Alewives are in!

It has been a struggle this spring. No two days have been the same. There has just been no consistency to any aspect of the fishing. Wind, rain, hot, cold, murky water, clear water, warming waters, and cold up-wellings. It may sound like “fisherman’s excuses” to people who don’t do this on a regular basis, but as shore anglers, this is how it is and you can’t really beat yourself up over it. When the fish are there we have caught fish. When they aren’t there you spend time looking for them and hope to find a straggler in between. They are being pushed around daily by the weather.

Guys in boats can search, but as a shore angler you have to play the hand you are dealt every day. But I’ll tell you one thing, in the past 6 weeks I am glad that I haven’t been waiting to take a boat out. It has been wind and high seas. This past Saturday there had to be 6 to 8 footers pounding the rubble wall on the south shore. As a shore angler, I have actually been pretty lucky to find some sheltered areas and still fish through all the storms, high waves and muddy water. It hasn’t been great, but at least we are still fishing. I know I wouldn’t have taken a boat out on most of those days.

The good news is that the alewives are in! As per usual, there are none one day and thick in the harbor the next. They are very concentrated in the area of the mouth of the Milwaukee River. The river under the Hoan and the area behind the Amphitheater are easy pickin’ right now for alewives. Beyond that they are still scarce and will be until we get some warm water back in the harbor. Right now, they are holding tight to that area because it is the warmest water available.
We fished the area a little Saturday morning and had a couple nice alewives murdered on bottom rigs but it appeared to be smaller fish after seeing the bite radius on the dead baits. Finding the edge of the bait pod may be the trick right now. It’s probably not accessible to the south of the river, but to the north you may be able to find that edge. The edge is going to be better than right smack dab in the middle of the alewife pod.

Another piece of good news is that the gobies are also in ( I never thought I’d be saying it was good news to see gobies). It’s another food source that can attract Browns. Goby imitating jigs fished along the bottom are a good option. Just in case someone reading this doesn’t know… you can’t use them for bait!!! Olive jigs, tubes, or Gulp Gobies are good imitations though.

I’m not a live bait user for the most part, but I will make an exception for the alewives. It’s hard to beat them when they are around (plus they are free!). And, it’s not like you are sitting under a shady tree sleeping till something bites. There is an art to this. Catching them, keeping them lively, and presenting them properly. And when your line starts bouncing telling you that the alewife is getting nervous, it’s an adrenaline rush.

I was recently given the opportunity to talk about the intricacies of fishing with live alewives for the coveted In-Fisherman Magazine which will appear in the August issue. The hardest part was condensing everything I wanted to say into 1100 words, but I got the basics.

Till next time, tight lines, smooth drags, and it getting warm enough now to take a kid fishing!

Marc