When people think of Lake Michigan Salmon and Trout fishing, they invariably think of dypsy divers, downriggers, planer boards, spoons and flies. However, in the Spring and Fall you can ambush these notorious fighters with light spinning gear in harbors and river mouths all over the big lake.
If you have never had the pleasure of fighting a fresh Spring Rainbow putting on an airshow or a Fall King ripping line off your spinning reel spool, let me be the first to tell you are missing out! Rainbow, Coho and Brown Trout can be caught on fairly light spinning equipment in the Spring in most harbors around the lake. And in the Fall, those same harbors and river mouths provide some incredible Chinook fishing. What makes those times of the year so special is the light tackle you can catch these incredible fish on. The Wild Wild series of rods from Carrot Stix offer the ideal spinning rod configurations for chasing that trophy Steelhead or King. Matched with a 2500 sized spinning reel with a trustful drag and either fluorocarbon or braided line, you have one lethal setup. The combination of strength and light-weight the Carrot Stix Wild Wild Series packs makes these rods the ideal setup for this type of fishing. These rods give you the ability to throw ultralight, sized 4-6 Flicker Shad or Smash Shad crankbaits a country mile while maintaining the ability to feel your bait on the retrieve and the backbone to handle these strong fish. My ideal setup is the Wild Wild Green 7’6” Medium Action, Mod Fast Tip Spinning Rod. This rod gives me the leverage and backbone to handle these fish, cast long distances while still being able to feel my bait on the retrieve.
This coming fall, when you are starting to dust off your trail cameras and rig decoys, don’t overlook the incredible opportunity you have right under your nose to catch some of North America’s most exciting game fish on light spinning tackle. Take a look at the Wild Wild series of rods, they offer the ideal qualities for this technique and you’ll look damn good doing it too! Tight lines.