Click here for my first Salmon I caught on Oct. 1, 1968

Archived Daily Log 
(Dating back to the year 2000)

7/1/09  Haven't been fishing in a while?  If you need a visual fix to get over not being on the pond?  Then I have a link to a short video that should help. 
         This is not a smooth glossy edited work, but it's exactly raw footage like most of us would shoot under the same circumstances.  That being a 10 year old Cole doing battle with a diver rod on a 17 King with slight assistance from his dad, Bob.  Also, the videographer (Nick L) was the net man doing double duty and let me add, ...a fine job!
         Stuff like this and photos emailed IN makes this website, cuz it's not about me, or the tackle I make.  It's about our fishery first & foremost.  Be sure to run the video to the end & see the excited grin on Cole's face. Click cute video from Kewaunee, WI

6/30/09  After reading several port reports from many locations on Lk. MI and speaking to trustworthy sources on the phone, came to the conclusion Manistee, MI is lagging behind most ports.  This assumption is warranted by the slow fishing for several topnotch teams that struggled in last weekend's Manistee Bud Pro-Am Tournament.
         While fishing/catching in WI and southern Lk. MI is not gangbusters by any means, it still out paces my home port when it comes to a inshore fishery for suspended Salmon.  Heard a lot of 4 to 6 fish catches, but 20 pounders were mentioned in most every case.
         Something worthy to note is how the same colors work in both sides of the big pond.  X-Glow Super Puke BTI 10" Flasher is seeing a lot of water time from our website members into pulling meat. This flasher it is pulling honest 20 pound June Kings in MI ports of Manistee, St. Joe from those I've had contact with.  Click 6/26/09 King St. Joe, MI
This X-Glow Puke blade is working in Kewaunee, WI too. Click Kewaunee, WI King 22#
       My most sincere thanks to Nick L and Mark T for use of today's great photos!

6/29/09  Just about all of the month of June I've been shore-bound for one reason, or another.  Most important one is we're giving same day shipping on orders received as late as 2pm.  Service and fast shipping is where we smoke our competition.
         Next reason has been annoying boat gremlins.  New Garmin TR1 Gold auto pilot was shipped with a bad ECU (electrical control unit).  Click for TR1 ECU
        Then, when testing the new TR1 autopilot on Manistee Lake two weekends ago, a small crack in the prop hub assembly was discovered.  Could have had this stress facture welded, but opted for a new aftermarket outdrive.  Click new outdrive  Click for crack
         Surprisingly, the new outdrive is made in the US from foreign and US sources.  Cost was 1/3 of a new Mercruiser lower unit and it came with a 3 year warranty.
          By tomorrow should be able to give a better picture of what went on this past weekend.  Need a chance to homogenize our port reports.

6/28/09  Long range forecast for our upcoming 4th of July Weekend looks OK with temps in the mid to higher 70s for Manistee, MI.  If we can believe this far-out prediction, no rain is on the agenda for the 4th weekend.
        Winds in Manistee are semi favorable thru this Tuesday (light W & SW), then it's back to prevailing NW wind for the remainder of the week.  NW means big huge pile of warm water sitting on the shelf to stratify a deeper and far more productive thermocline.
         Should have some trustworthy fishing reports for you tomorrow as website members report their weekend results and I hope everyone did well!

6/27/09  Heard from sources in Manistee and Ludington, MI the inshore shelf fishing left a lot to be desired yesterday.  Most of the fishermen are turning to the deeper stuff over depths of 400' or more.  Then, working the top 30' for Steelhead in hopes of a decent catch.  If you're fishing the big water this weekend?  Good luck and be safe!

6/26/09  Fishing off Manistee, MI is OK right now.  But finding fish weighing over 8 pounds can be hard to do.  Deepwater fishing is being done on the other side of the 30 to 33 west with the top 30' being targeted over depths of 400' to 600' of water.  From what's been told to me, the shelf/drop-off bite wanes quickly after the sun comes up.
          The heat wave we had earlier this week has done little to build warm water off Manistee.  Constant E, NE, or N are keeping surface temps are in the 50s-60s with the thermocline showing up about 35' down on our inshore, off the shelf waters.

6/25/09  Finally, summer is here.  Temps in the 80s and 90s are like manna from heaven for my line of tackle, cuz the deeper fish are ....the better my stuff works!
          With the Great Lake warming up this sets forth a whole chain of events in motion.  The biomass of plankton, zooplankton & baitfish thrive.  Resulting in a better fishery for all.
          Warm water in the 60 to 70 degree range help stratify the entire water column. Pushing our target species of Salmon and Trout to depths often exceeding 100'. Deep fish laying below a thermocline are easier to catch plain & simple.  Especially, for savvy attractor fishermen with the right tackle and proper tantalizing slow speed presentations.

6/24/09  Most important thing on the front burner is a floating yellow poly line up in the 19s, about 4 miles N of Manistee, MI's harbor.  This was supposed to be pulled yesterday by the commercial fishermen, but haven't got a confirmation on this yet.
          Was supposed to have the new net coordinates from Lt. Dave deforest for today's update.  The way it looks, this will be delayed until tomorrow's chat, or later today.
          WI fishing off Kewaunee is on the improve, but not red hot.  Catches reported are 3 to 6 fish with some kings going over 20 pounds.  Click WI 22 lbs. on a Super Puke BTI
           Manistee is still a crap shoot, with some doing well and some struggling on the inshore fishery for Salmon.  I did hear a lot of smaller fish moved in on the shelf and Manistee's harbor area no longer is no longer holding massive schools of bait.