DiverDennis

I called Fisherman's Landing and talked to a human about the launch. She said they repaired all the ramps this spring. She didn't know the details of the repairs but informed me that all lanes were open.

Hello All, Does anyone know how the launch is at Fisherman's Landing? We were able to launch our 28 footer there back in October without problems. We heard the ramp got worse over the winter and they were gonna do some work on it this spring. Would like to use Harbour Town's but the last time we checked the water was too low there. Hartshorn is the same. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks, Dennis and Beth

Fisherman's has several lanes blocked off due to broken concrete. They dumped gravel into lane #2 and it is too shallow for an inboard prop. #3 is the one we used with no problems. Lane counts are left to right from shore.

Hello All, Beth wanted to go fishing for her birthday so we checked the the weather report. Forecast called for cloudy skies and flat seas. Awesome. So yesterday (Tuesday 10-22) we hooked up the boat and left Lansing for Muskegon and Lake Michigan. Launched at Fisherman's Landing (lane #3 is the only good one) at 10:00 and made our way across Muskegon Lake by 10:45. As we went through the channel we marked a lot of fish but we wanted to get out there. Cleared the pier heads around 11:00 and into 58 degree clean water with waves less than 1 foot. Super flat. Beautiful and no other boats to be seen. Watched the sonar as we headed straight out to the nets in 80'. Didn't see any much there so we kept on out to 225' where we started seeing a few marks down 30'. Steelies we thought. Downriggers set at 30' and 50' back 40' and 20', braded dipsies (size #1 no rings set on 3) back 65 and 85, 150' (30#) and 225' (45#) coppers. All with spoons. Fished for half hour and the 150 copper got hit hard but came unbuttoned. Beth was excited to have one on for a while. Nothing for the next 2 hours. Kept an eye on the Sirius weather radar because ugly weather was on the way. It was nice while it lasted. Pulled lines at 2:00 and hauled ass back to the launch. Just got the tie downs on when it started raining big time. Gonna be a long winter. Dennis & Beth

We check out several boat lanuches in Muskegon. Slim pickins for our boat.

Thanks for the report. Where did you launch at?

Wow that must have taken a while. Took me 25 minutes to reel in a foul hooked 10lber on 250' copper. Good job.

Full moon messed up the daytime bite.?

Saturday (9-29) Beth and I towed the boat from Lansing to Muskegon intending to catch a few salmon because the RECON* buoy said .7 ft waves and NOAA Nearshore reported 'around one foot'. We made it to Beach St. at dawn and were stunned to see 2-3 footers rolling in. We've had our fill of rough water fishing so we napped in the truck for a while, took a walk on the beach, drove over to Harbor Towne Marina (where we intended to launch), and then checked in at the Shoreline Inn. Had lunch at the Lake House and saw a bunch of salmon swimmng around in the marina. Couldn't believe it. A few kids were trying to get them to bite without success. Sunday was better near shore with the NE winds but the fishing report from Shoreline Service Bait & Tackle bait shop was the fish were out deep with the 3-5 footers. So we decided to check the launch ramps to see what effect the low water levels are having on them. Muskegon: We used Fisherman's Landing 2 weeks ago and it was very good. Use the ramp second from the left. The middle ramp is roped off because of damaged concrete under water. We heard they are planning a repair soon. Harbor Towne is ok but could see a problem controlling the stern because of the short dock. Keel would probably be hitting the condrete. Beth would need a ladder to climb down to boat. Grand Trunk is real shallow with a narrow trough to navigate. Hartshorn has sharp dropoff at the end of concrete. Could damage tires attempting to pull heavy boat up and over it. Grand Haven: Watched 2 boats get stuck in the same spot on Sunday (9-30) at the municipal ramp. One was stuck when we got there and a 30'Sea Ray when we came back from lunch at Dee Lite (dropped the boat off at the launch). I'm sure they sucked in plenty of mud and sand into their cooling systems. Good samaritans were able to pull them free. We hung out for a while assisting and advising new launchers where not to go. Must go straight out and to the right of the RED buoy to get to channel. The bad area is left of the buoy as you are standing on the docks. Although we didn't get the boat wet, it was a great day to be out and about. Dennis & Beth *Realtime Coastal Observation Network (RECON) Station (Muskegon buoy) - www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/recon/station-mkg.html

Will give you a hollar if we get into 'em.

According to NOAA it looks like Saturday should be a good day to be on Lake Michigan. The NW winds should set up some decent skinny water fishing. We hope it turns out as good as it sounds. Wife and I will be at Harbour Towne Marina Friday afternoon.

Thanks Jim. They are pulling the docks at Fisherman's Landing next week so it looks like we'll have to wait until next season for that cold one.

Hello All, Beth and I fished Lake Michigan on 10/22/11 and 'caught' the action with a hard top mounted camera. The "Salmon Cam" captured our antics while fighting fish and netting them. Fun stuff. The video also includes our towing of a vessel that was without power. Hope you enjoy it. Beth and Dennis PS - Wrote a fishing report and posted it here.

Thanks for everyone's replies. The forecast is bleak for the weekend...5-8' seas for Saturday. Almost got the video of our day on the water done. Stay tuned....

Thanks for the replies. Like you said, he was very lucky because there were no other boats out there. If the weather is good, we're going back next weekend. Perhaps I'll give him a call to see what was wrong with his engine and maybe ask him for the location of his steelhead 'hot spot'.

Hello All, Last Saturday (10/22) at 6am the wife and I hooked up the boat and left Lansing for Muskegon and Lake Michigan. Launched at Fisherman's Landing at 8:45 and made our way across Muskegon Lake by 9:30. Beth wanted to go fishing for her birthday and I wanted to get some video from our new "Salmon Cam" mounted on the hard top. The camera feeds a DVR with 16G that is good for 4-5 hours. Happy birthday to us. As we went through the channel on the way out to the big water, we set both riggers with Spin Doctors and DW flies (emerald green (SB) and monkey puke (Port) and turned on the camera and DVR. No other boats in the channel so we didn't expect any action. We were right. Cleared the pier heads at 9:30 and into 52 degree clean water with 1' to 2' waves. Added 2 braid dipsies (set on 2) with Brad's Super Bait filled with oil tuna infused with minced garlic. Fished along the edges of dirty water for a bit and made a big circle just outside the mud line. No action and only one other fishing boat so we turned west and headed out to deeper water. Set two 30# 150' coppers with a DW Jawbreaker and greasy chicken on Z Board Big Daddies. Tried to keep the Fish Hawk speed at the ball around 2.5. At 65' there were some bait balls and a few hooks but no takers. At 100' near net #21, we finally got a rip on the P rigger but it came unbuttoned. Found the leader had fouled in the treble hook. Weird. At 105' the water temp was 49* on top and 42* down 50'. Started seeing hooks around 40' so the riggers were set at 35' & 45'. Then the SB rigger tripped but the rod wasn't dancing. Reeled in a 5# darkie full of eggs. Strange to see her out this far this late? Released her. Then the P dipsy started screaming. Nice 15# chromer on a Brad's Black Magic. Had a heck of a time netting it because Beth had got her scarf wrapped up in the reel. But the fish jumped up on the swim platform and just laid there and waited. Got it all on the Salmon Cam and am working on getting the video edited and posted. Continued west out to 150' with no further action and few marks. Radio talk up in White Lake was 116' top 50'. Spun around with the 2-3' waves on our stern and went back to 110' and turned south. Bam. The copper Jawbreaker started singing. Another nice 15 pounder. Then the call came in over the radio on CH-68. Vessel named "Fish Tales" was without power and needed assistance. Told him we would be there as soon as we got the gear pulled. Picked up three more fish while pulling lines. A shaker, a 5 pounder, and a 6# laker that was released. When we were by net #21, we saw him heading out. Looked like he was going to Milwaukee as he disappeared into the horizon. He was 6 miles from us and we were out 6. It took us almost 2 hours to tow him to Bluffton Bay Marina. John was very grateful as he shuck my hand but offered no payment. That was OK with us because we believe that "what goes around comes around." It was a fun day on the water and she enjoyed her birthday present. That's what it's all about. DD

Thanks for the report. If the weather is good, we are heading to Ludington for the weekend.

Maybe next weekend we can get out. Go Tigers!

I was watching the Ludington Daily News' pan-tilt-zoom camera at 5:40 this morning and observed a strange craft. It was moving slowly toward the Projects, just outside the south pier head. The stealthy craft was showing 3 red lights with one flashing. Dredger leaving Ludington harbour in the wee morning light.

We were visiting friends at the muni dock and talked to a guy and his wife at the cleaning station with a 10 fish limit. Got 'em straight out by the nets with meat. Beautiful kings 8-16#. They almost got T boned by an idiot going way too fast in the fog. Cut his planer board off and just kept going. Unbelieveable.

Had a good time at the show. Stopped by the Silver Streak booth and met Terry. Picked up some new UVs. Beautiful. Attended Jerry Lee and Bill Bale's seminars. Jerry talked mostly about presentation and Bill covered wire divers and copper. Watched the dogs jump. Bought some pickled jalapeno asparagus and some turkey jerky. Had a pulled pork BBQ sandwich out on the deck overlooking the river. Ran into a guy I used to work with (Dan Thelen at Fisher Body, Lansing) at the Steelheaders booth. He's retired now and loves the club. Won't be long, DD

Thanks for the invite. See you there.

10-4 We are heading to the Ultimate Sports Show in Grand Rapids tomorrow. Gonna check out the BCT super seminar. Should be fun.

Good job. Thanks for the report.