Paulywood

Very Nice!

P-Line is the name of the other one I have used and liked. For the life of me I couldn't think of it. Thanks Rob.

Yeah, I did not like Vanish. I use the Seaguar for trolling and like that. I also use it for walleye jigging.

You might have to put in some serious work or pay someone. You need to get rid of the oxidation and that could require wet sanding the whole boat and then polishing it back up to a good surface. Might want to take some pictures and post them, people would be able to help you out. If it's not to bad you could use some rubbing compound and a polisher before the wax. Either way it's a multi step job and takes a lot of time.

Starport Marina and Thompson's Marina (site sponsor) are both in Ludington and you can camp at both with the boat right out the front door. I know that Arcadia has a campground/marina but I have never been there. Insta-Launch in Manistee offers slips but it would be tough for you to get your boat out to the lake. We have stayed in Frankfort before, it's only a couple of blocks from the campground to the launch, I can't remember the name of the campground. At Grand Haven you can camp on the water but have to slip your boat seperately, but it's close. Same with Holland, both are state parks. Those are all I can think of off the top of my head, unless you want to fish walleye.

Ok, things are starting to fall into place. I have 1 confirmed speaker and 3 others that are 95%. So far topics are fishing with meat, fishing for lakers, fishing in the mud and tactics for fishing the weigh 5 fish tourneys. For the 5th speaker I am hoping to have a walleye presentation, not sure on that one yet. Plan on starting at 12 noon and finishing up around 5 pm, admission will be $10 per person and kids are free. I will post a sign-up sheet next week so I can have an idea on the number of people. Should be a good day.

You don't really have to notch them out and weld all the way around if you don't want to. I know that the Stinger trees were only welded on the top and bottom. Plenty strong enough to hold rods. I can check mine but they are different angles, flatter as they go down. If I was going to make them I would have the top holders angled slightly forward with the bottom one straight out. I would also make them so that they rotate. I have to take them down when I dock.

I might have to give these a try. Even though my current sharpener does a great job, Mike (red eagle) drinks to much of my beer while he sharpens them. He uses a stone and does a great job but it isn't as convenient since we don't work together anymore. I can't sharpen a knife on a stone for the life of me.

I think that the biggest factor in what kind of boat people are going to recommend is your price range. If you are looking for boats under $5k then that is a whole different kind of boat than if you have a $20k budget, or more. If you are looking for a trailerable boat then a boat like Jim's (26') is going to be about as big as you want to go. In my opinion the ride on a fiberglass boat is much better than an aluminum boat. But they are heavier to tow. I have towed a friends 26' Islander (hardtop) and didn't notice any difference between towing it and my boat (22' Sportcraft). It is also a good idea to try and get out on a few different boats and see how they ride and fish. To be honest, I don't really fish in any worse weather now than I did with my previous boat, a 22' bowrider. It's just not than fun. If you give people an idea about a budget range and style then you might get some more concrete ideas. Oh, and have fun with the boat search. I actually enjoyed it.

I talked to someone about doing a presentation on electronics. I hope to finalize the speakers soon.

The musky guys I know use the Salty holders due to not wanting any slack in the line. They will work for dipsey's but are a pain as far as I'm concerned. Personally I would get the diver holders (Big Jon's, Cannon's, Bert's) but I'm not a musky guy.

Very Nice!

Nice fish!

Got it Matt, sent you a reply. Good topics, too. I would definitely be interested in a spring brown trout talk.

Some of the ideas for topics so far are electronics, fishing meat, fishing lakers, fishing deep/deep water, and fishing after the lake rolls over. Any other suggestions?

Don't have all of the details yet but thought I would post it so you guys can put it on the calendar. We are planning on having around 4 speakers and it will be held in the afternoon. I don't have the speakers lined up yet so if you have any suggestions for topics I will take them into consideration. For those of you who don't know, Eagle is west of Lansing on I-96. The hall is visible from the freeway. Here is a link: http://eagleparkmichigan.org/

I'm not sure why they even bother with the chinook stocking on Huron. If the Atlantics are successful it seems like a better way to go. Hopefully some of our Huron anglers will chime in.

There is a lot of friction with Twilli Tips. The 19 strand wire is definitely softer and needs a roller tip. The Torpedo Tip is made for the 19 strand wire and works well.

I will donate a $25 gift card to a tackle/hunting shop for the winner Mike. I can make it for a store that's local to the winner if they want. I'll gladly support something for the kids.

I use the northland tackle tamers like Ryan posted. I keep different kinds of leaders tied up (free sliders, dipsey spoon leaders, dipsey flasher leaders) and have them each on a different one. Can't say they are the greatest but they are easy to store.

I have run the silver and smoke wire and didn't notice a difference. You might be able to get the wire from a local retailer and get the smoke now if you want it. I would also suggest placing a large bead on the wire before tying on the swivel so that when you reel them in you can reel all the way into the tip.I actually do this with my braid divers also. I'm not sure on the swivel sizes. I switched to the Dreamweaver swivels a few years ago and that's all I use now. I had issues with the Sampo swivels and I try to keep everything identical so I only use 1 brand.

I'm not on anybody's pro staff but I have received a lot of free lures over the years from things like the WMFL and I have always been sure to use anything I have received and give it a fair test. I don't fish as much as a lot of other guys but I still go out of my way to run and review anything that has been given to me. In talking with different lure manufacturers over the years it's easy to see that testing is very important to them. That's where I think amateur pro staffers are better than charter captains for lure makers. There is a lot more pressure for charters to put fish in the boat and they may not be comfortable running new lures that they aren't confident in. Either way, if you earn a reputation as a good fisherman who gives an honest review I think that manufacturers may seek you out or if you can consistently have good finishes in tournaments they may notice you. Contacting people and asking for free stuff probably isn't the best route to go, though. I have so many lures I have been thinking about going the other way and pairing them down to a smaller selection of lures in different sizes and just running them. I have way to much stuff!

The products you guys are talking about have a solid scouring agent in them that helps them clean. That does lead to very small scratches in the surface of the gel coat. A better analogy would be rubbing sand on a paint job. The small scratches will tend to catch and hold dirt and grime better than a smooth surface. Whether or not it makes a difference is beyond me. I use the deck cleaner and the Woody's Wax. I will caution that the Woody's Wax is probably better for boats that are slipped. My boat sits in my yard and we live on a dirt road surrounded by fields, so there is a lot of dust. Even with the cover on I tend to get a lot of dirt down in the cockpit because the walk around drains into the back of the boat. The Woody's Wax seems to trap the dirt and it actually comes off harder. I usually end up cleaning my deck before or after every trip with the cleaner and have gone away from the wax until we move and I can park the boat inside.

I think there are a lot of factors that affect the water levels. One of the biggest is the warmer winter we had last year. That means the lake doesn't freeze and we keep losing moisture in the form of rain or snow all winter long to other areas of the midwest. The second is the dredging on the St. Clair River channel. I remember a few years ago they said the dredging had caused water flow to increase. That led to erosion of the bottom. Which led to more water flowing through. Which led to more erosion. And on and on. This actually drains water from Lakes Michigan, Superior and Huron. I hope that it is only cyclical but I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Welcome Charlie! I am sure all of our Wisconsin members will be glad to have you as a member. Let us know if you need anything.