Yooperdad

I bought 2 last winter and was ready to throw them away after the first attempt to use them. That plastic plug front release they come with is useless in my opinion.

I replaced the front release with OR 18's and they work like a charm. And as the others have commented, they pull a whole lot different than any of the other boards. 300' of 45# copper is not an issue for them, with a good release added.

However, adding the cost of an OR 18 to the cost of the board makes them very expensive. I'll stay with the Church's I have instead of getting more Z Boards.

Great report Captain John. Your results were considerably different than mine.

I ran them essentially the same way you did, with and without flasher, riggers, lead core, SWR, and dipsies, and caught very little. However, and this is a big HOWEVER, I had read somewhere that anchovy paste was a good filler, and that's what I used.....nasty smelling stuff I might add.

Good thing I didn't throw the Brad's away, but I was tempted. I'll have to try again this year with the stuffing you suggest.

Thanks for the report.

Mike

Have a friend from the copper Country who planned to fish Stannard one day, through the ice. They went out there with a bowling ball on board which they planned to drop to check the ice to see if he could land his Cessna 150. Instead, this is what he found, and decided he better wait for another day:no:

Championship, do you use those strip lights in lieu of spreader or halogens? If yes, where do you mount them to provide the required light?

I currently have 2 sets of driving lights on my boat, 1 set mounted under the downrigger board and 1 set on either side of the cockpit that light up the whole back end of the boat. However, they use a lot of juice and are awful bright. I've been considering changing over to something better ???? Maybe now is the time.

In my household, it became kind of family tradition over the years to tell another family member "you aren't as dumb as you look" when you wanted to recognize them in a very complimentary way for something they did or said.

1 Maniac, I don't care what the rest say, but in my opinion, "you aren't as dumb as you look"

Adam, welcome and good to see you on GLF. Those are some awesome photos you uploaded.

Never fished the Manistique River, but have fished the lake there, Isle Royal, and the Big Reef. We are so fortunate, eh!

I too have 4 Walkers on my boat and have had no issues with them. Although I just checked with Ged for an approximate price to upgrade the motors and he said $120

Guess my setup is going to start looking weird now though, as the kids got together and bought me a Scotty 2106 for Christmas. Looks very nice and from the reading I've done, it's rated as very fast.

I think I know what to expect for Christmas next year already:)

May as well chime in here too:)

I used to run Pro-trolls, but the last few years ran almost Spin Doctors exclusively. White, white, and more white! Ran chrome, green, and chartreuse too, but no doubt white was by far the most effective, followed by my Eyeflies of course, usually 20" back. Shortened them to 16" when things seemed really slow and that produced some too. Years back when we ran Pro-trolls and squid, we occasionally shortened them to 14" and that seemed to work....sometimes! By far my Hypnotist was the best producer for me this summer, followed by Green Glo Eye and the Adrenaline Eye ( Thanks Adrenaline!). Dipsies were the ticket, both wire deep and P-Pro higher up when it wasn't too windy to run 4 of them. One slightly foggy but calm day we got a 3 person limit and I think 10 came off the dipsies that day, a bit out of temp too.

A buddy in Grand Haven told me mid-summer that large paddles with a fly 40" back was producing well for them, so I tried it. Mid day and deep off a rigger, it indeed produced, usually with my Juvil Eye, an extreme UV mylar, and chartreuse extended glow beads.

One thing for sure, SD's, Pro-trolls, VK's, and dodgers followed by various lengths to your flies all take fish. How do they say that, "any given day"?

Mike

I do the same as Paulywood with the pop bottles. In addition, I use one of those snap on line counters to measure the line that comes off, mark the bottle and store some of them for future use for odd jobs or whatever. If it's throw away, it just keeps piling on the same bottle.

Used that line capacity calculator (spreadsheet) that came available a while back and put Super Braid or P Pro as a backer under all my mono and wire too. Left room for 150 yards of mono, regardless of the reel capacity, so that's what I change out every year. That little line counter worked well to measure the backer going on the spool too.

Like everyone else, I use a short segment of 30# mono between the backer and the core, or copper.

PMJASPER, you will get a lot of responses to your question, I'm sure, so I'll offer something a little different.

I didn't like the wire and ball down the chute as it seems to be in the way of everything and causing tangles. And for me, dipsies catch a lot of fish, so I wasn't willing to give them up in favor of wire with ball weights. So, off to the side I went with Church Walleye boards, pulling wire and a 1# ball. The boards were just barely able to stay above water on a calm day. I gave up on the 1# balls pretty quickly.

Copper works very well to get to some of the same depths, and does well off boards too, especially Z-Boards after replacing the front release.

Just something else to think about.

A big welcome to GLF from da UP eh! I know you will enjoy and get a lot from the site KJ. Good luck with the boat.

Great photo Cory.

Think 2011

Pitmaster, tried the hand salt method (plus a little brown sugar) and smoked the filets yesterday, with "outstanding" results. Thank you very much.

In one of your posts you had the following suggestion:

serve hot-out-of-the-smokehouse with a little dab of cheesy lemon-dill cream sauce on the side

Found lots of recipes for lemon dill sauce and made one of them, but none with the "cheesy" addition. Might you have a recipe to share for that too?

Thanks again.

That's an awesome video Pitmaster.

I sent this message to my "vet" friends this morning.

Mike

When a Veteran leaves the 'job' and retires to a better life, many are jealous, some are pleased, and others, who may have already retired, wonder if he knows what he is leaving behind, because we already know.

1. We know, for example, that after a lifetime of camaraderie that few experience, it will remain as a longing for those past times.

2. We know in the Military life there is a fellowship which lasts long after the uniforms are hung up in the back of the closet.

3. We know even if he throws them away, they will be on him with every step and breath that remains in his life. We also know how the very bearing of the man speaks of what he was and in his heart still is.

These are the burdens of the job. You will still look at people suspiciously, still see what others do not see or choose to ignore and always will look at the rest of the Military world with a respect for what they do; only grown in a lifetime of knowing.

Never think for one moment you are escaping from that life. You are only escaping the 'job' and merely being allowed to leave 'active' duty.

NOW! Civilian Friends vs. Veteran Friends Comparisons

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Get upset if you're too busy to talk to them for a week.

VETERAN FRIENDS: Are glad to see you after years, and will happily carry on the same conversation you were having the last time you met.

------------------------------ ---------------------

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Have never seen you cry.

VETERAN FRIENDS: Have cried with you.

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CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Keep your stuff so long they forget it's yours.

VETERAN FRIENDS: Borrow your stuff for a few days then give it back.

------------------------------ -------------------

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Know a few things about you.

VETERAN FRIENDS: Could write a book with direct quotes from you.

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CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Will leave you behind if that's what the crowd is doing.

VETERAN FRIENDS: Will kick the crowd's ass that left you behind.

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CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Are for a while.

VETERAN FRIENDS: Are for life.

----------------------------------------------------------

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Have shared a few experiences...

VETERAN FRIENDS: Have shared a lifetime of experiences no citizen could ever dream of...

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CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Will take your drink away when they think you've had enough.

VETERAN FRIENDS: Will look at you stumbling all over the place and say, 'You better drink the rest of that before you spill it!' Then carry you home safely and put you to bed...

----------------------------------------------------

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Will talk crap to the person who talks crap about you.

VETERAN FRIENDS: Will knock them the hell out OF THEM for using your name in vain.

---------------------------------------------------

A veteran - whether active duty, retired, or reserve- is someone who, at one point in their life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The Government of the United States of America' for an amount of 'up to and including my life'. . . and military wives are as much veterans as their spouses.

From one Veteran to another, it's an honor to be in your company.

Skeeter, great idea and no doubt such an event will generate a lot of interest.

Perhaps I missed the proposed location of the event, or is this something that will occur at several ports?

That's an awesome collection of information Pitmaster. Thanks.

Brian, a good guide can be found on line here

http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/pdf/pnw/pnw238.pdf

Have fun.

Consider yourself extremely fortunate.

My wife of 45 years won't go near the boat, and while she loves salmon as tablefare, hates the smell of fish.

I'll offer a different opinion for consideration.

I have Chamberlains and I like them a lot for laker fishing, where you fish deep, can have shakers get on, and don't change baits frequently. But, I don't care for them at all for salmon.

Scotty pinch pads are great, easy and fast to set, relatively cheap, and can be loaded quite heavy. Very simple and effective.

I used Walkers for years and also like them, but not as well as the Scotty's. Have also used Big Jons and Canon's.

Never wanted to mess with rubber bands, so that's one setup I haven't tried.

The Michigan DNR has a program called BOW, Be an Outdoor Woman, and for several years has hosted a BOW Salmon weekend at Fairport. I have participated in all of them so far, and shared the outing with Jeff Jette, "Get Bent" this year. Previous boat captains have also included Jason Peterson, "Dreamer" and Mike and Kim Herman "Micah Pa Tea".

This years event fell on a crap weekend that limited time on the water, but we still had a good time. I made a You Tube video to capture the weekend and if so inclined, you can see it here.

Participants came from as far as Lansing, MI and LaCrosse, WI ( Dorothy is both a WW2 and Korean War vet ). The event is already scheduled for Fairport again next year, August 12-13-14. If you know of any interested ladies, they can contact Sharon Pitz at the Marquette DNR office to get on her list (906-226-1321)or [email protected] Sharon has been the primary organizer of all BOW events in the UP for several years, and earlier this year received an award from MUCC that recognized her contributions. Sharon has been assisted in many of these local events by Cathy Pederson, also of Marquette and in some of the photos.

Rayman, I was not making a plug for Church boards, and I agree there are issues with all of them that could be different.

I too run a braid backer on all my copper and lead setups, with a short segment of heavy mono spliced in to affix the releases to. My comments were relaying my experience with the Z Board releases, which did not work for me. The boards themselves track and pull great, once you are able to keep them connected to the line.

I bought 2 of the Big Daddy Z Boards this spring, specifically to run copper. I have only used Church boards in the past.

The Z boards only worked for me, AFTER I replaced the front releases. I used Offshore replacement releases and they worked fine. The boards just would not hold the pull of the copper with the original releases.

Is it worth the price to buy them and then have to replace the releases?

You decide.

I have mono spliced into mine, but I was on another guys boat and he had the copper tied direct to 50# P Pro. I bought a set of Z boards just for copper and they pull well but their clips are useless. I suppose clipping to P Pro was the biggest part of the problem, although the Church boards ran like they were swamped.

What in-line boards are best with the 300' of copper, and what type releases? I ran it with some success this last weekend, but it was a struggle to keep it in the releases, and get it away from the boat.

Mike

Thanks for the positive report Mark. Hope you do well Wednesday, and also fill me in on what I need to do to go from "relatively" impressed to "IMPRESSED" Seriously:grin:

I make the flies myself and being a long time fisherman, incorporated what made the most sense to me. We all spend a lot of money to catch fish, and I wanted to make sure my flies were a good value, which I believe they are. I also wanted to deal with the storage issue that we all face. You can get a lot of flies without hooks in a plastic box rather easily, so that was the real focus for the large tubes used for the flies, making the hook sets interchangeable. Then an added plus was that the larger tube allowed for "eyes" to be added.

The silicone skirts on all patterns was an addition this year. Seems to make a difference so far, at least from the fisherman's view

Glad you like the Matzuo hooks. I tied a few double 5/0's to test and may add them to the line up soon, if they aren't too heavy for the fly. They are really mean. I have run the single 5/0 and they do some major damage to anything that grabs them.

I haven't added that #18 you ran to my web store yet, but do have them in stock and will do that shortly. There will also be a #19, Juvil Eye, made with Extreme UV from Purple Taco. It's very transparent up close, kind of like a No See Um, but it lights up with black light. I ran both of these myself at Fairport Sunday and Monday and kept 18, with about half on those patterns. The other very successful patterns were #11, the Blue Green Eye Alewife and #5, Blue Glo Eye Ghost. Didn't have time to run others.

Thanks again Mark for your very positive report and good luck today.

Mike