EdB

Good job guys, way to rack up the bands!

That sure was a great way to beat the August crowds Matt. That was a heck of a nice box too for the time slot you fished.

We had a good opener. My partner and I got 4 geese and 6 ducks. We had our 4 geese by 8:00AM and they keep coming into our spread even after we put the goose calls away. Wish we had a couple more gunners in the blind. Got one nice drake widgeon too, we don't see a lot of them in our neck of the marsh in the central part of the state. We got 4 geese again Sunday but only 2 ducks. A little better shooting would have helped the duck bag that day:rolleyes:

Three bands on the opener-wow! Good shooting! Congratulations!

Those little spinners catch coho's on the south end of the lake in Spring. Orange ones are deadly behind a 2 oz keel weight run off inline boards near the surface. Kings rarely hit them. The kings will hit the 8 inch and 11 inch spinners when the water warms in May off St Joe. There aren't many coho's in Ludington in the spring. They may be worth a try then but I wouldn't load up a spread with them off Ludington that time of year. Overall in the spring, spoons are more effective than spinners, except for coho's, in my opinion.

Mike, Do you winterize it when using heated storage? If not, might want to consider at least draining the block in case we get an ice storm knocking out power in the cold weather months.

The gear is packed, the dekes are stacked and I hope I can get some sleep tonight. Duck season opens tomorrow here and I can't wait! This is the first year in many that I missed the northern openers in our state so the anticipation is burning. Anybody else heading out, let's hear your reports?

My gut is hurting from laughing!

The kid got a doe!!!! I had a blast He was in a ladder stand, I took my light weight spike'n tree stand, locked it in in the dark and sat next to him. I never get excited when a doe comes in but for some reason this morning, my heart was pounding watching it unfold. I spotted her coming in and wispered to Rigel to turn around. He got turned, saw her and got the gun up. She presented a nice broadside at 30 yards, at least from my seat. Rigel said her vitals where behind a tree from his position. I was wispering, shoot, shoot, and she started coming directly at us. She came into 15 yards and you could tell she got a wiff of us or sensed us in the tree and she started to turn around. Rigel shot and dropped her. It was a great morning. I had lot's of fun! We are buck hunting tomorrow!

Anyone going out for the youth hunt this weekend? I'm taking a friends 16 year old, his last year for this hunt. It's rare when I say this but I can't wait for the alarm clock to go off in the morning.

It was a great year with a family milestone. My oldest daughter who is 7 has been on the boat occasionally since she was a baby but usually for short trips in the afternoons. This year she started getting up early with me for the first time for morning trips. She would jump out of bed at 4:15AM and couldn't wait to go. I'd ask her if she wanted to pull lines after the morning flurry and she would want to stay out. Then she couldn't wait to go again the next day. We fished in some big waves and she doesn't get seasick. She could handle the fish ok too. We had some great trips together and she talks about wanting to go all the time now. It melts dads heart. Looks like I might have a new "hardcore" fishing buddy! Also had some primo vacation time with the weather and the fishing all coming together. Tackle losses were way down all year until I lost a probe...ouch. Stuck a hook good one time and had to see the doc. That was a bummer but we made the best of it. First fish of the day and we were a long way out. My buddy called his doc and made a 1:45PM appointment. We cut the hook off, taped it down, I drove the boat and we filled a nice box. I didn't keep count but our overall numbers were probably down a bit but the size was up. No mechanical problems all season! I still have to bring the boat home so probably one more trip before October. I fish hard for 10 months but Oct and Nov are nothing but hunting for me.

Get some good ear plugs and eye protection too. My buddy can't hear as well as I can.

My buddy has a tree service and been doing it for over 25 years. He has used a lot of brands over the years but it's Stihl all the way with him now.

Nice job guys!

To reflect and remember the victim's of 9/11. May they rest in peace, may their families find solace and comfort and may all those responsible receive the justice they deserve.

That's realy cool that you re-lit the fire in you dad Tim! It brings back some memories of fishing with my dad on the pier. My dad lit a fire in me back on the Manistee pier in 1973. We where sure some salmon green horns back then. We had our share of skunks and learned a lot of fishing lessons the hard way. The fire still burns hard. I sure wish he was still here today to go fishing with me but I cherish the memories. Here's wishing you and your dad lot's of new fishing adventures in the coming years!

When Church tackle boards first came out, that pin was made of brass. I've replaced those pins a number of time since they went to plastic. Mike, you could probably sell a lot of those metal pins if they work. Let us know, I'd buy some if you time to make and sell some. Boomerang, I like your idea too, I'll have to try that.

Had a nice long weekend at Ludington with nice seas and we got out every morning. Started out Friday with a pass inside the bank, we hit 4 and boated 2. The water was warm there so at sun up we pulled lines and ran west to the 38's and trolled west from there. Hit our first fish setting up and had a steady pick till we boxed 15, a nice mixed bag of next years kings, steelies, lakers and coho. We fished out to the 41 line. The boats poured into town for the weekend so we headed south on Saturday to avoid the crowd on the bank. We set up a couple miles south on the 34 line and headed west from there. Had a slower start but as we got offshore, the bite got better. We boxed 11 fish that day. Sunday was a great day, just my daughter and I out fishing. Same water as Saturday. We had my slowest bite of the weekend but one of the best days this year. We went 5 for 9 but Olivia was in on every fish and caught every one we landed. She is really getting into fishing this season. The best part of the day was that she wanted to go again Monday after we got back on shore. Mom wouldn't let her and packed the kids up to go home because school started today. Olivia can't wait to go again. When I turned my cell on Monday AM, I learned my crew hit a deer on the way there so I was on my own. Back to the south water again, hardly any boats were fishing it all weekend. I've got to make my 3 rods count. I put a rigger with a blue bubble spin doctor and fly down 100, a 1-1/2lb with a froggy spin doctor and seaweed fly out 150ft and a 150ft copper with mag moonshine smitty out all in one corner of the boat so the other corner is open for netting. I booted 2 kings early on the 150ft copper and finally land one on the froggy spin doctor. The sun comes up, I keep heading west and I swap the 150 ft copper for a 300 ft one and I put on a super slim blue dolphin with the glow tail(I don't know what it's called?) It goes 3 times and I end the day at 9:30 catching 7 fish and boxing 5. I don't fish solo often but that was a great way to end a great weekend. A 1/2 core and a super slim fireball was great on the steelies on previous days. A chrome silver streak yellow tail on a full core was also steady earlier in the weekend when I could run more rods. A DW SS wonderbread on a full copper was good too. There is a lot of fish in PM Lake. The bank was still warm and the best fishing there was outside it from 140 to 200 ft of water and between the nets north of the point. Good luck!

Yes, I put the DNR press release (on baiting etc) on the bottom of the orginal post above.

One of the scary things about CWD is that a deer can carry it for up to 5 years before it shows any signs of the disease. I'm sure the DNR is going to investigate and try to trace the history of the affected deer. I wonder how complete all private game farms records of animal sales and transfers are going back 5 years? Could some records be gone of deer transfers 3-5 yrs back? Could there be other farm deer around the state who may be carrying this with no signs of the disease. Thank God that this was found inside an enclosed farm. Still, who knows if these farm deer ever had any nose to nose contact with wild deer at fences? Fences are not bio-hazard proof. They should be shutting down every big game and deer farm in the state. Everyone knew the deer farm industry was the most likely vehicle for transmission of this disease to Michigan and now sure enough it has happened. If this does get into our wild deer herd, deer hunting in MI will never be the same.

CWD has been found in our state in a captive deer herd. News releases below. 8/25/2008, 6:25 p.m. EDT By TIM MARTIN The Associated Press LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan's first case of chronic wasting disease was confirmed Monday in a white-tailed deer from a privately owned facility in the state's western Lower Peninsula. Michigan officials have quarantined all privately owned cervid facilities and banned the movement of all privately owned deer, elk and moose. There is no evidence that the disease exists in free-ranging, wild deer in Michigan. But as a precaution, the state will increase its testing of wild herds and place restrictions on hunters in some areas. "This will trigger a number of actions," said Rebecca Humphries, director of the state's Department of Natural Resources. Officials say they don't yet know how the deer, found in a Kent County facility, may have gotten the disease. Michigan has been testing for chronic wasting disease for several years, a process heightened when it was detected in Wisconsin in 2002. The fatal neurological disease causes animals to display abnormal behavior and progressively lose weight. It's been found in other states, mostly in the West, although it also has been detected in West Virginia and New York. There is no evidence that people have ever caught chronic wasting disease from infected animals. The state's natural resources and agriculture departments are reviewing records from the Kent County facility and five others — including operations in Montcalm and Osceola counties — to trace deer and elk that have been bought, sold or moved in the last several years. Any deer that may have come in contact with a herd that has tested positive for chronic wasting disease has been traced and quarantined. Officials would not identify the Kent County facility involved. But they said it was a facility used mostly for deer breeding. The DNR soon will issue an order restricting baiting and feeding of deer in the Lower Peninsula. Deer hunters this fall who kill deer from Kent County's Tyrone, Solon, Nelson, Sparta, Algoma, Courtland, Alpine, Plainfield and Cannon townships will be required to bring their deer to a DNR check station. Other hunters in Kent County, and perhaps elsewhere in the state, will be asked to visit DNR check stations so further biological samples can be taken from free-ranging deer. The deer that tested positive was a doe that had been culled from the herd by the Kent County facility's owner. Michigan law requires that sick deer in a private facility be tested for disease. The facility was audited in 2004 and 2007. There were no violations reported in those audits. No escapes of animals have been reported from the facility. DNR officials said they have tested nearly 250 wild deer in Kent County for chronic wasting disease since 2002. In the summer of 2005, some deer in the area showed neurological symptoms similar to chronic wasting disease. But testing revealed the animals had Eastern equine encephalitis, not chronic wasting disease. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Aug. 26, 2008 Contact: Mary Dettloff 517-335-3014 DNR Acts to Implement CWD Surveillance and Response Plan In the wake of Monday’s announcement that Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has been confirmed in a three-year old privately-owned white-tailed deer in Kent County, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is acting immediately to implement provisions of the state’s Surveillance and Response Plan for CWD. Among the provisions is an immediate ban on all baiting and feeding ofdeer and elk in the Lower Peninsula. DNR conservation officers will step up surveillance and enforcement efforts on baiting. Baiting and feeding unnaturally congregate deer into close contact, thus increasing the transmission of contagious diseases such as CWD and bovine tuberculosis. Bait and feed sites increase the likelihood that those areas will become contaminated with the feces of infected animals, making them a source of CWD infection for years to come. Additionally, the provisions include a mandatory deer check for hunters who take a deer within Tyrone, Solon, Nelson, Sparta, Algoma, Courtland, Alpine, Plainfield, and Cannon townships, which contain the surveillance area or "hot zone." All hunters who take a deer during any deer hunting season this fall within the "hot zone" will be required to visit a DNR deer check station so that their deer can be tested for CWD. The DNR currently is seeking locations for additional deer check stations in the area to make it more convenient for hunters. To prevent unintentional spread of CWD, the only parts of deer harvested in the surveillance zone that will be allowed to be transported out will be boned meat, capes, and antlers cleaned of all soft tissues. In addition, all transport of live wild deer, elk and moose will be prohibited statewide, including transport for rehabilitation purposes. Currently, there is no live animal test for CWD, and infected animals often show no signs of illness for years in spite of being infectious for other animals. Movement for rehabilitation purposes may speed geographic spread of the disease. The DNR will act immediately to test an additional 300 deer within the "hot zone" in Kent County. The DNR will be cooperating with local officials to collect fresh road-killed deer, and will be urging deer hunters participating in the early antlerless season on private land in September to comply with the mandatory deer check. Landowners in Kent County "hot zone" who would like to obtain disease control permits to cull deer from their property and assist with the collection of deer for testing should contact the DNR’s Wildlife Disease Lab at 517-336-5030. Permits will be available immediately upon request. Landowners who do not want to cull deer, but want to participate in the collection of deer for testing, can obtain assistance from the DNR in culling deer. DNR officials reminded citizens that, to date, there is no evidence that CWD poses a risk to humans, nor has there been verified evidence that the disease can be transmitted to humans. CWD is a fatal neurological disease that affects deer, elk and moose. Most cases of the disease have been in western states, but in the past several years, it has spread to Midwestern and eastern states. Infected animals display abnormal behaviors, loss of bodily functions and a progressive weight loss. Current evidence suggests that the disease is transmitted through infectious, self-multiplying proteins (prions). Prions are normal cell proteins whose shape has been transformed, causing CWD. The disease is transmitted by exposure to saliva of infected animals. Susceptible animals can also acquire CWD by eating feces from an infected animal, or soil contaminated by them. Once contaminated, soil can remain a source of infection for many years, making CWD a particularly difficult disease to manage. More information about CWD is available on the State of Michigan’s Emerging Diseases Web site at www.michigan.gov/chronicwastingdisease. The DNR is committed to the conservation, protection, use and enjoyment of the state’s natural resources for current and future generations. ###

I think you have more depth and less crowded conditions on the your end of the lake Storm Warning. You should see some of the yee haws that run some of the boats in the western basin. Most people are ok but a few can sure cause some problems. Had a first this year. Another boat was on a parallel troll next to us a couple hundred feet to our starboard. He makes an inside turn toward us. We start scrambling. His planer board was well inside ours now coming at us. We had 4 lines on ours and everyone grabbed a rod to clear. I started cranking in the board but knew I wouldn't make it. The two boards would pass inside each other. Then the miracle happened. Our board caught a wave and the ski hit his planer cable and our board jumped over his cable and we made it. If you run your leads or divers more than 100 back, you're risking your tackle the way some people run their boats here.

http://www.ludingtondailynews.com/news.php?story_id=41134 Boat lands on south breakwater Confusion over lights, speed, improper GPS waypoint cited Brian Mulherin - Daily News Staff Writer Thursday, August 21, 2008 It’s been just more than a year since the last boat parked on Ludington’s breakwaters. That streak ended about 11 p.m. Wednesday as a 19-foot Sea Ray captained by a man from Ann Arbor collided with and became perched upon the south breakwater. Majed Hussein El-Awar said after fishing Wednesday night he was “speeding” toward the harbor from the south, aimed between a green and a red light — unfortunately they were the green and red light marking the channel that leads from the outer harbor to Pere Marquette Lake. He said he slowed to check his GPS moments before the accident, but his waypoint was set for the Loomis Street boat ramps. “We were speeding full speed and then we got close and thank God we were slowing down,” El-Awar said. El-Awar suffered a cut on his forehead that required stitches, while his passenger, Bou Fakreddine Imad Sami of Milford, suffered a bruised shoulder. “We are very lucky,” El-Awar said. “We are very happy, to be honest with you, that nothing happened to us.” El-Awar did not say how fast he was going at impact, but the boat sat up out of the water on the south breakwater, perched on a section of cement that angles up at 45 degrees. Asked about setting a waypoint at the boat launch instead of a half-mile out from the pierheads as authorities recommend, El-Awar said he learned that lesson. “We learned it the hard way,” El-Awar said. Boatswain’s Mate Second Class Dustin Storm of U.S. Coast Guard Station Ludington said it was a clear, calm evening and no evidence of alcohol was found. Mason County Sheriff’s Office Marine Patrol, City of Ludington Police and Life EMS also responded to the accident. The boat is the second to hit a breakwater on Lake Michigan in the last two weeks. A boat hit Manistee’s breakwater Aug. 8. Retired Coast Guard Senior Chief Tom Rau, who writes the “Boat Smart” column for the Ludington Daily News, said he believes the boat is the 69th seawall collision between Chicago and Frankfort in the last 10 years. “In every case, notwithstanding alcohol, it astounds me, it’s speed,” Rau said. “And you hear, just like that guy, the same thing ‘I was confused with the harbor lights.’ Well, that is more reason than ever to bring back the throttles. I liken it to entering a Kmart parking lot at 60 miles per hour.” Ludington’s north breakwater light was changed from a white bulb to a green bulb in 2006 after a rash of collisions with the breakwaters. Wednesday’s crash was the third since the light changed, with the first occurring in August of 2006 and another following last August. Both of those boats hit the south breakwater.