GLF

I just found a station that was still at $2.42 and filled up The rest were up to $2.59. Notice I did not put a smilely. There is something seriously wrong with our government when the oil companies can raises the prices they way they do I have to say this again. No company needs to make 10 billion dollars in a quarter.

If I am traveling a long ways to fish, I like to eat "good" food when I decide to stop and eat. What are some of your favorite places you stop and eat, when you are out of town fishing? Mention where it is located also.

I do not have an answer for this. I am sure the charter captains will have an answer. Perhaps it should be worded as a "donation" instead of a $25 fee. If you go on a trip in your car and someone gives you money for gas, should you have a chaufer's license? When I fished bass tournaments, my partner always split the cost 50 - 50. Good topic Rich!

I am going to this show on Sunday. If anyone would like one of the books I am selling, I can bring it to the show with me. There will not be any shipping charges if I bring it to the show.

I have the wife talked into going to the show with me. I will have the whole family in tow. We will stop by the Fishdog booth, but will not be helping out. If anyone is going to the show and would like one of the books I am selling, let me know and I will bring it with me. I can leave it with Fishdog if you are planning on going on Sunday. There will not be any shipping charges if I bring you a book to the show.

Thanks for the report! Too bad the weather is going to take a turn for the cold starting tonight The 7 day forecast shows cold every night with a low of 17 Saturday night.

All better! Thanks Zachariah!

The image will be available to be put on your jacket, or you can get a jacket with the image on it. Unfortunately, I do not have prices yet. I have a couple more being done and I am going to pay for it all at once. Now how did I get the jacket already without paying for it? The place that is doing the embroidering was one of my sponser's when I was fishing bass tournaments I will try and have prices by the end of the week.

Do you have a picture of your boat decal?

I am wanting full color.

Sticky back decals.

Anyone know of a place that can make custom decals of my banner?

I had the banner image digitalized and had it put on the back of a jacket and shirt. Here is a picture of the front and back of the jacket. What do you think? Name Back Close up of back

I drove over to the Allegan Dam today to see what was going on. Lots of boats below the dam and tons of people on the walls. The warm rain and weather has moved some fish up. They are getting lots of walleyes, suckers, and some steelhead off the wall. I spoke with a couple of boats that returned to the ramp and all they reported catching was suckers.

I am having issues with the gallery. None of the images have been lost yet. I am working with photopost now trying to address the issue. I hope to have everything back to normal soon.

Its that time of year again. Time to make sure everything is working properly. Check your blower Check your bilge pump Check your lights I always liked to carry a spare drain plug in the glove compartment. Never needed it, but you never know. Charge your batteries and check them to make sure they are holding a charge Check your down riggers to make sure they are all working Check your fire extinguisher and make sure it is fully charged Check your flares and make sure they are not expired Check your life jackets and throwable - Mice have been known to do some damage Check your radio and make sure it is working Its best to find a problem at home instead of at the boat ramp. Did I mis anything?

Its that time of year again. Has everyone did there preventive maintenace on their trailers. Here are a few things you should do before you start hauling your rig down the road. Check the lights, turn signals and flashers. Check the tire pressure in all of the tires...Do not forget to check your spare. Clean your wiring plug and put some dialectric grease on the contacts. Check for broken springs on the trailer. Check your trailer brakes, and brake fluid if you have hydraulic brakes. For those that have electric winches, now is a good time to verify that it is working. How many of you have ever removed your lug nuts and appled some grease or antiseize to them? Your trailer is in and out the water many times during the season. Lug nuts are known to get rusted to the studs. Now would be a good time to do this instead of being stranded on the road because you can not get a lug off. Did I mis anything?

Great Lakes experts look at ways to stop invasive species by parting the waters. The Great Lakes and the Mississippi River have the two biggest watersheds on the North American continent, and they're connected to each other by an artificial canal in Chicago. Some people think it might be time to separate the Great Lakes and the Mississippi once again. They're concerned about the way invasive plants and animals can spread from one watershed to the other. The Great Lakes Fishery Trust and the Great Lakes Fishery Commission have launched a major study of the Chicago canal. Marc Gaden works with the Fishery Commission. He says the study will look at ways to re-engineer the canal to stop foreign plants and animals without stopping waterborne traffic. "The whole goal is to keep invasive species out of the Great Lakes and also to keep invasive species from going from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi. The biological separation study really asks one major question: Are there more things that we can do to eliminate the risk of invasive species while still maintaining the flow of boat traffic on this important waterway?" The problem with foreign organisms moving between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi is very real. The infamous zebra mussel has spread rapidly from the Great Lakes across much of the Mississippi watershed. And today people are worried about a foreign fish in the Mississippi River that's moving toward the Great Lakes. It's the Asian carp, and it's so big and hungry that people refer to it as an "underwater lawnmower." The carp escaped from fish farms in the South and now it dominates parts of the Mississippi River. If Asian carp ever got through the Chicago canal, the fish could take over parts of the Great Lakes. The Chicago canal has been fitted with an electric barrier to stop the Asian carp. Gaden says that's only a first step, and the ongoing study will list other options. It's scheduled for completion this summer.

There are different varieties of the glow paint that lure manufacturers are using. Some of it has to do with there painting process. The new Ultra Glow colors are the ones with the greatest duration. For those that are interested in making their own lures, you can find everything you need here. www.luremaking.com They also have glow in the dark paints. For more information on glow paint, you can find it here. www.glowinc.com

I did not write the article to make everyone a lure painter. I was trying to make everyone aware of the duration of glow colors for glow lures. After 30 minutes, a red glow lure will no longer be red. So, it would need to be brought back in and recharged, then put back out. Do a google search for "glow paint" and you will find everything you are looking for

Yeap...I caught it. Hand the rod to someone else to reel in

Nice report Caz. Glad to hear you had some luck. The river is very fast, high, and muddy. I think the winds and waves are suppose to die down a little bit on Sunday.

Some of the hottest fishing baits on the market have glow in the dark paint on them. Anything that will make your lure more visible under water is a plus. Since glow paint is not light dependant, you can throw the depth/color principle out the door. Take a charge glow lure into a dark closet, and you will see. How much do you really know about glow in the dark paint? Most of the lure manufacturers state "Some of our lures will glow up to 14 hours". This is a true statement. However, not all colors will glow up to 14 hours. Some will only glow for 30 minutes! Before I cover the colors and their glow durations, I will take you through the painting processes. I do not know what specific process each manufacturer uses during their painting process, but there are some general principles that should be followed. There are two ways to apply paint to spoons. One is with a solvent based paint and the other is with powder paint. Solvent Based paint Before any paint is applied to brass or nickel plated metal, it should be etched. Etching will clean the metal and allow the paint to adhere very well. Plastic lures should be sanded lightly with a fine sand paper. If it is not etched or sanded, the paint may chip or peel! To get the best glow effect, the lure should have a quality white primer applied to it. Next, the glow paint is applied. This may be multiple coats to achieve the desired look. Last, a clear sealer with no UV-filtering additives is applied over the glow paint. Powder Paint Before any paint is applied to brass or nickel plated metal, it should be etched. Etching will clean the metal and allow the paint to adhere very well. Warm part to be painted in a preheated oven at 350-400 degrees F for 5 minutes. Immediately after heating, hold or hang part sideways to allow spraying in a sweeping motion. The powder will adhere immediately and flow out to a smooth finish. If metal has cooled to the point where powder does not flow out completely, return piece to the oven until desired effect is achieved. More paint can be added as necessary. For maximum durability, hang piece in oven for 10 minutes at 350 degrees F. The priming, painting, coating process should be the steps as the solvent based paint. Colors and Duration Now lets look at some of the glow in the dark color's and information about them. I will start with the glow colors that last the longest and work through the ones that last the shortest. Ultra Green Glow in the Dark Paint Brightness Rating: Very High (25914) Duration: Very Long (12+ hours) Glow Color: Green-Yellow Daytime Color: Almost Clear with White-Green Tint Brightest Glow Paint Sold Anywhere Brightness and Duration Ultra Green Glow Paint is the brightest glow paint sold anywhere. Technically, it will continue to glow for days. But us humans can see it for about 12 hours after a full charge. Ultra Blue Glow in the Dark Paint Brightness Rating: Very High (9416) Duration: Very Long (9 hours) Glow Color: Aqua Blue Daytime Color: Almost Clear with White-Green Tint Very Bright, Long Duration, Unique Color Brightness and Duration Technically, it will continue to glow for days. But us humans can see it for about 12 hours after a full charge. Pure Blue Glow in the Dark Paint Brightness Rating: Medium (3209) Duration: Medium (3 hours) Glow Color: Sky Blue Daytime Color: Almost Clear with White-Blue Tint Impressive Pure Sky Blue Color Brightness and Duration Although not initially super bright, this paint maintains its glow for a long time. It continues to glow for about 9 hours from a full charge. White Glow in the Dark Paint Brightness Rating: Medium (2471) Duration: Medium (2 hours) Glow Color: White Daytime Color: White Pure White Color Brightness and Duration White Glow Paint's strength is in its color, not its brightness or duration, both of which are limited. It will glow for about 2 hours from a full charge. Purple Glow in the Dark Paint Brightness Rating: Low (913) Duration: Short (30 minutes) Glow Color: Deep Purple-Blue Daytime Color: Almost Clear with White Tint Awesome Deep Purple Effect Brightness and Duration High Purple Glow Paint's strength is in its deep, pure color, not its brightness or duration, both of which are limited. It will glow for about 2 hours from a full charge. Zinc Orange Glow in the Dark Paint Brightness Rating: Medium (3821) Duration: Short (10 minutes) Glow Color: Deep Orange Daytime Color: Orange Deep Orange Glow Brightness and Duration Zinc Orange Glow Paint's strength is in its deep, pure color, not its brightness or duration, both of which are limited. It will glow for about an hour from a full charge. Zinc Red Glow in the Dark Paint Brightness Rating: Medium (3853) Duration: Short (10 minutes) Glow Color: Deep Red Daytime Color: Red Pure Blood Red Color Brightness and Duration Red Zinc Glow Paint's strength is in its deep, pure color, not its brightness or duration, both of which are limited. It will glow for about 30 minutes from a full charge. Charging/Recharging The Glow Now that you have seen some of the colors and the duration of the glow effect, you have an idea on how frequently you should recharge them. Here are a few ways you can charge them, and how long it takes to charge with them. Sun Light - 5 Minutes UV Light(Black Light) 5-10 Minutes Normal Light 20-30 Minutes Lots of people use a spot light, and will shine it on the lure for a few minutes. Mike Heckman(GLF) www.greatlakesfisherman.com

http://www.fortwaynesportsvacationandboatshow.com Thursday, March 16 4 pm - 9 pm Friday, March 17 4 pm - 9 pm Saturday, March 18 10 am - 9 pm Sunday, March 19 11 am - 5 pm I may be able to make this show on Saturday. Anyone planning on making this show? If I can make it, would anyone like to meet up for breakfast?

at De Vos Place - Grand Rapids, Michigan 2006 Dates & Times Thursday, March 16 3pm - 10pm Friday, March 17 11am - 10pm Saturday, March 18 9am - 9pm Sunday, March 19 10am - 6pm Admission Adults: $9.00 Children (6-14): $4.00 5 & Under: Free There is a salmon clinic at 12:30 on Sunday. I am going to the show on Sunday, and planning on attending the clinic. Anyone like to meet up for breakfast Sunday?