Take Six...

Even though I've been dragging lures since I was a kid, I admit, there are times I have caught a fish and have not been 100% sure of what I caught. Inland lake species are fairly easy with exception to Northerns and Musky's but Lake Michigan in itself is anopther story. Looking at the DNR manual isn't a flawless source either. They are artistic renditions. Is there a digital photo source that anyone knows of? Could this be a worthy project for the Great Lakes Fisherman pro's?

An off-site meeting was scheduled yesterday afternoon with a custommer and myself. It just so happened the meeting started at the junk cars in 18 f.o.w. We managed to clear up a few project issues, scheduling and start-up issues, however about every fifteen mintues, we we're rudley interrupted by fish thrashing on the surface of the lake, 6 to be exact. 2 cohoi's and 4 small king actually. I tried making bait changes to dischourage the interruption but it didn't matter. J-11's, Rapala Deep Diver(s), Orange ProKing, Hoochie's, they wouldn't leave us alone. No problems making concept sketches on note pad, you could have poured champagne in a glass resting on a raft yesterday and not spilled a drop. All in all, I would say it was the most productive meeting at work yet this year!

Took my daughter out Saturday for the last pheasant hunt of the year and because I thought Sunday would have been a better day on the water. (Note to self: Be sure trigger safety locking cable has been removed prior to departure) Woke up at five without an alarm just cause I was so excited to get out. Turned the corner out of the pier heads at 6:30. Ran down to the chalets and let my bilge pump catch up to all the water that had come over the bow on the way. Water temp was 39.3 to 40.1 till we approached the discharge, then it shot up to 46. 2 coho in 4 hrs. Both were stick baits on yellow birds. No one around me. On the return trip there were a few guys hanging around the junk cars. A buddy of mine was out late in the afternoon, said it was calm and the boated six for eight at the pierheads. Go figure.

Junior - I'll make the call Friday night but if its not nuts I'm heading out solo or not. Looks like Sunday is a lock for sure. If you want to ride with me, your welcome. Oh, and the gas thing? Forget it, just bring your tackle box.

You guys must be over charging your customers. I need to make some calls...

We use these guys for stickers and plackards for our machines. They can do just about anything. Fastsigns, their in Elkhart IN. and Mishawaka IN. 574-266-5115 or 574-254-0545 or www.fastsigns .com

You can never count on the weather service for forecasting more than 12 hours in advance... Fished from 7:00 - 11:30. The winds were off shore on Saturday at what seemed to be 40 mph. There were white caps 50 yards from the beach, although wavews were under a foot. We went two for three in less than 15 fow. All on stick baits, two flat lines and a side planner running about 2 mph. Water temp when we started was 39 and when we left was 41. We talked with two ther guys at the ramp and they had anywhere from thre to five fish as well. We listened to NOAA from the VHF to plan Sunday it didin't sound good and cancelled our plans. Let the dogs out about 6:00am and it was still and calm. called my buddy and we were on the water by 7:45. Wind was much lighter but there were some old rollers from the NW. Trolled from the pier to the junk cars and only picked up one coho. Water temp was 43. By noon the water was building pretty good. Good first weekend in my book.

Having had seperate Bottom Line fish finder and Garmin hand held GPS, I couldn't wait to get the new color combos from Eagle or Lowarance with memory chip capabilities. However, once I saw the screen size and began imagining what I like to watch as I'm either fising or running and then coupled that with wanting a hand held for hunting and use in a vehicle, I had a change of heart. I ended up getting a Lowrance iFinder H2OC and an Eagle Seafinder 640C. The hand held is portable, can utilize the chips for maps and I can run my auotpilot off of it as well.

I didn't even think about the flies as well, thanks to all.

I like to run sliders and I use leaders that run from my dipsy's to whatever and just plain leaders when the big boys are around. But when it comes to storing them, I'm usually spending 15 minutes working out the dangled mess. Anyone have a cure?

Fortunatly, my dad was collecting a lot of it before I started. However, I think we all make do with what we have and dream about what the next piece of hardware is going to be as soon as we have the money to spend on it. How many 14' foot aluminum boats running just two rods do we see around the harbor mouth or along the shoreline in the Spring catching Coho, Steelies and Browns? Start with three rods and three holders, more than that can lead to circus if your new. Ask everyone what their three favorite lures are for Spring? Then buy two of each one. In the spring, fish are generally in tight and shallow. Next, a couple of used manual down riggers as the water warms up. Then, its a never ending exodus of cash...

I hate it when I get taken. I usually research the b'jesus out of anything I'm about to purchase. I'm never an impulse buyer. This is one time, I didn't read the single sentence, fine print and I'm mad that I made this mistake and was taken. Like I told the guys at Lowrance, they can be sure that I will tell as many fisherman I know about there little profit center so that others in the same market as I, will have a clearer understanding of what their getting into. The Lowrance iFinder, is capable of accepting any capacity or brand SD or MMC memory chips. (even 1GB) The unit comes with simple topograghic mapping of the U.S. but is limited to highways and major roads. Say you buy MapCreate which comes with six CD's with incredible detail that allows you to create a custom map on your PC and download it to a memory chip that you can install into your iFinder. Here's the catch. You have to spend another $30 bucks and buy a Lowrance or LEI chip reader programmer that plugs into your USB port on your PC. You can't format your own reader or download software to re-format your reader to use the MapCreate. It must be a Lowrance reader. Secondly, once you have this reader, the MapCreate software requires you to register your chip within the MapCreate software. You are limited to registering only five chips. But you can change your own chips as many times as you like. So, when your compare models, capabilities and costs, the $30 reader programmer, along with the five chip limit may make a difference in your buying decision.

"Take Six" comes from the phrase that movie directors use when they start the same scene over again because someone missed something or made a mistake and they have to start over. Take One was a Rinker, Take Two was a Celebrity, Take Three was a Carver, Takes Four, Five and Six have been Crestliners. Maybe I should have named this one, "That's a wrap!"

I have an 1850 Crestliner Sportfish with 135 O/B and a 15 hp kicker. I'm towing under 3000lbs. Its an eight foot beam with plenty of side height and hard windshield protection. The boats is designed with the ability to convert seating from bench style to posted seating. When trolling on the big lake, its the bench layout and I can fish four comfortably. When we perch fish or were inland bluegill fishing, we flip it into the posted arrangement like a Skeeter.