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~
Pere Marquette River & Manistee River Salmon ~
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Casting Thundersticks for Salmon on the Pere Marquette
River, Muskegon River,
& Big Manistee Rivers during late August and September
~
No
doubt our favorite guided trip of the year, Casting
Thundersticks offers heart pounding action. Chinook
Salmon ascend the Big Manistee River, Muskegon River,
and Pere Marquette River in late August and September.
Nearly forty thousand King Salmon enter the Pere Marquette
annually creating one of the largest runs in the Great
Lakes. Float fishing with bobbers and skein is another
very effective method for salmon fishing. Bone crushing
hits and a hard fight make salmon great sport for
anglers. Guided Trips are available on both the the
Pere Marquette River, Manistee River, and Muskegon
River during the fall months. September and October
being the prime-time for these brutes! Joins us for
casting thundersticks on the lower Pere Marquette
or Manistee River starting August 15th through October
25th. Fall Steelhead during November on the Muskegon
River.
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chinook is a fairly new variety of salmon
introduced into the Great Lakes in 1968. Sometimes
called "King Salmon", In 1969, Great
Lakes states Michigan, New York and Wisconsin,
with the help of the province of Ontario reintroduced
the Chinook. Great Lakes populations of Chinook
are maintained by annual stream stocking programs.
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Chinook live
in Great Lakes shoals or near-shoal
waters - less than 100 foot depth
- as a rule. In the fall they move
into the southern reaches of each
of the great lakes., traveling 5-15
miles offshore as they go. In the
spring they retrace their route and
by the following fall, they congregate
at the stream they began their journey
at and begin their spawning runs upriver.
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Chinook
spawn in streams over beds of large
gravel, near riffles. Within two weeks
after spawning, adult chinook die. Chinook
compete with other salmon and trout
for scarce spawning grounds. The following
spring the eggs hatch, and the young
usually remain in the river for one
year before they migrate down to the
lake.
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Once in the
lake, males tend to remain for 1-2
years and females for 3-4 years. The
King Salmon average a weight of 30
to 40 pounds and 38 inches in length.
Young chinook
in rivers eat insects, insect larvae
and crustaceans; adults in the lakes
eat fish almost exclusively. In the
Great Lakes, smelt and alewives make
up their main diet.
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