Holland 7/2 PM

[BenLubbs]

Went out with two friends and my little brother tonight. Go on the water about 7, ran out to 100 fow south of the peirs. From the radio hear 100 going North or South was the way to do it so set up going south. Ran spoons and a plug on lead/copper/downriggers and then f/f and tincans/sngs on divers. marked a lot of fish, changed a lot of lures. Finally got a hit on the wire diver bouncing bottom with a white/crush glow tin can pulling a white tiger spin-n-glo. Tried to let my little brother reel it in but the fish was gone. Got close to sunset and started changing spoons over to glows. 5 minutes after putting out a mongolian beef moonshine on the 300' copper, we got a good rip. My friend grabbed the pole and did a Bassmaster hook set . I have no idea why he did it cause he fishes with me regularly and has never done it before but that fish was gone. Trolled until after dark with no more hits. While we were pulling lines we found a small shaker on the 300' with the mongolian beef that was gill caught and dead. We kept it and managed to keep the skunk smell off the boat . Very nice night out on the water. Talked to Don (Tangled Mess) when I got back to the launch for a while. He did good this afternoon it sounds like and I found out I was probably running a bit too fast for the fish (I played with my speed but never got reel slow). Any way it was a very nice night out there and made for an un-eventful end to a very eventful day.

Tight Lines,

Ben

[Fish4em]

Good job Ben, next time may be better! Bassmaster hook set, that great.

[BenLubbs]

I forgot to mention, the sea fleas are here, not as bad as I've seen them in the past but they there are enough to make it annoying. How often do you guys pull lines to clean the fleas off. I have to imagine that clumps of fleas on the line spook fish.

[Fishmael]

Ben,

Seafleas bad up in Muskegon as well. I usually only pull lines to change lure, unless lucky enough to fight a fish. I found shaking the rod holding tip close to water helps with knocking off the fleas. Some guys swear by the flea flicker line- never ran it. Mongolean Beef did well for us last night. 5 minutes after setting it down 65 in 130fow of water we took a nice 18lb king. Wife fought it for 15 minutes taking several long runs! We have had several shakers this year on 300cu as well. Always asking myself how long had we dragged that little fish not knowing it was there. We have been doing real well with pink panties on the brighter days- wolverine and dreamweaver lurre.

[Fishmael]

Speed has changed in the last 2 weeks- we were running hot 2.7-3. at ball but now were find a slower troll 2.0-2.4 at ball has been producing bigger fish. Hmmmmm???

[DIRTY DOG]

Nice job Ben.

[BenLubbs]

This is the reason my last comment is there http://www.wwmt.com/articles/old-1392930-year-drowns.html

Me and a couple of my friends pulled the 14y.o. from the water earlier in the day when we were at the beach. It is the first time I have ever been that close to an emergency and it was defiantly unexpected as we were walking down the beach. I have new found respect for all emergency personnel and what they do to help save peoples lives.

[Far Beyond Driven]

Was wondering where that was going. Hopefully it doesn't mess with you too much.

Buddy is an EMT and works 911 dispatch. You can't tell better stories than he does, but not all of them are good. Last time he had to cut someone down from the rafters in a garage it hit him pretty hard.

[Just Hook'n]

WOW, what an experience.

Glad the kid made it. They don't always turn out positive.

[Adam Bomb]

Nice rescue job Ben. Thank goodness you were there.

And listen to Capt. Don on Tangled Mess. He is a top notch Captain. Great guy. He'll steer you in the right direction. I got a picture text with a cooler full of fish on the 3rd from Capt Don.

[BenLubbs]

And listen to Capt. Don on Tangled Mess. He is a top notch Captain. Great guy. He'll steer you in the right direction. I got a picture text with a cooler full of fish on the 3rd from Capt Don.

I defiantly plan on listening to him. It's great when I can come in from fishing on a fairly new boat and talk to an experienced charter captain and he has no problem telling me what was working for him and giving advice on how to catch more fish. Its just one of the reasons I'm glad if found this site before this season.

As far as the rescue, I'd like to say that it hasn't affected me much but it really has, though hopefully for the better. That and a combination of other events lately have made me appreciate life a lot more. Sometimes I get mad that I can't go fishing or whatever but then I think about that kid and how is just takes one little decision or misstep and your whole life can change.