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Get
prepared for June fishing now
By: Russell Gahagan
As
April passed and May is here I started thinking about the seventy degree
flat calm days June should bring. June is one of the best fishing months
on Lake Michigan for many reasons. Generally June brings warm days and
calm seas. This allows boats of all sizes to enjoy success. June is a
transition month that is quite different from May, July and August. In
May we are working the shorelines with planer boards and divers for Brown
Trout and Lake Trout. The alewife will flood the shoreline and shut down
the fishing and out to deeper water we head. As the sunny skies of June
come the water starts to warm up and set-up for summer. In depths of 100-300
feet of water you will find Rainbow trout, Lake trout, King salmon and
Coho salmon. This time of year you can catch fish on the surface down
to the bottom. The key is to spread your rods out throughout the water
column to see were the active fish are. Also be prepared with equipment
that can get you from the surface to the bottom.
When
looking at the rods and reels that are most successful during the month
of June it can depend on the species you are targeting. For a general
set-up two downrigger rods rigged with twenty pound test mono. Two mono
diver rods rigged with twenty pound test with slide divers. Four mono
planer board rods with twenty pound test. I will add a 1oz dive bomb to
these rods to get the bait below the surface. A pair of five color leadcore
rods will also be very productive as inside planer board rods. Running
six planer boards this time of year can help on calm sunny days. If King
salmon are around and active you could alter the set-up mentioned above
to catch more Kings. By adding a pair of wire walker deeper divers in
place of the mono slide divers you will get two more rods down to the
depths the kings generally swim at this time a year. You can also switch
one of your mono planer board rods to a ten color leadcore. The ten color
leadcore will get you down in the range of forty five to fifty five foot.
In
June an array of lures work well depending on the species you are targeting.
On the mono planer boards targeting Rainbow trout and Coho salmon Michigan
Stinger spoons standard size are a great choice. Orange is one of June's
best colors in spoons and dodgers. Top spoon colors for me are steelie
stomper, glow puke, natural born killer, polka dot, mixed veggies and
red devil. I also run these same spoons on the slide divers and five color
leadcore. On the wire walker deeper divers, downriggers and ten color
leadcore I will run Pro-Troll prochip 8 flashers. In June common combos
like Green glow with a Hypnotist Rapture fly, White glow with a Little
Bride Rapture fly and Chartreuse glow with a Sniper Rapture fly will all
produce big June kings. A Hotchip 11 inch flasher on your deepest rigger
at times can be your most productive set-up. Michigan Stingers Lucky Charm
11 inch flasher with a Little Bride Rapture fly was one of last year's
best.
June
is a finicky month and being prepared ahead of time will keep you from
chasing your tail while all of your fellow anglers are netting fish. Check
your local tackle shop for all of the products we have talked about in
this article.
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