tgafish

Good Job Steve. Glad you guys got into em:thumb:

xxxxx

They keep talking Rain but as of the last week we have been sprinkled on. 44 degrees is all I want or I may just abandon the river for the rst of the year.

Noooooooooo don't say that:D Thanks for the ride yesterday Steve! I learned a lot and got to see a first. 14 kids launching a boat on a trailer without a vehicle:lol:

My wifes vehicle plates expire in august so i was concerned about this also. What i was told. I need to check on it again as this was just as things were getting rolling with the new passport. when your plates renew after jan 1 then there is the option to upgrade to the sticker with the passport included. If it isn't time to renew then you are exempt till they renew. Say your plates dont renew till october 31st then you wont have to pay anything this summer for launching. But when your plates renew then you have to do the passport.

The program started in Oct 2010. You had the option to renew with the sticker on Oct 1. So If your renewal date is May through Sept of this year you are exempt until your renewal date. If your renewal date is Oct-April and you did not get the passport when you renewed then you need to get a sticker from a State Park or DNR office and place it in the same place you placed the old stickers(left front windshield).

As Paulywood said the program has already been a success and is exceeding last years funding. Almost all passport fees go to the state park and launch fund with a small amount going to other entities. It does not go to the general fund.

For those that don't pay either way this year there will most likely be warnings that are put on your car. Starting in 2012 it will be a $100 ticket to be in a state park or a DNR launch without the passport

In case you guys didn't see from other sites the limits have been set for OH and Mi waters for after May 1. Both will be 6 fish.

Yes on your 350.

Your 300 is iffy with currents and turns.

Remember sometimes there is too much of a good thing;)

WTG Steve. Ya never know til ya go.

Ice in there right now. Bolles is open. Luna will be open by the first week of April no problem. Might want to goggle jigging blade baits on turtle island reef. If the water is muddy you're gonna have trouble trolling but the blade jigging can be phenominal:thumb: It's in full swing the middle of April

Remember the 2011 season doesn't officially start until April 1 so any changes for 2011 aren't in effect until then.

For instance it says LT are open Jan1-Oct 31 in MM6-8 but they actually open April 1 this year. Then Jan 1 next year. There's gonna be a LT slaughter over the next 2 years

No picture but I caught an 8lber back in 2004 in 140 fow 60 feet down out of Muskegon.

As I've told many others I ran 8's for 4 years and caught ton's of fish with them. Try them out and see what you think before you go and spend money on the 10's;)

Can't help with NB but I checked out St Joe today. Free and clear as far as I could see North and South. No boats out at 1 pm

Friggen licenses are going to kill me this year:(

$205 for class and CPL app

$86 Cdn fish

$40 Ohio fish

$28 Mi fish

$15 Mi deer

$35 duck

$150 Indiana deer

Good Grief!!

I think I'm pretty mellow. I'm at a point now where I might spend $200/yr on tackle

Agreed. The more the better. My steel plate backing extends 2 inches around and the gunnel still flexs.

If you have never gone through it, it is worth going through it once. They have some different ideas that work well. The goody bag is worth the price of admission. It usually has about 40 to 50 bucks worth of gear in it, and it is all good usuable stuff. One of my best large flashers last year was in that goody bag. Another seminar that is worth going to is Jerry Lee's seminars on salmon fishing.

Glad to hear you had a good seminar with Jerry. I went to one of his in Novi about 5 years back and it was very poor. Basically a sales pitch for Silver Streak spoons. Seems like a great guy with ton's of knowledge on the TV shows. Maybe I just caught him on a down day.

I strongly agree with Adam. Bring a list of questions to ask the guys after the presentation. Almost every seminar I've been to the hosts have always ben very gracious with their time afterwards and will answer any question.

Name:Tom Andris

Age:40

Residence Location:Rockford Mi 4 days a week/Chesterfield,mi 3 days a week

Area(s) Most Often Fished:Port Sheldon

Years of Experience:12 on the big lake

Boat Size and Info:1996 221 Islander

Boat Name: Dirty Laundry

Started fishing for salmon from the Petoskey pier when I was 7 years old. First fish was a 16lb lake trout. Spent a couple summers in my teens fishing from a friend of the family's boat out of Pentwater. In 1998 I finally got a boat I could put downriggers on and went back to Petoskey and caught my first salmon on my own boat. Dinked around out of Grand Haven for a few years and got a bit more serious in 2001.

I was a part of the first Manistee fun tournament back in 2002 that was the birthplace of the WMFL. Fish the WMFL every once in a while but can never commit to an entire season.

Currently a committee member for the Dreamweaver Charity tournament. I'm the fat guy that calls out the raffle numbers.

Married with 2 children 14 and 12

Here's my first big lake fish

Ok...

I am going to have 1 350 and 1 300 copper and 2 fulls core 1 5 color 1 7 color

32# blood run copper btw

I was thinking

port side

350 copper

full core of lead

5 color of lead

Starbord

300 copper

full core

7 color

how would everyone run them??

Looks good Dave

I follow the fish all year long but don't stay in any port too long and always trailer. My year starts at the Brown Blast the first week of April in St Joe. Then I move over to Erie for the reef jig bite and Brest bay trolling bite til mid May. Head back to St Joe the third week of May for the a competition BBQ and fishing event then to Port Sheldon the next 3 weeks. Back to Erie for the rest of June through the 4th. Then back to Port Sheldon, Muskegon, White Lake until the second week of Sept when I head to LSC for the perch bite. Boat gets put away at the end of Oct.

Do you usually launch all the time or put your boat in a marina?

Brest bay is redoing a lot of their docks i heard and a month slip is 250. I am keeping mine there in a slip for june again. its really nice to avoid the lines at the launches in the morning. and the boat is ready to go when i get up in the morning.

I always launch. Ends up being better for me logistically and it's impossible to scrub off the junk that stains the bottom of my tin boat. Lines are rarely an issue for me as only 4 out of the 12 trips I'll do will be on the weekend.

You probably already know this but be careful with how you tie up your boat. Always a chance of a big west blow and having your rig sitting in the mud:(

I thought about running the outboard with hose out in the driveway just to make sure starting fine, batt, etc.

This is something everyone should do every year. Better to find out in the driveway instead of blocking up the launch at 6am in the morning and having a wasted trip. It also saves your friends at the launch from sucking in that cloud of fogging oil that gets burned off on your first start up.

What everyone else has said is spot on. The reason I listed EMP is it is the closest to Detroit with good launch facilities. I have never personally launched there for the reasons stated. I start in Bolles for the jig bite and then move to Sterling for May and June. After that my boat is on Lake Mi

Closest to Detroit would be Lake Erie metro park.

30 foot leader. 30# braid

I would list it pronto on a saginaw bay forum. Guys are struggling with the snow and that is a popular bay machine.