Summer Browns?

[Turfwrench]

Spring and Fall we all see the browns in close and are not too dificult to catch.  But after the weather warms up and it turns into summer where do those browns go?  Occasionaly we will get one while chasing salmon out deep but never anything consistant.  Has anyone here targeted them during the summer or got into them heavy by accident?    I asked this on another Great Lakes board but seemed others were wondering too with no definitive answer.   I mainly fish Lk Huron and Lk Michigan but feel Lk O can't be too much different.

[Don Supon]

Find 50 degree water that meets the bottom to find them. Spring shallow areas are places to start the search. GL

[Tim Bromund]

ditto to what Don said, only I'd like to add that once you find where  the top of the thermocline meets the bottom (50-55 deg) that is the outer limit of the water you want to fish, fishing inside of that.  For instance, if 55 deg is at 60 feet down, then the area you want to fish is 60 feet of water and shallower, concentrate on areas with some sort of bottom structure, even subtle bits of structure, will hold concentrations of browns.  I've had great days on brown trout in mid summer, mid day, fishing in 35-50 feet of water. 

 

It's almost entirely a spoon bite.  I've caught incidental browns on flasher/flys, but leave them in the boat when I'm targeting browns.  They are a bit spookier than kings, so a little longer leads on riggers (30-40'), 5 color lead cores, divers on 3-3.5 setting, out 80-150 feet all work well.

 

Tim

[Turfwrench]

Thanks guys,  it gives me a starting point for those slow days to seek out something different.

[Chas0218]

Are lakers the same as browns? I would love to get into some nice big lakers this coming season.

[Jolly II]

Great advice Tim!  That's the program.

 

Chas, as far as the lakers are concerned, it would be similiar, but you would want much colder water, like the water that we fish for kings in, except where that hits the bottom.  And the lakers like a few different lures, like cowbells and spin-n-glows.

 

Gambler on this board is a great Laker fisherman, and boats many lakers over 20lbs during the season.  Hopefully he'll see this post and add some expertise.

[bout time]

Like Jolly sad you want colder water where it meets the bottom. Typically target 47 and below. We usually run Spin N Glows or straight spoons. One trick is lower your rigger until it hit bottom the raise it 5 feet.

I would have to agree that Gambler is probably one of the best in well Laker department. Hopefully he will shed some light as well

[Mortigan]

Lakers can be fun

 

[GAMBLER]

Are lakers the same as browns? I would love to get into some nice big lakers this coming season.

Lakers are most often going to be found in cold water.  If you want bigger lakers, look for large deep water flats or deep water structure.  I usually find most lakers on the bottom in water 46 degrees or colder.  Port to port, laker hang outs vary.  I used to fish East of the Genesee River (I- Bay) and target lakers in 120 - 220 fow on the bottom on large open water flats adjacent to structure.  The port I currently fish out of, I fish 90 to 150 on structure.  The flats off the port I fish are not that productive.  There are subtle little parts of shoals and flats that the bigger fish hold on.  I have a couple weigh points in my GPS that produce 90% of the big lakers we boat every season.  My one weigh point produced a 34lb 6oz laker, 23lb 8oz laker and a 19lb 3 oz laker last season.  Another big thing with lakers is the influence of currents and upwellings.  Lakers will move to certain areas of the structure during heavier currrents.  You will learn this by paying attention to detail and time on the water.  The #1 key to laker fishing is SPEED.  Keep your ball speed 0.7 - 1.7 and you will be on fish.  Chas, if you want help trying to find lakers off your port, feel free to PM me and I can point you in the right direction. 

Edited February 16, 2013 by GAMBLER

[overthelimit]

I started fishing in the spring a few years ago. Last summer I decided to try for browns in the summer for the first time seeing the freezer was well stocked with perch and walleye. I only have a 16 ft tinner so i picked a couple nice days to head up. I do not have a probe so I looked for the thermocline on my graph, this was in August. Typically it was in and around 65 ft. I then concentrated on 60-75 fow. Pay close attention to the bait. Browns are pigs so whenever I found bait balls on the bottom I got bit. Never crushed them, caught 6 or so each time but still had fun. Divers out fished the downriggers 3-1 for me.