Lake Michigan King Salmon Downrigger Kit

What this kit does

Summer kings on Lake Michigan live in a narrow temperature band, usually somewhere between 60 and 130 feet down over several hundred feet of water. Nothing you can cast reaches that. This kit exists to put a bait at a known depth, at a known speed, and to keep it there for hours.

The Cannon Optimum is the expensive item and the reason the kit works. An electric downrigger with a depth counter and auto-stop lets one person run multiple rods, retrieve a 10-pound ball without wrecking a shoulder, and — most importantly — put the bait back at exactly the depth that just produced a fish. The Big Jon rod holders are what make the rest of the boat usable; a serious salmon spread is six to ten lines and every one of them needs a home.

The Shimano Talavera is a long, moderate trolling rod that loads into a downrigger release and absorbs the shock of a chinook eating at 2.4 mph. The Tekota line counter does the same job it does everywhere: repeatability. When a rod fires, the numbers on the counter and the rigger are the recipe, and you want to be able to rebuild it exactly.

Dipsy divers are the second delivery system and they are not redundant. A dipsy planes out to the side as well as down, which spreads baits away from the boat and covers water the riggers never touch. On a bright calm day, that lateral separation is often the whole difference.

For baits, two families cover nearly all of it. Moonshine RV spoons are the glow-finish trolling spoon the Lake Michigan fleet runs at first light and in deep low-light water. Spin Doctor flashers run ahead of a fly or meat rig and are the highest-percentage king presentation once the sun is up. Between them you have morning and midday covered.

PowerPro braid for the rigger rods. No stretch means the release fires clean and the hookset actually reaches a fish 90 feet down.

What it deliberately leaves out

No copper or lead core. Both are outstanding and both are the next thing you buy. They are also a different rod, a different reel and a different mental model — you are measuring depth by line length rather than by ball depth. Learn riggers and dipsies first or you will be managing tangles instead of fishing.

No second downrigger. You want one eventually, probably two. Start with one, learn to read the ball depth against the temperature probe, and add the second when you know why you want it.

No temperature probe. It is the single best upgrade to this kit and it is deliberately not in it, because probe choice depends on your rigger and your electronics. Budget for one after your first season.

No safety gear. That is not an oversight — it is a separate kit and it is not optional. See the big-water safety kit. Nobody has ever drowned from being under-tackled.

No net. A big salmon net is boat-specific and awkward to recommend blind. Get one with a hoop bigger than you think and a handle longer than you think.

Salmon and trout limits differ between Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana and Illinois on this one lake and change from year to year. Read the current guide from the state whose water you are fishing.