S eptember on the Big Manistee is all about the king salmon. The kings start showing up in mid-August and numbers grow through September, with some of the best fishing being the 2nd and 3rd week of September before they start spawning. We target these fish throughout the whole 32-mile system from Tippy Dam to Manistee Lake. Dark, deep woody runs and holes are what we look for while fishing kings and cover is critical. Although they can be caught in all types of water on cloudy or rainy days or while they are on the move. These are various techniques used to catch kings: streamer fishing with fly gear, back trolling plugs, casting crank baits, back bouncing skein, and back drifting skein under a float. My favorite two ways are casting crankbaits starting before daylight and usually doing that for our first few hours in the mornings before changing gears and floating skein under a bobber. Both techniques are very productive but the crank bait bite is very cool and most of the time visual. To see
Fishing sticks is best in the low light times of the day or on gray, rainy days. Fishing bobbers and skein can be productive from the time you can see your float in the morning and all throughout the day. The main difference being that they are getting a meal presented right in front of their face, and they don’t have to chase it down to eat it. If you haven’t tried salmon fishing in the river systems that Michigan has to offer, you are missing out on a good time. We start running our salmon trips around the third week of August and fish for kings through the last week of September when the steelhead start to show up. Come on up and see what it’s all about. Tight Lines & High Fives!