JWheeler

Does anyone have any idea when the birch run fishing expo is?

I have a flasher. It takes 2 AA batteries and it is specifically made to flash like a camera. I think I paid about 15 bucks for it a few years ago. Batteries last a long time, and I believe that it works well on charging up the glow lures. http://www.franksgreatoutdoors.com/item.asp?id=19118 It is a power flash.

Hands down I would choose the lowrance, or a vexlar over a camera any day of the week. The benefit being, that you can pop a million holes real quick to see if anything is down there or not. You can cover a lot more ground with the lowrance. The camera is also nice to have once you are on the fish. Helps to see the fish's reaction to your presentation. But if I had to have one or the other it would be the vex/lowrance.

W.E., that is what the info I put on here is for. To give people an idea of conditions. If it helps 1 person, that is good. The bay has really been tough fishing for me all winter. I just can't wait for ice out, then I will be covering a lot more water with the boat.

Super sweet game. I knew it was going to be a race to the finish. I didn't think the giants were going to pull it off, hats of to the team!!!

no I am not in the shiver on the river. As far as I can tell, I think ice fishing may receive a fatal blow here across the next 15 days. Warm temps, rain, it isn't going to be pretty out there. I think the ice out there will hold up, I just think that these slushy areas near shore are going to get worse as time goes on. I will be surprised if I can make it out fishing one more weekend. Hopefully it holds up for this upcoming weekend, as I know a few from the NW are coming over to fish it all weekend. If it does hold up I will make it out one last time in search of some pigs. Be Safe...

I have a veteran fisher-woman aboard my boat quite a bit, and she seems to get sick no matter what. She's tried the medicines, the ginger, and still can't help it. I believe that some sea sickness is in the head. I think that some people get very anxious about the whole experience and just can't control their nerves. JMHO! Staying out of the cabin and keeping in sight some reference point I think helps too. I have been sea sick one or two times since owning my boat, wait that may not have been sea sickness, some may call it a hangover. The good rest and lack of drinking the night b4 is good advice. I also have another friend who only gets sick now and then, not every time out. I give him a friendly reminder that we can get some liver and onions for dinner that night. Usually sends him to the rail. Funny thing out of all the people I know that do become sick on the boat, they all claim to feel much better after they get it out of their system.

Well, made it back onto the ice yesterday. 6 of us in the morning. Arrived at the launch site to see very slushy conditions 1/4 mile out. Watched a few cross, and then we went for it. No Problem with the sled, but did see some people on quads having difficulty. Made our way out to the Black Hole, and it was just that. Void of many fish. Seen some on the lowrance, and auqua view, and from what we saw they were not in the mood for eating. Fished 20.8fow had fish below us for a while, and then they disapeared. Hopped around a little bit looking for more fish, but to no avail. The fish we did find were not active, I tried everything to get them to go but nothing. So is fishing. Sometimes you win, sometimes you just have a few beers and relax. Checked a few other areas, looking for something that would hold fish, and didn't find much. Checked in as shallow as 17fow, all the way out to 24fow. From what I heard from others, it was just not a good day for fishing. It was a nice day to be out though. As far as the ice goes: It was crappy near shore. Someone speculated that it was from all of the vehicles parked on the ice putting pressure and water coming up and making it slushy in the 1/4 mile area. Once you get past that spot it was smooth sailing. Just a word of WARNING, there was another crack 3.5-4 miles out, it was probably 25-30 foot wide. There were no signs of anyone trying to cross this spot, and for good reason I am sure. You could see this crack as far south as you could see and the same for the north. It was easy to spot, but with any snow it would be difficult, so be careful out there. Other than the 2 spots I have mentioned the ice looked real good. I would say easily 7" everywhere we were. Maybe more, but I like to estimate on the low end of things. If anyone found my spud yesterday let me know. That sucked. I think it may have bounced out of the trailer and sunk into a drift. I looked for it and could not find it. Good Luck.... Be Safe.... J.W.

Now you're just showing off:tease:

I have an '05 Durango that gets the job done with my 22' Thompson Hardtop. For only having the 4.7 L it seems to be quite efficient. Compared to someone with the hemi pulling a lighter boat I win when it comes to gas mileage, then again, I am never pushing it to fast.

I would love to see the Giants win, but those Pat's are just too good. They have been steamrolling people all year...

This is the same boat my BIL owns. 2004 196 Fishmaster, have spent quite a bit of time on his and it rocks.

Big fan of my Thompson...too bad they are not in business anymore.

I read another real informative article on another site that included temperature break as structure. Quote: Structure: (n) Any physical feature that affects the movement and behavior of fish. This definition allows us to discuss physical features that aren’t permanent objects, or for that matter aren’t even objects at all. There are physical features in the water itself that, without a doubt, affect the movement and behavior of fish. Temperature breaks and color lines are physical features that are often overlooked when structure is discussed. End Quote Just one more place to look for fish! Every little bit helps.

From what I've seen, Ontario has some real pigs...You guys are lucky

Hey Cast a Way, this is a great site, with some real knowledgable people, who are willing to give any insight that can help you. Lots of good people here...Yap at ya later Jason

Finally returned to the ice on Sunday (1/27). Spent a lot of time out on the ice moving around, but nothing to show for it. Started off on Sag. River in Bay City, ice was 4-5" at the first stop, not sure if it was indy, or liberty. We then moved down river to either indy or liberty, I am not sure, the ice there was rediculous in my opinion. People all over the place, ice was 3" at best, not enough for me so we packed up and headed to Saginaw. Fished right near the dow event center. Ice was maybe 4", lots of people everywhere. Only saw one shanty that seemed to be sitting on a honey hole, they had 7 outside the shanty when we packed up and left.

Decals, so when you sell it to some guy like me I won't have to take the time to get that painted on name off of there:no:

If I remember correctly, my most productive times were early in June out of Linwood, hanging around the spark plug area, and then I moved operations up to Au Gres. There my most productive outings of the year ensued, with the first 2 weeks of July being my absolute most productive. A lot of fish were in the good eater range. A few fish noteworthy would be, about an 8-10# catfish my 9 yr old cousin reeled in, and my personal best of a 26-1/4" walleye. If memory serves me right Priority1 was aboard that day with me too. This summer I think I am going to focus my energy on the outer bay, I believe I am going to leave the boat in Au Gres for the whole season.

I posted a link for a satellite view of the bay and it didn't work at first. Do you ice fish on the bay? Where do you normally go out of in the summer??

I can remember fishing for pan fish the first time with my father on Sanford lake at a friends cabin. Dad baited the hook and threw the line out for me. Didn't take too long, I remember the whole pole just went flying off the dock into the water as I was not holding it in my hand, OOPS:eek:!!! The first time ever fishing the big water was years ago, I was still just a little guy. It was my father, my sister, my dad's uncle Charlie, who had a boat slipped in Ludville. Might have been 7 or 8, but what a blast. Have been hooked ever since. Now that I have a little one I am in hopes that this is something she will be interested in. Hopefully it will be a great way for her and I to bond and have some fun. Something that I can't stress enough is that fishing is supposed to be fun. Probably have about 4 more years til' I take her out on the big water, but I am already looking forward to it.

http://coastwatch.glerl.noaa.gov/modis/modis.cgi/modis?region=h&page=1 This is a satellite view of the saginaw bay. As of this weekend it looks locked up, all the way across. Now the next couple days should really solidify the ice. From what I am hearing there are a few tip toeing out and doing some ice fishing. I haven't been out so can give no report on how the ice is. I do know if I were to venture out I would be checking the ice as I go with my spud. Anybody else on here have any reports? There, it should work now....

Don't you hate meeting someone, doing your introductions, then next time you see them you can't remember their name? I end up calling them man, dude, bro, er some crap, honestly sometimes it's great when someone else is around and they say the name, what a relief. My name is Jason, but most people that know me call me Buck...

you guys are crackin' me up:no:

Well, I have just got to try this after so many good reviews. Maybe this weekend.