Dave Mull

Dan Keating and I now have three Great Lakes Angler Super Salmon Schools done, with three more to go, two of them in Michigan. Here's the remaining schedule: Feb. 22 Manitowoc, WI, Two Fountains Banquet Hall, 7330 English Lake Rd, Manitowoc, WI 54220 March 1 Stevensville, MI (just south of St. Joe), Tosi's Restaurant 4337 Ridge Road, Stevensville. MI. 49127 March 15 Rockford, MI (just north of Grand Rapids), Bella Vista Church, 5100 Belding Rd. NE, Rockford, MI 49341. Cost is $60 and includes a tackle goodie bag and lunch. School runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. To register, call Capt. Dan Keating, 847-395-5730. We have a good time at these schools and so far have had pretty good reviews from students. Dan uses 30+ years of chartering experience to discuess lure selection, finding kings all day, dealing with currents and much more. I add my experience of being aboard with some of the very best anglers in the Great Lakes gathering story material for Great Lakes Angler Magazine and other publications. Any questions, please feel free to email me: [email protected]. Thanks!

But they do have walleye and these new tackle bags are kind of cool. This is a news release from Plano. PLANO SCORES 'STYLE POINTS' WITH FISHY PAINTJOBS FISHOUFLAGE REDFISH DRAPES BAG - BASS ADDS COOL FACTOR TO ROD TUBES PLANO, IL – A fresh coat of paint does wonders for the tried and true. Take the white picket fence. Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer whitewashed a buddy into brush-stroking the iconic wood partition. Remove the gullibility and hoodwinking, and Plano is doing something similar, updating the looks of a durable soft-sided tackle bag and crush-resistant rod tube. And these particular color swatches go by the name Fishouflage. Plano’s Fishouflage series was first applied in 2011, driven by demand for this new statement of fishing passion. Species-specific Bass, Walleye and Crappie patterned soft-sided tackle bags immediately became ‘the next big thing’ with diehard anglers. Really, what’s cooler than flashing a camo crappie bag while your brother-in-law steps over the rods and bait bucket to get in the boat? We dare say nothing. The Fishouflage phenomenon in-progress, the next natural frontier was inshore saltwater fishing, as redfish anglers are avid like none other. For spring/summer 2013, Plano is stocking shelves with the stylish Redfish soft-side tackle bag. Measuring 19â€L x 11.5â€W x 9.5â€H, the model 4487-20 offers a generously-sized main compartment along with four removable 3750 ProLatchâ„¢ StowAway® utility boxes. The redfish eye-candy also sports three external zippered pockets – one on the front and two on the sides – for managing fishing tools and sundries. The Fishouflage Redfish Bag’s molded, waterproof base helps protect the gear inside from wet surfaces, while the base is impact resistant to absorb the rigors of travel. A removable and adjustable rubber-padded shoulder strap adds to this bag’s versatility and comfort. The 4487-20 retails for around $64.99. Also new to Plano’s Fishouflage series are two Bass pattern rod tubes. Designed for a multiplicity of sticks, the 4442-10 and 4448-10 feature crush-resistant polypropylene cores measuring 3 inches in diameter. Foam padding in the bottom and top of each case further fortifies overall protection. Moreover, the tough exterior fabric, which carries the attractive Fishouflage Bass design, is water resistant. Plano’s Fishouflage series rod tubes are designed for carrying two- and three-piece rods. The 4420-10 measures 42â€L x 3â€W x 3â€H and retails for around $19.99. The longer 4480-10 measures 48â€L x 3â€W x 3â€H and retails for $24.99. Now it was Huck Finn, not Tom Sawyer, best known for whiling away the hours cane-pole fishing from the bank. While Tom was duping neighborhood kids into painting, Plano believes Huck was kicking back and daydreaming about his bait can being colored like fish. For more information, visit www.PlanoMolding.com.

What species were you guys getting out there? Thanks! Good job! Dave

Fishsniffer, I'm truly sorry if I offended you. I honestly didn't mean to or make you think I was laughing at your post--I wasn't. Just trying to be funny and make a joke about zebra mussels coming up and hitting a lure and I should know better. I certainly don't doubt that you hit bottom in the depths you said you did. The data is very surprising to me if it holds to be true as I've had similar experiences of snagging bottom in depths that the data says I shouldn't have. Really, no disrespect at all intended.

Man, I'm glad you're willing to snag bottom with a $150 probe on your line! That would be an interesting test.

Well, it's amazing how far those zebra mussels will come up to hit a lure. Ha! I think this is just a starting point and that as more people start gathering data we're going to learn a lot.

That's a very valid thought and I thought about this myself, but I think the fact that the ST probe itself is really small (as the subsequent poster who has one has pointed out) and the fact it weighs around 1/2 an ounce might put it right on. But you guys could be right. We'll need the Mark Romanack gang to put on their scuba gear and actually observe the ST trolled past their marked anchor line to know for sure. I think the effect of the ST probe's weight will be even more of a factor when guys start getting info at walleye speeds. But again, there will be no real way to tell. Awhile ago, like around 20 or 25 years ago, walleye pro Mike McClelland on South Dakota's Lake Oahe did a bunch of testing of crankbait depths by tying two boats together. The front boat let out (I think) 100 feet of line, and the back boat, exactly 100 feet behind, marked the lure with a sonar. That might be a good way to check the effect of the Smart Troll itself.

That will no doubt be pretty interesting stuff Bruce! If I remember correctly (for once), Nick said adding a Tadpole five or so feet in front of a lure gained 15 feet in depth. The Mag ought to really pull it down there.

First test of copper and leadcore with Smart Troll says maybe not as deep as you think. Several years ago a highly successful salmon charter captain and tournament angler told me that to the best of his reckoning, a full 10 colors of 27-pound leadcore with a magnum spoon, trolled at 2.6 mph, achieved 54 feet deep. That has been my point of reference ever since. Then other cutting-edge charter captains started preaching that 300 feet of 45-pound copper (the same length as 10 colors of leadcore) went down through the water column and trolled almost twice as deep as a full core. Well, after a careful test with the new Smart Troll depth probe, a device you attach to your fishing line that sends back real-time depth information, neither leadcore or copper is going anywhere close to the depths many of us Great Lakes anglers have come to believe. Mariuz with the probe that relayed some hard-to-believe data on the depths of leadcore and copper. Capt. Gregg Mariuz runs Profishient Charters and founded Blood Run Tackle, which sells several different styles of copper as well as mono and braided line. On May 20, Mariuz headed out of Saugatuck with his first mate Rod, 12 miles offshore where, on a nearly flat calm day, he sent a downrigger down and changed directions several times to ascertain there were no deep water currents. Trolling straight west at 2.5 mph, he attached a Smart Troll probe at the end of four different kinds of weighted line, one at a time: 27-pound leadcore (from another company), 32-pound copper, 45-pound copper and 60-pound copper. Each line had a 25-foot leader with a magnum Silver Streak spoon without a hook—he didn’t want a fish to get hooked and interrupt the data gathering. Then, after making sure the probe was beaming depth info back to the device’s transducer, he let out, one at a time, each copper rig as much as 600 feet, and the 10 colors of leadcore. Each copper was marked with tape at 50-foot increments. With the maximum amount of line out, he let each rig stay in the water for 10 minutes to make absolutely sure the reading was stable. Then he brought each line up 50 feet, let it stabilize, and recorded the depth. Then he repeated the process at 50-foot increments until each copper was just 50 feet out, and the leadcore was running with just one color under the water’s surface. As most salmon trollers spool at least one rod with 300 feet of copper and/or 10 colors of leadcore, let’s look at those numbers first: • 300 feet of 32-pound copper runs at 49 feet. • 300 feet of 45-pound copper runs at 52 feet. • 300 feet of 60-pound copper runs at 64 feet. • 300 feet (10 colors) of leadcore runs at 37 feet. The most surprising data to me is that the 45-pound and 32-pound copper are so close together, although when you consider that 32-pound has a smaller diameter and therefore has less water resistance, maybe it shouldn’t be a shocker. Smart Troll probe rigged on stainless steel wire with two swivels. Mariuz attached this to the end of the weighted line, with a 25-foot leader of 30-pound fluorocarbon between it and hookless magnum spoon. I was also surprised leadcore doesn’t get down nearly as far as I had thought. In fact, while copper has a fairly even progression of depth versus line out, shorter segments of leadcore don’t get very deep at all. For instance, five colors (50 yards or 150 feet) of leadcore only goes down 14 feet. Compare that to 150 feet of the different pound-tests of copper: • 150 feet of 32-pound copper runs at 24 feet. • 150 feet of 45-pound copper runs at 27 feet. • 150 feet of 60-pound copper runs at 34 feet. I wasn’t along for the ride, but having known Capt. Mariuz for some time, I don’t doubt that he was careful and truthful in recording these results. “I couldn’t come out and start making stuff up,†Mariuz said. “It would be too easy for someone else to do the same tests.†Certainly, some guys who have dredged up zebra mussels on 10 colors of leadcore over 60 feet of water or snagged bottom in 100 feet with 300 feet of copper out are going to question the accuracy of the Smart Troll, but I think time and further testing will show these numbers to be pretty close to right on. Experiences such as touching bottom in depths greater than this data indicates these weighted lines run are likely due to other variables such as turning the boat or letting line out too fast. Others might question the fact that Mariuz’s company doesn’t make leadcore, and he has a vested interest in selling copper lines—and the numbers indicate leadcore is a lightweight when it comes to getting deep. However that may be, I for one, am not going to ditch my leadcore rods—they’ve caught way too many fish over the years. What this first round of data does for me is wonder just how far up salmon will charge to grab a lure. I believed Mariuz when he said: “This isn’t a Blood Run thing—I just wanted to collect the data and then let others know about it.†One thing is for sure: We salmon trollers have whole lot more to discover. Blood Run just put up a chart comparing their various line tests of copper here: http://www.bloodruntackle.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/CopperDiveChart.pdf

Good ol' Wonderbread scored this walleye. The first time one of the six planer boards swept back, I grabbed the rod from the holder and started reeling. A few cranks of the reel handle, a couple tugs from the walleye, and it was gone. “What’d I do wrong?” I asked Captain Paul Doute. “Actually, when we’re trolling this slowly, you need to let the fish have it longer,” he explained as he inspected the half-eaten worm I’d reeled in. “I think these walleyes are like a cat playing with a mouse. They seem to grab the tail of the nightcrawler, then let go and see how it reacts. Then they take it.” Doute lets out a third Offshore Planer Board with a Tattle Flag on the port side. Three of us fished in Lake Erie’s Michigan waters Monday morning out of the Lake Erie Metropark. Doute, of Anglers Quest Charters, was hosting myself and his pal Keith Eshbaugh, in from Pennsylvania to deliver a seminar at the Detroit-area Downriver Walleye Club that night. Eshbaugh does a brisk business painting lures as owner of Dutch Fork Custom Lures. He also designed and now sells Ghost Blades, which unlike traditional metal walleye spinner blades, are plastic. The light plastic blades are especially good for going at super slow speeds that couldn’t swing a metal blade of equal size, hence our creeping speed of 1.1 mph, achieved with Doute’s front trolling motor. Keith Eshbaugh poses with a six-pound walleye that hit the worm behind the newly named Mullemon Berry blade. Aboard Doute’s 21-foot Crestliner boat, we first set up near the Detroit Light, about a 10-mile run from the launch, with three Offshore Planer Boards deployed to each side. The boards had Tattle Flags, which popped downward upon a fish grabbing the bait. Each line carried a plump nightcrawler on a two-hook rig, behind a different color of Ghost Blade in the deep-cupped Colorado style. Pattern names of the blades included “Wild Thing,” “Wonder Bread,” “Cedar Point,” and “Nitemare.” When we dropped them in the water about five feet behind a one-ounce inline sinker, the blades had a unique, subtle wavy action, taking a few spins clockwise, then swinging back around counterclockwise. Walleyes found them attractive. The area we set up for the first troll is called “the dumping grounds” and features mounds of sediment dredged from nearby rivers and channels and then dumped offshore. While the maximum depth was 20 feet, some of the mounds came to within 10 feet of the surface. “When you see fish marks on the sonar around these humps, those are active fish,” Doute explained. A closer look at the "Mullemonberry." I got to reel in the first fish that lost the cat-and-mouse game. It weighed close to six pounds and would turn out to be the largest of the day. It took a worm behind a big Size 8 blade that was bright yellow along one edge, with a strip of clear reflective tape down the middle and three “berries” on the other edge. Since the blade pattern was a new paint job of Eshbaugh’s, who has two degrees in fine arts, he named it “Mullemon Berry.” Combining mulberry, lemon, and my name—quite an honor. A 16-inch “dinner fish” soon followed, hitting a rig with a smaller Size 6 Golden Chrome Perch blade. As the clouds moved across the sun frequently, we changed blade colors often, easy to do with the “quick-change” clevis of Eshbaugh’s design. As it turned out, all five of the fish we hooked came on a different color pattern. The fishing areas were shallow wherever Doute took us, and almost any small boat could have duplicated our set up on a calm day such as the one that greeted us. Doute figured that the one-ounce weight took the bait about a foot deep for every two feet of line we let out. We set them from 18 to 28 feet back, covering depths of nine to 14 feet. The subtlety of the clear plastic Antifreeze Crush pattern seduced this walleye into biting. Doute said the expansive area in Michigan water produces fish throughout June, and often for most of July until the water temps get high and the walleyes move west. He said the best was yet to come as post-spawn fish come back out of the Detroit River and nearby Maumee River in Ohio. We played cat-and-mouse with perhaps a dozen walleyes in the course of the morning. We landed four of the five that got hooked, the final one broke off at the net after it took a crawler at our third spot, which was as close as Homeland Security regulations allow to the Fermi Nuclear Plant. “There’s a lot of fish inside of those buoys,” Doute remarked. But there were plenty of fish outside of the restricted area, too, with the promise of lots more to come.

I thought this was worth passing along. St. Croix makes nice stuff... TRADE UP THAT OLD ROD YOU NEVER USE DICK'S Sporting Goods and St. Croix Rods have teamed up to support KeepAmericaFishingâ„¢ through a fishing rod trade-up event at DICK'S locations nationwide. If you trade in an old rod at DICK'S for a new St. Croix rod you will get a discount and DICK'S will donate $1 or more to KeepAmericaFishing. Find a store near you. Trade in any old fishing rod for: A new St. Croix rod of $99 or less and you get $10 off = $1 donation to KeepAmericaFishing A new St. Croix rod of $100 or more and get $20 off = $2 donation to KeepAmericaFishing This is a great way to continue your seasonal gear refresh, clean out your garage and support access to healthy, clean fisheries. You can participate at any DICK'S location - click here to find a store near you. The promotion ends on May 4, 2013.

NEWSFLASH! Bud "Uncle Bud" Roche and crew on Saturday put a lot of space between his 22-foot Grady-White and everyone else, winning the Michigan City Junior Classic by 50 pounds over the second place amateur boat. Bud's weight from eight fish was 25 pounds heavier than the first place pro boat. That's alll I know at this time, but I'm supposed to talk the Da Uncle this morning and if he shares any information (which I don't expect him to share much since he's fishing the Coho Classic next weekend), I will pass it along.

Fishing is FANTASTIC out of Michigan City! NOT! Here's the sad tale of yesterday's Buffalo Bill Memorial. Top boat Just 1 More II captained by Larry Richmann had seven fish weighing 21+ pounds, almost one third of it was their big fish. Here's the score sheet. Some really good anglers blanked. Hope the huge waves of fish show up in time for this Saturday's tournament out of Michigan City--I'm going to be on Uncle Bud's crew and looking forward to a good time no matter what we catch, but a GREAT time if we can catch 'em! http://michianasteelheaders.com/2013%20Buffalo%20Bill%20Tournament%20Results.pdf

Mike: Just drop me a line when you're going. This coming weekend is probably out, but if you're looking for three rods more during the week, I usually don't need a lot of notice. Thanks for the offer. Dave

Hey, I hear FishHawk is a sponsor!

It's Thursday, Passover Thursday, the start of Easter Weekend as I write this, and I feel like I'm already behind in getting out on Lake Michigan and chasing salmon. For several years back in the 1990s and a few times since, I got out trolling for cohos in whatever boat I had at my disposal, usually in Indiana, by the second day of the NCAA's Big Dance. So, considering that I haven't been out seeking cohos yet, once again I'm behind. It's already the weekend of the Sweet 16 and I have no hope of climbing aboard anything with my visions of landing some tasty silver salmon. Not that all of those early trips were productive. In fact, most of them served more to blow off the winter stink than to harvest anything for the frying pan. For me, the worst part of salmon fishing is preparing what to take. I tend to overdo it, putting together way too much stuff, thinking I"ll be ready for all sorts of situations that just don't arise when you're trolling for early-season cohos. You'd think I'd know better. One year a much younger version of me was getting ready to take my old 16-foot Skeeter backtroller, a walleye-type boat, over to Burns Ditch at Portage, Indiana. I was up almost all night the night before, sitting at the kitchen table and packing a single tackle box with all the cool lures that had a chance of catching a coho or brown trout. I had the basics: Jointed orange Rapalas and deadly Storm Rattling ThinFins, along with a bunch of Storm ThunderStick Juniors, small spoons, regular ThinFins, Hot'N Tots, some Wiggle Warts, Rat-L-Traps and more. I had a two-sided Plano tackle box the size of a large brief case jammed with lures. And then at 6 a.m. the following morning, running on about three hours of sleep, I headed out of the driveway, boat in tow and loaded with about 10 rods. I picked up a neighbor and pointed my truck towards Portage, Indiana. With my two-sided Plano tackle box the size of a large brief case still sitting on the kitchen table. Which I didn't realize until the boat was at the ramp, 90-some miles from home. Boy was I mad at myself. By some minor miracle, a rainbow-trout-pattern ThunderStick Junior was stuck in the boat carpet and hadn't rusted away sitting in the garage. I also had grabbed a pink Mann Dancer, a weird lure no longer made, that had a flat, willow-leaf shape with a chunk of lead at one end and a dressy treble hook at the other, a wire for tying on your line stuck out of the centerline the willow leaf, towards the lead head. Put in the water, it was a sort of reverse crankbait--wiggling like crazy and diving at a steep angle. This lure, still in its package, I had put in a pocket thinking I'd probably never run it. And that was it for lures. I was a poor freelance writer back then (much like the present day) and my neighbor was unemployed, which is probably why we didn't go to some store and buy some lures. We decided to use the two we had and see what happened. We launched and headed down the the Ditch to the lake, a distance of less than a mile. When we got there under a bright sun and blue skies, we headed through a slurry of large ice chunks. It was the kind of day that if the wind started blowing out of the north, the ice probably would have piled up and kept us from getting back to the Ditch. Reflecting on how the day started, I'm kind of surprised that didn't happen. It turned out to be a blessing that we could only use two rods. Dipsy Divers and planer boards were out of the question with all the ice. We were able to get through the ice field to where the mini bergs were much more spaced apart, and set both lines out of the back of the boat. To make a long story short, the ThunderStick got hit almost immediately and we landed a dime-bright 'ho. The Mann Dancer was untouched (although it pulled so hard on its own that we thought it had a little coho a couple of different times). An hour passed before the ThunderStick got hit again and we landed a second little coho. After another hour of fruitlessness, we called it a day, a decision reinforced by the feeling that the ice flow was moving towards the Ditch's mouth. The lessons learned are several and include: • You don't need a lot of different lures to catch cohos. • Cohos aren't worth losing sleep. • A Mann Dancer isn't a top choice if ever limited to two lures. So, I'm starting to hear reports of guys getting out and catching cohos in Indiana and even as far north as St. Joe, Michigan, where a buddy caught one last Sunday. I'm a little disappointed that I'm not going to get out after them for another week, at least. But the fish will be there, and I'll be sure and pack a smaller box with a few old ThinFins, some Reef Runner Little Rippers, a couple of J-9s in orange, and maybe a couple of little red dodgers with green peanut flies. And I'll check that the tacklebox is in the truck before pulling out of my driveway.

I finally had a chance to walk around a little bit thanks to David Anderson taking the booth over for awhile. Lots of good stuff. I here Cabela's is packed, so come over here instead!

The Grand Rapids Sports Show is, hands down, the ultimate in Michigan, hence it's name, the Ultimate Outdoors Show. Why, just sitting here in booth 2002, I can talk to folks selling morel mushroom paraphernalia to my right (facing the aisle) and members of the Michigan Steelheaders Grand Rapids Chapter to the left. One booth down from the morel folks is a big Daiwa display, and across the aisle from that are "Tactical Bags and Backpacks." I bought one of those bags a few years ago, and it was $25 well-spent. Upstairs is some of the finest taxidermy I've ever seen. I'm giving a seminar on new techniques at noon today but the big event is tonight at the Trout Pond, where, according to the show brochure, "Flounder of Thunder 94.5 FM will host a Bobbing for Trout Competition." That action starts tonight at 7. Where else in Michigan can you find this kind of stuff? Last night was a good opener, with a lot of friends and acquaintances stopping by the booth. C'mon by! We're giving away Lindy River Rockers, 12-pound Stren Line and spoons from Dreamweaver, Contender and Silver Horde when you buy a subscription. Hope to see some of you guys here. Mention you saw it on Great Lakes Fisherman and I'll give you a TripZ Diver (while supplies last and I think I only have five). It's truly a great show, the last of the winter season. I'm ready to go fishing.

Thanks Pulp, I have to agree that the new owners and editor did a great job. Dave

Bill: I was just glancing through this thread and realized I didn't answer your question about the mag. You should have received your issue by now--they were planning to honor all previous subscriptions. If you haven't you can check with Lorraine at the Frank Amato Publications office in Oregon, 800-541-9498. See you in Grand Rapids. Just saw my speaking times are 10:30 in the morning Saturday and Sunday. Not sure if I'll draw a big crowd especially on Sunday! Dave

For anyone coming to the Great Lakes Angler Super Salmon School on Saturday March 9, the address is 661 E 24th St, Holland, MI. It's in a kind of strip mall--looks nothing like a church. Dave

Yeah, sorry I forgot to answer that part of your question. Frank Amato Publications has transferred all of the current subscriptions over, so everyone who had a subscription ought to get what they paid for. And if there is any problem, you can call them at 800-541-9498. Just keep in mind they're on the West Coast, so if you call before about noon or 1 p.m. you're likely to get a recording if you're in the Eastern Time Zone. They do seem very committed to customer service (whether or not you know me!) and have been a real pleasure to work with.