pulpfishin

church revelator is what I meant.

Got lines set at about 5:45 this morning straight out of the pier in 65 fow. The first king came at 6:30 in 75 fow on a 5 color core with a green church regulator and green fly. Next fish came in 80-85 fow on a wire dipsy back 200 on 1 with a green spinny and pickled sunshine fly, a nice 16 pounder. Last fish came on the rigger set down 70 over 80 fow with a with spinny and white fly, a real nice 18 pounder. Went 3 for 3 on the day while avoiding the Holland tournament traffic and fishing a small area where we were marking lots of fish. Ran into 42 degree water in 80 fow 60 feet down. A touch bumby going south today, but the north troll was smooth. Probably could have gotten better numbers a little deeper, but we'll take the quality over quantity. Pictures I will post to the gallery unless someone would like to add them, can't remember how. It's been a while!

weren't we talking about small boats here? Not every small boat has gps and chartplotters and it is definitely not required by the Coasties to own one. I am in complete agreement with the fact that people run way to fast at night. But as I recall smaller boats have the right of way unless you are in a shipping channel. At any rate when the fog hits it is always scary! Be careful out there!!!

Nice! That one extra fish will probably ruin our fishery forever. Great that was the one we'll need to fill our limit this weekend! Just kidding, nice work!

another way to gauge speed if you don't want to spend the money on a GPS unit is to keep an eye on the rigger cables. When you think you have the speed dialed in check the distance that the cables are from the boat. When you hit a fish make sure that from then on, going the same direction, that your cables are that same distance from the boat. This is how we started before all the fancy electronics we have on the boat now, and it works until your trolling direction changes! Then it is time to start over. A compass is critical to keep trolling direction the same when employing this technique. In time you will have all you need on the boat, but for now get out there and pound that water 'til you figure it all out. In the end you will become a better fisherman and learn how to read water!

So the boat rigging continues...

Picked up 2 eagle claw rods with some Penn reels today 40 dollars for 2 set ups;) Not the best, but it will get the job done.

Put the 2 Cannon riggers on the boat as well (came with boat) and even put them rigger rods in the holders...

Nice! I love fantasy fishing! I just can't seem to shake these riggers I got. Looks like I'll have to find a spot for them if nobody wants to make an offer!

Nice rig, Dave. Looks like you have some Cannon swivel bases on there, and guess what? I have the perfect set of new Cannon manuals I would be willing to part ways with that will fit those swivel bases. They have been used 1 time since they were taken out of the box. Now they just hang out in my garage collecting dust. Willing to make one sweet deal on them!! Shoot me a PM and I will exchange info with you if you are interested.

Hey Dan, here's my 2 cents.

1) A lot of guys use 11 inch paddles, I personally like the 8" spinny's. Depends what you are targeting and what the fish are telling you.

2)I usually leave the swivel where it is, but I have switched it before, again depends on what the fish are telling you. Lately it seems like less movement is catching bigger fish.

3) 24" and 31-34" is a good starting point, sometimes the big guys like a lot less whip action on the fly so 36" is not uncommon on the 8" spinny's.

4) I really wouldn't see a problem running the 4 foot booms on the Big Jons. Big Jon is an awesome company and I'm sure if something broke because of the way it was built it would be replaced for free. We run older captain's packs and have never had an issue that was not caused by our own stupidity!

5) Most guys use braid for their "high" divers, and wire for their "low" divers. The "high" diver is usually put on the 3 setting and the "low" diver is put on the 1 or 1.5 setting. This way the braid ("high") diver does not go as deep and planes farther out to the side. If your plans do not include wire then just run you dipsies on your braid, pretty much any setting you'd like. I would suggest 1.5.

Lead core is run off of inline planer boards, mostly. Some run it on "big" boards or outriggers. Inline boards are definitely the most common way to deploy lead. All of the colors are let out and the board is attached to the backer. Full cores (10 colors), 7 color, and 5 color shine in the summer. Some run double cores or fifteen colors, most though go to copper for those depths now.

We ran 3 of them on a 3 foot leader behind a big tin can with a meat rig behind that. Killer! Used 50 pound flouro and crimps behind each spin 'n' glow. A little bit touch to reel in but if you want to stir stuff up on the bottom it is a pretty awesome rig. Actually a lot easier to reel in then cowbells. I guess you could run a fly behind it all or even a spoon. If that is not in the cards for you try spin 'n' glow, one bead and a treble.

$5 fishing license? Is that one available in Michigan?

Has anyone ever had one of those days when rods on only one side of the boat will fire, then when you make the turn to troll the opposite direction the rods on the other side start to fire? This has happened numerous times to us and I am starting to think that it has to be current pushing the spread on one side closer, or under the boat, and pushing the spread on the other away from the boat. Heard from one charter captain that he has proven that he catches more fish from the side with the motor he is trolling with that day. Do you all believe there is anything to all this, or is it just sh*thouse luck?

The old green spinny and pickled sunshine does it again! Told you we would get that 20 pounder this year! Only thing that makes me sad is that in September she would have gone 25! Oh well, if we wouldn't have found her when we did, we never would have. Congratulations to Mark and the Pandelarious for it's first 20 lber! Thank you Mark and

Dan for dragging the boat to South Haven for an afternoon of perch fishing! Sure am glad we changed out minds now.

Nice work. Tough time of the year to fish down here.

I once saw a poacher during the salmon run lose his rod and reel, his cooler, his rain jacket and pants, and his truck! Now that would be embarrassing!

I still am a big supporter of getting rid of the minimum size limit and going to a slot limit. We go to Minnesota every year for walleye. You are allowed 5 fish per day (in possession) with only one over 21 inches! Their year classes are incredible since the breeders are left in the population. And let me tell you I would rather eat a 14 inch walleye any day rather than those old, nasty hawgs!

Nice fish but is that a peterbuilt tattoo I hope your a truck driver

Smooth Ott, smooth.

Tilt that rear rod holder down as far as you can. How many fish do you take on dipsies over there? The boat we fish out of is much like yours and we only run 1 wire dipsy on each side, so 2 total. We hang a lot of fish on lead and copper on inline boards. I understand that the dipsy rod is a blast to fight fish on, but if you boat does not allow the space or freeboard to run 2 dipsies per side I would re-think. We typically run 10 to 11 rods on an 18 foot Lund and tangle rarely. 2 downriggers, 2 dipsies, 6 boards, and one down the chute. Dipsies set on 1.5 in the summer.

We run the magnum Walker Deeper Divers on 1.5 for the low divers. Usually just 2 divers in the water at a time. Used to run the Dipsies with rings, but figured out that the Walkers without the rings are much easier to deal with. No rings breaking or coming off, no changing rings or removing or adding them. We even run them in the dirty water set on 3 and have caught many shallow fish with them. They seem to run nicely on wire and on Power Pro. They pull hard, but so do the kings that they drum up!

Cedar trees!

I agree with Nick. I was thinking about making some myself and that is exactly what I was thinking! The pin idea is also great for docking and for trailering. I was thinking about welding a "stud" onto a platform that bolted onto the gunwale with two holes in it for the pin to slide into. One hole would be for docking and the other would be for when the trees are in use. Only problem I have seen is that the material costs for building them yourself is only about 10 bucks more than buying the Big Jon or Bert's trees. I don't know what the solution is; make them yourself and reap the rewards that you made them, or buy them and know that they are tested and true.

Let's put the smack down on some pig lakers! Tournament Trail is in Michigan City this weekend so the big boys will be out of town.

you know you want to see Robert's Spiderman rod and reel combo loaded up on a rigger! We'll try it next year when we can get on that "new to you" boat!

I have had great luck with the pink Barbie rods paired with a Zebco reel for the riggers and my son's Spiderman rod also with a Zebco for the high lines. DO NOT run wire divers on these, though. I'd go with a Superman model for the wire. No need for rollers or a twili-tip, 'cause Superman is bad!

Run what you brung, man!

Awesome job getting the kids involved. I can't wait for my 4 year old to make his first trip!

Nice work. Wait 'til I get out there with you! Tangled dipsies, rat's nests, all around fun! This spring fishing is way too easy. We need those dipsies way deep and really close to the 450 copper to make things interesting!

sweeeeet! Gotta get over to see her! V-berth for me to sleep in, in the morning? Can't wait to spill beer and fish blood on her, I mean Do I Look Like I Give A F....?