Not to take away from the discussion on the last thread, but it was getting a bit long, so thought I would start up a new one for this next potential Micro Fish-In. I will quote the previous thread:
“The best part was seeing everyone and spending the day with them. And to that extent, I wanted to let everyone know what we decided to do next. In about a month, the salmon should be stacked in the local rivers, and in full spawn/nasty attitudes. We decided to give her another go, this time on the mighty Muskegon near Newago. Tentatively we are thinking about Saturday, October 13th (pending everyone’s schedules). If you have never tried hooking up with a salmon it is a real experience, sort of like trying to lead a bull around by a rope and a halter (whereas hooking up with a steelhead is more like trying to RIDE THE BULL)! Grab a 8 or 9 wt and head up for some fun! Don’t have steelhead outfit? No sweat, I have an extra outfit someone can use, and I am sure someone else has one as well. I will be tryin out a new 14 ft spey outfit that day , so my old standard 9 ft outfit should be free. You can also, bag the salmon and target the lake run and stream browns and even possibly some steelhead that pod up below the spawning gravel to gorge on salmon eggs. The Muskegon is a beautiful river to be on in the fall, so make your plans to attend”.
I might be up for it( read that recovered from this past weekend) I wont know for sure till next week. Would need to borrow a Heavier set up though heaviest I got around here is a 5wt.
Bill
I would think that the salmon, and certainly the lake run browns, steelhead, and resident trout would still be around for another week or two after or perhaps a week earlier than the 13th, but not much more than that. What would work best for others? I would need to confirm with the wife about her work schedule.
Jim
I will commit to the 13th but I have never gone for salmon before. My heaviest weight rod is a 7 with a Trion reel. Love to learn some stuff regarding them. I live close to the St. Joseph which I understand has a decent run of summer (skamania) and winter slamon. Which part of the Mo are you thinking of? Is it wadable or do we need my skiff or pontoon? Sounds like fun.
Mark
Mark - You are welcome to use the extra 8 wt rod I have, and I am sure that others would have some extra rods as well. You could also use the 7 wt to target the lake runs and steelhead that pod up below the salmon beds. My thought is to start at Thornapple access and move down from there possibly. End of the day perhaps end up at Henning Park. Right now the river is quite wadable, and barring any major rainfall, it should stay that way, though it could also be fun to take the pontoons down from Thornapple to Henning, stopping here and there to fish to pods of fish along the way. Hmm… interesting idea… How many people have pontoons out there? Or even a boat? I have a pontoon. Perhaps some float and others stay in just a couple of areas to wade fish, then we get together at the start, at lunch, and at the end of the day? Nothing set in stone, just kicking around some possibilities, seeing what may interest people. This is a big river, so it isn’t hard to find plenty of water to fish, be it floating or not.
Jim
I have a fourteen foot wooden skiff I built which two can comfortably fit in. I also have a pontoon which I would use if we decide to go that way. Either wading or drifting, your call. Sounds like great fun either way.
Mark
Now this get together has some potential… This could really be epic! 8) Hmm… how could we finagle a stream side cookout into this?
Floating is a possibility, but we could also just wade. So far we have enough seats for four people. If others can bring pontoons, drift boats, or skiffs we could take more. But no biggie either way. Biggest thing is who is interested in doing it, and if not the 13th, then when (Brad and Bill)? I know Rainbowchaser is a go. Joe Valencic are you out there? New folks are welcome as well, this isn’t a select club.
Regarding your questions Tim - weight forward floating is fine for an indicator rig. I think some guys use sink tips, but a lot of people use amensia running line and do what is called chuck and duck. For an explanation of both, start here: http://www.fishbaldwin.com/StevesExplan … nation.cfm
For flies, you will be using mostly egg patterns, hex and caddis nymphs, and wooly buggers or egg sucking leeches, such as these: http://www.schmidtoutfitters.com/index. … ry_id=266. Make sure you get them on heavy wire hooks. Best bet is to order them from Glenn’s shop or even from Schmidt Outfitters. You won’t find many people who know Great Lakes salmon and steelhead better than Ray Schmidt.
I would not recommend a float tube, unless it is one that gets your rear end out of the water. The river rapidly changes from shallow to deep rapidly. Even then, the flow is pretty brisk and I would much rather have oars to get myself around. I would leave the float tube at home.
Jim (et. al)
I can do the 6th or 20th also…whatever…I would like to hear from the Ohio contingent. If one of those dates is better, go for it. I would like to see Joe and Brad.
They have good fish karma.
PB& J is always plan “B”. As long as you pack a lunch, you will usually catch fish, but never depend on the fish.
I have a 15’ canoe. Is it suitable for the Mighty M? Could take one with me (McSteff rides this time instead of spotting the truck). The 20th looks better for me, but will get back to you when I return from my 40 mile canoe trip this weekend on the Mighty “A” (Allegheny River, Oil City to Emlenton, PA)
Hey Mark, maybe we could stay with Jack? Huh, huh, huh?
Joe - I think the canoe should work. Can’t really see why not. Just bring an anchor. Will likely be hopping from hole to hole and then getting out to wade fish along the way. Big water… holes for everyone! 8)
Dog - Would love to have you join us! Welcome aboard!
All kidding aside I have a Weber Kettle Grill I can bring along if we want to BBQ stream side. Maybe even bring along some wood chips so we can smoke some salmon.
I don’t know any of you but I believe I can get free for the day and I have a drift boat.
I have not fished the mighty muskegun That Time of year only for trout in the spring so I might need some advise how to outfit my 8wt. I live in southeast Mich so if anyone would like to ride across with me let me know.
-Jeff
Birddog - we would love to have you join us! How many people can you take in the drift boat? Between all the boats we have, we may be able to take up to 8-10 people if the date works out! This could be EPIC! 8) See the websites earlier in the thread for a description of the setups, but an 8wt rigged for steelhead should work fine.
Tim - Not sure how good these salmon would taste, they start getting skunky in the river, but then, I have never really liked the taste of fish, so I will defer to others. But grilling
The 13th looks like it will be the only date that works for me. Heidi has to work the 6th and the 20th. Sorry. How many people can make that work?
I can take 3 besides myself or 2 if we want to flyfish out of the boat.
I sounds like it could be fun but we can’t forget about the most important part of the trip (Lunch).
I have plenty of room on my boat for a cooler and grill.
-Jeff
-also from what I undestand the salmon run is a little later on the Muskegon so we should be hitting it at a good time. also fro my experiance with kings on the P.M. an 8wt is as small as I would ever go. really a 10wt is the rod. I have seen alot of 8’s and some 9’s broke easily. (I listen to the creaking sound my rod makes to gage the pressure on the fish) big fish have their way with me.
