Pere Marquette Salmon
Sep 7th, 2009 by Bill Konway
Just got home from an excellent trip in northern Michigan fishing for king salmon on the Pere Marquette River near Ludington, Michigan with friend and writer Brandon Butler and guide extrordinaire Kevin Morlock of Indigo Guide Service, (www.indigoguideservice.com). Although I have fished for a lot longer than I care to think about, I have never done anything like this and can’t say enough about it! During this time of year salmon from Lake Michigan begin to move into the tributaries to spawn, and eventually die. The Pere Marquette is a totally wild water and has no fish stocking and yet is still one of the premiere waters for fishing. The scenery is fantastic. It seems more like another country or something rather than a short trip into Michigan.
The fishing here is best done in a drift boat where the guide very skillfully rows you downstream around various sand and gravel bars and the hunderds of downed trees both above the water and below the surface. The current of the river and natural obstructions create “holes” or deep spots that the salmon will pause in during their migration upstream. The fish tend to strike a lure more out of the aggression brought on by the surge of spawning induced hormones rather than the need to feed. The strikes are about enough to rip a rod right out of your hands and the run of these fish combined with their leaping abilities are enough to befuddle anyone especially when you consider you’re fishing in a body of water which at times is no more than 20 feet across. Below are a few more of the shots I liked from the trip. If you want to have an incredile time, do yourself a favor and get out here.
Awesome pics, Bill. Felt like I was there. I’m appreciating your artistic side.
This site rocks!
[...] Writer Brandon Butler of Driftwood Outdoors was up for some salmon fishing a few weeks ago with photographer Bill Konway. Wow, did we have a great time, caught some nice fish and Bill took some awesome photos. It was a real treat for me to have two top notch professionals out at the same time. Brandon posted a nice piece about Barothy Lodge and Indigo Guide Service on his Midwest Sporting Journal blog and Bill also posted some of his photos and a short note about his first Pere Marquette trip on his Bill Konway’s Photography Blog. [...]
Hi,
Thank you for the great quality of your blog, each time i come here, i’m amazed.
black hattitude.
[...] Friends Bill Konway and Brandon Butler came up on a fishing/work trip in early September. We had just got a fresh batch of salmon it was a great three days. Bill made this post on his blog on September 7th, there are a lot of great photos on the original post, as well as tons of other great shots… must be nice to have talent. Link to original post… [...]
very cool pictures. Your site looks great. I need to get one going. So tell me how you shot the one of the fish underwater. That has great light on it. Lets fish together soon Matt