Capt.
John's Log
10
Seasons of Archived Daily Great
Lakes News
Below images are thumbnails
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Click here for my first Salmon I caught on Oct. 1, 1968
Archived
Daily Log
5/22/13 On tap is a great
human interest story about a 5th grade class project
raising a few hundred King, or Chinook to plant in
Manistee, MI's Bear Creek. Bear Creek is the one
of the original birthplaces of our beloved Great Lakes
Salmon back in 1966.
5/21/13 Ludington, MI's
Loomis St. boat launch is being dredged & might not be
ready for the upcoming Memorial Day Weekend.
Copeyon Park boat ramp on S. Washington Ave. in
Ludington is useable. Oh, by the way ...they are
catching Kings at this port now!
5/20/13 Sweet, sour and
optimism is today's main theme. Manistee, MI did
not offer easy gravy train fishing for the Tight Lines
for Troops event held this past Saturday.
5/19/13 Good news from East
Chicago, IN. The Kings finally showed up and big
is the word. May Kings 18 to 22 pounds is what Tom
M relayed to me about fleet results. 5/18/13 Manistee, MI's fleet will be out today in full force for their annual Tight Lines for Troops event. This do is to honor all vets that's served in all branches of the military. Stand by for fishing report when the dust has settled.
5/17/13 Today's featured pic
kinda explains itself with a before and after add on
Navionics Micro SD card/chip. Enhanced detail and
with safety navigation aids is what this optional chip
brings to the table.
Click before & after navigation chip
5/16/13 Looking for the
silver lining to slow start of Lk. MI spring King
Salmon? This year's population of spring Kings has
not been touched by the fleet. In turn, meaning
there should more fish should be available as this
season progresses.
5/15/13 Today's topic is the
virtue of patience.
A mindset all fishermen need, but seldom have.
Take this season for instance that's off to a slow start
at my home port of Manistee, MI. Brown Trout, once
a staple of Manistee's early season fishery should be
put on the endangered species list. The MDNR needs
to fix this, cuz our April Brown Trout season has been
on hard times for 10 years and we're all out of patience
on this issue.
5/14/13 Planned topic of
cartography has been semi put on hold until I install
the Navionics Micro SD card on my new GPS/Sonar.
These add on charts are a miracle at adding overlaid
detail to the plotter function on your GPS.
Click
Micro SD card 5/12/13 Cool, rain, and snow is the conditions in Manistee County, MI. Making this a good weekend to take care of pre-summer chores. Not much from the fishing front yet. When I hear some news you'll be the first to know.
5/11/11/13 Have a great
weekend, because you deserve it! It's no big
secret Lk. MI spring Salmon have not been abundant
around Manistee, Mi ...yet. There's a trap here
trying to use last year's results, as a guideline for
this season. Spring Kings off Manistee is towards
later May, ...when we look at the long term history.
Even seen June offer a huge bonanza of feisty spring
Salmon on the rampage off my home port of Manistee.
5/10/13 5/8/13 Manistee, MI port report
is pretty uneventful, but did notice some reel facts.
Like, there was a pocket of 52 degree water on the
surface 3 to 4 miles due W of port. This water was
stained a brown-green color. Which explained the
darker water drew heat from the sun and was a good 8
degrees warmer then the main body of Lk. MI.
5/9/13 Great time on the
water yesterday out of the Port of Manistee, MI.
Seas were calm and weather was flat-out gorgeous.
Fishing like always, ...was reel-good, but you'll have
to check back tomorrow for the straight skinny.
Click
5/8/13 fish box
5/8/13 In box and out box have
been cleared up. So, it's time take a morning off
and go fishing. I have no great expectations,
because what I've heard about Manistee, MI's early
season fishery taint all that promising. I do
know there's a day when fishing will improve, a day when
it gets worse, and days where it stays the same.
Question is: what kind will today bring? Focusing
on video exposures at various depths will happen.
5/6/13 Probably just like
you, ...I'm eager to hear some good fishing reports.
With good fishing, the word tends to travel fast.
Slow fishing? ...not much is said.
5/5/13 Hope to finish
installing my new sonar-GPS system display today.
The un-fun part was yesterday disassembling the boat to
run power and transducer cable.
5/4/13 Mounting a new
GPS-sonar system today. New electronics were
installed when I purchased my boat in 2008. After
5 years it's time for an upgrade. 5/3/13 T.G.I.F! Have fun this weekend, Tomorrow's weather is supposed to be nice and the winds light. What more could you ask for?
5/2/13 Word is Lk. MI
has came up about 5 inches thus far and is predicted to
rise another 3 inches this spring. Counting
inches? ...normally we wouldn't, but near record, or
record low water makes every inch we get ...extremely
important.
5/1/13 Today's tip is Spring Kings do not
mark very well in cold water.
Fished Kings twice of Manistee during April of 2013.
Caught fish both times in 35-36 degree water 150' down on meat
and had nary a mark on the sonar.
4/30/13 If this recent warm
weather doesn't make you feel like summer will soon be
here? ...nothing will. Good to see 60s and 70s
finally grace Manistee, MI. 4/29/13 Here's a customer testimonial about the new 2013 Super Snubbers™:
"John, I fished a tournament today and got to
thoroughly test out your new super snubbers. We caught a few
lakers and the 18# king picture below on the wire dipsy. The
wire rod took a beating when the fish hit and we would have
lost him without the stretch in the snubbers."
...Thanks
Again, Bill C.
4/28/13 Found another "neat"
way to use Leader Lockers™. Solved a nagging
problem of how to store multiple hook stickbaits
...securely. Prior, I was using a cut off box that
could/would spill and make a mess, or jab my paws trying
to get out a lure. 4/27/13 Taking today off. Stomach flu has me laid low.
4/26/13 Safety on the Great
Lakes is a full time job. If you own a boat it's
not a question if you're going to hit something, ...it's
a question of when?
4/24/13 Posted a current
satellite photo of Lk. MI. Please note the amount
of muddy water being dumped in at St. Joe & rivers
northwards.
Click Satellite view
4/23/13 Mondays? ...a
curse in the business world. If it's going happen
and be bad, 90% of the time? ...it's Mondays. I
was greeted with a shop heater that wouldn't heat and
promised important parts that were delayed. Then,
we got hit with a slew of orders.
4/23/13 Mondays?
...the curse in the business world. If it's going
happen and be bad, 90% of the time? ...it's Mondays.
I was greeted with a shop heater that wouldn't heat and
promised important parts that were delayed. Then,
we got hit with a slew of orders.
4/22/13 Yesterday worked on
creating a better sound system for onboard video system.
Live sound is part of any video and makes editing
faster. Alternative is to narrate/voice-over the
action. That sounds a lot easier than it is.
4/21/13 Built & installed a
new page for my webstore at:
www.michiganangler.com
4/20/13 Today is making a
new mount from my overhead GoPro mini video recorder.
Lens on the Hero 3 Black Edition is too wide at close to
180 degree coverage. This cam was mounted on the
rocket launcher between the rod holders.
4/19/13 Started off the 2013
season with a Brown Trout doubleheader out of the Port
of Manistee, MI this past Wednesday. "Todd the
Rod" and I fished from about 9am thru 1pm on what's best
described, ...as mostly a sea trial for the boat & video
equipment.
4/18/13 Good news for those
concerned about launching their boats out of Manistee,
MI. The 1st Street launch is fine. At the
end of the concrete (where the ramp ends) there was 5'
of water on the west docks. There was no sharp
drop-off. Maybe, 5 inches or less where the
concrete transitions into gravel.
Click dock and deeper dock
4/17/13 Today is a special
holiday for senior citizens over 66 years old and caught
their first Salmon on 10/1/1968. Anyone who fits
the above criteria has the day off!
4/16/13 If all goes
according to plan? ...first Lk. MI trip from my homeport
of Manistee, Mi will happen soon. Rods all have
new 15# test string, shoreline lures are aboard, and all
that's left now ...is stowing the gear.
Click boat
almost ready
4/15/13 Shipping our first
bonus/free Hyper Holo™ silver die cuts for divers today.
Every Super Snubber comes with free silver die cut lure
tape until the end of this month.
4/14/14 Added 2 new
requested products to my webstore. Harness Lockers
with 3 inserts to securely store lots of crawler harnesses
for 29.95.
4/13/13 Last year, 2012 my
first trip for Kings out of Manistee, MI was on 4/25/12.
We caught 5 down deep. Like 150' to 120' making
this the first time I ever fished meat this early for
Salmon at my home port.
Click 4/25/12 box of Kings
4/12/13 Wet, soggy and cold
is the deal for Manistee County, MI. Wet is good,
cuz Lk. MI needs every drop it can get. Next week
at least we'll be in the mid 40s.
4/11/13 Today's topic
focuses on Diver Decorators. Took an old beat-up
plated diver and installed my Hyper Holo™ silver lure
tape on it.
Click
Hyper Holo™ diver Part II
4/10/13 Today's featured
Hyper Holo™ Kevorkian diver pic is going to be in the
eye of the beholder. Some will swear by arts and
crafts (decoration), others will swear at it.
4/9/13 Reserving this
afternoon to prep my boat. Too much work and not
enough play is not good for anybody. Latest word
on Manistee, MI's inshore fishery is maybe 2 bites a
boat and one fish ...if you're lucky? For being
about 3 weeks into spring ...weather is pitiful!
4/8/13 The words Meat Rig®
were never strung together until I did it 2003/2004 and
sold tackle under the name of Meat Rigs®. I did
not copy other manufacturers intellectual property to
name was I was selling, or talking about. My
competition seems to have forgot who came up with these
words. Meat Rig® is NOT a generic term free for
the world to use. Meat Rig® is my registered
trademark sanctioned by Government of the USA.
Click for
proof
4/7/13 Video update on how
to use our 2013 Leader Lockers™
4/6/13 Big news coming
Monday on how I am now fully protecting my intellectual
properties. Far too many competitors selling
tackle ...are stealing words I created without even
asking. Then, acting like it's business as normal?
4/5/13 Jockeyed vehicles
around in my storage barn to move my boat into ready
position for 2013. Now comes the "to do" list so
nothing gets overlooked and I mean nothing. Looks
like next week I will be ready to hit Lk. MI's shoreline
off the Port of Manistee, MI. What will our target
specie be? ...anything that will bend a rod!
4/4/13 Probably one the
easiest things to forget before your first big lake trip
of the season is your fishing license. In the rush
to ready a boat things can be overlooked.
4/3/13 Low temp for last
night at my place in Manistee County, MI was 19 degrees. March 2013 average temps were below
average probably by a good 10 degrees.
4/2/13 The City of Manistee,
MI caters to the trailer boat sport fishing fleet.
I know of no port on the Great Lakes where you can
launch, or retrieve 14 boats at a time.
4/1/13 Manistee, MI's fish
cleaning station has been torn down. New
redesigned fish cleaning station is slated to open on
7/1/13. This is well in advance of when the fleet
arrives for summer Salmon in later July and August.
Click old fish cleaning station
3/31/13 Thanks to everyone
who placed an order during my special preseason sale
that ends tomorrow (4/1/13) at midnight.
3/30/13 Reserved this
afternoon for something very important. That being
putting the batteries back in my boat for the 2013
season.
3/29/13 Whew ...what a
week! With Herculean efforts we cleared up the
backlog for Leader Lockers that goes back to February
preorders. All orders have been shipped!
3/28/13 Current preseason
sale has been extended thru 4/1/13. Special offer
lowball 2004 pricing will be going up on 4/2/13.
New 2013 Leader Lockers will increase from 24.95 to
29.95 on that date too and ...be worth every penny of
it!
3/27/13 Title of today's
featured pic is, frustrated fisherman. Maybe, you
share this same malady waiting on the big lake fishing
season to begin? Too much thinking and a little
extra free time led me to Mamba-ize my rigger weights
used for shooting video.
3/26/13 Renamed the formerly
Meat Rig Cases to: Leader Lockers, because that's
exactly what they are. Our 2013 Leader Lockers
secure and organize meat rig strings and trolling flies
like nothing else. I've been using them since 2008
and know how durable the Plano Pro Latch boxes are.
That's 6 seasons of hard usage with zero issues. Continued below back to the year 2000: For complete results of all fishing trips, fishing reports & general info |