SeaFoam

Great start to the season!


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Good work! I dropped off 6 reels at Tackle Haven to get upgraded drags. They work with mascot reels. First time I’ve done it so not sure how it will work out.


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The one whitefish confused me. I am even worse at walleye fishing than I am at salmon. The night bite is a good tip though.


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What fish are you targeting?


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Count me jealous! My boat is in storage. Sorry the seas were tough for you though. Off to Menards to buy PVC pipe to make a better pole rack.


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No walleye in Holland.  Nothing to see here.

Glad you had a flatter lake to fish on today versus Sunday and were able to put at least one in the box in the middle of the day.  Thanks for keeping us updated on the bait location - seems to be holding at the same depth for a couple of days now.  
Brad's cut plugs, I am a big fan.  They are a money rig in my arsenal.  I see that they are now offered in UV . . . . . I feel a lure purchase coming on .

Had a little time mid morning so I went out solo and trolled 10-1 pm. Put in at 100 FOW. Trolled out to 160 FOW then back in to 90 ft.  Marked a good amount of bait and fish at 130 FOW. 
 

1/1:  6 lb Steelhead, 125 FOW, SWR down 65 ft, brad’s cut plug candy corn with Alewife gel scent. 
 

Only a couple of boats out made for a relaxing troll. Still a lot of current to deal with. 

Thanks for the report. Great detail
Enjoyed the story. What do you think the fish mood is? I'm hoping for some colder weather soon to break the current cycle.

The forecast seems to be off from the bouy lately, though at times like you reported the other day it was spot on. Other parts of the same day it's been better than 3ft waves for the same flat forecast. Lots of wide swinging currents and wind gusts.



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I fish solo a lot as well. Wearing a life jacket at all times and having shared your plan with someone on shore are musts. I wear an auto-inflating life vest every time. If I stay out longer than my plan I text my wife. When I return and enter the break water I text my wife so she knows I am off the big lake. Seriously considering a wireless kill switch as well.


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Essentially same program as Monday when we were 24for51
Much bigger fish today though which made it all the more exciting!
Photos and some funny videos ATTACHED here
Check out the video of us finally landing the 30lber after about 40min – humbling how I fumbled the net job and nearly lost him in the end! 
PUG and the crew were sure excited to get another Chinook Master Angler award

 

 

 
 

one more video...

Great photos!  Great family and fish!

After all the reports of them getting an early/on-time run in Grand Haven this year, decided it was high-time we see if Saugatuck would equally produce.  Ran down in the darkness and setup in 40fow directly off Saugatuck channel at around 6am.  First fish came at around 7.15am. We nailed a couple coho in that 40-43fow but weren’t breaking records or anything so we slid in a bit more.  For the next 4hrs it was just one bite after another all really right there in that 31-34fow just inside the kzoo river mud.  Pretty much all combinations produced.  3 colors, 5 colors, 7 colors, dipseys, riggers…  Plugs caught the most fish.  Spoons got maybe 3-4 fish.  Large white paddles must have gone a half a dozen times too.  We had three quadruples and lots of laughs in the midst of all the chaos.  Hats off to PUG, the kids, and a very determined crew!  Ended up going 16 for 31 this morning, which has to be one of our best if not our best trip on Parker and definitely an exciting start to the fall season. 

Congratulations on the 20 pounder!  

Nice report! Always great to share the fun with friends. Good work.


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Nice report and great sunset picture!


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1/1 18 lb King, 82 fow, SWR down 75 ft, mag rv green jeans

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Sea Foam, sorry about your downrigger ball loss.  Last year I had a large white paddle white fly, the last line out of the water that . . .  I for got to get out of the water.  I am on a plane coming in and thinking, man it sounds like a drag is screaming.  Well in fact it was, and when the sound stopped, I took the boat off a plane to check things out and found one rod in the back downrigger rod holder completely spooled.  Pulled the ball up but not the gear.  I felt like an idiot.  Yep it happens.
For what its worth, as much as I am temped, I never leave my 15lb balls on the rigger hooks.  I worry about bad things happening, like ripping the rigger off the back of the boat if the ball goes down so I just leave them in the aft compartment until I set down.  I am sure you are contemplating the same.  Glad you only lost the ball and wire and not the rigger.

I think I heard you on the radio tell them they owe you some money?  It was busy out there today.  Some guys don’t pay attention or care I guess. Sorry to hear about your lost tackle. 
 

I got a late start. Didn’t prepare last night and had a mess with poles tangled sitting on the boat. How many poles can one line get hooked around?  
 

Got my lines in around 6:30 and had one on by 6:34.  Quickly came unbuttoned. High diver back 100 ft in 80 fow, moonshine green jeans. 

Had another one on at 6:50 am.  Lost it quickly as well.  Downrigger down 60 ft, bloody nose spoon.

Had some obligations at home so pulled lines at 8:30 am.  Had a shaker on the rigger.  Successfully got it back in the water.

Hit the no wake and saw my starboard rigger cable hanging off the back of the boat.  I didn’t even use that rigger today.  Must of bounced the ball overboard in the sloppy waters and jerked it off on bottom coming in.  Rigger clutch was loose when I noticed. A new one for me.  

2/2

1. 5:45 am, 9 lb King, high diver out 190, 135 fow, moonshine green jeans

2. 6:15 am, 6 lb King, rigger down 70 ft, 130 fow, flounder pounder

Bonus: didn’t do anything stupid and lost no rigs. Lol

One radio report of 14/17. 5:00 am start, 90-110 fow. 12 kings, 2 steelhead, sounded like they caught fish all over the water column.

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There's fixed sliders
Free sliders
And super free sliders where you don't even bother to hook it to the rigger before throwing it over...

Been there and I will try to make this a quick story.  Back when I lived in IL, fished a tournament in Racine (and back when entry prices were modest).  Pre fished Friday morning.  Crew was Janet (wife, best friend and great fisher person) and one of my best friends Ben - we were a three boat crew.  That morning, the alarm clock rig hit a couple of big fish on a 1-set dipsey before sun up.  We set that set-up a side for Tournament Saturday morning.  Saturday comes, we come off a plane and begin to set up in the dark, Janet and Ben are setting lines on the port side, I and working starboard.  The alarm clock rig goes out on the port side - then I hear where is it.  Evidently, it was thrown over the side, dipsey, paddle and fly without it hooked up to the rod.  The go to presentation was gone.  So I rigged up another set up from my back up gear as quickly as possible, handed it to both of them and with a straight face let out, "just throw this over board too" (I go by capt. Dick and this was a stellar moment).  There was silence on the boat . . . . for a long time I might add.  OK, that was me being a d&%K at my worst.  But today, we laugh are butts off at that now because of the whole moment, me being me, and how fun it is to look back at miss adventures.

Morning started out nicely with a 13 lb king at 6:40 am, high diver back 205 ft, Shelly snack moonshine spoon, 98 fow.

That was my last hit until 9:30 am when I pulled lines.

I did manage to throw a meat rig in without attaching it to my rigger line. Alas, I pulled in my diver a half an hour later to change presentations and there was my meat rig hooked up on the diver. What are the chances?

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Out of curiosity, what does the autopilot run? Mine is a 2003 with I/O. Not sure if that makes a diff. But it's cable steering and not hydraulic.

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