chandler

Vector Rigger

Have 1 electric vector rigger left. $200 firm. Pickup in Grand Rapids, MI. Was used as our chute rigger. Super fast and never had any issues. Upgraded traxstech rodholders put on. Text 517-395-7694 for more info

Thanks Chandler. Any certain length they should be?

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We usually tied them up about 5 or 6 feet behind the back of the boat. Far enough out so they wouldn't hit the downrigger Rods. We used 5 gallon bucks too.

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Yeah they work. Thats what we used to use. Drilled like 10 small holes in them. Might want 2 or 3 tho. A lot of times it took a few to get our speed down.

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Grand haven was good in the mud and in the channel. Got 8, lost a lot more than we caught. Caught fish up the river too. I talked to a few people up in the Muskegon and they were getting them in the rivers. Mostly kings and some coho.

Nets are up past Mona lake and north. If I were you I'd stay out of there. Heard that there were a couple of them that are unmarked.

Once you get about 6 miles north of grand haven start looking out for them. Don't know where they're at but that's typically where they start. Just keep your head up. They're marked. You'll see a flag and that's when you know to start making a turn away from them. Most people have been doing better straight out or south the past week so I haven't been up there. If we are up north in the next couple days I'll get the coordinates up.

The DNR is also talking about stocking herring. So hey, if those alewfies did die off... Herring wouldn't be so bad.. We'd be having so big ole kings just like Lake Ontario. But then again from what I've been told straight from someone who is on the board of the DNR that this year the fish will be bigger, and the alewfie population is rebounding very well, and that the fishing in the next few years should continue to get better. They also plan to stock more kings in the following years. So it is good news. From my view, i think next year were gonna have another big king year. The fishing won't be great, but I think it'll be exactly like 2013. Not very many kings but they have all been hitting the feed. We've seen a good number of large fish that are not the mature 3 year olds who will run this year. As for the alewfies, they appear they've found food to eat too

So there's a ton of bait in the plume at grand haven, with kings in it. Hmm. How do the other 22,799 square miles of the lake look? Don't draw a conclusion about the health of the whole eco system based on a small sample size.

I find lots of cars in a mall parking lot, but not many in the field next to it. Should I look only at the parking lot, I may think there's a lot of cars. If I turn around, not so many.

It's not just in Grand Haven it's all over the Lake. I've talked to charter captains up and down and across the lake who have been seeing the same thing. Lots of alewives and kings with full stomachs. I've cut open over 200 fish this year and about 90% of them have had a lot of bait inside of them and not just full grown alewives but them of all sizes. I also know a lot of people who pier fish across the lake and all of them have been pulling up alewives by the doZens constantly. And there aren't many kings over on our side the last few weeks because we've got all the cold water. Those kings are far and few in between unless you have warm water. They're finding the warm water in the river water, at breaks where the waters warm, or over on the Wisconsin side. The fish are all healthy fish too. And they will be bigger than last years. Last year barely anybody broke 20 pounds. It's July right now and I've got a couple myself and I've seen dozens of others.

Fishing in the past few weeks has been picking up. A lot of kings starting to show up. Haven't gone past 45 foot in the last 2 weeks. Everything up close in the mud with most being good size kings with some nice Steel in the mix. Here's the report from the past two days.

7/15 AM

25-40 FOW most fish came in front of the pierheads The troll never really mattered but the currents have been ripping so you'd have to keep an eye on the fishhawk. At times we were going around 4.5 SOG to keep a good downspeed. Hot baits were 11 inch pearl fish scale flasher down the chute 20 foot, rigger 11 down yellow tux, 2 color red pepper, 100 copper MOP plug, 2 color fickle pickle plug, and 3 color mixed veggie plug. The hottest rod was our diver 35 back with Tomic MOP with black dots 35 back. We ended the day going 8/15. Went a couple hours without a bite and just caught the tail end of the morning bite but around 10 they turned back on when the sun got up and hot.

7/16 AM

25-45 FOW tried to be In our spot all morning in 30 FOW in front of the pierheads but there were a lot of boats out and we got pushed out to 45 foot and got a few bites out there too. This morning glow plugs and spoons were going for the first couple hours. 2 color yellow lightning, 3 color lucky charms, 5 color yellow jeans spoon, and riggers 14 and 16 down with glow plugs all took fish. Switched off the glows once the sun got up and got bites and fish on 2 color jäger bomb, chute down 21 was hot with 11 inch pearl fishcale flasher with oceana fly, and 3 color chrome lucky charms. Was back to the dock at 10 going 9/16 today. Lots of boats doing well out there today. Current was less wicked as the day before. Downspeed was best at 2.4-2.7.

Never said they werent there in the mud, been saying they are. I have been there a few times myself and done well in it.

I gotcha. Yeah they're in there and stacked just so much bait that they're too stuffed to eat. We're in there changing out our riggers constantly cause you're snagging ales. Most of the time you can hear the riggers humming just going through all of them. Full moon last week paired with all the bait made that fishing slow. Those fish are just feeding all night and then don't eat in the morning. Every now and then they bite good. Fishing can only get better!

They changed this. I forget what they changed it to but I believe it is tied to a predator prey number ratio. Covered it during the meeting in Ludington.

Thank goodness the charters are taking out shakers and hammering the lakers. Need to build up some ale year classes:thumb:

Think we've had one shaker the past two weeks too. And no lakers at all. Kings are actually getting pretty good. Everyday there's a few 18-20# fish caught on the docks. There's a lot of bait out there. And not enough fish. Should have been more fish planted.

As said Grand Haven and Musk. pump out lots of warm water, and polution which attracts bait, thats why fish hold around it more, even natural reproduction doesnt have alot to with it, the little man which is very high on that list had next to zero return last year, an all time low return to the wier. As far as charter reports take them with a grain of saly that i there livelyhood and there not gunna post the 1 2 and 3 fish trips, who would want to go. There will be good days but they are few and far between and not near as good as what used to be considered good.

Charter boats are doing well. The past 2 weeks we haven't had a day under 6 fish. Lots of kings and steelhead in that mud out of grand haven. Waters so cold that the fish are stacked up in there. The graph is loaded with fish all day. Fishing has been pretty good. Haven't headed out past 50 foot either. Fishing should pick up as soon as the water warms up. Lack of fish is mostly because the fish are scattered and (at least in grand haven) those fish are able to go into the mud where all the bait is and feed all day and night. Every fish we've been cutting open has been loaded with bait. There's no reason these fish have to feed. They don't need to. Once that warm water comes in the fish should start biting better. At least that's my opinion.

Your 5 and 7 colors are heavier and pulling harder. The other 3 and 5 color don't have as much weight so they will pull out further. If it paranoiys you that they aren't all inline you adjust the weights on the boards of 5 and 7 colors up so they will pull harder or vise versa with the 3 and 5 colors and put the weights back so they won't pull as hard and fall further back instead of more to the side

Go out deep past 220 and hit steel. Not many kings out there right now and they aren't really biting unless it's dusk/dawn. Stinger size spoons in bright color in top 20 foot they're out there and biting

Before you hit the kings while heading in, what did your catch primarily consist of? Steelhead, lakers, or a mixed bag out there? Great report, thanks for the info!

9 steelhead and a coho

Wow great report best one I've heard in a while. We're were in too shallow last night in the 175 range going 2/5

Yeah those fish are scattered. Just gotta find a pod of fish and stick with them. Give me a shout next time your out. Always willing to share what info.

Went out last night in the fog and rain. Got out and set in 230 and trolled west and kept going west and picked up fish off the bat. After about 260 didn't get a hit for about an hour and whipped back around and went east and got back into fish in 260 and ended up doing laps in 220-260 till around 8 when we just went East and tried to see if a few kings were around. Best rigs were 2 color red pepper, 1 color red pepper, 5 color gold orange tux, 7 color green jeans, 7 color uv chart pooh bear. Once we headed in close got a couple kings on the riggers. UV blue jeans w/ blue moo meat rig 65 down and uv blue jeans w/ living the dream meat rig 90 down. 2.6-4 at the ball we ran all night nothing really mattered and only trolled East and west. Finished 13-15

Nice work JD

Well I think you ran over the fish. They were in and thick in the mud this weekend. Outside of the mud they were scattered because of that cold water.

This weekend we were found the water cooled off and scattered all the fish but found a good group of fish in the warm water inside of the mud in 30-40 foot in front of the piers. Only trolls we did were North and South for the most part but still hit fish making turns. Most of the fish coming on stinger size spoons and a few bites on stingray size.

Hot rigs were- 150 copper hawg wild, 21 down on the rigger uv chartreuse pooh bear, 45 back on the diver with a tangerine and 55 back with a hawg wild, 2 & 3 colors with red pepper spoon, 7 color with uv clown, 5 color with uv chartreuse pooh bear and the other with a uv gold tux, 25 down jelly belly.

Ran flashers too but didn't get a hit on them. Best speed was 2.5-2.8 at the ball.

I had some good info Friday from this guy I know. Got out Saturday a bit later than normal, took the wife. We had as many bats in the boat as we did fish. It was 10AM and later, two different bats ended up in the boat, did I mention the wife went? That was not a high point for her. Ended up 2-3. Had a rip setting up on a blue dolphin on a diver, caught two others that we released, one on freakin mixed veggies, the other on a bloody caramel. Never knew they were on, lure change time found them. They were lively yet, and way too small.

I think I seen you once we might've seen your boat when we came in. Lol we were out there too but earlier in the morning for a few hours and caught a few that were all little baby's and tossed them back in the water and then got one that was big enough to keep. I think our spoons were about the same size as they were:lol:

Can't go wrong with either Black Betty or Best Chance. Black Betty is a really good boat to go with. Best Chance will always get you fish though, probably one of the best boats on Lake Michigan.

Sold!

Have to get rid of some stuff. Have too much of the same things so trimming down a little bit of what I have. Will not split up, selling as a package. 53 like new spoons from Michigan stinger, Dreamweaver, Moonshine, and silver streak. Then there's 8 flies that haven't been used and 3 meat rigs. 6 flashers from various companies, and also 7 plugs. $215 takes it all. can arrange shipping or meet somewhere. Pm me if interested

Try going in going in closer. Go off the beach and fish in that 8 -15 foot area and the Browns are sitting in the troughs. But farther south towards PS has been hot.