King Slammin'

I stocked up on a wide variety of UV tackle this off season, spoons, spinnies, flies, etc...

My question is: Is it possible to have too much UV in the water?

My normal 2 man spread consists of 2 riggers w/2 sliders, 2 wire divers, and 2 coppers when fishing deep. 6 high lines when offshore for steelies.

Your thoughts and experiences are much appreciated.

Dave

Starboard Choice is located in Mishawaka, In.

Steve and Andy are Top Shelf all the way!

I use them a lot and highly recommend their services.

Dave.

P.M. sent

I used the stops and crimps that came with the riggers. Not a slipping problem. No cable kinks. When it happened on the water I didn't try and diagnose the problem, just wanted to get the cable back on the spool without losing any fingers, and get back to fishing.

Does anyone use something other than the Big Jon stops and crimps?

Dave

I bought 2 Pro Tournament riggers late last year and they have performed well...until this past weekend. One of the auto stop "actuators" that is on the rigger cable is getting hung up in the auto stop pulley block when sending it down.

This causes the cable to jump off the spool until I shut it off, and also presents a serious safety issue. While trying to put the cable back on the spool by hand, the actuator can come dislodged and let the cannonball free fall until all the slack wire is taken up. Just hope your fingers are clear when this happens. This happened three times Sunday. I've tried to figure out why this happens with the boat in my shop but of course it won't hang up when I want it to. I'm using the factory stop actuators. Any ideas or suggestions?

Dave

Couldn't sleep last night so headed out to the truck at 4 a.m. and made the 40 mile trip. Set up at 6 a.m. in 50' of water. First hit at 6:55, same depth, small green glow j-plug 48 down got a 11.2# greaser. Actually put up a pretty good fight to my surprise. Only marked three more fish all day. About 10 other boats out, all scattered. Saw a few nets being used but don't know what was caught. Warmest water I found was a few pockets of 46.2* down 35'. But for the most part, 43-45* surface temps. I'll probably wait a few more weeks to get out again.

Maybe the water, and the fishing will heat up by then. Good luck to all.

Dave

Welcome Eli!

I launched out of New Buffalo this morning and saw about 15 other boats out also. Should of slept in...

Dave

I've never been there and any launch info or fishing reports would be greatly appreciated. I have an 18' PolarKraft so I don't need a lot of depth, but I don't want to make the long trip if it's too shallow. I'll be coming in from the East off the toll road [i-80]. Seems to be a lot of warm water down there.

Thanks guys,

Dave

Frank, would this replace those cheesy pins on the TX-44's? too. The picture looked like the smaller Church boards so wasn't sure.

Thanks.

Paul C.

I make my own also and the pin for the TX-44 is longer. I have a pic in my gallery of the standard size.

Dave

Welcome aboard Neil!

Ditto that, but be sure you don't over tighten the dive bomb on your backing, they have rather sharp edges and can cut your backer if you get them over tightened, I speak from experience and I am a fast learner. Only happened once when I first started using them about 4 years ago. The nice thing is you can reel in the backer and get the bomb out of the way then fight your fish with out swivels or connectors getting in the way.

This is how I do it.

Dive Bomb OR-16 Style!

Here's the pic's

Dave

So you think I'd have trouble with my 24' Sundancer then? I think I could clear 3' of water without issue.

I don't think you would even get it off the trailer before you hit mud on the other side. I saw about 30 boats out, all about 18' or less.

Not saying you can't...but I would talk to as many people as you can and get their opinions also. I sure wouldn't want to be the guy blocking everyone else from getting out, or worse, getting back in.

Most of the trip through the channel is o.k., it's just the one area I mentioned that gets below the 3' mark.

Good Luck:thumb:

Dave

The docks are in @ N.B. No problems for my Polar Kraft 178. The shallowest I marked was just after leaving the launch area when I navigated around a branch stuck in the middle of the narrow Galien river, it was 2.8'. Don't even bother bringing something big and heavy.

I did take some pic's but forgot the camera in the boat. I'll post them in the morning. Incredible how low the water is. As for the fishing? I had a couple quick rips but nothing stuck. A couple guys caught a few coho and 1 @ the launch had a 9 pounder!!

The only thing I brought home was a sunburn. Oh well, nice day on the water anyway.

Dave

Hey guys, my dark green canvas top is seven years old and is now a dull light green that looks terrible. I'm thinking of using a dye such as RIT and rubbing it in while the top is installed to try and make it easier to see the results as I go.

The top is still in great shape and I only have 1 vinyl window to work around. The boat is always stored in the warehouse when not on the water.

Am I on the right track or does someone have any experience bringing the color back to a faded top?

Thanks for any and all input,

Dave

I believe most brand names are more than capable of catching size and numbers with the difference being in the presentation and all the variables associated with that. Personally I choose to run Mikes Eye Flies because of their "swivel through the head" design that allows me to quickly change out the fly without having to change leaders also. This also allows for easier and more compact storage of many flies [without leaders] and your not paying for cheap throw away hooks and mono leaders, just the flies.

I'm not sponsored by Mikes Eye Flies, just a satisfied customer sharing my thoughts.

Dave

Added a 8 rod arch with spreader lights and a new antenna, hopefully this will help my radio reception. I made the arch from scratch to my own dimensions. Friends and family can't believe it's home made. Was going to have it powder coated but ran out of time so it was painted to match the boat and looks fine for now. 3 more Convectors, a Forschner fillet knife and sheath[hopefully this one won't sprout legs and walk away!], 21 Moonshine RV spoons from Lake Michigan Angler and some more of Mikes Eye Flies.

The ingredients are all in, now just add water and get cookin!!!

Have a great season everyone and stay safe,

Dave

a guy i work with is going out of nb tomorrow in a bigger boat ill ask him how it went im not sure if they will use the launch yet or not he has a 24 or 25' that he is planning to get in his slip from the launch im not sure when yet

Any info from your buddy?

I'm goin' this Saturday come he!! or "low" water!

Dave

I thought about Michigan City but I would need to get an Indiana license if I launched from there right?

Only if your fishing Indiana water.

The Michigan City launch is also a option, about 8 miles down the road from N.B.

Dave

.... Ed's "play by play" today has me planning a St.Joe river trip for next Saturday...

Never fails, the first planned trip canceled because of work. Oh well, have to pay for the new RV spoons somehow. Maybe Sunday

+1 with the SWR. I pack mine with tuna in oil. When I run strips in them I leave a "tail" hanging out and add herring oil. Usually good for a couple fish, but not the hot set-up for me. Also can't remember landing anything over 6-8lbs. with them.

Dave

Last year at this time it was 79 degrees and I had 6 trips in already @ New Buffalo. Ed's "play by play" today has me planning a St.Joe river trip for next Saturday.

Dave

Hey Dave, thanks for the update on the new and improved GLA mag. You mentioned the latest issue was 64 pages and the next will be 80 pages. I was 1 year into a 3 year subscription with them, but haven't received one in almost a year. Are the old subscribers kaput with the GLA mag reorganization, or can we expect to start receiving them again????

I'm in the same boat. Sure would be nice to get what I paid for...

Done. Good luck with your class.

I use my wires for mag divers deep with paddles and flies or meat. A nice reel for wire is a Shimano Tekota 600lc with a drag upgrade from Tuna Tom, although mine lasted a couple seasons right out of the box.

A good drag is the key for me.

Use snubbers.

I bought a cheaper set of Okuma Blue Diamond roller rods because I didn't know if I was going to use them much. 8'6" I think. Turns out that I use them a lot more than I thought I would and the rods have held up OK. There's just nothing like watching a wire rod get slammed, hang on!

I think rods are more "personal preference", but some are probably better than others.

Have Fun!

Dave