tend to get funneled into these areas from open water and larger prey stacks up waiting for it to arrive. If you are casting to shoreline try and cast to shorelines the wind is blowing into, same concept bait is getting pushed up and the prey is targeting it there.
For walleyes your best bet is to target rocky points or rocky lats with curly tailed jigs and minnows or tipped with night crawlers. If you have a canoe you can look for necked down areas between islands and drift through these areas with Lindy rigs tipped with minnows or night crawlers or bouncing jigs along the bottom. Casting towards shore from a canoe with deep diving minnow baits in silver with black back or gold with black back can be effective at times. Jigs work well at almost anytime for walleye and you can catch perch and small mouth bass on them as well. Salmon tend to stay in deeper colder water most of the time. If you go early enough in the season you might find them within the top 10-20 feet of the water column and be able to catch them on spinners or spoons. Mid to late summer your best best if you are in a canoe is to target necked down areas between islands with water over 50 feet and jig with big spoons such as a cast master in silver, rainbow color as well as gold. One thing to try if you are fishing in between islands is to start fishing the side closest to where the wind is coming from first. Bait fish tend to get funneled into these areas from open water and larger prey stacks up waiting for it to arrive. If you are casting to shoreline try and cast to shorelines the wind is blowing into, same concept bait is getting pushed up and the prey is targeting it there.
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