killerbe20

west side of Lake Michign around Racine can have good brown fishing in the summer. We have a ton of rocky structure, reefs, waste water discharge and the Oak Creek power plant within reach. These all offer a great place for browns to hang out and when the water cools down mid summer, we can have a ton of them around. This was the scenario two or three years ago when the 45lber was caught in July during Salmon-A-Rama as well as many many 15-20 pounders.

anything glow will glow once it is removed from a light source, UV will not. Dreamweaver has a UV flashlight you can use to determine if something is UV. I have seen some arguments on the internet on whether a black light will truly show UV or not. I have zero knowledge to contribute on that subject and honestly dont really care enough to learn.

After you asked, I bit! I bought it for my iPhone yesterday and the little I was able to play with it on my couch I really like it. It seems the same as the screen shots from the iPad. The only downside is the small screen on the phone. I am interested to see how it compares to my Navionics app once I can get on the water. I did also purchase the weather ad on to the Garmin. Not sure if it was worth it or not since I have about 10 other radar apps on my phone but we will see!

i believe he is referring to Big Lake Lures

exactly. I use the baits I use because they have a proven track record. Most of the time if I'm not catching fish I am looking into factors other than whats on the menu.

i have the new cable on two of my riggers from Depth Raider. I believe it is the same cable from Torpedo. It is a little more work to connect your klincher connection than the standard coated cable. I am still using my original Depth Raider antennas and everything is working fine. I only ran the new cable for the last couple months of the season last year and did not see a significant increase in performance...but no decrease either. Where I did see the new cable worth the its weight in gold was its durability. Things that make you cry with your coated cable are no worries at all! On a couple occasions I had two downriggers cables wrapped together and absolutely no problems at all. Just throw the Depth Raider back down and good as new! This is an example of extreme circumstances so it will definitely stand up to a few wild fish and tangle mishaps which should wash away any fears of the coated cable units.

Blood Run Coppers at 50 foot increments from 50-450. I fish mostly during the day time and coppers are definitely a huge factor in successful trips day after day. If I'm targeting the top 50 feet - 50s, 100s, 150s and probably 200s. below 50 feet - 200s, 250s, 300+ I had really good success with my 200s and 250s last season. I think they hit a sometimes uncharted water column. Many people fish up to 10 colors of leadcore and then transition right to a 300 coppers. A 10 color leadcore is realistically going to hit around 40ish feet and your 300 copper will be around the 60ish feet (give or take). this leaves a 20 foot gap of happy undisturbed fish. Yes they will travel through out the water column but your better off putting your bait in front of their face. especially when they are off their main feed times.

As long as you are starting from scratch I would recommend a thru hull for the HDS. More consistent performance. Just have to watch out for location of transducer and trailer bunks/rollers.

I checked this morning and its coming up for me

just once through and a single overhand not for me

i have nothing but awesome things to say about Blood Run wire. Besides the strength, it is much more pliable than other popular brands out there. It is really easy to work with and cuts the water great.

the foundation of my flasher/fly program consists of aqua, green crinkle and mirage flies with basically green and white attractors, mainly spin doctors. there is a bit of variations but once something is working, i'm all in! My number one combo without a doubt the last two seasons has been an 8'' white w/UV slick spin doctor and an aqua fly. A few close seconds would be: white w/blue bubble spin doctor and aqua, green dot spin doctor and a green crinkle fly, white paddle/spin doctor and aqua or green crinkle, and green paddle/spin doctor green crinkle. throw in some mirage flies and thats about it for me. now I do mix in some things once in a while but they still can be traced back to the original foundation. for me these tend to not be as consistent and i end up back where i started anyways. A couple of those have been green rattlesnake spin doctor, green chrome frog paddle, white/mountain dew paddle and laser wrapped spin doctor.

Hey Russ! Haven't heard from you in awhile! I completely agree. Most good fly fisherman will not have 12 rods and 12 different setups. usually less than a handful of combos, most of the time 2-3, that are always used. I will try some of the new great things out there but i usually will only dedicate one rod and limited water time. My day in and day out setup consist of 2 or 3 attractors and 3 flys.

nothing saying you cant catch fish on flies trolling faster but you will have to make adjustments to your style. and yes, most dedicated fly fisherman will generally troll slower. I'm sure I know who you were referring to in your original post and he is one of the best. definitely knows what he's is talking about. You got the right idea, faster = longer leads. the faster you troll the more action your attractor will have and will whip your fly more. lengthening the fly lead will slow the whip down....if that makes any sense. nothing wrong with trolling fast and fishing mainly spoons. you can cover much more ground. on days when fishing is slow and fish are scattered, that can be more important than anything else.

40lb Blood Run Fluorocarbon 24'' for 8'' spin doctors and flashers, 42-56'' for big paddles I never really take them off. I only really use a few patterns of flys so they stay attached until they get replaced Generally a single treble hook tied with a uni knot. Snelling a treble makes it sit crocked. other wise a tournament rig with a snelled single with a treble trailing behind

looks great! I did not know Garmin had an app, I'm going to have to check it out. I have been using Navionic's Iphone app the year or so and feel it does a decent job as a back up to a back up. It has its pros and cons. it has also come in handy while fishing on other boats. i can mark waypoints and take them back to my own boat with me.

hard to really say. almost have to look at each item individually. A general statement would be some of the sport shows have better deals than any other time of the year.

If you are referring to the Okuma Cold Water reels, they actually have already been released. I have never fished one but have had my hands on them. They are very nice reels and supposed to have the insides of the discontinued Clarion line counter reels. Convector reels are not the top of the line reels but they definitely are work horse reels. They are a great bang for your buck and will get the job done day after day. I have been slowly phasing out Convectors that are many years old and still going strong. There are better reels out there but I do not think you will find a better one at that price point.

i would check with your dealer first. if they can not do anything for you, Okuma has great customer service. I am sure they would help you any way they can

Not sure how it compares in price to others but Blood Run is tough as nails. If you want a product that will just flat out perform and give you piece of mind I highly recommend it. If you are a believer in the benefits of fluorocarbon don't by a product just by price shopping. Choose a manufacturer with a proven track record. In three years of exclusively using Blood Run, I have yet to have a break off that was not human error or just simply unavoidable. Not sure what type of fishing you are doing, but for trolling I don't use anything less than 20lb.

Great Job! Anymore info to go along with that to help out fellow members?

I have not been around Algoma or Kewaunee in a few years so I can not really comment on what they currently have to offer. There are a bunch of guys on the site that fish in those areas so hopefully they can give some guidance. not sure how far south you would be willing to travel but Port Washington is a pretty awesome place with the Marina and town molded together. Otherwise quite a ways farther south, Racine and Kenosha both offer the same feel with a ton within walking distance of the marinas.

welcome aboard!

I'm about 50-50 thumping fish on the head. Depends on the situation. I mainly do it to avoid getting a hook in my hand. Most of the time you can just grab the fish and remove the hook without a problem. My wife insists on whacking them so they don't suffer in the cooler

10in Craftsman buffer/polisher on clearance for $13! I was able to find one at the Kmart a few blocks from my house but seems like I got lucky. http://www.kmart.com/craftsman-10-in-buffer-polisher/p-9990000031851411P?prdNo=23&blockNo=23&blockType=G23&sid=KAx20050801x13xSlickdeals&PID=4485850&aff=Y