ekbelt

It seems like the wave forecasts in the spring are always overstated. I think the water being colder is denser and it takes a bit more wind to kick up waves in the spring.

I'm in the market for a new 12 volt switch panel for lights/bilge/livewell/accessories. I currently have a 5 gang horizontal and one of the switches went out. It's old enough where I can't get a new one so I'm going to have to replace the whole panel. Looking at getting a 6 or 8 gang horizontal. Anyone have any recommendations?

I think New Buffalo has 1 dock in if you want to drive another 1/2 hr south.

There are a few other great videos in there on Ralph Steiger too--well worth watching!

Pulled the boat out of storage yesterday and starting to get everything setup. Planning on hitting either New Buffalo or St Joe on March 24th. Looking at the 10 day forecast with 70's next week the lake should be warming up!

Albright

Here are 2 of the 4 meat rigs I setup... 10" spin doctors custom tied mylar teasers big weenie UV heads glow beads 11 inches between the teasers and then the meat head is 15 inches from the last teaser. I think I have the first teaser 11 inches back from the spin doctor, should I lengthen that out? Anyone have a preference?

It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission...

When I'm cleaning my coolers, I have a gallon of bleach I keep in the garage. When I'm done cleaning it (with soap and bleach) I put a cap full of bleach and a little squirt from the hose. Before I use it again I rinse it out with the hose. It really helps with the stink!

I bought some things from GLoutdoors a month ago or so and the paypal payment went to Shane Ruboyianes. I believe he's affiliated with the Dreamweaver crowd.

Gloutdoors.com is out of Ludington, MI.

I'm still a fan of the double uni

Is it cable steer or an electronic foot pedal? I had an electronic one and the connectors would build up corrosion on them and it wouldn't work. I would have to clean the connections real well and put dielectric grease in there to prevent it. Worse case scenario your main control board may be going out.

I'm ready to roll too..really itchin to get down to New Buffalo but I think I'm going to wait until the satellite maps show the water is starting to warm up.

Great video!!!

If anyone is a fan of these boards Northwoods outlet has a smoking deal on them at $21 bucks a pop (they are normally $35). Shipping is really reasonable too, I paid 10 bucks for 4 boards. They work awesome for lighter line setups like coho, steelhead, and walleye. They also have very good deals on Okuma Convector 45D's. If anyone is in the market check them out! Can't find a better price. I'm not affiliated with them at all, just wanted to pass the deal on. http://www.northwoodsoutlet.com/

300 feet of 45lb Bloodrun copper.

Mark, I kind of like the gift certificate idea too. Who wouldn't LOVE to spend $200 bucks on Big Weenie flys!

I've helped out with drumming up sponsorships for tournaments for 5 years now. Fund raising is tough, and real tough with the way the economy has been. For big tournaments it seems the lure and tackle manufacturers always end up getting their product thrown into a captain's bag so every one gets a chance to check out what they've got. It works--although I've got a bunch of these freebies and I've got to say they don't necessaraly turn into something I run all the time. Maybe someone has a story about how they got this lure through a captain's bag and it just turn out awesome, but those stories are few and far between if you ask me. Is there a better way to get some of the lure manufactures better return on investment (ROI)? A lot of these guys have small shops and don't have a huge cash flow, plus this sport is pretty limited to the Great Lakes Area so there isn't a ton of money in it compared to bass fishing for example. For example lets say as a lure manufacturer you know the top 5 baits you sell for a particular port so maybe the First Place gets 10 lures--2 of the top 5 bits they sell for that port. Or what if instead of getting 200 lures donated for the event, the sponsor offered $1000.00 in gift certificates which we could split up into 10 x $100 gift certificates to give away? Or maybe that $1000 gift certificate goes to 1 person for 1st place or for a Big Fish award? Wondering if anyone has any ideas to make it more worth while and beneficial for the sponosors?

Awesome video! Sure does give you the itch to get out there!

Early season my best rods are flat mono lines with 0- 1/2 oz bullet weights off boards. I think you are off to a good start.as the water warms up you'll have to figure out how to target the 10-20 down area and that can be accomplished with heavier bullet weight, or riggers, dipsys and leadcore.

I'm in the market for 2 Okuma convector 45d's and 2 Okuma convector 55L's... think there will be some deals at the show in Grand Rapids in 2 weeks?

Great fishing down there. I fished on a charter in the intercoastal a few years back and did really well. Caugh a bunch of sheepshead(its nothing like the ones up here), redfish, snook, and sea trout. Do your homework when finding a guide and get references. I always look up the local tackle shop and ask about the guy too. Great fishing down there though, I would do it for sure!

Might have someone interested... I passed along the information.

I have 45lb copper to get down deep. I have a 350, 300, 250, and 200. I still have a huge spool of leadcore to use up so I use that for a 10 color, 5 color, and 3 color. Once the leadcore runs out I might think about replacing it with 32lb but until then I'll just use leadcore.