J J Mac

I use Cummins nets with the extendable, hexagonal handle and put Frable waxed nets on them. I have used Beckman and they are excellent quality but I don't like the round handle - makes it more difficult to latch the handle in place when you move it in or out.

A simple arbor knot (without the stopper knot in the tag end) works well to tie stainless 7-strand wire to a swivel.

I would like to have it on when the ball is going down or coming up and also have a momentary switch when the ball is not moving up or down so the position can be checked w/o moving the ball.

You can see the proposed fees for all hunting/fishing licenses here http://www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/final_report_177934_7.pdf

Spoonfed -I think Raymarine has discontinued this model. You can still get technical help by calling 1-800-539-5539.

I have the Raymarine ST6001 S1G Hydraulic Inboard Pack on my Tiara 2700 (twin inboards, hydraulic steering) and have been real happy with it. I have run it for two years with absolutely no problem. I have had two other autopilots before and this is by far the best. I also have the same unit only for outboards on a Pursuit 2670 with twin F200 Yamaha outboards (hydraulic steering) and it has been OK too. This was the first year for this auto pilot. We did have a problem with the Gyro Compass on the Pursuit this fall but it is being sent in to Raymarine and I'm sure they will replace it. I would go with Raymarine again. I put the auto pilot on the Tiara and my son put it on the Pursuit. Takes some time!

I still have the mast. It is in great shape. Only used a few times.

I had this happen once on a boat. It was the coupler (female spline) on the flywheel that was bad and the engine had to be pulled to replace it. I think it cost over $1000 about 6 years ago - mostly labor. You will need to make sure the outdrive is lined up properly on the coupler or it could happen again. This alignment should be checked when the outdrive is put back on after yearly (yes it should be done each year!) maintenance. There is an alignment tool that the maintenance shops have or you might be able to purchase one if you service the outdrives yourself. If the male spline coupler at the end of drive shaft is hard to remove from the coupler on the flywheel, it may not be aligned properly. Personally, on a twin engine boat, after having inboards engines I would never have outdrives again.

If you changed the prop you know if it has outdrives or is an inboard. If it is an inboard, it has transmissions and I would have those looked at for sure. If it is a transmission it may be expensive to fix. It might be worth it to have a boat survey done.

As mentioned above, you can use various companies that get the permits for you or you can deal directly with the state agencies which is what I have done. In Michigan, you go thru MDOT. On the following federal web site is a list of phone numbers/web sites for all the states. I found another reference to a Michigan phone number to call that differs from the one listed and may be current. It is Joe Goke, 517-373-2121. http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/freight/sw/permit_report.htm

I'm from Michigan and bought a boat in Ohio in 2002. I had to get a wide load permit for both states.

This year the tournament featured 75 Pro division boats and 172 Amateur boats for a grand total of 247 boats. We (JJ MAC) finished a respectable 25th in the Pro category. My two sons (John who fishes out of Charlevoix & Captain Jim - aka fin-addict who fishes Green Bay out of Cedar River, Mi) fished with me. This is the 5th year we have fished the Ludington tournament but always before we fished the amateur division. In the pro divsion you can weigh-in 12 fish per day but no more than 9 salmon. It is strictly "no cull" which means once a fish is boated it goes in the cooler and there is an observer on every boat. The only fish released are undersized or if you are over the limit on that particular species. Scoring is 10 pts per fish and 1 pt per pound. Day one we boated 8 kings and one laker in the first 1.5 hours. The only problem was our kings were running an average of about 7-8 pounds (good for eating but not a tourny). We would up with 9 kings, 2 steelies, and one laker. The moonshine lures were really hot in the following colors: Happy Meal, Cyclonite, Blue Jackel, and Mongolian Beef. We could barely keep them in the water. After day one we were in 29th place. Day two we decided to go for broke and run to a new place we didn't even prefish. Started out decent by catching some kings and a couple steelies right away. Our fish were running bigger on day two and things were looking pretty good for us. Then we lost about 6 or 7 fish in a row - lost 9 total. It was frustrating. We got on some more fish between 8:30 and 11 and they were running bigger. Unfortunately the bite died and we never got our last fish....which kills you when they are worth 10 pts plus the weight. We weighed in 8 kings and 3 steelies to wind up in 25th place for the two day event. On day two, the best lures were fish catcher/fly and spin doctor/fly combos. We are looking forward to next year. It is a blast! You can see the final results at http://www.ludingtontournament.com/.

Spin Doctor/fly or fish catcher/fly combos fished off lead core or copper work well when the fish are at the level the baits are presented at. They can be pulled with in-line planer boards too.

I pheasant hunt in SD opening week for 4 days with one group, then hunt in ND for waterfowl for three days with another group, then back to SD for 5 more days of pheasant hunting with another group. Have pheasant hunted in SD/Iowa (now only SD) for the last 16 years and waterfowl hunted in ND for the last 5 years. I used to deer hunt but quit doing that.