Plugs

Tony, I am interested in these. You have my name on the used rigger rods. Will u be at the gr show & can I grab them all there? Shane

Thanks guys - can you tell my kids (and maybe me too) liked the dots this year?

I cannot remembere where I got the info, but loaded a free app for my phone called "Earth NC Lite" I have not tried it out yet, but has charts for Lake Michigan & looks like something that might be a good tool on the boat along with the graph/plotter. Good luck.

This the second year I have made some lures with my kids over the winter for some fun. Our previous versions have caught a few fish which the kids really enjoy. We have not had one that was a hot lure yet, but I think we are getting a little better and look forward to trying these out. From the left, these are : 1. Dragon Fire 2. Striker 3. Mr. Eyeballs 4. Super Spot 5. Crock If they work out, my kids will work for candy:grin:

I have Cannon Manual riggers that are about 8 years old. They have always been stored in the basement for the winters and the cable looks good. I have always run 10 pound balls, but just bought 15 pounders to eliminate blowback for the days where we fish a bit deeper. Is there any reason I should be changing the cable out for this extra weight? Does it go bad over time? Thanks, Shane

Thanks for the input guys. Rob - That definately looks about what I had in my head. I may shoot you a PM this spring if you wouldn't mind. It is a little more pricey than I was thinking and I would really like to see if something like that would work with my hatch and some fish in it.

The Bass bag is one of the things that got me wondering about this, but I was thinking of something a little different. When I use the fish box, I typically take them out of there and put them in a cooler to transport them to where they will be cleaned. I am then cleaning out the boat and the cooler. I was thinking of a bag that would go in the fish box. It would have to be big enough to hold 10+ salmon and then I would need to be able to get it out the hatch with the fish in it. I have seen some bigger bags watching the guys fishing in Florida for King fish. Their weigh in bags are a similiar idea to bass bags, just much larger & they look to be insulated. I will keep looking to see what I can come up with, but otherwise thinking I will try to do a good wax job on the inside next year to see if it cleans easier.

We have been using a cooler on the boat for the fish like everyone - pretty standard. I have a fish box under one of the seats that I typically use for storage & I when I do use it for fish I hate cleaning it out. At the end of last year, I used it a few times & I liked the extra space in the boat without the cooler. Been thinking about a way around this a bit this winter and found some some large soft side bags that look interesting. These look to be mainly for salt water type fishing, but was curious if anyone had any experience with anything similiar for the big lake? Not sure how durable these things are as I would have to try to pull it in and out of the box which just has a hatch door on it that is approx. 2 foot square. Any input would be great - Thanks

:(I have cannon riggers and Big Jon rod holders and they are not the same pattern. Also, depending on the age of your boat, make sure the angle is correct. I was told that the older boats have a different gimble mount angle than most of the newer boats/products.

Thanks for posting, I really enjoy seeing the process and learning a bit even though I hope I never have to do it - nice work! One thing I have been curious about since you started. How did you know that the transom was flexing - were you actually able to see it somehow?

UV here as well. I got mine at an ace hardware, but they had to order it. I think some of the automotive guys use them to see leaking radiator fluid, or something along those lines. Do not trust the store if the package does not say it, I had similar issues and most of the time they have no idea. The light they put out is purple.

Last year while cleaning fish with the kids watching, I decided to see what they were eating. One of the Steelies had a lot of bugs in their "tummy" & one of the Salmon had a lot of Alwives. My daughter immediatly thought that the small fish in the Salmon were "babies". After a quick chuckle, it was a very good learning experience for them, including showing them the lure used and how they looked like the bait. If done correctly, they can really learn. It is especially fun at supper time when they have caught the fish and understand the whole process.

Our 2 favorites for the season were Modified Blue Dolphin & Super Screw. I know I caught a lot of fish on these two and bought many of them through out the season. Towards the end of the season, we had some luck with UV Blue Mango, Skittles and a lure that has a strange name. It has been good the last 2 falls after the run & I think it is a Super Slim which is White with a Blue center & I think is SSEM1935 based is what's on the back of the package. I typically make a few lures with the kids each winter & am just getting ready, so look out for "Monkey Man", "Tootser Pie", "Killa", or "Family Time" next year! Can't wait for Spring!

Looks like your Arch may be a little shorter - are you looking for a hard top to go under it? I do not have any real experience in this, just trying to show another similar boat set-up. I have heard some good things from a local Michigan comapny who makes Arches. They may be able to give you an idea as to your options even if they may not actually be able to help you out with a hard top. I have not personally worked with them, but was thinking about adding some holders to my existing Arch depending on how far I get on my winter wish list. Anyway, their website is http://www.towersunlimited.com/main_htmls/misc.html. Nice looking ride! Shane

John - Nice looking addition! I have wondered about a hard top a few times, but have been happy with my canvas so far. What year is your boat? I may be interested in seeing a a few more pics, just to see your entire set-up as I am changing a few things around. I have only had mine for 2 summers and am always looking for ideas. Eric - Not sure what you have to work with, but here is a pic of a similar set-up with canvas. Looks like my Arch may have been a little taller - this was the way I purchased the boat. Shane [/url

Last trip of the year headed out for a short trip with Hour Late. Left the dock at 9:00 am to find the lake a little rougher than we hoped with 2-4’s and the occasional 5. Made our way out to 140 FOW and headed east to set lines. We trolled in to 90 turned around and picked up a 6-7 pound Coho in 114 on a JJ McMuffin on a rigger down 78. Trolled out to 160 turned around and headed back in. Back at the dock by noon. Seemed to mark the most fish in the 140 range, but could not get anything going. Water was still green and the temp did not seem to vary much. Lake laid down as the sun warmed us up and ended up being a very nice day to finish up (minus more fish). Talked to Bachelor I at the launch and he did better earlier in the week out to 215. The Coho had 6 very small baitfish in its belly. Great summer for fishing and boating & I learned a lot. Looking forward to spring! Shane

10-7-AM Left the dock at about 7:30 and went out to ~ 240 FOW sent lines and kept going west. Found the Blue water around 250 and hit 2 going through it the 1st time. Stayed in that water the rest of the morning and ended up 10 for 12 with Steelhead, Coho, Kings and a laker on a ½ core in 260:confused:. Used mainly regular and small spoons: Craigs Christmas was great till the 4th fish broke it off. Glow Candy Corn Mini UV Blue Mango – ThanksTM:thumb: Jagerbomb 10-9-PM Left the boat in the water after Friday, but could not get back to it due to a busy weekend with the family. My wife and 4 year old son went with me to pull the boat and go for a “rideâ€. My wife looks at me about 4 minutes out on the lake and says “we are not going fishing are we?†So, it was not a real long trip with only a few rods set, but we ended up going 2 for 4 between 250 & 270. Same rigger rod parked at 150 went 4 times with a DW Super slim which is white with a blue center. Got a king and a Coho missing a steelhead and another king. I think I need to back off the drag once hooked up with a rigger down that deep as it was set tight & the fish lost were jerking the rod without taking drag. GREAT WEEKEND:D

Glad the tip helped. I don't think I have ever caught a steelie on a purple lure - always seems to be white, blue and orange. Still learning how those fishies think:grin:

Thanks guys. Ben - I'm sure we will run into eachother again, I was to busy shooting the breeze and letting the other guys clean fish;) Did you hear us on the radio about the purple and did it work out?

Went out at 4:30 with the rain quitting as we set up in 120 and fish on the graph. Nice night on the water ending up 6 for 8. 2 steelies, 3 kings and a Laker that was returned. Fish were in 125 FOW of water and deep - we had one rigger down 135 and the other at 100. Fish seemed to like Purple as Purple Nurple and Rasberry Dolphin each took multiple hits with one on a Glow Yellowtail on a 150 copper. We slid out to 160 for a bit and got a couple hits out there, but the graph was not as consistent. Got a freind his first 2 big lake fish and he was all smiles after the second one gave him some fun at the back of the boat.

Does anyone know where the results from this year are posted?

Yeah - copy that on the speed - it did help the next trip out. May be a Sub troll in my future this winter! It was a nice looking fish - I just never heard of them out that far, which is why I was so suprised. Here is another photo of it on the boat.

I was in a bit of a slump and this night was no different. Trolled from south of Holland to Saugy and back in 75 to 115 FOW looking for Kings in a little tourney with nothing much going. Had two riggers go off at Sunset within 30 seconds of eachother, with nothing home on either. Just after sunset about half way back the 150 Copper with a Modified Dolphin in 100 FOW starts going out a bit, but enough to know it was a fish. Charlie grabs it and after we get the board off, he says it feels like a fairly decent fish. It was pretty dark by this point & with the net in the back of the boat thought we had a Laker with his mouth open, or foul hooked fish, but was amazed as to what we put on the deck:D Before you see the pic., we went out Sat., picked up the speed a bit and managed a nice box of kings:grin: The Hex is off the boat! 30 Inch Walleye that was over 9 pounds:cool: This thing had a HUGE head:) http://www.greatlakesfisherman.com/gallery/files/1/2/4/7/imag0565.jpg' alt='imag0565.jpg'>

I switched my Dipsy leads over to Fluro this year as well as lengthened them a bit. I have to say my dipsy's are doing better than they have in years past. What Supertramp said is key - need to use leader material, regular Fluro line will not cut it. It is pricey, which is why I hae not switched anything else over, but may try my sliders next...

Hour Late and I out of PS on Thursday 8/11 and had our first skunk:mad: in quite awhile. We stayed inside 100 FOW all night as we did not have much info on where to start. Found out later fish seemed to be in 180 – 230 FOW. He went on his boat Friday am out of Holland and went 3 for 5 between 180 – 190 FOW water. I believe he said big white paddle with white fly went 3 times ~ 40 down in the rigger. We were back out of Holland Friday night starting in 220 and going 5 for 8 in about 212 FOW. Big white paddle with Blue fly took three fish on a wire dipsy back 150, frozen veggies took a couple rips on a rigger down 48, a black lure with an orange diagonal stripe (anyone know what this is called?) took a hit on a half core and Super screw took a hit on a 250 copper. Now that we felt we had found some fish the plan was to get up early Sat. and really get after em. I slept on the boat and was awoken to thunder, lighting, and buckets of rain in the early am. We waited out the storm and headed out late to find more rain and waves that were bigger than we had hoped. We trolled the channel a couple times till the rain stopped & managed one sheep head – they were jumping all over the place. After the rain we trolled out and wandered between 80 & 100 getting two kings and having another spit the lure at the back of the boat. One of these came on a white paddle/blue fly on a rigger down about 40. Can’t remember what the others hit as the waves were a little interesting at times. The farther out we went the bigger the waves were which is why we stayed inside a bit. Hope to be out the next two weekends for at least a couple trips each time – good luck!