We used spawnbags tied with orange or yellow mesh material, and we added one or two tiny Styrofoam kernels to the egg sack. This caused the bait to float up off bottom.
Our fishing rig was simple. We ran our 6-pound line through a 1/4-oz. egg sinker and tied the line to one end of a barrel swivel, We then tied in a four-foot length of 4-pound leader, tied on a hook, baited up, and cast into the water where the river current and lake water met.
The bait would roll along bottom, and usually it may roll only a few feet before we felt the tap-tap-tap strike as a coho salmon picked up the bait. We'd give the fish a bit of slack, set the hook, and then watch the explosive jumps of an angry and wild salmon.
More information on shoreline fishing is in the Great Lakes Fishery Trust's 'Let's Fish Lake Michigan' angler's guide.
