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

Archived Daily Log 
(Dating back to the year 2000)

1/21/20  Spoon production continues today.  Yesterday was able to restock the popular Gold Orange Crush.  Ladderback spoons, Green Hornet and Gold and Black were added too.
              Round 3 of computer wars took up most of yesterday afternoon when I cloned a new 1TB SSD from the existing 500GB SSD in our main office computer. 
              SSDs, or solid state drives have no moving parts, are more reliable and a bunch faster then the older style spinning multiple disk drives. Click cloning a SSD
             WIN 10 Disk Management system leaves a lot to be desired.  Had to use Partition Master 13.8  program to expand the C: drive disk space.
             Cloning a disk with Acronis is a piece of cake.  Takes about 2 to 3 hours to clone a 500GB drive.  Been using Crucial SSDs for about 10 years.  They've came down in a price a lot.  This is the offseason and can get time consuming computer jobs like this done.

1/20/20  Hope to debut a couple of preseason tackle specials for 2020 on, or around Super Bowl Sunday.  Specials will include what I run  on my boat for summer Kings that you've seen proven here in 2018 and 2019, or in my videos.
              Windows 10 with our Zebra thermo printers has been a fight.  This printers were state of the art in 2004 and still are in my opinion.  There's no easy fix, because Zebra has discontinued support for these printers/shipping label makers.  Finally, some hours later got them up and running perfectly like they were before the Win 10 OS switch.

1/19/20  My last Lk. MI trip of 2019 was on October 30th.  Noticed the high water at Manistee's 1st Street public boat launch.  Click Manistee launch March 2019
               Water was maybe 8" from flooding above/over the ramp into the lot.  Normally, water levels are the lowest of the season in the fall.  Not so last year.
              It remains to be seen where we're at with Lk. MI water levels this spring.  What brought this to mind? ....was Kewaunee, WI closed their launch to high water last year.
         Backyard snowometer guesstimation is at 52" for the 2019-2020 season.

1/18/20  Dodged a big bullet when I found the free upgrade tool link that I shared yesterday.  Was prepared for a clean Win 10 OS install, or start from scratch, then stuff existing programs into each of my network's 4 computers ...not a fun task!
              Some programs that are only available as downloads like my video editor and 3D printing software would have been a big hassle.  This would have required reactivation emails and reentering product keys. Click free Win 10 download tool
              It will be nice to get back to making tackle.  Good riddance to computer hell week that's took up the last 3 days, including 2 all-nighters.  2am till 8am my satellite internet does not count towards the metered monthly 20GB usage.
                     Not having to buy 4 licenses of Win 10 Pro is a godsend.

1/17/20  Pressed for computer time today.  On the 14th of this month, Microsoft discontinued support for Windows 7.  In the process of upgrading this box to the dreaded Windows 10 ...I thoroughly dislike.  If you're in a pinch to go to Windows 10, you can still download it for free according to PC Matic's newsletter.  I'm testing this now and it has downloaded Win 10 Pro OS with zero grief!  Click free Win 10 download tool
             Win 10 is a 5.6GB download that will take a long time.  Be sure to backup all files before attempting this upgrade.  Other than fish, computers are the most important part of my business.  Everything is controlled by the love-it, or hate-it box.
             Found a shell program that can turn Win 10 into Win 7 start screen that I like a lot.  For me, it made transitioning easier. Click Win 10 to Win 7 screen program
             Like within all things in computerville, you do so ...at your own risk.
       Backyard snowometer guesstimation is at 42" for the 2019-2020 season.

1/16/20  Personal attainable goals? ...this gives us something to strive for that can be accomplished.  Then, we all can say, "yep, I did that."
              In my case, catching Trout and Salmon out of all 5 of the Great Lakes, being: Lakes Superior. Erie, MI, Huron and Ontario is a heck of an accomplishment.
              Scratched off the list of the 7 major species of Salmon and Trout when a Lake Superior State expert visually identify/confirm an Lk MI Atlantic Salmon John J and I caught back on May, 17 2018 off the beach, close to shore, just N of Big Point Sable.
              Species of fish that I've seen taken on our Salmon Buster spoons include, Catfish, Pike, Whitefish, Spotted Bass, Coho, Chinook/King, Brown Trout, Lk. Trout, Pink Salmon, Steelhead, plus a Rainbow Trout from Crystal Lake in Benzie County, MI.
              That's 11 different species of fish on Salmon Buster™ spoons & more to come!

1/15/20  New 60 hp 4 stroke Suzuki outboard is installed and in-house waiting for spring.  Knowing both my boats are ready well before season is a good thing. 
              16' Grumman aluminum boat is rated for a 60. Weight of this 60 is the same as the 40 hp model.  Cost wasn't that much more over the 40, or 50.  I like the older tin boats, because the gauge of the aluminum is thicker.
              This small boat opens up a lot of advantages with a lot less grief to launch and retrieve my 1979 22' Sea Ray.  On the right day, this boat can troll down the Lk. MI shoreline.  Ice-out Lk. MI perch season is coming too. Click new 60 hp
             The Boat House in Irons, MI sold and installed the motor.  Prices are fair and I trust their work.  There's a lot of new tech with a 50 rpm increase troll mode switch and a tach that tells the hours on the motor when you first turn the key on.
             One of my goals for 2020 is to catch a smallmouth and a largemouth bass on our Salmon Buster™ spoons.  Already caught a spotted bass and this will round out the big 3.  More on the species our spoons have caught tomorrow.

1/14/20  Picking up my 16' Grumman aluminum boat today with a brand new 2020 60 hp. Suzuki 4 stroke.  Used to think Suzuki were the less desirable brand outboards until I purchased a Suzuki fuel injected 15 hp 4 stroke kicker that starts and runs flawlessly.
              Specifications on the DF60 Suzuki have a leg up on Honda, Yamaha and Mercury with a higher rpm range and a larger output alternator (except Honda).
              If Suzuki stats are to be believed? ...this 60 trolls on .1 to .2 gallons and hour.  This is a 57.4 cubic inch 3 cylinder motor with 12 valves.
             Weight is 229 lbs. vs. 197 lbs. on the 40 hp 2 stroke Evinrude it's replacing.  This swap is a lot closer to even when you figure the Evinrude 1.8 gallon 2 cycle oil tank full of oil is pushing close to 20 lbs.  Click for stat sheet comparison

1/13/20  Great news!  There's only 65 days of winter left.  Days are getting longer too.  We're gaining the best part of 2 minutes of daylight everyday.
              In the process of re-powering my 16' Grumman tin boat.  Evinrude 2 stroke 40 hp. was over 20 years old.  Know most their next boat to be larger. 
              Had a big boat with  twin GM 350 V8s and an 11' beam that could be tailered if you got the route and paid $25 for the permit issued from the MDOT. 
             Cost to operate includes a seasonal dock and filling up the 150 gallon gas tank on the water could easily exceed $400.  Fuel mileage on the water was 1.2 miles per gallon on a good day with a flat sea and a little chop to break surface tension.
              Last weekend's rain, snow and ice storm fizzled out.  Only ended up with 4 inches of snow.  Not the foot that was predicted.  Which is fine by me.
               Backyard snowometer estimation is at 38" for the 2019-2020 season.

1/11/20  Good weekend to take a break.  Rain, ice and snow storms will take out my satellite dish for most of the weekend.  Be back Monday when the storms are done.

1/10/20  It's entirely possible could be fishing Lk. MI out of my home port of Manistee in about 9 weeks.  Looking forward to April after checking the 2019 stocking records for Brown Trout (60k).  Last season, April was all Lake Trout & my boat never caught a Brown.
              Spring Browns on the beach are not a hard fish to catch.  Young, 1st year Browns are eating machines.  They'll eat spawn, smelt, alewives and chow down on gobies.  Growth rate on yearlings in late March is around 1.5 lbs.  By the end of April they've grown to chunky footballs pushing 4 lbs. Click gobies in a Brown
             Only worry is our current state of high water that causes beach erosion and washes in a lot of weeds along the beach that makes trolling impossible.

1/9/20  Checked the MDNR stocking data base in Manistee for Brown Trout.  In 2018 the DNR did plant 33k in the Manistee River at (21N 17W 11).  My sketchy decipher of the lat/lons put this stocking site inland from Lk. MI and N by a good distance.
            2019 shows a hefty increase in Browns to 60k at the same above location.  These were good sized stocked Brown Trout ranging from 6 to 7 inches.  
            In the 1990s thru about 2001 April Brown Trout fishing in Manistee was world class with several state records being broke. Click Michigan stocking data base
             2020 looks like it could be a promising season for Brown Trout that used to provide an excellent small boat and charter shoreline fishery. 

1/8/20  Saturday, February 1, 2020 is the annual Sea Grant Meeting held at Ludington's West Shore Community College.  Click for agenda & registration
             This meeting is where you're fed propaganda about the state of our Lk. Michigan Fishery.  MDNR and Sea Grant lost me when they relayed a mis-fact about Steelhead's diet.  Saying it was mostly alewife based.  Caught 1000s of Steelhead out of Lk. MI.  Seldom, if ever are Steelhead packed full of just alewives.  Most of the time it's a mix of lot of bugs (both terrestrial and aquatic). Click Steelhead Stomach Contents
             Charge is 30 bucks for what should be free.  Especially, if the any of the speakers are getting paid.  Remember above all else, these are the policy setters with full responsibly for our current D-minus MI King Salmon fishery.  In fact, the MDNR must be ashamed and has stopped publishing the 2019 number of Salmon captured from the Little Manistee Harvest Weir that goes back 52 years to 1968. Click for missing weir 2019 data

1/7/20  Mentioned the lack of anything close to safe ice on inland lakes around my place for the hard-water fishermen.  Open water on Lk. MI is a good thing that let's light penetrate to keep the food chain moving.  Lk. Huron lost their alewife population after it froze over for 2 consecutive years.  So, to we need Lk. MI to stay ice free.
             Did run across a good, in-depth article about winter ice cover on all 5 Great Lakes with graphs and long-term ice averages.  Click Great Lakes Ice info

1/6/20  First full week of January 2020 after the holidays.  This is when business gets back to normal and industry moves forward full swing.
             Moderate temperatures is the reel-story from Manistee, MI.  Above freezing temps has has kept what little ice there is unsafe.  Lakes I've drove by close to home look treacherous.  Still open water on Manistee Lake.
            Saga of this website continues when I purchased top level Michiganangler and MichiganSportsman domains in .com during the winter of 1999.  This was just after buying my first computer that was plagued by the Windows 98.  This OS was highly unstable and would crash with blue screen of death often.  This was a handicap for any newbie.

1/5/19  Touched briefly of Sport and Fishing shows that will be happening in the next two, or three months.  Used to be, these shows is where new tackle débuted.  The internet has changed that with the loss of much needed personal contact.
            Did these shows for about 25 years.  Some as a factory rep for Big Jon when BJ had their Pro Team representing their products.
            Most of the shows I did for myself to book charters & river trips.  It's a lot easier to catch fish than it is customers.  Goal was to book 200 plus days a year.
            Did shows in the SE MI/Detroit area at the Cobo Hall, State Fair Grounds, Novi, Flat Rock and Warren MI.   Statewide in MI was at Grand Rapids, Flint, Birch Run & Lansing MI.  Out of state shows include Louisville KY, South Bend IN, Cleveland OH, & Erie PA.
            Worst thing about shows is living out of motels and tear-down when the show closes.  Everybody rushes to load-up and clear the building to get on the road home.

1/4/20  Posted a photo that shows just a part of my show booth that consisted of four 4' by 7' panels, a 9' light bar over the top and twenty, or more 24" by 36" pictures to display our charter results/catches.  Enough stuff to fill up a pickup with a 8' box.
            Got lucky with this photo when friends, Chuck Cartwright, aka Mr. Silver Streak was visiting with Capt. Bud Raskey at my booth.  Bud has his back to the camera with the red hat.  We were at Flint Steelheaders Show in March of 2001. Click for this photo
            This was back when dialup internet speed was around 50k, if you had a good phone line?  That's why the resolution on the pic is only 640 x 480 to load quicker.
            Both Bud and Chuck passed a away several years ago.  They were icons of the Great Lakes fishing fleet.  Bud would go on to be inducted in the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame and Chuck's legendary Silver Streak spoon is still catching fish nowadays.
            Took the long way around to explain what went into hauling my show booth to 30 days of sport shows a year.  That's why I bought my 1st computer in 1999 and was dumber than a stump when it came to running one.

1/3/20  Keeping with the theme of our 20 year celebration, the genesis (motivating factor) behind my involvement with the internet began back in 1996.
             Was doing the Grand Rapids sport show to book Lk. MI charters and Manistee river trips.  My booth was next to Randy Even and got to know him very well in the 4 day show run.  Randy, the inventor of the Slide Diver told me he had just booked a couple of charters on this thing called the internet?  Randy passed away about 5 years ago.
             Needless to say, this "internet" word peaked my interest, because I had to drag my dog and pony show a 100 and some miles to GR, set up a booth, pay about 1200 bucks for the show, out of town meals, and lodging. Click for my show booth
             Needed to learn more about the thing called, "the internet."  Even though I had yet to even own, or know how to operate a computer.  All I knew this the "internet" thingy could book trips right from your home base.  Eliminating a heck of a lot of hassle.

1/2/20  Great news!  There's only 78 days of winter left before the 2020 Great Lakes season begins.  In less than 3 months it's forward into the yet to be written future.
            It's a big deal to celebrate 2 decades with this website.  1st 3 years (2000-2003) was still a full time skipper/river guide in the charter business.  Click Past Results
            That's how this site began.  Seen this website as a useful tool to keep track of my charter's names and results.  Posted every trip too.  Not just the glory days that do not show a reel picture of what goes on every day throughout April thru October.
            Sure, we had some 4, or 5 fish charter catches back on Lk. MI during the early i2ks, but most of them were heavy boxes and happy charter cliental.

1/1/20  Happy New Year!  Today, it's my joy to officially announce our 20 year website anniversary that celebrates 7300 daily updates and counting. 
             Also, the 2020 season marks my 52nd year on our 5 magnificent Great Lakes.  Fished all five, being Lakes: MI, Huron, Superior, Ontario and Erie.  Now, that's the ultimate definition of reel-fun to the highest degree and there's more on the way!
            Posted a photo titled "Kid's Day" by Derek L with a respectable Manistee, MI King Salmon from last August.  This pic of his son and big King gets this website off on the right foot and sets a positive tone for for 2020.  Click for Derek's photo
          Snowometer backyard estimation is at 38" for this snow season thus far.

Continued below back to the year 2000: