EdB

Way to go Hunter and the Heckman racing team!

Congratulations and enjoy, looks like many good times ahead.

Nice catch!

That's a real nice box, way to go!

That's a nice start to the season!

Fished out of St Joe today. It was foggy so we planned a late start and left the docks at 9:15. It was foggy all day but not too thick to be stressful. We started out front and trolled a hour in close 20 -30 ft of water and got 1 small steelie, he was a drop back, still colored up. Pulled lines and ran west 9 miles and set down when we got cold water. We started a steady pic out there with coho's on boards, all thin fins on one side and orange/gold double jointed raps on the other side. My buddy hit this chrome blue steelie on a hi diver out 120ft. We kept a west troll out to 220 ft and turned in. Then we hit this nice king on a rigger down 50 ft. This was the hottest spoon of the day on the 50 ft rigger, got 2 nice kings and 3 coho's and took some other hits. An orange/chrome thin fin was the best for them on cohos. We pulled the thin fins and put out a 1/2, 7 color and full core out with spoons, mag green dolpin on the full, bite me elmo on the 7 color and watermelon and all took kings. That was a great change up! Ended the day with our limit of 20 fish about 3:30PM with 5 kings, 2 steelies and the rest cohos. Only had one double all day. Water temps were 54 inside, 44 outside. It seems like May water temps and fishing, sure didn't fish like a typical day this time of year when we are usually trolling the beaches. I think we could have picked up some more fish inside if we worked it but I'm glad we burned some gas today. Never hit kings like this in March before! Our best water was 180 to 195 ft pretty much straight out. Good luck! Sorry lurkers, making contributions to the supporting members of this site

Have you guys saying no problem used copper without a level wind? I have a old double core rod/reel with no level wind and it is not a problem if you pay attention and I don't think mono or braid would be a big issue. I never tried copper on a non level wind reel but I think it would be risky if you had a rookie on that reel who got excited on a big king and they didn't keep it spooled level when they reel it in. With as bulky as copper is, you could have it wacko on your spool with 15 yard of it if the angler was not paying attention to the spool. I see problems with that. I would not have a non level wind reel with copper on my boat.

More info: http://news.msue.msu.edu/news/article/lake_michigan_salmon_stocking_cuts_being_considered Lake Michigan salmon stocking cuts being considered Computer simulations suggest that current Lake Michigan salmon and trout stocking rates are too high for the available baitfish. To address the problem, fisheries managers are strongly considering reductions in salmon and trout stocking for next year. Published March 16, 2012 Dan O'Keefe, Michigan State University Extension Lake Michigan supports a world-class recreational fishery for five species of salmon and trout and offers more localized fishing for nearshore fish like walleye, yellow perch, and smallmouth bass. It is a complex ecosystem with a long history of exotic invasions and losses of native species, but the lake continues to produce fish that are accessible to boat, shoreline and river anglers. The current fisheries are maintained in part by efforts to control non-native sea lamprey and stock salmon and trout that eat another non-native fish, like the alewife. Much has been written concerning the birth of the salmon fishery and the many positive and negative effects that alewife have on native species. The bottom line is that managers now balance the number of predatory salmon and trout in Lake Michigan to avoid having too many or too few alewife in the lake and to maintain fisheries. The lake’s fisheries and their management are shared between Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and five tribal governments represented by the Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority. The Lake Michigan Committee of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission is comprised of resource managers representing the five fishery management agencies. Decisions regarding the lake’s fisheries are made by consensus among these parties and their current decision process involves a problem that is more serious than it may sound: Too many predators for the available prey. Modeling work by Dr. Michael Jones and Dr. Iyob Tsehaye of the Quantitative Fisheries Center at Michigan State University suggests that current stocking levels have a good chance of leading to the collapse of alewife in Lake Michigan. If managers continue with status quo stocking for the next twenty years, they could expect a 23% chance of low alewife biomass and a 35% chance of low Chinook salmon weight that could lead to starvation and disease outbreaks. To reduce these risks, the Lake Michigan Committee is considering several options for reducing stocking levels. Chinook salmon stocking was reduced lakewide by 25% in 2006 and the results of that cut are viewed as largely positive. Chinooks reproduce successfully in many rivers, so reductions in Chinook stocking alone may not be enough to limit risks to acceptable levels. Reductions in stocking of other trout and salmon species may further help to ease the pressure on bait fish such as alewife. However, these other species provide unique fisheries that many anglers cherish. Steelhead provide river fishing opportunities almost year-round, brown trout are popular with small-boat and pier anglers in spring and lake trout can provide reliable fishing for big-lake trollers when other species are not available. In addition to angling interests, the lake trout are native to Lake Michigan, whereas the other stocked salmon and trout are not. Lake trout numbers are maintained entirely through stocking and there is some concern that cutting lake trout stocking would not be consistent with rehabilitation goals. Where does this leave us? Fisheries managers are asking for public input on recommendations for future lakewide stocking efforts that will limit the risk of a collapse in the fishery. Educated opinions regarding which species to cut are important because the ultimate goal of balancing predators and prey can be attained in a variety of ways. One strategy that has not been used in the past is a feedback policy that would allow for higher stocking rates when alewife are plentiful. Details regarding feedback policies and other stocking options under consideration will be presented to the public on April 14, 2012. The meeting will be held at Lake Michigan College in Benton Harbor, Mich. A full agenda and options for online participation are available on the Michigan Sea Grant website. Presentations from Jay Wesley of the Michigan DNR and Dr. Michael Jones of MSU‘s Quantitative Fisheries Center are also available online. These provide an overview of past and current status of Chinook salmon and forage fish, as well as in-depth discussion of the modeling process. This article was published on MSU Extension News. For more information from MSU Extension, visit http://news.msue.msu.edu. To contact an expert in your area, visit http://expert.msue.msu.edu, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

Some very concerning developments on the forage base in Lake MI. Last years great fishing was the result of a nice 2010 year class of alewives. The 2011 year class is dismal. A key presentation will be made in Benton Harbor April 14. More info in the link below. The 2 video tape links in the web link below are well worth an hour of your time if you would like to learn more about the research behind this. It is a bit scary, hope we are not headed for a repeat of Lk Huron and it looks like our fishery managers are trying to stay ahead of it and prevent it. http://www.miseagrant.umich.edu/fisheries/stocking/index.html The Future of Salmon and Trout Stocking in Lake Michigan Five species of salmon and trout support a world-class recreational fishery in Lake Michigan. Stocking has played an important role in maintaining the balance between predators and baitfish, such as the non-native alewife, since the late 1960s. If too many salmon and trout are in the lake, baitfish decline and salmon starve or fall prey to disease. If too few salmon and trout are in the lake, the non-native alewife could foul beaches and affect native species. Ongoing research is being used to investigate the possibility that changes to stocking policy could improve fisheries and limit the risk of predator-prey imbalance. Fisheries managers in Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana will set a stocking policy for Lake Michigan salmon and trout by fall of 2012. Lake Michigan Salmon Stocking Workshop Lake Michigan College, Benton Harbor, Michigan Saturday, April 14, 2012 1:00–4:30 PM (Eastern) This half-day workshop is open to the public at no charge. Participants will learn more about specific options for stocking policy and have the opportunity to speak with fisheries managers about the future of Lake Michigan fisheries.

I have a brand new never used Cabela's Hydro-troll. This is a combination hydro foil and trolling plate. The hydro foil will help a boat get up on a plane faster. Has a flip down trolling plate with shear pins. Been sitting in the basement for many years. I got it but then found some bags at a garage sale and went with them since I didn't want to drill holes in my outdrive to mount it. $45 bucks if your interested.

Thanks for the report and way to go on the fish.

What a bummer on the tire. Good job on the fish Bob.

One of my buddies used to fish Waukegon many years ago brought back what he calls a Waukegon rig. I guess a lot of boats run it over there. Maybe the WI guys can chime in on this. It starts with a small conventional orange dodger and coho fly, you then attach a keel weight directly to the front of the dodger. You run this back exactly 21ft off a board and send it out. He always stressed the short 21 ft lead off the board as key as he felt the board also attracted the coho's The keel weight on the dodger keeps the rig from running on the surface and keeps it from spinning out at higher speeds. Works great on coho's.

All the state launches are free with the passport. City or township launches is where you will still have to pay. Ludington is a city launch so you have to pay there. Benton Harbor is a state launch and you get in with the pass port. The St Joe launch is city owned and you'll have to pay. Here is a link to find the state sites: http://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/MRBIS/mapbasic.aspx

I'd stay inside this time of year. The coho's are starting and that is where they will be now. Limits are coming in Indiana and Illinois. Offshore sets up when the water inside warms up and temp breaks form betweem the wamer water inside and cold water in the middle of the lake. Good luck.

Thanks for the report Frank.

I fished the river on Saturday down from Berrien Springs by myself. Had a slow start, I hit and lost 2 and that was it by noon. Kept dropping downstream and was coming to a stretch I really like. Hit and lost the 3rd fish of the day, then the 4th and 5th. That was a hot stretch of water. I just couldn't get them in the boat, 0 for 5 so far. I had lot's of good water to cover and I finally got one in the boat by 1:00pm. Dropped downstream and then lost my 7th fish on of the day. I had a bad day for snags and busted spawn bags and lost way more spawn bags then I usually do and I was down to my last two bags with 2 good holes ahead. Put a fresh bag on and launched it, drifted down and fish on! Landed that one and put on my last spawn bag. Dropped back to the next hole and started a drift. Wham, fish on again! I land that one to get 3 in the boat. I'll always remember this fishing trip with an ending like that even though the fish kicked my butt! They were hot and jumping with water temps coming up. The run on the lower Joe is going to peak this week with the weather ahead. Today 4 of us hit the pier. Started hitting fish right away and we had 14 by 10:30 and then it died. Stayed till noon but never had another hit. It was a mixed bag of coho's, whitefish and browns. All on steelie skein wraps fished on the bottom. My pier and river fishing is going to wind down and it'll be time to get the boat out soon. It has been a great winter season this year with the milder temps and lot of fish. Good Luck!

Save your gas tomorrow, maybe Sunday...doesn't look great for this weekend: 241 PM EST FRI MAR 9 2012 SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM EST THIS EVENING GALE WARNING IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH SATURDAY AFTERNOON TONIGHT NORTH WINDS 10 TO 15 KNOTS VEERING SOUTH 15 TO 20 KNOTS TOWARD DAYBREAK. PARTLY CLOUDY. WAVES 4 TO 6 FEET SUBSIDING TO 1 TO 2 FEET AFTER MIDNIGHT. SATURDAY SOUTHWEST GALES TO 35 KNOTS. SUNNY. WAVES 4 TO 6 FEET BUILDING TO 7 TO 11 FEET. SATURDAY NIGHT SOUTHWEST WINDS TO 30 KNOTS. MOSTLY CLEAR. WAVES 5 TO 8 FEET. SUNDAY SOUTH WINDS 15 TO 20 KNOTS. MOSTLY SUNNY. WAVES 3 TO 5 FEET SUBSIDING TO 2 TO 3 FEET LATE IN THE DAY.

Don't know much about them but I checked out their website. One red flag I saw was no names or street addresses listed in the contact us or about us part of their website. Kind of scary dealing with a store you don't know where it is or who owns them. Legitimate contact info and a street address are 2 key things I look for when buying over the web.

We hit the pier today, started off slow, we picked at the whitefish. I got these in the first 3 hours: It was blustery with snow squalls. Waves were splashing on the pier. We made a move, repositioned and started whacking coho's - real good. We got our limit on salmon and trout, here was my total catch for the day. Both the coho's and whitefish were really biting steelhead skein wrapped on a hook. Wrapped skein really outproduced spawn bags 5-1. When the carnage was over, 4 of us got 19 coho's, 1 brown and 11 whitefish. We were fishing the lake side of the pier and closer to the beach was better for the coho's. This is a private report for the paying members of the site. Hope you can get out and enjoy the great action at St Joe this week. If you can't make it out, please keep it private.

The ribs came off and the brown sugar pineapple goes on.

I'm on the Jackson County Washtenaw county line in Waterloo, want me to PM the address Ken;) The smoker has 2 racks, I have a drip pan underneath today but I can run two racks of food if needed. More than we eat on the racks going now but those pulled pork sandwhiches will be good for lunch this week. I foiled the ribs a while ago, the butt is at 160 degrees. I want it to be 190-200 and it falls apart for pulled pork. I didn't take any pics when I built mine but this link below shows how to build them and a few pics of some very nice home builds. We have this BBQ/fishing event in St Joe every spring and I learned a lot from the competition BBQ chefs that come to it every year. Building a basic drum smoker: http://www.theqjoint.com/forum/showthread.php?3165-Building-a-basic-drum-smoker-(UDS)

The fatty and spam just came off for lunch:

No snow here, just a ton of rain to blow out the rivers, how much snow did you get up your way?

The fatty and brown sugar spam should be ready for lunch and the pulled pork and ribs should be 4:00 to 5:00PM, come on over.