GLF

Stirkevision is what I have seen so far. There is something about it in this post.

Put down my crew and I for this. GLF/Dv8oR/wfs

MUSKEGON -- Shoaling that has apparently been worsening in Muskegon's outer harbor denied passage to yet another lake freighter Tuesday night. The 620-foot Manistee hit bottom outside the Muskegon pierheads at about 10 p.m., becoming the fourth cargo ship to do so since the 1,000-foot Indiana Harbor became mired at the same spot for four hours last Aug. 22. The Manistee, loaded with about 13,000 tons of salt, was bound for the Verplank Co. dock on Muskegon Lake. Nathan Gates, Verplank's sales and logistics manager, said the ship freed itself and departed Muskegon for Milwaukee at around midnight. It was expected to unload some salt there and try again to reach Verplank early Friday. Gates said the same ship carried a shipment to Muskegon nearly two weeks ago and departed without incident. "My suspicion is that once a shoal starts it continues to get worse as we get certain weather patterns," Gates said. The grounding of the Indiana Harbor was followed by that of another 1,000-footer, the American Integrity, on Sept. 10. It wiggled free after about an hour, then offloaded coal to another ship before proceeding to the B.C. Cobb electrical generating plant at the east end of Muskegon Lake. Then, on Nov. 13, a smaller ship, the 630-foot Earl W went aground in the same area with about 19,000 tons of limestone. Muskegon's harbor is scheduled for dredging this spring. However, the current low lake levels are causing problems for shippers all around the Great Lakes, according to the Lake Carriers Association. Shippers have had to lighten loads, resulting in increased costs. Last month, another 620-foot ship, the Mississagi, ran aground at the entrance of the Grand Haven channel with a load of limestone. It was forced to drop some of that cargo at Muskegon before returning to Grand Haven.

If there's anything positive that can come out of a survey that found the fewest Lake Michigan forage fish in more than 30 years, it's that alewives are holding their own. Though at numbers well below the long-term average, alewives — the favored forage for the big lake's multimillion-dollar salmon and trout sport fishery — were up about 18 percent over the fall 2006 survey, which was one of the three lowest ever. Chuck Madenjian, a research fishery biologist for the U.S. Geological Survey's Great Lakes Science Center, said scientists believe there were 30 kilotons of prey fish in the lake last fall. That's more than 66 million pounds, but about half of the 2006 estimate. The biggest drop was in bloater chubs, only at about 1 percent of their high two decades ago. Deep-water sculpin numbers also plunged, and smelt numbers — already very low — declined more. On the other hand, the volume of quagga and zebra mussels increased about 13 percent, to 245 kilotons. That adds up to more than 500 million pounds of mussels. "It's almost all quagga mussels now, not many zebras," Madenjian said. "Some trawl catches had over 1,000 pounds of mussels in." The specially equipped boat — about 75 to 80 feet long, Madenjian said — annually surveys the bottom off seven ports, including Sturgeon Bay and Port Washington off the Wisconsin shoreline. Tows are done every 60 feet of depth, starting in 60 feet of water and ending in 360 feet of water. Ten-minute tows that take only a few minutes to lift at shallower depths can take nearly a half-hour at the greatest depths. Whitefish and yellow perch will eat the smaller mussels as part of their diet, but it's not enough to stop the growing mussel population from filtering out phytoplankton important to small fish and invertebrates. "There's a lot of doom and gloom talk these days," Madenjian said. "People are really concerned. But I do think it would be a mistake to put all the blame on the mussels. There maybe were too many salmon in the lake, and bloater populations could be somewhat cyclic. Let's see what happens." Some commercial fishermen don't think bloater numbers will come back, but Madenjian is not so sure. The population was lower in 1976, he said, prompting an emergency closure. As for the alewives coveted by salmon and trout — and the anglers who seek them — Madenjian said the most common length seen in the trawls was between 5 and 6 inches, likely from a strong 2005 year class. Still, alewife numbers were lower only three times since the survey began in 1973. "The overall trend is smaller size (of salmon)," Madenjian said. "With the states stocking fewer, the numbers might come down some, but it depends on natural reproduction, too."

The spoons are sold.

The spoons are sold.

The spoons are sold.

The spoons are sold.

My truck has a sliding back window. I can easily fit a 20" decal behind the driver on the window. What length would you prefer the decals?

The spoons are sold.

I am getting ready to have some Great Lakes Fisherman decals cut. These would be available for purchase. These could go on your boat, truck, car or whatever! The decals will probably be silver or white.....but I may be able to do them in other colors also. I will have more details....size and price soon. Would anyone be interested in purchasing them?

I have been cleaning out my tackle. I am selling 26 Raider Spoons, 2 Fishlanders, 1 Silver Streak, and 1 Diamond King. Most have never been in the water. I would like $60 for the whole package, and that includes shipping. Respond to this thread if you are interested.

I have been doing some cleaning up of my tackle. I am selling all of these Dreamweaver lures. Most have NEVER been in the water. This is Lure Pack #4 $20.00 + $3.00 shipping Please reply to this thread if you are interested. Mike

I have been doing some cleaning up of my tackle. I am selling all of these Dreamweaver lures. Most have NEVER been in the water. This is Lure Pack #3 $20.00 + $3.00 shipping Please reply to this thread if you are interested. Mike

I have been doing some cleaning up of my tackle. I am selling all of these Dreamweaver lures. Most have NEVER been in the water. This is Lure Pack #2 $20.00 + $3.00 shipping Please reply to this thread if you are interested. Mike

I have been doing some cleaning up of my tackle. I am selling all of these Dreamweaver lures. Most have NEVER been in the water. This is Lure Pack #1 $20.00 + $3.00 shipping Please reply to this thread if you are interested. Mike

Dont miss out on these deals. Tell all your friends.

Lots of GREAT deals will be found here. If you are looking for some equipment for your boat, this is the place to be. Your link for the directions did not work. Let me know if this link works, and I will edit your post.

The Michigan spring turkey hunt application period runs from 1 January - 1 February. Dont forget to put your applications in. Drawing results will be posted onile 3 March.

This is 28.5 minutes long for those who are wondering.

We are moving the weekly chat back to Wednesdays at 8pm EST. I found myself, and others forgetting about the Monday chats after a hard weekend of fishing. Click on "Fish Chat" in the upper navbar, far right side to get there.

We are moving the weekly chat back to Wednesdays at 8pm EST. I found myself, and others forgetting about the Monday chats after a hard weekend of fishing. Click on "Fish Chat" in the upper navbar, far right side to get there.

I am going to the Grand Rapids show, and will probably go there on Thursday 13 March. I will also be at the D & R Sports Big Water Days(They may name it something else) show on 8 March. What shows are you going to this year?

Welcome to the site Anton. Whats the salmon fishing like there? Whats the biggest salmon you have caught so far? Do you have a boat? Any pictures? Do you fish for salmon when they run upriver to spawn? How big do they get there? As you have already discovered. This forum is loaded with GREAT information! If you need anything, let out a shout. Mike

I run Church walleye boards. If I was going to put them on mono, I would put them 20-20' above the bait. I usually use them with my lead core, and put them on the lead core. I put it on the first color that goes in the water. I start the season off with 60-80 foot of leader. When it gets down to around 20' I put on a new leader. The Dive Bomb is a planeing weight. So....the more line you have out, the deeper it will go. I am using 30lb 7 strand wire on my dipsey's rods. I use #1 Dipsey Divers, and usually run them on a #3 setting. I have a 12" snubber and a leader to the flasher/fly or spoon. The snubber takes the shock out of the release of the diver. This is my son reeling in a fish. Behind him, I have a rod in the down rigger rod holder. To the left of that is a 10 1/2' wire diver rod. To the left of that is the a full core, a half core, and a 2 color. You can not see the half core, or 2 color. All of my core rods are in Big Jon triple pedestal rod holders. Do you see the blue tape above the handle on the rod my son is reeling in? I mark my different core rods with different color tape. That is how I know which one is which. The rod he has is a half core rod. I have the inline planer board removed already. You can see it behind him.