The fresh-run salmon can be caught using a variety of methods. One of the most popular tactics is to anchor above a likely lie and drop-back plugs like Storm Hot-N-Tots, Magnum Wiggle Warts, Flatfish or Kwikfish into the path of migrating chinooks. The kings take exception to the roadblock and unleash their frustration on the lures. Another productive technique is to cast in-line spinners into slack-water areas or near cover where migrating salmon are resting. Many serious river anglers make their own spinners, but Double Loon (online at www.doublelooninc.com) makes one of the best commercially made spinners for salmon, and their colors run the gambit from green to orange to glow-in-the-dark. A medium/heavy spinning outfit loaded with 15-pound-test line is needed to have a chance of landing these bruisers in this snag-filled river.

Spawning salmon are not supposed to be feeding, but back-bouncing with spawn or floating it under a bobber is another great way to take Pere Marquette River kings. The bronze-colored chinooks will inhale a chunk of cured spawn if it is presented properly. The kings typically run from 10 to 20 pounds, but 30-pound trophies aren’t unheard of.

To try your hand at landing a Pere Marquette king, contact Gnat’s Charters at (231) 845-8400, or online at www.gnatscharters.com.

PORTAGE LAKE
Houghton County’s 9,640-acre Portage Lake is famous for producing trophy specimens of a number of species, and there isn’t a better time to catch them than in the fall.

“Some of the best smallmouth fishing of the year is during the fall on Portage,” stated Upper Peninsula fishing guide Larry Smith.

Smith said smallmouths up to 6 pounds are common on Portage. Plus, the techniques you use to catch smallmouths will likely yield a few trophy walleyes and northern pike, too.

“In the fall, we do a lot of rigging and jigging,” Smith said. “We use big chubs on a 1/8- or 1/4-ounce leadhead jig, or we fish them on a Lindy-type rig.” Smith secures his bait by netting them himself. Smith noted that heavy jigging spoons like the Hopkins also produce.

Whether using live bait or hardware, work the 8- to 25-foot breaks near shore, advised Smith. Good locations are along the eastern shore of the lake where it enters Torch Bay, the humps off Chassell, in the Portage Ship Channel itself and along the south-shore dropoff.

The catch here averages about 75 percent smallmouths and 25 percent walleyes during the fall, with a few monster pike thrown in to rock your world. Walleyes in excess of 8 pounds and pike approaching 30 pounds swim here. The hottest action begins in mid-September and lasts until ice-up.

To sample Portage Lake’s hot fall fishing, contact Larry Smith at (906) 289-4481, or via e-mail at fishon@pasty.com.

COPPER HARBOR
Another of Larry Smith’s favorite fall bites is for splake in Copper Harbor. Splake are a crossbreed created between lake trout and brook trout. The fish are spirited fighters and great eating. Regular plants in Copper Harbor ensure a steady supply of fish.

“The best fishing is during the late fall, usually in November, and lasts until ice-up,” Smith said.

The splake generally run 14 to 16 inches, but trophies up to 10 pounds are occasionally caught. The splake can be caught right from shore. A hotspot is off the mouth of Fanny Hooe Creek where it enters Copper Harbor, and it can be accessed via Fort Wilkins State Park.

Smith said Little Cleos, Mr. Twister’s Cyclops and other small spoons in blue/silver and orange/silver are hot for splake. Don’t be surprised if your catch includes coho salmon, chinook salmon, herring or coaster brook trout either. Then there’s the area’s unparalleled natural beauty to enjoy as well.

For information on lodging, amenities and bait shops in the area, contact the Keweenaw Tourism Council at 1-800-338-7982, or on the Web at www.keweenaw.org.