Are the Salmon in the Boardman River Yet?

I have received a number of calls and questions in the shop lately wondering if the salmon are in yet so I thought I'd answer that with a picture that I took this afternoon (Sunday Sept 21) at the weir on the Boardman river. As you can see, the answer is a big yes! The fish started to show up about two weeks ago but the run is really just picking up steam. They have done one harvest already at the weir but only took about 500 fish, the total harvest last year was in the neighborhood of 7000 and the year before 10,000 so there are many more fish on the way. If you have never seen the collection and harvesting operation on the Boardman, it is really quite interesting, definitely worth a look. Here is a link to an article that The Traverse City Record Eagle did last year on the salmon weir. If you want to fish for the salmon, it is important to know that the river is closed to fishing from the North Union Street bridge to the bridge at 31. So it is OK to fish at the mouth of the river and from North Union Street to the weir. One last restriction, no fishing within 300 feet of he weir (it is posted). If you forget, it's a pretty safe bet that if nobody is fishing where you are, then it is closed. I intend to post a short piece on some of the how to on catching the salmon soon but for now call or stop in for the latest.