HitMan

Fishing continues to remain slow in Grand Haven. Catches over the weekend ranged from 2-5 fish per boat, mainly all nice 6-12 pound Kings. The best water was in 40-42 feet of water. Downriggers 18-37 feet down, divers back 60-90 feet and 3-8 colors of Lead core all produced bites. Regular-sized Stinger spoons accounted for all our bites, as long as it had some sort of orange on it. For example, double orange crush, tangerine, jawbreaker, and sunburst worked well. The water is good at 44-46 degrees and bait was found in numerous locations. Fishing should continue each day this week with better fishing occurring by next weekend. Fishing is shaping up to be fantastic with our prime and peek Grand Haven spring bite occurring in two weeks! Good Luck to all!

We have a total of 21 Lead Core rods. I would have to say if I was limited to only 4, they would be 5, 10, 13 and 15 colors. The shorter lengths are only valuable for such a short time in the spring, but the 10+ colors are deadly all season long.

Initially, I was not a believer of the e-chip. But, it didn't take long for me to become a believer! The Pro-Troll ProChip flasher is an excellent flasher with the e-chip. I have taken the e-chip out of the ProChip 8 flasher, in various different colors, and the flashers with the e-chip did work better, but of course, they both still caught fish. I tried this off and on throughout the season last year. I know there any many doubters and nonbelievers, but if you think about it and read the data and information supporting them, it does make sense! What have others found?

Matt, I was not trying to discourage sales of your product. I have been using the bead chain harness vs. the normal dacron harness for the last 4 years. My statements and comments were based on my observations and data over the course of the last four years. Therefore, I have used both setups and I never state anything on this website that isn't true or I have not looked in depth at. All my comments about the hooks hanging down, less hook-ups, etc. was backed with on the water experiences. This is just what has worked for me and what I believe in. Everyone is different. Sorry for the confusion.

We use Size 2 Round Bend hooks for Size 3 J-Plugs and Size 1 Round Bend hooks for Size 4 and 5 J-Plugs. The smaller hooks allow for a better hook-up ratio, especially with the double hook setup. Plus, heavier and larger hooks and bead chains drag the hooks down below the body of the plug more than dacron and smaller hooks do, especially at slower trolling speeds. This is the most important thing when fishing with J-Plugs to get the most bites and successful hook-ups! The more your J-Plug harness drags, the less bites and hook-ups you will receive. Hope this helps!

I would recommend using a Power Pro type braid in the 30-50 pound test range as backing. Many recommend using Mono as backing because the Copper doesn't stretch, but I have fished with Copper and Power Pro backing for 4 years with great success. The mono doesn't last as long and tends to break-off often. Power Pro allows for lots of backing and better strength than with mono. You will beed at least 150 yards of backing. Hope this helps!

Are you referring to the entire J-Plug Harnesses or just the hooks on the harnesses? I will have 100s of harnesses for sale this weekend at the Grand Rapids Swap Meet. I can also guide you on what brand of dacron to purchase and how to retie your current harnesses you may have. Otherwise, I can get you however many you want already pretied. Let me know your thoughts.

I will be there selling tons and tons of spoons, 100s of flashers, flies, Tomic plugs, J-Plugs, Silver Horde plugs, J-Plug hook harnesses, cut bait rigs and heads, squids, line, divers, downrigger releases, plus much, much more! Hope to see many of you there!!!

There is a Tackle Swap Meet this Saturday, March 29, in Grand Rapids, MI. The Grand Rapids Steelheaders is hosting the event! The hours are from 9AM-3PM and it is located at Diamond Hall, 435 Diamond St. NE. Here is their advertisement flier information: Tackle Swap Meet Grand Rapids Steelheaders March 29th 2008 9:00 AM- 3:00 PM Where: Diamond Hall 435 Diamond St. NE Directions: Michigan St to Diamond North on Diamond to the hall just over the tracks NEW, USED, & CUSTOM TACKLE Big Lake, River, Inland Fishing (Hunting items and other Sporting Good items may also be sold) Admission Fee: FREE TO All ACTIVE STEELHEAD Members, Non Members $2.00 Per Person, (Kids 12 and under FREE) • Fishing Simulator $1 Per Try • Some Food provided at minimal cost • Antique fishing equipment appraisals (free) • Antique fishing equipment for sale • Contact Steve @ (616) 617-8092 for information regarding this event

Welcome Ryan! Feel free to ask questions! All questions are GREAT ones here!

Welcome Ryan! Feel free to ask questions! All questions are GREAT ones here!

I have wrote 100s of papers for college the last 6 years! I would call myself a writer!

We used to use them a lot to run drop weights, dipsy divers, and surface lures off of them. A few guys up north still use them for that and run their lead cores off of them as well. Most guys on the Great Lakes are getting rid of them because the planer board technology has evolved so much over the last 10 years. A few of the charter boats still lay them out in front of the piers in Grand Haven, so they have more room to themselves. That is how they are used the most as of late. Otherwise, they are just for looks.

When fishing offshore and the water is right, you will catch everything! Kings, Cohos, Steelhead, and Lake Trout. Trust me, Lake Trout can catch a lure at any speed, just like all the other species.

The boat speed should always be around 1.0-1.5 Most guys have to use trolling bags to get that slow. Lots of guys think "bouncing bottom" means to drag a 2 pound weight along bottom, but rather it has to be a bounce like every 5-8 seconds. The best offshore temperatures we have found are 43-47 degrees. If we can find 47 degree water, we will be there all day pecking away at the fish. Super fast is around 4.0-4.5

I know some of the best coho flies last year were the Riptide, Fission, Viper Jr. and Undertow Rapture Trolling Flies. These were all used behind the red and orange dodgers. These were all from reports in St. Joe around the bottom of the lake to Racine. Mainly out of East Chicago and Winthrop Harbor.

The Twinkie Twinkie Bait Rig was one of the first cut bait rigs created. It is from New York and originated on Lake Ontario. It is a very nice rig. But, over the last five years there has been a lot of competitors that have come into the mix. The Kingfisher II flasher is made in Canada and is very similar to John King's Reel Flasher and the Assassin Flashers made in New York. Overall, I have used all three of these flashers and have never noticed any difference in performance. Each brand has specific color patterns that are not available in their competitors. The Kermit Glow and Green Casper Glow are by far the best Kingfisher II flashers that I have used. Many of John King's flashers are great colors and similar to the colors we have used on Spin Doctors and FishCatchers over the years. These flashers also work well with flies as well. If you have any other questions about Flashers and Meat Rigs, please feel free to ask!

Hi Joe, No, I am referring to Black River Harbor on Lake Superior. It is just North of Ironwood.

I am curious how the fishing is out of Black River Harbor? What makes up the majority of the catch and what does a normal year look like from May-September for species of fish and amounts? If anyone fishes here or has fished here in the past, any input would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!!!

Don't forget about this weekend's Salmon Seminar in Muskegon. The cost is $25 and you can just show up and pay at the door. Hope to see lots of you there!!!

Dipsy color can be debated a lot and for along time. Some people use Orange/Red and Green Divers to represent the Port and Starboard sides of the boats. Others do this with Red and Green snubbers instead. People swear by Clear, Black, Glow, Green, and White/Crushed Glow. Personally, I won't use anything but a White/Crushed Glow Dipsy or a Metallic Green Dipsy.

I don't believe the color makes any difference when using it as backing for Lead Core and Copper. Most of it will never be in the water when trolling; it will be between the boat and the board. The top choices are White or Gray and Green. But, I do believe color makes a difference on diver rods.

Silver spoons are definitely the most popular and produce the most. When I say "muddy" water, I am mainly referring to the Grand River. When the water is extremely muddy, you can't even see one foot below the surface. But, silver spoons do work well in this "muddy" water as well. I don't know any specifics or how to clarify "muddy" water vs. clear water. I guess three easy ways to look at it are: brown "muddy" water, green murky water, or blue clear water. Those could be three steps of clarification. When offshore in the blue clear water, we can see our downrigger weight 30-40 feet down and when in the brown "muddy" water sometimes we can't see it on the surface, so I guess the middle could be green murky water. If you bought a lot of silver spoons, I wouldn't be too worried. They will work and produce. The best way to figure out what is best is to go fishing, experiment, and remember what worked and didn't work. After you experiment with the silver spoons, then you can purchase a few gold and/or copper spoons of the same pattern and see how they work compared to the silver spoons. The only way to know what truly works is to try it for yourself! Lots of baits that work well in Grand Haven, don't work as great in Muskegon and they are only 10 miles apart. The same is true for other ports as well as Wisconsin and Michigan, even though it is the same lake. Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions!

Here is the first article from the Michigan City paper regarding the future of the GL2S: http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=10111&TM=80336.62 Here is the second follow-up article from the Michigan City paper regarding the future of the GL2S: http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?SectionID=8&SubSectionID=96&ArticleID=10126

Hey John, I strongly recommend you come to the Muskegon Charter Boat Association Salmon Seminar on March 1st. Captain Paul Jensen, one of the two Commercial Fishermen out of Muskegon, is conducting a seminar titled, "The In and Out of Commercial Trap Nets." I know Paul has a small model of a real trap net that he is planning on using. He does an excellent job explaining how trap nets work and where you can and cannot safely fish. Here is the link to the seminar information: http://www.muskegoncharterboats.com/seminar.htm To answer your questions, yes, you can successfully fish by them, over them, and between them. You have to become accustomed on how to read each kingpin, buoy, and jug. The nets are on the bottom and the only things that you can get caught in are the lines to pull the traps up. Most people only use Copper and Lead Core rigs when fishing over the nets. But, a normal Big Lake spread can be used when fishing by the nets and inbetween them. Again, you have to be accustomed to how the nets work and what each marker and line represents. Paul will do an excellent job explaining this! Hope this helps a little!