Salmon fishing
 

Hi all, I’ve got 3 young boys, 2, 9 and 11.. the older 2 like to fish but they are sometimes telling me they are bored! This usually occurs when I’m trying to fish for salmon! So far this year we have been catching LOTS of 2.5 lb smallmouth. But they want something different. I have an 18’ center console with downriggers. I’ve been on the lake for 5 years and caught only 1 salmon using an acme kastmaster. I’ve watched you tube videos, read countless articles on how to catch these fish but I cannot seem to find them! I know it’s a big secret and nobody wants to give away their secret spots but I’m hoping someone can point me in the right direction as to where these fish are. I’m usually trolling a KVD crank bait, mepps aglia long, or just dropping down a mooselook spoon or kastmaster. I understand the depths these fish live at when at certain temps ect… Hoping someone can help me out here. Thanks in advance!

I have two thoughts here as a father of two boys who are now men.

First, if you are catching plenty of good size smallmouth bass keep fishing for them. They are a lot more fun to catch.

Second, if you still want to fish for salmon, hire a guide and learn as much as you can during the trip. What you will likely find is that you will troll a couple lines out the back of the boat on down riggers and catch a few fish each night. What that essentially means is that you take turns catching them. If you think they are bored fishing for bass then this will take it to the next level.

Just my personal experience. Good luck either way. It’s still fun regardless of the kids being bored.

Go to the tackle shack or Berry's Bait.

Buy 2 leadcore rod/reel combos that are set up and ready to fish. Right now the fish are probably down about 6 colors or so. A month from now they will be down around 8 colors or more.

Buy some trolling spoons such as a DB Smelt or a Top Gun.

Figure out how to make your boat troll between 1.8 and 2.2 miles per hour.

Troll around the islands in 40 - 80 feet of water along steep drop offs early in the morning or around sunset. Do S-turns from shallower to deeper water and vice versa along the drop offs.

Do some research on fishlakewinni.com

Read Smile of the Great Spirit book by Doc Lyon.

Possibly book a trip with one of the salmon fishing guides on Lake Winni.

Put all of this together and you will be catching salmon in no time. They are a blast to catch and there is a reason why guys fish for them.

THANK YOU BURGERUNH! So this AM I went out with my lead core line with a spoon and trolled at 2mph around the islands along the drop offs doing s turns and within minutes I caught a salmon. I was fishing for a total of an hour and 20 minutes. Caught 3 salmon and a 19” trout and had 2 on the line that never ended up on the boat. Thanks for the advice!

:D
Welcome to your new addiction! LOL

while my boys are now fully grown...back in the day one of the biggest challenges was addressing boredom. No matter how well you fish or how good the fishing is...its almost impossible to consistently put each boy on fishing. 2-3 fish an hour is a good rate but with 4 fisherman...thats over an hour between fish at the best of times. Since trolling is not an active activity like casting...its even tougher no kids. Solutions:

Rotate rather than assign rods. This way everyone gets a turn and nobody goes home with no fish caught where someone else caught 4.

Watch for boredom signs and be ready to pickup. Forcing kids to stay out makes them less likely to want to go again. Doesn't mean go home. Maybe grab an ice cream or pizza. Go for a swim. Go cast for some smallmouth.

Bring games. Games that fit well on a boat with some wind (cards don't do well) like Yahtzee or boggle etc.

Be 100% ready to drop lines BEFORE you leave the dock. Futzing with tackle for 1/2 hour before you are fully deploys starts things on a wrong foot.

Assign "duties" to each boy so they get involved.

Have the boy "on deck" choose one rod for which he can go through your tackle box and have you put on any bait. If he chooses a rubber frog...throw it out there! That rod likely won't catch any fish but it involves them in decisions...who knows maybe you catch a salmon on a rubber frog!

If you can't beat the boredom...go home before things get more intense.

Of course increasing your catch rate is awesome but it will be rare that your catch rate exceeds boredom rates for young boys. Do your best to increase catch by buying from and talking to local shots mentioned above and maybe even chartering a guide. Join facebook groups related to salmon fishing on Winni. Talk to other fisherman...many times you get luke warm responses to message board broadcasts for "put me on fish" but if you see someone report success on a board...direct message them with your situation and ask for help and promise discretion in sharing spots and methods. The FishLakeWinni.com website has grown very inactive but there are searchable archives in the message boards for over a decade that talk specifically to how to target Winni salmon.

Bottom line:
-Address Boredom
-Do everything you can to increase catch rate BEFORE leaving the dock

Fish populations are wayyyy down
 

Hi;

I have been fishing, snorkeling, and scuba diving the lake for over 60 years. I just want you and everyone else to know that the fishing will never be as used to be. The crayfish that used to be the Smallmouth's prime feed, are now gone. Killed off over the past few years by pollution. I used to average 2-3 fish per hour. Now it's 1 fish per 2 hours or worse, and they are much smaller than in past years. I used to average 4-5 Salmon per 4 hours, in the early am, and late pm. Now I average 1 or less per day. I have had a 28 fish Salmon day with a buddy, keeping none, about 5-6 years ago. I believe pollution has decimated the 2-3-4 year classes, and the newly stocked fish have died off, shortly after stocking for the last two years due to improper stocking and hatchery feeding techniques. The word is not good, and I am broken-hearted over these events. The illegal ,introduction of the "ROCKBASS" has not helped. Also, I have noticed a higher incidence of "SWIRLING DISEASE" ( a drastic bend in the tail) of the Lake trout. We all need to get on the case of the Fish and Game dept and our politicians. Sorry for the doom and gloom, but it is a fact. Even the Professional guides are having a tough time putting fish in the boat, and I talk to them on a weekly basis. I even went on a "Charter with MR Dustin Parent with the "SALMON PATROL CHARTERS" last year with 5 guys, and we were blanked. He offered to do the charter for free, but we paid him , anyway. Winni Bob

First Theory...
 

But our manicured lakefronts are free of exotic milfoil. :rolleye2:

How were the rock bass "illegally" introduced to the lake?

I had assumed it was through natural introduction via waterfowl or high water.

For years (probably 65+ including my dad), we tossed a bait trap in our boathouse opening, baited with fish heads, bones, the occasional gutted sunny. Within hours, that trap would have 10-12 or more crayfish inside, and we'd use them as bait when fishing from the dock. Fast forward to circa 2012, the numbers had dwindled significantly. As kids, we'd snorkel and catch them under the rocks all around the dock and in the shallows. No more.

And agreed re: overall population...been scuba diving the lake for years and have noticed a decline in the overall population -- unless you're talking rock bass, in which case the numbers are exploding. Still, I've had some decent luck (not great, like circa '70s-'90s) kayak fishing with lures. But definitely hit or miss. Sad.

Yes, but Milfoil is only a small problem. There is a much bigger problem with the Slimy growth that is covering all the weeds and rocks on the bottom. It feels like mucous when you walk or touch it.

WINNI BOB

Lawn Products also Suspect...
 

I've got two theories going:

1) "Ice-Eaters" have opened areas free of ice. Predators such as mink can feast on sluggish crayfish during the long period of "Ice-In". These are the adult crayfish that were expected to spawn next season's crop of baby crayfish.

2) Our lake's surface waters have been variously described as "turbulent". Winter Harbor, for example, is fully-ringed with ideal rocky habitat for crayfish, but recreational use of oversized boats shake and flush those crayfish' hideouts relentlessly. The one crayfish I saw in late September allowed himself to be caught easily as he crawled drunkenly near shore. Wave action was only moderate at the time.

The only life among our rocky shorelines are the invertebrates who can physically cling to rocks.

Although crayfish can snack on plantlife, their mainstay diet is dead fish. Incessant wave action propel dead fish out of reach and towards other predators--including mammals and birds.

Winter Harbor's crayfish traps were beaten into obsolescence by ~1985.