EdB

Thanks for the report Frank.

I fished the river on Saturday down from Berrien Springs by myself. Had a slow start, I hit and lost 2 and that was it by noon. Kept dropping downstream and was coming to a stretch I really like. Hit and lost the 3rd fish of the day, then the 4th and 5th. That was a hot stretch of water. I just couldn't get them in the boat, 0 for 5 so far. I had lot's of good water to cover and I finally got one in the boat by 1:00pm. Dropped downstream and then lost my 7th fish on of the day. I had a bad day for snags and busted spawn bags and lost way more spawn bags then I usually do and I was down to my last two bags with 2 good holes ahead. Put a fresh bag on and launched it, drifted down and fish on! Landed that one and put on my last spawn bag. Dropped back to the next hole and started a drift. Wham, fish on again! I land that one to get 3 in the boat. I'll always remember this fishing trip with an ending like that even though the fish kicked my butt! They were hot and jumping with water temps coming up. The run on the lower Joe is going to peak this week with the weather ahead. Today 4 of us hit the pier. Started hitting fish right away and we had 14 by 10:30 and then it died. Stayed till noon but never had another hit. It was a mixed bag of coho's, whitefish and browns. All on steelie skein wraps fished on the bottom. My pier and river fishing is going to wind down and it'll be time to get the boat out soon. It has been a great winter season this year with the milder temps and lot of fish. Good Luck!

Save your gas tomorrow, maybe Sunday...doesn't look great for this weekend: 241 PM EST FRI MAR 9 2012 SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM EST THIS EVENING GALE WARNING IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH SATURDAY AFTERNOON TONIGHT NORTH WINDS 10 TO 15 KNOTS VEERING SOUTH 15 TO 20 KNOTS TOWARD DAYBREAK. PARTLY CLOUDY. WAVES 4 TO 6 FEET SUBSIDING TO 1 TO 2 FEET AFTER MIDNIGHT. SATURDAY SOUTHWEST GALES TO 35 KNOTS. SUNNY. WAVES 4 TO 6 FEET BUILDING TO 7 TO 11 FEET. SATURDAY NIGHT SOUTHWEST WINDS TO 30 KNOTS. MOSTLY CLEAR. WAVES 5 TO 8 FEET. SUNDAY SOUTH WINDS 15 TO 20 KNOTS. MOSTLY SUNNY. WAVES 3 TO 5 FEET SUBSIDING TO 2 TO 3 FEET LATE IN THE DAY.

Don't know much about them but I checked out their website. One red flag I saw was no names or street addresses listed in the contact us or about us part of their website. Kind of scary dealing with a store you don't know where it is or who owns them. Legitimate contact info and a street address are 2 key things I look for when buying over the web.

We hit the pier today, started off slow, we picked at the whitefish. I got these in the first 3 hours: It was blustery with snow squalls. Waves were splashing on the pier. We made a move, repositioned and started whacking coho's - real good. We got our limit on salmon and trout, here was my total catch for the day. Both the coho's and whitefish were really biting steelhead skein wrapped on a hook. Wrapped skein really outproduced spawn bags 5-1. When the carnage was over, 4 of us got 19 coho's, 1 brown and 11 whitefish. We were fishing the lake side of the pier and closer to the beach was better for the coho's. This is a private report for the paying members of the site. Hope you can get out and enjoy the great action at St Joe this week. If you can't make it out, please keep it private.

The ribs came off and the brown sugar pineapple goes on.

I'm on the Jackson County Washtenaw county line in Waterloo, want me to PM the address Ken;) The smoker has 2 racks, I have a drip pan underneath today but I can run two racks of food if needed. More than we eat on the racks going now but those pulled pork sandwhiches will be good for lunch this week. I foiled the ribs a while ago, the butt is at 160 degrees. I want it to be 190-200 and it falls apart for pulled pork. I didn't take any pics when I built mine but this link below shows how to build them and a few pics of some very nice home builds. We have this BBQ/fishing event in St Joe every spring and I learned a lot from the competition BBQ chefs that come to it every year. Building a basic drum smoker: http://www.theqjoint.com/forum/showthread.php?3165-Building-a-basic-drum-smoker-(UDS)

The fatty and spam just came off for lunch:

No snow here, just a ton of rain to blow out the rivers, how much snow did you get up your way?

The fatty and brown sugar spam should be ready for lunch and the pulled pork and ribs should be 4:00 to 5:00PM, come on over.

Didn't go fishing today due to blown out rivers and raging wind so I stayed home and fired up the smoker. Low and slow!

Nice catch Adam!

Way to go, nice box for Feb. in those tough conditions too.

Glad you had some success Joel. I'm a troller too and load up on king skeins in summer and freeze them for the river. That's all we use to start and then we'll get some steelie spawn in the river. Sounds like your on track now, good job.

Why not king spawn, it works great in the rivers. Been whackin steelies all winter on it. Works off the pier and beaches in the fall too. The only time I'm picky on having steelhead spawn is for pier fishing now till spring. I got some king spawn if you want it.

I got one coho and we hit a bunch of whitefish between all the trout. Nice steady pick all morning. We used spawn bags and fresh skein wrapped on a hook. The 3 of us got 9 browns, 1 coho and 9 whitefish for the day. It was cold again but the sunshine was shining. Awesome weekend!

It was the brown blast.

Now that we had some fresh gold, we hit the pier today and railed on em.

Hit the river Saturday, always nice when everyone catches one. All 3 of us got a nice big hen and we got one more male and lost a few more. That wind was biting.

You can't go wrong with Tiara, best big lake boat in it's class. The key thing with a used boat that size it to have a marine survey done on it. It will cost a few bills but it will insure the hull is sound with no rot issues. That is rare on Tiara's with the way they are built.

I downloaded a Navionics ap this winter but it cost $9.99. It shows your position and clearly shows the pier heads and harbor and rivermouth lakes and depth contours. It also shows inland lakes with depth contours. I was looking forward to the inland function when ice fishing but the ice has been shaky in south central Mi all winter. I would not want to rely on a cell phone as my only navigation aid on the big lakes. It would make a nice back up but it is a good idea to have primary GPS on board if you are fishing offshore.

Don't expect much this time of year, it is too early. I can't speak to the peak time in Clearwater but April-June is best in the keys.

Here is a DNR Q&A on the new regs: Frequently Asked Questions About the Mentored Youth Hunting Program What does the new law do? The law allows youths under the age of 10 to hunt with a mentor. Mentored youths will be required to obtain a mentored youth hunting license and hunt in conjunction with the Mentored Youth Hunting program. When does the program begin? The program begins March 1, 2012, and mentored youth hunters will be able to participate in the spring turkey hunt. What are the regulations for this program? Mentored youths must be accompanied by an adult at least 21 years old, with hunting experience and in possession of a valid Michigan hunting license. The mentor is limited to two hunting devices (firearm, bow or crossbow) in the field while mentoring a youth hunter. When the youth is engaged in the act of hunting, he or she must be within arm's length of the mentor. The mentor will be held responsible for all actions of the mentored youth hunter while in the field. How many youth hunters can I mentor in the field? The regulations and law do not put a limit on the number of children a mentor may take in the field with him or her. However, the DNR strongly suggests you limit the number of children to one or two to ensure a quality and enjoyable time for your mentored youth hunter. How much will a mentored youth hunt license cost? The cost for a mentored youth license is $7.50. The fee was established in the legislation that created the license. Parents or legal guardians will also need to purchase a $1 DNR Sportcard for the youth hunter. The Sportcard gives the youth a unique identifying number in the DNR's license sales system. What hunting privileges are provided under this license? Resident small game, two deer tags (any deer), spring and fall turkey (for any public or private lands), all-species fishing, and resident fur harvesters. If filled with a firearm, deer tags may only be used on private land, which is consistent with current state law for youth hunters ages 10-13. If my child is nine on March 1, but will turn 10 later in the year, is he or she still eligible for the Mentored Youth Hunting program? Yes, if a nine-year-old child possesses a mentored youth hunting license and turns 10 during the license year (March 1 of current year through March 31 of following year), the mentored youth hunting license will remain valid until the end of the license year. Does my child under 10 need hunter safety classes first? There is no requirement in the Mentored Youth Hunting program that the youth hunter take a hunter safety course first. However, the DNR strongly encourages that they do. See a list of hunter safety courses by county. Is it safe to take children under 10 hunting? The intent of the law is to let parents and guardians, not the government, decide when a child is ready to hunt. Statistically speaking, youth hunters are the safest hunters in the woods because of the direct adult supervision they receive. Does my mentored youth hunter have to apply for a turkey management unit hunt? No, a mentored youth hunter can hunt in any turkey management unit or on public land. Can the deer tags for a mentored youth hunter be used on public land? Deer tags can be used on private land only with a firearm, consistent with current state law for youth hunters ages 10-13; however, archery equipment may be used on public or private land. What is the apprentice license? The apprentice license is for anyone 10 years of age and older who has not received hunter safety certification. An individual may hunt with an apprentice license for two license years. For apprentices between ages 10-16, the accompanying hunter must be the apprentice's parent, guardian, or someone designated by the parent or guardian. What license do I purchase once I receive my hunter safety certification? If you are 10 years of age or older with hunter safety certification, you can purchase regular hunting licenses. What if my child just wants to fish? Does he or she need a mentored youth license? No, if your child just wants to fish, he or she can fish in Michigan without a license until they are 17. However, the DNR does sell a voluntary $2 Youth Fishing License that supports fish habitat management in Michigan.

http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153--271172--,00.html NRC Approves Mentored Youth Hunting Program for 2012 Contact: Dan Eichinger, 517-373-9337 or Ed Golder, 517-335-3014 Agency: Natural Resources Feb. 10, 2012 The Michigan Natural Resources Commission (NRC) has approved a new program aimed at introducing children under the age of 10 to hunting and fishing. The Mentored Youth Hunting program will start with the 2012 season, with licenses on sale starting March 1. "The Department is fully supportive of this new program that will help introduce children to the sport of hunting, ensuring that we successfully pass along Michigan's rich outdoor traditions," said Rodney Stokes, director of the Department of Natural Resources. "We wish to thank our many conservation partners who helped develop this program with the NRC, providing a new opportunity for us to interest Michigan's youth in hunting and fishing." The $7.50 Mentored Youth Hunting license will be a "package" license that includes small game, spring and fall turkey (private or public land), two deer tags (any deer), a furbearer trapping permit and an all-species fishing license. An adult mentor must be at least 21 years old, have previous hunting experience and possess a valid Michigan hunting license. Another provision of the law allows 10-year-olds to hunt big game on private land with a firearm, which was implemented starting with the 2011 deer season. The regulations approved by the NRC for the Mentored Youth Hunting program include: No limit on the number of youth a mentor can have with him or her in the field, leaving it at the discretion of the mentor. A limit of two hunting devices ? bow, crossbow or firearm ? per mentor. The youth in possession of a hunting device and engaged in the act of hunting must be within arm's length of the mentor. The mentor shall ensure that the hunting device is sized appropriately to fit the physical abilities of the youth to ensure safe and responsible handling. The mentor will be held responsible for the youth's actions. The issued deer tags under the Mentored Youth Hunting license can be used for either sex (antlered or antlerless), are not subject to antler point restriction regulations in certain parts of the state and can only be used on private land, consistent with current state law. Voluntary mentor guidelines have been developed by the DNR, and are available at www.michigan.gov/mentoredhunting, along with other information about the program. A workgroup consisting of representatives of several conservation organizations, including three youth representatives, developed recommendations for the regulations, which were adopted by the NRC. Organizations serving on the workgroup included the Michigan United Conservation Clubs, the National Wild Turkey Federation, Pheasants Forever, the Michigan Trappers and Predator Callers Association, Ducks Unlimited and the Michigan Hunter Safety Education Instructor Association.

Awesome to be trolling and catching in February, way to go!