SUPERTRAMP

I should be fishing St Joe Friday and Saturday give me a shout on channel 11 Call the Supertramp. and I will let u know what is working. I will probably run south to the power plant and start trolling around the chalets. Should be coho and browns and an occasional steelhead. Try running jointed Rapalas and any other shallow diving stick baits in tight on the beach, then some deeper divers out in 12 to 15 fow u can set up in about 12 fow and run a board all the way in to the beach so it is running in the first trough should get your browns there if u want coho try moving out to about 15 to 18 fow and run everything u can to cover the top 12' I like to run spoons in chrome with red or orange tape, on a 1 color of leadcore and clean with a bullet wt usually 1/4 oz to get it down about 6 to 8' u can use any number of presentations but remember that the top 12' is where u will find fish and that slow is the presentation with long leads.

Mike (supertramp)

Boat name MC2

GPS IS A MUST, It will give you a constant speed reading to adjust too and get you back to a position. A lot of charter boat captains only use the GPS.

Good Luck

Mike (Supertramp)

So Haven Mi.

Boat Name MC2

Good Point Jim>

I meant to give the reasons for my set up mostly so the lengths stay equal I do not run line counters on my lead core and copper setups. the old 10 pulls then attach the board is my standard set then be sure my deepest sets are closest in and the shallower presentations are furthest out giving a V shape to the set. This allows you to reset without having to pull all of your lines on any side of the boat. Sorry about the misunderstanding.

Mike (Supertramp)

The Okuma CV45 is a great reel for 10 color if u use 50# power Pro backing, use a willis knot to attach the backer and the leader u should not have any problems with the knots even on a Penn 209. Check out the link that Just Hook n posted for the directions to tie the Willis knot. The Cores are a great addition to your set up but you will end up getting copper set ups too, I did and I fish both at the same time.

Mike (Supertramp)

So Haven Michigan

Boat Name MC2

I attach the planer right at the splice of the lead and the backer, anymore and you start to have tangle problems and I believe that the unweighted backer will belly and cause some issues. That is just my opinion.

Mike(Supertramp)

So Haven Mi

Boat name MC2

The best answer is how big is your boat, and how many people will be with you. As stated in an earlier reply Michigan has a 3 rods per angler rule so you could run the riggers deep, the divers at the 2nd level and then you can add 300' of 27# lead core and run it off of inline planers. As for how far back, that can be as previously stated in the spring I usually run 85 to 100' behind the ball and some times farther if the fishing is in shallow water. If you plan to run the flashers or Dodgers and flys I suggest you run them on your deepest Divers, and get them out away from the downrigger lines I usually run mine set on 3 and try to get them down to the level just above the riggers. Lead Core will work great after you start to go out to the 50 to 100' water depth, and I use 2 300' 45# copper and 1 450' 45# copper down the chute and though I have 4 riggers I usually only run 2. Also try using Power Pro braid 30 to 50# on your dipsies you will gain a lot of depth.

Hope this helps.

Mike (Supertramp)

Boat Name MC2

Dang it man u r driving me crazy. Cant get the boat out of storage until the 29th. But then we are bound for St Joe. For Coho and Browns. Cant wait.

Mike Chamberlin ( Supertramp)

Boat name MC 2

I have used vicious and currently use 20'# Berkley Vanish 100% flourocarbon. They all work well and have very little stretch but will absorb water and sink slightly.

Mike Chamberlin (Supertramp)

Boat name MC 2

Welcome aboard this site has more free info than any other site on Lake Michigan. I was fishing out of a 15 footer that looked a lot like yours until I got another larger boat. Be careful these silver critters will hook you hard! If you get up to So.Haven call us on channel 69 or 11, MCsquared is the boat hope to hear u r catching all the fish u can handle.

Mike (Supertramp) Chamberlin

Boat name MC2

LMAO

Mike (Supertramp)

Boat name MC2

Welcome to the insanity TJ hope to see more of your posts on fishing on Lake Huron

Mike (supertramp)

Boat name MC2

I am jealous but cant get the boat out of storage until the 29th. WTG Jay D

I will second the hard work getting big fish to the boat on Cores or copper, In the early days of Lake Michigan Salmon fishing 1970 to 1985, there were down riggers and pink ladies, they both produced but we never ran dodgers off pink ladies. Then the Dipsy Diver showed up and we ran them because we could spread more lines out. I had 20' Angler Specialty Hawaiian outriggers on my old Supertramp boat and ran a lot of 2 and 1# dropper balls with dodgers and flies behind them. The advent of the big flashers has opened up a lot of possibilities, they troll faster than dodgers, they run straighter they dont swing wildly side to side like a dodger and they can be fished off of dipsies or riggers equally well and at speeds over 3mph. The fixed slider is a standard presentation on my boat but we only run 2 downriggers when the weather warms up.

The fixed slider pictured is my standard rig.

Mike (Supertramp)

Boat MCsquared

How does that 600' from the boat work in 3 to 4 foot seas? I can run 3 lines out each side of the boat 1 wire dipsey and four riggers on an 8' beam and still keep the lines from tangling if I am careful but my copper 300' is closest to the boat then I run a full core then usually a 5 to 7 color lead core. I use 45# copper and I use the big rings on the dipseys they are usually the deepest presentation. my riggers don't interfer with any of my long line presentations. Just have to watch quick turns and make sure I am not going across current. I have never run an inline player anymore than 125' out.

I have been to one of their seminars and it was very informative, the tackle bag u get is worth the price of admission, I got spoons and some big john planer boards and a lot of terminal tackle. They give you a lot of info on speeds and how to use your electronics to stay on active fish.

One thing the west coasties don't figure into their speed is the Steelhead and Lake Trout that we in the great lakes get. I wonder if your Trout catch will suffer by trolling at the higher speeds?

I love the CV55 but I use 45lb copper and it sinks faster and get the same depth with 300' that u get with 450 ft of 30lb. That shortens the length u have out behind the boat and makes running more lines easier.

Mike the winding thing is very important, I suggest about 15 yards of mono as a backing for p-pro, this will prevent the dreaded braid slip on the arbor, wind on the mono use an albright knot to attach the p-pro then wind on all the p-pro and attacha t 45# swivel to attach to the dipsey diver. Remember anytime u use braided line u need a small amount of mono to prevent arbor slip. That goes for the pre wound Lead core with the braided backer.

Good Luck and great fishing

Supertramp(Mike)d

Boat name MCsquared

Take your time and listen to the guys on this site, there are some really good fishermen on this site. You can spend a lot or a little depending on your budget. Lead Core rigs are not too expensive to set up and you can fish a lot of different patterns with them. I suggest at least a 1,3, 5, and a full core lets you get a lot of depths. Riggers if you have them are nice I have 4 but only use 2 most of the time. On my litttle boat I had 2 penn long arms and the rest was all Lead core and Copper. If you want to take a boat ride in the spring I will be In So. Haven as soon as the boat is prepped. Contact me @ this site or South Haven link in the links section here.

Good luck and great fishing

Mike(Supertramp) Chamberlin

Boat Name MC Squared

I live in Kalamazoo and boat is kept at summer place marina in So.Haven April to October. 10 minutes fm slip to pierheads.

Ouch sounds like one of my good days. Been there on those days that nothing goes right

Way to end the season Mike. I knew Gregg could handle the net.

If the walkers are not holding your paddles there is no better way to set them than to take 1 full wrap using the line to the lure. Bill Walker designed the release in about 1974 and they are adjustable but can cause line abrasion if tightened too much. I have run them up until about 1984 and then went to rubberbands because we were dragging too many fish. Shakers wont trip them and due to a solid hook up they don't shake the rod. Most important always use the line to the lure to wrap or pull into the release. I still have some of the original Walker releases and the only difference is the adjust knob on the back of the barrel is not knurled, and they are black.

Adam: I used the walkers for many years and the proper way to attach is take the line to the lure and wrap 1 or 2 times around the release and pull it in be sure not to wrap the line to the rod or you won't release. The biggest problem is with shakers you never see them. That is why I went to rubber bands. Walker also makes a very good stacker system where the stacker release is set at a fixed distance from the ball usually 10 2 12 ft and it is a barrel that has the cable thru it and a small ferrule is crimped at the fixed distance on the cable and you can stack 2 rods on the rigger. I currently just use fixed or free sliders on the main line to get more baits in the water.