Walleye Express

I found out since posting the picture that this is just one of the hundreds of rainbows that escaped from a pond during high water into a lake in saskachewan. These two brothers have devoted their lives to catching what monsters these fish have become because they do not spawn but simply keep putting on weight in their (forage rich) environment. They say one of the brothers has become so obsessed with catching these brutes he and his bride to be broke up over it. I'm sure after catching this particular fish, he's pretty sure he made the right decision. :no:

From the guy who brought to you that Lake Simcoe Monster of a walleye picture comes yet another fresh water Leviathan from the deep. A rainbow trout like no others before it. Another true freak of nature so gorgeous yet so hideously grotesque one wonders if it's nightmarish features are real or not. And seing identical twin brothers holding it up makes it even more freakish.

Put me down for both angry and white. You want to really know the funny part. I always thought and felt in my heart I was not prejudice. I try to treat all men the same way. But nobody deserves any kind of special treatment for any ethnic reasons. All the people who owned slaves or killed Indians are dead and gone. You make your own way and your own bed in life. Hell, two people I most admire are Condolesa Rice and Colon Powell and I'd probably vote for either in a heart beat if they ran. But slowly, very slowly the democratic party along with the Reverend Al Sharpten and a few other self appointed black Oricals are convincing me that I just may be prejudice. They are conditioning me to attach their philosophical view points to their particular skin color. I feel we've reached a real crossroads in our US history and the decisions we make in the next few years on all these hot issues will change our lives one way or the other. God save the King.

Taken from another board. How do you rig your minnow when you use it? What size minnow do I need to use ;what size hook and weight . I need your help on fishing with them. Do you use spinners, bottom bouncer, jig head ( size,weight, color). Anything you think might help me. I use plugs all the time (Long A's & Long billed Rebel at night). Is there any DVDs on walleye fishing. David Tester David. The only time and place I use minnows is on the river. I've tried minnow imitators the last couple of seasons while trolling with some success, but the walleye in general like a bigger meal when the waters on the bay are warm. But using real minnows (obviously) when fishing rivers are IMV the best forage imitators. I have successfully rigged them in many ways. I rigged/hooked them through the lips on floating jig heads carolina/egg sinker rig style and simply let them swim freely near bottom in the current behind the sinker. Rigged them behind Lindy rigs. Rigged them on a simple #4 beak hook behind a #7 split shot, quarter casted and let them drift freely downstream in fish holding current areas. My favorite way though is hooking them through the head up-side-down on a jig, then quarter casting and hopping them through productive holding waters. The size minnow I like to use always is about a 2 1/2 to 3 inch emerald shiner. The weight of the jig head or other weights is just enough to keep the minnow anchored or bumping along bottom. Capt. Dan.

i'm putting the gas topic subject with my list of religion and politics. things that should not be discussed with friends while drinking or fishing, if one wants to have a good time.

A good subject taken off my own Saginaw Bay fishing board. I've been using inline planer boards since I got my boat and got myself back on the water. They definitely have thier pros and cons. I am wondering if using a set of big big boards and a mast is overall easier? Also, is it a little more tricky with them figuring out how far back your lure is etc? I understand a lot of guys use rubber bands on the releases, how does that work? Do you tie it around the line or loop it or what? I'm thinking about switching, just curious what some of you others with more experience think. Jaybe. Jaybe. The size/length of your boat is all important. Running a big mast on anything shorter then 19 feet or in a boat that usually only fishes 2 people is not worth the trouble IMV. And there are things to be learned and adjusted to about the running dynamics or the lures when run off either planing tool. Both have their advantages and (believe it or not) give the lures used a different presentation in varied water conditions. And for me to list all these variables I have learned over the years would take 3 chapters in a small book. I do use rubber bands with my Big mast and boards. I have learned over the years to precisely read these bands connected to my tether line releases as they get stretched from the hundred different things that effect them. Some people would cacth on fast, others maybe not so fast. I also carry 8 In-line boards and have found situations where I changed over to them when I want to run my lures very short over weeds or shallow water. Running lines short off a mast type is not easy as the tether line is high above the water in most cases. And this upward pulling angle can pull short leads/lures out of the water a lot. Like I said both have their place. Capt. Dan Once last spring I got out on thte bay and found I only had one of my mast planner ski boards on board!?!?!!? Turned out my wife had helped me load the boat and when I said, "Please ket the panner boards" she thought that there was only one! LOL Not her fault, I should have double checked. So we used the mast and ski on one side and in-lines on the other. The in-lines out performed the skis that day, so not all was lost! But I like both, depending on the water conditions, wind/weather, trolling speed, etc! Gawd, I can't wait to get out there! Jim jim. what you just described doing is just part of the many and varied dynamics seperating just what one planing aparatus can do over the other on any given day. the lure is always directly effected by how its being pulled forward by either the inline board or tether line of the mast type. and on any given day each board may impart the action the fish may see to be the more attractive option. with inline boards the board is always in contact with and riding on top of the water. and any waves or forward motions of the boat smoothly/gradually move the lures ahead with small burst of speed as the boards get pulled and reacts to the rod tips flex as the boat moves with the waves. whereas with mast types, the lines are often freely snapped, most often between the mast attachment and boards, giving a sharp forward/stall action to the baits being trolled. same goes with making turns. you can turn the boat sharper using mast type and the speed of all the lures rather on the inside (closest to the boat) or further away, makes for a different/faster look at the lures. so it may not be a bad idea (if you can) to run both at the same time and let the walleyes tell you what action they want. Capt. Dan

There are also areas in every Lake called "Dead Zones". Places void of plentiful oxygen supplies. Find and fish in these areas and your in for a long day.

Yooperdad. I like the way you think. And your solid proff that having a little copper in the water doesn't hurt a damn thing. ;)

Even though Lake Simcoe is in Canada, I believe it connest to Lake Huron. This guy caught this monster fishing for Lakers in 50 FOW on Lake Simcoe. He measured and guessed the weight at 15 pounds and then released this beauty. My guess would have been slightly heavier.

Those Purple/Pink Tommy Harris #8 blades or any color TH #8's for that matter, were killer for me behind the Eyeliminator Flutter Spoons last summer.

I'm thinking with the heavier casting spoons in front I might get away from having to add a keel sinker to the front of the rig for weight in moderatley shallow water, say 18 Feet or less. While still being able to run moderate too short leads from the releases. And I'm guessing I will attain even deeper depths with the Meak Freak, being it itself will be diving from the back. I attached beaded swivels front and back to these spoons so they will pivot and flash freely as well.

Got my small order of Stamina Scaled Pattern Casting spoons yesterday. They're going to be a nice looking addition next to my Eyeliminator flashers running in front of my Spoon Harnesses and Meat Freaks. I can't wait till the trolling season.

I guess this falls under general. I'll bet just about all of us at one time or another fished on days where anything and everything were working. I've personally had days when the line releases were pulled right out of my teeth as I was pulling in the Planer board tether line to attach them. The mood of the fish during these times are obvious, and positive would be an understatement. But how many ways and signs are there too read a fishes mood and adjust your fishing strategies accordingly, to discover or uncover what would work best for that mood? I have learned and can read many of the fishes mood signs for both the open water and the rivers I fish. These clues and signs I've learned on my favorite bodies of water for the most part are universal and may apply on most bodies of water, but not always. Instead of me listing all the ones that give me clues about what fishing strategies I need to employ or change during a tough fishing day, lets open it up for discussion and we all may learn something new. I'll start it off with an easy one. Finding schools of both bait and predator fish on your graph, and just where in reference in the water column those fish are located to each other tells me a lot about the fishes mood.

My buddy Jimmy just left my house for home. He lives over 100 miles away from me and Saginaw Bay, near Detroit. He enjoyed the Rainbow Trout I fried up for us both for lunch and took the rest with him to snack on, on the way home. Because of my recent surgery and knowing I cannot get out ice fishing this winter, he left me with all the work cleaning all those walleyes he caught over the weekend. Nice friend hey!!!!!!!

Firstly, I admire anyones courage to truthfully answer this post. The man I supported with both money and voice was (Fred Thompson) but he dropped out early. I always trusted a quiet reserved man, who's inner strength, courage under pressure, character and will, kept you from ever questioning or insulting his integrity. But only people who are older, worked for what they have and have taken a few of lifes sucker punches recognize quality in a man such as Fread. So I knew his real chances with the entire spectrum of voters were slim. I know one thing for sure. The last Time I voted for someone who bosted he was for real change, but never really elaborated about what that change was going to be was Jimmy Carter. History has judged that decision. One thing we cannot show our enimies in any form any more in this world is weakness. This world (like it or not) revolves around the USA. We are it's only beacon of hope. I want someone who knows where and when too shine that beacon.

Sniffer. Depending on how old you are, you may have missed many highs and lows of the Great Lakes Salmon populations. From the fall of 1968 to about the early 1980's personal fishing success was more about your knowledge, equipment, water table, wind and the weather. After that started the long list of things out of our control. BKD, Water Flees, Zebra Mussels, Quaga Mussels and now VHS. If you haven't heard, some of those things have all but made the Salmon extinct on my home waters of Lake Huron. Luckily, Michigan's, Wisconsin's and Illinois DNR has started a (plant less) strategy On Lake Michigan to keep it's forage base from any more stresses and collapsing like they did over hear on Huron. Having people like yourself willing to ask and do something in their small capacity for the fishery, reminds me of the days when the Michigan Steelheaders were 40 thousand strong and used their voice to make things better. Will this new fix withstand the onslaught of the many new invasive's? Will we be able to stop these few ocean going vessels and have them start purging their bilge waters before entering our Great Lakes? Only time and good sense will tell.

Great reports Wheeler. Hope you don't mind but I copied and posted your last 2 on my fishing board. Always nice to get some truthful ice reports that gives guys a real sense of expected success and the conditions they face before they spend the time and money to make a trip out. The bad part for heading out blind of course are the chances the out of towners take when they drive for long distances and feel they have to at least try to get out. Those are the victims of those unfortunate accidents in most cases.

Getting mixed reports on the availabilty of the bitzer creek ZIP's. Some stores are telling me they are not producing any more, but I see them advertising on Gillespies show? I have purchased some knock off (looks to be from a do it mold) but prefer the Zips for some conditions, any one know what is really going on? Mark Sagel Well I would like to just see what they look like. I did a google search and nada zip nothing. I searched blizer zip and didn't find them. Can someone post the website for these seemingly incredible lures? David Kuhlmann Here's a picture of the only 5 Zips I have. I've never seen them sold around here. I got these 5 from two Illinois Guiding clients of mine that come here to Michigan every Mothers Day to see their Mother and fish with me on the Tittabawassee River. I seen them advertised for sale on TV before, in one of those 30 minute info-mercials, where (similar to the Banjo Minnow) the guy catches everything from Brook Trout to Piranha on them. And like the Banjo, I thought it was a gimmick to sell something to good to be true. Wulp, these 2 guys from Illy are Zip-Masters. With how light the ones are they use, it is truly an art that I have only slightly mastered myself. And how these things hold onto some of the fish they land on them with those tiny hooks, is crazy. Then, you cannot seem to get those darn little (razor sharp) hooks out of the fish's mouth after you land it. Rather simply straight casting and retrieving, hopping, yo-yoing, slow rolling or jigging these Zips, they caught every specie of fish swimming in the Tittabawassee on them, on that very first trip they took with me some 9 years ago now. And are nice enough on every return trip they have taken with me since then, to include in my tip for the day my choice of any color Zip I want out of their huge collection. I had 7, 4 Pink and Whites (mine and their favorite color for the Tittabawassee) but lost 2 to Northern Pike unexpectedly this past spring season. I'm also including a few pictures of these guys and some of the variety of fish they caught casting the Zips. Capt. Dan.

Swear/curse less. Be more understanding, less sarcastic and critical of others in all reguards, even politically, a very tough one. Try to be the person with those qualities I've always respected and liked. Lean on more and ask the help of the only entity that I know of that can help me achive all these goals.

Ya, that's Bandit, our newest addition from Abbys litter on October 4th. Quit the loveable monster for 12 weeks old hey?

Heres a picture of my only Grandson Jacob and our new Lab family (Otter/dad, Abby/mom and Bandit/son) all together on the living room floor for Christmas yesterday.

Click on the left video that says shantys. http://s255.photobucket.com/albums/hh140/Lost_Peninsula/

With a very big payout (I heard $10,000.) ice tourney planned for this winter on the Saginaw Bay, I'm getting quit a few phone call and internet requests for charters and/or general info concerning the Saginaw Bay. Of course with my usual luck, that is, being out of commision this ice season for surgery, I have been giving out more info then booked charter dates. I got this post on my board 2 days ago and thought that by posting it and my answer to it, it might help a few others out wondering about the same things. Message ohioiceman Joined: 20 Dec 2007 Posts: 4 Posted: Fri Dec 21, 2007 7:55 am Post subject: ice fishing in michigan -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I read the article in the walleye magazine this month on how many eyes were taken through the ice in saginaw bay, wow. I showed all my fellow hard water friends and now we want to try our luck up there, but we have a few basic questions. 1) where do we go out on the ice from, 2 ) where can we stay 3)cost of license 4) ice condition reports, 5) baits of choice. So I guess short of telling me all your secrets and drilling our holes for us can you help. In trade I'll give up 1 of our honey holes in Ohio on some huge crappies and gills and of course saugeyes . capt.dan Joined: 18 Jun 2003 Posts: 1821 Location: Essexville, Mi./Saginaw Bay. Posted: Fri Dec 21, 2007 9:41 am Post subject: Re: ice fishing in michigan -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome iceman. We'll try and answer your questions the best we can and we do of course appreciate any good fishing reports you can give us in return on this board. But this board is like few others you might have visited. Few people share any GPS waypoints or any stop on the spot info, and none is usually expected. And our perch, crappie and gill guys are right on par with guys who have top secret spots on small streams for Brook Trout. But basic info, honest reports, lodging information and reliable suggestions on techniques is fast becoming the norm from many of our best nimrod members. The Saginaw Bay is shaped like a big banana. It's 24 miles wide at it's widest point and over 46 miles long to where we start calling it Lake Huron. A snowmobile or 4 wheeler is required for most walleye fishing being done on the Bay. A close to shore fishery (within 1 mile) get's hot near river mouths just before Ice out in late winter. Most of the successful fishing is done from the Bays West side, because it's East side (for the most part) stays more shallow further off shore, lacs decent/roomy easy to get to access points and the biggest drawing card of all, the large flowing river called the Saginaw River. Virtually all of the West side access point roads connect to M-13. M-13 runs north and south and parallel with I-75, very close to the Bay for a long distance. Just what access point road is the best and the shortest drive out on the ice and to the fish is determined by ice/crack conditions, just where the school of fish are given the time of year, seasonal migration patterns and possible forage movements. There are 2 other popular access points that are at the very Southern bottom of the Bay. The Bay City State Park and the DNR ramp at the mouth of the Saginaw River. What lures and baits that are popular will tend to be the same as yours, used to fish waleyes on Lake Erie. Spoons of all types tipped with a minnow or just it's head take many of our walleyes. My favorite is the #3 Do-Jigger (Silver/Red Lightening Bolt) with a minnow head hoked on one of the trebles. If you set out any tip-up's, keep them very close to your active jigging offerings as they seem to do better then especially in the mornings. Motels to stay at can be found along M-13, in the small towns of Kawkawlin or Standish with 2 motels being between these two small towns. Huron Trails, 1-989-684-3940. Northland, 1-989-667-0738. And Pinconning Trail, 1-989-879-4219 is another. There are a couple more that elude me right now. Better Hotel accommodations can be found right in Bay City on Wilder Road, that is very near the DNR ramp at the rivers mouth. Another brand new one in Standish that the indians just built to accomodate the guests at their new Casino in the same town. None, I'm sorry to say will allow you to clean fish on site, so bring good coolers for cold packing. Cost for a 3 day out of state license is reasonable and can be bought on-line. http://www.mdnr-elicense.com/welcome.asp Fishing and ice reports can be observed at our biggest Bait/Sports shop internet site, while it's physical location is very near the Bay in Linwood to serve your bait and other needs. Visit the internet site at http://www.franksgreatoutdoors.com/theFishingReport.asp You'll notice my smiling face on the report site as I do reports for them. But I'm down this winter for repairs due to a worn out portion of my body. Give Franks a call for other questions you may have. Be safe and good luck out there. Here's a helpful map of where you might be fishing. Concentrate on waters left of the Saginaw River channel. P.S. If you want to take some long hours of scouting out of the equation. Here are some reliable GPS waypoints for all seasons along with some inside info about where to park, what to use and how to use it. I sell this info pretty cheap as part of my fishing charter business on line at: http://www.electronicguideservice.com/Saginaw%20Bay.htm Be aware these spots do not come with the guarantee about how safe each one is to get to, given year to year conditions. Heres also a couple of pictures of 2 Ohio boys who chartered me on the Bay. These fish were taken from just one of my personal GPS spots listed with the product, that are included in the packages I sell. Some of the guys on this board can vouch for there reliability.

With a little over a week left until Christmas. Thought it about time I posted my Fishing Christmas Card/Poem again to you all. Made a few subtle changes to it from last year. Enjoy. “Twas the night before Christmas and all across Saginaw Bay†“The shantys were lit up with ice fishermen wanting to stay†“I had just sat out a Tip-Up that I positioned within view†“But concentrated more on my jigging as Tip-Up's take few†“My Do-Jiggers flutter had just settled and awaited it's fate†“As a thick band of red appeared next to it on the OL’FL8†“My pulse soon quickened, and my rod hand started to shake†“I sat almost motionless, while awaiting the take†“With the first twitch of the rod tip, and a snap of the wrist†“I drove home the sharp trebles, in the jaw of the fish†“His struggle was valiant, with violent bends in the pole†“But with slow steady pressure, I worked him up into the hole†“Her girth was impressive, Her length 30 inches or so†“My buddy looked puzzled, when I said...... "I think I’m letting her go†“Some things need explaining, and others fall into place†“I had to say something, from the look on his face†“Think of this buddy, before we call it a night†“Tomorrows Gods birthday, and He's blessed everything with life†“I’ve caught plenty of walleyes, and taken home my share†“I’m giving this one back to him, it would only be fair†“So down into the hole, and under the ice†“Now swim away, swim away, and give someone else a good fight†Capt: Dan.

His idea of courage and patriotism was single minded and absolute. That kind of person is either admired or hated by the masses. Personally I liked what he stood for 90% of the time and admired him for many of his ideals. Kids could do a lot worse in finding and admiring a lesser so called hero's in today world that's for sure.