mj6131

3 man limit in about 2 hours Friday. All coho. Just south of pier, never went more than 3/4 miles south, or deeper than 19 feet. Most fish in 14 to 16 fow. Talked to another boat that did go further south, didn't catch how far, they limited. Looked like people were doing well on the pier too.

I have the itch bad enough that even in those temps, and with the knowledge that the temps might shut the fish back down for a while, if the waves get decent, I'm going!

Good job! Just goes to show, the fish go where they want, not where our calendar says they should be. I assume you launched without docks?

Just called the City of St. Joe, they said docks are in at the launch on the island.

My wife made me go back to D&R Sports Saturday afternoon, because I didn't pick up more spare planer boards at that good price. She's a keeper!

Bought a pair of tweezers made specially for pulling pin bones, about 8 bucks. Work way better than pliers. Can pull them fairly quickly.

Don't have a picture, but I caught a 5-6 pounder last year. Not huge, but I caught it on a perch rig in about 45 fow. It was a fun fight.

It's the tsunami!

If this year goes anything like last year, you better get there mid-march.(or start further north.)

Don't have it installed yet, but I have an isolator relay: the second battery is cut out while you are cranking, then when the cranking battery reaches some voltage, I believe it's 13.7, the relay closes, and allows the alternator to charge the second battery. It also has a 1,2,off switch, and I believe the 2 position cranks from the second battery, but since the other battery is a distance from the main, and I only ran 6 ga. wire to it, I think I'll avoid that setting. It will be nice to have the off position for when I leave things on.

The strain of steelhead collected from the Little Manistee are actually just called Michigan steelhead. The Skamania are raised by Indiana, and Michigan trades for them, they are only planted below Tippy, but no eggs are taken there. Don't know where Indiana gets eggs from.

If you catch one with a lot of colors, and it stays crunchy in milk, it might be that other strain, the "froot loop":D

Yes, we've been pretty happy with it. It is a lot heavier, so more stable than the 17', a lot better in waves. Like you said, a few minor things irritate me (the rounded over gunwale), but overall, I like it.

Cracked hull. Looked like somebody didn't finish welding braces up front, and had several cracks in the aluminum. They were going to give me a brand new one, so I said let's talk upgrade.

Made a special plate out of stainless for the riggers. Two screws in from the side, two at the top at the highest point. Rod holders are on Big Jon track, screws down the center, bead of caulk along the edges. Everything has been pretty solid so far(2 seasons), but I do wish they had made the rails flat. I guess being a combo, they had to try and fancy it up. I used to have a V17 SC, it went back on a warranty deal, and the chance to get this bigger, heavier boat came up with a deal too good to turn down, so I guess I can adapt to a few inconveniences.

Targa 18 combo

They are the same unit, the T is OEM for Tracker

Should mention, there is no transom mounting bracket. Looked it up, about 15 bucks from Lowrance.

Here's a couple of other considerations (though I'm not sure how they help to find fish:confused:): Being cold-blooded, a fish in lower temperature water is less active. Water temp is directly related to fish feeding and growth. The warmer water gets, the less oxygen it holds, and a fish in warmer water, with it's metabolism faster, needs more oxygen. My take is that while you might find some salmon in warm water, they are certainly not comfortable, and probably won't stay long. Just my two cents...

I think we have enough to make it through the winter, but with my parents, in-laws, kids, and sisters, it could be tough.

Looked at numbers last night: 44 trips total, which to me means I had a great summer regardless of any numbers! Would have been a lot more if not for wind. We only fished twice in June! 20 trips for just trolling, 19 perch trips, 5 combo trips. 79 big fish, for an average of about 3 per trolling trip. (Would have been way higher if I had quit after May. Only 1 brown, very few lake trout or coho. Missed the one good weekend in St. Joe in the spring, then the coho shot right past South Haven when it got so warm. 1026 perch, for an average of about 42 fish per trip, including a day of 90% jumbos, 10" and up, a MA perch lost at the edge of the boat. Is it spring yet?

Each fish is opened up after the eggs or milt are taken, to be checked for BKD. Can't remember the name of the company, but a contractor takes all the carcasses. Fish in good shape might end up being sold for human consumption, but most go to pet food.

Good stuff. A couple of things - The eggs aren't actually sold. (In some cases traded...) Manistee is also where the steelhead eggs come from in spring. Until a couple of years ago, part of the eggs used to come from the Swan river weir, til the run dried up, along with VHS on that side of the state.

The left pectoral clipped lakers most likely come from the Feds.

Agreed. I went through two food savers, then bought the cabelas, works good.