Mega Byte

Thanks for the report. We got out there are about 5:30 and hit four foot waves that only seemed to get bigger the deeper we went. Those weren't in the forecast! We decided to turn it back around and come in so the kids could dock fish with worms instead.

My first two trips out of Whitehall I didn't even get a release! It was a frustrating start to the season, but it has picked up since then. I'm taking my two foster boys out tomorrow night. Hopefully we'll be able to find them out there. Good luck on your trip today Mike.

Are you going out of Whitehall? If so, I might see you out there. Good luck.

We did a quick fishing trip out of Pentwater on Sunday morning (7/26) and picked up a couple of Kings. Their stomachs were empty too.

I don't fish Ludington, but but live the stick is a reference to the Big Sable Point lighthouse.

Talked to a guy in Whitehall who got 5 kings in 90 fow last night.

Just wondering how it has been going out of Pentwater. We're camping up there this weekend and plan to bringing the boat along.

Been there...here are my last 4 trips out: 1) Volt guage is reading low, but my tech says something is wrong with the guage so ignore it. Lights start going dim. Elec riggers won't pull up, have to pull them by hand. We were able to make it back to the marina. It turns out my new, 2 month old alternator died. Then my tech says it's reading 1.5 volts lower than actual, but should always register something. 2) New alternator installed. Next trip the engine stalls. Change the battery switch to emergency parallel, pulled all the lines and motor back in. Turns out it was a bad battery. The battery was replaced. 3) Fished for the morning then anchored at shore and took the kids on the dunes. The boat wouldn't start. Had to get towed back in. Turns out the starter died. 4) Last trip it was something in the lower unit that went. Started making a nasty sound as we motored in like someone dropped a wrench in the prop. I slowed it to an idle and went in the rest of the way that way. I'm afraid to go back out!

Just curious, what was your water temp 45 ft down? Up in Whitehall last weekend, we had 67 deg on the surface and 64 degrees all the way to the bottom in 85 fow.

Yesterday, when I called the DNR they took the coordinates and said a local DNR officer would be notified. This morning I called the Ludington Coast Guard first. I explained I hooked into some nets and asked if they should be notified. They said 'Yes' and I gave them the coordinates and described it as being about 5.3 miles NW of the Whitehall pier. They said that was Grand Haven's area of operations. When I called Grand Haven, they said they don't do anything with nets but the DNR does and to contact the DNR.

I just called the coast guard in Ludington, they said to call Grand Haven. I called Grand Haven and they said to call the DNR, which I already did.

I reported it to the DNR.

122 FOW, 5.3 miles NW of the pier GPS format 1: N43º 25.554' W86º 29.702' GPS format 2: 43°25'56.22"N 86°29'57.78"W There's no salmon up there either, just Lakers. Was intending to stay closer to the piers but had someone else drive for me while I was setting lines. They went way north. I couldn't tell in the fog. We pulled all our lines and backed right over top of the nets. I marked them on the fish finder and then set the waypoint. I know they drift some, but be aware they are out there. I snagged them with a 300 Cu. On my graph, it looked like a pole leaning on a 45º angle from the bottom and reaching as high as 20' off bottom. I didn't know my 300s would run so deep, but maybe we were going a little slow or there is more that was higher that I didn't mark on the graph. Hindsight 20/20, I should have slipped a hook on my spare roll of downrigger wire, sent it down there and then hooked something the floats to the other end of the wire.

Looks like the water has turned over again in the Muskegon / Whitehall area: http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/glcfs/anim.php?lake=m&param=swt&type=n

Manistee

Speaking of buoys, the one off Port Sheldon got hit by a boat on Saturday. If you go to the website for the webcam on the buoy it's showing an old picture, not a current one.

It would be a fun study though - to try and identify the "why" and see what you can do to get them to strike. Maybe scents, may a sudden change in speed. A wireless feed to a screen in my boat would be pretty sweet...

Check ebay. A couple of used SubTrolls sold for $250 within the last month or so.