Cork Dust

http://www.glsc.usgs.gov/_files/reports/2012LakeMichiganPreyfish.pdf Here is the 2012 bottom trawl prey fish data;you can reach your own conclusions on the value and direction of managment of the Lake Michigan fishery...

Intriguing, but I am suspicious. From the illustrations, this set-up looks to have one potential major shortcoming; you have an in-line probe on each rod/reel with a knot holding this in place, and another knot added to the section from the rear of the probe to lure/meat rig/fly. Adding two more knots, to me, means two more places for a set-up to fail. If or when this system has a knot failure, it carries the potential to also lose the probe, as well as the lure, fly, bait rig and flasher(envision a charging salmon on a wire rod running on the surface accross your spread-not good!). This carries the potential to get expensive quite quickly. Now, add this set-up into a directional diver rod/lure combo. Do you run it in front of the diver? Do you run it behind the diver? Either way you add more drag on a fish when it is on, as well as lengthen the chunk of line you have hanging off the end of the rod to the fish when it comes time to net it-doable for folks with a good netting skill set, bad idea for newbies, kids, and the infrequent fisherman. These are the three potential fishing populations I would look to make life easiest when fishing salmon, since their interest and excitement carries the potential to grow the sport and participant field. The upfront pricing has to be cheaper, since this unit carries significant potential to add expense at a rapid rate to achieve "at the bait speed and temperature accuracy". This, to me, is a major trade-off that goes in the wrong direction. For me, all I want is to replicate my downspeed, not register it on a rod-by-basis. If I want to know how broad the temperature break band is, vertically, all I need to do is turn up the sensitivity on my FF until this water density break shows up as a band on the screen, and then read the depth band it exists at(remember, your FF integrates everything that is generating a signal return within the transducer's cone and shows this as a uniform depth reading). Using my probe to give me a single temp. at depth readout, and this technique, coupled with a good set of tables lure speed/line out/rig depth for copper, leadcore, directional divers, and wire rigs, my accuracy of depth delivery is pretty tight AND readily replicated from fish to fish.

But they aren't bear proof!!! Sadly, I have repeatedly had to kill bears attempting to board the boat to protect my Brute cooler from destruction! The near $150 dollar price differential buys allot of ice to put in the Brute cooler. Handle design is better egonomically for a one man carry as well. If you need to go to dry ice, they make a great freezer as well There is going to be an article in Fly Rod and Reel that does a direct comparison of the two brands at equivalent capacities. Yeti comes out a smidge better...

Those intense salmon bites are tied zooplankton concentrating at the temperature break to feed on the concentrations of phytoplankton that build up there due to sequentially increasing water density as they sink through this layer. The zooplankton and Mysis sp. are very light sensitive. As sunlight angle of incidence declines(evening bit starts), or light intensity at depth increases (morning bite declines), bait fish concentrate around the temperature break to feed on the increased concentrations of zooplankton and Mysis relicta. If you fish along sections of Lake Ontario with exposure to long fetch distances, thermal bars don't form well, or for very long. Bathymetry of the basin, compared to Lake Michigan, also likely plays a role since Lake O. is a rift valley basin. Lake O. is also less productive with lower bait fish biomass, with the exception of the west end which is enriched by fertile Lake Erie waters. This water chemistry and productivity difference is fast eroding in the era of Dreissenid mussel infestations, since their colonies have significantly impacted both lake's productivity, with Lake Michigan experiencing greater declines from the pre-invasive mussel colony interval prior 1997.

Look for them tight to structure at the temperature break.

Arbogaster, some questions to ask about Lake Ontario salmon fishery: Do you get any pronounced temperature break established for a couple of days to a week that fish seem to concentrate on anytime during open water fishery interval? What leads do you normally fish off your 'riggers? How many, on average, and what size alewife, again on average, do you find in your salmon stomachs during summer months?

Jay Wesley, I have Two questions: How are the coefficients calculated for forage consumption in "chinook equivalents"? How much lead-time does the MDNR's hatchery system need to efficiently alter production capacity of each salmonid species reared, otherr than chinook salmon?

Good point, the visible light spectrum now extends to somewhere around 90' at mid-day in Lake Michigan due to invasive mussel filter-feeding related impacts. When the sun's angle is 15 degrees or lower, with respect to the horizon, nearly all light is reflected off the water's surface;as sun angle increases, light penetration also increases. Obviously, surface chop and cloud cover also influence light penetration in water. If you fish outside of the "magic windows" of near-dawn and near-dusk, visibility at depth can become an important consideration, influencing presentations and lure selection. The one additional point I would add is to use a fluorocarbon compatible knot to minimize break-offs at the knot. As a former fishery research biologist, I'll add that salmon see "best" in a six to ten inch window in front of and slightly above their snouts. This is where they have very good visual acuity, as well as depth perception. So, if you embrace the model of feeding fish being drawn into your spread by the vibration signature(s) of your gear as it is dragged through the water;the next two components that occur before someone shouts "fish-on", are fish being attracted to the lure's motion signature, as well as its ability to stand-out against the background space-light of the water column, which is most influenced by lure color and lure paint/applique pattern. Dr. Borgeson's group equipped around two-dozen Lake Huron chinook salmon with bathymetric sensors that reported their vertical postion in the water column in 2003-2004.. They found that chinook move frequently from depths to near-surface waters at roughly four to six hour intervals.

It's a pretty simple physics application based on MOHs hardness ratings of different compounds. I am not talking about stress cracks in the gel coat. These occur where the gel coat was sprayed in the mold too thickly. Gel coat is quite brittle, so these overy thick areas, when flexed under load, crack. If you are using any abrasive cleaner that has silica particles, or any other abrasive, including a fiberglass emulsion like Bon Ami uses, the "scouring powder" portion is harder or of equal hardness to that of the fiberclass and etches the surface of the non-skid. The same holds true with those magic eraser pads. Using a blue bristle Shurhold brush may decrease the dynes of energy expended in moving the water/scouring cleaner emulsion around on the non-skid, but it sure doesn't alleviate the simple reality that the scouring particles are harder than the surface they are being swept around on, and therefore are scratching it. All this does is increase the surface area for bacteria, fish slime, blood and "gunk" to adhere to, making each sequential cleaning that much more difficult to get the deck back to clean.

I'll put another vote in for Woody Wax applied after a Starbrite Non-skid cleaner with PTEF washdown. This non-skid cleaner, if left to sit on tough spots, will remove almost anything. Follow the directions exactly as stated on the Woody Wax application, a little goes a long way. Over application is not necessary. Just one additional point for all you folks using scouring cleaners on fiberglass decks. You are micro-etching your fiberglass and increasing the number of nooks and crannies for "stuff" to accumulate. Visualize this in terms of a well used fish cleaning board with thousands of micro-cuts in it.

The disappointing part of this informaiton is that it has been long known, but broadly unquantified and therefore not factored-into State-lwcwl fishery manager's efforts in maintaining the robustness of the Great Lakes' sport fishery. MDNR fish biologists had data in-hand since 2007-'08 indicating a 10-14% swim-over rate into Lake Michigan from Lake Huron planted salmon. These data were derived during an interval when somewhere around 80% of the Chinook stock were wild-origin fish in Lake Huron, yet these data were not extrapolated to this Chinook stock component. Again, this was during an interval when 95% of alewife forage stock was gone from Lake Huron waters. Fish survive, grow and propagate by eating sufficient food volumes to ensure intake calory levels above body maintenance needs...someone should have connnected the dots a long time ago, particularly since they were being "encouraged" to think outside the accepted paradigms of their agency.

We used to fish the Garden River in Ontario, prior the Lake Huron crash, with the same general results. If you really want to make your shoulders sore and upper body sore, switch over to a fly rod. Hopefully, you took a lot of pictures. I suspect you just experienced something that was quite unique because of the low water levels. Congratulations!

Also, remember to check the backing/copper junction knot and retie occasionally since the board clamp is likely fraying this section very slowly. This keeps you from having a fish hit and take the entire copper section with it from the board back. I tie a fifteen foot piece of fifty pound test in between the copper(haywire twist and Uni knot) and braid backing (double Uni knots). Good luck!

I pulled a net buoy off the beach of L. Superior last year that consisted of a crutch with a liquid laundry soap bottle duct taped to it with a piece of orange safety flag attached. The net weight was a five pound dumbell plate. Turned it over to the beach police to return to the local KBIC gillnetter. At least now that we have one enforcement person (no, she does not issue citations), he no longer sets inside the required .5 mile zone off the mouth of the spawning tributaries in the two harbors here. Regarding the Tribal gillnet tug abandoned in Sault Ste. Marie. The case is working its way back up through the MDNR enforcement division's chain of command to make a determination of if or when to take action to remove the vessel prior it spending its second winter swamped in the Mosquito Bay/Soo Locks entry area.

I'll play devil's advocate and ask what evidence do you have that fish are avoiding your 'rigger rods because of wire downrigger cables? Salmon and trout are excellent boat avoiders. I strongly suspect that this gets erroneously extrapolated into the assumption that its the vibration signature of the 'rigger cables