Hotdog71

I have a few aluminum spools for an Okuma convector 20. They have the shaft and the clicker gear on them. Used for course, but in good condition. I was thinking they would make a nice spare to change line when fishing for different species of fish, swap out the 20lb line for 12lb without having to re-spool. Not sure if there is a need for that. Thoughts?

Tuna's the man to see!

We've had luck in the 120 area. Usually fishing evening to a little after sundown. Running flies off dipsies with a 10' lead behind the dipsy. 200, 250 and 300 copper have been producing lots of fish as well.1/2 hr before sundown we switch several lines to moonshine spoons. Oceana fly behind white SD, No See Em behind Mnt Dew SD, Mongolian beef, RV Flounder Pounder, Atomic melon have worked well. I can't get a bite on plugs or meat rigs personally, but those have worked for others in that time frame. We were 3/5 last night using that pattern. Losing a nice one to a breakoff after a tangle on the rigger and one knock off. Hope that helps some.

Could be a bad connection from the probe to the wire or wire to antenna, but it sounds like you might have a bad probe. Check it at different depths to see if it will work. I bought a used setup and the probe didn't work right. Sent it in to Moor and they told me the speed sensor was fried. One other thing is to check the wheel and make sure it's in the correct direction.

No it wasn't, sorry

Nice Fish!

I love BW's stuff! Unfortunately, there was a spoon on the end of this copper.

Nope. I haven't lost any gear this year. (Knocking on wood over here) But I thought if anyone on this site had I would try to return their gear.

Had back to back pitiful evenings fishing. Thursday rolled around from 25-125 fow never really finding anything anywhere. Ended 1 for 1 but it was so small we through it back after bringing it in. Was caught in 30 fow on a Mongolian Beef 25 dn on a rigger. No bait to speak of and no fished marked except for a few in the shallow water, but couldn't get those to go. Friday wasn't much better fishing 85- 130 fow. Saw1 small bait pod and marked 1 fish. Trolled flies, spoons, plugs and couldn't get anything. Here's the silver lining- Just after 8:25, the 300 cu gets really heavy but doesn't take any drag. After fighting what seems to be a log I finally get head shake, so now I'm thinking a Laker. Almost to the leader and we spot a spoon on the cu from the 7 cl. After unhooking that we find a huge tangle with the 300 cu, 7 cl and the 5 cl. As I bring in the cu I find nothing attached to the spoon except for these other lines. So where's the fish? 7cl, nope took of the spoon off that to clean up the mess. Must be the 5 cl. So after hand lining 30ft of line I see movement at the back of the boat. A small fight and in the net it goes. Dad goes to take out the spoon and says "I don't remember putting that spoon on", and we proceed to undo the mess. All our lines are in but there is still a line in the water that is attached to the fish, so we bring it in. It turns out we caught a 300 cu that had hooked this fish. No one was around us when we hooked up, so we didn't snag someone's line. I guess I'm the winner of the Dumb Luck Award for the evening. BTW- It was 17# If this was your fish, sorry. But ID the spoon and I'll try to return it to you. I have the cu wrapped on a water bottle. Sorry my report isn't very helpful tonight. Keep Em' Tight

Got a late start yesterday, not hitting the lake till 6:15 ish. Coming out the channel we saw two boats land fish, but it was pretty hectic inside so we moved to the mudline to set up. We headed west and trolled the deeper water to 120 fow. Really slow night night for us, 2-4 including one knock off. The lost fish was a shaker that came off at the back of the boat. Here's what worked for us: No See Um/ Mtn Dew SD, dipsy 125 bk, 1 for 1, #13 king Red head chrome j plug, 4 cl leadcore, 1 for 2, shaker and #17 king Mongolian beef, rigger dn 43, 0 for 1 Cold water everywhere, bait was harder to find. Keep Em' Tight

A little late on the report due to family wanting to do some fishing, but who can blame them. So here it is: 7-9 AM Dad and I headed out to 75 fow and setup heading west. Started noticing that the volt gauge was dancing all over the place so I killed the nav lights as the sky brighten enough to see all the boats. As we are discussing how to go about the return trip the downrigger with a Big Weenie meat rig goes. 5 mins into the fight, the dipsy with an Oceana fly and white paddle goes. After 25 mins of fight both fish landed, an 18 and 20 lb King. Headed in to find the voltage issue. 2-2 Not bad considering. 7-9 pm Voltage issue was a bad battery, so with a new one, I headed out with Mom and Dad around 5:30. Same setup as the morning trip, only better results. It started slowly but ended with very happy people. We fished east west trolls from 90 -125 fow. Here's what worked: 250 copper- Key Lime fly/Frog Racer SD- 2 for 2 Kings #15 and #22 (a new record for me ) Dipsy 125 bk on 1.5- Oceana fly/White SD- 4 for 4, 3 Kings 1 Coho #18,#15,#2 and #12 BW Meat rig off DR- 0 for 1, Knock off 6 for 7 Great night! Great results being the first trip in 3 weeks and now I had an idea for when to take my cousins tomorrow. 7-10 pm Took my cousins out for an evening trip. We started really slow. The pack of boats sat at 120 so we stopped short in 70 fow. When we finally made it out to 120 some of the boats had left making it a little less the combat fishing, but it was still close to it. Let the pack head north and we continued south almost to Rosy Mound. Fish only hit on south trolls. Late in the evening we moved into 95 fow with the same type of troll need to take fish. So here's what worked: Dipsy 150 bk on 1.5- No See Um/Mtn Dew SD 2 for 2, Coho and King #8 and #15 Dipsy 125 bk on 1.5- Oceana/White SD 2 for 4, Coho and King #9 and #12 10 cl leadcore- Atomic Melon Moonshine 1 for 1 King #8 Great couple days on the lake! Good Luck Keep Em' Tight

Those are once in a lifetime shots there Ken! Thanks for sharing.

Way to go!

Nice fish! I have to agree with Justin; there's a great invention called pliers. Never put your hand in the net with the fish. But at least you can give everyone a big thumbs up

How have the fleas and flies been?

Thanks for the report. I've been in MN the last 2 weeks and was wondering if anyone was fishing out of Grand Haven. Not too many reports posted.

Great Job Don! That's a beauty. Which setup did you get it on?

I picked up a couple of Beckman storage bags that I use for the planner boards. I have the bags hanging in the head from 3M Command hooks. Here is a link of what they look like. http://www.walleyesinc.com/walleyeinc3/beckmanplaner.html

Nice Job Austin! BTW- How are those reels working out for you?

Generally, a free slider is a section of line, 3-6ft long, that attaches to the line you're running from your downrigger rod. Snap swivels on both ends, one gets the spoon and the other clips onto your line, after your rigger rod is set, where it will work it's way down to the bow in your line and stay there sliding freely on the line. In MI they are an extra "freebie" line while in other states they count as a line in the water.

I run it when the fleas come out. The stuff works great. I use a polymer knot and have never had any issues with it. I also use Blacks releases an there has never been any damage to the line. I bought a 300yd spool and split it between 2 reels to save a little dough. I got no fleas on me! Coldwater tackle, one of the companies that lists on here, has a good price on the line.

I don't use singles on my spoons, but I do use tandem singles on my flies. You may try swapping out the hooks that come on the plug with a different brand. I have good luck with Gamakatsu and Owner. But keep in mind what Ken said, sometimes it doesn'y matter what hook you have- they will get off.

Just got done with packaging tonight’s catch, so forgive me if it's not totally coherent. Set out lines at 5:30 and fished in 90-130 fow. Very little action while the wind was blowing hard from nnw. Picked after the wind slowed and the sun went down. Best water turned out to be 99- 128 on se or e troll. Ended the night at 9:45, 4-6. Landed a triple at the end of the night in 99 fow. Nice size fish tonight ranging from 7-17lbs. Here’s what worked for us: Siigs Brushed Stainless fly behind crome flasher, rigger 57 dn, 0-1 Blue Dolphin, 300 copper 45#, 2-3 Both Kings Mongolian beef, rigger 60 dn, 1-1 King Kevorkian, Dipsy 150 bk, 1-1 King Fleas still bad as well as the flies. Keep Em’ Tight

Nice Job!

I fish Grand Haven and hear Holland, Port Sheldon, Muskegon, Whitehall, and on a clear night Manistee on 68. I'm sure others use there own frequencies or cell phones to contact friends when the fishing is hot. There is usually enough chatter to really get you confused if they don't mention what port they are fishing out of. Hope that helps.