Salmon On The Fly

A Nearby Fishing Destination For Bruisers

By Chris DePaola

Fall is my favorite time of year. The brilliant colors and cooler temperatures are refreshing after the heat of the summer.

As the month of September approaches my focus turns to salmon fishing. You don’t have to travel to some far off place like Alaska. We have some fine salmon fishing in the great lakes region.

The heavy rains in early September cause the king salmon to begin their annual fall run. Both New York and Michigan have outstanding salmon runs each fall that last into November.

The past few years my fishing buddies and I have taken a fall trip to the beautiful state of Michigan. We focus on the streams on the western side of the state. Rivers such as the Manistee, Muskegon, Pere Marquette and several others have outstanding runs.

This fall, Michigan experienced one of the most notable salmon runs in recent history. Because of the cooler and wetter then average summer, river levels were up, allowing the fish to enter the stream unobstructed. By mid-September the rivers were full of fish.

A year ago all you needed were some “Spring Wigglers” and a few Black “Woolly Buggers” to catch fish. This year was different. We tried every fly we had with little success.

I then tied on a small #10 Green Cadis. My first cast resulted in a bone-jarring strike. As we fished our way downstream we continued to have success using that small green cadis.

We finished our first day catching five salmon, the largest just over 18 pounds. I looked in my fly box and realized I needed to tie several more flies for the next day. So we stopped at the local fly shop and bought all the materials needed to tie a few dozen green cadis.

After dinner we had a mini fly-tying competition to see how many flies we could tie that evening. I could hardly sleep that night because I knew the fishing would be good.

The next day conditions changed due to heavy rains all night. In Michigan because of their sandy soil most of that heavy rain was absorbed into the ground. I was relived to see the stream in reasonably good condition.

We fished most of morning in one particular area. The fish were plentiful and cooperative. That morning one of my fishing buddies,Roger Carfangia, caught and released his largest salmon, a fish close to 20 pounds.

That fish battled him for a good half-hour. We finished day two with nine salmon. You guessed it; all were taken on the small green cadis. We repeated the same process as the night before. After dinner we tied flies until the wee hours of the morning, hoping we had enough cadis to cover our needs.

Day three started fast. My other buddy John Rivera, and I caught and released two more salmon in the 20-pound range, both taken on the cadis pattern.

We caught several fish until the traffic on the river started to increase. Because it was Saturday, the weekend warriors were out in force. It was canoe after canoe for a good part of the morning.

As lunchtime approached the traffic slowed and the fishing picked up again. An outstanding trip and one of our best.

We fished the “Fly Fishing, Catch and Release” zone on the Pere Marquette. We used eight-weight fly rods and large arbor reels to handle these bruisers.

This year we will be using nine-weight rods for additional backbone. Make sure you have a good pair of waders and plenty of flies. It seems their preference for flies change each season, so make sure you bring your vise and tying materials.

A phone call to a local fly shop might be in order. Books & Hooks in Girard. Scott and Bud have everything you need for a successful trip. For more information contact them at 330-545-1906.