Eliminator

Thanks Ed, I was leaning that way, but didnt want to undersize myself too much. Maybe I will start with a 10in now and get the 12 later in the year.

I am looking at picking one up this year, any one have reccomendations? I dont know if I do a 10in, 12in, or the 14in........... Do you only use it for taking the meat off the fish or do you fillet the skin with it also?

Mike, I live in Kalamazoo, let me know if you ever need a rider and I will do the same if your interested. Send me a pm if you would like my number.

Oh man is that not the truth!!! I stare at the snow just waiting to uncover the boat.

I know I am not the only one to feel this way about the long winter. I am just itching to dig the "Snag Hag" out and begin setting her up. The problem obviously being we still have snow. My hope was to dig it out around March 10-15 and take a week to set up, and then off to the Joe, but the weather might prove otherwise. When do you guys plan your first trip out and where will it be?

Hi guys, I just received my new convector reels and wondered the best way to tie power pro to the reel with out it slipping. Also wondering how you do it for wire on wire dipseys. Most of them will be spooled with power pro then blood run 32 lb copper. Not sure if I can wing wire divers or just do power pro again.

No problem! I agree great site with great info. I was wondering tue same thing.

Wow, that is a great site. I am going upgrade my magda's with drags from tuna toms. I am glad to know my convectors will be simy to maintain.

Hi Guys, I have several of the Okuma Magda reels 30 and 45's, along with a handful of their cousins the Cabelas 45 reels. I was wondering what maintenance you would recommend. The first thing I am not sure of is what oil or lubricant to use on the screw drive for the level wind. On top of that should I be greasing bearings or other points? I am adding 10 new convectors this year and will need to do the same next year for those. Appreciate the help anyone has to offer. I hope to start fishing the Joe in Three weeks, we will see……..

Welcome Kev! This is a great site and a great group of guys. I have been on here since august and have not looked back. We are all trying to fish and learn and with a group like this one you will do really well. Good luck too you and can't wait to hear how Canada does it.

Any part of june or July should work for me

Captain: Shawn 31, CEO(Wife): Becky 28 Kalamazoo, MI 1986 21’ Trophy hardtop. Mostly Fish out of St. Joe and South Haven. “Snag Hag†Since a kid I have always enjoyed being on the water and fishing, although I have to be honest, until I did Lake Michigan I was never hooked like I am today. My wife is my co-heart on the “Snag Hagâ€â€¦yea, she hates the name, but it came on the boat, what can I say? My first boat was an OLD 14 aluminum and mercury 15 horse. That was 11 years ago, and since had a 17 Sylvan that we just sold this last fall and purchased the Snag Hag. We started Lake Michigan 3 years ago and have not looked back. We are still very new to this and learning a ton. We tend to crack jokes and laugh instead of being serious, so we don’t always fish our “A†game but we sure have fun doing it. We are always looking to meet new people, so if you see us on the water or shore give us a shout.

THANKS! Tim, it was really nice to pass on stuff to the next guy, and bring home some new stuff, like a bunch of bloody copper..........and some slammer spoons.

I am an early bird also, March 15 through November 14. This year I am going to have video and still photos on my boat. I fish the Joe in the spring and South Haven summer through fall, will occasional trips to northern ports.

Thanks for trying Mike, its amazing how sometimes stuff comes together to simple, and then there is the other times that it just wont work. Let me know for next years clinic, I would be glad to help out in anyway.

Yea, me too.. good thing I dont have an addiction or anything.

Well after much debate and finding GREAT deal on EBAY I did the auto pilot. It is a simrad AP14R. I still have a cable system so I was limited on my options. I cant wait to use it this summer. Do any of you use saved gps tracks for rotuine fishing grounds? Should I use a drift bag to reduce the on time of auto pilot system? Only two more months, then let the fun begin.

I run one at a 1.5 and the other at a 2.5 setting. When you set them out just set the rod on the correct side of the diver that is already out. Example: If my low diver 1.5 is out, I would keep begin letting my high diver 2.5 out in front of the low diver (Towards the front of the boat) and very slowly let line out letting the high diver begin swimming away from the boat. Once I know it has cleared the low diver I set the drag a little loose and let the diver pull its self out. Vice Versa, If my high diver is out and I want to set my low, I begin by starting behind the high diver rod and begin letting out the same way as the high diver. The key to divers is too always keep them pulling. Don’t let them free spool or spool very fast. As long as you keep them under tension and working, you can work them very easily.

In the early morning I only run 6 lines even if I can run more. The action is usually fast enough to prevent additional lines. So I do 2 riggers with sliders, and 4 divers. As the day progresses I drop my 2 inside divers and add 2 long line. If 9 lines I add 2 more long lines and 1 shallow high line with a body bait on it, this most of the time will take a steal head.

One of those was my boat! The origanal name with the boat is "Snag Hag" it came out of bay city. It does troll down no problem, it is a little tough to get between 2.4 and 3 but I am going to use a drift bag this year, then prob attach my kicker this fall. I will tell you, my dad and I put mine to the wave test this past november, we tried to fish prior to a gail warning and the lake became REALLY rough. 6-7 foot waves. Even though they were coming over the bow and rushing over the hard top, we never once felt unsafe. I just bought auto pilot for mine and cant wait to uncover and install.

Welcome Aaron! I have the twin brother to your boat. Mine is a 86 but only has the 4 cylinder, she goes, but does not set speed records. A bigger motor is the only thing I would change on my boat. Good Luck, this is a GREAT site with great guys.

How long is your backer on your copper riggs? Are you using the Okuma Copper rods, I think they are around $40?

I was all set to purchase a Simrad AP12R autopilot this winter but have found they stopped making them. So, my question is now, what other brands of auto pilots do you guys use and would you recommend it? The big restriction I have is I still have the TeleFlex cable system, I don’t really want to spend $1000 to upgrade to hydraulic. P.S I have a 21 foot fiberglass boat

It is a Lowrance Marine radio. The antenna is on the oppisite side of boat. I know the radio is not grounded only hooked to a positive and negative ternminal stripe with not filter. My boat is fibergass. Do I need to ground the antenna and radio together plus the battery? The antenna is 15 years old, and the radio is 2. Is there a compatabilty issue?

I have a noise issue with my CB radio. I had the same noise with it on my old boat and moved it to my new boat and it still makes noise. Whenever a fish finder is on it make a pulsing noise like the MIC trigger. If I turn the Sonar off it goes away. It’s like the antenna is picking up the sonar. Any thoughts?