Paulywood

If it was Muskegon State Park (Snug Harbor) then the fine is usually just the $7 or whatever the daily rate is. At least that's what they've always done with me. As far as the annual, I get one every year. Next year for Michigan residents you won't need one. You can buy them online off the DNR website. I think it's under internet services.

Welcome Tony! Very thorough intro. I live east of you over by St. Louis. I fish Muskegon mostly and started doing a little walleye fishing last year. If you have any questions or need help let us know.

The original plan was that the guys I went with wanted to jig outside the channel. Since we couldn't launch in Bay City we called an audible. Even though we didn't catch a lot of fish we still had a ton of fun. But I appreciate the offer to help. I might try to sneak back over next week.

I know the report is late but I've been a little busy. We got a late start and when we got to the launch at the mouth it was full. Headed up to Linwood and headed southeast. Setup in about 12' and headed south. Picked up a fish by Kawkawlin. Then the wind picked up and we headed toward shore a little. Got into 10' and tried drifting for a while. Trolled back north and when we got north of Kawkawlin in 20' we went 2/3 really quick. Then the wind picked back up and the fish stopped biting. So we headed in after a fun day on the water. 2 fish were 22-23" and the 3rd was 18". Not bad for 3 guys who don't know anything about walleye fishing and were on a boat that isn't setup for trolling.

We plan on being there friday afternoon.

Welcome! If you have any questions or need any help just ask. Sounds like you have a couple of nice boats.

Watch Capt. Kent's video, he talks about it. I voted no. I've been on a charter with a bridge and it was a pain for the captain and the customer.

Welcome! Thanks for making the intro. The people on this site don't mind helping out. Everyone had to start somewhere. Feel free to ask as many questions as you need. Chances are there are a lot more people with the same question, they just didn't ask.

I agree with Tim. Stick baits in flat lines, spoons with an anline weight or 1-2 colors of core, small orange dodgers and peanut flies, small spoons off riggers. If the coho are there they aren't too picky. Good luck.

I might head over and fish with some friends around the mouth of the Saginaw River on friday. Anyone been fishing? Or have any ideas on what to start with? Thanks for the help.

I thought of that, so I had them check. It was 2 weeks ago and 1 day where we used that much data. I'm going to keep on eye on it, they told me how to check it. I'll record our usage every day for the rest of the month. And check the security of the connection. Either way, I feel like Sprint went out of their way to help. It's so rare to have a good customer service experience these days I thought I'd share.

Just got a call from Sprint customer service. We use a data card from them for our internet. Somehow we had used over 12gigs of data. Our contract only allows 5 gigs a month. Two weeks ago we used 8gigs on one day. I don't even know how that would be possible. I am going to check and see if someone is piggy backing our signal. The good news is Sprint is waving the overage charges for the month. They even worked with me and tried to find out what happened and how I used so much data. Heck, they are even letting us use it for the rest of the month and not charging us going forward. We have 10 days left in the billing cycle. I couldn't be happier with the way they handled it and the treatment I received. Thanks Sprint!

Recheck fluid levels after starting. If they were filled in the fall the level might have changed. Now that the liquid has settled it should be more accurate. But let it warm up a little first. I know my outdrive oil is down after the winter. Not a bad idea to check your batteries also. Most auto parts store will load test them for free. While your at it check the battery connections for corrosion.

Welcome Scott!

Actually, looks like he's pretty close. I ran an NADA check on it and it goes from $5,000-$5,400 and the only option I had on it was changing the engine. Go to the site and customize it, see what you get. You can always offer less:) http://www.nadaguides.com/default.aspx?LI=1-24-38-5697-0-0-0&l=1&w=24&p=38&f=5698&m=0394&d=1600050590&y=1986&ml=C&gc=MR&gtc=MR

welcome! Thanks for introducing yourself Joel. Let us know if you need any help or have any questions. Guys on here love spending someone else's money:D

I should have looked them up before I posted. Not what I was thinking. Back to rivets.

What length and weight rods do you guys like to use for trolling? Anyone use one of the Rhino rods? They have a glow tip (which I'm not crazy about) but only cost $20 at Jay's (which I am crazy about). Thinking about adding a couple of 6'6" ML rods to troll or walleye and spring coho and browns. Any thoughts.

Thanks guys, couple of comments. I thought about bolts but really don't want all those heads sticking out, too much of a hazard for someone who is prone to beating theirself up. As far as the paint goes, I really haven't spent that long on it. Maybe a couple of hours. My biggest problem is that whenever I spend a day working on something it takes me 2 days to recover with my back still messed up. I was hoping to find someplace that would sell me a few (less than 20) buck rivets. I have an air hammer so I figured I would be able to work with them. They will be above the water line, right on top of the transom, so if they aren't completely watertight it isn't a problem. I can always use epoxy. Guess I'll look around for some rivets or some Hi-Locks, they would work too. Any ideas on the extra hole. I figured I could always epoxy it once the transom is installed. My transom will go to the floor, I cut out one piece today. I have almost all off the wood cut out. Just need to paint it and get it in place. I would like to at least get the trolling motor mounted so I could use it up on Higgins to troll for trout in the next couple of weeks.

When I bought my boat there were 3 transducers on the transom. I want to install a piece of Starboard to mount any new ducers to. In order to do that I had to fill all of the old holes. I also found a broken off screw underneath one of the ducers. Here is what it looked like after I removed all the ducers. Here are all 13 holes that need to be filled. When I bought the kit it was suggested that I cut out some plastic and tape them over the holes. I cut the plastic pieces out of the package the kit came in. I had them ready to go before I mixed the epoxy. I mixed it according to directions and filled the syringe that comes with it. 1 set of epoxy was more than enought to do these holes. I didn't have time to stop and take any pictures while filling the holes. But here is what I ended up with. http://www.greatlakesfisherman.com/gallery/files/8/5/dscn0565.jpg' alt='dscn0565.jpg'> Tomorrow I'll take off the tape and let it cure. Optimum curing temp is 70 degrees for 24 hours. Since it's colder I'll leave it alone for a few days and then sand it. I'll use white epoxy over the top to fill any gaps, scratches and chips. Then I can polish it up and it should be good to go. I plan on redrilling out the epoxy for the cable ties. Drilling into solid epoxy will make sure no wood is exposed. When I mount the Starboard I will put epoxy in the screw holes to seal them also.

As some of you know I traded for a 12' aluminum boat and trailer a few weeks ago. I have been working on it and thought I would share my project. I also have a couple of questions I'm hoping you aluminum boat guys can help me with. I have been removing the paint on the outside with a wire wheel on an angle grinder. The original color was blue and that is on really good. It was painted over with some camouflage by the previous owner, a duck hunter. Here you can see the bare metal and also some painted parts. Here is a pic of the trailer. I have never seen bearings like this. They were completely seized, one side had been tightened down so far I could barely get the nut off. And the races were visably worn. Not to mention how much slop there was in the bearings themselves. Took me forever to tear them apart and replace them. I got them packed and installed today. Now, here is where I need help. This is a pic of the top of the transom. 2 pieces of 1/2" ply epoxied together will make up the transom. There are already 3 large holes where the old wood was bolted on. There are also holes where the handles were attached. I plan on using all of these to secure the new transom, including putting the handles back on. The problem I have is there used to be long rivets that went all the way through the transom and this overlap. I'm pretty sure the original wood went all the way up to the top. The one I took off didn't. I want to replace these rivets but don't know where to get them. They will have to be 1 1/4-1 1/2" long. Anyone know where to buy them? Here another shot of the back. You can see where the extra holes are and where the old wood was. http://www.greatlakesfisherman.com/gallery/files/8/5/dscn0559.jpg' alt='dscn0559.jpg'> I already bought a bow mount trolling motor for it. I made a small piece of floor for the front and a platform that goes up for the motor and bow light. The batteries will be mounted up front on the wood floor. I also have a couple of 2x6's that go from the rear seat to the front seat. I have some sides that attach to these and go to the floor. These will all be carpeted over and I will have rod holders, my sonar and my rear light as well as any switches I need. I will be able to run the trolling motor from the rear of the boat. I think I have a small outboard for it, haven't confirmed that yet. What do you think?

How thick is that piece of Starboard? I am going to add one to my boat but they all seem to be pretty thin. How long were the screws that you used on the ducers?

I watched this last night and found it informative as well. Adam, Chip's videos were the first ones that were broken into 10 minute clips and were on Youtube. He talked about fly leaders. I'm ready to fish!

Welcome!

Good job!