Line Dancin

for divers i run big jons. http://www.lordoftheriggers.com/item/?product=34

these are a heavy duty rod holder specifically for running mag dipsies. Make sure when you order big jons you tell them you want the new ones. the new ones when a fish hits you just grab the holder and pull it to an upright position ahd lift the rod out. no more reaching over the side of the boat. also i hate the handles on the GLH as i cant get as many holders on the side of the boat. i can space big jons 4 inches apart if i want. they also make a slim line base http://www.lordoftheriggers.com/item/?product=35 for narrow gunwales. For my board holders i am using tite locks with pro pins they are a pull pin but NOT for dipsies.

the good:

We got down to sterling and get everything all set up. thursday morning my dad me and some of his friends went out with a family friend who runs a charter boat. with 7 guys on board between 6 and 10 am we took a seven man limit.

figured out the program from Jerry and then we rigged to go out.

went out twice friday 10 in the morning and 7 in the evening. almost a 4 man limit. saturday another five fish, it was really slow compared to friday.

the bad:

saturday night decided not to fish cause of weather. They were broadcasting bad weater and decided not to take a chance.

the downright ugly:

midnight the tornado sirens went off. DNR was running around the park telling everyone to take cover. we left and went to my Aunts house about 7 minutes away. tornado went south of us and almost though the twon that my wifes family lives in in ohio.

They were saying the worst was yet to come. 3 am it hit. winds rain lightning. 3:30 it was over and we decided to try and get back to the camper and get some sleep. The whold campgrounds was up not a tent standing awnings ripped off campers. figured i would check on the boat in the morning. 8 am left for brest bay marina. trees down everywhere. Got to the marina to devastation. one boat a 30 + chris craft was rolled right over off the dry dock system fuel running everywhere. boat was destroyed. another 30 + jack stands on one side were just crushed boat was on its side. i got to my boat and it looked like it had a tree on top of it branches leaves and other crap. started digging out. luckily i had tied a couple extra lines on before the storm to secure it better. The owner of the marina came over to see what kind of damage my boat sustained. luckily it was just the marine antenna bracket that broke. he helped me clean up and then a little while later came back with a replacement and didn't charge me for it. he said it was a good thing i had the extra lines as the boats that didn't all had some form of damage. they were out taking pictures and helping people get with their insurance. Jerry said that his trailer shifted and started blowing toward the canal and they were afraid of being blown into the canal. Chip cartwright said it was the worst roller coaster ride of his life trying to sllep in the boat and being awoke by the storm. One camper there had a tree come down right across the back and destroy the camper. National guard was called in to dundee to help out as a tornado went through there. i have a couple short videos and have to get them up loaded and then i will link them here to youtube. I'll get that done tomorrow. i am kind of tired after not sleeping last night.

It sounds like this was there but not enforced. I bet Genny saw just one more way to get more revenue.

It really depended on the Manager of the specific park. When the money that the DNR collect stopped going right into their coffers and into the general fund is when a lot of things get let go. I can tell you horror stories from the fisheries dept that we just didn't have it in the budget at times to do what we needed. anyways another time for that. each district was given a certain amount of dollars per month to work with. that money was significantly cut from when the dnr raised their own money. and is the first thing that is cut whenever they talk of cuts, hell even when their not talking of cuts they cut the DNR. we were all against giving the money to the general fund but you know politicians all they see is dollar signs. this left a lot of the areas within the dnr to cut manpower to just enough part time people to hardly do their jobs. That is why a lot of the managers jsut let these out lying areas go. they used to have part time high school kids that used to drive from lot to lot just checking vehicles and if no sticker you got the ticket envelop on your windshiled. well that was the first thing to go. Some of the bigger parks like pontiac state, sterling state and jackson still had the budget and still can employ these kids to do this. that is why some of the parks you can get away with it at. At least Jenny has finally seen the value in the state parks, My uncle was one of the founders of friends of pontiac lake and they have been fighting tooth and nail to get the parks back. More money is flowing into the dnr again and that is why you are starting to see things like this. but you are also seeing vast improvements in all the state parks. I know it sucks that you have to get the sticker now but technically you should have had it all along. that little bit of money can do a lot to rebuild the parks to what they once used to be. now i am going to bed

ok one last comment than i am gone. i not not ticked or anything at anyone and wasn't trying to come off that way, just dont see the need to really argue about it like said above next year wont matter anyways. the way the DNR used to do it and up till oct 1 is (i talked my uncle he managed Pontiac state park for twenty years then 8 years in lansing parks division). any maintained launch, waste baskets, out houses, docks are under the jurisdiction of the most local state park and fall under having to have a state park sticker. also any hunting lands that have parking not on the county right of way you are supposed to have a state park sticker. Their are also some river access point that you are supposed to have a state park sticker. He started to explain it all to me and i told him that he had said enough already. Unless they fall under water ways. he said their are lists on the website that show which ones fall in which jursidictions. Any ways oct 1 10 bucks gets you into any state owned areas. I'm outta here good night. talk to you after i get back to erie not internet access at the state park.

i almost think that the walker dig harder than the dipsies. i had them bouncing bottom a lot more with the same line out where the dipsies wouldn't hit in those areas.

I'm maybe fishing Friday, definately Sat AM and maybe Sunday. I'm going out of Bolles Harbor. Do you have a cell phone? Ed

yes i do i will pm it to you

Well the only launches around Gaylord or East Jordan for that matter that you had to pay was the State Parks or the city launches.There was no signs that stated that you needed a launch permit. Now you have to have one for even the small lakes.Take Dutchmans bay launch. You never had to pay to use that launch and now you have to pay $6 to launch.Or the ironton Launch you didn't have to pay.

I lived on dutchmans bay road and there has ALWAYS been a sign there and they DO charge when a dnr rep came through. they used to drive right past my house on their way there.

I have a couple more things to say on this issue then i am done.

I dont agree with everything the DNR does by any means. and yes i do have complaints about some things they do. But you can't fault them for DOING THEIR JOB AS MANDTED.

Last item who do you think pays to keep those launches up. they cant do it for nothing. THey have to pay people to clean up after the slobs that use the launch and trach it. I hate the garbage that flew into my yard because of some of the people using that launch. the 25 bucks you spend for a year is nothing to make sure their is a launch in good shape to use. They can very easily hand those launches over to the communities and then you will see paying to launch a boat.

I work in automotive, in the assembly end of things building class 8 trucks.

Satellite, CB, GPS, radio and all cables come in standard lengths. Cab and truck lengths do not. We don't cut any!!! All are coiled and stored out of the way.

In this case, Shakespeare recommends the same installation. 8" minimum size coil. In my boat, I had to go to an 18" coil for a good signal match.

http://www.shakespeare-marine.com/pdf/5225-xt_5226-xt.pdf

Aaron, one thing comes to mind.

Did you adjust the squelch?????

If you don't, you will transmit a distorted signal.

Since you cut the cable, did you use a solder type connector? It would be best.

HIH

yes squelch was adjusted

yes solder connection now mind you i am no electronics person so the job is dond just not pretty.

Well most of the dnr public launches up here in northern Michigan that are not city launches or state park launches you were not required to pay. And now you have to have a launch permit. But if you want to go to a state park you have to buy another sticker.Our state DNRE sucks.I guess they are just trying to get us to fish only certain places. Because most people can't afford to buy both.

I lived in east jordan so i know about northern michigan and again it depended where you were. if you went to one of the "free launches" in the petoskey are 9 times out of ten they were doing there job and you had a ticket when you got back. now the gaylord area they were lax i fished a few lakes over there with a friend who never bought a sticker and he never got a ticket. sounds like they have a parks manager that is actually doing his job in your area now.

if you look at the website there is no such thing as a free launch. depending on which jurisdiction it falls under you either need a waterways sticker or a state park sticker. The thing is is that the DNR never really enforced things the way they should in certain areas so people thought they were free. I have an uncle that was a parks manager and was in lansing for a while in the parks division (retired now) and two uncles that are COs and here about what other parks and COs are not doing that is their job. Also when i got out of high school i worked for the fisheries division for three years before deciding to go to college, and we always were to report vehicles in those type launches when we went out to do creel checks or plant fish.

sadly most of the time you replace the antenna as they are not adjustable you can sometimes adjust by triming the coax if you have a feedline missmatch. If you are around Muskegon some time I would be happy to hook up my analyzer and see what the antenna is doing.

that would be great. I am heading for lake erie on wednesday early afternoon and am going to be packing tomorrow. maybe next week some time i can hook up the boat and come for a ride out there. I really want this thing to work well. i was able to talk to guys in port sheldon after the filter and isolating the power and ground wires which i was not able to do before. i was only getting out about a mile. so now i am up to about nine miles but they said there was some distortion.

how do you adjust swr then with a marine radio?

Who is going to be fishing lake erie from the 3rd through the 6th around monroe? Just trying to find a few guys to talk with over the radio while i am down there.

NO the power and ground to the radio must come from a clean power source. I have never seen a radio that transmits that does not have some form of chassis ground but there is a first time for everything. I just read the manual on it and you are right it does not have a chassis ground. Check the grounds to the engine and lower unit it is also possible your SWR is way off this will put the radio in protection mode and it will not put out full power have you checked SWR on the antenna?

No i havent i am not sure how to do that. i do have the power and ground direct to the battery on seperate studs that have nothing else connected to those studs. everything else to the boat is off the other studs on the battery. i also put on a good noise filter: http://www.hifisoundconnection.com/Shop/Control/Product/fp/vpid/2680902/vpcsid/0/SFV/30046

this is what they said that they sell to guys for marine radios and also install on boats when installing marine radios to get good clean power.

i have cut the wire to about four feet long just long enough to get to the radio and leave a little left if i have to replace an end. i also added a noise filter to the power wire and with doing everything i was able to now talk to dirty dog in Port sheldon while we were in the pier heads at holland. Jim i looked the radio over and there is no ground lug on the back of this one. I have the black wire run direct to the black post on the battery should i run that to my outdrive?? and not the battery. red wire is direct to the battery also.

my main two are wire mag walker divers set on one. i like the deeper with less line out. they do pull really hard but when i need to get deep in a hurry i just start letting line out, no pulling and changing over to get deeper.

nice job guys. we ended with two and two shakers. about 4 to 5 lbs each. two shakers that were thrown back. one on a dipsy large wite slick w lil boy blue 200 back in that same water. and one on a 300 copper with a moonshine glow perch. nice talking to you guys out there. we decided to not fish monday as we are heading to monroe for walleye wednesday morning for 5 days and i had to get the boat changed over and start getting stuff ready to go. good luck tomorrow.

i also isolated the marine radio pos and neg wires to the Post on the battery with the post to stud connectors and the rest of the power wires are going to the studs on the battery. not sure if this will make a difference or not?

hi power power direct from the battery. i did cut the co ax back as i had most of it there got the connector on good, so we will have to see tomorrow on the water. thanks

i have a galaxy 5225 antenna that i put on my boat last year. i was also using an inexpensive raymarine radio. i could recieve wellbut not transmit. this year i bought a better radio, Oceanus, and still seem to be havint the same issue. i could hear plum crazt down by saugatuck while in the holland area and also nick of time but when i tried to get them i couldnt get to them. could it be my antenna connection at the radio not installed right?? I couldtalk to people in the local vicinity, just not any distance.

Take some inline weights and crawler harnesses as well incase they want meat. A friend of mine has been beating em up on Erie on meat.

I do have some harnesses and weights, and am going back to gander tomorrow when my two year old has had a nap already. today was an ugly seen with him in that store LOL. He did not want to shop today.

Another question. Someone mentioned earlier about using straight mono. What is the general concensus on this mono or flourocarbon. i have both but want to use what is going to work better.

thanks everyone for the info it should help me figure out what to do. any other advice would be appreciated. we are staying at brest bay marina for the four days.

I just tie direct. Let me know when you're having a tackle sale. That's a hell of deal you got on the discs and spoons...yowza:thumb:

when the kid told me what he would give them to me for i emptied every peg hook without regard to color.

nice job guys. we werent able to get out this weekend family things in ohio but mem weekend thats all i am doing is fishing.

nice job guys. what water did you work?