# Skamania Summer Steelhead Opportunities



## KDarwin (Jun 10, 2010)

I noticed some fellow steelheaders in Ohio dont have the opportunities to find summer steelhead due to secretive crap taking place on various websites. I'd figure to inform those that wanted to get a summer steelhead fix about the various opportunities to those looking for these great fighters on hook n line.

Pier opportunities include South Haven, Michigan(your best pier opportunity); St. Joseph, Michigan; and Holland, Michigan. These piers can be easily accessed thru beach/city parks located at either the north or south piers of each port. Generally the summer steelhead start schooling around these piers about the same time as Father's Day Weekend and in most years go on fishing well until the end of july. Fishing techniques are quite simple. Shrimp about 4-6 foot under a fixed bobber will generally catch you all the summer steelhead you want. Some guys like hardware and basically anything that is neon orange will get bit by these aggressive/oversized steelhead. As such these steelhead bite best in low light conditions so getting out there early is a must. Generally its a huge plus to get there and set up about 20 minutes before the sun comes over the horizon in the morning for the best bite of the day. 

If anyone has any questions please let me know and I'll accomodate you the best I can. We have some great fisheries around the great lakes and I feel some people get a little greedy when it comes to information. 

Thanks,

Karl


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## blackcorrado (Jul 15, 2009)

great post


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## Streamhawk (Apr 25, 2008)

KDarwin said:


> I noticed some fellow steelheaders in Ohio dont have the opportunities to find summer steelhead due to secretive crap taking place on various websites. I'd figure to inform those that wanted to get a summer steelhead fix about the various opportunities to those looking for these great fighters on hook n line.
> 
> Pier opportunities include South Haven, Michigan(your best pier opportunity); St. Joseph, Michigan; and Holland, Michigan. These piers can be easily accessed thru beach/city parks located at either the north or south piers of each port. Generally the summer steelhead start schooling around these piers about the same time as Father's Day Weekend and in most years go on fishing well until the end of july. Fishing techniques are quite simple. Shrimp about 4-6 foot under a fixed bobber will generally catch you all the summer steelhead you want. Some guys like hardware and basically anything that is neon orange will get bit by these aggressive/oversized steelhead. As such these steelhead bite best in low light conditions so getting out there early is a must. Generally its a huge plus to get there and set up about 20 minutes before the sun comes over the horizon in the morning for the best bite of the day.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the info. I have some time off coming up and this might sound like a good road trip. Are the setups the same as if you were jig fising with a bobber? 8 lbs mono with a fluro leader? Or would you use a heavier main line and fluro leader. Thanks again for the info.


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## Flathead76 (May 2, 2010)

Most of those guys fish hardware. Spinners and spoons


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## KDarwin (Jun 10, 2010)

Streamhawk said:


> Thanks for the info. I have some time off coming up and this might sound like a good road trip. Are the setups the same as if you were jig fising with a bobber? 8 lbs mono with a fluro leader? Or would you use a heavier main line and fluro leader. Thanks again for the info.


Sorry Streamhawk South Haven has been pretty good lately and I haven't had time to get online. Basically as far as mainline goes I run 10-12lb test with either 8-10lb leader. Flourocarbon leader will help but I still run good old mono with no issues. Hooks aren't really that important as far as what size. I usually just go with a 1/0 octopus hook threaded through the shrimp and get quick limits of skamania. As far as the shrimp goes cooked cocktail shrimp that is for sale at every grocery store in america. Size doesn't really matter I just go with what is the cheapest per 1lb. bag. They are located in the freezer section and about 5-8 bucks for a 1lb. bag is the norm. 

Now for the rig: A bobber set 4-6 feet deep, a small amount of wieght and a 1/0 hook with your shrimp threaded through. A fairly easy setup to get into some pretty good fishing. Any other questions just let me know!


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## Steel Cranium (Aug 22, 2005)

Are these fish releasable at this time or does the fight normally do them in? I may be in the area next month and have a MI license. Would like to try a few mornings of C&R fishing - not interested in keeping fish for the trip home. In Ohio, the steelies often don't make it past the fight late in the season and probably should be kept since they don't recover well in the warmer water. I wouldn't give them a try if I can't successfully revive the fish.


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## KDarwin (Jun 10, 2010)

As a general rule I would say to keep an ever watchful eye on the water temps around the pier. Generally I dont release the fish if the water temp is above 62 degrees because the fish's lactic acid will build too much for the fish to survive being released after a fight. Most of the time a good north and or east wind sustained for a couple days will push any warm water in Lake Michigan away from shore and cold fertile water will rise from the depths of the lake. When this occurs water temps. from the high 40's to the high 50's will be around the piers. This is more commonly known as an Upwelling. This also brings in alewives from the depths too, a major food source for salmon and steelhead. If alot of bait(alewives) is around it is another option to use for catching skamania steelhead. All you would need is a sabiki rig and a 1/4 to 1/2 oz wieght tied to the end of your sabiki rig to jig up alewives. I will provide a link at the end of this post to what a sabiki rig is. I almost always use size 8s or size 10s sabiki rigs in the red color. 

P.S. If a guy with bad teeth and large gums asks you for alewives out there the answer is no. (just an inside joke)


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## KDarwin (Jun 10, 2010)

Sorry I had to get more posts before I could provide this link:

http://www.anglersupply.com/product...cturer=Daiichi&CFID=18279172&CFTOKEN=42151963


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