EdB

St Joe sunrise Here's one from duck season

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 26, 2007 Contacts: Frank Krist, Hammond Bay Area Anglers Assoc. © 989-351-2053, (H) 989-734-3100 Erin McDonough, MI United Conservation Clubs (W) 517-346-6475, © 517-775-9500 Steven Schultz, Coalition to Protect MI's Resources (W) 517-371-8152, © 517-648-1315 Alan Terry, Cheboygan Area Sportsfishing Assoc. (W) 231-238-6710 STATE, LOCAL CONSERVATION AND PROPERTY GROUPS CALL FOR CONTINUED COOPERATION OVER PROPOPSED U.S. - MICHIGAN - TRIBAL TREATY AGREEMENT As thirty years of Tribal treaty litigation and negotiations draw to a close, Michigan sportsmen and property owners call Consent Decree a prudent approach. Lansing, Mich. - Conservation and property rights organizations say a proposed agreement announced today between five northern Michigan native American Tribes with state and federal officials is a tough, but fair process and is the right decision for Michigan's natural resources. The tentative agreement - now pending review by several of the participating Tribes and final approval by the court - clarifies the scope of the Tribes' hunting, fishing and gathering rights on northern land, as defined by the U.S. -Tribal Treaty of 1836. In 2005, state and federal officials, along with Tribal leadership, entered into negotiations aimed at settling litigation, which had been ongoing since 1973. The proposed agreement was announced earlier today by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, which represented the State in the negotiations. Thirteen sportsperson and property rights groups joined the litigation as "amicus curiae" (friends of the court participants). This status allowed the groups to provide input into the litigation, but did not grant them party status or decision-making authority. These groups were present at the depositions and later, the negotiating table, voicing concerns and working to uphold their core values related to conservation, scientific management of resources and property rights protection. "The parties (below) participated in the process with the important goal of defending the longstanding core values of our members and all of Michigan's hunters, anglers, property owners and outdoorsmen and women," said Dennis Muchmore, Executive Director of the Michigan United Conservation Clubs. "We have worked to ensure healthy and sustainable game and fish populations, to protect private property rights and to preserve Michigan's sportsperson's heritage," he continued. "While we successfully achieved many, but not all, of our goals, previous court rulings made it clear that settling the litigation was the most advantageous approach for us and for Michigan's sportsmen and women." Critical to the success of the settlement are its provisions for the parties to meet regularly to resolve any resource management issues that may arise. "This is a critical piece of the process for Michigan's sportsmen and women," said Frank Krist, representative of the Hammond Bay Area Anglers Association. "The willingness of the state and Tribes to work together to ensure adequate enforcement, monitoring, and research under this agreement is going to be essential for maintaining the health and viability of our game species. We want to be part of this effort to work together to see that these needs are met." "Our mutual priority is the long term protection of resources. Both tribal and non-tribal parties have fared better as a result of this agreement," said Alan Terry, Secretary/ Treasurer of the Cheboygan Area Sportfishing Association. "We want to protect the health and abundance of our natural resources and commit to working with the State and the Tribes to achieve this goal." Most of the participating groups have strongly advocated the agreement as prudent in light of recent state (Wisconsin and Minnesota) and federal court rulings that resulted in diminished sportsmen's rights to the advantage of tribal rights. Both Minnesota and Wisconsin's Treaties were litigated in federal court and resulted in the court awarding as much as 50 percent of the take of many important game species to the Tribes. Some aspects of the settlement will cause consternation among Michigan sportsmen and women, but when compared to the court decisions in Wisconsin and Minnesota, Michigan is faring much better. For example, the settlement does not provide for the commercial harvest of fish and wildlife beyond what state law already allows, while the Wisconsin and Minnesota rulings allowed those state's tribes to commercially harvest several species. ### TREATY BACKGROUND Treaties with Indian Tribes are the supreme law of the land; state governments and courts are strictly bound by the terms of treaties. In 1836, the U.S. Government entered into a treaty with five Michigan tribes wherein the tribes ceded lands covering approximately the upper third of the Lower Peninsula and the eastern half of the Upper Peninsula to the U.S. Government in exchange for compensation. Under the Treaty, the tribes retained certain hunting, fishing, and gathering rights on treaty lands until those lands were "required for settlement." Previous Supreme Court decisions have consistently ruled that the passage of time cannot erode treaty rights. In 1979, the U.S. federal court ruled the waters of the Great Lakes can never be settled. Thus, the Tribes retained certain treaty provided rights. The Court's ruling did not address lands or inland lakes and streams. The recent negotiations have focu! sed on lands and inland water bodies. After depositions from expert witnesses were completed in early 2005, the State and Tribes decided it would be better for all concerned to negotiate a settlement instead of having a Judge make the decision. Usually a negotiated agreement is more acceptable to the parties than one that is imposed by a Judge. To view the proposed Consent Decree visit http://www.michigan.gov/dnr To see a list of Frequently Asked Questions and a full comparison of Wisconsin, Minnesota and the proposed Michigan settlement go to http://www.mucc.org HIGHLIGHTS OF PROPOSED AGREEMENT The settlement covers more than 130 pages. The advocacy groups - through actions taken as amicus to the litigation - focused on preserving long held values related to the scientific management of game species and natural resources, protection of private property rights and protection of hunting and fishing rights of sportsmen. Although the group was not able to achieve all its goals, it was successful in achieving key provisions including: Privately owned lands will not be available for tribal use unless they are available to the general public or unless a landowner grants specific permission. Gill nets will not be allowed on inland lakes or streams. Fish snagging will not be allowed on inland lakes or streams. Commercial harvest of game species will not be allowed beyond the extent already allowed by the state. AMICUS PARTIES Blue Water Sportfishing Association Cheboygan Area Sportfishing Association Coalition to Protect Michigan's Resources Grand Traverse Area Sport Fishing Association Great Lakes Council of the Federation of Fly Fishers Hammond Bay Area Anglers Association Michigan United Conservation Clubs Walloon Lake Trust and Conservancy

Congrats PlumKrazy on winning the West Mi League overall points for the year!

It really sucks! Hope they catch them.

Interesting info, thanks for sharing.

Nice catch and pics!

Freezing it fresh in packs enough for one trip is the way to go. Uncured spawn has always outfished cured spawn anytime I've been around cured spawn for trout/salmon. The only time I've seen cured spawn out produce fresh was for whitefish.

Great pics! No 20 lbrs for us on Lk MI this year. In July and early August, a DW wonderbread SS on a full core, full copper or a 1-1/2lb was on fire every trip. A blue bubble spin doctor and fly on wire mag diver was 2nd then and moved to first in later August. The spoon has slowed down recently but a wonder bread j-plug on a half core or full has been awesome.

Depends on how much of a strong north wind we get. Lot's of warm water piled up on our side of the Lake(Mich) right now. Check the surface temp maps for changes over the next few days. We have some north wind today but it's predicted to be SW all weekend. We may or may not get enough wind to change the water up. Also, this time of year, water temps are not that critical to the kings. They want upriver and there will probably be some close to shore even if the water is warm, especially in the early morning. Kings will out of preferred temps in late August and Sept a lot. Surface temps link to the link on this sites banner:http://www.greatlakesfisherman.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7#post7

Walked the birdge once, that was enough for me but it was a neat walk. I'll be fishing all weekend, probably take Tuesday off too. When I get back I'll be spending a lot of time shooting geese.

I run my drags on the firm side, not line breaking firm but not loose by any means. I think it helps drive the hooks deeper.

I really like my depth raider. Had a user caused problem when the power cable got jerked off the back. I shipped it to them last Monday overnight. They called last Wednesday and had it fixed for a nominal fee of $20. They suggested UPS ground to get it back in 2 days to save some overnight fees. I got it back on Friday just in time for fishing the weekend. Thanks to Kell Labs for the great service!

We got a late start on Saturday after the storms went through. Fished from 8:30 to 11:00 and hit 5 fish but only landed one. We got out on time Sunday AM and had a slow pick early. We had 3 in the box by sunrise and got 3 more by 9:30. I put it on a west troll and got out about 5 miles when we found a line and hit 3 on the first pass. No boats around us here. We worked that for the next 2 hrs and hit a bunch and boating 11, throwing a double back when we pulled lines. Nice to get a mixed bag with 5 steelies,2 coho's and 8 kings. We let go 2 kings. Our best action came on DW SS wonderbreads and DW mag wonderbread spoons on full cores and full coppers. A wonderbread j-plug on the half core was good and it got 2 steelies. Blue bubble spin doctors on wire lo divers out 150 and a 1-1/2 pound drop out 150. A mag moonshine mongolian beef was good on a rigger down 110 even late in the day. Good luck!

Just run a plain j-plug, no flasher is needed. Use a swivel small enough to go through the hole in the j-plug. This will allow the plug to slide up the line away from a fish when hooked up and the fish can't use the plug as leverage to get off. They are great on cores but full cores can be tough to run in traffic this time of year. They work great on half cores and you can run them around other boats if not in crowded condition like in front of pier heads. I avoid fishing there anyways. I like to run a longer leads with j-plugs off riggers in shallow water less than 50 ft and high slide divers and long leads are good too. Hope this helps.

Depends on the tournament rules. Salmon are easy to catch pretty much everywhere now. In most tournaments, you need to get your trout to win. If that is the case in your tourny, I would try to find some salmon inshore for the first few hours while prefishing. I wouldn't spend much time on the salmon if you get them going at first light. Once you find the salmon, I would spend most of my time trying to find lakers or steelhead when prefishing. It's hard to leave a good salmon bite when prefishing but I'd forgo a good box and go searching for the trout if you need them in your catch in the tourney.

50# Ande on leaders for flies, 20# Ande on riggers and for sliders, 30# power pro and wire on the divers. I think Ande is the best line and value for the price for big water fishing. Get a big spool. I'll use 6# Seagar flourocarbon for steelhead in the rivers but I don't think flourocarbon is really needed on the big lake.

Congratulations!

Got this today from the LACA. Note they are providing the middle GPS numbers for the north south line- 52's and 01's and the water depth(east/west line). Be on the lookout when fishing these areas. From the LACA To all Lud LACA members Below is a forwarded message from Archie Martell, LRBOI regarding assessment nets in our area to be fished over the next few days. These nets are typically set in the afternoon and removed the next morning. All persons should be on the look out for these nets if fishing in this general area during this time frame: We will be beginning or whitefish assessments off of Ludington, MI this week and should be completed by the end of next week. We will be setting along the following transects: N 44o 01’ N 43 o 52’ We will be setting two (2) gangs of standard assessment nets, 1800 feet in length, between 50 – 200 feet of water. The nets will be marked with staff buoys at each end and these sets will be overnight sets lifted the next day.

Great catch, it sure is nice when you have an experienced crew.

Fished Sat and Sun. My buddy that went fishes a lot too so we took it easy and slept in Sat. Had low expectations and launched the boat about 8:30. We fished till 1:30 and went 4 for 7. On Sunday, we got out on time and had a limit of kings and a coho by 7:00AM. Lost a few others too. Changed up the spread and went on a long west troll till 10:00 looking for other fish and found none. We fished north both days, on the bank early and off the bank later. Best rigs were a blue bubble spin doctor on a low wire diver out 120. A wonderbread glow DW super slim on a high diver out 90. A wonder bread j plug took 3 on a half core Sun. A green blade/white crush tape spin doctor on a rigger at 60 feet took a couple hits. A moonshine daisy cutter and dancing anchovy went early on Sunday. Good luck!

Here are recent Ludington net locations including the new one to the south: South of Ludington: 1. Deep end: 43° 50.555 N 086° 30.707 W. Staff with orange flag. Depth: 129'. Inside staff: not reported. North of Big Point Sauble: 2. Deep end: 44° 04.752 N 086° 31.025 W. Staff with orange flag. Depth: 120'. Inside staff: not reported. 3. Deep end: 44° 04.941 N 086° 31.186 W. Staff with orange flag. Depth: 170'. Inside staff: not reported. 4. Deep end: 44° 05.265 N 086° 30.669 W. Staff with orange flag. Depth: 111'. Inside staff: not reported. 5. Deep end: 44° 05.501 N 086° 30.718 W. Staff with orange flag. Depth: 165'. Inside staff: not reported. 6. Deep end: 44° 05.783 N 086° 30.457 W. Staff with orange flag. Depth: 156'. Inside staff: not reported. 7. Deep end: 44° 05.9001 N 086° 30.405 W. Staff with orange flag. Depth: 158'. Inside staff: not reported. 8. Deep end: 44° 05.996 N 086° 30.406 W. Staff with orange flag. Depth: 150'. Inside staff: not reported. 9. Deep end: 44° 06.376 N 086° 29.940 W. Staff with orange flag. Depth: 129'. Inside end: 44° 06.170 N 086° 29.555 W. Staff with two flags, orange over black. Depth: 93'. 10. Deep end: 44° 06.838 N 086° 29.3444 W. Staff with orange flag. Depth: 130'. Inside end: 44° 06.450 N 086° 29.246 W. Staff with two flags, orange over black. Depth: 94'. 11. Deep end: 44° 07.059 N 086° 29.344 W. Staff with orange flag. Depth: 130'. Inside staff: not reported. 12. Deep end: 44° 07.443 N 086° 28.865 W. Staff with orange flag. Depth: 137'. Inside end: 44° 07.19N 086° 28.73 W. Staff with two flags, orange over black. Depth 130'. Note: Additional nets are known to exist north of the Ludington Net Alert Border, defined by Latitude 44°10.00 North. Caution is required when fishing/traveling beyond the Ludington Net Alert boundary. Reminder: Additional nets may be placed or currently listed nets may be moved without warning, and several days or weeks may elapse before the net alert can be updated.

I've been checked quite a few times on the big water. Twice I was way off shore 10+ miles. Everytime, they pulled up along side, match my trolling speed and ask us to show licenses. They have used binoc's to read them from their boat. They were always courteous.

Cook up some lake trout the same as any other salmon or trout and do a blind taste test for others who don't know what is what. Lake trout wins every time I've done it. I love fried lake trout too.

Had one of my best fishing vacations ever. Why- because we got out 8 days straight and never had a blow keep us off the water. I don't think this ever happened in my life before. Fishing was great too. We had double digit action all week leading up to the Gander Mountain Classic. On Friday's ladies tournament, our gals did a great job on the rods and nets and we ended up in 2nd place AM winning $700. We came in 33rd on the first day of the weekend tournament and moved up to the 18th on day two which was good for a $500 check. Over the week, we fished everywhere from the nets north of Big Sable to quite a ways south of Little Sable Point. Best action came on spin doctors blue bubble and mountain and white crush with green and blue flys, a wonder bread DW super slim was the best spoon all week. Put it on a core and it will go. This spoon took 2-4 fish a trip. Riggers from 30 to 90 down depending on where we were at. Divers from 70 to 150 back. Good luck!

See below for the Ludington area. Revised Tuesday, July 3, 2007. The Net alert will be updated immediately any time a confirmed change is known to the Association. Net Alert! Tribal fishers have placed several trap nets in the Ludington area. New net locations will be added to the Net Alert list as soon as the locations are known to the LACA and are confirmed. Please check the net alert often for new net locations and for new information about older nets. Several nets have been placed near Big Point Sauble. Anecdotal information suggest these nets are well marked with at least two highly visible staffs consistent with the tribal regulations. The depths of the nets vary. Please check each nets depth listing. When fishing normally the nets should stand approximately 20' to 30' up from the bottom. It is possible to fish over some of the nets depending on the depth of the fishing gear. However staff and buoy lines extend to the surface and may be inclined in the direction of the wind or current. These lines should be carefully avoided. Occasionally, due to accidents, strong winds or currents the net buoys and flags may not be visible. All net related incidents should be reported to the MDNR commercial fisheries division by calling the RAP line (800-292-7800). Please record the GPS location, the time, weather, sea conditions, and the presence and type of any flags, buoys, floats or other net markings. This is extremely important for the MDNR record keeping and helps to lead to corrective actions. All sightings of unmarked or improperly marked nets should also be reported. Also, anyone observing any length of yellow polypropylene line floating loose at or just below the surface in the vicinity of a net location is urged to promptly report the exact GPS location including the depth, to the DNR RAP (800-292-7800) line as soon as possible. Net entanglement or other net related incidents may also be reported to the Mason-Oceana County Emergency Hot Line at: (231) 869-5858. Emergency help may be provided. In the event of eminent danger of loss of life or vessel, call the USCG on FM 16 or by cell: 231-843-2447. Net locations are listed from South to North, by their last known position, with conditions as noted: Eleven identified and marked nets currently fishing are located north of Big Sauble Point. (Note: GPS coordinates vary slightly from instrument to instrument) All net locations should be regarded as approximate, and subject to change. 1. Deep end: 44° 04.752 N 086° 31.025 W. Staff with orange flag. Depth: 120'. Inside staff: not reported. 2. Deep end: 44° 04.911 N 086° 31.138 W. Staff with orange flag. Depth: 154'. Inside staff: not reported. 3. Deep end: 44° 05.265 N 086° 30.669 W. Staff with orange flag. Depth: 111'. Inside staff: not reported. 4. Deep end: 44° 05.486 N 086° 31.280 W. Staff with orange flag. Depth: 149'. Inside staff: not reported. 5. Deep end: 44° 05.783 N 086° 30.457 W. Staff with orange flag. Depth: 156'. Inside staff: not reported. 6. Deep end: 44° 05.891 N 086° 30.406 W. Staff with orange flag. Depth: 158'. Inside staff: not reported. 7. Deep end: 44° 05.996 N 086° 29.952 W. Staff with orange flag. Depth: 99'. Inside staff: not reported. 8. Deep end: 44° 06.150 N 086° 29.940 W. Staff with orange flag. Depth: 129'. Inside end: 44° 06.170 N 086° 29.555 W. Staff with two flags, orange over black. Depth: 93'. 9. Deep end: 44° 06.838 N 086° 29.3444 W. Staff with orange flag. Depth: 130'. Inside end: 44° 06.450 N 086° 29.246 W. Staff with two flags, orange over black. Depth: 94'. 10. Deep end: 44° 07.059 N 086° 29.344 W. Staff with orange flag. Depth: 130'. Inside staff: not reported. 11. Deep end: 44° 07.443 N 086° 28.865 W. Staff with orange flag. Depth: 137'. Inside end: 44° 07.19N 086° 28.73 W. Staff with two flags, orange over black. 112'. Note: Additional nets are known to exist north of the Ludington Net Alert Border, defined by Latitude 44°10.00 North. Caution is required when fishing/traveling beyond the Ludington Net Alert boundary. Reminder: Additional nets may be placed or currently listed nets may be moved without warning, and several days or weeks may elapse before the net alert can be updated. Information about Trap Nets and their markings: Notes: The first staff coordinates usually most closely relate to the location of the pot. If a single depth is given it usually indicates the depth at the pot staff buoy location at the deeper end of the net. If two depths are given, the shallower depth will be at the inside anchor staff (two flags) The nets stand from 20’ to 30+’ high from the bottom upward. These coordinates place the nets in the area from just north of Pentwater to several miles north of Big Sauble Point. Floats or staffs may also mark the positions of the wings and or anchors. The float lines may be especially difficult to see in periods of poor visibility or rough water, and the possibility exists that excess float line may be floating loosely near the floats. Depending on the depth of water and other factors, the total length of the net and the lines to its anchors may be as much as 1,500 feet in the direction generally perpendicular to the shore. They may extent up to 200 feet in the direction parallel to the shore. Wind, waves, fog or darkness may make it difficult to observe the markings. Boaters and fishermen are urged to exercise extreme caution near the nets. Boaters traversing the vicinity would be well advised to travel either well inside or well outside the netted area. The nets are constructed of very heavy netting and may reach from the bottom to near the surface in some cases. If your gear becomes entangled in the net, you are urged to cut it off and contact the fishers to recover it. Should your boat become entangled in the net, please call or radio the Coast Guard immediately. For additional information regarding trap nets pick up a copy of the brochure "Don't Get Trapped" at the Ludington Chamber Office, or visit the web site: Michigan Sea Grant/net or call: 616/846-8250. Please visit the Ludington Area Charterboat Association website for updates and additional information. http://www.ludingtoncharterboats.org