Kewaunee "Hot Bites"

[can it be luck?]

Fishing in the Kewaunee/Algoma/Sheboygan area has been heating up as of late. I've heard many good reports recently from other fisherman. Besides thier reports, I was able to get out today for my first outing on the big lake this summer.
The usual morning flurry was experienced in my boat, and judging by the amount of nets I seen in the air, by others as well. At 4am I set lines starting in 90 fow and eventually moved out to 190 fow. We caught a fish at 160 and 180' as well as a few missed opportunities. After searching different depths for a while I found most fish in 100-120 fow, 115' was most productive. Dipsys, dodgers, flashers, flys, and spoons all took fish. Nothing caught on spoons and cranks off boards. Water temps were 46-48 degrees. A couple kings, 3 steelhead, and 2 lake trout were landed and many fish were lost in the fight.

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[This message has been edited by can it be luck? (edited 06-26-2004).]

[evntam]

Great post! Thanks for the pics. Boy, I've got the bug now.
I don't have any flashers, just a ton of dodgers in silver, a few chartreuse and a couple in orange and pearl. Dumb question: where do you get the flashers, or should I just stick with the dodgers?
E

[can it be luck?]

eventam, I call them flashers, others may call them something else. I use "dodgers" made by Coyote which "spin" more than wobble. I also use "flashers" such as the one pictured on the first picture. Just wait, I'll run out to my boat and grab one. Be back soon.

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[can it be luck?]

Well, you're right. They're all called dodgers, even the ones I call flashers. I always refered to the "spinning" type brands such as Coyote as dodgers and the others as flashers. Ooops.
Here's a pic of the "flashers" I used.

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[black max]

Nice fish, looked like a great day on the water for you. I think the main difference between a flasher and a dodger is that a flasher will spin around in circles every so often. A dodger will just swing side to side. Most of my flashers will swing side to side a couple times then rotate. Of course all this depends on your speed.

[can it be luck?]

Well this SUCKS!!! I posted, well should say I typed a lengthy detailed post only to delete it by mistake! Maybe tomorrow I'll re-type it. Here's some pictures any way.
Man, I hate it when that happens!!! "it" meaning accidental deletions.

Baby

Getting bigger!

[This message has been edited by can it be luck? (edited 07-08-2004).]

[can it be luck?]

Well lets try a condensed version of my original post I accidentaly deleted.
Arrived at Kewaunee Sunday evening but weather didn't allow us to fish. At 3:30 am on Monday the boat was launched. By 4:15 we were all set, my GF Julie and nephew Mike accompanied me in the boat. My nephew stayed for 1 day only.
5 lines were used, 2 dipsys set at 1, 1 with a spoon the other with a dodger and fly running with 45-60' of line. 2 dipsys were set at 2 1/2, 1 with spoon the other with dodger/fly running at 60-75' of line. A 5th line rigged with a 1# ball, 3-way swivel, dodger/fly as well. Within minutes the madness began. Ever hear of a Chinese fire drill? Well, I'm not sure exactly what the prequisites are for one, but I think we qualified for one many times! Doubles and triples were experienced over the next few days! Chaos best describes it.
Prime hours were 4am-7am and 7pm untill dark. Fish were caught throughout the day however. Best depths were 80'-120'. All lines produced fish, but a silver/white Coyote dodger paired up with a green/silver Howie fly was boss. Spoons were best during low light periods. Salmon made up about 85% of the catch. Mixed in were steelhead and a lonely laker.
Wednesday was the highlight of the trip, 4 hours in the morning and Julie and I limited out with 10 fish, several weighed in the mid teens. Wednesday night I fished solo, catch and release only. Ever fish by yourself? Steer the boat, reel a fish, and net without too many catastrophes? Oh, I forgot to mention I lost my large net the previous day during a bout with doubles, which turned to a triple midway through the fight(lost all 3 fish! ). So here I am using a 3' handled, small hooped gas station/bait store net with a 8' section of 2 1/2" popal tree strapped on as an extension. Talk about a challenge! Good Lord! However 5 fish made it in the boat under adverse conditions (Suddenly Summer knows how tough it is ).
I met a couple groups of fisherman from Minnesota at the hotel and cleaning station which I thought was pretty cool. None owned computers, but were interested about FM when I talked about it.
Fishing has been HOT, HOT, HOT as of late! Beg the wife! Find a babysitter! Call in sick! But get out and take advantage of the hot bite!
Well this post isn't as long or detailed as the original.....But it's late and my arms hurt from fishing!
Good night.

PS: Suddenly Summer, are you going out Saturday for sure?

A poor picture of a "Skamina" strain summer run steelhead at the Kewaunee fish stripping station. It's about a 10#er, finning under the branch along the bank.

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[This message has been edited by can it be luck? (edited 07-09-2004).]

[BUSHWAC]

can it be luck, great post on your outing! sure sounds like fun. I am so tempted to run over but I think I need a bigger boat than my 16ft. made the run over twice just to fish Sturgeon bay and tried to make it out on the big water but got chased off right away. sounds like a blast though!! keep up the great work and thanks for the pictures!!

[Moose-Hunter]

can it be luck.....

If you would be so kind as to drop me an email when you get the chance? I'm a small boat (16' Lund w/ riggers ) city stuck, C&R trout/salmon guy that REALLY needs to get into a decent fish or two... Need to pick your brain a bit....

Thanks....

moosehunter(at)earthlink(dot)net

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M-H (aka: Dan)

[This message has been edited by Moose-Hunter (edited 07-09-2004).]

[can it be luck?]

Dan, you've got mail.

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[can it be luck?]

Cheffery,
I wish I could help you but I can't. Fortunatly/unfortunatly I was given a tackle box filled with nearly 100-200 variety of spoons. I've never bought a spoon in the last 6-7 years. My brother's friends boat split up and sunk a few years back on L. Michigan. All 5 passengers died. I acquired the spoons from a surviving spouse.
To be honest, I don't have any ideas what "monkey puke", "watermellon", and whatever other crazy names spoons are refered to are. I use pearl, white, blue, black, green, silver, yellow, in various combinations and forms.
I'll post pics of my favorites in a couple minutes, someone else asked me about spoons as well.

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[can it be luck?]

[Tom Linderholm]

Sorry to hear about the loss, . Big lakes are tricky business. These deserve alot of respect.
Yeah I really had a tough time finding anything out in the local bait shops in Algoma when I was there last. Green was always a good color chioce last year and for some reason pink was hot. I am itchin to be out there and am counting down the days. I find myself in bait shops three times a week trying to guess what will be good this year. Maybe we can hook up out there when I am there. Usually can be found in the Pizza Bowl pretty much every evening when we are there or over at Captain K's, unfortunately we won't be docked there this year as our toy got quite a bit bigger this year. Ended up on pier 42. Keep the lines tight!

[Tom Linderholm]

Nice Pic's Can it be luck, I will be out there on the 20th-26th again this year and had a question for you , I recall last year hearing on the radio about a mythical spoon color called "Dill Pickle", when attempting to find this color in the bait shops I had no luck. By chance do you know what it is? or what it is similar to? It was a hot spoon last year from all the "chatter".
Thanks,
Tom
Duluth/BWCA/Range forum

[great fishing 4-U]

question, if not using downriggers how is the best way to get down deep? I saw can it be luck doing a great job but no downriggers. Is lead line the best or will large sinkers do the job. And how can you tell how deep you are running.

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great fishing to all

[can it be luck?]

Dipsy divers all you'll you need to get to the fish. Depths up to 70' can be achieved with them. However, I find most active feeders are in the upper 40' of water, easy range for a dipsy.
I also have 1# balls........I mean, I use 1# balls. For weight that is. A 1# ball and a 3-way is what you can use to get down deep and dirty without a downrigger.
Line counters and a dive chart included with a dipsy will let you know how to target depth ranges.
Here's my set up. #1 Dipsy, 4' of 20# mono, dodger, 18"-22" of leader(included on fly), fly.
Or #1 dipsy, 5-6' of 20# mono, spoon.

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[This message has been edited by can it be luck? (edited 07-19-2004).]

[SuddenlySummer]

When using 1lb. balls, it's sometimes better to have the ball 50 or 100 feet in front of the lure. Instead of a three way, clip the ball to your fishing line using a downrigger release. When you reach the weight, it's simple to take the ball off and continue the fight.

[great fishing 4-U]

thanks a lot, you guys are great one more question. Were is a good tackle store in the algoma/keewaunee area. I know I can buy what I need from Gabelas ect. but would like to buy from a local that can answer my questions. Thanks again

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great fishing to all

[BUSHWAC]

can it be luck, I see that you run all mono on your dipsy's. what do you think of the braided line for them? mess up the depth chart? do you always use the rubber dampeners on your dipsy? I have a couple dipsy's but I also have some called slider divers that are basically the same thing but thread on your line and can very the distance to the diver to what ever you would like. I usually put out 50 ft of line before I snap it shut. have you ever used one of these? All the Salmon talk has me going. weather permitting I will be making the trip out Friday night for an early Saturday outing! thanks for all the information on the bite!!

[SuddenlySummer]

can it be luck,
I have two cannon uni-troll downriggers mounted to my boat. I'll then run Dipseys on the outside and the 1lb. ball down the center. Anymore than that is pushing it with my smallish boat.

You can use braided line it works well but make sure you have the rubber snubber below the Dipsey and set your drag so that you can peel line with only your pinky.

[can it be luck?]

Bushwac, Suddenly Summer said it well.
I use all mono, and on some dipsys I don't use the snubbers since I feel the stretch of the mono takes out some of the shock on the line. Never used the slider dipsys. I've been looking at those as well as the jet divers too. I guess I stick with what works for me, and in my small 16'er 4 dipsy lines and 1 1# ball off the back is enough to handle. If it's calm out I like to throw out a couple cranks off of boards...Only if calm. But hey, when the fish are biting a guy can get away with 4 poles and still have his hands full! And the way it's been around here.....1 line will do it at times as long as it's a white dodger and green glow fly!!!!!!!

PS: Suddenly Summer, how'd you do the other day out of Algoma?

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[This message has been edited by can it be luck? (edited 07-13-2004).]

[SuddenlySummer]

Algoma is tearing up their streets so getting around is difficult. I didn't go to a local shop. There is a Mills Fleet Farm and a Gander Mountain in Green Bay right at the entrance of Hwy 41 at 29. Gander is on the NW corner and Mills is on the NE corner of the intersection.

If you don't have downriggers run 4 dipseys. two on each side. Set your inside dipseys at 1 1/2 and your outside dipseys at 2 1/2. That will give you a good spread. Run your 1lb. ball right down the center and throw out a surface line or two.

Watch your rod tip as you troll. You want to see the tip pulsate up and down. When you get that action you know your running your dodger at the correct speed.

Don't mess with spoons. Flasher/Fly combo is the only way to go. Green Glow was the number one producer for me last week. 22".

[can it be luck?]

The best place to get tackle in Kewaunee that I know of is the gas station/Subway/tackle shop on Hwy 29 just as you enter Kewaunee. I would probably get what you need before you arrive. However, they have dipsys, dodgers, flys, spoons, 1# balls, etc. As far as nets go, they have cheesy little ones there. I lost mine last week and was forced to buy one from there and attach a 8' section of 2" popal as an extension, talk about challenging! And by myself, wheeew!
! As far as questions, shoot away, the teenager or woman at the tackle shop will be of little or no use to you. Most all your questions can probably be answered here.
PS: I am a local...Somewhat
PS: SS, clips for 1# balls, I'll have to try that, I have a whole mess of them. You run the exact same set up as I do.
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[This message has been edited by can it be luck? (edited 07-13-2004).]

[Tom Linderholm]

Hey guy's thanks for the tips. One more question though. Is there any speed that seem's to be drawing them in better? Or has it been day to day? We usually run about 2.7MPH. Also what is the water temp out there now days......6 days

[can it be luck?]

Chefferey, check the link I posted towards the front of this thread.
I try to hold speed at 2.7-2.9 mph. I will troll down to 2.5mph or up to 3.5mph at times, usually because of wind or current.

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