killerbe20

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Super Slim Cheap Sunglasses with a strip of green glow tape added. 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!

here is some info from washington island from over the weekend from a friend https://www.facebook.com/pages/Team-Brush-Roll/169316189782016

I hear ya, man! Even down here a couple miles can mean the difference between a "zero or a hero." East and north of town is OK fishing but seems like farther south is a ton better. Until last weekend trout fishing was helping to make my trips respectable. Nice to have that pit in your stomach gone, at least for now.

lots of big fish! Not entirely sure about the numbers though. The Kewaunee-Door County Derby id going on through today and there have been some 30+ pounders registered. Which ports are you considering? The Sturgeon Bay Bank is pretty incredible place to fish. Its like an underwater cliff dropping from like 60 down to 200 (im sure my numbers from memory are off) instantly. I have spent a lot of time in the rest of Door County but never fished anywhere besides Sturgeon Bay. Sturgeon Bay has the most to offer outside of fishing if you are concerned with that. The rest of door County is pretty neat and touristy. North of Sturgeon Bay, the more "developed" areas seem to be on the bay side but its a short drive from one side to the other. Washington Island is also a really great place and is known for its fishing. One draw back to Washington Island it is accessed via car ferry so you have to have good pre-planning. I am not sure about what kind of services, stores, etc are on the island.

way to go boys!

The Blood Run spinnies can be purchased right through their Tackle Store website accessed at the top of this link: http://www.propositionsportfishing.com/fishing_Reports.html

I was running them at 30" but lately I have been doing 27-28" hook bottom to loop end. Don't know if the fishing has gotten that much better or if changing my lead length has helped. I have also slowed my trolling speed down from last year to this year so that would also correlate to a shorter lead length.