PEATMAN

Good luck. We only took one small king next morning! Fished 50-110?

85 FOW to 110 FOW. 9 for 9. 7 btw 6pm and 8pm. Most on northwest troll. Few on east troll. Speed at ball upper 2's. 4 coho, 1 steelie, 4 kings. Biggest 14.5#. Most spoons, 1 plug. 1 fish at 60' rest 50' up to 25'. Best trip of 2011!

Can anyone tell me why I only hear half of ALL conversations taking place on my VHF radio when monitoring channel 68 out of Muskegon? I never hear both sides. My radio checks come back fine. I have messed with squelch. Could it be connection to antenna bad so I hear only right next to me (but handheld VHF radio does same thing)? Curious. Conversations over VHF seem far and few between. Thanks for any input. Matt

Sat PM: Hit water early 5PM went straight out to 100 FOW, trolled into 50 FOW. Pulled lines picked-up buddy headed back out just north of pier. Zig-zagged 60-90 NW, SE, SW, NE. Took 11.5# steelie in 78 FOW 50 down on rigger, 10# steelie in 68 FOW 100 back on braided line bloddy nose. Fish broke green fly off green fishcatcher 66 down on rigger. 2 shakers on other riggers when switching to glow spoons. Bottom 10 feet of screen was just lit up at sunset with bait and archs up to top but could not get a bite. Pulled lines at 10:30 PM. Speed at ball was 2.3-2.6 MPH when catching fish. Sun AM: Set lines at 5:30AM about 2 miles north of pier in 45 FOW headed NW. Not a hit until at least 7AM on 10 color lead 12# king on purple spoon. Put back out and 10# king took it in 68-78 FOW. 2 skippers pulled in on riggers one shaker on rigger missed. Dipsey's did not do a thing. Wind did 360 within 3 hours. Went 8 for 11 for the 2 trips, not bad but was not hot and heavy for length of time on water. Bellies full of alewives. Maybe they are eating before we go fishing. Sun PM: went 6 miles north of pier, ran every which way, changed speeds, changed lures, 50-100 FOW. Not a thing all night. Good marks in 86 FOW, good marks in 60 FOW and screen lit-up from 60-45 FOW toward dark. Have not had that first light of last light flurry yet this year but fun trying. Do not know how to post pics but finally got Great Lakes fisherman sticker on boat with new name decals. The Fishing Pol III is catching some fish.

4 for 5. Fished 70-270 FOW straight out of Muskegon and back. Water temp was 65ish on top and 48-52 degrees 80-85' deep entire trip. Took king 94' down on rigger with blue dolphin spoon around 6PM in 150 FOW also had shaker on 150 copper but nothing there upon retrieve around same depth. 225-250 produced 2 more kings on 300 copper (green and gold spoon) and 82' down rigger. All 3 fish taken on west troll. Nets were in approx 140 FOW straight out. Was dragging a bonus eater upon reeling in 7 color core monkey puke spoon. First fishing trip of season. As you can see fish were scattered and we SLOWLY picked away at them. Was a beautiful night and we even took home some fillets. Matt (Fishin' Pol III).

5 for 8; 200 to 225 FOW. Top 80'. 3 steelie 8#, 12#, 6#. 2 Kings 9# and 2#. North troll. Orange early then glow. All spoons. Money was 3 core but dipsy and riggers took fish also. Thanks for wonderful website. See you in the spring. 'Level-up' Matt

Fished by myself 5 PM to 9 PM. Started in 350 FOW and worked way back east into 90 FOW just south of channel with west turn at 180' back into 225' then east again. Took 10.5 lb Steelie, 300 FOW, 1/2 core, orange j-plug. Laker (Greaser) on large ring dipsey in 220, #2.5, 140 back on braid, orang spoon. King on rigger, glow spoon, 66 down in 120 FOW. 2.7-3.0 at ball. 80' down hit 43 degrees. Thermocline seemed to be 70-90'. 2.7 - 3.1 mph at ball. Screen lit up at dark in 90 FOW 20-60' down but no takers. Large marks 180-220 FOW 60-90 down. Saw couple boats past 350 FOW but most boats were in the 100-200' range straight out from pier. Fished 110' down on up. Radio was pretty quiet. Hope to get out couple more times before bow season. Keep reports coming please. Even if contains just FOW and fishing depth. Would like fighting chance in that big, beautiful lake. All-in-all 3 for 3 on a beautiful night. Matt

Fishing tonight and Sat AM. Any input on fish location now would be helpful and will gladly report back our findings for those in Sunday tourney. Last time out fished 180-250 FOW all steelhead and coho. Boat 'Level-Up'. Much appreciated. Matt

I went with 600watt thru hull transducer attached to a Standard Horizon CPF300i. Very good reviews and support with three year warranty. All for under $900. I will let you know how it goes. Can't wait! Gotta love electronics. Matt

What fishfinder units do you all recommend? I am going to replace my Lowrance 126DF fishfinder. I am looking for a unit that actually will help find fish, not just give me depth readings. I have manipulated every setting and adjusted transducer several times to try and mark fish and it is a rare occurance. I lose bottom with 200 mhz past 220 fow and a lot of times when cruising. Cannot even mark bottom with 50 mhz setting . I hear folks being able to mark thermoclines, mark fish when cruising, see fish rising and watch rigger balls. I definitely feel the unit is not functioning properly and I want to upgrade in the process. Your input and advice is appreciated. Thanks, Matt

6:00 AM to 10 AM. 1 for 4. Covered 80-180 FOW. 14# Female KING. 115 FOW 9 AM 120 back on dipsey pullin' blue dolphin, north troll. Lost Fish: Rigger at 90 Down in 127 FOW blue spinny; Dipsey with green spinny 180 back. 1/2 core with bloody nose. Fished many depths (deep and shallow), combos and speeds. Glows did nada. Gonna try tonight again. Hope it goes a little better. Get out before the blow! Boat Name 'Level-up'.