# Fishing Marquette, Tips Please



## perchdog2003 (Mar 9, 2014)

Hello all,
It's been a very long time since I have posted on this forum, have not been fishing much either.

Anyhow my interest has been rekindled... I am most accustom to fishing Lake St Clair and Detroit River but looking to get into smaller river / stream fishing. My girlfriend and I have reason to travel north on semi regular schedule and while up there we plan to take more advantage of the resources Michigan has to offer.

Next week we will be heading to Alpena area for two days then off to Marquette for another two days. I am interested in opinions and tactics on fishing both the Carp and Chocolay rivers. So far we will be armed with Steelhead rods, waders and an assortment of Cleos and spinners.

I am pretty much a beginner at Steelhead / Salmon fishing. I am not even sure if this is a good time of year to fish the area. Any tips would be much appreciated...


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## perchdog2003 (Mar 9, 2014)

Hmm, kind of looking for a little help on tactics and such for this time of year.


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## Teggs (Mar 20, 2013)

L


perchdog2003 said:


> Hmm, kind of looking for a little help on tactics and such for this time of year.


 theres public acess all over both rivers. Rig up and fish em hard, sounds like u got the right stuff. Theres multiple effective tactics, whatever type of fishing suits your style. Its been slow but usually this is the best time of year to get em. Good luck


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## Robert Holmes (Oct 13, 2008)

Hit the deeper pools and use spawn bags. Spinners will get the job done if you are fishing mid day. You might also want to try wax worms for steelhead or night crawlers for coho.


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## perchdog2003 (Mar 9, 2014)

Ok thanks guys... Would it be worth trying surf fishing at this time of year.

I have been introducing my girlfriend to fishing in general the past couple of years, she really has not been exposed to the sport. She loves to walk the hiking trails during all seasons of the year, but I am not sure how she's going to like hitting the streams in waders. I am guessing she will be really into it but if not we will probably have to hit the beach.


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## itchn2fish (Dec 15, 2005)

Yes, perchdog2003, it would definitely be worth trying surf fishing at this time of year. Best of luck to the both of you!


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## perchdog2003 (Mar 9, 2014)

itchn2fish said:


> Yes, perchdog2003, it would definitely be worth trying surf fishing at this time of year. Best of luck to the both of you!


Good deal, I scronged some materials to make some rod holders tonight... These will be finished tomorrow night


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## perchdog2003 (Mar 9, 2014)

Well back from the UP and I was gracious enough to leave all the fish behind. Kind of disappointed trying to figure where I went wrong. Fished east of Marquette, tried spawn, spinners and spoons. Threw mainly silver/blue and fire tiger spoons, the spinners were either silver or bronze / brass blades, did not have the chartouse / pink colors seen at the tackle store.

This was probably 3rd or 4th time for me salmon / steelhead fishing without snagging pole a first for the g/f. The locals I ran into warned me it was slow. Now that I think of it we probably were not as mobile as we should have been, the time on river was a bit limited. All in all we had a great time, what a nice area


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## stagliano (Nov 10, 2006)

perchdog2003 said:


> This was probably 3rd or 4th time for me salmon / steelhead fishing without snagging pole a first for the g/f.


Wow.


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## perchdog2003 (Mar 9, 2014)

Let me clarify, when snagging I was legal at Tippy


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## Robert Holmes (Oct 13, 2008)

The fish won they do that sometimes. Fall steelhead can be slow to show up in decent numbers. I don't get excited about fall steelhead fishing until I am on 3 inches of ice and I am getting them on tip ups.


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## perchdog2003 (Mar 9, 2014)

stagliano said:


> Wow.





Robert Holmes said:


> The fish won they do that sometimes. Fall steelhead can be slow to show up in decent numbers. I don't get excited about fall steelhead fishing until I am on 3 inches of ice and I am getting them on tip ups.


Tip ups ???
I am new to this game, obviously, still feel pretty shaky on how to approach a hole, set float and just basic technique. I hjave never heard of using tip ups for Steel, how does that work ? what is used as far as hook and bait ?? just curious


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## Robert Holmes (Oct 13, 2008)

perchdog2003 said:


> Tip ups ???
> I am new to this game, obviously, still feel pretty shaky on how to approach a hole, set float and just basic technique. I hjave never heard of using tip ups for Steel, how does that work ? what is used as far as hook and bait ?? just curious


Set them off from river or stream mouths in the lake with spawn bags. Just like surf fishing. I use a 14 treble hook and just enough of a sinker to get it to the bottom. I fish in 2 to 10 feet of water. Once you find them it is pretty easy to catch them. Most days I can get a limit within a couple of hours. That leaves plenty of time to pack up and go walleye or pike fishing.


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## perchdog2003 (Mar 9, 2014)

Robert Holmes said:


> Set them off from river or stream mouths in the lake with spawn bags. Just like surf fishing. I use a 14 treble hook and just enough of a sinker to get it to the bottom. I fish in 2 to 10 feet of water. Once you find them it is pretty easy to catch them. Most days I can get a limit within a couple of hours. That leaves plenty of time to pack up and go walleye or pike fishing.


That seems like a very cool method, maybe one of these days I will try... Thanks for sharing


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## Robert Holmes (Oct 13, 2008)

perchdog2003 said:


> That seems like a very cool method, maybe one of these days I will try... Thanks for sharing


When you go ice fishing for steelhead the first few times you will want to have a few (3 or 4) likely places to try. I started by picking places that have produced in the past. Good surf fishing places, marinas, and/or river mouth areas. Then all that you can do is set up and try and hope for the best. I also bring jigging poles with wax worms or wigglers and try both. You will eventually find some coasting steelhead and have a go to spot but finding them takes patience. Sometimes other fishermen will tip you off and tell you where to go. Also don't be afraid to ask around other than on the internet. Not many guys ice fish for steelhead so it can be lonely out there.


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