Muskegon Lake Salmon Jigging 8/25 - 8/27
It’s that time of year! This was the first flip of the “run”. I couldn’t time it right because Muskegon Lake was off limits for me Monday because of a bass tournament. So I missed out on the best day but I conveniently had some night research planned for Lake Michigan Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. This meant that if I could suffer through no sleep, I was going to get to fish. Full disclaimer these weren’t full on trips. I had late starts on all of them. Kids first day of school, dentist appointment, school drop off. So I missed the early bite every time which I’m sure was critical especially on Tuesday 8/25.
My hopes were really to find some big schools held up at the sand docks area and that never happened. I really thought by Thursday that would be the deal. Tuesday seemed like it would be my best shot and I just struggled. There were a few fish caught but none by me. I think I had 5 bites and never connected on any of them. I was mixing it up floating skein and jigging but jigging was most productive. I also spent a lot of time exploring way out in Lake Michigan which was fun but turned out to be unproductive for me.
Wednesday definitely had more fish and more action for me. If I could have gotten the bass fisherman out of me for the day, I would have done good on skein. But I couldn’t discipline myself into just reeling on those fish except for the one coho I landed on it. I had 4 or 5 good bobber drops but I’m still learning that game. I really like to do it without a bobber at times but the current was just ridiculous on this day. The big thing on this day is there was still cold water around. MEGA Live 2 clearly showed 2 different water types. It was crazy in that if you set your bobber in the higher warm water the current would go one way but if you set your bobber deep in the cold water that current was moving in the total opposite direction. I did get a couple jigging fish too both coming on a UV wonderbread/red head 2 ounce P-Line Laser Minnow. That spoon is really good and is in the rotation with Chartruese UV, Pink Tiger, and the most consistent of all time Green Tiger. I did score some hens on this day so I’ve got a good start on eggs for the season! I got a couple more jig bites that didn’t hook up and should have gotten out of there with my 5 no problem. I would have loved to be around in the morning for the early bite. I also gotta say I am loving a “fish bag” vs a traditional cooler in my bass boat. It is saving a ton of space for me and overall easier to manage. We’ll see how it holds up over time.
Thursday was a bust and I didn’t stay long. It was just empty and I’m not sure if they headed for the river or went back out. I’ll probably take a break for a bit and will get back out next week. Until then here are a few things to think about that I’ve seen already this year and if you are coming for salmon fever you should be aware of. Let’s have a safe and drama free season in Muskegon.
Parking - Everyone wants to fish this time of year and the boat ramps are going to be busy. Turn those headlights off so people can see while they back down the ramp. If you’ve got a single car, don’t take up a trailer spot. It takes little effort to park in a car spot or meet somewhere near the ramp. I saw an epically bad parking job the other day. Truck and no trailer taking up 2 trailer spots with car spots all around. Don’t be that guy and hopefully he got his ticket for parking in the trailer spots, they don’t mess around with that in Muskegon.
Lake Express - I was impressed with everyone’s behavior with the Lake Express this week. If you care at all about continuing to fish the channel area you will get out of the way. They come twice a day, in at 9:30 out at 10:30ish and the same thing around 3:30 -4:30. It can be easy to get distracted any not know it’s coming but if you don’t notice the boats all moving out of the way, maybe you should keep it on the trailer. Also as someone who works on big boats a lot, it is very helpful if you show that captain your intentions to move early and not as he is bearing down on you. Give other boats that are restricted in their ability to maneuver in the channel the same courtesy. Aquastar Princess, Grand Valley’s Boat, barge/freighter traffic, and the Laurentian. Once they go through get right back in there and get some!
Bobbers and Anchors - I’ve notice some guys pulling in the middle of the pack and trying to get their bobbers 25 feet away. If you want to get your bobbers far away, right in the middle of the pack is probably not the place. Same thing if you are going to come in and chuck an anchor. Plenty of places on the edge or on your own to try that. Besides it’s embarrassing to “hook up” with your own anchor line while everyone is watching.
Boat Operation - Usually the worst I see is some big boats angry that people are at the channel mouth. They’ll set down right next to some tiny jon boat and throw a huge wake at them. Remember you are responsible for your wake. Today I had a good sized salmon boat run 25 feet from me at full speed while I was out at the Sand Docks and then split 2 other boats almost as close. It was legit some of the dumbest driving I’ve seen in awhile. Despite all open water and a clear path to the north of everyone. Boats have steering wheels, please use them, and navigate according to traffic. When it’s busy you can’t always just drive a straight line between point A and point B.