Paulywood

Welcome aboard Bud! Let us know if you need anything. We are all here to help eachother become successful fishermen. Or at least more successful:D

I work for a Tier 1 supplier and I have seen the cuts from all of the auto companies, Honda and Toyota included. Our orders are down over half of what they were 2 years ago. It is a very tough time for all of the car companies now. I hated the fact that the US government gave all of the banks money with no questions asked, but threw the auto companies under the bus. As for what Mike said, a lot of the US plants are old and unprofitable. Even though cars are made in other countries the money ends up back in the US. Even though I would love to see more plants in the US, I understand why in some cases it makes no sense business wise. I believe it is important for the US to maintain a strong manufacturing base. I have a lot of friends and family members that rely on GM and other auto companies for their livelihood. I think that keeping GM and Chrysler out of bankruptcy is the best option. Hundreds of thousands of retirees will lose significant portions of their pensions if the US government is forced to take over pension obligations. Some toughg decisions have to be made by the companies and the government over the next few weeks. Lets hope they get it right.

Welcome Lee! I am picking up my Sportcraft (22' w/ 4.3 I/O) in a week and a half. Just let us know if you have any questions or need any help. And good luck this season. Nick

Don, on this page: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/marine/zone/gtlakes/grrmz.htm Click on All Zones on the line that starts with Open Lake Forecast for Lake Michigan

Sorry for the late report but I have been a little busy since leaving South Haven yesterday. Marty (ratchet) and I fished with Mike (red eagle) yesterday and had a great time. The weather was unbelievable and it was a great first trip of the year. The fish didn't really cooperate for us though. We ended up 3-5 with a brown and a coho and a released laker. Went 2-3 on a Carmel Apple Stinger 25' down on a rigger and 1-2 on a firetiger Rattle Trap run in the prop wash. Both coho. Thanks to all the guys who tried to help us, it just wasn't our day. The guy at the Porthole said he heard most of the coho had moved out to 120' of water so if you get out this week and can't find them, try deep. Good luck.

Even though we struggled yesterday to put fish in the boat we had a lot of fun and it was nice talking to everyone and seeing them later at the launch. It was kind of funny because we were the only ones talking on the radio. People didn't even have to identify themselves, you could tell who they were just by their voice. What a great day.

We stopped at the Porthole yesterday after leaving South Haven and they said that the rumor is most of the coho had moved out to 120' of water. In the spring it is good to target areas where warm water is entering the lake like stream mouths. If you are the first boat through it helps. This rain might help the water warm up.

We will be down there saturday along with the rest of the state.

Brek had good luck with a flatfish trolled off a downrigger in St. Joe last year. I have never had much luck with them. They are very touchy to keep running true. They will spin out if you are going to fast. If you check the archives I think we had a discussion about them last year.

Welcome Peter! As you may have noticed there are quite a few members who fish the South Haven area. If you need any help or have any questions feel free to ask.

I haven't tried it yet but I plan on trying a smilar product this year. Let me know if you have any luck.

Welcome Todd! I might have to ask you for some Lake Erie advice. My sister-in-law's parents have a cabin in Luna Pier and I plan on doing some walleye fishing this year. I have a bunch of Okuma's and have bought them from different sources. The prices were all about the same. I think there were some responses to your other post. I have been very happy with these reels, especially for core. I mainly fish Muskegon and just purchased a 22' Sportcraft that should be out of storage in a few weeks. I'm a little excited to say the least. I am also running the West Michigan Fishing League this year with events in Pt. Sheldon and Muskegon. Let me know if you need any help.

I use a clear diver on the port side and a green diver on the starboard side. That way I don't mess them up. I have tried different color divers with no real pattern emerging, so I went with this setup 2 years ago and have done well. Maybe I'll try black this year.

Welcome to the site. I agree with what the first two said. If you get a chance feel free to do an introduction post in the welcome forum. People will be able to answer your questions better if they know a little more about you.

I usually just put them in a compartment on the side of the boat I use them on. Saves me from screwing up. I also color coordinate for port and starboard. Here is a bag for storing dipsey's: http://www.bigpapasportfishing.com/holders.htm

Great to hear. We might be out this weekend also.

Thanks for the feedback Phil. I'm leaning toward the 14R but I'm trying to decide if saving the $200 is worth it or not.

I plan on installing an autopilot on my new boat and was wondering if anyone had experience with the Simrad Ap12R and 14R. Specifically, if it is worth the extra money to go with the 14R. If anyone has any experience with these units please let me know.

Sign me up Mike.

Reply to this post to sign-up for the first event: 1. Paulywood 2. Far Beyond Driven 3. 1 Maniac 4. dcralston 5. nailer 6. Just Hook'N 7. joelsanders 8. catfishhoge 9. Nocturnal

OK, great Mike. I will post those dates as soon as I have confirmation.

Here are the dates for this year. The weigh-in for the Port Sheldon events will be at the DNR launch. The weigh-ins for the Muskegon events have yet to be determined. I will post when they are finalized. Thanks. 1st Event: Saturday May 16th 5am Pt. Sheldon Blow Date: Sunday May 17th 5 am Pt. Sheldon 2nd Event: Saturday June 6th 5 am Pt. Sheldon Blow Date: Sunday June 7th Pt. Sheldon 3rd Event: Saturday July 11th Pt. Sheldon Blow Date: Sunday July 12th Pt. Sheldon 4th Event: August 1st Muskegon Blow Date: August 2nd Muskegon 5th Event: September 12th Muskegon Blow Date: September 13h Muskegon

Welcome aboard Charles! What port do you fish out of mostly? I will be paying for my new boat this week but won't pick it up for a couple of weeks. So I envy those who are already out fishing.

I am going to start a new signup. I am trying to keep them the same weekends, just saturday instead of sunday. I did move the first one back 2 weeks. I will sign both of you up, hope you can make them. Teams: 1. Paulywood 2. 1 Maniac 3. dcralston

Since Rich is unable to run the West Michigan Fishing League this year I have offered to take over. I am going to change a few things that will make it easier for me. These changes will only be in effect for this year. The first change is that events will be held on Saturday, with Sunday as the blow date. I have not finalized all of the dates yet but have decided that the first event will take place on Saturday, May 16th, at Pt. Sheldon. The blow date will be May 17th. I will have the rest of the dates posted as soon as possible. Hopefully by the end of the week. The second change will be fewer prizes. Since I am starting late I will not be giving away lures or other prizes at every event. I will work on getting a prize for the overall winner. I am trying to keep this as simple as possible. The third change is that this will not be a charity event. I will leave that to Rich. We will be going back to the old pay scale. Cost for each event will be $15. $5 will go toward big fish. Everyone will have to sign a waiver before fishing and will have to pay the morning of the event. I plan on launching 30 minutes prior to start and would like everyone to pay me by then. If you are running late please contact me by cell phone to let me know you are coming or by radio once you launch. If I have not heard from you by 5am you will not be able to weigh-in. If you say that you are going to fish but don’t pay, you will not be allowed to fish any more events for the rest of the year. Event Rule's For 2009 1. This is a FUN tournament. We ask people to share fishing tips on the radio (Channel 72). Please keep your comments at a PG rating. This is a family oriented event. 2. Fishing starts at 5:00 AM and lines pulled at 11:00 AM. The exception will be the last tournament, which will start at 6:00am and end at 12 noon. (All captains must be at the weigh in by 12:30 and no later, 1:30 for the last event.) 3. Boats must only use 6 rods. 4. Three-man limit on catching fish and a MAX of 4 fishermen per boat. 5. Weigh in 5 fish of any kind (King, Coho, Steelhead, Browns, and Lakers). 6. Each fish is worth points plus weight. Browns- 25pts. Steelhead- 20pts. Kings- 15pts. Coho- 10pts. Lakers- 5pts. 7. Know what your big fish is. You get 1 chance to weigh your big fish. 8. NO CULL RULE. If you box the fish or the fish is bleeding, YOU MUST KEEP THE FISH. 9. All captains must sign a waiver form before they fish. 10. I will decide by 7pm on Friday night if a tournament has to be canceled. The decision will be posted on this website. We will not fish if there is a small-craft advisory or if the wave forecast calls for waves over 4 ft. We will fish if it is raining but not in a thunderstorm. If we are fishing this tournament and anyone happens to see any lightning, you MUST report to Paulywood (Channel 72). Cancellations will be called for lightning, wind warnings, small craft warnings. Tournament will still count if fished at least until 8:00 am Winnings Biggest fish- Cash ($5 x number of boats) First tiebreaker is total weight, second is total number of fish caught. 1st place- 50% of entries 2nd place- 30% of entries 3rd place-20% of entries The biggest fish caught will decide tiebreakers. The second tiebreaker will be total fish caught. 2009 Biggest Fish Of The Year Game Each captain will have to put in $10.00 to enter the Big Fish Game. . You will have to pay me before you go out fishing and not at the weigh in. Any captain that wants to fish any of these tournaments can get in this fun game even if you don’t fish every event. (BUT YOU CANNOT SIGN UP FOR THIS IN THE LAST EVENT) The captain who catches the biggest fish in one of the tournaments throughout the year will take home all of the money. I am sure that there are things that I have forgot and will update this as soon as I have more details. If you have any questions feel free to post them here or contact me. Thanks, Nick Cell: 517-795-7185 Email: [email protected]