36Hatt

Thanks to all for your response. This appears to be a very good forum with members willing to share information, which is often rare when it comes to fishing. I do appreciate the input. I do have trim tabs, but am running twin Cat diesels. It takes quite a bit to slow the boat speed down due to the higher torque. I will have one of the engines idle turned down trying to get to the target speed. I think I can get there. If not, I will use the gears to control speed. I can read both SOG and STW on my GPS. I will compare both when I get there. On the river, I have seen as much as 2 MPH difference due to the currents. Dirty Dog, I may just give you a call if we don’t seem to be having any luck. Just the same, If anyone sees us out there, feel free to give us a call. I probably won’t be much help to you, but would enjoy talking to you. I don’t know if there are many boats with outriggers, we should be easy to spot. The name of our boat is “Cats In The Hattâ€. I am familiar with sharpening hooks. I fished bass tournaments for 20+ years. Got out of that because it was becoming more work than fun. I am really looking forward to fishing Lake Michigan. As for restaurants and attractions, we are open to all suggestions. I want to make this as much fun for the wife as possible. I think the areas we have chosen look like fun for both of us. We will be leaving Saturday, but on the boat Friday night. We won’t have internet access again until Sunday night Thanks again, Blaine

Thanks Nick, Our first day of fishing will probably be Thursday July 16th going from St. Joe to South Haven, then the 18th from South Haven to Saugatuck, then the 21st heading back south. I will definetly post our results from each day. Blaine

Mark, Thanks for your input and link to the forum posts. I found them pretty good reading. I was a little surprised to read that a full core might only get down to 35’. I was hoping for 50’. Looks like I will have to get some snap weights. I can do just as you described, 2 downriggers, 2 dipsy divers, and 2 outriggers running full core. I do have planer boards, but would like to use the outriggers. Satisfaxion Gauranteed, Thanks for your reply. You mention that the salmon are starting to be found in 90 to 100 fow, then mention that the temp break was about 40’. Does that mean that you fish in 90-110’, but have your lures set in the 40’ range? Thanks again to both of you. Just a couple of follow up questions … Should you always us a dodger or flasher in front of the lure? Do you recommend using the same color lure and flasher, or try to mix the color combination? Is there any thought that it is better to run one type of lure behind dipsys, riggers or lead core? Ie. flies work better behind a dipsy or downriggers, or spoons work best on lead core, etc. When you talk about boat speed, are you referring to SOG (speed over ground) or STW (speed through water)? Depending on currents, there can be a difference. The more I type, the more excited I am about fishing that area. I believe my biggest problem will be going slow enough for proper presentation. Even on one engine, I am running faster than 3 mph. Looks like I will be in and out of gear. I didn’t want to purchase drift bags for just one week of fishing. Thanks, Blaine

The wife and I are bringing our boat up the Illinois Waterway to Lake Michigan for a couple of weeks. We will have 6-7 days (around the 14 -20th of July) on the west coast of Michigan before heading back. We are mainly doing the tourist stuff, but I would like to try to capture a few fish while we're there. We have a couple of downriggers and outriggers on a 36 Hatteras Convertible. We also have pretty good electronics on board. I think I have most of the gear ready (flashers, J-plugs, spoons, flies, dipsys) and have chartered out of Wisconsin a few times so I know a little. I am not looking for any secrets, just a few tips to get us started. I have been reading the forum posts for that area. Looks like they salmon are around 100'. We are leaving here on the 11th, so I may not have reliable internet access for a while. Thanks in advance for your help. Blaine