Use the Labor Day weekend to fish or plan for hunting seasons

It's a good question. For many anglers, the answer is easily solved by heading out onto Lake Michigan for some of the best salmon action in years.

For others, who enjoy wading a river, it's Chinook salmon time again. Somefish have moved up the Betsie, Manistee and Pere Marquette rivers prior to spawning, and can be caught on flies, lures or spawn.

Tired of fishing, the early Canada goose season will  open Sept. 1 although with just a few exceptions, I haven't seen many honkers flying around the northern counties.

The early goose season can be good when the birds are flying.

If none of that interests you, try spending some preseason time scouting in advance of the upcoming archery deer season that opens Oct. 1.

Let's take a little closer look at what is going on in the outdoor world over the long Labor Day weekend.

Lake salmon fishing has gone through another decent season. Limit catches are fairly common in many locations, and kings are running up to 18-25 pounds.

Hotspots are all up and down the Lake Michigan shoreline from Benton Harbor-St. Joseph, Saugatuck, Grand Haven, Muskegon, Ludington, Manistee, Onekama, Elberta, Frankfort, Platte Bay, Leland, Traverse City (both arms of Grand Traverse Bay), Acme, Elk Rapids, Charlevoix, Petoskey and any spot in-between these ports.

Dodgers and Squids or Sparkle Flies are working well, as are J-plugs, and a whole host of spoons like the ever popular Silver Streak. Some coho have arrived, but very few at this writing, are being caught off Frankfort, Point Betsie and Platte Bay near Honor. Most of the catch are Chinook salmon with the occasional steelhead thrown in to add a bit of spice to an anglers life.

River fishing is fairly good to superb on the Big Manistee River from Tippy Dam downstream to Manistee Lake. Large chunks of skein eggs are an attractive (to the fish. anyway) bait, and plenty of fish are being caught on FlatFish, Tadpollys, Hot 'n Tots and other diving plugs fished with the dropback method through deep holes and runs.

If we get a good cool rain, it can put more salmon into area rivers.

Guide Mark Rinckey of Honor (231-325-6901) has been out checking the Betsie River. Fair to good numbers of salmon are being caught in the Pere Marquette, Grand, Muskegon and other Lake Michigan tributaries. There are no spawning fish yet, and a good cool rain would spark up the action.

Goose season, as noted above, opens Sept. 1. Most of the birds are sitting in secluded areas, on refuge water or near the mouth of many rivers. Many anglers I know may spend time casting to Chinook salmon on rivers near the mouth, and often on opening day, the birds will lift off and fly up or downstream over the heads of fishermen. Those low-flying birds are dead or fully educated on the first day, and hunting the rivers becomes much more difficult after that.

The hunters hunker down near the river bank, and allow the birds to fly overhead before raising up and taking a shot. Make certain you have the necessary state and federal stamps, are  more than 450 feet from any building, and note that only steel or other nontoxic shot is legal. It sometimes can be the best action, but know what lies beyond the flying geese, and make certain it's not another angler on the other side of the river.

Some grain fields that are being or have been cut are naturally attractive to geese. Get landowner permission, and get there early and get set up. Geese often fly at dawn, and hunters need to have their decoys in place long before sun-up.

Not into chasing Canada geese or salmon fishing, but are chomping at the bit to hit the woods for whitetail deer when the Oct. 1 season opens, hunters should consider spending parts of each day watching deer from afar.

Get a jump on preseason scouting for whitetail deer.

Study the animals through binoculars or a spotting scope, and pay close attention to where they enter feeding fields and at what time. This knowledge will allow hunters to pinpoint key areas to put up a tree stand.

Watch deer at the same spot for three evenings, and it's possible to have them pegged. They will still be using those same summer trails on October 1. If the deer are not frightened off by people walking around in their bedding areas, they will probably offer a shot during the early season. This preseason scouting is so important, and it is all too often overlooked by so many hunters.

These are just several things to consider for a weekend pastime. Have fun, be careful and take care of each other.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors