1mainiac

I took a drive around today did not hit the East end. Hartshorn is open and I was told boats were launched there today. The Ramp at the end of McCraken by Shoreline and the Clipper is still iced in as are the docks at the marina, The Jaycees launch by the condos is still blocked by about 150ft of shelf ice. Blufton has some ice in front and you might be able to push your way in. My boat is ready to dunk and the bill is paid so just waiting on the weather and a couple of boats to leave so I can get out. Your boat appears to be upset that you have not been up to visit in a couple weeks. I think I am going to get a buffer and spend a couple of afternoons over there getting mine cleaned up next week. Hope to see a few of you guys at Captains Gary's open house Sat.

Ok one more peice of gear added to the goalie uniform swim fins LOL glad you are ok Jay.

Stopped in and said hi to my boat today The new gimble is in she is ready to go as soon as I get her out. Said hi to Mikes boat as well in passing. It is however freezing cold and the snow is currently falling so I won't rush Brett to break out my boat just yet but could be soon. One the ice clears the launchs it will be hard to leave her in the barn.

Muskegon Lake is nearly all open water. I stoped by Shoreline services today and went to the launch the docks are nearly free of ice but there is still ice out to the old Clipper the rest of the lake is open water. Other than some ice on the piers it is open and looking down the channel on the web cam minus the ice and snow in a few spots looks like summer all open water. Another warm day or two and the launchs could be all open. With todays wind there were whitecaps on Muskegon lake.

So it seems the Indians now make so much off the casino that at the end of the season they just abandon the nets and buy new ones. With a casino coming to Muskegon I guess we will get this down here soon as well.

Copied from another site I am a member of.. Today's Update and, or Fishing Report 3/11/09 Today, I come to you with a heavy heart with a reprehensible announcement concerning the Port of Manistee, MI. It seems like the Little River Band tribal netters pulled the same crap they did last season by leaving their nets in all winter. In 2008 this led to floating nets, unsafe to navigation & many boats got entangled before they knew it! Then the tribe hired outside contractors to pull the perilous nets. While the offending LRB tribal netters went on their merry way dropping more nets. The worst part of the current situation is a late season net that was set front of Barr Lake, slightly north of Manistee's Orchard Beach State Park. What make this net so dangerous is ...it was originally set in 40' of water in close and fairly shallow. Early season Brown Trout shoreline trollers should exercise extra care when fishing by keeping a sharp lookout. Reason for the extra care? ...as things stand nobody knows where last season's 2008 trap nets are presently. Click 2008 floating net The CG and other law enforcement agencies will be out next week trying to locate these nets. This clearly shows when our government bestows the rank of super citizen on a select few, respect for laws the rest of us have to abide by gets lost in the shuffle. As soon as more info becomes available to me, you'll be the first to know. I will post any and all news about the nets concerning public safety ASAP.

Gander and a lot of bait shops sells the Alberta Clipper's. I made most of my slider leaders out of 20lb P Line Flouroclear last year but still have a few made with big game 25lb. Since most tournies set slider length at 6ft that is the length I use. I will never mix a slider and and a flasher fly combo again but other than that for me most anything goes. I tend to add a lot of free sliders as they are quick to toss out and add on. My fixed slider use is mainly when fishing in front or in the channel and I never run more than 6 rods so adding the extra baits helps. So if I can have 4 riggers with J Plugs and Spoons going on each and a couple of divers with flasher fly combos that gives me 10 baits in a small area and often makes for some explosive action.

It depends on if you run big boards or inlines? And how close you want to get to shore with your boat. After ice out those Browns will nearly setup in beach chairs on a sunny day running my big boards off a mast all the way out and in knee deep water is not unusual keepin mind you really need to know the water and be prepared to bump bottom now and then as the sandbars will be all over the place. I don't chase browns in my 26ft at least not like I did in the 18ft because of that having the water go from 10ft deep to 2 ft deep in a small boat is one thing doing it in a big boat is another. In the 26 I tend to stay out in 20ft or so of water and send the inline boards way out often to a point you can barely see them. But the last thing I want is a 8000lb boat sitting on the sand there are usually several sand bars just off shore and I try and fish inside of them and between them. Work slow and target the bottom body baits bouncing off the sand do well.

I run fixed and free sliders I use Alberta Clippers for fixed sliders and love them. I will run fixed sliders anywhere from 10 to 30 ft above the ball and will run nearly anything except boards behind them I actaully used to send down meat rigs on sliders and liked them very well but I have become Herring impaired so now I am looking at trying some of the vibrator head flys this way. Oh and the meat rig sliders made for some wild dbls.

I have a 6ft mast if you are interested I sold my big boards

Curious as to what's the reason for the upgrade? The new antenna from Kell Labs works great and is large enough to pass beads and stuff that used to be a issue.

My GPS76 handheld sits in a cradle on my dash and is connected to my radio so I can leave my fishfinder in fishfinder mode with gps data overlaid. This gives me position course speed on a small screen and most of the same info on the fishfinder. The fishfinder is a Lowrance GPS combo unit which will do all of it. I had the small garmin wired to the radio on the old boat so left them tied together on the new boat. Unless you need a new fishfinder just get the chart chip and add it. WHen I need the chartplotter I sw screens on the Lowrance and chart on the bigger screen with the maps chip in it. Once I am where I am planning on fishing I rely on the Garmin handheld for watching my track and marking waypoints and let the Lowrance hunt for fish with the GPS running in the background. I like multiple displays and since you already have that just improve on it. There is a lot to be said for not having to hunt thru menus to get what you want. When I can afford radar I will want it linked to my chart plotter as radar and plotter on the same screen is cool.

Thanks Frank I tend to be pretty easy going and I don't ask much of my friends when they fish with me. I have worked hard for what I have and am blessed to have a wife who is ok with me doing it. I am even better off than many cause most days she will be right there fishing with me which is very cool. Last year she only complained about one issue and that was why I had been taking friends fishing for free when it was costing us a ton. As she pointed out several of my friends would meet us at the launch and we would have a good time fishing with them but when we got back to the launch they would take their gear and fish and go home. A lot of times I would give all the fish away as I fish a lot and have plenty. On the way home we would stop and fill the boat ( this part sucked last year ). When we get back we sort gear and clean and get it ready for the next trip. Once the boat is put away we are done for the day unless we have fish to clean. I love to fish and enjoy fishing with friends we compete with each other and work as a team at the same time. I understand some have more to offer than others in terms of skill but I think most anyone with a good attitude can offer a lot. There were many times I just needed a extra body with a license cause the wife and me were boxed out way too fast. God I miss that nothing better than being back at the launch while others are still trying to leave with a box full.

No problem Jay you are on the my fishing list I have been working on a safety program for you so you don't hurt yourself. At the moment it likes like a Hockey Goalie uniform with a flotation, LOL. On a second note I see the south pier had guys fishing on it today so I am going to get my cart together for Steelhead and get my butt over there a few times this week.

Well it is getting nice out and I am getting the bug to hit the water. The Boat is still in the barn till next month. I have had several guys respond to my offer actually enough to have a overcrowding problem. Well sort of I have fished with more on the boat but it gets tough to move and seating is limited. What I am thinking is haveing a get together at my house on a Sat and inviting everyone. This will give me a chance to meet all the guys who have responded and see how well well all get along cause I prefer to fish with friends and as my wife point out all the time I have very little tact. My problem is I am honest and straight forward but worst of all I am not politically correct. I actually say what I think when asked so I can take some getting used to. So my wife suggested I come with a warning label that state opinions expressed by her husband are not that of the management. Right now my plans are to fish in the GLFTT events and the WMFL events so I don't expect large budget commitment from anyone. I would love to get into some of the bigger tournies but really just want to have fun and fish.

Robert you can get plenty of fish without a temp probe we did it for decades. The big differance is knowing right away whether or not the water is likely to be productive or not. The temp probe does not increase your catch rate it reduces the time you spend fishing non productive water. That is where you increase yor catch by increaseing the amount of time you keep lures in the hot zone. With the probe esp in late Jul and Aug you will find trapped pockets of cold water holding fish and know why they are there. Without the probe you will find yourself trolling along and you hit a fish or two then nothing for a bit then about the time you want to give up and go back where you got the last one you get another. So you keep going thinking it is a slow day but at least your are getting fish. When perhaps if you moved out or in a couple hundred yards or up or down a little to get the lures at the right temp zone it could have been a greatday.

Sounds like you are feeling better Mike too far for me to drive. Good Luck

Opps never mind fish in the morning I don't want to start seeing lines at the ramp when I get there.

When the big ball drops the rods pop anyone who thinks morning fishing is the best don't night fish. Don't get me wrong I like to fish in the morning it is great but the battle at the boat launch and running out to try and be in the right spot before it slows down can really suck. Compared to this I hit the launch around around 6pm and it is all mine i can take my time if need be to dbl chk without people honking and yelling at me. I have never been stuck behind a boat that would not start or a crew member being a few min late. I have time to stop at the bait shop and get a updated report on where they were in the morning. By 7pm I am rolling out to where I want to fish with a solid plan of where I want to be at sundown so I will cruise around the area and find the bait ball and look for fish laying on the bottom. By 7:30 we are setting lines high and wide on cores for Steelhead low and deep on divers and riggers for Kings and Lakers and we start picking away at fish. As Sundown approaches every thing gets reset to a predawn approach and all hell breaks loose shortly after sundown we are headed in with a full box and a smile from ear to ear. It happens all the time because Salmon feed in low light conditions once the sun is up they slid off and relax sure they will grab a easy snack if they feel like it but night fishing is like trying to grab a meal at the Buffet at 6:30 the pattern is full of eaters. The basic body clock of millions can't be all that wrong.

I like all the ideas and pretty much agree with all the core plans but I am going to have a mag Glow spoon on 1 rigger 5 to 10 ft off the bottom and a J plug on the other rigger. Let the core and boards take care of the picky eaters and put the buffet in the chute. I am always amazed by the number of fish that will hit a J Plug in the mud.

Rapela or Husky Jerk color depends on day I also like Hot N Tots

Mike if you need help with the Boat call me be more than happy to lend a hand. I am closer to your boat than you are so not a big issue to run over and lend a hand if needed. As for cutting down trees with broken tops I tend to notch em and cut one down close by to knock them over with like domino's. Even smaller stuff falling from above can do serious damage. Even when I made my living with a chain saw there were trees I passed on and never cut alone again I don't care how good you are %$#% happens and fast. Now get feeling better and lets go back to talking about fishing.

Mike glad to hear you are OK. I have spent thousands of hours with a chainsaw in my hand and no injuries can't say that for my friends. As Mike in Ontario said I will add felling trees is 1 part Science 1 part Skill and 1 part Luck. I have been Smart Skillful and Lucky a long time and I have a healty respect for the weight of Oak and other trees. I saw a guy get killed a long time ago so I learned early on to tripple chk my escape route and to watch every chip as it come off the saw. A small wind change can be bad I left a running saw in a tree when the wind changed direction on me and I sat on a hill nearby for a couple hours waiting for the wind to change when it did the tree came right down where I wanted it but the saw was toast. Good luck and heal fast my friend there is a lot of fishing ahead.

Interesting idea Don I will see what I can think up one issue that comes to mind however is overcoming the throttle return springs with a small servo motor. Unless you completely disconect the throttle linkage I am not sure the small servo motor will do the job. Another issue would be if some smart alec found out what freq your servo was on they could bring their remote and mess up your trolling pattern big time. There are lots of servo motors that can be reostat controlled directly with voltage changes but they would be hard wired not RF. Fine tuning this will be fun as very little throttle movement is needed at idle speeds to make big changes.

yep Mike south of Arcadia to the state line and west to the line is 20" no issues except for the Refuge where it is illegal to fish for them period.