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The circle of life of a chinook salmon near Michigan is truly amazing!
By:
Girly Girl
2009-09-27 22:36:16
The circle of life of a chinook salmon near Michigan is truly amazing! They complete an extraordinary migration, often over hundreds of miles, to return to the exact tributary where they were hatched, to spawn and complete their life cycle.
Chinook salmon, are the largest of Michigan salmon species. The state record is a whopping 46 pounds 1 ounce but they average around 12-14 pounds. This is the same average weight of most Chinook found in Alaskan waters.
My son and I personally got the opportunity to witness salmon spawning while fly fishing the PereMarquetteRiver, in BaldwinMichigan, with Mike Marsh of Marsh Ridge River Guide Service.
During the spawning process, the female salmon lays on her side and use her tail to dig a hole and lay her eggs. She then chooses a male salmon to fertilize them. And then they both guard their nests for approximately four days to insure predators don’t eat the eggs. This is why it is “very important” that fisherman try not to capture the females nesting on the gravel beds or their eggs will die and less salmon will return in the following years. Try to catch the males only if near a gravel bed – they can usually be found in nearby shaded areas, and not too far away from the females currently nesting.
Our guide, Mike Marsh, was very knowledgeable about a chinook salmon and kindly explained, in detail, their circle of life. My son and I learned that a chinook salmon’s life, marked by both tenacity and transformation, represents one of nature’s most unique journeys. They are also very challenging and fun to catch.
I highly recommend that you learn more about Mike Marsh by visiting his website at http://marshguide.com/michigan_fly_fishing_guides.html and reserve a fishing trip. He is U.S. Forest Service Permitted for The Pere Marquette River (The PM River), The Big Manistee River, The White River, The Little Manistee River and The Pine River.
Circle of Life of a Chinook Salmon:
Chinook salmon lay eggs in nests, called redds, excavated by the female. After a female salmon lays eggs in the redd, one or more male salmon may fertilize the eggs. After fertilization, the female buries the eggs by lifting gravel upstream of the redd onto the eggs. Chinook salmon die after spawning, completing the circle of life. The bodies of the salmon provide nutrients to the river ecosystem to help young salmon grow. When the eggs emerge, they are referred to as “alevins” or yolk-sac fry. Alevins remain in the gravel where they survive by absorbing the nutrients in their yolk. As baby Chinook salmon grow, they become fry. Fry wiggle out of the gravel and move to areas with little current near shore. Fry feed on small insects and crustaceans. Young chinook salmon migrate downstream to the estuary anytime from immediately after they emerge from the gravel to after rearing over 1 year in the river. The majority of young Chinook salmon migrate out of the rivers in the spring months. As young Chinook salmon prepare to enter the great lakes, they go through a physiological process called smolting. During smolting, many physiologic processes prepare them for life in the marine environment. After Chinook salmon enter the great lakes, they grow rapidly on a diet of other fish. Eventually, as fully-grown adults, they find their way back to the rivers. Chinook salmon generally spend 1 to 4 years growing in the great lakes before they return to the rivers to spawn. Some may stay in the great lakes 5 or more years. Once back in the rivers, chinook salmon will migrate upstream to an area very near where they were born. When home, chinook salmon will find a suitable location to spawn and complete their life cycle.
By Sherri Russell, operations manager of www.HessLakeRentals.com
Salmon Fishing in High Heels
By:
Girly Girl
2009-09-13 10:00:12
Hey ladies, you don’t have to be a “tom boy” to like to fish. I am certainly not your typical fishing person and I’m not shy to show it either. I am a “girly-girl” at heart who truly loves the sport of fishing. I am who I am and I like what I like.
Last week, I overheard some locals mentioning that the Salmon were running. The Salmon are running…and I thought to myself, boy, I would surely love the experience of catching such a large fish. So, I decided to take action and plan a fishing trip on the MuskegonRiver with local fisherman, Jim Churchill, of Riverside Outfitters LLC.
When my scheduled fishing day finally arrived, I was so excited that I could hardly stand it! I was like a kid in a candy store. I got prepared and headed off to meet Jim at the designated launch. Once I arrived, I got out of my vehicle and proceeded to walk towards him. Jim stopped and looked at me in surprise and asked me if I was planning on fishing in high heels. I laughed and said “you betcha, these are my lucky high heel shoes”. He said that he had thought he had seen it all until that day. So, he invited me to step on board his riverboat. Jim started the motor and away we went down the river in search for Salmon. We traveled for a while, and then proceeded to slow down and stop and anchor. Anxious to fish, Jim then outfitted me with all the proper gear and explained exactly what I needed to do to catch a Salmon.
So I cast one time, two times, three times and then four times and WHAM…! I suddenly realized that I just hooked a fish! Jim was instructing me every step of the way, pole up, pole down, reel in, let the drag out etc… it was so exciting that my heart was racing from the thrill and the challenge of getting that enormous fish into the boat without losing it…the 30lb power pro test line held up great…Finally after 10-15 minutes, the Salmon tired out and we netted it and got it into the boat. We were both truly amazed at the size of the fish. Not just any fish, but a huge 18lb male Salmon. I told him my catch was attributed to my lucky high heel shoes and my natural casting ability and he chuckled and said, “you amaze me…it very well could be”.
Jim then gave me my 18lb prize fish and showed me how to handle it properly. I struck a pose and held the fish while he took my picture. Boy, it was quite a day and an awesome experience that I will never forget, like a first kiss.
I then realized that I should share this story with others so that they may be inspired to sometimes take action and create their own experiences in life or it will pass them by before they know it.
Taking "time out" by fishing can be a great way to offset some of the many challenges and stresses that we women all seem to be faced with today. Sometimes just being somewhere away from the fast pace of life - even if just for a few hours - can provide a new perspective and a fresh outlook.
Fishing as a hobby is continuously growing with women and that is why the estimated number of women who acquire fishing licenses each year is more than 12 million.
So ladies, I encourage you to support our local fishing guides and take “time out” for yourselves, get out the pole, put on your lucky high heels, step onto the boat to see what you can do. Most of all have fun and good luck!
I can’t wait to go out and fish again.
My most memorable fish
By:
Brooke J
2009-08-18 12:58:02
My boyfriend and I were fishing in western Minnesota earlier this summer, and it started out less than ideal. It was an extremely hot day, and therefore fishing was extremely slow. We had spent about four hours in the boat, catching nothing but bullheads and a few small sun fish. The flies were terrible, and the deer flies were even worse. I was constantly swatting them away so they wouldn’t bite me (I’m allergic and swell up like a water balloon!) and not really paying attention to my bobber since we hadn’t caught much anyway.
As I was following a particular deer fly around the boat, attempting to swat it, I felt a huge tug on my fishing pole. It seemed as though it got hit by a truck! I looked into the water and my bobber was nowhere to be found. I immediately set the hook as hard as I could and began reeling in the line. I instantly assumed it was a large northern judging by the weight at the end of my line, when about 20 feet away my fish became air born and made an effort to throw the hook. What I saw was a huge largemouth bass fighting to get away from the boat. I slowly kept reeling in the line until I got a good look at next to the boat. It looked even bigger than the glance I got at it when it came out of the water! It seemed as though another hour passed before I was able to land the fish, and I was worried the line was going to break or something, which is just my luck. Finally, my boyfriend reached in and grabbed it. I couldn’t believe how huge this bass was! It was by far the biggest bass I’d ever seen, let alone caught, and my boyfriend said the same. It measured 21.5” long, just 2 inches shy of the state record. It was great to rub it in my boyfriend’s face that I caught the biggest fish on his home turf – Minnesota! It was a day I definitely will never forget.
Gone fishing!
By:
OFH Staff Melissa
2009-08-03 14:12:17
Here's an example of a fun fishing story!
Over Memorial day weekend, my husband and I decided we needed to get out and fish a little on the Missouri, so we packed up our gear and headed out- I was almost 8 months pregnant and wasn't feeling the greatest that weekend, but that Sunday, I felt great, so I thought fishing would be the perfect close to our weekend.
Jim, my hubby, got everything set up perfect so that I could sit close to where we cast (shore fishing) and the night was beautiful, no wind and the sun was going down nicely. Well, Jim got hungry and forgot the cooler in the car, which was up a large bank, so I was in charge of all 4 poles while he went up to the car.
I suddently had a bite and started to bring in the fish, when all of a sudden, Jim's pole had a hard tug, so I knew we had a good fish on the line with his. I hurried to get my fish onto shore and was yelling at my husband to hurry and get back down to me and to grab the net.
I got my fish to shore, a small mouth bass, and immediately waddled over to Jim's pole as fast as I could, being 8 months pregnant. I yelled to my husband to hurry and get back down to me and to grab the net. I started to bring the fish in best I could - one of the complications with my pregnancy was that my hands would go tingly and numb - so I was doing everything I could to hold on to the pole and bring this fish in. Jim was sliding down the bank and running towards me, just as I was getting the fish to shore for him to net.
The fish was a 25" walleye, the best fish I had ever caught. Well, my hubby thinks that fishing excited the baby, because the next night, we welcomed our baby boy Easton 6 weeks early. Jim thinks it's because the fishing was so good, he couldn't wait any longer!
Over Memorial day weekend, my husband and I decided we needed to get out and fish a little on the Missouri, so we packed up our gear and headed out- I was almost 8 months pregnant and wasn't feeling the greatest that weekend, but that Sunday, I felt great, so I thought fishing would be the perfect close to our weekend.
Jim, my hubby, got everything set up perfect so that I could sit close to where we cast (shore fishing) and the night was beautiful, no wind and the sun was going down nicely. Well, Jim got hungry and forgot the cooler in the car, which was up a large bank, so I was in charge of all 4 poles while he went up to the car.
I suddently had a bite and started to bring in the fish, when all of a sudden, Jim's pole had a hard tug, so I knew we had a good fish on the line with his. I hurried to get my fish onto shore and was yelling at my husband to hurry and get back down to me and to grab the net.
I got my fish to shore, a small mouth bass, and immediately waddled over to Jim's pole as fast as I could, being 8 months pregnant. I yelled to my husband to hurry and get back down to me and to grab the net. I started to bring the fish in best I could - one of the complications with my pregnancy was that my hands would go tingly and numb - so I was doing everything I could to hold on to the pole and bring this fish in. Jim was sliding down the bank and running towards me, just as I was getting the fish to shore for him to net.
The fish was a 25" walleye, the best fish I had ever caught. Well, my hubby thinks that fishing excited the baby, because the next night, we welcomed our baby boy Easton 6 weeks early. Jim thinks it's because the fishing was so good, he couldn't wait any longer!
Revenge of the bass
By:
ldyfishnforbass
2009-08-02 22:17:28
My husband and I were in a fishing tournament and had about an hour to go before weigh in. He had caught about 4 bass nothing too big, and I had caught 1 big keeper. He told me to check the livewells and make sure the bass were still doing good, so i did. When i opened his livewell I told him "yours are fine" Then right when i opened mine my bass jumped right up and smacked me in the face and gave me a bloody nose. My Husband said "that bass kicked your butt" later we laughed about it.
Netting a Big Surprise
By:
LaHaises
2009-07-31 19:37:16
Well, it was opening fishing weekend in MN a couple of years ago. My husband (Mitch) and I were anxious to get on the water, since it was such a beautiful day in May. The sun was out, and amazingly there was no wind out on
Once we caught up with our friends, we found that they had already caught several fish and we were really behind. Well, now we had found our fishing spot, minnows were on the line doing their best, the cooler was open, sandwiches were being eaten and beverages had been cracked. We hadn’t caught very much, so we decided to move on. Crossing my fingers, I started the boat. With a couple chugs, we were off. I was driving looking off in the distance, and saw something floating in the water next to a pelican. As I drove closer, I noticed the pelican poking at the shiny object. Inching my way closer, I noticed it was a fish. “Get the net,” I yelled to Mitch. Is it a sturgeon? A northern? NO – it was a huge walleye! I cut the motor, got the net, and pulled the fish in the boat. No more lunch for the pelican. It seems that the walleye had probably been caught and released, but didn’t do too good once it got back in the water. Now it is hanging on my wall at home – 32 in walleye, 10 lbs. The largest walleye I’ve every netted!
