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Hit EC for convenience's sake yesterday knowing we probably should've gone to Portage with all the hot reports. Lines were in at 6 and pulled them out at 10. Fishing was slow and bait was scarce. Ended 3/3 with 2 coho and a brown. 2 came on red dipsy 8' down with a dreamweaver SS for which I have not figured out the name, and the other on a downrigger 12' down with a dodger/fly. DNR at the launch said that we did better than most and that 5 boats came back with nothing.

A few questions for those willing to answer: is Portage more suitable to hold fish later in the season than EC? And with the deeper water do most boats fish deeper there? Thanks for helping a newbie out.

You are generally right about Portage being a bit "later" than EC but that's not hard and fast. Often the shoals off EC remain the place to go while Portage boats are running out to or past the state line. This is just a weird year. I was fishing places the last week or so I've never much fished at this or other times of the year because that's where the fish were.

Thanks for that insight, this being my first year targeting salmon I'm kinda at the what to do next place. Don't know when I'll get back out there as i try to stay off the water during holiday weekend maybe I'll do afternoon trips to avoid the party boats. Im putting on downriggers and will have dipsys, not going to run lead or copper at this time,so im thinking maybe far shoals and gong area?? Also i guess I'll move away from dodger/peanut fly to larger flasher/ fly and spoons.
Am i on the right track? Appreciate all input greatly, thanks

Train, check your PM’s

Ltrain I think we are in the same situation. My boat isn't large enough to go very far offshore and I think things might be slow for a while near shore. Like you, I have downriggers and dipsies, so I have the ability to fish deep, but not very confident to go very far in my 16 footer. At this point I'm kind of waiting on the steelhead to show up in June/July.

BNature wrote:

You are generally right about Portage being a bit "later" than EC but that's not hard and fast. Often the shoals off EC remain the place to go while Portage boats are running out to or past the state line. This is just a weird year. I was fishing places the last week or so I've never much fished at this or other times of the year because that's where the fish were.

Interesting, didn't realize Portage boats were running out that far. Looking to stay near shore as much as possible. Thanks for the insight.

I wouldn’t let your 16 ft boat stop you from running out a little ways when the fish start to move out on the right days. Up until last year we were in my 16ft tracker pro guide-V. Obviously you have to wait till you have a good forecast but with a good looking forecast, reliable marine radio and a tow boats membership we would make 15 mile runs or better out of portage just about every chance we got. The buddy system is always another nice piece of mind to if you find someone else from the site that is going out or someone at the ramp and you can help each other dial in on fish, fishing a mile from each other or so and sharing info. Just my two cents. I wouldn’t ever tell someone to do something there not comfortable doing either. Tight lines !!

Will makes some excellent points! A ship to shore radio is a must and a Boat US membership can save you a ton of money if you ever need to get towed in. We will be fishing the 3 corners area in the near future.

willbill219 wrote:

I wouldn’t let your 16 ft boat stop you from running out a little ways when the fish start to move out on the right days. Up until last year we were in my 16ft tracker pro guide-V. Obviously you have to wait till you have a good forecast but with a good looking forecast, reliable marine radio and a tow boats membership we would make 15 mile runs or better out of portage just about every chance we got. The buddy system is always another nice piece of mind to if you find someone else from the site that is going out or someone at the ramp and you can help each other dial in on fish, fishing a mile from each other or so and sharing info. Just my two cents. I wouldn’t ever tell someone to do something there not comfortable doing either. Tight lines !!

Thanks for the tips, hopefully we'll get a few calm days and favorable weather for that to happen. I'll definitely have to look into a radio of some kind, and a Boat US membership would be a great addition too.

Once you get a bit offshore, don't worry much about boat traffic. Actually, if you wait until noon to head out, you have to contend with pleasure boaters clogging the ramps and marina. They are complete different breed than fishing boaters. Also, GENERAL RULE - calmer in morning, more wind as day progresses. In short, go early if you can.
I was crapping out early on Saturday so I took a chance and headed for the state lines. It worked well with a good mixed catch of kings, cohos, steel and lakers in 75 to 90 feet of water. I also worked out since as soon as I left, the fish nearshore started biting for those who stayed there.