steeliebob

No just metal and flies St Ignace

Tomorrow is your turn on the hardwater. We will be setting tip ups for some steelhead. Bring your track shoes and don't say I did not warn you about track shoes. Chasing flags in 20 pounds of boots can wear your legs out in a hurry. It will be fun.

Another unacceptable behaviour (IMO) is the boater that power loads his boat on the trailer, especially when their is a sign posted that prohibits power loading.

I have seen the Sheriff Dept, Michigan State Police, Boarder Patrol,Coast Guard, and Tribal Police all power load their boats at one time or another. I guess that they all have too much boat for their trailer. The taxpayers must be doing a good job.

Finally found some good ice on a L Michigan bay and set up for some steelhead. Spawn bags on tip ups and the flags were flying on and off. The first fish to hit the ice was a 7 pound steelhead then a long drought. Then a screamer that had the tip up leaning but I missed. I got that tip up reset just in time to see another flag and land a 2 pound steelhead. Then another drought watch a couple of eagles flying around for awhile. Then another flag and another screamer set the hook and land a 4 pound steelhead. Had some nice fillets for dinner last night.

Some days I just laugh. I have been down there in the early am and every dock is occupied by a recreational boater who decided to spend the night. I have seen every dock occupied by sunbathers and swimmers. Always fun to be waiting for a blow boat to rig up while parked in the ramp area. Have seen lots of guys leave their truck in the launch ramp and test drive their boats for an hour or so. I saw a guy with a Michigan State license plate block access to two ramps once for 4 hours. He parked his truck and trailer so nobody could access the ramps. Fireworks night is always fun, your vehicle is always parked in even if you could get to your vehicle you cannot drive it to the ramp. Nobody pulls jet ski trailers out of the ramp because they are always wrenching on them.

Are you the idiot that is running planers 150 feet on either side of your boat in a congested area? Are you the idiot that has to follow 50 feet directly behind my boat? Are you the idiot in the blow boat...need I say anything else???? Are you the idiot that thinks that the launch area is a designated place to wrench on your ***** jet ski. Are you the idiot that just drove 40 mph in a 55 for the last 5 miles, now that I am passing you found 80.

Look in your freezer that is your best bet for now. Make a spiced rum and coke and wait it out like the rest of us.

I work all week.On the weekends I find a nice chunk of ice to sit on and watch wolves circle me licking their chops. During this process I try to catch a couple of steelhead on my tip ups. While watching the tip ups and wolves I hope that Michigan opens a wolf season soon so that I can stack them up like cordwood. Mabey soon my wife can have a wolf fur coat.

October 4, 2011 I was fishing for steelhead and had a hit on a spawnbag and brought in a 37 inch female that just tipped the scale at 30 lbs. No picture was taken as I did not have my camera handy at the time. My first 30 in about 10 years. There was a time that 30 pounders were not uncommon.

Mabey we should privatize and go after the Asian Carp. Take the money that we pay the USFWS and give it to private companies through grant monies and within a few years multiple companies will have multiple stratagies to attack them. Using multiple stratagies will help deflate their population and make them less of a risk to the great lakes.

I got out Saturday am and found that I had wasted a trip. Too much ice to open water fish and not enough ice to ice fish. It is supposed to cool down a little more this week and next week if that helps. Check on a site called iceshanty.com that might help you more.

Ice was about 1/2 inches thick. So here I am climbing out of bed at 5:30 am to go ice fishing again and no safe ice. After driving around looking for places to go ice fishing I went home without getting a line wet again.

May all of your wishes come true for 2012. For all of you that I have fished with it has been great. Play it safe in 2012 and many full coolers to all of you in 2012. I hope to see some great pictures and read some great stories, keep them coming. Good luck to all of you, a lightly set drag screams louder.

They are fishing munuscong already. No reports yet but I have heard of a few going out on foot only.

No rain this week but mixed temps right now it is 15 degrees out with a light wind. I think that it made some ice this week. I am going to give it a shot tomorrow. Good thing is that I don't go out far and I won't venture into too deep of water. If I can get a few feet off shore and into about 3 fow I will be good to set some tip ups. I will check several spots and hope that I can find some good ice .

Illinois plates are made in Canada that may change now that all of the politicians are becoming volunteers. Very funny

It might be where or how I fish for steelhead through the ice but I have seen slammers miss fish at least 4 of 5 times. I think that they work good in deep water but I seldom fish over 10 feet of water. Most of the time I am in about 3 feet of water. The steelhead give the bait (spawnbags) a tug drop it then wait a couple of minutes before hitting it hard. Another issue with slammers is that most of the time I am fishing it is about 10 degrees or less out. Holes freeze up fast in that temp.

I am thinking about getting a center pin for next year. I do so good with a spinning rod though. I almost hate to switch equipment. I will use a well balanced outfit until something breaks then I am shopping for a day or two to find a similar outfit. I really do not miss too many steelhead on my spinning gear sso for now it is a big debate.

Anyone buy those new spring loaded tip ups yet? I saw them for the first time on TV last night. The fish grabs the bait and when the flag goes off the hook is set. They caught my interest a little bit but I fish for steelhead with tip ups and they tend to drop the bait alot. They will pull just enough to spring the flag then you have to wait a couple of minutes before they take off with the bait. They really look awesome but I think that I would lose more fish than I caught.

When nothing else works we always throw a couple of rapalas out and they always catch a fish or two. A couple of times we hooked up the steelhead rods with 8 lb test and green dolphins. THe steelhead could not lay off from them. It was a fun 30 minute battle to land an 8 to 10 pound steelhead too.

Somebody needs to fire all of the brass at the USFWS every single one of them. When they are all fired replace them with people who want to get off of their *** and do something about asian carp. For the last 10 years and the next 30 years all the USFWS will do is eat up our $$$$ and study them. A first grader probably could tell you more about asian carp than anyone at the USFWS knows about them. Just like wolves lets see how many elk, moose, buffalo, and deer that they can wipe out. Meanwhile we will protect them and study them. Nobody in the United States has better job security than a USFWS employee. As long as there are wolves and asian carp their jobs are pretty safe. No worry if you are a USFWS employee millions of hunters, fishermen, and trappers will support you just keep studying. I will bet I have seen a hundred different clips on you tube of USFWS employees riding around in boats watching asian carp jump.

Come on up. I will be out on the ice January 1 and I will let you catch the first steelhead of the new year. Last year I caught 3 of them on January 1 so the odds are pretty good. My good year was with alot of help from some friends with boats as I am boatless. I also did very well ice fishing and fall shore fishing. My largest coho and two largest kings came from shore fishing. It is a bonus when you live less than a mile from some hot shore fishing spots. In the fall it is work, fish, eat, fish, sleep, fish, fish or something like that. I hope that your boat is getting real close to being ready to splash.

I live in the UP and the Pro's do not do too many seminars up here so you either learn from your mistakes or learn from others. Once the skunks pile up in your boat you go out and do a complete change of everything then you catch fish. I hope that Reel Skrewd will take some good notes for me and we will be fishing in a few months once the hard water leaves.

It was 9 degrees out saturday am in the EUP but still no ice. Starting today it is supposed to get colder and really colder next week. I would say by the first of 2012 we will all be looking at little holes on the hard water. Going to give it another shot on the 24th. Right now I have 28 degrees out not good but it is below the freeze mark.

Very soon I will be venturing out to set tip ups for one on Michigans most sought after game fish the steelhead. Within the next few days we should have enough ice to make an offshore trip possible. Most people catch steelhead in the rivers in the spring and fall on typical fishing gear. They are also caught while trolling on the great lakes. Very few people fish for them during the winter which makes it a challange as well as fun. You can catch them in a few feet of water so you don't have to risk your life or your gear to go after them on first or last ice. I can go all winter long and seldom if ever see another ice fisherman so there is not much competition.