Tackle Trade World - February 2024

DBW...
GREAT LAKES
h o w d o t h e y f i s h ?
Over 1.8 million recreational anglers enjoy
fishing the Great Lakes.
Smallmouth bass are the most popular
species anglers target – perhaps not
surprising since bass are one of the USA’s
favourite freshwater fish.
Walleye and largemouth bass are also
prolific; there’s salmon and steelhead
fishing too, but not as much as in the
northwest.
Methods for bass include boat and
bank fishing with artificial baits, same for
walleye. Smallmouth bass can be caught
on a wide range of natural and artificial
baits or lures, including
crankbaits, hair jigs, plastic
jerkbaits, artificial worms,
spinnerbaits and all types of
soft plastic lures, including
curly tail grubs or tubes
with lead head jigs.
Spinning reels or
baitcasting reels may be
used, with line strengths of
6 to 15lb typically utilised.
Bass can also be caught
with a fly rod using a dry
or wet artificial fly, nymphs,
streamers, or imitations
of larger aquatic creatures.
Floating topwater popper
fly patterns and buzz baits
are also popular.
In colder water, it is more effective to
use smaller lures, jigs or spinners. During
the rest of the year, smallmouth are usually
caught on soft plastic tubes or spinnerbaits.
Fishing for walleye is also popular with
anglers, casting or trolling with spinners
or minnow-imitating plugs. Jig fishing,
and spoons are also effective. Live baits are
often used, such as nightcrawlers (worms),
minnows, or leeches, jigged, drifted or
trolled.
In springtime walleye will take almost
any bait or lure but can be challenging to
catch in the summer, until autumn brings
another peak of feeding activity. Walleye
are also readily caught through the ice in
winter, usually on jigs, jigging spoons or
minnows.
Panfish such as crappie are another
popular target, with effective lures being
small jigs but one of the best baits is live
minnows fished under a bobber float.
Crappie are active in the winter, which also
makes them very popular for ice fishing.
Ultralight rods and reels are a good choice
for crappie fishing.
For Northern pike and muskies, big
jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, and bucktails work
well, while many successful pike anglers
anchor or slowly drift with a dead smelt or
live sucker below a bobber.
For lake trout, casting spoons, spinners,
and curlytail jigs is popular, as is fishing
with minnows.
For summer-run steelhead from June
to mid-August, trolling large spoons and
rattling, shallow-diving crankbaits near pier
heads is successful, while for king salmon
lures, large flashers and herring are popular
in the cold water. To catch the steelheads,
trolling fast in 45 to 65ft depths with
spoons running 20 to 50 feet down is a
great tactic.
i n d u s t r y V I E W
Bryan Darland, Fishing Department Buyer at Jay’s Sporting Goods
Jay’s Sporting Goods is an
independent, family-owned
sporting goods retailer with two,
roughly 100,000 sq ft retail stores
in Clare and Gaylord, Michigan,
as well as an e-commerce
store. Bryan Darland says
approximately 20 per cent of retail
floor space is dedicated to fishing
equipment.
“Overall, the popularity of
Great Lakes fishing continues
to increase, but three key factors
always seem to drive the ebb
and flow. Rumours and reports
of fishing quality are always
important. In most of the key
Great Lakes fisheries that
drive our business – walleye on
Saginaw Bay and Lake St Claire,
as well as salmon and trout,
yellow perch, and smallmouth bass
throughout Lake Michigan and
Lake Huron – are as good and
as they have been in a long time.
Strong fisheries management
practices and healthy baitfish
populations are the primary
reasons why.”
That’s great news for Great
Lakes anglers and retailers like
Jay’s, but economic conditions and
fuel prices, specifically, are another
primary factor.
“Bigger water means longer
runs, often in bigger boats, and
burning more fuel,” Darland
says. “Higher fuel prices like
we’re seeing now definitely have
a negative impact on Great
Lakes fishing participation and
corresponding retail sales of
tackle.”
Darland says overall fishing
trends and technological
advancements are the third
factor driving increased interest
in fishing on the Great Lakes.
“Electronics has always been a
leading category when it comes
to real innovation in the fishing
industry. From the various live
sonar systems to trolling-motor
technologies that integrate with
sonar and GPS, today’s electronics
make it easier for anglers to have
more success on the water.
“Here on the Great Lakes,
walleye and salmon anglers can
now use live sonar to monitor
their trolling spreads, perch
anglers can use the anchor or
spot-lock feature on their trolling
motor to stay on top of the schools,
and smallmouth bass, walleye and
even salmon and trout anglers can
use live, forward-looking sonar to
actively hunt fish.
“Specific pockets throughout
the Great Lakes have become
popular, national destinations for
trophy smallmouth bass anglers
in recent years, attracting a new
class of anglers to the Great Lakes
who wouldn’t otherwise fish there.
“More than it has for perhaps
any other Great Lakes species,
today’s live sonar technologies
are making it easier than ever
for anglers to catch more of these
trophy-sized smallmouth.”
• Industry View content
supplied by New Buffalo,
Michigan-based Josh Lantz, a
freelance outdoor communicator
and corporate communications
manager for St Croix Rod.
30 www.tackletradeworld.com