medic

WELCOME Bill!

Watch the weather, pick your days, and you'll be fine!!

About 15 years ago, a buddy of mine and I was taking his 14 foot rowboat with my 5 1/2 hp Evinrude out of South Haven 3-4 miles chasing Captain Chucks perch boats. Took forever to get out and back in but we were slammin the jumbos!! Good times!!

Good job Richard!!

Only thing going in my smoker today is the Easter ham.... :-(

Cannot wait to get out!!!

Hi Anthony,

Welcome!!

The willis knot is awesome for tying leadcore to backing and your leader! It's the only knot I use and NEVER (knock on wood) had one fail..

As far as the spoons go, I use a GOOD ball bearing snap swivel to attach my spoons. One of the things I look for in a snap is a good, gradual, round bend in the end of the snap. Too tight and I feel that may impede action a little. Sampo and Dreamweaver snaps are the best IMHO.

I cannot emphasize this next statement enough.. Make sure the snaps are a coastlock or similiar locking snap. The cheaper snaps with just the tab lock WILL straighten out on a good fish.

I hope this helps ya. Any other questions, feel free to fire away!!

Here are two that ALMOST made it... Notice the trend... De is a big fish MAGNET!!!

Denise with her 29.6 pound tournament winner

28 and change...

And since this thread got a little sidetracked, My son Mike with his 90 lb butt on Prince William sound...

Hope this works... Been a while since I used Photobucket! LOL

Here's my take on it for what it's worth.. Just my honest opinion...

I feel that this is a true benefit to renewable energy for the state. Thats a given. As far as being unsightly, I think they're kinda cool to see spinning slowly in the breeze. I drive past them all the time heading to and from work. (the new wind farm in norther Gratiot County from Alma to Ithica stretching east to Saginaw County). Now, if they spread them out like they did there, I don't feel that there would be a negative impact on our fishing. Only a positive one.

Think about this. What draws fish more than anything else, no matter where you're fishing? Structure. And the windmills would become just that. With them spread out a quarter to half mile apart, they would be easy to troll around. How many of you troll the trap nets that we all complain about? I know I do. Why? It's structure and it draws fish. And at least there would be no missing the windmills and getting tangled up in them..

So, sorry for rambling, but I think in the long run this would only benefit everyone..

Just my opinion...

First off, let me say that was a very informative and excellent video!! Thanks, Matt!

Now... If you guys want a good laugh, do this...

I originally muted my puter the first time I watched this due to the TV on and the better half watching it. SO.. I clicked on the little arrow in the bottom right and turned on youtubes "experimental" close captioning which is based on voice recognition...

OMG!! Try this... See if you can understand anything Matt is doing!!! LMAO

One of my fav lines he "said" was about "avoiding the wife"!!! TOO FUNNY!!!

Thanks again, Matt!!!!

Yeah..... I'll get back to you on that one ;-)

Maybe I'll ask my sister to check it out.

*Free 6 month renewal of man card*

Not a problem, Chris... I love it in my brine.. Hope you do too!!

Dave.. Those cradle holder's are awesome for dipsey's! They came out with them two seasons after I had bought my triples. If they would have had them then, I would have bought a double of the cradle holders and the regular holders for my in line planer rods. I have never looked at the Cisco track so I cannot comment on it, but I know for a fact that if you'd rather go with Traxstech or Berts track, Cisco will put the matching base on your holders for that track. Thats what I have. Just another option if you so desire.. Have fun shopping! You will never regret your purchase!!

Awesome!! Reminds me of the Kenai River kings!!!

Dang, I miss Alaska!!

Diesel,

Sly is correct. I have been a Paramedic for the past 19 years and deal with pt's in diabetic coma/hypoglycemia/insulin shock very often. It has educated me immensely. The simple sugars in a brine are a minimal concern compared to a balanced diet. Think about it. If you use 1/4 cup of sugar in a brine, MAYBE 10% of that actually gets absorbed by the fish. Then by the time you break that down to a per piece level, it's very minimal. Now here's a suggestion... One of the ingredients in my brine.

Use honey instead of sugar. A quarter cup of honey in a half gallon of brine goes a long way, and the actual sugar content is minimal. Replace your terryaki sauce with sesame oil and soy sauce. It just takes a teaspoon of oil, cuts that added sugar, and tastes virtually the same... Try it. I think you'll like the results.

Mike, welcome!!

i know I'm biast but I would have to say that Manistee is definitely one of the best ports. Here's a few reasons why IMHO

The ramp is excellent and right at the pier. No long ride out of the port to the lake.

Very short distance to deep water. The shelf is straight out about 2 miles and you'll go from 100 fow to 300 fow in less than an additional 1/2 mile heading west.

The Manistee River has an awesome chinook run and from the end of July on, the fishing is second to none.

The town is very fisherman friendly and theres much less recreational boat traffic than a port such as Holland or Grand Haven.

If you head to Manistee you won't be disappointed. I absolutely LOVE it there and I believe you will too..

But I'm guessing it's somewhere in between Goth black and hot tuna!!! Bwahahahaha!!!!

Not my color, brother!! ROFLMAO!!

You'll have to troll the cosmetic isles yourself!!! ;-)

Excellent report, Terry! Way to go!

Awesome! Way to go Mike!

VG Bud! Thanks!!

I agree with Nailer. The shelf produces fish throughout June, and the way this season is going, it will probably be more like midsummer patterns anyway!

Gotta LOVE Manistee!

Not a problem!! I also have their eight tube rocket launcher and that thing is bulletproof! The thing I love about it the most is that the tubes actually screw off, so if you're shrinkwrapping the boat in the winter, you can remove them and just leave the base.

I'm in the process of stepping up in boats, and there isn't room for my rocket launcher on the radar arch due to the current open array radar. I'm seriously considering cutting it in half, and mounting half on each side of the radar. It will fit then... LOL

www.bigpapasportfishing.com

Bob and Carolyn make EXCELLENT products that are very reasonably priced.. They also make what I believe one of the best trolling bags on the market. I know I am VERY happy with mine!!

Jon,

Take a look at www.towersunlimited.com and look at their custom top photos on their site. Lots of pics and may give you some ideas.. Good luck!

Bob,

For chips I'd suggest maybe some nail polish? If you can get close in color anyway.. And for restoring the color, Eagle One makes a product that is made to restore faded black plastic on cars. New Black (?) or something like that.. It works GREAT and doesn't seem to wear off/out. I found it with the car wax at Wally World..

Bags... No doubt about it. Not only do they slow you down, but they also help stabilize the side to side rocking motion when you get into a chop a little sideways. I'd never be without them.. just my .02..

Wow!! Glad you managed to escape!! LMAO! :-)

I didn't think anyone else knew where Six Lakes was, let alone Blanchard!!! Hahahaha!!

Welcome aboard Todd!!