SUPERTRAMP

I have used Siggs, but I really like the stuff Big Weenie has. check out their fly tying materials. I really prefer the tube they have to the head that Siggs uses.

Silver Horde, I also use the old Grizzly it is the original of the ACE HI, Made in Canada and still available. The Silver Horde sliding harness works the same as the J Plug and having the plug body slide away from the harness is a real plus. However J Plug and Silver Horde Harness's are not inter changeable. If you run the Silver Horde with the harness, use about 5' of leader and tie fast to the bead chain the head will slide away from the harness and give you a better chance of not coming un buttoned.

What Jimmy said. the CV55 will handle the 450, but I really don't think the 800 might just come up a bit short. I too use the 6' of 40#mono to attach the board between the copper and the 30#PP works really well.

Looking forward to fishing with you again this year Joe. Had a blast last winter.

Slip Trailered for a few years, but still like my slip. Fish cleaning station, showers, swimming pool shore power. Never have to wait in line to get the boat in. Fenced in patrolled area.( no theft or vandalism). Short run to the lake and always have an idea of where to go. If I want to run to another port I can do that too. It costs less than trailering an 11000lb 12 foot wide boat.

Nice job on the whole family scoring on bucks Matt. I am all in on the 4 to a side restriction. Might stop some of the big bad brown is down hunters from killing anything that walks. However the Farmers in Southern Michigan will go ballistic. They call them rats as it is.

That's my Grandaughter.

Opening day buck 2013

I have the 858Cdi and its is awesome. Both in ease of use, GPS function, and sonar . the display is clear, the set up is really easy and the ease of updating the GPS SD card is topnotch.

Good job on the trout.

Watch the weather, The Kalamazoo and Grand river plumes should have a lot of Steel and Browns along with some Coho, if weather permits. If not The St Joe is full of Steelhead. Pipestone Creek, Jasper Dairy and the Dam at Berrien Springs are all good bets. I usually start at Berrien Springs and work down river all the way to Pipestone. If you have time give all the holes a shot. Chunk spawn and keep a couple of thin fins working. Just drop back the spawn and let the plugs work on their own usually let the plugs out about 50 to 60 feet and keep them close to the structure along the run.

Find the water temp between 44 and 48 degrees and go for it. Offshore winds cause cold water to come to the beach. Try starting in tight and look for the right water temp. 52 degrees is perfect for Steelhead and Browns, but Kings like colder water.

I would suggest 250 yards of 30# power pro with a 10ft piece of Mono to the leadcore, the Mono has a lot of stretch, and the line diameter for the mono precludes maximum length for the backer. If you don't like Power pro any 30# braid works well. use a willis knot to attach the mono to the core, and a double uni knot to attach the mono to the power pro. gives you a 10' piece of mono to attach a board and you get plenty of backer to get boards away from the boat.

Nicely done! Gonna love seein the PopEye arms out there trying to hit 2.5mph.

thats me i can run up to 6 riggers.

For over 40 years we have always run 4 to 5 riggers on our boats. They are still the best presentation for fishing. The focus on long lines, 450' and more is fine if all you want is a fish in the box. But the work bring in fish on 300 to 450 feet of copper line is really not much fun. If your boat has an 8' transom you can run 4 riggers easily and not crowd the rest of your presentation. On our 24' John almond we were able to run 4 riggers, 8 long lines and 4 dipsy divers. The key is keeping track of where you are and running the deep to shallow V presentation. I still catch as many fish on riggers as I did in the 1970's and 1980's. Its a lot more fun bring in a 10# steelhead of a 6# coho on a rigger presentation than on a long line. We still fun short lead cores for Steelhead but I no longer rely on 450 copper or longer at all. No one wants to retrieve them even with a fish on.

great job on the Silver Jimmy.

OK a little common sense here. First run your set ups in a V configuration deepest close in and shallowest farthest from the boat. I have a wide boat so the dipsey problem is kinda mute, I normally run 2 wire dipseys and 2 power pro dipseys, 4 riggers which are my deepest presentation, then my long coppers at least 75' out from the boat, the short coppers 50' outside that and my high long lines usually 10 color lead and a 5 or 6 color lead. Set your dipseys on 1.5 to 2 and follow the guidelines on the package for depth. My dipseys catch a lot of fish for me. Use all the tools at your disposal and don't fall in love with any of them it changes every day. If I could only have 2 presentations, it would be Downriggers and Dipsey's.

Thanks to the City of St Joseph and the St Joe Steelheaders there is now a fully operating fish cleaning station at the Anchors Way launch. It has a grinder and I am told it has a commercial scaler for perch. Use is included in the daily fees and u can get a season Pass from the St Joseph Parks dept. This launch is deeper and has better docks than the Benton Harbor launch. Check it out.

Weather has missed a lot with the wind out of the east it has never been less than 2 to 3 ft. We gave it a shot on Tuesday out of St Joe and ran out to 120 set lines headed NW and trolled out to 180, didn't mark any bait and very few fish right tite to the bottom. After 3 hours we called it and headed in toward the piers. The 316 Chris is a nice ride in the less than perfect conditions. First skunk of the year.

Couldn't agree more, In the 1960's 70's and 80's the majority of the fish ran in late September and into October. I remember seeing spawning fish on the PM tributaries when we were grouse hunting. Not sure why the runs are earlier, but spoke to my brother in Oregon, he fishes the Columbia Bar regularly and their fish have been staging since August. They have consistently been taking fish over 35# all season. Reasons are simple, they have abundant forage. However the limit on Salmon there is 1 Chinook and 2 Silver's(coho) they have a tag system and are only allowed single barbless hooks. They troll out in the open ocean and this summer has been pretty good. 1 other thing they have is a huge commercial fishery. Gill nets that are run from shore out into the river. Btw in Oregon and Washington it is 1 rod per angler and no extra lures on the line.

Kevin: Come on down to St Joe tomorrow, we are going to fish and I am not stopping until I get to 120' There should be a lot of 2 year old Kings and some Steel available if we can find the trash line. U know u r welcome anytime.

I agree pull in your boards u don't need them and be courteous of other guys in the area. I had the same issue in ST JOE last Sunday Charter boat with 6 boards tried to push me into the Pier and got mad at me after he cut me off. Just insane.

Will be over Tuesday to try the combat fishing in the channel and around the piers. Good job Larry see you out there.