Yooperdad

Great photo Cory. Think 2011

Pitmaster, tried the hand salt method (plus a little brown sugar) and smoked the filets yesterday, with "outstanding" results. Thank you very much. In one of your posts you had the following suggestion: serve hot-out-of-the-smokehouse with a little dab of cheesy lemon-dill cream sauce on the side Found lots of recipes for lemon dill sauce and made one of them, but none with the "cheesy" addition. Might you have a recipe to share for that too? Thanks again.

That's an awesome video Pitmaster. I sent this message to my "vet" friends this morning. Mike FROM A VETERAN TO A VETERAN When a Veteran leaves the 'job' and retires to a better life, many are jealous, some are pleased, and others, who may have already retired, wonder if he knows what he is leaving behind, because we already know. 1. We know, for example, that after a lifetime of camaraderie that few experience, it will remain as a longing for those past times. 2. We know in the Military life there is a fellowship which lasts long after the uniforms are hung up in the back of the closet. 3. We know even if he throws them away, they will be on him with every step and breath that remains in his life. We also know how the very bearing of the man speaks of what he was and in his heart still is. These are the burdens of the job. You will still look at people suspiciously, still see what others do not see or choose to ignore and always will look at the rest of the Military world with a respect for what they do; only grown in a lifetime of knowing. Never think for one moment you are escaping from that life. You are only escaping the 'job' and merely being allowed to leave 'active' duty. NOW! Civilian Friends vs. Veteran Friends Comparisons CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Get upset if you're too busy to talk to them for a week. VETERAN FRIENDS: Are glad to see you after years, and will happily carry on the same conversation you were having the last time you met. ------------------------------ --------------------- CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Have never seen you cry. VETERAN FRIENDS: Have cried with you. --------------------------------------------------- CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Keep your stuff so long they forget it's yours. VETERAN FRIENDS: Borrow your stuff for a few days then give it back. ------------------------------ ------------------- CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Know a few things about you. VETERAN FRIENDS: Could write a book with direct quotes from you. --------------------------------------------------- CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Will leave you behind if that's what the crowd is doing. VETERAN FRIENDS: Will kick the crowd's ass that left you behind. --------------------------------------------------- CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Are for a while. VETERAN FRIENDS: Are for life. ---------------------------------------------------------- CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Have shared a few experiences... VETERAN FRIENDS: Have shared a lifetime of experiences no citizen could ever dream of... --------------------------------------------------- CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Will take your drink away when they think you've had enough. VETERAN FRIENDS: Will look at you stumbling all over the place and say, 'You better drink the rest of that before you spill it!' Then carry you home safely and put you to bed... ---------------------------------------------------- CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Will talk crap to the person who talks crap about you. VETERAN FRIENDS: Will knock them the hell out OF THEM for using your name in vain. --------------------------------------------------- A veteran - whether active duty, retired, or reserve- is someone who, at one point in their life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The Government of the United States of America' for an amount of 'up to and including my life'. . . and military wives are as much veterans as their spouses. From one Veteran to another, it's an honor to be in your company.

Skeeter, great idea and no doubt such an event will generate a lot of interest. Perhaps I missed the proposed location of the event, or is this something that will occur at several ports?

That's an awesome collection of information Pitmaster. Thanks.

Brian, a good guide can be found on line here http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/pdf/pnw/pnw238.pdf Have fun.

Consider yourself extremely fortunate. My wife of 45 years won't go near the boat, and while she loves salmon as tablefare, hates the smell of fish.

I'll offer a different opinion for consideration. I have Chamberlains and I like them a lot for laker fishing, where you fish deep, can have shakers get on, and don't change baits frequently. But, I don't care for them at all for salmon. Scotty pinch pads are great, easy and fast to set, relatively cheap, and can be loaded quite heavy. Very simple and effective. I used Walkers for years and also like them, but not as well as the Scotty's. Have also used Big Jons and Canon's. Never wanted to mess with rubber bands, so that's one setup I haven't tried.

The Michigan DNR has a program called BOW, Be an Outdoor Woman, and for several years has hosted a BOW Salmon weekend at Fairport. I have participated in all of them so far, and shared the outing with Jeff Jette, "Get Bent" this year. Previous boat captains have also included Jason Peterson, "Dreamer" and Mike and Kim Herman "Micah Pa Tea". This years event fell on a crap weekend that limited time on the water, but we still had a good time. I made a You Tube video to capture the weekend and if so inclined, you can see it here. Participants came from as far as Lansing, MI and LaCrosse, WI ( Dorothy is both a WW2 and Korean War vet ). The event is already scheduled for Fairport again next year, August 12-13-14. If you know of any interested ladies, they can contact Sharon Pitz at the Marquette DNR office to get on her list (906-226-1321)or [email protected] Sharon has been the primary organizer of all BOW events in the UP for several years, and earlier this year received an award from MUCC that recognized her contributions. Sharon has been assisted in many of these local events by Cathy Pederson, also of Marquette and in some of the photos.

Rayman, I was not making a plug for Church boards, and I agree there are issues with all of them that could be different. I too run a braid backer on all my copper and lead setups, with a short segment of heavy mono spliced in to affix the releases to. My comments were relaying my experience with the Z Board releases, which did not work for me. The boards themselves track and pull great, once you are able to keep them connected to the line.

I bought 2 of the Big Daddy Z Boards this spring, specifically to run copper. I have only used Church boards in the past. The Z boards only worked for me, AFTER I replaced the front releases. I used Offshore replacement releases and they worked fine. The boards just would not hold the pull of the copper with the original releases. Is it worth the price to buy them and then have to replace the releases? You decide.

I have mono spliced into mine, but I was on another guys boat and he had the copper tied direct to 50# P Pro. I bought a set of Z boards just for copper and they pull well but their clips are useless. I suppose clipping to P Pro was the biggest part of the problem, although the Church boards ran like they were swamped.

What in-line boards are best with the 300' of copper, and what type releases? I ran it with some success this last weekend, but it was a struggle to keep it in the releases, and get it away from the boat. Mike

Thanks for the positive report Mark. Hope you do well Wednesday, and also fill me in on what I need to do to go from "relatively" impressed to "IMPRESSED" Seriously:grin: I make the flies myself and being a long time fisherman, incorporated what made the most sense to me. We all spend a lot of money to catch fish, and I wanted to make sure my flies were a good value, which I believe they are. I also wanted to deal with the storage issue that we all face. You can get a lot of flies without hooks in a plastic box rather easily, so that was the real focus for the large tubes used for the flies, making the hook sets interchangeable. Then an added plus was that the larger tube allowed for "eyes" to be added. The silicone skirts on all patterns was an addition this year. Seems to make a difference so far, at least from the fisherman's view Glad you like the Matzuo hooks. I tied a few double 5/0's to test and may add them to the line up soon, if they aren't too heavy for the fly. They are really mean. I have run the single 5/0 and they do some major damage to anything that grabs them. I haven't added that #18 you ran to my web store yet, but do have them in stock and will do that shortly. There will also be a #19, Juvil Eye, made with Extreme UV from Purple Taco. It's very transparent up close, kind of like a No See Um, but it lights up with black light. I ran both of these myself at Fairport Sunday and Monday and kept 18, with about half on those patterns. The other very successful patterns were #11, the Blue Green Eye Alewife and #5, Blue Glo Eye Ghost. Didn't have time to run others. Thanks again Mark for your very positive report and good luck today. Mike

Kris, welcome to the site. Lots of great folks here that are willing to help. Check out my "tips" page on my website. http://www.eyeflies.com/?q=node/6 This chart was developed by a fisheries researcher friend of mine some years ago, based on the research findings on kings, and what kings see when. The colors at depths are kind of surprising to some. The colors are applicable to both spoons and flies. Good luck.

I am going to replace my old Garmin 182C and have almost decided on the Garmin 536 with Lakemester map for detailed coverage of Lake Michigan. Does anyone own this unit and have a recommendation. Thanks.

Another attaboy for Z Boards! I have always used Church boards and last weekend ran both Church and Z Boards. The Z's pull faster and harder, no question. However, I still view that plastic plug connection to hold it on your line as a minus. We had some trouble with it wanting to pop out, and I was only running 5 colors.

Daybreak was the only boat I recognized Bromley. We slid by and talked for a few minutes. Yes, it was a great day out there. To me, surprisingly cold though. My son-in-law got on my case because I told him he didn't need his snowmobile suit:no: Jeff's Sportcraft is a nice fishing platform, and very nice for the ride in and out with the hardtop, curtains, and HEATER! Just a bit more civilized than my old Whaler. Take care

Awesome fishing Russ! I'm glad my Eyeflies worked for you:D

That's too funny! That guy in the red flannel owned and ran Catch-A-Finn charters from Marquette for about 20 years. He knows Stannard very well and felt compelled to ham it up for the photo:D

Made a trip to Stannard today on Get Bent, a nice 25 Sportcraft. Had a great time and enjoyed the beautiful spring weather. That biggest laker was 42" and 27#.

Great day John. Things picked up for us too, later in the afternoon. What a gorgeous day at Stannard! I'm going to try and post a picture too. Mike

Thanks for the kind remarks guys. The proof of the product will come with fishing:) I'm still having problems with the website and am looking to move to a new host company server. Sometimes it works well, and then others it is extrememly slow or won't open at all:mad:

Thanks Ken. Right after I made this post today, I discovered my website was not working due to a server issue. It's running fine now though:thumb: Mike

Good Morning Great Lakes Fishermen, I've been a member for a few years, and was told it would be OK to announce my new business venture in this section. I'm retiring in late June after 40 years with a great employer and am converting my avocation, great lakes fishing, to my vocation with the opening of Mike's Eyeflies. The website can be seen here www.eyeflies.com and I can be reached here [email protected]. I started tieing flies as a kid back in PA after my Dad started taking me to Fishermen's Paradise near Belfonte in central PA..... no robin, blue or redbird, pheasant, rabbit or squirrel was safe after that:lol: Anyway, check the website to see my products and store, and I'll use this post from a Great Lakes Charter Captain, Daybreak in Marquette, tell you about what I am making. Good fishing! Mike " I wanted to post this site for people to check out. www.eyeflies.com The company is brand new and locally owned and operated. The website is brand new and will constantly being updated with new products and info. I have used a lot of different trolling flies out there, but I definatly have a new favorite! Very high quality materiels and craftmanship and a great choice of different colors and combos. The hooksets are also very nice, with either single 5/0 hooks or double 4/0 hooks. Also availble are Glow Beads. These arnt the sh*tty beads that glow for 5 minutes either. These beads glow like a Moonshine spoon, and last for well over an hour or more! They have all the features I like about other brands, and a few extra! A nice feature of these flys is the inside diameter of the head is slightly larger than other brands. This enables you to switch fly bodies with ease without switching leaders everytime. Just slide the fly body off the leader and slide on a different one. There are also UV color options, as well and the addition of the silicon strands in the skirts really makes them shimmer in the water! If you are looking at replacing a few old flies or just want to add a few new ones to your box, check these out! You wont be dissapointed! Locally made and they catch fish!! " Thanks Daybreak