Paulywood

No way in HE77! 300' is, was and always will be the longest rod on my boat. If I want to get deeper I have various dive bombs, torpedos, 1 lb balls and clip on weights that I can add. I fish for fun and that is not fun as far as I am concerned. If someone else wants to run it feel free, but I am not going to expect someone to be running a rod that far back and the odds of it getting run over go up exponentially. Especially if you run it around other boats. I was fishing Frankfort one time and some guy complained about his triple core getting run over while fishing the point. Good luck with that one. And I won't even start about the guy who complained about his 600' copper getting run over by the Lake Express out of Muskegon.

Yep, what TJ said. Keep the rod horizontal or even pointing toward the water. If you try to pump it in the board is going to dive. It's a problem with the smaller boards but even more noticable with the big ones. I fished with Tj last month and we ran them all day with no real issues that I can recall. Good luck.

Great job and thanks for the report.

Ditto what Don said. Also, Jon had some good advice. I learned a lot when I first started fishing with other guys. And still learn something when I go out now with other people.

Thanks for the report. Plan on heading out of Holland on wednesday if the weather is good. Maybe we'll head down toward Saugatuck.

Good job guys! You going to be in Holland for a while yet TJ or you headed back to work?

Tough call Jon, NOAA got you again. Looks like it's fishable now and tomorrow looks worse. I would have done the same thing, though. I'll check back later today and see what it looks like.

I was just going to post that we are planning on fishing sunday instead of saturday.

I can make it sunday.

Steve, you might want to state where the Steeples are (Lake, State, etc) so that people know what you are talking about. The more info you give the better info you get back.

Yeah, thanks for the report. I'm going to try and get out this week after work.

When mine has worked it has been great. I had some issues with the first ones but since everything setttled down after the change of ownership my new one has been good. And I can't complain about the service, I've sent it to them twice and they sent me new ones within a week. Hopefully I don't have to send it a third time.

Yeah, what he said!

Which Stoney Creek? If you let us know what lake you are on guys might be able to help you out. And welcome to GLF!

In the spring guys catch them close to sure but it's hit or miss when the water warms up. Key would be bait and/or stained water.

Kevin (Far Beyond Driven) has been known to pull a few browns even when the water warms up. He might have a little advice. I thik working around the river plume might be a good idea, find where clear meets dirty and fish in and out of it.

Good job Frank! I ended up working a 16 tuesday so I didn't go. I'm planning on bringing the boat with me to work one day next week and heading out in the afternoon. Thanks for the report.

Thinking about hitting the Bay on wednesday for the shakedown trip on the boat. I was planning on launching out of either Linwood or Au Gres. Anyone got any info or tips from either port? Thanks in advance. Nick

Good job Gordy!

Sign Me Up! The boat got a clean bill of health from the doctor so I'm ready to go.

I think it is worth a shot. Some good ports to try would be Frankfort, Manistee, Ludington and Grand Haven. You should be able to find hotels and slips available in any of these areas. In Frankfort the Tackle Box is right across the street from the public launch ramp. They should be willing to set you up. In Ludington Captains Chuck's is right on 10 as you are coming into town. They could also help you. I don't know about Manistee. Fish On Bait and Tackle is right off the highway headed to Grand Haven. I never stay in hotels so I can't help with that. If you've never set a downrigger you might want to have someone teach you how. Good luck and have fun, I'm sure more people will have suggestions for you.

Man, I wish my school did something like that! Oh wait, they do now, about 15 years to late:) Good job on the trip and good luck this year Eric.

I'm going to have to drop out Ken. I took the Sugar Mama for a ride today and I don't have a lot of confindence in the seal repair I did last fall. There was no water in the gear oil but the level was down considerably. And I won't have time to work on it tomorrow becaue I'm working 16 hours. If anyone has room for 2 riders I'd be glad to come along and break stuff.

I usually burn about 10-12 gallons per trip, depending on how far I run and other factors. Now, in the truck is another story. Over and back gets me close to a full tank of gas, so $100 there. The gas in the boat is nothing compared to the truck.

I'll be there Ken