Play Dough

Several years ago, I spooled an old Penn 309 reel with 300’ of copper as a low cost setup to trial copper line fishing. Well, here it is many years later and I’m still making do with that old 309 with the level wind slightly spread and a star drag that isn't the most consistent. I’m thinking maybe it’s time to upgrade just a touch. What do you guys that use reels without a level wind have? I believe that’s the route I want to take. When the line is retrieved on that type of reel, does the line/wire tend to distribute itself somewhat evenly on the spool or do you need to guide it some with your finger?

When I became the adult child, I realized that the holiday money swap was a bunch of BS so just suggested to my parents that we halt the gift exchange and just be happy with getting together at the holiday. We have to travel to do that so there is a significant expense just to rendezvous. We still receive a small check from the folks in a Christmas card and do the same to our children but that's the extent of the gifting. It makes it all so much less of a hassle.

Enjoyed the boat for 4 months, it didn't sink, caught all the fish I need, plus more than enough to send a bunch to east coast family. I can't complain. It's all about the experience, not how full the cooler is every day.

My divers went dead in July. I dropped the flasher/fly and ran spoons off them and had good success. Mid August, I switched back and had continued success.

Boltman, the fact you'll flop a salmon on the deck of a boat like that, gets you on my "A" list. Ryan's got it right, a little ground fog over the dunes as the sun just peeks over the tree line. Mono glistens in the morning's first beam as the planer boards leave a trail of bubbles across the calm morning lake... Sleep is for the days of small craft advisories.

To infinity and beyond!!! Get a lure pattern you're confident in and tell your son it's called the "Buzz Lightyear". Maybe that will be a satisfactory substitute and could be a great little "inner circle" lure pattern secret for you and your friends. It's awesome to see youngsters involved. That's the crowd that will cause the fishery to be maintained through my elder years.

I snagged a lamphrey off Ludington last weekend, so yes, they're around. It took just a bit of drag on a diver rod when it snagged and was hooked mid-section when I reeled the diver in to check it. Rather large lamphrey at least the diameter of a quarter and maybe 18" long.

I have Garmin sonar and GPS plotter (separate units). Raymarine radar and autopilot. I have owned Lowrance sonar and GPS in the past. I find the Garmin equipment to be the easiest to use. I've never had any issues, to speak of with any of the Garmin or Raymarine equipment and the tech help I have used with both have been real good. Lowrance wasn't as reliable and tech help was so-so. In all cases, my history is dated so today may be a different story. I always recommend to put the catalogs down and get off the couch and go to some dealers to experience the units and their functions first hand. That's the best way to see what might suit your particular needs.

I'm sure Great Lakes product is very functional, economical and may be well built, but asthetics is not their strong suite. The custom pipework on other products is so much more pleasing to the eye than the tinkertoy type assembly of that stuff. Not saying its cheap or anything like that, just not the best in appearance. Too many knobs and fittings for a pleasing look.

I've always carried the Skyblazer flares. They're a handheld aerial flare that requires no gun. They're about the size of a magic marker. Screw off the cap, a chain falls out, pull the chain to fire. Simple and effective.

Well, last year it was in the 80's about this date and a couple weeks later all the fruit blossoms froze and decimated that industry for a year. It's probably better that we hang on to the winter weather just a little while and let the seasons gradually change. There will be plenty of nice days to come.

I spend weekends on the boat so it's a morning prime time event for me. Love to be on the water to watch the sun rise then fish to maybe 10am or so. Go in, clean up, and enjoy the afternoon at the marina, at the beach or in the water. If the fish are close, I might troll a bit in the evening but I'm a morning guy and leave the afternoon and evening for alternate activities.

You're correct with that statement. I think we tend to rely too much on the technology and become less aware of what the lines in the water are telling us. I used to gauge speed by bubbles off the rigger cables. Can't say I've paid much attention to that in the last few years. Sometimes more is less...if that makes any sense.

Agreed. Listen to the VHF on what is working on any given day, and you'll hear about the entire color spectrum. In my opinion, presentation is key. Color is somewhere down the list. I haven't bought a new lure in several years other than to replace something lost. I just got to the point where the several hundred spoons, plugs, flashers, flies, etc. just seemed like enough. I have a couple dozen patterns that consistantly produce and use those exclusively. The other few hundred lures serve as ballast.

Information in the article is biased at best. Lake levels have been up and they've been down. In the '60s we walked hundreds of yards to get our kneecaps wet near Caseville. Twenty years later, we built a seawall system 50 feet from our house at Oscoda to save the septic system. Today, we're back to the '60s levels. I hope they have success with their rain dance. No doubt a little increase in the lake level would be helpful.

Good to hear your experience with Worldwide is good. That wasn't my experience 4 years ago after insuring with them for probably 10 years. They were less than honest with me concerning their association with Fremont Insurance. They informed me that Fremont would no longer insure my boat when (as I understand it) Fremont was no longer doing business with Worldwide due to some questionable claims. Fremont remains my insurer through another agency.

If LMC doesn't get their coal ash discharge exemption renewed this month, they can make Seattle a two for one deal and send the Badger with it. You're correct, the cost to move that hull to the west coast would be staggering.

A friend does that type of thing as a retirement "hobby" to make a little extra cash and has become quite professional at hull restoration. He uses Presta products which are professional body and marine compounds and polishes. After he polished my hull with a cleaner/polish, I went over it with Collonite paste wax. My 23 year old hull looks as good as the day it came out of the mold. I was truely impressed with the results. I have obtained a shiny surface in the past but there was always a bit of a haze in the finish. This resulted in a deep. glossy, wet look shine.

I agree with those who say it's no problem regarding the rigger to prop concerns. I run 4 riggers (Big Jon electric with 3' arms) on a twin I/O boat, so the two inside riggers are in line with the out drives. It's never been a concern. When landing a fish, I put the inside rods in holders on the outside riggers to spread the lines a little. I land fish behind the rigger wires so they really don't come into play too much. What I will say about a line set behind a prop is that the rod tip gets lots of movement from the propwash so it's difficult to detect shakers or a fouled lure on that set.

I'm not sure if it was because of larger fish or what, but i used to "subdue" the fish after netting with a mini ball bat that I turned on the lathe. There was a bat sold commercially called the "Fish Billy". The purpose was to calm the fish down so I didn't end up with a treble hook in my hand while dealing with the lure. Seems these days, I don't need to fight the fish quite so much and don't feel the need to give them a tap.

I've read recently where some of these devices (don't know if this one is related) are being used to collect data to support the creation of a mid-lake wind farm. I'll offer no opinion on that, but there may be more to this than meets the eye.

Dan is correct. That marina is far upstream from K'zoo lake east of Douglas. When I purchased my current boat in 2004, it was moored at Tower Marine and you had to zig-zag through the lake to avoid grounding. I would assume it isn't any better today. That marina has to be an hour to Lake Michigan, under two bridges. The lake chart shows very little water east of the bridges. The actual address is 6269 Wiley Rd, Douglass, MI. Find it on google maps.

The sky was ablaze Labor Day weekend at Ludington. This is Friday evening as the Badger left port. On Saturday, Ludington was at the very edge of the weather system that began as hurricane Isaac. It made for a dramatic sky that evening. Harbor patrol as the sky glows from the setting sun.

Probably not many here will remember the first years of fishing Platte Bay in the 1960's. Downriggers had yet to be developed and sonar was rare so it was mostly sight fishing. Imagine a few hundred boats all trolling in the same direction and then "veering" right or left following the porpoising salmon. All trolling was flat lines with some amount of weight attached. That took cooperation and it all worked for the most part. I think it says a lot about the change in the attitude many people carry now as opposed to 50 years ago.

I don't target trout and don't keep them unless I have a guest on board that wants to keep it. My yearly lake trout catch is half a dozen at the most...all incidental catch. They go back in the lake as quickly as possible with limited handling. I target salmon and only keep what I can use and rarely fish to a limit. Returning incidental catch to the lake hardly makes anyone a snob.