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Big, brawny chinook salmon are prowling the Root River and the Lake Michigan shoreline these days, preparing to play out the final chapter of their life. These gamefish did not earn the nickname "king" without reason. They are generally the largest, hardest fighting and most abundant sportfish in Lake Michigan.
But they tend to spend most of their three-plus years in the lake in deep water, out of range for the shore angler. Until September, that is. Once kings answer their instinctive urge to migrate upriver, they crowd the Racine harbor and Root River by the thousands, providing anyone with a rod and reel and some ambition the chance to hook one of these powerful fish.
With the exception of certain political rallies, the chinook run is responsible for the biggest crowds of the season along the lakefront.
Take Saturday, for example. About 100 anglers worked the harbor gap on North Pier, South Pier and the rocks along the Root River.
"This is the time to get a crack at not only a big fish, but several big fish in a day," said Peter Caruthers of Elkhorn, casting east into Lake Michigan along Christopher Columbus Causeway. "If you don't have a boat, this is your best chance."
Five species of trout and salmon are found in the Root's fall spawning runs chinook salmon, coho salmon, brown trout, rainbow trout (also called steelhead) and brook trout.
Chinook salmon are normally the first to enter the river in fall, followed by coho salmon and brown trout. Relatively few steelhead enter the river in the fall months, and only a handful of brook trout are recorded each year.
You've got to love the pluck and determination of the Lake Michigan shore angler. With a rod, a couple lures and maybe a bucket to sit on, these little guys of the fishing world take on the biggest challenges.
Limited to the water within reach of their longest cast, they know - even in good times - the odds are stacked against them.
But when the conditions are right, they know they just might connect with royalty. Saturday there were times when five anglers were hooked up at a time at the harbor mouth. Shouts of "Fish on!" echoed across the water.
Thanks to a dry September that has slowed the Root River to a trickle, the conditions for harbor and lakefront anglers have been very good lately. The big fish are milling around in the lower river and harbor, biding their time before a surge upstream.
"Chinook fishing on the lake has been incredible for the last three years - we've probably had the three best years we've ever seen," says Matt Coffaro, Department of Natural Resources fish expert for southeastern Wisconsin. "Based on that, we're expecting an outstanding run."
Shore anglers demonstrate more than a little ingenuity, too. One fisherman working the harbor mouth Monday evening had a small sonar unit that could be cast out and relay information to a display on his wrist.
The report was promising - fish were stacked in the river, about 8 feet down in the 28 foot deep channel. But getting them to bite, that's another thing.
For now, the fish are staging for that run. That's just fine with Tom Knautz of Racine.
"After a hard day at work, this is nice," said Knautz, casting a spoon into the Root Monday evening.
Knautz was one of about two dozen anglers enjoying a brilliant sunset and moonrise that evening.
Like infantry intent on hand-to-hand combat, they lined the rocks near the harbor gap, heaving spoons and crank baits and spawn sacs into the great blue beyond.
The catch recently has included some coho salmon and brown trout along with the predominant chinook.
Monday night there was more casting than catching. Of the few fish hooked, all but one got away. Such a batting average isn't unusual. Although the chinooks' bright flanks have dulled to a tarnished silver, their strength is still abundant.
The Department of Natural Resources stocks about 1.5 million chinook in the Wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan each year; about 150,000 of those get their first wild swim when the hatchery truck dumps them in the Root.
These fingerlings grow rapidly over the next three years in the lake, and then, as four-year-olds, heed a genetic urge to return to their home" river. That's what's going on now near the mouth of the Root.
For the anglers, it's cast, reel, hope and repeat. It's simple fishing. It's relaxing. And there's a degree of camaraderie among shore anglers rarely found anywhere in today's society.
Strangers actually talk to and help each other.
Their quest Monday was conspicuous - every five minutes a mature king would leap above the waves and belly-flop back in.
In the coming days more and more fish will head upstream. For the chinook and coho, it will be a one-way trip. The shore angler, though, will be back.
Even though it may last for just a few days, they have had their chance. For the little guy who makes the most of his opportunities, that's enough.
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