Salmon O Rama

This event which is held on Lake Michigan out of Racine, Wisconsin each year, has interested me since I started Kayak Fishing about 5 years ago. This year the event ran from July 13th to the 21st with weigh stations starting at Sheboygan, Wisconsin, around to Benton Harbor, Michigan. The weather forecast looked great and I was clear to get away for a few days. I decided to experience the Lake-Express which is a high speed ferry out of Muskegon, Michigan. It travels at approximately 35mph and takes 2 1/2 hours to cross to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I met up with a few friends that were also camping and quickly realized, when I was told we were meeting at 2:30am to hit the water by 3:30am, that I was in for a new experience. Our goal was to be on the water and at the planned location before the sun came up to capitalize on the small window of time the King Salmon will rise to between 15 and 30 feet from the surface in 50 to 70 feet of water, to feed. We were usually off the water by 6:30am. Using anything from J-Plugs, Flasher Fly combos, spoons, and Crankbaits, we all caught fish the 3 days that I was there and Dan Dalton from Wisconsin ended up winning the Kayak Division of Salmon O Rama with a 24.99lb King Salmon. His 17 year old son caught his first Salmon out of a Kayak an joined the 20lb club with a 21.17lb fish. For 2014 I am already planning to stay the whole week of the tournament and hopefully catch a few more fish.