Paulywood

I've done it, half the time it tangles, half the time it doesn't. Not worth it in my opinion.

Couldn't agree more! I know that this has been a lot of work for Rich and everyone else who has helped. Glad to see that everything is coming together. Can't wait for next weekend.

Here's the picture of the steelie, sorry it took so long.

I am also looking for a ride on saturday. I would be happy to help with expenses. Thanks in advance. Nick

I fished out of Whitehall yesterday morning with Mike(redeagle) on Marty's(ratchet) boat. We setup in 75' and headed northwest in the 2-4' "chop". First fish came in 95' on a fullcore w/ a Moonshine "NBK" spoon. This was a 14 lb. king. Next a rigger with a Moonshine Blue Flounder 60' down over 115' popped. This fish came right to the surface and jumped, tailwalked and cartwheeled all over the place. While this was going on the other rigger popped with a Silver Streak Blue Dolphin set 70' down. I grabbed that and then the wheel so the driver could net the first fish. That fish got tangled in the rigger so I backed off the drag and let my fish swim for a while. We finally landed the first fish, a beautiful 10 lb. steelie, and the second fish, a 5 lb. king, and got reset. The Moonshine rigger fired again in 135' but it was gone before we could get hooked up. We turned back east and the Blue Dolphin rigger fired again, I felt it for a second but it was gone. And that was it. After 7:30 we never had another bump. Neither did anyone else we heard on the radio. Fished 50-150' and surface temps were 56-62 degrees. The cool water seemed to be moving, we never found it again after the early morning bite. All our fish came in 58 degree water. I took some pictures with my phone that I'll try to post.

Sorry for the late report but I figured I'd put it up anyway. We set lines in 50' of water straight out, there was a big scum line and it seemed like it was worth a shot. No action until 110', braid #2 dipsey on 3 200' back with a Stingray Mixed Veggies. Lost this fish near the boat when it got into a core line. 140' wire #1 dipsey on 3 200' w/ a Dbl. Crush Glow SD and Moonshine Bloody nose Fly. Lost this one when I tried to lift it forward because the leader was too long. 175' rigger 75' down w/ a standard Stinger Kevorkian. Finally landed a fish. Put on the Kevorkian when the clouds came out and it got hit right away. 125' rigger 90' down don't know if the fish hit the mainline, a Monkey Shine Mag, or the slider, some white/ladder/glow spoon. Lost it, didn't pop the rubber band. Ended up 1/4, fished 50'-225', north and south, every direction. Threw the kitchen sink at 'em but there was no pattern we could pick up on. Some guys by the nets were picking up lakers. Fished from 5:30 to 2:00.

Gander Mountain had them, at least the one in Lansing did.

I agree Caz, Tim did a great job. I've been telling people about the article, spreading the word.

Last I knew Fisherman's Landing was pretty much booked. However, I might know someone who is going to be cancelling their tent site. I plan on talking to him tonight and I will let you know. As far as fishing, there isn't much structure so the fish are pretty temperature dependent. There are commercial nets though. When we get closer to the tourney hopefully someone can get the coordinates and let everyone know. The nets are marked very well. I will be staying at Fisherman's Landing, feel free to look me up. Nick

Saw this posted by Mojo Risin on another site and thought that I should share. I know a lot of people fish out of Muskegon on here: Unmarked net that has claimed some gear over the last several days from some charters Approximately 2 miles north of Muskegon in 147 FOW GPS: 43 17, 86 30 There was one reported in this area that the DNR supposedly marked also - maybe these are one in the same and the markers are gone? GPS: 43 17.752, 86 29.235 Another was reported being marked by the DNR at GPS: 43 18.345, 86 29.657

Welcome! I fished out of Frankfort 2 years ago and I think it's my favorite. Just drove through there last week. How's the fishing been?

I always run flashers and flies. Took our biggest fish out of Muskegon on Memorial day last year on a green SD/green fly. They might not catch as many fish early in the year, but they seem to catch bigger fish.

We'll be fishing Port Sheldon tomorrow morning. I'll be on 68.

I would have to say a 10, 7, 5, and 3. You can always get deeper with snap weights or dive bombs. And the 3 color can double as an SWR. I have taken a lot of fish on a 3 color. 7 is pretty versatile, easy to get deeper if you want. Nothing over a full core will ever be on my boat, I refuse to reel it in. That's why I like the Dive Bomb idea.

Here's the nearshore for this weekend. Doesn't look good. REST OF TODAY SOUTH WINDS 15 TO 25 KNOTS. OCCASIONAL SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. AREAS OF FOG. WAVES 2 TO 4 FEET. TONIGHT SOUTH WINDS 15 TO 25 KNOTS DECREASING TO 5 TO 15 KNOTS OVERNIGHT. OCCASIONAL SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. WAVES 2 TO 4 FEET SUBSIDING TO 1 TO 3 FEET TOWARD DAYBREAK. WINDS AND WAVES HIGHER NEAR ANY THUNDERSTORMS. SATURDAY SOUTHWEST WINDS 10 TO 20 KNOTS. MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF LIGHT SHOWERS. WAVES 1 TO 2 FEET. SATURDAY NIGHT SOUTHWEST WINDS 10 TO 20 KNOTS VEERING NORTHWEST 15 TO 25 KNOTS AFTER MIDNIGHT. MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS. WAVES 2 TO 4 FEET BUILDING TO 3 TO 5 FEET AFTER MIDNIGHT.

Let's see if this works. The star on the bottom is Gold Coast Outfitters. The launch is right on the north side of Pigeon Lake, just off Lake Shore Avenue. http://maps.yahoo.com/maps_result?q1=6755+BUTTERNUT+DR.+WEST+OLIVE%2C+MI+49460&ds=n&name=&desc=&lat=42.890744&lon=-86.196906&mlt=42.890744&mln=-86.196906&zoomin=yes&BFKey=&resize=l&trf=0&mag=3

The guys in the League all share info when we are out on the water. I have no idea where I am going to start this weekend, the lake is going to be torn up. I think the wind is supposed to change direction 3 times before sunday. I wouldn't worry about getting skunked, everyone has a bad day and the other members will do their best to try and make sure that doesn't happen.

I don't like the boards to slide down the line when they release. If one releases falsely you have to reel the whole thing in to reset. Unlike Mike I use rubber bands all over my boat. I use one on the rear of the board to keep it from sliding and if it's rough I use one on the front to keep it from releasing. I have problems with the braided backing wearing out the front clips. Last year I tried using and Offshore snap weight release and had better luck. I am going to try the plunger style releases this year. I like to tinker. I also started splicing mono into my leadcore setups in between the backing and core. Holds the clips better. I was thinking of putting an offshore clip on the back this year also.

You can mix and match a little, but some rods are a little more application specific. Dipsey rods should have a good backbone, I prefer the Daiwa Heartland dipsey rods, they're only like $35 and have a strong backbone but a softer tip so you can tell when they are pulling right. Some rods are too stiff and you can't even tell if the dipsey is back there. I like rigger rods with a softer tip, these can also double as planer rods. Heartland's, Cabela's Depthmaster, and a Shakespeare Power rod are what I am currently using. I like the Power Rod on my 12# test line because it is very flexible but still has a good strong backbone to play fish on the lighter line. All of these are between $20-$35. The biggest thing is to figure out how many rods you are going to run and what kind of presentation. A good starting point would be 2 riggers, 2 dipsey's and 2 leadcore combos, maybe a full core and a half core. You can run the core's off either a planer mast or inline boards. I use boards. A 3rd rod strung with a lighter test mono might be a good idea also, you could use it as a back up rigger rod or run it as a flatline off your planer mast if the fish are shallow instead of the fullcore. That would give you a flexible 6 rod spread. That's what I started with a few years back and caught a lot of fish off of just those 6 rods. Don't ask how many I have now.

Looks good Rich. Clarion makes a great deck. Now you need some 6 x 9's in the back to really crank the tunes. I added some Sony Xplod 's in the back of my boat, sounds a lot better. Plus the Xplod's have plastic cones, a little water doesn't hurt them. Boomerang gave you some good advice.

Rich, I would recommend looking for something that has at least 45 watts per channel (4 channels). That should give you enough power to make it sound good on the water. You have to run your radio louder on a boat than in a car. I would also recommend a marine radio. There can be problems with car stereos that are exposed to moisture, marine ones are sealed. I run a Pioneer stereo on my boat that came out of my old car. But that's just because I already had it. I have had good luck with Pioneer, Sony, and JBL stereo's. I know that JBL makes a quality marine stereo at a reasonable price. I'll look around and see what's out there.

Rich, It depends on how much you want to spend. And what you want. Do you need speakers too? And I would only put in an amp if you are going to run subs. But remember, amps draw a lot of juice. Also, do you want a remote? Let me know what you're looking for and I can probably recommend something. I've installed a few radio's in my younger days.

I actually got the block from West Marine. It will be installed by the end of the week. I'm going to pick up my riggers tomorrow morning. I decided to wire the riggers directly to the battery and run everything else through the block. I always keep spare fuses in both my truck and boat. I should have everything ready in 2 weeks, probably won't fish until the last week in April or first of May.

I use a combination of an overhand knot and a crimp. I probably don't need the crimp but it makes me feel better. I also reel the swivel right into the tip of the rod. It helps avoid kinks and curls, learned that from a charter captain. Wire is a lot of fun, good luck.

We're heading down friday to prefish before the Brown Blast saturday. Look forward to the report. Should be a beautiful weekend, no matter the weather.