killerbe20

My wife and I are planning a boat shopping trip to Michigan this weekend and was looking for some info. The boats we are definetly going to look at are in the New Buffalo/Benton Harbor/St. Joesph area. We may be venturing farther north, but not sure yet. I am coming to you guys for advice on where to stay. We would like to mix business with pleasure and make this more then just looking for a new boat. We would like to stay somewhere near the water and hopefully with some entertainment (restaurants, bars, etc) within walking distance. Also, there are a few boats in the Harrison Township area I would like to look at as well. Asking the opinion of those who have driven across michigan, what is the drive like? What do you guys think about adding that to a short two day, one night trip? Benton Harbor is about 3 hours from Racine.

My other life.... http://www.journaltimes.com/news/local/education/article_7ee74c7c-3074-11df-9533-001cc4c03286.html

I used seagur for a long time, really great line but expensive. now i use mostly Ande flouro line, also really great line. I use P-line for my long flouro leaders cause it is is cost efficient, also really great line.......i honestly believe just having flourocarbon line is a more important factor over which brand it is.

I can not see in the picture, but this may work. http://www.traxstech.com/store/t_bolt_mounting.htm

it does state at the end of the original ESPN article that it is an opinion piece. That should have been stated in the original post from myself. i personally do not like it regardless. special interest groups, no matter left or right wing agenda, always seem to prevail over the average joe.

I HAD a 2008 tundra for about three months/2800 miles and absolutely loved it! Wish i still had it everyday that i drive my GMC. if only that guy in ohio would have stopped at the red light......

Scary stuff, man! No more recreational fishing!? "In spite of what we hear daily in the press about the President's concern for jobs and the economy and contrary to what he stated in the June order creating this process, we have seen no evidence from NOAA or the task force that recreational fishing and related jobs are receiving any priority." http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/saltwater/news/story?id=4975762

Big steelhead out off racine june 2009. never put it on a scale

i have the hydraulic version and love it, you will not be disappointed.

I pulled my boat through Chicago when i first brought her home. It wasn't that fun but it was only once. Dock fees in Racine vary greatly. If you dont mind a 20ish minute river cruise from your slip to the lake and less then stellar docks, about $800 for the season (Azarian's Marina). Any where closer to the lake is going to be $1200-$2000 for the season. Where i am located there are two restaurants/bars and is very handy for customers and a good place to run charters from. There is a fish cleaning station but no security features. It is just a river slip, no real "marina." 209 Dodge St. Racine, Wi if you would like to google satellite map it. Skipper Buds Reefpoint marina is the big, main marina facility in Racine. It has a secure facility with one restaurant/bar, a pool, showers, bathrooms, a public cleaning station etc. http://www.skipperbuds.com/Page.aspx/locationId/2590/pageId/9310/view/Detail/Reefpoint-Marina-WI.aspx Feel free to contact me if you would like.

My vote would be Racine, i am biased though

Those who have recently bought or just simply love Vector products will enjoy the news. Traxstech has official bought out the Vector product line. http://www.traxstech.com/featured_product_store.htm

dont fish at all out of milwaukee, but i;m not too far south of you.

I read in a previous thread for yesterday that someone found spoons at Gander 1/2 off. I went to the Kenosha Gander Mountain today and there was no sale. I spoke with the store director, who is a friend of mine, and he said they had their "big lake" 1/2 price sale about 6 weeks ago. He apparently was not working that day and was unaware of it ahead of time. The fishing department manager was notified the morning of the sale when he showed up for work that day. Interestingly corporate head quarters decided to end the sale at 4:30 pm the same day. My friend thought it may have been a mistake. I do understand that different stores may carry different inventory, but did not realize the sales vary by location to location. I was assured that i will be notified in advance of any super great sales in the future and will be sure to pass the info along.

Thats very interesting. I will have to do some research/investigating about this. Seems Michigan DNR has much more control over charter vessels then over here. I have had the Wisconsin DNR check my fishing reports, but all vessel requirements are handled by the USCG.

I have a 12 gauge flare gun/kit as well as hand flares. My vessel is inspected every spring and never had an issue. Here are some links to different USCG regulations. I believe it states you can use any launching device as long as it meets 46 CFR 160.28 (the second link). I honesty do not know the inside diameter, etc of my 12 gauge flare gun. Regulations for charter boats: http://www.uscg.mil/pvs/docs/UPV%20JOBAID%20REV5%20OCT07.pdf regulations for launching pistols: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2008-title46-vol6/pdf/CFR-2008-title46-sec160-028-4.pdf

I had a very unpleasant incident running meat and a big flasher on my wire diver. Completely my fault, but i still am hesitant to try it again.

I dropped from 4 riggers to 3. Part of my reasoning was i only have a 8'10'' beam. The main reason i switched was because i run two SWR rigs on each corner. Much fewer issues last year with only 3 riggers. I found myself Fishing only 3 of the 4 riggers previous to 2009 much more often then wishing I had extra down riggers the past season. I also have found leadcore and copper becoming increasingly more successful every year. I do do most of my fishing in the "off peak" times though.

I completely agree with relying on cable blow back/diver rods/etc for judging speed. I grew up working with an old school captain who after 40 years of chartering still does not have any sort of down speed sensor. The times my depth raider has helped me is on those "tough" days and with difficult currents. It helps me catch fish in all directions once i have figured out the speed that is working. sometimes the differance in bites can be .1 or.2 mph. that is nearly impossible to judge by watching the bend in your diver rods.

i dont have outriggers on my boat but a lot in Racine do fish them. Most of them either have adjustable rod holders such as the big Jons or rail mount holders such as Lee's. Lots of options and angle possibilities.

"if it ain't broke, don't fix it!" yes you can never have too much of anything when it comes to fishing, but it sounds like you have a really good compromise with your wife. as long as you are catching fish and enjoying it, i would keep things as is. more rod holders are nice for moving rods around and options for running rods. I also like having "spare" rods in case of any mishaps then i can grab a different rod instead of re-rigging immediately. but you also said you are not as hard core as some of the rest of us. as far as the flashers/etc or any baits for that matter, more is better. them dang fish are always coming up with new ways to steal our favorite baits. always have back ups of those, plus they are easier to hide from the wife!

I run anything behind my divers, depends on what they are biting on! Last year was mainly flasher/spin doctor/dodger and fly.

This like asking whats better, "coke or pepsi" or "miller lite or bud light" everyone has there own favorite. If you look at some of the older posts, some guys are very passionate about their feelings as well. Its all personal preference. I personally had bad luck with the Fishhawk 840 that came with my boat when i bought it. Two summers ago i switched to a Depth Raider and have been very happy with its performance. The Fishhawk X-4 and the new Cannon are very appealing to me, but have no reason to try them right now. I have fished on many boats with the Sub-troll and don't like it as much as my Depth Raider. The probe is larger and it seems to me to have more of a delay in speed readings. Then again I like Pepsi alot more then Coke and am a die hard Miller Lite drinker.

Thanks for everyone helping me out! We found a great place to fish about half way between Strugeon Bay and Bailey's. We had the Lake all to ourselves. If only there were some fish there........

I use 7 foot ugly stick rods for my leadcore and copper. They are model CAL-1101 med/heavy. Only $30 and stand up to the abuse they can receive.