# Anybody ever fished for salmon with flys under a float ?



## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

Next week I am making my yearly trip to Alpena michigan to visit family , do some camping , and hopefully a little salmon fishing in the thunder bay river. My nephew is talking about using flies under a float at night since the river is so low. Has anybody ever done this and have any information on how its done ? How you rig up , etc. Pretty much just like jigs under a float for steelhead ?


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## mdogs444 (Aug 29, 2012)

Some people use this method (like a strike indicator) when fly fishing. Typically they use a tandem rig of eggs/nymphs. For example, a strike indicator, then a few feet of tippet, then an egg/spawn sac, then more tippet and a nymph (like a beadhead prince).

This is mostly for trout/steelhead when not using streamers. I don't know if its used for Salmon, but my first guess would be yes. They may even swap out the beadhead with a pheasant tail.


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## silverbullet (Apr 14, 2004)

Yes, exactly as mentioned. Last trip to mi salmon fishing thats all we did was float flies under indicators with our flyrods. Many legal hook ups and lots of fun. Less fouled due to not being on bottom.

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## Lundfish (Apr 7, 2010)

Let me know how that works for you. I'm heading up in a couple of weeks. I want to brush up on my tactics instead of using just spawn.


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## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

Its hard to go up there for a day or two and have any success since I havent caught any steelhead or salmon yet , the only thing I can do is try to mimic what I see being done. But if I have any success at it I will let you know. My nephew does ok there but he lives there and has plenty of practice with it. With my short trips up there I usually have to leave before I really figure things out , and every trip the situations at the river seem to be different. Apparently the rumor is that the salmon have so much mercury and stuff in them that they arent that safe to eat but if I happened to catch one you can bet Id keep it. I hope to hit the mouth of the river as well with some cleos and erie dearies , maybe between the two techniques I have a better shot at success. Thanks for the replies.


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## Lundfish (Apr 7, 2010)

Maybe the lake Huron salmon have mercury but superior and Michigan you can eat as much as you want. Good luck!


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## mdogs444 (Aug 29, 2012)

I'm not sure where the information about Lake Michigan salmon not being safe to eat came about. That's completely not true, especially in the UP. Lake Erie on the other hand, where I live, is a different story. I'll still eat one or two walleye a year, and I'll keep smaller steelhead for smoking. All big brutes go back in the lake here.


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## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

mdogs444 said:


> I'm not sure where the information about Lake Michigan salmon not being safe to eat came about. That's completely not true, especially in the UP. Lake Erie on the other hand, where I live, is a different story. I'll still eat one or two walleye a year, and I'll keep smaller steelhead for smoking. All big brutes go back in the lake here.




Lake Huron. The state "says" its safe to eat a certain amount per certain amount of time , salmon up a certain size. Im not looking at the advisory right now so I dont remember the specifics. But we are talking mercury which accumulates over the years in your body. Then they say there is something called cesium in them too. Not to mention PCB. I am not all that confident in what the state says is "safe" considering the nature of these toxins. But like I said I would probably keep one if I caught it. I didnt check to see how the advisory for the other lakes compares to Huron , though it wouldnt surprise me if they were similar.


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## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

I'm in Michigan now and fished all morning. Seeing salmon making their way up the rapids and jumping all over in front of the dam. Not having any luck tho with flies spawn or spoons. Seen one landed last night but by snaggers. I don't feel so bad since nobody is having much luck.


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## Lundfish (Apr 7, 2010)

Throw some fire tiger crank baits.


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## ChromeBone (Oct 3, 2011)

Jig with soft plastic pink trout worm can smash a lot of fish sometimes too, and you can catch all kinds of stuff with them.


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## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

Had multiple hits last night drifting flies along the bottom...4 hookups and landed one....was hoping to see some steelies as well but I was happy with all the salmon brought in by the rain was ok with me


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## Lundfish (Apr 7, 2010)

Were the salmon dark or still silver?


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## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

Lundfish said:


> Were the salmon dark or still silver?


Most I seen were dark like the one I landed but I noticed couple light colored fresh ones that made more interesting.


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## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

Only one salmon actually landed and he is in the freezer waiting to be smoked. He was hooked in the mouth so they are still grabbing things out of instinct. A fly with wings seemed to get attention better than spawn or cleos. The fly was on about a 3 foot leader tied to a swivel , with a 6 inch piece of line attatched to the swivel as well with just enough splitshot to tick along the bottom in the current. I wonder how that fly and setup would work for steelies ?


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## Lundfish (Apr 7, 2010)

That setup would work very well for steelies. Some guys use it in OH but I haven't seen many. It's very similar to the chuck n' duck method. The guides in MI use it for their clients that want to catch a steelhead on a fly rod. Increases catch rate by 80% or so. You can use it with spawn, yarn, or whatever. I prefer to use it on a spinning rod and I've only done it once. 

I see no need to do it with a fly rod. You're supposed to use amnesia or frog hair instead of flyline on a fly rod. Of course you could use a regular flyline but it's just not as efficient...they say. It takes away the entire concept of using a fly rod in the traditional method where the line weight and rod bend casts the fly. The C & D uses the weight of the shot to make casts. I'm sure if you're good at it and want to make long casts the rod bend and length would be a factor as well.


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## GasFish26 (Aug 15, 2012)

Can you chuck and duck with a spinning set up?


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## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

I was using a 12 foot noodle rod and spinning reel with 12 pound mono. Im not familiar with exactly what chuck and duck means , but sounds like just a way to get a line in the water quick without having to work it the way a fly rod is typically used. Seems like a pretty effective way to fish wet flies so Im gonna keep that in mind the next time I am steelhead fishing.


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## Lundfish (Apr 7, 2010)

GasFish26 said:


> Can you chuck and duck with a spinning set up?
> 
> 
> Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


Yes. It's just a fancy term for bottom bouncing.


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