Fuddly

Reports like this give me the chills Love catching kings. Nice job out there and thanks for the report.

Great idea on the video report. I'm sure it will help a lot of guys out seeing spoons and baits to associate a lure name with.

wouldn't use michigan city area launches at all, bunch of posts on another board of guys getting stuck in bigger boats than 18 foot. Maybe make the run from new buffalo,mi or portage, in.

There is a sandbar that runs inside the break wall. Pic below shows where the sand bar is roughly, goes out a little more into the mouth than what shown. You Have have to run pretty tight to the East(north) wall coming out. I'm working on finding out if they've done any dredging in the channel yet. I'll post when I find out.

Either way, if you launch at MC or another port and drive to MC, you're going to compete with the sandbar. As I mentioned before though, I would for sure not use Washington Park!

I don't suggest Washington Park at all. Last I knew there was only 1 of the 3 or 4 slips that could be used, the rest are all full of sand. I know the 1 you can use can be tricky itself, really narrow. I would recommend going to Trail Creek Marina, its a nice facility.

Here is a pic of the bow rest I have on my trailer below the wench.

How much for the round ones? 16 pounders would be cool. 15's are only 3 pounds heavier than 12 pounders you can get in any store.

I could make them 16lbs, I just had some request for 15's. I'm not sure what it would cost to make them yet. Would you want them coated or not? If yes, would you want a hard plastic coat or would the red rubber coating work?

The 9lbers I have now have a pretty good blow back if I get down past 40-50ft. As sherman mentioned, I've just lived with it. I have an entire machine shop with CNC's at my disposal, so I may as well make what I need. For now, I think I will start with the ball (I already have the aluminum on hand for that size mold) and see how it works out. I will still make the pancake.

Really appreciate all the opinions. As I mentioned, I'd be willing to make and sell some once I get them proofed out if anyone is interested. I'll have to see what I have into them before I can come up with a price, lead and coating is pricey!

I also have the bow brace down further, helps take some of the weight off the upper wench area.

Kevin,

I hope I didn't offend you with what I said. I truly like the design and would love to get a pair of 15 pounders from you.

I was just trying to be a little humerous about the shape. My apologizies.

No need to apologize! I like you're thinking I'll let you know when I get them made. I think I'm going to go ahead and make both styles then I don't have to decide until I'm ready to drop them down.

I'm sure this will vary person to person, but what is the preferred color for the coating? I've always used the red before, just because I have it. Its not a plasticoat though, it's nothing more than the rubber grip stuff for tool handles, but I've never had any issues.

Thanks everyone for the input!

Boat is looking great!

Something I notice beings I have a 25' Trophy myself. If you plan to trailer the boat a lot, replace the 2 pads where the boat rests at the wench with 2 of the rubber rollers. The pads I had like in your pictures ended up cracking in the center and tore up the glass. Just a suggestion...

I agree, Don.. I like it a lot!

Personally, I'm not a big fan of pancake weights. The tail gets bent too easy then they don't track well, Bill gets Po'd at the numerous tangles before figuring out they are bent, then when Bill figures out the problem, Bill throws pancake weight overboard!! LMAO

Noooo... That's never happened... Not even with a chrome shark that wouldn't run true.....

The bullet nose works great. Never had any issues with tracking with my 9lbers I currently run.

I've been thinking about building a mold for a 15lb downrigger weight. I haven't decided if I should go with a pancake style or the ball style. I already have a mold for a 9lb ball and they work great. Thought I would post and get some thoughts, both good and bad, from the many people on the board.

Also, if I started selling them, would anyone be interested?

Here are some pictures of what I have designed for a 15lb ball and pancake, also a pic of the 9lb ball I currently use.

Great start to an unbeatable addiction! Welcome to the site.

I bought an app for my iPhone that was only $10. Navionics Marine&Lakes: USA. I love it. It will give you contours for just about any lake in the US. I don't believe you need a signal to see the actual contours on the map but do to see your actual location. I love being able to use it anytime I'm on the water, whether it be ice fishing or in someone else's boat. I have GPS/Sonar on my boat and still refer to this app. It has all the same info as the $100+ REGIONAL chips you can buy for GPS/Sonars, but you aren't required to buy several for different regions. I recommend it, it's only $10.

Just checking to see if anyone has any reports out of New Buffalo. Seems the fish are starting to pick up in St. Joe, just wondering if anything has evolved out of NB.

It's been pretty mixed in New Buffalo. Had a coho Monday PM that was stuffed full of bait. Been marking LOTS of bait around Michigan City river mouth, 25-55 FOW