Paulywood

I am going to head over to Muskegon tomorrow morning. Plan on hitting the pier around 4:30 am. I am going to try and fish bait. I will also be fishing either the pier or surf for steelies. I've got some spawn thawed out and will be tying up bags today. If anyone is interested in joining me let me know. I am hoping to avoid some of the crowds by fishing in the morning.

I am going to go in the morning. I have never been but I am going to fish with bait. I hope it will eliminate any snagging problems. The 2 ways that I have been told to fish bait are under a slip bobber with glow teardrops, usually 2 waxies hooked through the head. Set it so it is about 6"-1' above bottom. The other way is described in Woods-N-Water. Thread on a snap swivel and small bead on your mainline above a small barrel swivel. Then attach 6 lb. flourocarbon leader to the barrel swivel. Tie a #8 salmon egg hook on the end. You can add a second hook 18-24" above that with a dropper loop. Put 3 single salmon eggs on each hook. The weight is attached to the barrel swivel. The article suggests a 1.5 oz pryamid sinker. That way you can tighten up the line and take out any slack. I will lwt you know if I have any luck tomorrow. I plan on trying both of these setups. Hope this helps.

Yeah, I had to laugh at the name. We have friends in Chicago and all they drink is Old Style.

They sent me some more pictures yesterday and I talked to him last week. I think that we are going to go and look at it before Christmas. The pictures look good but we'll see how it looks in person.

I talked to him last night. He seemed like a decent guy. Bought a new center console with twin outboards and wants to get rid of this boat. He is going to take some more pictures and send them to me. I told him that if I was interested I would have a survey done. We'll see what the new pictures show me.

I think that a Uni to Uni would be better. Not sure but I'm pretty sure you could use a blood or nail know also.

Hey Terry, There is an article on rigging for bait in the new Woods-N-Waters. It details the whole setup. I won't be able to go out tomorrow, I have too much homework. I might head over early saturday or sunday, like 3 am. If not I am thinking wednesday morning. Nick

The one nice thing is I kept all of the fishing equipment off my old boat. I have a garage full of it. Plus, this boat comes with 5 down riggers and half a dozen rod holders. I'll know more about it on monday.

He just dropped the price $4500 so he seems to be realistic about what it's worth. I am going to try and talk to him today. They are going to get me some more pictures. In case you couldn't tell by the name, the boat is down by Chicago. The wife and I might try and look at it before Christmas. I am wondering about the ride, the bow looks more rounded with a lot less dead rise than some of the newer walkarounds. I'm thinking it might be a little wet. However, the boat looks pretty clean for 17 years old. I should know more after I talk to him.

Here's some pictures that they sent me. I'm going to call him tomorrow and talk to him. They are going to take some more pictures this weekend. If everything checks out we'll probably try to go down and look at it before Christmas.

Just curious if anyone has experience with Sea Sprite boats. I have been looking at a 1991 2350 WA. It seems like a pretty good deal and is for sale at the low end of the NADA value. He is the original owner and a certified marine mechanic who repowered it 7 years ago. The new 5.7 liter has 600 hours on it. I plan on calling him this week and maybe going to take a look at it, but it's in Illinois. I was just wondering about the reputation of these boats and how they ride. Thanks in advance.

I'm thinking of heading up friday morning. I should know by tomorrow if I go or not. I'd appreciate any reports.

I saw a lot of deer but only 1 worth shooting. I shot a big doe opening morning. Probably saw 15-20 yearlings. I saw 1 buck sunday morning but it was far out of range. Everyone in my family got a deer this weekend. We are pretty lucky as we are able to hunt private land without having to pay. I won't be back out until later this week. With meat in the freezer I can be picky on what I shoot.

Actually they fish from the piers. Use a longer steelie rod with a sensitive tip. I am going to try a slip bobber with a glow teardrop and a waxie or single salmon egg. I will also bring jigging spoons. I know the slip bobber method is popular on the east side.

On the east side of the state they catch them on waxies and single salmon egges. But in Muskegon they don't bite? That has never made sense to me. I will probably try both as I have heard that the DNR will question the fair hooked fish if they have markes from being snagged by others.

I'd like to do it next friday if the weather cooperates. My brother-in-law has fridays off and I owe him a trip for helping me with drywall. We'll check the weather next week. I would have gone this friday but it looks like there will be 5-8 ft. waves. That's a little to big to fish the surf.

I am going to go over to Muskegon next week and do a whitefish/steelhead trip. I'll probably head over around 3 am and fish for whities, then move to the surf and fish for steelies closer to dawn. If the weather is decent I will do it friday. If anyone is interested let me know. Maybe we could have a mini get together.

Hi Gary. I've spent time on Lake Michigan with your son and grandsons. They are all good people. And Mike told me how bad a following sea can be;) As far as horses, you can have them. We had a lot of horses when I was a kid and I could care less if I ever saw one again. Stupid hayburners. Now salmon on the other hand........ Welcome aboard!

The only way the 3 rod limit affects me is walleye trolling and ice fishing. Now I can set another tipup. I think the smelt limit is a good idea. I fish for smelt on Higgins Lake and there is no way guys spend the time to clean the 100's of smelt they catch. I think a lot go to waste. Hope the 5 fish flat limit for the great lakes is also in effect. I hate going in early but also hate throwing back fish.

Just doing a quick search, Ludington is about a 1 hour and 25 minutes from Evart. Muskegon is 1 hour and 50 minutes. Frankfort is 1 hour and 45 minutes. That means you could easily pick a port anywhere from Muskegon to Frankfort and be relatively close on time. If it were me, I would probably go farther north to one of the smaller towns. Onekama, Arcadia, and Frankfort are all very nice. Manistee and Ludington are bigger with more traffic, but also very good fishing. Pentwater is a nice, smaller, tourist town and there is a very short run to the lake. Whitehall and Montague has good fishing but a very long run to the lake. And then Mike has pointed out some of the things he likes about Muskegon, where I fish most often. All in all you have a lot of options. Might as well take your time, look for the best deal and location, and also check out the towns. You need to figure out what you are looking for as far as location, price, amenities and even check out who slips there. If its mostly pleasure boats you could have some problems when you fire up your engines at 4 am every weekend. You're in a pretty nice situation, lots of options. And I think that marinas are taking a hit along with the rest of the economy. They might be willing to deal. Good luck.

I have been on charters out of Ray's Auto Marine. It's not the greatest but I think its pretty reasonable. It is quite a way from the lake. Here is a link to some of the marina's. You'll probably have to call for price http://www.fish-ludington.com/marina_launch/index.htm

I'd be interested. I want to go out on the Bay but would like an experienced guide. I've got all the gear but no idea where to start.

You could use the Eagle Feet on your cleat. They mount securely to cleats. Or you could do what I did. I removed the cleats and then had a custom aluminum bracket made that bolted into the original cleat holes. When I sold the boat I put the cleats back on. Couldn't even tell. Frank's got a good idea, too. Looks like you have a few options. anyway.

I was thinking that the force would be from the blowback on the rigger balls. Either way you could put some supports underneath the board at various spots to relieve pressure. If it was me I would still feel better with 2 extra mounting points. I don't know how the flush mounts are reinforced beneath the gunnels, if at all.

If I understand it you want to make a board that goes straight across the back and then turns and comes forward along the gunnels? And right now you are using 2 gimbal mounts in flush mount holders? I'm not sure that the 2 gimbal mounts are going to be the best choice for that much pressure. Ideally you would add 2 more mounting spots farther forward. You could add 2 more flush mount holders and then have 2 more gimbal mounts. I know you don't want to cut any holes but this seems to be a good compromise. Then you could look into a bigger board, although I would recommend going to aluminum to reduce weight. But it could be done with wood. A laminate construction epoxied over would be the strongest and longest lasting. Then you could integrate the 3 pieces (back and 2 sides) into one. It would be very strong. The problem with not adding any more mounting points is that the pressure from the riggers would twist the front of the board up, putting a lot of pressure on the 2 mounting points. The flush mount holders are easy to install (just need a hole saw) and you could match them to your existing ones so no one would be able to tell the weren't from the factory.