Garrison

There is a couple of dents and some minor rock chips in the paint. The carpeting is in good condition and all 4 seats are matching from Alumacraft.  I don't have an hour meter on the boat so I can't give a precise number of hours.  The boat has not been used that much as I have accumulated too much tackle and have bought another boat in 2016.  Mostly I used this boat to troll lake Michigan in the spring. The rest of the year the boat would sit in my garage.  The boat is currently stored in LaPorte, IN but on occasion I will move it to New Buffalo, MI.  Asking price $8,000 OBO. Contact me at [email protected] or send me a private message.

The boat comes with the following:

1. 50 HP Mercury EFI 4 Stroke

 2. Minn Kota 50 lb Terrova with Ipilot. (Includes handheld remote)

3. Fusion radio w/ipod docking station, aux connection, and 2 speakers.

4. Hummin Bird 597c, Hummin Bird 345c, and a Raymarine Dragonfly 6 w/Navionics

5. Shorelander trailer with swing-tongue and spare tire

6. Boat Cover

7. 2 Big Jon manual downriggers on a tite lok track system

8. 2 Scotty 3 rod, rod holders

9. VHF Marine Radio with antenna

10. 2 bank Minn Kota battery charger

There's probably something that I missed, please PM me or e-mail for any additional questions.

Bellow is the specifications from Alumacraft.  The boat has not changed much since 2010. 

I hear that guys are catching coho off the pier in Michigan City now. I'm sure you will be fine going in April but if can come earlier you may be better off.

Well I figured a bad report was better than no report. Got out today to do my shake down run. We went 0-1. Threw a mix of jointed rapalas and thin fins. Trolled mainly around the harbor mouth in and out of the muddy water. Water temp was around 33-34 degrees. Speed on the GPS around 1.8 to 2.5. Not sure if the speed had anything to to do with our luck but we met up with others at the ramp who did much better than we did. Said they got 15 . When I asked how fast they were trolling they said between 2.8 and 3. But had some of their hits come on the outside lines during a turn. I wouldn't have thought to go that quick seeing the water temp was so low. This brings up a question. How fast do some others troll for coho, kings, and steel-head?

Went out of New Buffalo around 7am looking for silver fish. We stayed in close to the guys fishing for perch. Only managed to get a 12" perch on a downrigger and a sheep head on a dipsy. Probably should have gone for perch. I did talk to a few guys that had got perch limits although some said the bite was slow.

Went 7 for 10 today. All coho. Fished mainly in 25 to 40 foot water. Hot bait was a red and gold j-plug about 30' down. Unfortunately i lost it at the end when the down-rigger released and all I pulled up was a bent snap swivel.

J-plug picked up 3 with another 3 releases

black and silver j-11 10' down on rigger picked up 2

red and black thin fish got 1

orange j-11 got 1

Went 6 for 6 today. Best action was going in and out of the muddy water coming out of the harbor. Water temp was 46 in the mud and dropped to around 38 just beyond the rocks. All caught on thin fish. 1 brown on a blue and silver and the other 5 were coho on red w/black.

All fish were caught within a small area straight out of the harbor. The furthest west was to the pump house and the furthest east was just past the pubic beach. We must have made 5 or 6 circles within the 3 hours we were out.

Had a lack of work day today so I went out around 8:00. Went 6 for 6 in 30 to 40 fow.

Greasy Chicken Wing down 30' picked up 2

Veggie Dolphin down 30' picked up 1

Blue Dolphin down 20' picked up 2

Green Dolphin down 25' picked up 1

We may have limited out but a storm came in and we had to pack up.

I went out perch fishing Saturday morning with my dad to break-in his new motor. Water temp was around 55 degrees. Fished till noon and only caught 20 keepers. We keep seeing the steelhead jump in 20 to 30 fow, so we decided to go in and pickup my boat. We set lines on a north troll all the way out to 90’. Got one steelhead on a rigger 50’ down on mag green dolphin, but it jumped off before we could get it in the boat. After that, we trolled for an hour or more without a hit. When I decided to change lures on the riggers I found the line was coated in this slime. It was so thick that it wouldn’t even go through the eyes. My guess is that it’s some sort of invasive organism. Has anyone else encountered this? I’ve only had my boat for a few years now and I haven’t run into this before.

It's getting close to perch season on the big lake. This year I have been contemplating my rod choice. For years I have been using a graphite ultra-light rod with 4# to 6# mono. My basic setup is essentially a drop-shot rig with 2 hooks tied to a leader then attached to my main line with a small swivel. This year however, I've decided to go with a 6# braid for my main line, to give me more sensitivity. I never paid much attention to the lure weight printed on the side of my rods, but according to the rod classification, I've been using to large a sinker. My ultra-light rods have a max lure weight of 1/4 oz, and a new one I purchased has a max or 1/8 oz. Sometimes I'm using 1/2 to 3/4 oz sinker just to keep the bait down. I'm not casting this setup, just dropping it straight down. Could there be any negative effects to using an ultra-light over time? Should I be using a light action rod?

I've been seeing a few posts on the Brad's cut plug and i'm thinking about picking some up at Cabellas. I haven't seen any other meat rig setups before. Has anyone used any other setup other than Brads? Also what colors have worked well? Thanks

I went out last Saturday and got a 16lb king on a full core off a board with a stinger chicken wing. The week before I got 2 coho on 2 color. One was a Orange dodger and fly and the other was on a pink & copper thin fish. Over the last few weeks, core has worked the best. I haven't been doing well on divers. Within 60 feet, gold and Orange still produce the best for me, but I haven't been setting the night on fire with anything.

Went to the Buff today. 3 for 3, 1 coho, 1 king, 1 laker. Coho came on white with green spin doctor and green fly set @ 20' down on a dipsy. King came on a chicken wing on a full core. Laker came on a gold and orange j-plug set at 40' on the rigger. All fish taken were in 40 to 45' feet of water. I'm planing on going again tomorrow. I'd like to here if any one else did good and could give me any suggestions for tomorrow.

http://www.greatlakesfisherman.com/gallery/files/3/2/6/6/imag0017.jpg' alt='imag0017.jpg'>

Went out Saturday and got to test some new equipment.

1.) New Transducer.

2.) Had most of our luck a couple weeks ago using the Red and Black Wally Divers. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the normal size in any store. I had to order them on line.

3.) New rubber net.

4.) 2 New Big Jon down riggers.

Everything seemed to work fine, but the fish wouldn't. We got one small 5lb King on a 2 color with a pink/gold TF.

Our buddy, was a little more fortunate. He got a nice 17lb King on a blue/silver thunder stick, 2 coho on boards running green/chartreuse TF, and another on red/black TF.

Lake was 44 deg and murky. Fished from Grand beach to state line in 25 to 45 feet about 2.2 to 2.8 mph. Most marks were within the first 7' and we did mark a lot of fish. At least the transducer worked.

Yes, but I don't store my boat at home, that's why I registered it in Michigan. I don't have space for it at my house so I store it at my brothers house in New Buffalo.

IC 9-18-2-5

Trailers and semitrailers

Sec. 5. A person may operate intrastate, or combined interstate and intrastate, in Indiana a trailer or semitrailer that is properly registered and licensed in another state if the trailer or semitrailer:

(1) does not have a fixed terminus or permanent base in Indiana; and

(2) is at the time being drawn or propelled by a tractor or truck that is properly registered and licensed in Indiana if the trailer or semitrailer is:

(A) properly registered and licensed in a jurisdiction other than Indiana; and

( is exempt from registration under this chapter if the owner has complied with the laws of the jurisdiction in which the trailer or semitrailer is registered to the extent that the jurisdiction in which the vehicle is registered grants the exemptions and privileges to vehicles owned by residents of Indiana and registered under Indiana law.

As added by P.L.2-1991, SEC.6.

I did not need to be a Michigan resident to register my boat and trailer in Michigan. From this code, I can legally tow my boat and trailer with Michigan plates because they are properly registered in Michigan and my truck is properly registered in Indiana. I'll just keep a copy of this in my truck in the event a cop wants to be a jerk.

I couldn’t find any information on the web. I live in Michigan City, IN just a few miles from New Buffalo, MI. When I bought my new boat last year I had it registered in Michigan and got my permanent trailer plate in Michigan. I do about 99% of my fishing in Michigan so I figured I should register in Michigan, and it’s cheaper. Last year I went out once in Indiana waters and was stopped by the DNR. I was told if my boat resided in the state for more than 30 days (I think) I would have to pay the state excise tax. I trailer my boat, so I don’t know how they would know how long it has been in the state. Now I hear, if I get pulled over in Indiana, I could get a $150 ticket for having my trailer plated in Michigan and I’m an Indiana resident. Also, my boat could be confiscated. Has anyone else encountered this and/or know where can I find a posting of this law?

What were you running?

First limit

Second Limit

It's great to see all those rods dancing, but it sucks when your short handed and can't get to them.

I was a man short and I like to have at least 3 guys in the boat, and the lake had some big waves hitting shore. My boat doesn't far well in waves over 3'. So, we pulled out of the mouth of the harbor and started west. Just took one big wave to hit the boat and I turned around. I'm not risking my life for fish. I went home and a few hours later I got a call from my dad. He went out after I left, and he told me he was going to limit out. I called my buddy back and we headed back to New Buffalo. My dad had already limited out in 4 hours and offered to drive my boat while we fished. The waves had calmed down to less than a foot. I normally run 4 flat line and 2 boards. We couldn't keep the lines in the water long enough to set all our lines. Most of the time we had 2 or 3 fish on and we were still trying to get the previous fish out of the net. After the 5th fish we just started horsing them in the boat. Went 16 for 18 all coho kept 15. At one time we had 5 on at the same time, 2 got off because we couldn't get to them. We were on the lake for less than 2 hours. I have never limited out that fast in my life.

I went out yesterday about 8:30am. Set lines just outside the mouth and headed west. Within 10 minutes we had our first Coho of the day. Lake had the slightest chop but within an hour it got real flat. We had picked up 3 within the hour, but then sun came out and the lake got calm. We had been trolling in close about 13' to 15' deep @ 2.3 to 2.5mph. We were able to get another 3 before calling it a day, but we were only on the lake till 11:00. The last three were all caught in 6' to 7' deep @ 1.6 to 1.7mph. The magic bait of the day was the red w/black squiggles thin fish between 75' to 100' behind the boat. . We may have been able to get more but out lines keep hitting bottom.