Play Dough

As I understand it, that's the INSIDE of the harbor wall. Never gets too choppy in there. Takes a skilled skipper to pull that off, although it's the 2nd time in recent history. Last one was a charter boat as I recall maybe a year or two ago.

Like the others have stated, this is something that happens with wire. It's the same "pigtailing" condition that occurs when you run something against a hard edge. The twilly tip or a roller tend to minimize this but don't eliminate it. When the end of the wire gets too unruly, cut it off and retie. I take all my tackle off the wire rods when not in use, back off on the reel drag and carefully wind the swivel all the way up to the tip.

Thanks for the info. I'm just considering options for the future at the moment and the lack of facilities to clean fish is a bit of a stumbling block to keeping Mackinaw City on the list, although my wife and I really enjoy all that area has to offer.

Todd, Maybe you can provide some info. I have considered a seasonal slip at Mackinaw City. The municipal marina does not allow fish cleaning. Is there a cleaning facility anywhere in that area?

"Treble Strike"...now there's a new term for the Great Lakes. Not that I'll probably ever be able to use it, but if I do get that kind of action, I'm using it.

I agree with Ken. The fishery is very weather dependant. One thing to consider is that Ludington is a very busy port in August. Towing all those 100 yard presentations around may be a big headache depending on where you fish. The 100' dropoff from just north of town to Big Sable Point and beyond almost always holds nice fish. It also attracts a crowd which is not friendly to those presentations. Many do it, but there are always "colorful" conversations on the VHF due to anglers using that stuff in a crowd. Given the right conditions, I've caught my share of fish in August between the sandbars on shore (10'-15' of water). In that case, you'd want a boat load of flat lines, and 2 to 5 color leadcore to run off boards.

Your's is the first boat, other than mine, that I have seen with the Miami Dolphin spoon. I had to special order that several years ago from Wolverine and got a dozen (minimum order). Love that spoon. Nice catch.

My comment is to be aware of the weight. I bought a large Ranger steel net several years ago. My crew is usually my wife (when I'm not alone). She couldn't handle that weight in a moving boat with a fish in the net. It nearly dragged her overboard. I certainly couldn't handle it single handed. I went back to the Aluminum Fabril that I've had for many, many years. I think the Cummings is very similar. Of course if Bubba is always on board to net your fish, then that probably doesn't matter.

Plan on a bumpy ride...chilly too. .THURSDAY NIGHT...NORTHEAST WINDS TO 30 KNOTS. SHOWERS. WAVES 4 TO 6 FEET. .FRIDAY...NORTH WINDS TO 30 KNOTS. MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS. WAVES 3 TO 5 FEET.

Isn't that the truth! Lots of us in that boat. Just when you think you have something figured out, the game changes.

Agreed. It's a complex issue when you try to balance environment with commerce. Don't know if there is a "right" answer. Certainly not one that will satisfy every interest.

The conversion is not being done in a way that would force it out of business. That is hapening due to the inactivity by LMC. The EPA notified LMC in 2008 that they needed to be in compliance in 2012 (actually the 2013 sailing season). That is 5 years of little action. LMC has stonewalled and attempted to avoid compliance through legislation. Once it became clear that the legislative path wasn't going to pan out, they began to cry foul and whine about a lack of time to implement a plan. I enjoy the Badger and do hope that a way is found to keep it in operation. I would even support an extension of the deadline so long as a timeline is established to bring the ship into compliance. It is my understanding that a plan was presented to LMC by DTE Energy that would have had the Badger running on CNG this year. That plan was rejected due to cost. Using your reasoning, I should be able to dump my holding tank overboard because Grand Rapids has a much higher impact dumping waste into the watershed. That's a ridiculous position. The Badger dumping coal ash slurry into Lake Michigan probably isn't the end of the world but power plants are being fined huge sums for doing the very same thing (accidently). It all adds up and needs to be cleaned up one issue at a time. Bottom line is that I hope the Badger continues to run and either cleans up its operation or produces a timeline that provides a date when that will occur, although I do respect your opinion and understand the desire of the community to see the Badger continue to sail.

Yup, that was the choice. Own and feed a V8 pickup all year so I could trailer the 268 or get rid of all the trailering equipment and go larger and settle for one port. I opted for the no hassle boating. Spent enough years towing and dealing with ramps. But it does come at a price.

I had an '89 268DA and loved it. It was rigged very similar to yours. Loved the Atlantic aluminum arch I installed. Once we started cruising, I wanted more beam and now own an '89 300DA. Same layout as the 268 but 3' wider and 3' longer (and unfortunately an extra motor to feed). Love the late '80's Sea Ray cockpits and flat transoms. Very fishable while providing a comfortable cabin.

I agree. I'd really hate to see the Badger shut down (for a few different reasons) but they have to clean that mess up. My information is that DTE had a proposal all in place to implement, with CNG filling stations in Ludington and Manitowac and the conversion of the ship's boilers to that fuel source. LMC dismissed that plan due to the investment required on their part. My opinion, and it's only that, is that Mr. Manglitz will continue to run the operation, as is, until he no longer is allowed and at that point will close the operation. Actions taken over the past few years indicate little interest on his part to comply with EPA mandates. Of course local legislators are all behind extending the EPA exemption for the Badger, using job creation and savings as their battle cry. The 200 jobs referenced are largely seasonal jobs. For those not familiar, below is the type of pollution we deal with. This is in addition to the tons of slurry discharged into the lake annually.

Lake Michigan surface is 61 degrees? Even with the heat wave of a couple weeks, that's hard to believe. The lake will boil over by August.

I had a 15' aluminum runabout with a 70hp Mariner years ago. I installed a Happy Troller and it stopped the boat. I added a notch to deploy it at 45 degrees down and added a hole to let some of the flow through the plate. So, yes it worked. Not exactly as planned.

So maybe it should have been "Wolf-N-Fish" or "Wolfe-N-Fish"? I am familiar with the slang of wolfin' down food but when I first read this, didn't think about "woof" vs. "wolf". Not sure which way is best. Now that I know your name is involved, I'd vote for the Wolfe-N-Fish. It takes it to a personal level and the graphic gets the meaning across. That said, whatever works for you. The concept is awesome.

RainX doesn't do much, even after the boat reaches planing speed. There's really not that much air flow at 30mph...at least on my boat. I've never used the FogX product so that might help as others have implied. If you're in the water with power hookup, I set a small ceramic heater on my dash and have it plugged into a timer. The timer is programmed to turn on the heater a couple hours before I want to leave. When I get up, the glass is clear and dry. It will eventually refog, but ususally stays clear long enough to get me out of the harbor and fishing.

I'm kind of neutral on the whole show thing. I think you have to view it as a winter cabin fever entertainment event. I was disappointed at the last Birch Run show I went two several years ago after enjoying it for a few years. The same goes for boat shows. I'm guessing there's too much expense to move all that gear in there and then everyone expects bargain pricing. I can see why it's not the best thing for vendors. On the buyer side, there's limited inventory and a mob of people. The item of interest that you can't get otherwise, are the teaching seminars. So, it all depends on your definition of "worth". You'll use up any bargain savings in fuel and admission costs. No question that it's a good environment to get the blood flowing again.

Great name. One I have never heard, so you get extra points for originality.

I agree, excellent feedback. Thanks to all.

Interesting...makes sense to me. I see many around the marina that have such a hodgepodge of tackle rigged, that I wonder how they ever pick a speed to troll. Thanks for the info.

I noted a comment made here some time ago regarding trolling speed with meat rigs which I had not heard before but makes some sense. The statement was that meat rigs needed to be run at a specific speed and didn’t mix well with other presentations. The question then is: What is the speed that these rigs perform best? Are the attractors used, flashers like a herring dodger that requires a slow troll or a rotator that is more speed forgiving? Everyone I’ve seen around the docks generally mixes this presentation in with their other programs so the statement was a bit of a surprise. What’s the real story?

This is our 9th year with this boat. We enjoy it. It's a comfortable weekend retreat that provides a decent fishing/cruising platform. There are certainly better fishing boats and better cruising boats but this is a real nice compromise between the two and we thoroughly enjoy both activities. I'm still learning what I can do with the blog. It could be a fun project...or a pain in the butt. I'll find out soon enough.