killerbe20

white and UV spin doctor, green rattlesnake spin doctor

mirage crinkle, green crinkle, aqua, Big Weenie Whistling Dick flies

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I would personally like to see the CHRONIC problem of Milwaukee dumping raw sewage into lake Michigan addressed instead. Not that this is not a problem, but it is a one time accident that is being delt with. MSD's dumping of raw sewage happens regularly

Wisconsin has good fishing too ;-)

great job! You gotta keep the boat ready for winter oak creek brown fishing

tony - if you are willing to travel and put in alittle TLC, boat deals and repos are a dime a dozen down south. Salt water boats may not be as much of a headache as many believe if you do enough research and are expecting some issues. Also in the size range you are looking for, many boats may be trailer kept. Granted I would have loved to have bought a fresh water boat when I was searching for the First In but paying a FRACTION of the great lakes price was well worth it. Not to mention boats such as the Thompson you are looking at are not highly sought after for ocean fishing so the price can be right.

Jim - from my research, it does not seem to be much within waking distance of the ferry dock. Oh, well, just have to plan next year with a car. No more charters for this year and the boat is coming out of the water this coming week. I would love to go fishing today but need to catch up on some missed time with my wife....or there will not be a boat next year :-).

its a shame they chose Muskegon for the ferry as opposed to other ports

thanks guys. I think this plan is already dead based on input from here and other good friends. Thanks again!

my wife and I were thinking about riding the ferry over to Muskegon on sat. Just wondering if there is much to do or see there. If we choose to do it, we will be leaving the same day and we will not have a vehicle.

Josh did you do better this year than last? How much difference did it make in the daily bag.

hard to compare copper success from 2010 to 2011. Majority of of 2010 was fished inside 30 fow out of Racine because our water was so cold. In 2011 I fished mainly from 90-250 fow.

a couple observations from 2011 though - I did notice my catch rate higher than others that I know do not fish many or any coppers. Without purposely doing it, I have evolved to fishing 6 coppers and no leadcores. Other charters in Racine are either doing the same or planning on it for 2012.

I am by no means saying leadcore is no longer effective. Just for me personally, copper is currently better suited to my fishing style.

I switched out my ten colors with 200 and 250 32lb Blood Run coppers. Extremely great success and fished extremely well. For those who have had bad experiences with 45lb copper, this is a completely different animal. Next season I am going to replace the rest of my five and seven colors with coppers as well. between the shorter 32lb coppers and my 300-400 45lb coppers, I fished 90% leadcore free this year. Next year I can see fishing 99% coppers over leadcores.

awesome fishing again yesterday afternoon on a 2:30pm-7:30pm trip. Group was from out of town and didn't want to keep any fish so we started in front of the harbor to try for a big "trophy." After an hour and a half with nothing to show for our efforts so ventured out deep. Lock and load action 80-120 with a mix of 2-3 year old kings and some cohos. After seeing how great the fish looked, they ended up keeping 8 to take home. I lost track of how many we threw back but we could have easily had our four man limit in just a couple hours of fishing.

White with UV spin doctor/aqua or mirage fly on 250 in 32lb, 300, 350, 400 in 45lb Blood Run coppers and 180 and 200 on wire divers. Same setup as well as Green Rattlesnake spinnie/green crinkle and a mag fuel spill proking also did pretty good on riggers from 70 to the bottom.

sorry no pictures, I was a little busy!

I definitely believe in it, especially on fly leaders. I do a majority of my fishing mid-day and think it is a huge factor in off bite success.

that's awesome! It truly is a life style that few people have the pleasure of living. It isn't just about catching fish or making money. Working, living, on a charter boat on a daily basis is an experience that is hard to describe or explain. Most importantly, it definitely humbles you as a person and fisherman too. It may sound funny but you also develop a different, almost personal relationship with the fish.

Make sure you continue to learn and pay attention to the little things. When the time comes and you are running you own boat its all going to pay off. I started when I was 12 and by the time I was your age I was just going through the motions of going to the boat, fishing, cleaning fish, fishing again, cleaning fish/boat, repeat the next day. Now that I'm running my own boat day in and day out, I wish I could go back and absorb more and enjoy it more. I let it become a job and I greatly regret it.

hope you have a great winter off and look forward to seeing you in Grand Rapids again, hopefully a west sider like me will be welcome back again! Oh, and my number one charter fishing fish catching tip, country music catches fish!

welcome! Glad to see us wisco boys growing on here!

everyone is going to have their own personal preferences on this one, including myself. Leaving my own opinions out of it, make sure you do enough research yourself to make your decision. Buying four downriggers will be a major investment that you only want to make once. If possible, look everywhere and on other people's boats. Try to play with as many different ones as you can. They are all different and each have pros and cons. Some things to think about are whether you want plastic parts or all metal, high profile or low profile, rod holder options, speed, swivel bases or not, best bang for the buck, clutch system, how they are going to look on your boat, etc......

bottom line, take other peoples opinions into consideration but ultimately make sure you find what you want and am happy with your selection.

Racine harbor is heating up with mature fish. For those looking those fall monsters, now's the time! Mag spoons and plugs on riggers and 50 foot sections of 32lb Blood Run copper. Don't be afraid to venture away from the mouth a bit, especially mid day. Shore fisherman have been doing great too especially after dark.

Still tons of nice silver fish off shore, even plenty of kings in the 10-18 pound range. Majority of fish seem to be around the 200 mark and out. Water is warm down to 100 feet. Spin Doctors on riggers down 100-250 feet and 250-400 foot Blood Run coppers.

Hope you have a bigger boat , 3-6 feet tonight , and sucks through Saturday .

stupid. prob not going to be able to run any of my trips this weekend. The water is so dirty in front of Racine too, most likely a waste of time.

20K' date=' WOW. We need some big money tourneys like that over here in Lake Michigan.[/quote']

We already have them! Salmon-A-Rama in Racine is a lake wide derby style fishing contest. Big fish caught any where in Lake Michigan is worth $10,000, the only "catch" is the fish has to be weighed in in Racine. Worth the drive for 10 grand though!

http://www.salmon-a-rama.com/index.php

A lot more fun catching them when you can see them in daylight IMO. Not sure why anyone would want to fish in the dark??

Copy that! I'm up right now to go fishing and don't like it at all! I prefer my 8am just got done working at the fire house charters.

Around Racine the fish have not been coming in near shore like they usually do pre-dawn this time of year. I have a feeling the altered pattern may have something to do with it, but i am by no means a fish biologist.

Your Moonshine vs Pro King success may have something to do with the bite pattern. I am not saying Moonshine spoons do not work during sunlight but I think they really "shine" during low light conditions. Pro Kings, depending on the pattern of course, are very productive spoons during the day and especially bright sunny days.

Russ on Adrenalin has a real great looking setup. Maybe he will chime in or just PM him.

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http://www.greatlakesfisherman.com/gallery/files/1/7/5/0/2010-10-08_00002.jpg' alt='2010-10-08_00002.jpg'>

nice job jim. sounds like fishing has slowed up a bit up there. Hope it picks up again before Brew City!