Nailer

Ya just gotta love the size of those Lake O fish. Thanks for sharing Tim.

Friday, I took old friend Steve, and new to night fishing Tim, out on a cold night trip to Muskegon. It was a typical slow post front bite. We fished 7 separate areas (the secret spots:D) of the lake, and managed to pick up a few. Steve's first fish was a 12 pound 10 oz beauty that he's putting on the wall. The other 4 ranged in size from 5.5 - 8 pounds. We started at 7 and fished till 3am. Sadly this looks like it may be the end of open water fishing, as the water temp was 33.5 deg., and skimming over in the calm areas. The fishing this year on Muskegon has been slow at best, with the only good night coming when the wind was blowing 20 mph.

When you have younger children and busy schedules (and a wife that thinks you fish to much), it's hard to commit to a set date and time. More often you just hope you can go fishing.

Richard, hopefully some of the guys that fish that are will chime in. The fishing in Manistee should be good from the first of June through September. This time of the year the boards tend to cool off. If you don't get the answer you hopping for now, keep asking.

Richard finish filling out your profile. Keatings boos are very good, but it's best to get to know guys that troll your ports. Dan Keating fishes the west side of Lake Michigan. There is more structure over there, so some of his structure fishing techniques don't apply to us west Michigan port guys.

What kind of fishing do you do with it? How many will be in the boat. I could get 23 mph out of my 15 hp and 14' Starcraft with my 6 year old daughter in front, but don't expect that with two buddies along.

All the events will take place on Saturday with the following Sunday as the blow day. Last year we where able to hold all of them on Saturday. Just 5 events, one in each month from May till Sept.

Welcome aboard Richard. Manistee is good from may till October.

Keep this in mind. A flasher/fly will make the copper rig run higher, while a plug will make it run deeper. If your going to run a f/f it is a good idea to use heaver mono/fluoro, like 30 pound. when using Fluoro, get leader line, rather than fishing line. During the summer time we mainly run Ace Hi plugs on our Copper riggs. In the spring we run spoons. Both my 350', and 250' took lots of mid summer fish last year fishing over 85-110 fow in Lake Mi.

Ali, save your self a bunch of grief and start with the 32 pound super copper. The 45 series (convector) will hold 250' with braid backing. That will get you down 50'. A pen 330 gti will hold 350' getting you down 70'. The 55 series (convector) will hold 450' getting you down 90'. here is a link to the 32# soft copper. I took a 1000' role and set up 4 reels. 1@350' 1@250', and 2@200'. You can save yourself the expense of buying extra poles by swapping out the reels.

Muskegon is tops for big pike. You will have to wait longer for ice though.

Phil, If you have photos from your past fishing trips, please share.

The first event will be mid May. The sign up will be posted some time in the spring. There are no fees. In the past it has always been a $10 contest split up %50 to the winner, %30 to 2nd place, and %20 to third. There is also a $5 big fish contest that goes with it. The WMFL is just a group of guys having a friendly competition. The group is open to all, except Charter Captains. As of now I'm looking for input on the changes I proposed.

I have, and have seen this question asked many, many times. The vast majority of time the answer is fin side.

This is true^^ yes, but according to there site it is the less action hole. There is inconsistency in the printing from Dream Weaver. Use the fin side for best results.

I believe the state park is open in the winter there. http://www.visitludington.com/statepark/

Dave, it may help to add the area your looking for.

Phil, ask as many questions as you need. There are enough fish in our fresh water sea to go around. The best way to become a better fisherman is through networking.

A starter solenoid like the older fords used will do what your looking for. A hot wire from the key will energize the solenoid to make contact to both batteries for starting, and running. Then when the key gets shut off, only one battery will be left connected.

That's great Matt. You will do well at the job. we look forward to your reports.

Personally I don't see a huge advantage of 9v8 rods. The 8 rods is 2 more than the two-sum's can run, and only one less than the three-sum's can run. There where quite a few two man teems last year. Input is what I'm looking for, so thanks.

I have agreed to run the WMFL for 2011 and beyond. I would like to make a few changes to keep up with the times. I would also like to here suggestions, and input from the guys that plan to fish it. Send me a PM if you are not comfortable posting it. The changes I'm considering are: 1, 8 rod limit. 2, Fishing all the events from Port Sheldon, or Holland (The fish cleaning station at Holland is very nice). 3, 5:30-11:30 or 6:00-12:00 fishing times. 4, Fish in 1'-3' predicted seas and cancel if bigger. All the other rules and dates, will stay intact. For those of you that don't know me. I'm the old bald guy with my son Jacob. Ken.

Nice job Jimmy.

Don't bother with backing. 1000' per spool/reel. The best knot to use is an overhand loop. Thread the loop through the swivel hole, and bring the swivel back through the loop. Like this. Before pulling tight.

I have yet to see a braided wire? The braid most use is Power Pro, or like super line.