| Written By - By Capt. Jim Hirt - 05/24/2007 | |
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Link to Original Article here |
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In
previous articles we covered general overview and the
specifics of temperature breaks and their location. Now continuing with spring presentation and location.
This time of year you won\\\'t find water that is too warm
for Browns. I like small spoons with silver, green or
white blades with green, orange or blue accent stripes.
Work the top 25 feet of water. I set up 90% of my lines
on planer boards working the top fifteen feet of water.
The remaining 10% of my lines are on diving planers or
downriggers for deeper fish.
If your season starts early as we do at Blue Max
Charters, you will be on Lake Michigan when the surface
temperatures are below the preferred temp of your target
species.
I will cover late May and early June in this article.
This time period provides great action on Brown trout,
Chinooks, Coho and Rainbows. Browns, at this time of the
year, will come on similar presentations, lures and
locations as I described in the last articles. Look for
temp breaks with baitfish and the warmest water.
On all my rods in spring, I run a 20-25 pound test
monofilament with a 12-pound leader. You need to go with
a light leader to produce good action in clear water
near the surface. Run the heavier test to a bead chain
sinker or barrel swivel then an 8-foot leader with a
cross lock snap.
I don\'t go nuts with Micro Filament or Super Braid lines
because I think they are over kill for this application
and add to expenses. Starting out this way I will have
the rods loaded with the correct line for most
presentations throughout the season.
I set my boat speed at 1 to 2 mph. Slow presentation is
key in spring. The lures you run are all about the
amount of light, baitfish size and the size of fish you
are looking to catch. Mix it up! When one lure produces
I would double up on that lure.
For Coho I prefer 6 inch orange flashers and a variety
of different colored flies instead of spoons. Adjust the
length of the leader from the flasher to the fly to get
the best results. The general rule is one and one half
times the length of the flasher.
My experience is the colder the water the longer the
leader. Longer leaders slow down the action. There are
times when I run up to three times the flasher length.
Most Rainbows will hit the flasher flies.
When only looking for Rainbows, substitute bright color
spoons for flasher flies. The Chinooks should also take
spoons.
Jim charters out of Milwaukee, WI. with Blue Max
Charters. He can be reached at 414-828-1094 or visit his
web site at
http://www.bluemaxcharters.com Copyright©
2006, James J. Hirt, All Rights Reserved.
