By: Mark Romanack
When salmon mature and enter spawning streams feeding is not their primary motivation. It often takes lures with an aggressive action to trigger strikes from fish that are more focused on spawning than eating.
Here in the Great Lakes region, most of the year salmon are that mysterious fish that can only be caught in deep water or far from shore. All the species of salmon found in the Great Lakes are pelagic fish that spend the majority of their lives living in open water where they chase forage species such as alewives, smelt and ciscoes.
For a few weeks every summer, salmon start staging near the rivers where they were hatched or in the case of hatchery fish, near the places they were released as smolts. This annual event means that when salmon come home to roost, they are vulnerable to fishermen of all means and experience levels. It’s a special time of year when anglers who are forced to fish from shore or small boats finally get their crack at the most prized game fish of the Great Lakes.
CASTING PLUGS
While there are countless ways to trigger a salmon into striking, wobbling plugs of various designs rank high among avid anglers who wait all year long to feel the smashing strike of a salmon in shallow water. Anglers that fish the pier heads and spawning rivers favor a diving minnow style bait known as the Storm Deep Jr. ThunderStick. This wobbling bait can be casted long distances and dives when retrieved.
Believe me, when an adult chinook salmon smashes a Deep Jr. ThunderStick, it’s an event an angler will remember for the rest of his or her life. Exciting doesn’t even begin to explain the rush that comes from catching mature salmon with casting tackle.
TROLLING J-PLUGS
Those anglers who have access to a boat can get in on the salmon action by trolling near pier heads where salmon concentrate before pushing upstream to spawn. The age old Luhr Jensen J-Plug is the lure many anglers put their faith in when trolling. The erratic action of the J-Plug does a magnificent job of triggering strikes from fish that are more intent on spawning than feeding.
Another similar lure to the J-Plug is the Ace High produced by Silverhorde Company. While the J-Plug and Ace High look similar, these baits produce different actions. At times the J-Plug is best and at other the Ace High is the lure of choice. In short, every troller needs a selection of both of these excellent salmon trolling plugs.
When mature salmon stage near natal spawning streams, they become prime targets for anglers trolling with wobbling plugs. This big chinook smashed a Mag Lip 3.5 a bait produced by Yakima Bait Company especially with trout and salmon in mind.
TROLLING MAG LIP
In recent years another wobbling plug from the west coast has made a name for itself as a salmon slayer. The Yakima Bait Mag Lip is a wide wobbling plug that features a lot of flash, vibration and a loud rattle designed to elicit savage strikes from salmon. The Mag Lip 3.5 is the most popular size and this bait also features a special feature known as a “skip-beat” action.
When trolling the Mag Lip the bait will wobble aggressively, then suddenly dart to one side or the other creating an unpredictable action that works wonders in generating salmon strikes.
SUMMING IT UP
Salmon can be caught in other ways, but when they come home to roost, it’s hard to beat wobbling plugs. Casted or trolled, these baits have helped countless anglers come home successful.
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