Capt.
John's Log
20
Seasons of Archived Daily Great
Lakes News
Below images are thumbnails
Click here for my first Salmon I caught on Oct. 1, 1968
Archived Daily Log
10/3/23 Capt. Dan S. from Big Dan's Charters
in Soldotna, AK ordered more 12" flashers from me. He said, in
today's featured photo, "I've caught more then 40 Salmon in the last 2
days running 12 incher with a spoon.
Click for Mountain Dew 12"
flasher 10/2/23 Leaves
are coming down and the Salmon are coming up in the tributaries of Lk.
MI tells us October is here. This month presents some of the best
big water fishing of the year when the wind gods take the day off.
Finding calm seas is October is rare. 9/29/23 Great stretch of summer like
weather thru the middle of next week makes this a
perfect time to get a head start on fall projects.
Mine is stacking 12 face cords to prep for winter.
Once that's done, need to make Strip Teezers™ in
frog and green glow.
9/28/23 DIY projects are usually one-off
issues. Doing it a second time is a piece of
cake, because you have it figured out. Trailer
bunk job was self-explanatory. Just a lot of grunt
work swing 16' 2 by 6s.
Click broken bunk board
9/27/23 It's nice to see Steelhead mixed
in with Kirk's catch. Along with future Kings
this fall's Lk. MI fishery should go gangbusters.
While the out-door's public is shifting to hunting,
late season big water fishing can offer the best
opportunities for EZ limits.
9/26/23 Fishing off Ludington, MI has been
respectable as today's photo from Capt. Kirk proves.
4 Salmon & a double digit Steelhead is a nice reward
for an am 1/2 day fish.
9/25/23 Good news is Lk. MI off the port
of Manistee, MI is still producing decent catches of
Salmon from what I saw last Friday at the cleaning
station.
9/22/23 Last day of summer. Progress
on replacing the trailer bunks is going agonizingly
slow. Could not use the cutting torch that
would have created a fire hazard. Boat trailer
sits close to 10 boxes of finished meat heads and
other stock. So, I had to hacksaw and use a
wood chisel to transfer hardware. Stainless
steel hardware should be used always in a marine
environment that Trailmaster did not do.
Have photos that will be posted soon.
9/21/23 Empty boat trailer is in the pole
barn. Work begins today replacing 14' carpeted
6" bunk stringers. Roller trailers for heavy
boats leaves dents in a fiberglass hull over time.
9/20/23 Later today, my boat will be in
the water at former Solberg's Mania, now Pier 31.
Dock is paid for and top off the tank and I'm good
to go. Finally, will be replacing the bad
trailer bunk that's kept me for launching this year.
9/19/23 Today's spot-light photo might be
even better then yesterday's when it comes to single
hooks. If you look closely? ...you'll see the
point of the hook point protruding out a jumbo
King's lower jaw. Said yesterday, "almost
impossible to lose a fish."
9/18/23 There's a lot going in today's
featured photo from, Chuck B. Seeing the
sunrise on Lk. MI is always a bonus. Better
yet? ...a big King Salmon coming the boat, or in
Chuck's case his kayak in flat calm water.
Click for this action awesome photo
9/17/23 There's still a few Kings entering
the Ludington, MI harbor as today's photo proves.
This big male is in well into the 20 pound
class. Later season adults have had more time
to grow. While spotty, hit doubles on adult
King just off Manistee's pier heads well into
October. This will happen until the snow
flies.
Click for the King
9/15/23 The massive Coho plant that runs
the Platte River in Benzie County, MI has a major drawback. It's
accessing Lk. MI to get to the fish you have to battle over a dangerous
gravel bar. This is for small boats only that flock to this area. 9/14/23 8 face
cords of wood were delivered early today. 40° this morning says
winter, wood burning season is about 2 months away. So, no subject
got covered today. 9/13/23 "Cruses, foiled again" is a phrase
used by Snidely Whiplash when defeated by his
eternal good guy enemy, Dudley Doright. That's
the way I feel after a heads-up about today's
planned trip to Frankfort, MI to get a dock.
Click for Snidely
9/12/23 Boat trailer tires are aired up
and ready for travel tomorrow. Plan is to get
a dock at Frankfort, MI thru this coming Sunday.
Thursday is set aside to replace the main 16'
trailer bunks and carpet. This is what
absolutely must be done. One of the bunks has
dry-rot that could make the trailer unusable with a
hole in my 1987 22' Sea Ray.
9/11/23 A positive eDNA sample for Silver
Carp turned up in the St. Joe River. Good news
is only 1 sample showed evidence of this invasive
specie. Conjecture is it came from a boat used
where Silver Carp live. I said, conjecture,
because boats are only one vector.
9/10/23 With this being a down year for
Salmon tackle sales, it's understandable after the
past tough years when Kings were not plentiful.
Those were the bottom of the valley years, as Kings
are headed backup the hill. This is the 3rd up
and down on Kings I've witnessed since 1988.
So, going it alone was no big deal. In fact it
helped my bottom line with no labor wages to pay.
It's a bigger sense of accomplishment for me too. 9/8/23
This was my 1st year out of the 20 I've been in
business went it without any help. Trained 2
people this spring and sent them home with supplies
to build. 1 never did anything but return
supplies. Number 2 did 4 hours of production,
quit and brought supplies back. So, I was the
Lone Ranger and did it all rather than waste time
looking for people to help. Got better handle
on my tasks for the winter building stock.
Most labor intensive is Meat Rigs™. Rest is a
piece of cake compared to building rigs. 9/7/23 Day to
take care of personal business. Boat trailer maintenance by
checking for proper air pressure and a few pumps of the grease gun in
the hubs. Boat trailers problems on the side of the road are a
nightmare. While I'm only 5 months late, my 2023 season will
happen soon. Reason for delay tomorrow.... 9/6/23 Have the
16' 2" x 6" planks to replace the bunks in-house. Used 16' tin
boat to transport. Need to get a dock while repairs happen.
Frankfort, MI is the best choice. Harbor is large inside the pier
heads. Betsie River gets a good run of adult Kings that I can
target at night with my LED spoons. Know they'll work, if I can
get the right program and timing to prove it. There should be some
Salmon out in the deeper water too. 9/5/23 Late
summer heat wave ends tomorrow. Probably the last time we'll see
90s until 2024. Did notice a lot of wind in the afternoon that's
not good for the fleet. 9/2/23 40 years
ago this weekend my startup 1st year charter business was in Frankfort,
MI. Picked up 3 walk on charters. Making 6 1/2 day trips in
3 days. I was in tall cotton, counting my money before the
chickens hatched. $160 is what I charged for a 1/2 day trip back
then. That's $486 in today's money, that's behind the going rate
in 2023. 9/1/23 Have a
safe enjoyable Labor Day Weekend. Predicted highs in the 90s means
S wind and usually a lot of it at this time of year. Did see gusts
forecast to past 35 mph. 8/31/23 Closing
out August 2023 by tying up some loose ends about yesterday's chat.
Narrowed the date down to the later 1990s. Story on the rough
water begins: we got an early start, like zero dark 30. Cleared
the pier heads and were taking spray on the back deck. Settled in
on a slow NW course and rode in the trough until we hit the drop-off
about 3 miles out. By then, the sun was just coming up and had my
first gander on how massive the waves were. Good 4-6 foot
whitecaps with an occasional 8' thrown in. 8/30/23
Lk. MI and all of our Great Lakes are cruel
mistresses that claim lives. Losing life on
the water hits me pretty hard, cause I know 1st hand
what it's like to pull people from the water.
Around i2k had a 18' Star Craft capsize a few
hundred yards ahead of us. 8/29/23
Warm temps for the Labor Day weekend says wind will be from the S.
This is good news for the Lk. MI fleet that will hold the adult Kings in
the big water longer. Once the lake flips, cold water temps
provide a highway up the rivers and streams. 8/28/23
Last weekend's Frankfort, MI's tournament had an excellent turnout.
This event ranks close to Ludington's Offshore Classic in participating
teams. Drilled down on the data of the winning boat, on the pro
side that showed 360 lbs. of fish in 2 days. Only 10 can be
weighed per day. This equates to an approx. 16 lb. average per fish.
This tells me Kings were available to the fleet and most boats caught
decent amounts of fish. 8/26/23 1st
day of the Frankfort, MI tournament. I noticed
when you look at the years a winner one year can
come in dead last a few years down the road.
My take is fish under the boat govern who wins, or
loses. Skill set among the top 30% of the
field is pretty even. It's fish location that
decides the podium.
8/25/23 Project fix the boat trailer
underneath my 1978 22' Sea Ray begins today.
Transporting 16' bunks home from the lumberyard will
be done in my 16' tin boat, that's my only option.
Have the carpet already. The broken bunk has
spooked me from using the boat. Hopefully,
this DIY project will go smoothly when it's finished
next week.
8/24/23 Update on the oil spill off
Manistee, MI about a week ago says 1500 gallons
leaked from the freighter, Manitowak was confirmed
by the USCG. Good news is no environmental
nightmare in the world's greatest supply of fresh
water, our Great Lakes. 8/23/23 Frankfort,
MI's Benzie Fishing Frenzie contests is on deck for this weekend.
Frankfort is a structure rich port with holes and drop-offs both N and
S. This port is nestled in the Betsie River valley with big dunes
showcasing nature's beauty. 8/22/23 Worked
most of the night making tackle. Finished at 7am this morning.
We've reached the point with no pre-built tackle and I'm making most
everything from scratch. 8/21/23
Predicted E wind tomorrow is going to pull the adults into the harbors
of central LK. MI ports, being Frankfort, Manistee and Ludington.
Not much for combat fishing in highly trafficked areas, but the charter
business taught me to fish where the fish are. 8/19/23 1st
point of contact to your fish is the hook point. One of the few
things under your control in big water fishing and all fishing in
general. Last 10 years in the charter business made sure to train
and have my deckhand keep a hook file near. On the way out, he's
be touching up the hooks in need. Reason? ...big Kings have a
major bone structure in their head. These large bones can dull a
hook, or roll the point over. 8/18/23 Good
stretch of weather for the fleet over about the next week with no storms
on the horizon. This primetime that you've waited for all year. Go
get 'em! 8/17/23 There's a lot you cannot control when it comes to
big water fishing. But you can cut down on
missed hits/bites. You get one chance to make
a 1st impression that's all too true when it comes
to sticking a hook into a big adult King Salmon.
As Salmon mature, their skin hardens. This
when extra sharp hooks can save you a lot of grief.
8/16/23 Going back to last week's action
photo of the Coho you'll see the 4/0 hook coming
completely thru the corner of the jaw. Single
hooks are fantastic for penetration, because you're
just driving one point into the fish. Not like
multiples in trebles. Once upon a time
50 years ago all Salmon spoons came with only a
single hook. 8/15/23 Ludington,
MI homeboy, Capt. Kirk finished yesterday's am trip in the rain with a
warmly composed photo of his biggest of the morning. Capturing
moments in time to be relived down the road that's preserved digitally.
Meaning the vibrant colors do not fade over time like the old 35mm film.
It's wonderful to see big fish and big grins! 8/14/23 Fishing
was pretty decent for the sports fleet last week out of Manistee, MI.
Average Joes were boxing double figures when they setup on the right
pocket of fish. 8/11/23 There's a lot going on in today's featured photo
sent in by Chuck B. 1st is the LED spoon Salmon seem
to love even during bright sun. That's a no
brainer. 8/10/23
Need to mention strips that were glowed up were not
over sold. In person, not having a camera
process light, most strips glow more. Better
to understate a product, then have the user find
out, they got more, then displayed in the video. 8/9/23
Video for today that shows the effectiveness of our
101 LED UV flashlights. While the 101 is
impressive, to the outside maybe 30 hit the bait
which is good. I put the light close, or on it
to speedup the glow process.
Click
here to view 8/8/23
If it glows, it goes has been said about August
Salmon fishing for a longtime. Green glow
ranks at the top of lure selections for adults.
Glow is especially effective during 1srt and last
light when fish as long as your leg are most
venerable. 8/7/23
Busy with orders today. Promise a
better chat tomorrow.... 8/6/23
Work to contain oil spill from the freighter
Manitowoc off the Port of Manistee, MI continues.
The oil slick is 8 miles long and about a mile in
width. Latest reports said it was 8 miles N of
Manistee and not onshore. So, this is good news
for now. Both the 5th Avenue and 1st Street
beaches have been reopened in Manistee.
Click for
this vessel 8/4/23
Major oil spill of the Port of Manistee, MI.
Close to 50k gallons of diesel fuel have created a
slick that travels N to Onekama. The 612'
freighter Manitowak is an aging vessel built in 1973
is at anchor N of the Manistee pier heads as of 6am
this morning. Leak has been stopped according
to the USCG. They are working to recover the
fuel. 8/3/23
Here's something for your memory bank that
might help. Seen this time and time again from
members of the Manistee sports fleet. Seldom,
if ever do they ever set up shallow in 50' of water
before the shelf falls off to investigate. 8/2/23
Yesterday went by like a flash with no time for
the August 1st update. Busy is good if you're
in the tackle business. July and August is
primetime adult Kings.
7/31/23 Goodbye July 2023 and hello
August. It's our prime time season for tackle
busting adult Kings. Demand has me anchored to
the shop trying to keep up with orders. This
is a good thing business-wise. Not so much for
getting on the big pond. Weather looks
tolerable this week for the fleet. Should have
some fresh fish reports soon. 7/29/23 End of
the work week that waves green flag the weekend sports fleet. King
fishing is on the up-tick when it comes to numbers. Trick is to
put yourself between where the fish are going to intersect. Sounds easy,
but it's not. 7/28/23 Super
busy in the shop. Disappointed in myself for not making time for
today's chat. To anyone who thinks they're making money being a bait rig
manufacturer, lots of luck. There's not short cut to making an
acceptable product with a replaceable leaders. 2 knot rigs you see
in tackle stores are single use items that are over priced pure junk! 7/27/23 Ever
notice bait is easy to find when you don't need it? Right now
we're in the heart of primetime with every one using, or looking for
bait. That why is makes good cents to had a supply of our Rip
Teezers™ aboard. Used correctly, these soft plastic scented strips
can go head to head with reel-bait without production falloff. 7/26/23 Hope the
last 3 days of tips adds to your success. Know they work, but
convincing others is where the challenge comes in. Try them
...you'll like them! 7/25/23 Today's
post ties in with the last 2 about gaining precious minutes "in the
dark" primetime when the Kings are on their peak activity level.
Forget about temp. Now being time, for adults that don't care if
the water is in the 40s, or 70s. They're swimming around looking
for something to whack, even if their belly prevents them from
swallowing. 7/23/23 Part 2
on gaining valuable time begins with the 0 dark 30 early am bite when
it's still dark without a hint of light. That's when our
blinky-winky LED spoons should be the 1st lures to hit the water.
Spoons are a easy/fast set. Drop a couple of these on the riggers
while you're working on setting up your divers, core, and copper
outfits. 7/22/23 Today's
subject concentrates on adding more low-light fishing times. Both
mornings and evenings. If you're not too broke to pay attention?
...this should read is a revelation. I'm giving you something that will
add the best part of prime time. Maybe an hour to your fishing day
(30 minutes am-30 minutes pm). 7/21/23 Our Rip
Teezers are earning their keep in the N end of Lk. MI aboard Capt.
Steve's Top 40 charter boat. XG Frog and XG Green Glow have been
his favorites. 7/20/23 The
multi story Hampton Inn in Manistee, MI is now open. The place is
where the Lakeshore Motel used to be. Manistee gave up some
parking in the 1st Street public launch to accommodate this white
elephant. Along with changing the traffic flow to and from the
ramp. A room for 2 people for one night is a very pricey 242
bucks.
7/19/23 It's Black Mamba time according to
our recent sales at our web store. So, I know big Kings are starting to
fill the boxes of big water fishing folks. Mamba dots over a clear
flasher blanks allows light to transition both sides. I'd be
lying, if I said I knew why the fish attack this pattern. Just let
it suffice they just do. 7/18/23 Busy
with a capital B in the shop has all my time spoken for. Will find
a good topic for tomorrow when time allows. Did over 50 orders in
the last week. 7/17/23 Quick
report on last weekend's Ludington tournament there were 62 amateur
boats and 40 in the pro division. Most boats did not weigh-in their 12
fish in the pros and 10 in the ams. All boats caught fish, but it
was in the 6 to 8 fish per boat range. Know this event has
rules on specie numbers that means a combined mix bag catch. 7/16/23 This
year's crop of Alewives is pushing 8" long with smaller sizes
represented too. This is the best news any big water Salmon
fishermen could hope for. 7/15/23 Looked
for the day 1 weights in Ludington's Offshore Classic being help this
weekend with no luck. Average weight per fish in the top 5 boats
will say a lot. 7/14/23 Tournament fishing vs
charter/sport fishing require different tactics
after you hookup. Charter and sport fishermen
tend to let the big guy Kings run a lot of line.
Hey, the most fun you're going to have is fighting
fish. So, why not make it last longer?
7/13/23 This is the week of Ludington,
MI's Offshore Classic along with tournaments for
kids and a special Ladies Day outing. This
event under the Lowrance name dates back to the
early 1980s at least. These contests are noted
for a high turn out with prize money going to $100k.
So, there's lot's of dough on the line.
Click event schedule
7/12/23 Never made it very far yesterday
with this computer. SD card got pushed in to the point of no
return. Had to disassemble the computer. Then, the card
reader component to retrieve the SD card. The SD card had my
important 3D printer files. 7/11/23 Photo of the Fairport King shows this
bad boy was chewing on a King Kryptonite Rip Teezer™
before his dinner bit back. More to come soon. 7/10/23
A
few days ago mentioned fishing for adult Kings is
going to get serious and soon. Today's
featured photo is courtesy of Top 40 charters who
fished off Fairport, MI. 7/9/23
If you closely examine Mike's photo posted on 7/6/23
you see a competitor's head. The manufacturer
clearly didn't have a clue to have the correct
orientation of the WTP fish scale tape. Scales
should be horizontal instead stuck-on in the
vertical! 7/8/23
Day off. Time saved will be used catching up
on a backlog of yet t ship orders. 7/7/23
You know when I started this whole thing about meat on Lk. 2003, I never
had a clue bait availability was going to be an issue. This is
still an uncertain commodity. 7/6/23 Today's
featured photo came in unexpected. While back had a customer pay
double shipping, because we shipped same day and he ordered more tackle.
Sent Mike M a couple of free-bee strips to defray the cost. Then,
low and behold he emailed me today's pic with a decent King chewing on a
XG Green Frog strip. So, he did try it out. 7/5/23 This is the month when fishing for adult, bruiser
over 20 some pound King Salmon is going to happen.
It's gonna get reel serious and reel soon!
Click
4th's blue sky 7/4/23
Happy 4th of July, play safe! 7/3/23
Fishing is not a religion. So, forget the I
believe part that's not based in reel facts. I
speak with highly opinionated fishermen everyday
with mistaken goofy ideas. 7/2/23
Spent the last few days building tackle.
36 meat rigs™ for us requires 144 knots. This
is a time consuming process. Unless you make a
POS rig without replaceable leaders. Tackle
stores sell a lot of the easy cheapie rigs, because
is means repeat business, as the rigs fail after a
few fish from chewed up leaders. Have a great
4th.
6/30/23 This is the weekend to avoid the
main 1st boat launch in Manistee, MI. The Forest Festival is going
on with a carnival taking up most of the space to park. Stronach
boat launch on the S end of Manistee Lake can handle larger boats.
Launched my 22' several times with no issues. Another alternative
is Onekama that has a free launch in town. Manistee has
scheduled their fireworks on July 2nd. So, the 1st Street beach
and boat launch will be a mad house. 6/29/23
Planned topic about our strips and scents have been superseded with a
fresh fish report from Ludington, MI's Capt. Kirk. He fished yesterday
morning and caught a mixed bag of LT, Kings and a Steelhead for a 1
person limit. Think he fished solo. 6/28/23
Yesterday's air outside was nasty with the smell of acrid smoke and dull
gray skies. I live in the woods with miles and miles of trees
pulling CO2 out of the air. Can only imagine how bad it was in
urban areas. Supposed to clear up some today. 6/27/23 Hit a
major milestone with my webstore. Started in 2005, we just shipped
our 10,000th order. This does not count phone and tackle store
orders. 10k is big news to me proving without paying for
advertising a small tackle manufacturer can flourish with products on
the cutting edge. No competitor has the niche specialty items like
us. 6/26/23 Last
weekend's Bud Pro-Am tournament in Manistee MI looked like it was decent
fishing for most boats. Biggest King was 24 pounds and there were
respectable amounts caught sprinkled among the 58 boats competing.
Winning pro boat tallied up 270 pounds of his 20 allowable fish (10 per
day, 2 day event).
Click event final standings 6/24/23 Waiting
for the final results from Manistee, MI's Bud Pro-Am tournament.
Thus far, there's 1 King over 20 and several high teeners being weighed
in. Tomorrow's update will be expanded on info gleaned from this
long running event. 6/23/23 Our BTI
10" fish flashers have been rediscovered by the Lk. MI and Lk. Huron
fleets. Had to pull an all nighter to ship flashers today. 6/22/23 1 day
into summer 2023 and it's warm in the high 80s in Manistee, MI.
We've already been in the 90s a few weeks back. Heat is good to
kick start the food chain.
6/21/23 Another great Fathers Day photo
from last weekend. Longtime friend of this website and I, Capt.
Jack sent in today's featured pic of fun times on the water. 6/20/23 Fishing
is more of a journey, rather than a destination. Fishing without
wonderful people to share the pleasure of catching would be lackluster. 6/19/23 Lk.
Trout showed up in big numbers about the middle of last week off the
Port of Manistee, MI. Charter boats are pulling limits pounding
the bottom with divers and riggers. Many charters use our Silver
Bullet BTI 10 inchers with spin n glos. 6/18/23 Fathers
Day 2023. A time we set aside to honor all fathers. Fathers
Day is a given in the charter business for a booking. Taking dad
fishing is a great idea! 6/17/23 If you
plan on trailering your boat on US31 N thru Manistee to ports further N
the US31 drawbridge is going to be traffic nightmare with lane closures
and detours. Trying not to hit this construction zone during peak
traffic hours. $12.M in repair work on this drawbridge will last
thru March 2024. So, it's going to be a mess for a while. 6/16/23 US31 is
the major N-S route thru Manistee, MI. There's some big changes on
the way if all goes according to plan. Removal the rail road
tracks on the N end of town will eliminate the RR crossing on the curve
by Pier 31/Solbergs Marina that jams up traffic.
6/15/23 Admin paper work for 4 hours
yesterday afternoon and only 1/2 way done. Behind the scenes forms
paper work written with hard to understand legalize. Not fun! 6/14/23 Today's
featured photo is the scent pad packed inside Rip Teezer™ packaging. 6/13/23 Confidence
is an important tool when it comes to fishing. Confidence leads to
more water time for lures Not constantly swapping out colors
...thinking you're doing something wrong in the selection department.
Trust me, you're not! 6/12/23 Lost
today, busy with shop and personal tasks. Yesterday's chat about
the scent pad in our strip will have to carry today. 6/11/23 Product
upgrade for our soft plastic Rip Teezers™. These herring
replacement strips will now come with scent pad of our proven Re-Scent.
This is a great way to see how effective the strips are with 100%
baitfish extract. Best part know 1st hand how well this sauce
works. This another big leap forward in tackle enhancement. Having
the strips packaged with scent pads leads to more success.
Click Rip
Teezers 6/10/23 Fire
danger alert for N MI. Living in the woods, been thru a forest
floor fire that burned 1/2 mile of federal land on my N property line.
You get your priorities straight in a hurry when the ground is burning
next to your place. 1st was our pets. 2nd computers to keep
records for business. Everything else was a mishmash.
6/9/23 MDNR's
free fishing weekend that been expanded to include ORV and launch access
without the required recreation passport. If you want to introduce
new folks to fishing in MI it won't cost them a dime. MI as a
state is just about as good as it gets for multi-species. Walleyes
push our ranking over the top of the rest. 6/8/23 Fishing
is supposed to be about fun. Transitioning from a charter skipper
to a Great Lakes tackle manufacturer is one of my greatest joys. 6/7/23 Burning
bridges in business and in small towns is bad. Unless the bridge
already collapsed under the weight of gross misconduct. Deadbeat
Carl Bud Fitzgerald owner of Tangled Tackle Co. and Christopher Ingalls
from Dark Blue Charters knowingly abused my trademark, meat rig™ for
their personal financial gain.
Click for overwhelming proof
6/6/23 Covered
the N end and the XG Frog color yesterday. Moving to the far S end
in today's featured photo for Tom M out of E Chicago, IN. Tom has
expert status on how and when to run the froggie meat program.
He's proven this over the years. 6/5/23 Today's
featured photo is from Top 40 Charters in MI's U.P. He was fishing
in the extreme N end of Lk. MI close to Fairport, MI. Besides a
good King the reel story here is the longevity of our soft plastic
herring strips aka Rip Teezers™. Think Capt. Steve's XG-Frog
12" combo is on it's 5th season. Cost to own per year is a
bargain. 6/2/23 Latest
word for Manistee, MI's harbor is deadsville since the bait left.
Boats fishing off the shelf and deeper water were still catching spring
Kings. Please keep in mind, with all fishing reports are in the
past tense of what happened yesterday. In a few short hours fish
can move 10 miles, or more to favorable feeding grounds. 6/1/23 When big
schools of bait/Alewives come into the harbor to spawn, the predatorily
fish will come right along with them. Good catches are coming in
the harbors at central Lk. MI ports. Even the MDNR fishing report
mentioned this.
Click MDNR report 5/31/23 Just not
used to negative issues and dealing with the legal system. Going
pass on the expose for now, as not to tip my hand. Will be covered
in-depth next week.
5/30/23 Legal meetings this morning.
Will expose a competitor of what he said when I told him his rigs were a
POS tomorrow. What he had to say shocked me and will shock you
too. Come to find out he's just a front man for a machine
shop without a clue to design, or cost to manufacture. Been
holding this back, but he needs to be exposed. 5/29/23 Have a
wonderful Memorial Day. Please take time to give thanks to those
that gave all and didn't get a chance to enjoy their favorite activities
today. There's no winners in war, only the grave digger trade at
full employment. During my life lived thru the Korean, Vietnam,
Iraq, Afghanistan wars & a few others that are too small to mention. 5/28/23 Posted a
photo of a jumbo spawner Alewife that was alive and well until it met
it's fate when a big King gobbled up not from from Ludington, MI's
harbor. 5/26/23 Have safe and great Memorial Day
Weekend that is the unofficial kickoff for the
summer season. No word on the looming Consent
Decree yet.
5/25/23 Federal court day for the new
Consent Degree for the next 20 years, if the tribal
fishers agree to it? Should be some word in
the news of how this went. 5/24/23
While seeking a buyer tackle
company for sale in 2024, I'm still working on new
never seen before tackle projects. So, by no
means have I thrown in the towel.
5/23/23 Growing gracefully was obviously
written by someone who has not experienced aging.
So, it's a big lie! All crucial body systems
are subject to wear and tear. In my case
vision with wet macular degeneration causes some
vision loss. Yes, you can still see, but not
like when you were 20 years old. Hearing is
another 24/7 long haul sense.
5/22/23 The fish are still biting in
Central LK. MI, as evidenced by today's featured
photo. To make this report even better there's
15 pound Brown with Kings at, or pushing 20 pounds
that came from Ludington yesterday.
Click for these Ludington Fish
5/20/23 Armed Forces Day is set aside for
our military. We can honor them by not having
more wars. Human life is precious. The
nearly 60,000 US service members were killed in
Vietnam. This is a tragic loss. The 60k
could have included the person who could have cured
cancer and other major diseases. Now, we'll
never know.... 5/19/23 Just
going to let the video ride for another day. The second half is
important and brings issues into focus. Let's hope this bears
fruit. 5/18/23 Hope
yesterday's posted video help you get a better understanding of the
Consent Degree mess. 13 minutes 30 seconds is the important part. 5/17/23 Public TV channel WCMU covers a
recent episode on MI Out of Doors covered by Steve Shultz in-depth
commentary concerning the new Consent Decree and the push
for gill nets by the tribes. Steve's
informative discussion is in the second half. 5/16/23
Think all fishermen have to be
optimists. Failure, doom and gloom are not options
when it comes to fishing, or you'd never leave the
dock. That's why seeing more spring Kings this
spring has kick started my outlook.
5/15/23 Lk. MI is 46° on the surface
according to the Ludington data buoy. Then,
transitions to 40° to anything after 25'-30'.
Prime temp for spring Kings.
5/14/23 Mothers Day a special time set
aside for the person who made us possible. Be
sure to show your mom some love today. Like
the song by Joni Mitchell, "you don't know what you
have until it's gone" fits with the passing of my
mother 20 years ago. 5/12/23 From the
reports I've seen, most all MI ports have spring Kings. This is a
departure from the past when the Salmon stayed in the SE part of Lk. MI
until later May. Warmer winters and no ice is reshuffling the
timetable of our King Salmon fishery. 5/11/23 Chat from 4/11/23 mentioned the
Lk. MI water level being down 2' or more.
Warmer then normal winter allowed more evaporation
days on Lk. MI.
5/10/23 New 73 lb. world record for catch
and release for Lake Trout caught in Colorado.
This giant weird looking LT was 47" long with a 37"
rotund gut girth. 5/9/23
More good news concerning the status of the spring
Kings at central Lk. MI ports. Manistee County
Sport Fishing Association held the annual small boat
big fish contest that was dominated by Kings from 15
to 20 pounds this past weekend. 5/8/23 Best news
we Great Lakes Salmon fishing folks we can hear. Kings were caught
in respectable numbers yesterday out of Ludington, MI by my local
favorite Capt. Kirk. 5/7/23 Let's all
enjoy reel-fact spring is here full force. Outside projects will
be my focus today and working on tackle. Good times ahead for all
of us. 5/5/23 Improving
weather means improving spring fishing. Water temps govern the
whole food web. From plankton, to bait to predator fish rising
water temp is good news. 5/4/23 DNR
reports are encouraging for spring Kings from St. Joe to Muskegon, MI.
They even mentioned Manistee with a few Kings being taken in the stained
harbor plume to 30'. In about 6 weeks we'll have a better handle
on what to expect this July and August. 5/3/23 I have a
good long attention span that's good for 20 years, but it's time for me
to call it quits in the tackle business after this season. Haven't
had shop help for orders since the Covid crap hit the fan. Being
in my mid 70s it's a stretch to keep up. 5/2/23 The
beginning of May looks and feels more like the 1st of March. Temps
in the 30s with rain, wind and snow is pitiful for this time of
the year. Average temps 15 to 20 degrees below normal is nobody's
idea of fun after being cooped up all winter. Like if it wasn't
enough joy already, wind took out electric at 4:35am. Generac backup
power is on. 5/1/23 Month of
the spring Kings is here. Southern ports like St. Joe, South Haven
and Saugatuck will see what this year's crop is like. Towards the
end of May and into the 1st part of June central Lk. Mi ports will take
over. Used to get a 3 week window that's not near as long now.
Trick is to be on the water when the Kings are within reach. 4/29/23 Big
water fishing is a shared experience between fishing friends is more
rewarding. Better yet? ...if you've known them for a long time.
I've went from a long list of excellent folks to fish with down to
almost zero. Most have went to the big pond in the sky.
Others can longer go due to health issues. Cherish those you fish
with. Heaven forbid, there will come a time when your options no
longer exists. 4/28/23
Tomorrow, the last Saturday in April is the Trout stream opener.
Brook Trout are excellent table fare bar none. Brookies can be
found in any cold water stream. Often underneath banks and in log
jams. They can be aggressive biters and fight like hell. 4/27/23
Temperatures have been running 10°-15° below normal for about the past
10 days. Lows in the mid 20s is not spring like weather. I'm
sure this has held fleet pressure back from the looks of things from the
MDNR port reports.
Click DNR reports 4/26/23 I'm sure
you've heard about forward facing sonar used by the bass fishermen. 4/25/23 Lk. MI's
water level is down maybe 2' from the past few years. This is no
big deal for most who use major launches. When you launch at a
ramp like Manistee, MI's 9th Street ramp it's sand and gravel bottom
that's hard on water pumps.
Click 9th St. 4/24/23 Been
avoiding the slippery slope of the new gill net Consent Decree like the
plague. There's no way to win as the tribes are flexing their
muscle. 4/22/23 Long
over due personal projects day. 4/21/23
Sometimes it's good to remind myself just how good the glow properties
exhibited by our spoons, flashers and meat heads. 4/20/23 Working
on some new spoon colors that feature XG ladder backs. This lure
tape is the absolute best glow on the market that costs around 600 bucks
a roll. Should have photos of the glow properties in tomorrow's
chat. Procrastination is something I excel at, or I'd have the new
pics posted already. 4/19/23 Spring
Kings are not light sensitive like the adult summer bruisers.
Usually, spring Salmon of all parts of the family tree will bite all day
long. Remember you're dealing with an aggressive eating machine.
Kings go from a 1/4" egg to possibly a 30 pounder in 5 short years.
Not many freshwater fish can even come close. 4/18/23 Beam me
up goes good the theme of Capt. Kirk's boat, Enterprise. Even
better he's beamed a few Kings onboard this early in the season.
These are scouts for the main herd due to arrive in a matter of weeks at
central Lk. MI ports.
Click Kirk's
King 4/17/23
Ludington longtime local, Capn. Kirk has a
unique program the day I fished the same waters as him about 5-6 years,
being straight out of Ludington's harbor in 40' to 60'. 4/16/23 Good
news, Capn. Kirk took another decent King yesterday morning out of
Ludington, MI. Kirk said he fished N and his King came on the Gold
Orange Crush 4.0 Salmon Buster™ spoon. Enhanced story tomorrow....
4/15/23 Early
heat waves always comes with high winds, mostly from the S. This
elevates fire danger. High winds knock branches into power lines
results in starting fires. Went thru this a few years back when
the woods caught fire about 500' N of where I live. Fire stayed on
the ground and burnt undergrowth for a good half mile. 4/14/23 MDNR has
started the port reports for the 2023 season. Mostly pier and
river fishing for now. Some reports from LK. MI, but they were
scant. 4/13/23
Been is a rush to complete outdoor
projects while the warm weather continues.
Hold up on my boat trailer with a bad bunk stringer
is semi solved. Going to put a splint under
the bad spot to get by until the boat is docked for
a few days to replace bunk. 4/12/23
Mum is the word from Manistee, MI for fishing reports. Point man,
Wayne J lives in the city maybe 15 blocks away from the ramp.
Wayne relayed to me there'sust not many boat fishing. Know he
almost checks everyday. 4/11/23 Next
Monday I'll be offering a 23% discount on most tackle at my web store.
Timing is everything and we're too close to tax day April 15th to garner
attention. I'm overstocked on heads and meat rigs mostly with the
King catch being off last few years. 4/10/23 70°
yesterday says welcome to the 2023 season. Finally warm temps are
here with high 70s predicted this week. Shifted gears getting my
boat ship shape is the task at at hand. Dealt with a stuck slider
door on my pole barn that was sand locked. 4/9/23
Have a great Easter. 4/7/23
The new container port facility on Lk. Erie at
Monroe MI is flying under the radar. I'm
familiar with this area and foresee a huge complex
on the Raisin River. The Raisin flows into the
S side Brest Bay that's a perennial magnet for
Walleye fishermen. 4/6/23
Early season April Kings are a challenge at central
Lk. MI ports. It's a big reward when you land
any April King, because the main herd is still over
a 100 miles S at ports like St. Joe, Saugatuck and
South Haven.
Click Icy Blue SB 4.0 catch 4/5/23
Ludington, MI's Capn. Kirk drew 1st blood when it
comes to the 1st big King for this season.
Kirk was my former UPS driver for plus 10 years and
is darn good at early and late season fishing.
His track record speaks for itself.
Click 1st big King for 2023 4/4/23
April tax season that's a quadruple whammy for us.
2022 business taxes and personal taxes are a must
do. Throw in the 1st quarter excise and State
of MI sales taxes for more must do tasks,
Office admin stuff is not my strong suit and never
was.
4/3/23 Looks like we're finally going to see
some springtime temps. This coming Wednesday it supposed to be in
the mid-to low 60° range for Manistee, MI. Been a long long time
since we've had this kind of weather. 3/31/23 Time
marches on to April. Improving weather next week looks promising.
Slider was missed in yesterday's chat about baseball/fishing. Have
a great weekend! 3/30/23 Major
League Baseball's opening day. There's ironic similarities between
fishing and the game of baseball. Tangents begin with steals, fish
steals a bait, not a base. Fish can make runs, but not score.
Both sports can happens in all kinds of weather at anytime of day, or
night. Crowds can make a wave, we all know about waves on the
Great Lakes. Worst one is striking out, meaning the dreaded skunk. 3/29/23 Fishing
tournament cheaters get caught and plead guilty. A pair of OH
Walleye tournament anglers who got caught red-handed stuffing their
catch with lead weights. Now have to forfeit their 100 grand boat and
other penalties. What motivates people to cheat? Winning at
all costs is not winning when you're a thief. 3/28/23 In
today's split subject photo there's my MC MI boat registration stickers.
It costs me 40 bucks a year for what? Boat launches I've used at
Ludington, Manistee and Frankfort are supported by launch fees.
Onekama has free launch with EZ parking and access that's probably my
favorite.
Click MI boat stickers 3/27/23
Admittedly, I'm behind when it comes to smart phones. But that
don't mean I can't learn useful functions of this tool when it comes to
fishing. A quick photo will store your fishing license pronto.
Same goers for your boat registration. Apps cover everything from
wind to MDNR's app for regulations and purchasing.
Click DNR app 3/26/23
Yesterday's 6"-8" of a wet heavy snow does not put us in a spring
mindset. Like you, I'm waiting for the weather to break for the
better. We've been dealing with cold and snow since last November
and it's time for warmer temperatures. 3/25/23 2023
fishing licenses are available now at the MDNR's website. Looks
like the new licenses have been available since March 1st, 2023.
Easy to purchase online.. Best part is you can print out several
copies and have a file to print out more. 3/24/23 Need to
check and see when the new 2023 fishing licenses are available for
purchasing online. At any price, the cost is a bargain for the
amount of recreational hours spent fishing. Buying online is fast
and simple once you have an account setup with the MDNR. Last
year's license expires on 3/31/23. 3/23/23 There's
no joy in announcing the new page covering what happened to Manistee 15
years ago during the Little River Tribe's debacle into commercial trap
net fishing. 3/22/23 Heard a
eulogy at my wife's grandmother funeral that had a good preacher.
He said people spend 90% of their time worrying about things that will
never happen. 3/21/23 Taking
today off. Need time to digest pieces and parts of the new page
I'm working on that proves what crooks a few members of the Little River
Tribe were. Select individuals stole millions of dollars and
ripped off their tribe and us. Anyone who takes this tribe at face
value is in for a rude awakening when it comes to their end of the
bargain. 3/20/23 Great
news! Mr. Winter 2023 has met his expiration date and been evicted
from the calendar. Improving weather means more outdoor recreation
activities. Recreation is formed from the word, "create."
It's up to you to make fun stuff happen that makes living life
worthwhile. Personal time/recreation beats the daily ho-hum
drudgery. 3/19/23 Mr. Winter 2023 swan song has let us know he's not
done, just ...quite yet. Past few days have
been windy and chilly. Highs in the mid 20s
and lows in the mid-teens seems more like January
weather, rather then days before official spring.
3/18/23 In my 23 years of daily updates
none are as important as sport fishing vs.
commercial fishing in our Great Lakes. For the
most part, sportfishermen support their fishery thru
license fees. Commercial fishers pay squat!
3/17/23 Happy St. Patrick's Day.
California Salmon anglers are not going to have the
luck of the Irish with their Salmon season being
closed. Closure extends to Oregon down to
Mexico. This is the worst possible news for
our brother W coast fishermen. 3/16/23
As of March 9, 2023 is officially listed as my trademark for Rip Teezer™
from the US patent office. Now I get to use™ to protect the name
of my soft plastic strips that's been a game changer for the way I fish.
Haven't used bait, strips or whole since 2012 and never feel I'm at a
loss for doing so. 3/15/23 1st
fishing report out of the Port of Manistee, MI says a few Browns have
been caught S of the harbor. A better yet unconfirmed report
mentioned the harbor was better. 3/14/23 Burbot
are an oddball species that don't hit a trolled lure very often.
In my 50 some years of fishing the Great Lakes, may be boxed around 10.
They curl up in the box like a snake and are said to be good eating.
Know from filleting a few of them, there's not much meat, only good
piece is the tail section behind the rib cage.
Click for Burbot 3/13/23 About a
week away from the official start of spring 2023. Looks like 30s
and some 40s, as we approach the changing of the seasons. 3/12/23 Still
trying to hash out that Pandora's Box Lk. MI gill nets open. For
40 years everything was against gill nets. The MDNR gave the fake
Little River Tribe 6 million dollars for trap net fishing. This
money was stolen in a quick money grab. Tribe chief had to go on
the lamb, because there was fraud going on. Little River Tribe was
not a tribe according to the Department of the Interior. They got
tribal status from an add-on in a port-barrel congressional bill.
Townsfolk in Manistee voted a referendum against a casino. 3/11/23 Dave
Caroffino from the MDNR wins the dummy of the month award for saying
gill nets were in some way going to protect Lk. MI fish.
Obviously, this idiot just crawled out of a dung heap to be spokesman on
Channel 9 TV News out of Cadillac, MI. 3/10/23 Posted 2
new photos today courtesy of Wayne J. 1. it's game on for Lk. MI
out of Manistee, MI with 2 docks installed at the 1st Street boat
launch. Click docks in 3/9/23
Video update about prey/baitfish trawl data.
To decipher approx 2.5 acres is a hectare.
25mm make a little over an inch. You can get a
taste of what's going to take an hour to watch. I recommend
viewing it on YouTube by clicking
here. 3/8/23
Plan was to dig into the history of downriggers,
that's postponed until tomorrow. Changes to
Manistee's boat launch are in the works that
concerns a new entrance. 3/7/23
This weekend is clock yoyo time. We'll
"spring" forward 1 hour to DST (Daylight Saving Time). The US
senate
unanimously passed a bill to make DST permanent.
My web research didn't mention this bill being signed by the president. 3/6/23 Don't
know about you, but I'm ready for some tee shirt weather. Winter
is getting long in the tooth and ready for it to be over. We've
been dealing with winter in Manistee since last November and it's time
for spring like temps. Granted, we've had a very mild winter.
Fact is tee shirt weather is good to look forward to. 3/4/23 Have a
great weekend, you more than deserve it! 3/3/23 Before
picture of crud inside my computer shows the dust and dirt that can
accumulate over a couple of years. Blown out with compressed air
it's squeaky clean on the inside. Unfortunately, the after photo
was too blurry to use.
Click computer crud 3/1/23
Hello March 2023! We're just weeks away from
official spring and you know what that means
...Great Lakes fishing!! In like a sheep/lamb,
might best describe today's weather. Out like a
lion? We'll just have to wait and see, as time
marches on.
2/28/23 Featured photo of
graph shows when BKD (Bacterial Kidney Disease)
cratered the Lk. MI King catch rates in the late
1980s. This devastated my charter business
when I was in Frankfort, MI. While still able
to fill boxes of LTs for Lk. MI customers, repeat
business melted away like a snowflake on a hot
stove.
Click Salmon graph
2/27/23 Posted an
interesting graph with MI stocking and catch rates
on King (Chinook) Salmon from 1968 thru 2015.
It shows the peaks and valleys with a fishery that's
in a constant the state flux (always moving).
Highest Lk. MI catch rate was 1986 and then again in
2012. Granted it doesn't take into account
2016 until now.
2/26/23 Tomorrow's focus
will be every cloud has a silver lining. New
hire training session went well. Plus, I knew
his uncle back 20 some years ago.
2/25/23 New hire
employee training day this afternoon. Need
more help to free up my schedule to get more water
time. Trained a new prospect a week ago
yesterday. This turned into a ___ storm.
In week he had my tools and supplies, nothing was
ever done.
2/24/23 Ending the week
on a positive note that says progress.
Printing 3D diver rings is moving along nicely.
Made about 40-50 rings in green, black and red.
It's a marvel to have in-house production.
Still amazed on the tolerances I designed in so
these rings fit size "0" dipsey divers.
Injection molding tool wear over time and actually
grow larger. That had to be taken into account
during the design process.
2/23/23 Fixing issues is
a battle we fight all to win. Never will
Microsoft's Win 10 updates grind me to a halt.
Seen price drop on sata SSDs (solid state
hard-drives). Ordered a 2TB at $120 to clone
the 1TB in use. Plan is to clone existing SSD
and replace with the new 2TB. 1TB will be on
standby for a swap to keep my business up and
running.
2/22/23 Recuperating
from a marathon to get my business back up and
running after a computer meltdown. Not self
inflicted, but Microsoft's Win 10 buggy update .net
framework. Think this a bigger deal and just
has not made the news it ...yet.
2/21/23 Catastrophic
computer failure from Microsoft Win 10 update.
Took out the network/internet side completely.
Had to do a fresh install. Lost all of my
programs. This is deep deep do. Called
Microsoft paid support, Never called me back.
Lost downloaded programs, do have product keys to
re-installation.
2/20/23 Downhill side of
winter for sure. Especially, with the warm
temps in the low 50s this past weekend. Know
there's some winter left, but my thought have turned
to readying my boat. Next warm day, when
schedule allows, plan on working the boat.
2/19/23 We're about 1
month away from official spring 2023. It's
entirely possible could be on Lk. MI out of
Manistee, MI in 3 weeks. When our mild winter
changes into spring?
2/18/23 Some want dive
charts. Don't waste your time. Error on
line counter reels can be almost 15% to skew chart
data that I view as mostly fiction. Divers
attain more depth the slower you go, if you're
looking for the 110' down fish. 2mph seem to
give most depth.
2/17/23 Today's featured
pic is 44 tabs for our cupped diver rings. The
cup in the ring allows for a screw to go thru the
tabs to make it moveable. Unlike the stock
rings that never fail to break the holding tabs.
Click 44 3D
printed tabs
2/16/23 Busy with my 3D
printer making the cupped diver rings that dive
deeper with less rod strain/drag than the magnum
large rings. This is an original design to
enhance performance and solve the problem of broken
tabs on the Luhr Jensen stock ring. Having
moveable tabs that never break off makes my rings a
bargain.
2/15/23 Ludington in
person workshop has been closed. Reason?
...not enough people signing up. It's sad in
way to see lack of public interest of a long running
seminar.
2/14/23 Happy
Valentine's Day. Give your loved ones a hug.
For me? ...that's a wife of 50 some years and 3
wonderful doggies. Human affection is good.
2/13/23 It's game on for
the 2023 season. Those fishing the S end of
Lk. MI on IN waters having been doing awesome on
Perch and Coho. Perch are on minnows and soft
plastics. Sizes are over 10 inchers to jumbos.
This is as good as it gets for table fare.
2/12/23 Tyler M from
Juneau, AK made today's update possible by emailing
his 1st winter King Salmon. Juneau is located
in the S part of AK on what's called the inner
passage of sheltered waters. The weather this
week for Juneau ranges form 32-38. So, it's
not terrible cold, but still, plenty chilly.
Click
winter AK King and map
2/11/23 Checked weather
high temp for Manistee, MI since January 1st.
In the past 40 some days, only 6 were below
freezing. Interesting to note, from the 17th
of February, average high is above 32° and it gets
progressively warmer thru March pushing 50°.
2/10/23 Cleaning the
shop, it was a mess. Plastic shaving from
machining spoons neded to be vacuumed up. Want
the shop presentable to 2 new potential hires.
Hope they work out, have 2 more people interested
from my Craig's List post. This will bring my
workforce to 4 people doing small jobs that melt
into 1 big one during final assembly.
2/9/23 Yesterday it was
43° at 4pm according to my thermometer. That's
balmy for Manistee, MI at this time of the year.
Willing to bet we've had more days above freezing
since January 1st then we had in a long time
...maybe ever?
2/8/23 In the process of
hiring more help for the 2023 season. Great
time train is now well before July-August crunch
time. Manufacturing Meat Rigs™ is labor
intensive and a tough way to make a buck.
Making them last for many seasons comes from
replaceable hook leaders and cushioned crimps that
do not weaken the main string of flies.
2/7/23 2023 boat
registration alert. The 2023 season is not all
that far off. It's wise to check the sticker
at the end of the MC numbers to see if you need to
renew. Registration expires ends on March
31st. Still plenty of time to get this done.
2/6/23 Don't know much,
but what I do know? ...I know very well.
Anything negative effects MI's Great Lakes
Fisheries. The 2 words "gill net" are a punch
in the gut to all who ply the waters for Salmon and
Trout. Gill nets kill everything ...period!
2/5/23 There's 46 days
of official winter left. This means there's a
reel possibility we could be fishing off Manistee,
MI in about 6 weeks. Earliest I can remember
fishing out of my home port was around the 15th-20th
of March. Click 4/19/01
Brown Trout
2/4/23 2023 Ground Day
was cloudy, hence no shadow. This means a
early spring if you believe in folklore. Worst
case is 6 more weeks of winter that's highly
tolerable.
2/2/23 My ground hog
hunt didn't go too well. Woodchucks in
Manistee are scarce during early February for sure.
Did find Meijer's has the market cornered on ground
chuck. So, that will have to suffice for
today's wacky folklore prediction on winter's
duration.
2/1/23 Delayed until
tomorrow. Out hunting for a groundhog.
1/31/23 Recent update
from the MDNR on the new Consent Decree.
Skimmed thru the mumbo jumbo legalize that almost
put me to sleep. Bottom line is the Lk. MI
tribal netters get about 3/4 of Michigan's coast
with a lot of focus on Lake Trout.
1/30/23 If you checked
out the map of MI state record fish, you'll see no
cold water species of Salmon and Trout came from Lk.
Huron. Lk. Huron the water is rinsed thru from
the St. Mary's River to the massive opening in the S
end where the enormous St. Clair River drains it.
Factor in the cold water coming from Lk Superior.
1/29/23 Good day to rest
after backlog of orders are ready for shipping
tomorrow. Not extra busy, but enough to keep
today's chat at a bare minimum.
1/28/23 DNR came out
with a new interactive map that shows the
weight/size of all MI state records. State
record Lake Trout came from Lk. Superior at 61 lbs.
Largemouth Bass pushed 12 and state record Coho is
30 pounds and change. Central Lk. MI is well
represented with records for Atlantic Salmon, Kings
& Steelhead too.
Click for map.
1/27/23 Good day
to change the date and get a start on orders.
End of the month order always go up and that's
what's happening now.
1/26/23
Ludington Regional
Fishery Workshop
will
take place February 18, 2023
from
9:00am-2:15pm at West Shore Community
College Administration and Conference Building 3000
North Stiles Road, Scottville, MI 49454. Lunch
is provided. 35 bucks to attend for
pre-registered, 40 bucks at the door. Pricey
to say the least.
Click for more info
1/25/23 2023 marks my
40th anniversary in the full time fishing business.
Since 1983 I have not earned a dime doing other
jobs. That's why I said "fulltime."
1/24/23 Decisions,
decisions, and more decisions on how many more years
I can carry the workload I have now. Covid
screwed the pooch for more people hired to take the
burden of me. I have the greatest job in the
world, worked for this the last 40 years.
1/23/23 Good news, we've
completed the 1st month of winter. That means
there's 58 days before Mr. Winter slips into
retirement. Weather has been peachy since the
Christmas blizzard for more good news. Temps
are going to be moderate this week.
1/22/23 Ice coverage on
the Great Lakes is at an all time low for this time
of the year. Lk. Mi only coverage is Green
Bay. Rest of the lake is pretty much open.
1/21/23 Spending hours
of time researching my next computer. Choices
are endless and so are the price points.
Moving forward on 4k fishing videos will be worth it
in the end. Looks like 1500 bucks for this new
build. Over the counter computers are loaded
with unnecessary bloat ware. Dislike Windows
10 and 11. I have a shell program that turns
10 back with Windows 7 for the operating menu.
Microsoft keeps changing operating systems with no
regard for the end cost to consumers.
1/20/23 Skipped today,
busy with shop projects.
1/18/23 The technology
that's available to us today is beyond incredible.
All you have to do is take advantage of it.
Can't wait to see future fishing 4k videos direct
from YouTube on home big screen TV. Run of the
mill Great Lake fishing shows grinning and someone
turning a reel handle and not much else.
Seldom to you get any whys and wherefores that went
into producing said fish. More, or less tackle
commercials with no substance that leave us wanting
info to learn from. We're never too old to
learn!
1/16/23 From now on, all
boat/fishing videos will be shot and edited in 4k.
Previous 1080 was good, but 4k will have 4 times the
pixel count for ultra clear pro grade movies.
Trying not to get too far behind with the current
technology is my reasoning.
1/20/23 Spending hours
of time researching my next computer. Choices
are endless and so are the price points.
Moving forward on 4k fishing videos will be worth it
in the end. Looks like 1500 bucks for this new
build. Over the counter computers are loaded
with unnecessary bloat ware. Dislike Windows
10 and 11. I have a shell program that turns
10 back with Windows 7 for the operating menu.
Microsoft keeps changing operating systems with no
regard for the end cost to consumers.
1/20/23 Skipped today,
busy with shop projects.
1/18/23 The technology
that's available to us today is beyond incredible.
All you have to do is take advantage of it.
Can't wait to see future fishing 4k videos direct
from YouTube on home big screen TV. Run of the
mill Great Lake fishing shows grinning and someone
turning a reel handle and not much else.
Seldom to you get any whys and wherefores that went
into producing said fish. More, or less tackle
commercials with no substance that leave us wanting
info to learn from. We're never too old to
learn!
1/16/23 From now on, all
boat/fishing videos will be shot and edited in 4k.
Previous 1080 was good, but 4k will have 4 times the
pixel count for ultra clear pro grade movies.
Trying not to get too far behind with the current
technology is my reasoning.
1/16/23 Russian is being
spoken in the below video. Not hard to
decipher. The crux was the tandem treble hook
pig stickers that prevent lost fish. No matter
what country you're from, the brotherhood of
fishermen transcends politics, race and creed.
1/15/23 Posted a short
video Atlantic Salmon video in horizontal.
Click for
this video
1/14/23 Test Link for Baltic Sea Atlantics on our XG-Frog
Super Mag meat heads. It's a cell phone
vertical short movie, but it tells a good story on
how effective snelled double trebles are. Hope
to flip it horizontal and show it here.
click for this video
1/12/23 Photos
from the Baltic Sea's winter Atlantic Salmon season
today. One of the perks of my job is to see
fish caught on my tackle across the globe.
Click huge Atlantic
1/11/23 It amazes me the leaps and bound across all
technology fields. Went from a Herters flasher
in 1969 to a 6" paper sonar machine in 1977.
LCD mono screens in 1996 to a full color 12"
sonar/GPS in 2006. So, no matter what was
cutting edge, wait a few years and it will be old
news. Newer electronics can come with future
software upgrades.
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