Salmon fishing on the great lakes is, according to Captain Steve, not like it was in the glory days, but it is still pretty darn good! We went out of Manistee Friday morning, August 11 and had a quality day on the water. (Manistee Map 2 ) Actually, it was just a very short piece of the day, starting at around 5:30 am and ending about 8:30 with all the salmon that we wanted to filet.
Steve called me up Thursday and said that he had been doing very well, catching limits of Kings the last couple of times out. He said he had been frying it up, smoking it, and canning it. He said it's very easy to can and tastes very good. Just chunk it up and add a little lemon juice and ketchup. The ketchup keeps it looking pink otherwise during the process it bleaches it out loosing it's natural pink color. Grilling it is an excellent way to prepare it and a favorite of many. Lots of ways to do it , but Steve does his in a foil boat and puts pads of butter and lemon juice down then the filet. He then tops it with some garlic, Lawrys, fresh onions, green or red peppers and he tops it off with either Ranch or Italian dressing. I tried it with the Ranch and it was excellent. I don't care for a strong fish and I guess I always remember my mom's salmon patties, and was a bit skeptical. When we were out on the lake Steve brought some of what he had fried the night before and a few pieces of some he had smoked and it was excellent. No strong fishy taste at all.
When Steve had called I was in town and not at the cabin so I had to set the alarm for about twenty to three in order to get up to the Wesco in Manistee by 5:15. I made good time and got there about 5:05 am. We loaded the cooler with ice and headed over to the launch. The launch we used was the Manistee Municipal Launch on the south side of the channel at the pier head. There are at least 3 other ramps on Manistee Lake that you could also use. At the Municipal Ramp they have a huge parking lot and a ramp that will handle at least 10 boats at a time. They also have a very nice cleaning station that accommodates about 6-8 fileters at a time. We cleaned our fish there with Steve showing me the ropes with the knife. You need to be sure to bring your filet knives and some big ziplocks. If you have one, a rubberized apron, is the ticket. Helps keep you blood and guts free especially when you have someone like me spraying off fillets with the hose they provide at each station.
We waited to put Steve's boat in. He told me that on the weekend they would be lined up to use the ramp almost back to US31. He has an aluminum deep v that's about 17-18 ft. long that he uses for bass and it also doubles as his salmon and brouwn trout rig. He has two down riggers that we used to set two of the rods and then used dipsy divers on the other two rods. We readied some poles with spoons and flies in line with some flashers with glow tape. We headed out between the piers and set our sites on a hole in the lights out on the shelf. About two and a half miles out the lake drops from its fifty, sixty feet depths to hundred plus feet. The boats, probably around a hundred, were lined up on the shelf as far as you could see in the early morning darkness. We simply headed for an opening in the lights and Steve set the four rods. If you don't have a friend like Steve to guide you around you may want to do some reading on pages like the Lake Michigan Angler.
After setting the final rod, Steve took over the helm and barely had time to set down when rod number one, then two , then three and then the fourth rod went! We had hooked up on all four rods and with me looking at Steve for instruction we went about the work, and I mean work of getting the fish in without tangling all our lines. The rod that I ended up with had felt like I had hooked a marlin instead of a salmon. I couldn't gain an inch of line. I kept lowering the rod tip and pumping as I reeled, but I was getting no where. Steve said I had probably foul hooked the fish and he was right. After at least a 20-30 minute battle we finally netted the 15 pounder. We got three of the four fish. We had the fourth to the boat but it broke off right at the net. What a work out! We were both sweating like race horses. We both were also suffering from tennis elbow and reeling in those big kings was fun, but painful.
Steve reset two rods and said that he wasn't going to set the other two until we had a chance to cool off. It was just starting to get a bit gray as the sun tried to crack the horizon as we caught our breath. We were fishing about 65 feet down in 110 feet of water. Trolling at about 2.1 mph. As we cooled down and snacked on fried and smoked salmon one of the two rods went. I wanted to get some video so Steve grabbed the rod and fought the fish and netted it himself so I could get it on film. About three quarters of the way through the battle, the second rod went.. Man what action!! I decided to keep filming so Steve battled his King and manipulated the other rod from one side of the boat to the other until he brought his fish to net. He netted it himself, earlier when we had the four fish on I tried netting my own fish and I want to tell you it's not as easy as it looks. Steve ended up netting it for me. Steve's years of experience on the big lake, however, made it rather routine for him to manage both fish so I could capture the action. We got both fish in and boxed them. Steve had just got his limit the night before and wasn't ready for more fish yet and so even though we trolled a little longer to pick up our limit we decided to quit with five and headed for the dock.
We loaded the boat on the trailer and headed over to the cleaning station. It has square table like cleaning decks. There are boards for you to filet on and then the interior of the table is sloped so that the water and blood flow to the center drain. It works well with one person doing the filet work while the other uses the hose to spray off and bag the filets. The 5 fish provided enough filets to jam pack three large ziplocks. We chunked some and left several as whole filets. It's pretty convenient to have that cleaning station available and in short order we were headed home.
Fresh salmon, like anything else, is always the best tasting. After sharing our catch, I ended up with what seemed like more than half and couldn't eat it all fresh even with help. So, I got out the Food Saver and vacuum sealed the remainder. My son talked me in to buying a Food Saver and it has been one of the best and smartest purchases I have made. It is very handy, and easy to use. It really preserves your catch for later use and totally prevents the drying that can occur when you freeze things. I use to freeze my fish in water, but this has it all over that. Had some just the other day that we vacuumed sealed, and it was as close to fresh as you are going to get. Made the aluminum foil boat and put on the seasoning etc. and cooked it for 20 minutes on the grill with the lid closed (Some wrap it up and then flip the foil pack 10 minutes per side.) and it was perfect. I'm salivating as I write this thinking about it. Gonna have to get another batch out. I think I'll fry it up with a little Drakes this time.
What a fabulous time on the water! I would like to thank my good buddy Steve for another great guided trip! Steve is a consummate outdoorsman who hunts, fishes, raises labs and takes all his vacation during deer season. If only he could win at poker :) A great guy and when he calls and invites me fishing, hunting or playing cards I'm on my way. I'll be fishing against him in our two day Tear Drop Bass Classic on Grand Traverse Bay coming up in September. Looking forward to it. If we camp up at the state park for the tournament, we'll have some salmon on the grill!!
