killerbe20

I only have 10 color lead cores. I know this is considered a big "no no" by most, but i have never had a problem with it. I clip my board on what ever color i want to run. The offshore snapper releases i run has never damaged the leadcore. Even with the Church boards and releases i used to run I never had a problem. Side note: Some guys by me have added the snapper release to their church boards with a little modification. The only down side to doing this is the bow in the line from the rod to the board if you are running a short lead core. I would rather deal with that and only have 4 leadcore rods instead of 10 separate leadcore set ups.

Last summer I took the boat up to Sturgeon Bay to fish the KD tourny and for a little "vactation." Did not do well in the contest, but had a blast. I plan on going up there again for the tourney but I think the boat will be in Bailey's Harbor. Much shorter drive from the place we have to stay and honestly, fishing the bank during the contest really was not much fun. I'm not a mathematician but Copper + Leadcore + Lots of boats + Auto Pilot Not Working = BAD NEWS!

Facebook seems to be a very widely growing "thing." If any of you are on there feel free to become a fan of Proposition Sport Fishing, or me on my personal page for that matter. I know there are not many from Wisconsin here especially the Racine area, but I plan on keeping a running log of whats happening in the area on there. I will continue to try and post on here as well, but the summer can get kinda hectic. http://www.facebook.com/#/pages/Racine-WI/Proposition-Fishing-Charters/245813662700?ref=mf or you can access it from my website. Thanks all!

I cant wait for the ice to melt! I feel very positive for 2010.

Although i will use anything that catches fish, i mostly use Shure Hit Bait/Alderton Tackle's Marauder. It comes in three sizes and is made locally in Racine. Its been around for a long time, just not huge marketing. He is a link to a older picture of the magnum size. I like the offset hook, something different for the fish. If i get to the boat soon i can take some pictures of more recent designs if anyone is interested.

Two summers ago I came across a Canon rebel xsi for $300 which brought me into the DSLR world. I figured not a huge investment and wouldn't be leery of bringing it on the boat. Little did i know at that time how much a good lens was gonna cost me. Its not quite the quality of the cameras you guys are using, but i already feel uneducated enough. Even using the stock lens, the pictures are outstanding. Now i hate having to take pictures with my wife's regular Canon digital camera. Once you go DSLR, you'll never go back!

Not sure if everyone has already heard or not but I did not see any posts about it yet. This week Johnson Outdoors was awarded a long awaited patent on its side image sonar and has quickly fired a lawsuit against Navico/Lowrance. I live in Racine the home of the Johnson Companies and first read it in the local newspaper. Here is a link to the press release from Johnson Outdoors website. http://www.johnsonoutdoors.com/corporate/media/News.aspx

HA! I have always run them in the "more action" hole....After further review and looking at the excellent diagram, I have actually been using the less action hole. They have worked for me but Alderton Flashers or Protrols have always been more productive. Maybe I should start reading directions and get out of the "ah, i can figure this out myself" attitude more often!

I absolutely love my raymarine units. I have two of their A65 units, which are not in production anymore, but have been replaced by the a50,60,70. Their new A-series units have more features such as Sirius weather and do not require the separate sounder module. Shopping around lately i have seen Raymarine c-80 and c-120 displays within your price range. Unfortunately with these units they are just the displays and you have to "build" up the system which requires purchasing more sensors, modules, etc. Your $800-1000 deal could wind up costing you $2000-3000 by the time you get it up to its potential. One more thing to consider is the rumors, although never confirmed, that Raymarine is in financial trouble. I have a boat full of 1 year old downriggers and rod holders with a lifetime warranty from a company that does not exist anymore. Not a good feeling.

I wish lake michigan still had a bunch of those big guys! i cant remember the last time a say a 30 pound fish.

Some browns from April 09 caught off Wind Point, first trip of the year. Actually thanks to a report from here!

http://www.greatlakesfisherman.com/gallery/files/1/7/5/0/image00007.jpg' alt='image00007.jpg'> 20+ caught by Arron Cook of the Colorado Rockies.

After a year of poking around this website, i have upgraded to a paid subscription. I have found this site to be in my opinion the best for lake michigan fishing. I love that everyone is nice, friendly and does not ever ridicule anyone's questions or opinions. My only gripe is that there are not enough of us "westsiders" around here!

thanks! will do asap

the only problem i have ever encountered is a crazy fish taking the diver and going to the side into the copper/leadcore inside board. this doesn't happen often and i don't know if there is too much you can do to control where a juiced up fish goes after he/she bites.

john, i dont know if you have your heart set on raymarine or not but lately i found some incredible deals for garmin autopilots on ebay. good enough to make me think about replacing my perfectly good autopilot.

that's awesome! I'm glad to see you repaired your ps3 and maybe it will help me WHEN mine breaks. Better yet i like the search engine thinking. i'm going to have to put a ps3 forum on my website now!

seems like you have a pretty good handle on things. you just have to get out as much as you can and fine tune your fishing. Two keys to fishing for me: 1. location, location, location! 2. be there when they bite talk to people and read fish reports. Found out a general area the fish have been caught lately. and remember, you can not make the fish bite. you may be able to persuade them a bit, but you cant make them bite. at least i haven't yet. i personally have never fished the Michigan side of lake Michigan. Here in Racine, the sun up and sun down bite is usually closer to shore and near our structures. They come in and feed on the large amount of bait fish that come up off the bottom. Fishing out deep is usually not necessary. My next suggestion my not be agreed upon by others. Fish the middle of the day, 8am till 4pm. Many people believe fishing is tough and it usually stinks during the day. In my opinion it is just more challenging and pushes your skills. My charters don't usually leave the dock until 7am or 1 pm if its an afternoon trip. That is the way I learned to fish. Once you can consistently put fish in the boat during the off peak times, sun up and sun down fishing will seem like the fish just jump in the boat. start the sun up bite and catch some fish, build confidence for the day and stay out for all day. the fish do move and scatter during the day, but they still bite too. some times its just a matter of finding them. everyone is going to have opinions and suggestions. you truly have to find out what works for you.

i can only say the same. never heard of the ones you found in the bargain bin.

I consistently run and catch fish with dodgers in my spread along with flashers, spoons, meat, etc and never adjust my trolling speed based on what lures i have out. I almost always troll 2.2-2.5 on my depth raider and around 3 mph on my gps. there is alot of pull from the dodgers and i have at times had the dodgers pull my divers up out of the water, not fun. they do catch fish for me though trolling at the speeds i troll.

40# fluorocarbon leader material for all fly leaders and 20# fluorocarbon leaders between mainline and bait.

I would love to come over and meet all you "east siders!" It would all depend on the date of course.

i have the simrad 14 and love it, holds very well in all sea conditions. I dont know if you can buy the system without the pump though. i dont have any experience with any of the other autopilot systems. I have also heard rumors about raymarine possible financial trouble. hard to believe though since they seem to be one of the premier electronics manufacturer. when i thought i had a computer problem with my simrad autopilot i ran across this site with lots of parts for older autopilot systems. You may want to check with them to see if they have a computer that my work with your current raypilot. http://www.marine-plus.com/classifieds/electronics.html

i got all my line guide upgrades directly from okuma as well. Very easy to deal with and super fast service.

I use offshores snapper release on my boards, not sure right now of the model number. i actually use convector 55l's as well and have plenty of backing to get the board out far enough. i usually only run one wire dipsy a side, and have occasionally had a fish come up into the board. when running 150 of copper there is a dip in the line from the board to the boat. I prefer the yellow bird big boards for the reason of being able to make the board pull harder to the side in situations like this. I try not to run 4 boards aside if i can help it, but dont have too much of a problem when i do. I can run all four a side and have the outside with all ten colors out with enough backing left. I do run tight drags though. I dont let fish scream line out unless they are actually big enough or strong enough to earn it. I cant say this is an ideal set up, but i like only having only eight rods. It also allows me to have a spare setups if im not fishing all eight. Instead having to re-rig, i might beable to just take another rod to get the same bait out fishing right away. It takes alot of patience and i didnt just come up with my system over night. It has taken me numerous seasons and lots of trial and error and pulling my hair out at times to perfect this. I dont think i have come across anyone who accepts the way i run my boards yet.