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

Archived Daily Log 
(Dating back to the year 2000)

1/28/23  DNR came out with a new interactive map that show 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.
               My snowometer stands at 61" (57 + 4) for the 22/23 season.

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.
                40 bucks at the door to attend the Ludington Workshop is outright ludicrous.  Personally, I see the whole DNR fisheries division as a ship with no rudder.  Their goals change faster than the weather.  Every dollar the State of Michigan invests in the Salmon program/stocking, MI gets 10 bucks back.  It's sad to see MDNR slip like they have.

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."
              20 years as a charter operator and river guide (mostly for Steelhead).  Ran big lake charters on Erie (walleyes), Huron and Lk. MI from 1983 thru 2003. 
              Ran my last river trip 20 years ago this November on an awesome note.  Caught and released 9 Steelhead all in the same run.  The fish kept coming, but the sole guest I had that day had enough and called the trip short.  9 river rockets will drain anyone.
              November in 2003 switched over to tackle manufacturing that been a reel-joy.  I've enjoyed every aspect of my career and look forward to more.

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.
              Thinking out loud, breaking my tackle lineup to parts is the simplest and fastest way to sell.  Know I will not waste my time with rip-off artists that don't have a down payment on a free lunch.  Figure a 100 bucks into my PayPal account will buy a hour of my time to discuss and make sure it's a good fit for a ....maybe new owner.

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.
               Tomorrow is a update I'm not looking forward to, as I plan my future.
             My snowometer stands at 57" (56 + 1) for the 22/23 season.

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.
               No ice means sun penetration keeps the food chain growing.  Warmer water aids in Trout and Salmon growth too.  So, I see this as a good thing.
               Here's a link to an article about ice coverage: Click Great Lakes ice

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!

1/17/23  January thaw 3.0 continues.  Since the end of December daytime high temperature have been above average.  No snow at my place.  What was here melted.  This highly unusual for the middle of this month.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining.
              Shopping for parts to build new computer is a pay as you go deal.  Purchasing case, Windows 11 Pro, power supply and optical drive this month.  Next month GPU/graphics card, motherboard, CPU, and RAM are on the list.
             Assembling a computer from components is no big deal.

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.
             Built this computer used for updates and 1080 video about 6 years ago.  Upgrading to 4k will take more processing power.  Shopping now for cpu, motherboard, ram, case, graphics processor/card and case.  Hoping to build this omputer under $1200.

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!

1/17/23  January thaw 3.0 continues.  Since the end of December daytime high temperature have been above average.  No snow at my place.  What was here melted.  This highly unusual for the middle of this month.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining.
              Shopping for parts to build new computer is a pay as you go deal.  Purchasing case, Windows 11 Pro, power supply and optical drive this month.  Next month GPU/graphics card, motherboard, CPU, and RAM are on the list.
             Assembling a computer from components is no big deal.

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.
             Built this computer used for updates and 1080 video about 6 years ago.  Upgrading to 4k will take more processing power.  Shopping now for cpu, motherboard, ram, case, graphics processor/card and case.  Hoping to build this computer under $1200.

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.
              Nice to see some live fish action.  Reminds us of what's to come in 2023.  Yep, the clock is clicking with the mid point of January crossed.  Click for this video

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

1/13/23  There's a back story on yesterday's photo thought to be from Lithuania.  Actually, it's from Kaliningrad, Russia.  Customer had to do some creative shipping to get tackle into the Russian Federation.  Maybe restrictions due to the Ukraine war?
              Do know the Black Mamba SUV Salmon Buster spoon has seen some serious use with all the tin red coating on the VMC hook being gone. Click Black Mamba SUV

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
               Our Salmon Buster Lexan spoons are probably the best saltwater spoon ever made.  Nothing to fade, tarnish, or paint that chips and peels off. Click Blk Mamba SUV
               No metal spoon has the dart and dive erratic action our Salmon Busters do.  Buster do not ride tail heavy at slow speeds.  Proven to catch from 1.2 to 4.0 mph.
              Know my spoons will never reach the popularity of those that play tackle store bingo with tons more selections than necessary.  But that's what keeps them in business.

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.
              I try to purchase the mid-price point.  Router recently purchased is working like it should after 2 firmware updates.  802.11b was the 1st WiFi available back about 20 years ago..  Several upgrades later we're now on 802.11ax.  My Linksys router, over WiFi can handle 190Mbps on the new 802.11ax protocol.  Internet speeds I could only dream of before Spectrum fiber was installed last November.

1/10/23  Adjusted for inflation the price of multifunction displays i.e. sonar/GPS has not been priced out reach. 3K will get you a decent one.  That's about what I paid 10 plus years ago for the 12" Raymarine, formerly Raytheon.  About 6 years ago this machine had a firmware update that made it even better. Click 12" Raymarine
              In today's photo the split screen, 50kz on top with wide angle with some detail lost.  The 200kz bottom screen shows more detail with a fish suspended off the bottom and scattered bait to the right of the trap net lead.  Good to have show and tell demos.

1/9/23  Just a bunch of things going on.  Trademark for Rip Teezers™ has been accepted.  This has taken more then a year with the USTPO; United States Trademark and Patent Office.  Costly too, about a grand when all things are said and done.
            Sonar photo of the trap net lead don't give you much to work with.  Leads were marked with hard to see gallon jugs.  Flag staffs on the ends were more visible. Trip for the net photo was to mark it on my GPS, then share with the Manistee fishing public.  If someone was to get hung? ...kiss all your tackle goodbye.  Click sonar net pic

1/8/23  UPS is off the chain when it comes to shipping packages to AK.  For a 1 pound, 12" by 4" by 4" package, UPS wanted $104.54 to ship to Juneau, AK.  USPS did for 8.95.  Ever since UPS went public rates have climbed thru the roof.
             Updated my shipping policy/options at www.michganangler.com that now says, "no UPS shipping" to AK.  USPS does it for 90% less.
             Called the customer about the switch that turned into a good conversation.  Tyler's area is concentrating on winter Kings that prefer fish shaped flashers.  Asked him to send us some photos of my tackle on the job.  Hope he does.

1/7/23  Mild January temperatures will continue to the 15th according to long term forecast from Underground Weather.  This not good news for those wanting to ice fish.  Fairly warm 30-40s temps will not build solid ice for foot traffic.
     Warmer than normal temps will keep Lk. MI ice free with a continuous food chain.

1/6/23  Looking for positive news.  Found out today is 11 minutes longer then the first day of winter back in December.  By the end of this month our days will be close to an hour longer then 12/22/222.  Daylight will grow exponentially, as we move toward spring.
             Trying not to get bogged with the net issues soon to be upon us.  Part that hurts is ports that I know best are being targeting.  Best bet for now it to wait and see what happens and set a foundation to dry up all retail fish outlets.  Tribes know there's advisories.  I see their fish being shipped out of state to an uninformed public.