Turfwrench

Congrats!!! Looks like she is a happy sleeper.

Those are some beautiful fish!!!

33,000 steelhead were planted Friday in Pt. Sanilac. Along with the Atlantic Salmon that were planted previously this spring the DNR is putting fish in the lake and hopefully they will survive to give anglers a rip on the line.

For those of us in the southern end of Lk Huron we are again experiencing some fairly good salmon fishing this spring with fish being caught in the 19+ range. That's not too shabby for a fishery everyone says is dead. Results of the Spring Fling and Salmon Stakes out of Pt Huron and the CanIIcan out of Harbor Beach showed some great boxes of fish again this year.

Maybe the lake has stabilized and we will have more consistent catches of all species out there instead of just lake trout like so many believe are the only fish available.

Grandson and I went out on Saturday and worked the skinny for a while in the morning with no success, Moved out to 45-75fow and got into some fish. These were all took in the top 30 feet all on spoons. Sliders on riggers set at 30' took several and the wire divers with spoons on setting 3 50-60 back took the rest.

http://www.mlive.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2011/04/the_salmon_experiment_the_inve.html

This is an interesting read about the inception of salmon plantings. Information provided by Howard Tanner who at the time was the newly appointed fisheries chief. He stated that their intent was to create the worlds greatest freshwater fishery with the alewife being the foundation for the food supply to the salmon. He also stated it was a misconception that they were stocked to control the alewife.

Obviously the idea worked and the salmon fishery exploded into a huge success. Unfortunately now with the lowered supply of alewife the salmon fishery has has declined, especially for those of us on the Huron side. Now they reduced stocking on Lk Michigan which hopefully will halt a collapse like what happened on Huron. It is a shame that it took the collapse of Huron to open their eyes on the control of stockings to keep the fishery at a level that brings and keeps people fishing the Great Lakes.

Nothing like a big ole bugle lip to get your heart racing.

Had a great time at the show today....a lot to see and do..and buy. Well worth the drive over there. Stopped and talked with James @ Fish-On Sports, great customer service, he hooked me up with a pair of stanchion double rod holders. They are sharp. Their arch looked great and I think I would like to see one of them in my future. Also ended up with Bubba Blade Fillet knife which my buddy also got one and he picked up a Fish Hawk TD for a great price. We also got some flies and teaser bodies. Sure was a lot of people in attendance.

Looking forward to seeing the show. Will be our first time to this show as it is 2 1/2 hrs away. Long drive but certainly can't get the boat out yet so will enjoy this trip.

Spring sure is taking it's time to get here Grant. It didn't help getting the snow this weekend. Extended forecast not looking much better so we will be off to the Grand Rapids show on Saturday probably buying things for fishing instead of hitting the water and actually fishing.

When you are looking at a Fishhawk X4D which is the only unit you can compare this to ( well not really because of the probe size ) Fishhawk X4D is listed on their website at $795.00 but you do get a screen. The X4D probe is listed on their website $269.00. If you lost the probe you will likely buy a break away cannon ball lead for $11.00

A Smart Troll Speed Depth Temp unit is listed on the website for $650.00 or $145 dollars less then the Fishhawk X4D but you need a screen. You can buy a large 7" tablet at Wally World for $60. Total cost for a Smart Troll with a larger screen is $710.00 Replace speed depth temp probe cost is $200.

Personally I will be using the depth-temp probe for my rods but will be using speed depth temp on my downrigger. A FishHawk TD probe costs $155.00, this is not live feedback, you must retrieve the setup to find out what depth it was running at, and in fact you don't know where your bait was running at because when you let out a rod setup it drops a lot more then the actual running depth. A Smart Troll probe that gives live speed and temp costs $150.

Maybe I am missing something but to me it seems you are getting a more efficient system at a lower cost.

I guess from my point most of the talk was it was going to be less then other setups not just less than the most expensive one. Kinda like being told a new SUV was coming to the market and it would be cheaper than other SUV's only to find it is actually only cheaper than a Land Rover. I am not saying it is a bad deal just that the price point is more than I would pay.

I am with Jim on this one as I too believed that it was to be less than others but is not the case as the Smart Troll does not offer just a speed/temp probe so that does omit the other units as a price comparative.

With over 30 years of trolling the Great Lakes, from bottom bouncing in 200+ water in Lk Superior, banging the bank in Frankfort on Lk Michigan, to dragging drop offs in Lk Huron I have yet to lose a cannonball off my riggers. Although the possibility does exist I would certainly not plan on bottom bouncing a rigger ball with any probe system attached.

As with most everybody with internet access I am constantly searching the best prices on the net for items I am interested in. Today the X4D is listed by one vendor is $709.99 and the TD is listed at $124.99 I understand the TD is not live display but the fact is why put a probe on a line that is most vulnerable to breakage and run it all day. Yes it would be nice to put on a diver line, get a reference then take it off to fish with thereby eliminating the possibility of loss.

For those lines I am unable to see on the fishfinder I am just looking to spread line through out the water column not necessarily being at a specific depth and although not entirely accurate depending on conditions the Precision charts are used for that purpose. As we know, fish are not just at one specific depth but rather rise and fall in the water column as I have caught steelhead on the surface lines and 90 down and salmon at 30' and 85' on the same pass.

I don't doubt that the Smart Troll can be a great unit but as a weekender the cost is prohibitive with gas prices, trailering boat to and from, and trolling...well you get the picture.

After all the hype I have read about on several forums for this unit it was a big let down to see the actual pricing on one of these systems. I don't own an android device so to purchase one + the lowest priced package offered puts it pretty close to the cost of the X4D so I see no advantage there. A display unit would be a better option as where we fish those with the smart phones (and regular cell phones) are constantly searching for service thus rapidly depleting the battery making it necessary to keep the device charged while out fishing. Other speed/temp units that are available are more within the price range I am looking at as I don't feel depth readings are that important to me as my balls display on my fishfinder and give me a ball park on where they are running and my divers and highlines are staggered so I feel I am covering the entire water column. Although this new unit may be great for some people I don't believe I will invest in one.

After seeing this post I too decided to get some of the duals. They cost a little more than others paid ($44.95) but I guess that is due to a different design where the rod holder mounts to the vertical plate. I note there are no screws protruding on the vertical plates. I will have to say they are good looking holders and love the black bottoms. Should make a good addition to the boat. Shipping was not as quick as expected (11 days from order date). I had called to check on status and was advised that the delay was that the anodizer was back logged but no big deal, boat is not ready to go out yet. So far quite satisfied with the purchase.

It is still a work in progress Grant, but will get her done. I too am worried about where we may be able to launch this season. I am sure we can get out of the Black R. this spring but that does us no good for the summer.. The dredging from what I understand is for the marinas and the harbors but does nothing for the launches. Heard some talk they may drop in some gravel @ Sanilac but who knows???

Grant, I have had the itch since I put the boat away last season and so has the grandson. Spring seems to be taking it's good old time getting here. Did you just come out of hibernation??

Hard to go wrong with the Special Mates. I have one of the stickbait boxes that holds most of my bombers, raps, thundersticks and have almost 400 spoons in my spoon box (I run single siwash hooks and hang them on both sides). Though some may complain that they are a bit bulky I find then extremely useful and can hold a lot in an organized manner. They also allow the lures to dry while hanging unlike the boxes for my soft tackle bags that keep the moisture in. Overall a great box.

I usually start with looking at the depth charts for the area I would be heading to. Researching catch info available on various forums, if nothing for that particular port at least looking at results from nearby ports give a rough estimate. Ports like Frankfort have a board up at the launch that displays the recent reports and the local tackle shops will also have reports. And last but not least talk to the guys at the launch, always someone willing to talk. At least these sources will give a starting point and then adjust from there.

Flintstone Chartreuse Clown, Green NBK, Lemon Ice, every trip, Purple Haze during early morning or dark days. Northport Anniversary about anytime. White/pearl Becholds or Jensen dodger with Star Wars fly. Simple, yet very effective.

Kinda funny that I was thinking of browns for the summer. This brown was caught through the ice not too far from where we fish in the summer just over a week ago. This brutis was 16lbs and had a 26" girth. The fish are around.

Better than a Timex,, took a licking and still kept ticking.....or in your case catching.

Thanks guys. We have a few spots that likely hold browns, one we call the humps that runs in the 50'-70' range, usually find a few walleye in there and usually holds plenty of bait as seen in pic below. They have planted plenty of browns the past several years in the area so there should be a few good ones out there.

Great looking browns ya got there!!

Interesting subject. I find over here in the S end of Lk Huron that a bit after soid daylight in spring is good and then again around 1 -3 in the afternoon. As summer progresses although we may get a few in the dark hours of the morning the crack of daybreak is super hot, peters out again til around 2 or so and than again just before end of dayllight in the evenings.

Another good lure for lakers is those old king size magnum spoons that Northport Nailer made. Seems they can't resist a big ole bait slowly going by.

We see them every spring and fall in the shallows and some are very good sized. At these times they seem fairly easy to target. The question is where are they in the summer? Has anyone targeted them in the summer anyone with good success or is it just a stumble upon one or 2?

Skin on. Smoked, when I eat it I just peel the skin off and use fingers to remove the dark line, comes out real easy no foul taste. Grilled, fish slides right off the skin and with a spoon, fork or knife you can remove the line then, separates very easy, still no foul taste. Deep fried, boiled, or canned - skin off.

Thanks guys, I appreciate your responses and can see why inlines can be a benefit. I only target the top 30 fow when running boards, don't run coppers or cores so I have no need to pull other lines to put others out. My game plan on the lower side of Lk Huron is to run my rigger and wire divers deep, then put out a couple highs for steel or walleye. We get several walleye a season while trolling for salmon and trout and a lot of times those eyes are in the top 30 feet over 80+fow and many times see steelhead cruising or sipping on the surface. Body baits like the Manns 30+ on a 3 way with a spoon on one side and higher running baits on the other side cover that high side of the water and usually quite effective.