CaptLevi

Awesome! Looks like a swimmin porcipine!

Great!

It was caught in Florida. It is real.

I recieved an e-mail about thet fish. It seems to have been caught in Florida and was published in a magazine or paper on-line site. Everyone is making their own posts and blogs with false stories.

I looked at it and I am sure that it is the fish we caught on Sportboat while perch fishing last year. And that was one of the little ones!

Make a 8"-12" cable with downrigger cable and a snap at each end. Snap one end to the rear eyelet of the cannonball. Leave the other open and attach your line to it with a rubber band. You should notice a real obvious increase in hooking percentages.

1. Michigan Stinger NBK Mag

2. Michigan Stinger Blue Dolphin (any size)

3. Michigan Stinger Lemon Ice Mag

4. Fishlander Miami Green Purple Froggy Mag

5. Michigan Stinger Dbl Orange Crush

6. Silver Streak Blue Whale w/glow tape

The water at St. Joe is still a tad cold but the heavy rains may help out a bit. Browns, and a few walleye and whitefish were being taken in the brown water on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Yes the taxidermy rocked! Too bad my Grandsons were so preoccupied with rock wall, fishing simulator, and all the goodies to eat!

I bought a few things I needed and talked briefly to a few members of a couple other sites, a couple vendors, and a few of my pro buds but again I couldn't keep an 8 and 3 year old under control long enough to visit like I wanted. Oh well, the three of us still had a blast.

And to watch my oldest Grandson almost make the top of the wall was quite moving for me. He has undergone 4 open heart surgeries between the ripe old ages of 1 day and 3 1/2 years old with less than 10% chance of survival each time. He is a true miracle and will be a fine outdoorsman one day.

Oh Boy.......another thing to take up space in my boat.

They look like they will put some depth on your line for sure. But what do they retrieve like? They look like they may help the fish out a tad.

But if it's made and sold by Michigan Stinger, I'm sure it will work. .....Hold on....I'm gettin out my checkbook.

Welcome aboard! This is a nice sitewith friendly folks to corespond with.

I'll have to get you to show me how to use one of the slammers. Tried a few years ago and the only thing that got slammed was me............on a little JD!

Welcome Tony. You will like it here. We have a great mix of anglers and sportsman to visit with.

I'll planning to be on the river with a fellow Capt. next week. Hope we catch 'em! We will I think. He is awfully good at his craft. One of the best in fact. If anyone wants to join in the charter, give me a shout. This could be an informal hands on seminar if you ask questions and pay attention to the details. (although it's just gonna be fun if you ask me! )

Wow! Sorry bout that! I hadn't heard much about them before except that they had a paint shop along with service. Of course I have heard negative responses about several other places as well.

Guess I will steer clear of them also!

I set Sporty's 350 Chevys at 2800 for optimum gph cruisin. When I want to go I bump em up to 3600 or so.

Welcome Aboard Matt. Hope you enjoy the site!

I'm not sure of the marina name but there is one in Houghton Lake that handles this type of painting last I knew.(Spicers?)

Good Luck!

LooksGreat! My bud Bob and I will probably be hittin er preety soon. Broke out the jiggin rods today! Bob is preppin his boat and gettin the ol handline reels ready to go!

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.......walleye fillets....................mmmmm:rolleyes:

OK guys!

Tell us what pound line you prefer for your riggers and mainlines?

Inquiring minds want to know!

Sorry Caz. Lots of PICS! No Clean ones!

Why don't you get the Boathouse crew again? Of coarse I would pray for 80 degree weather and follow you around all day

Now that's an idea!

I actually have pondered that Mark! Usually it won't fly for a morning trip with those girls though. They like to sleep in. Maybe I could just get them to bunk on Sporty.........

I kinda figured a lot of gals wouldn't want to join in, but there are many that might too. We will see.

I can always book a bunch of guys to fish that morning though.

Hey Fellas! I don't know if this should go here or classified but here it is:

Due to a cancellation I have Sunday May 13 (Mothers Day) available for the St. Joe Challenge Powder Puff Tourney. I could just fill this date but thought it might be cool to invite some members here to bring their wifes/girlfriends/daughters/kept ladies:lol: out for a day of tournament action. You fellas can set lines, help navigate, and net fish. The ladies take the rods from hook up to net.

THIS IS A GREAT TIME OF YEAR TO FISH ST. JOE!

I can take 6 people. That's 3 couples if you guys wanna join in. Cost is $100 per fishergal or $185 per couple( 1 fishing-1 helping). I will pay the entry fee

. If we manage to win any $$$ I will deduct it from the cost of the trip up to the total cost. Anything beyond that belongs to the boat.

As soon as anyone commits and submits a deposit I will consider it booked and unavailable to the regular public. If I book this previous to anyone here commiting I will recind the offer and remove the post. If we only get a few interested I will enter my wife as part of the team also.

It's a good thing they were caught. And a shame that they did it at all. Somehow a lot of young folks have lost respect for our outdoors and our hunting and fishing heritage. Hopefully they have learned their lesson.

Try to take the time to teach our youth about the importance of stewardship in the great outdoors. It's the tie that binds......

I'll be there with a least one of my Grandsons. Primarily for the taxidermy exhibits. We will cruise the floor once though. I like to check out all the funky looking new fangled gadgets. Trying to see if they will really produce is one of my vises.

I'll also hopeto meet up with some old friends in the industry that fish the pro trails or sell hunting and fishing adventures. I may visit in a few booths, but probably I will just be visiting, catch up on family and reminising on times gone by. This is about the only time we get to visit anymore. Such is life in the fast lane! I can't keep up with them!(plus after charter season, I hide in my deer woods for about 3 months:grin: )

I was up in the air about this subject for a long time. Then I took the advice of a few very good businessmen and fisherman. This is what they said:

A guarantee is only as good as the product. You may get a five year guarantee on a car, but if it's a piece of you know what to begin with, who cares. it's more hassle with the break downs, repairs, and time to collect on the guarantee than what it's worth. So do your best, try to give your customers a fun day on the water regardless of the fishing, and be flexible when nessasary.

I've only had to worry about no fish one time. A free trip was offered, but as a return customer with great previous trips, they declined and rebooked anyway. So I bought a few rounds. Most the charters in port were coming in with similar results. Next day found Sportboat in 325' of water of St. Joe and very much alone. Can you say middle of the lake? We went 14 for 18 that morning with an actual fishing time of 2 hours. The rest was running time. Next day we had a floatilla of vessels hot on our heels.

So I guess I really don't see the need for a guarantee. After all we all expect to get paid if we do our best at work don't we? My advertising company gets paid whether I get trips or not. (although they seem to be getting good results). And if you show up on an assembly line or machine shop but for some reason no production is realized do you expect to get paid? Of course. Just my $.02

LMAO I like this friendly rivalry. Capt. Levi would never be the same, if a bunch of us chartered his boat. The Captain may even learn a thing or three. We could leave the bar @ 2:30, be on the dock @ 4:00, and proceed to show the good Capt. how to run a chum line.

Actually I have had all of the Fish Dog Boys and their guests onboard for different outings. (Usually bachelors parties:D ) Good times indeed! They are all great guys, good fisherman, and good friends. And I wasn't always a charter either. I have swilled many a brew around the campfire with the MS boys and shared some fun excursions with them as well. Can you say chum line?

A lot of members from here and other sites call me frequently on the phone and radio as well as PMs. I try to help all who ask. (unless I'm too busy netting fish and resetting lines). And some occassionally come into the boathouse, grab a brew, and pull up a chair when I happen to be there. Just ask em, I love to talk fishing just about as much as the act of fishing itself. But not quite!

And for pic's, go to my site: www.sportboatcharters.com to the photos page. I post all I can(good days and slow ones too). Unless I forget to charge my camera batteries! (and usually a few weeks or more after the charter when I actually get to go home:) )