GLF

Nice job Brek! Did you fish the North nets or the South nets?

Brek, You and Roy are welcome to come along fishing anytime I go out. Great company!

Well I did not make it out last weekend, and I will not be able to get out for a couple of more weeks. After seeing the forecast, I was in no hurray to get out this morning. On my way up to the boat, I called Brek(Redeye) and asked if he would like to go. Brek and his fishing partner Roy, met me at the boat and we left the dock around 10:45. We were greeted by 2-4' waves when we hit the pier heads. It had laid down a lot since I checked the webcam before I left the house. We ran out to 130FOW, pinted the bow on a NW troll into the waves, and started setting lines. While we were setting lines, this 37' cruiser we passed on the way out, pulled lines and ran out and set up by us. It was not long after we had lines set and we had our first meeting with the 37' turning out and pushing us off our NW troll. How is it, you and another boat are the only ones in 130FOW, and you have to steer out of the way of the other boat? This would be the first of several run ins with this boat. We turned the boat towards the West and swung around to a South troll to get away from this other boat. After a short ways, we turned to the West in search of our first fish. We did not get nothing going on the West troll, and made it out to 170FOW, so we spun the boat around to an East troll. Around 130FOW, we picked up our first fish, on a Stinger Stingray Craigs x-mas on a 2 color. This was a beautiful steelhead shaped like a bullet, that measured 32". Guess what.....that same 37' boat shows up beside us again and starts crowding us. We had just got the line reset when a rigger went. The rigger was set at 95' and the lake trout hit fixed slider which was a Stinger Stingray Mongoose C.F. spoon. We reset the line and swung the boat to the South to turn around because of the 37' boat to the North. As we turned to the South, the 37'er turned to the North to turn around. We were running a full spread with 3 boards on each side and the 37' was only running 4 riggers. Here is where it gets good. We finally turn around and try to get back on our path we trolled in on. The 37' had turned faster than us and was on a West troll on our path. He was about 3 boat lengths in us when he decided to turn to the South right in front of us. Yep....he came right across our bow, and I was not going to change course nor speed. Lucky for him he did not have any core out. We continued West, and once we hit around 130FOW, a full core goes. Guess whos up next? My 6 year old told me last night he wanted to go fishing today. Ever see a 6 year old real in a full core? To make it worse, I had let an extra 75' of backing out before I attached the board. All said and done, there was 450' on the line counter. Well for the most part, he reeled in the fish all by himself! Dad was proud! He was not ready to reel in another one after that one. This was a 3 year old king, and she came on a Stinger Magnum Glow Dolphin(Blue Dolphin) From here I do not remember the directions nor depths. We picked up another lake trout on a Stinger Stingray metallic frog, on a fixed slide on a rigger set at 95'. I do now what came after this one. The next rod to go was the other full core with a Stinger Magnum NBK. After Roy reeled this one in part of the way, my youngest(3 yr old) wanted to reel in a fish. He got the fish up to the back of the boat with some help, and after a poor net job by me The small king swam away. I had the fish in the net, and the hook wrapped in the netting. The fish flopped, came unhooked, and out the net he went. This made us 4 for 5. We started pulling lines around 3:30pm. I usually pop a rigger rod, and set it back in the holder, before I reel it in. I had just popped the last rigger rod, and set it back in the holder. I had picked up to reel it in, and noticed something was on. This ended up being another lake trout on a Stinger Magnum Glow Dolphin(Blue Dolphin). I am not sure if the laker was on already when I popped the rigger, or if he hit after I put the rod in the rod holder. All said and done, we ended up 5 for 6. 1 king, 3 lake trout, and one nice steelhead. 110-140FOW on an East or West troll is where we got our fish. The lake had laid down to 1-2' waves with an occasional 3'er. It was a nice day on the lake!

Tell your son congratulations. I have a lot of years before my 6 year old is old enough to hunt. When he is old enough, I am sure he will be ready!

GREAT report! Did you get any pictures of those lakers?

Welcome to the site Jeff! Thanks for taking the time and doing an introduction. We look foreward to sharing stories and reports with you. Mike

After years of doing vbulletin websites, I have discovered most of the do's and don'ts the hard way. I started doing vbulletin 6 years ago. I have learned all I know, but reading information on the vbulletin websites. I have lost a few data bases because of errors on my parts, and had to rebuild sites. Ehhh....nobody's perfect! One of the things I learned was to not mess with the default skin. Create a new skin, and set the default skin as the parent. You will need to create a new folder on the ftp and point the skin to the new images in the new folder. Why do this? Well....when it comes time for doing a software upgrade, usually you upload the new software package to the ftp site. If you had custom made buttons, they will be replaced with the new ones. If you replaced the buttons by mistake, you will have to replace them again. Another advantage of not messing with the default skin, is it gives you the ability to have multiple skins and not having to do individual modifications to each skin. Thsi can be a HUGE time saver. I created a new skin and named the default skin the parent skin. I went with a green and white colored skin that is similar to this one. I am not good with banners, and have a friend working on a banner. I also need to create new buttons that match the skin better. I still have to go through and set all of the usergroup permissions and regular forum settings. All of these things take time. You can go with default settings, but I like mine set up a certain way. It helps having another forum that I can copy the settings from. Another really HUGE tool, is having a computer with two displays. I can have two websites opened at the same time and move things from one screen to the next, or follow what is already selected in the settings. So how long does it take to build a website? When I built Great Lakes Fisherman, I had over 80 hours into it. You can build one in a few hours. You can also paint a car in 30 minutes. You are going to get out of it, what you put into it. Its going to take me some time to do the buttons, unless I get my friend who is building the banner to do them for me This is about the only change you will see this week. I am busy the rest of the week, and this weekend. I do have a post there for ideas on what members would like to see in the forums. Feel free to make sugestions here, if you do not feel like registering there. Keep one thing in mind when you build a new site. It is easier to put a few posts in a few forums, than to put a lot of posts in a lot of forums.

What do they check for when they inspect a boat that will be used for charter fishing? Is there a list a person can go by? How much does an inspection cost? What happens if you do not pass the inspection? Do you have to pay again for a second inspection, after you make the corrections?

Nice job Brek! Looks like I missed out on some GREAT fishing. The boys and I had a GREAT time at the BInder Park Zoo.

Ever wonder what a vBulletin website looks when it is first created? Once you get the software uploaded to a ftp site, and you do the install, this is what you get. www.outdoorsportsmansnet.com/forums From here, the webmaster works his magic and does the colors and builds the forums. You can purchase a skin instead of doing your own colors. This was what Great Lakes Fisherman looked like when I first built it. I did the colors myself instead of purchasing a skin. The home page extension(portal) is a hack that you have to install. I did this already. Over the next few weeks, I will be building this site. You can follow along with the building of this site by checking it periodically. So far, I have 1 hour into building the site. Whats involved in building a site? The first thing you need to do is to register a domain name. Having a good domain name will help your site succeed. The next thing you need is someone to host the site. Once you have a domain name and a host, you need software for the website. I am a vbulletin guy, so this is what I use. With vbulletin, you can lease($85) the software for a year, or you can purchase($160) the software. With leases software, you have to renew it every year, or stop using it when the lease expires. The purchased software is yours forever. With the purchased software, you get one year of support(upgrades). After the year, you can renew($30) the support for another year. Keeping your software up to date is a key to preventing being hacked. If you have any questions about vbulletin software, registering a domain name, or whatever, just ask.

We finally hit 1,000 members! Wooooo Hoooooooo!!! Hopefully the next 1,000 will come sooner. Welcome to Great Lakes Fisherman MikeM. He is our 1,000 member.

I believe you are correct!

The near shore forecast looks fishable for Sunday. TODAY WEST WINDS 5 TO 15 KNOTS. PARTLY SUNNY. SCATTERED LIGHT SHOWERS UNTIL MIDDAY. WAVES 4 TO 8 FEET SUBSIDING TO 1 TO 3 FEET. TONIGHT SOUTHWEST WINDS 5 TO 15 KNOTS. MOSTLY CLEAR. WAVES 1 TO 2 FEET. SUNDAY SOUTH WINDS 5 TO 15 KNOTS. SUNNY. WAVES 1 TO 3 FEET. SUNDAY NIGHT SOUTH WINDS 5 TO 15 KNOTS. PARTLY CLOUDY. WAVES 1 TO 3 FEET.

It does not look good all weekend Off shore forecast. SATURDAY NORTHWEST WINDS 15 TO 25 KNOTS BACKING WEST 10 TO 15 KNOTS IN THE AFTERNOON. CHANCE OF RAIN SHOWERS IN THE MORNING. WAVES 7 TO 10 FEET SUBSIDING TO 3 TO 5 FEET LATE IN THE AFTERNOON. SATURDAY NIGHT SOUTHWEST WINDS 10 TO 20 KNOTS. WAVES BUILDING TO 4 TO 6 FEET IN THE LATE EVENING AND OVERNIGHT. SUNDAY SOUTHWEST WINDS 10 TO 20 KNOTS. WAVES 4 TO 6 FEET. SUNDAY NIGHT SOUTH WINDS 10 TO 20 KNOTS. WAVES 4 TO 6 FEET. Near shore forecast. TONIGHT NORTHWEST WINDS TO 30 KNOTS. MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS. WAVES 8 TO 12 FEET. SATURDAY NORTHWEST WINDS 15 TO 25 KNOTS BECOMING WEST 5 TO 15 KNOTS IN THE AFTERNOON. PARTLY SUNNY. SCATTERED SHOWERS UNTIL MIDDAY. WAVES 4 TO 7 FEET SUBSIDING TO 2 TO 4 FEET LATE IN THE DAY. SATURDAY NIGHT SOUTHWEST WINDS 5 TO 15 KNOTS. MOSTLY CLEAR. WAVES 1 TO 2 FEET BUILDING TO 3 TO 5 FEET AFTER MIDNIGHT.

Looks like I might not be fishing on Sunday. Here is the offshore forecast for Sunday. SUNDAY SOUTHWEST WINDS 10 TO 20 KNOTS. WAVES 4 TO 6 FEET Winds are out of the South West, I do not think the near shore will be any better. I am going to catch the near shore forecast tonight. I may go out Saturday, weather permitting instead.

I got the OK from the boss(wife) to go fishing Sunday morning. Anyone else going to be fishing out of Muskegon on Sunday?

Only 6 more to go.

Looks like another one got stuck on Monday. Coal carrier backs off, forced to lighten load The Great Lakes super-freighter American Integrity became temporarily stuck at the mouth of Muskegon's outer harbor Monday afternoon, the second big ship to run aground here in the past month. The 1,000-foot freighter was carrying coal to Consumers Energy's B.C. Cobb electrical generating plant. The Indiana Harbor, also carrying coal, ran aground in roughly the same spot three weeks ago. American Integrity ran aground at about 5 p.m. and freed itself about an hour later. It backed away from the harbor mouth and moved offshore; it was reported to have offloaded 7,200 tons of coal to the freighter Wilfred Sykes. The Sykes was expected to deliver that coal to the Cobb plan at 10:30 this morning, followed by American Integrity with its lightened load of 54,800 tons at noon. The Sykes was in the vicinity because of a shipment of asphalt sand it was carrying to the Verplank Dock, also at the east end of Muskegon Lake. Consumers Energy spokesman Dennis McKee said the Cobb facility had a 170-day inventory of coal on hand, but is continuing to stockpile coal for the winter months. "One ship being delayed doesn't really affect our operations whatsoever," he said this morning. American Integrity became stuck just before the 5 p.m. passage of the Lake Express car ferry. The ferry was able to slip past the freighter and continue on its run to Milwaukee. The Indiana Harbor ran aground outside Muskegon's outer pierheads Aug. 22. It was stuck for about four hours before the captain was able to wiggle and rock it free. A U.S. Coast Guard marine science technician said wind and currents caused the Indiana Harbor to run aground on the sandy bottom. Shipping officials also pointed to the need for additional dredging in Great Lakes ports because of low water levels. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers put out an advisory to mariners shortly before the Indiana Harbor ran aground, warning of shoaling -- a buildup of sand and silt -- that had taken place around the Muskegon harbor entrance. That shoaling has apparently been made worse by high winds and heavy seas in recent days. According to the Corps of Engineers, Muskegon's harbor is next due for dredging in 2008. Low water levels have affected harbors around the Great Lakes, according to the Lake Carriers' Association. That and lack of adequate dredging are among the largest issues facing shippers today, forcing them to lighten loads and increase costs, according to Glen Nekvasil, vice president of corporate communications for the association. http://www.mlive.com/news/muchronicle/index.ssf?/base/news-12/118952378465750.xml&coll=8

I got this one on November 17th 2006 with a shot gun. The one brow tine is 10 1/2".

I took this one on November 9th 2001 with a bow and arrow. It grossed 136 6/8's. It netted 129 7/8's.

Deer season is just around the corner. Who has a trophey buck hanging on their wall? Lets see your pictures.

They are not in the full "in" position. I always left them the trimmed up, for max speed. I have to run a little faster to keep it on plane in the position they are in. They are in the same position now, as they were at the start of the season when I was getting 35mph. I looked at my neighbors boat hull below the water line. He has bottom paint on his boat. I could see what looked like close to a 1/2" of fouling. I thought with the anti-fouling paint, it was suppose to prevent this.

This is a question for members who keep their boat slipped in the water all season. At the start of the season, top speed on my boat was 35mph at 4,400RPM. Now I am only getting 30mph at 4,400RPM. I still cruise at 24 mph at 3,600RPM. I have not hit anything, and there is no vibration. I put a new coat of bottom paint on the boat during the winter. Untill the boat is pulled, I will not know if there is any build up on it. Looking at the outdrives, I can see a build up on them. If you have I/O(s), do you put bottom paint on your outdrive(s)? Is your boat going slower now than at the beginning of the season?

Earlier this year, there were man hole covers coming up missing from the roads. How would you like to be driving down the road and drive into one of those?

LMFAO!!!! He did that on the boat, every time we put a fish in the box!