Smith: Lake Michigan chinook salmon fishing as hot as the weather

SHEBOYGAN - The July 8 pre-dawn conditions in the Sheboygan harbor were conducive to a clandestine operation.

Low, thick clouds dropped rain on the area and high humidity reduced visibility.

But as groups assembled for their missions on Lake Michigan, any secrecy was lost due to the sheer size of the fleet.

At 4 a.m. the Sheboygan public boat launch was packed with several dozen trucks and trailers. Vehicles snaked in a conga line through the parking lot, each waiting for a chance to drop their boat at the ramp.

Not even my fishing party with Ramsey Kammerzelt's "Das Boot" - named after the submarine in the World War II film - could escape notice.

"It's the place to be," said Kammerzelt, 26, of Kiel, as he waited for a lane to open at the launch. "The good thing is there's plenty of room out there."

"There" of course is Lake Michigan, covering 14.3 million acres and the third largest of the Great Lakes.

The armada launching this morning out of Sheboygan had the same objective: fishing for salmon and trout.

They were joined by vessels moored in marinas and in the harbor, including charter boats.

It was a scene repeated to various degrees at Wisconsin ports from Kenosha to Washington Island.

At about 4:15 Kammerzelt revved up the inboard on his 22-foot boat and carefully piloted her through the early morning maritime traffic jam and into the open lake.

In addition to our 26-year-old captain, our crew included Ramsey's father Scott Kammerzelt of Plymouth, his father-in-law Jim Henning of Grafton and me.

"Let's go get some silver," said Scott Kammerzelt, 58, as we headed southeast from the harbor gap.

Most people are aware of the California gold rush in the late 1840s. You should also know about another push for a valuable commodity much closer to home. This one, though, happens each summer and is for the renewable resource of salmon and trout.

The fish are stocked or reproduce naturally (mostly in streams in Michigan) and provide world-class fishing opportunities.

Although five species - chinook and coho salmon, and brown, lake and rainbow trout - make up most of the catch, in July the fishing begins to peak for chinook, the most-stocked and arguably most popular species in the modern Lake Michigan fishery.

The "silver" Kammerzelt referred to was chinook; the fish were providing excellent catches in recent days and weeks out of Sheboygan.

Although the biggest chinook will darken as they mature, spawn and die later this year, in July their sides are bright as a freshly-minted quarter.

Chinook are also called "king" salmon for good reason: they get the largest of any salmon on the planet. And although an occasional brown or lake trout more than 35 pounds is caught in the Wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan, the chinook state record of 44 pounds, 15 ounces tops all salmon and trout species.

The popularity of salmon and trout fishing helps drive the regional economy.

The annual economic impact of the Great Lakes sport, commercial and tribal fisheries is estimated at $7 billion, according to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. Fishing also supports 75,000 jobs in the region, according to the commission

Ramsey, Scott and Jim began setting lines about 4:30 while I took the helm and headed south in about 90 feet of water.

Putting out a dozen lines without tangling is art and science. Ramsey has it down pat, in part due to years he spent learning the craft with Scott on board the family's boat.

At some point in his teens, however, Ramsey became more interested in girls and cars, according to Scott. So Scott eventually sold his boat.

But 2022 brought big changes in Ramsey's life. He got married and he bought "Das Boot."

Ramsey, who works as an electrician, said his interest in Lake Michigan fishing rekindled a couple years ago. After making a bunch of outings on a friend's boat, Ramsey decided last year it was time to buy his own.

The name of the 1998-built vessel is tongue-in-cheek. But there's no kidding about its mission.

"Every chance I get I'm out here, chasing fish," Ramsey said.

And now in a switch of roles, his crew often includes his father. His wife Megan and father-in-law Jim also frequently join.

"All of us are making a lot of new memories this year," Scott said. "It's just great."

At 5 a.m. a rod started bucking in its holder and Jim grabbed it. From the first moments, it was apparent it would be a workout.

In the freshwater angling world, mature chinook are arguably the hardest fighting fish. Lake Michigan anglers frequently spend 30 or more minutes working in a 20-pound or heavier king.

At the 35-minute mark, Jim had the fish on the surface 50 feet behind the boat and was steadily making progress. But the relative calm was shattered when a downrigger line was hit.

Scott grabbed that rod and the challenge now became keeping the hooked fish from crossing lines.

In the end it all worked out. First Jim's fish was netted (a 20-pound chinook) and 20 minutes later Scott's was landed (19-pound chinook).

But five minutes later another flurry started. This time I took the first hit and Ramsey took the next.

Thirty minutes later we had another pair of kings (18 and 10 pounds, respectively) in the cooler.

Ramsey, who trailers his boat to Sheboygan, is representative of the largest segment of the Lake Michigan fishery in Wisconsin waters.

Since 1986, ramp anglers have accounted for 6 million harvested trout and salmon, compared to 3.93 million for moored, 3.91 million for charter and 0.9 million for stream, according to Department of Natural Resources data.

In 2022 ramp anglers harvested 109,698 trout and salmon, topping charter (98,387) and moored (52,521) and stream (24,560).

Chinook has been the most caught species since 1986 by all anglers, according to the DNR, with 7.4 million chinook harvested, compared to 2.96 million coho and 2.46 rainbows.

In 2022 the most-caught species were chinook at 120,148, coho at 104,892 and rainbow (or steelhead) at 35,304.

This year's DNR Lake Michigan stocking goals are 1.3 million chinook salmon, up from 1.2 million in 2020-22, as well as 500,000 coho salmon, 460,000 steelhead, 450,000 brown trout and 50,000 brook trout, the same levels as in the previous plan.

Though low in historical terms, alewife and other forage fish showed an increase in 2022, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Anglers are hopeful the food web will continue to support high stocking levels of salmon and trout.

Our crew caught six fish (five kings and a rainbow) by 6:30, then had a lull and headed north. After picking up a coho and a lake trout between 8 and 9, we then had another king and rainbow hit at 9:30. Most of our action came on spoons or dodger-fly combos. We fished water depths from 85 to 120 feet.

With a clearing sky above and the action slowing, we decided to head in about 10.

We had landed 10 fish and lost three others in a little more than five hours of fishing. Our catch ranged from 4 to 20 pounds.

Our success was shared by many other boats.

We met Mark Baden, WISN-12 meteorologist, at Sheboygan's South Pier fish cleaning station. He had fished with Capt. Ryan Christnovich and crew and also brought in a heavy catch.

For Baden, who has worked for the Milwaukee television station for 26 years, it was his first fishing trip on the Big Pond.

"It won't be my last," Baden later Tweeted. "What a fantastic experience."

And for another feel-good element to the day, an angler (who asked to remain anonymous) found and returned a planer board lost by Ramsey earlier that morning. The $75 item likely fell overboard as we netted a fish. But it was spotted and netted by the other fisherman and, since it was marked with Ramsey's name and phone number, was reunited with its owner by the ethical angler.

Our group cleaned the catch, put the fillets in bags and divided the bounty. It will be grilled, baked and smoked and provide many delicious meals and snacks for our families and friends.

"Another great day of fishing on Lake Michigan, another great memory," Scott said.

Peak tourney time in Wisconsin includes Salmon-A-Rama and Kewaunee/Door County Salmon Tournament

Two of North America's largest fishing tournaments - both centered in Wisconsin - got underway last week on Lake Michigan.

Salmon-A-Rama opened Saturday and will run through July 23. It is run by organizers in Racine but has 12 weigh-in stations around Lake Michigan, including in Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois. The grand prize package is valued at $32,000 with total prizes of about $100,000, according to tournament officials. For more information, visit salmon-a-rama.com.

And the Kewaunee/Door County Salmon Tournament started Friday and ends July 23. First prize is $15,000 cash, a mount of the winning catch and a custom-made salmon ring. More than $50,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded, according to tournament promoter Kevin Naze of Algoma. Fish can be weighed at five stations in northeastern Wisconsin. For more, access Facebook and search for K/D Salmon Tournament.

The tournaments stake their claims based on number of paid contestants, both numbering in the thousands.

In addition to the week-long events, the Milwaukee chapter of Great Lakes Sport Fishermen will hold its annual Brew City Salmon Tournament on July 28 and 29. The event will be run from South Shore Park in Milwaukee. Last year participants donated 1,740 pounds of fish to the Hunger Task Force. Visit the Milwaukee GLSF Facebook page for details.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Chinook salmon, other species providing great fishing on Lake Michigan