SeaCatMich

I know a guy with an Angler WAC boat with a diesel IO.  Was able to slow down enough for spring walleye on Lake Erie with 2 trolling bags from Big Papa.

PM sent.  I have 3 Okuma  CP-CL-862M "copper" rods I'd like to sell.

I have a 300 yard spool of 250# PowerPro that I was going to use on a couple of downriggers where the wire needed to be replaced.  I then went with new riggers and decided not to use it.  Would sell for a lot less than I paid.  $40 shipped if you want it.  Enough to do 4 downriggers with 200'+ each.

PM or email me ([email protected]) if interested.

Have had my 21' center console since 1999.  Pretty much agree with what others have said but with a T-Top and electronics box it helps with the storage.  Over the winter I just picked up a canvas/eisenglass curtain system to install in the spring to provide a little protection from colder weather winds -- pic below off Overton's web page.  Generally though, 4 guys fish off it very comfortably for salmon trolling or walleye drifting.  I typically run a 9 rod spread but it handles 12 just fine -- the track system is great for keeping things organized.

A buddy runs a 18' CC Triton that is a bay boat hull.  It is okay but the layout is not nearly as good for trolling and it can't handle much more than a 2' Lake Michigan or Erie chop.  Compared to my Cat hull it rides a lot wetter and isn't anywhere as stable side to side.  It doesn't have a T-Top either -- but does have a live well.

Yes, I bought it.

I switched to the 32# copper for exactly the reasons that Steelhead listed.  The slightly deeper depths achieved by 45 are not worth it compared to significantly more backing you can get using 32.  The 32 is easier to work with for knots too.

I'll take it! PM sent.

Bob, over here in the Lansing area we have quite a few "detailing" shops/guys that will do however much or little that the owner wants done. A couple of them run specials via GroupOn and Living Social discount websites. I have used one via a GroupOn and got a full detail on a car I was selling including interior cleaning and a full claybar exterior prep/cleaning and wax for $99. The car came out looking nearly new.

Here is a link to the Holland area GroupOns for Auto Detailing:

https://www.groupon.com/browse/grand-rapids?category=automotive&category2=auto-detailing&lat=42.78752&lng=-86.10893&address=Holland%2C+MI

I did a quick check on the Holland Craigslist and found this ad which looks to offer any service you might want. http://holland.craigslist.org/aos/5296793581.html

For the money they are not a bad rod. I'm not so sure about using a medium action for divers -- maybe for walleye but for salmon I'd want a med-heavy and also probably go with an overall better quality rod.

Yeah Fishjay, on way over I was concerned about waves; when we left Cooke buoy had 4.6' and S Haven was 3.2; checked before we were to make turn onto 131 and Cooke had come down to 4.2; so since it was on way down we decided St Joe.

at 95FOW it was little rougher than in closer but very fishable.

For what it is worth, DNR creel guy at launch said this time of year go to 150-200' and you will kill them. Not so sure about that.

The DNR guy could very well be right. When i lived down in St. Joe heading out to the 200 FOW area from October through December was usually non stop action. The trick is to time wind/weather and time off! On two different years I even headed out on Christmas with smooth seas and 50*+ temps.

The catch is a real mixed bag with mostly 8 to 15# Kings and Steelhead with some lake trout mixed in too. It is very similar to spring fishing with the cooler water and the fish ready to eat before winter. Since overnight air temps are often below freezing it was only feasible with outboards.

Not that I have seen. The only two downspeed/downtemp systems that don't use a coated cable are the FishHawk and the SmartTroll which both use a probe system that transmits from the probe to a transducer.

Torpedo Diver did come out with a stainless sheath cable and a solid tube antenna for use with the Depth Raider and SubTroll systems that is more durable than the rubber coated cable and spring antenna. Still requires a special cable for the probe rigger -- just a different material. https://www.torpedodivers.com/scart/product_details.asp?ItemNum=ZP0010

Depth Raider says that it will work to limited depths with uncoated cable, but not what I found. When I had one anytime the sheath got damaged and exposed the inner coar of the coax to water, it stopped working or was very intermittent once the place where the sheath was missing got under the water.

They will work together but I believe you will loose the auto-stop on the downrigger because when you put the DR's coated cable on it.

Small (3" to 4") plug with the design/action of the Ace High. The smaller Silver Hordes work okay but not quite the same action as the notched nose of the Ace High. I don't care if it is fixed hooks or bead-chain through a hole if it works. I do kind of like the bead-chain/hole design as it allows for easier storage of the bodies.

This was just posted on a FaceBook group I'm a member of. I know there are lots of us that fish out of and live near Port Sheldon and Holland.

If you know anything please call the number below...lets find Aaron...

Renee Palermo

MY BROTHER AARON JUAREZ IS MISSING IN LAKE MICHIGAN. He left out of the Port Sheldon Pigeon Lake boat launch.

PLEASE SHARE THE HECK OUT OF THIS. IF ANYONE SEES ANYTHING FLOAT UP ON SHORE, CALL 18002490911

Been using it for close to 15 years by adding it into the fuel starting about a month before I plan to stop using the engine for any extended period. I also put Marine STA-BIL Ethanol Fuel Treatment & Stabilizer in at the end of the season to prevent ethanol-gas separation.

My previous boat was a 22' Cruisers SeaDevil WAC and like your Grady had a bracket mount outboard. Had 4 Big Jon Captain Packs with two off the stern (one on each transom corner) and two that went out the sides mounted about 2' forward on the gunnel. It is important to not mount the side riggers too far forward. The further forward the more likely it is for the front rigger weight/wire to get into the rear ones -- especially on turns. This should not be an issue with low profile riggers like the Walkers and Big Jons as they don't intrude into the boat -- bigger body ones like Riviera, Invader, and Cannon can be an issue though.

In the 10 years I had the boat we almost never had tangle issues. Ran mostly 10 and 12# weights. Another key was to always keep 10' of vertical separation between adjacent riggers and to have the rear ones deeper than the sides.

After initially setting the boat up with fixed locations for the downriggers, I changed to a track system once they came on the market. I wish I had started that way as it made fine adjustments much easier until I got the setup exactly as I wanted it.

CornHusker, it is great that you are concerned about the salmon planting levels. Here is some good information that you should read: https://www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/Chinook_Salmon_Fact_Sheet_and_Frequently_Asked_Questions_-_FINAL_450285_7.pdf

The reduction in salmon plants is not a secret and the DNRs of the surounding states took a lot of input from their biologists along with the public with hearings for a couple of years before taking this drastic step. Hopefully the lake can stabilize and both the numbers and size of the salmon will return to the levels of the past. It isn't the first time the salmon have faced issues and have bounced back. A combination of 2 very cold hard winters plus the significant change that the zebra & quagga mussels have caused in the food chain have compounded today's situation. Signs are that the DNRs have acted soon enough to prevent Lake Michigan's salmon from going the way of Lake Hurons.

It should be noted too that people I talked to fishing Lake Ontario were also very disappointed with the catches they have had in both numbers and size for the last two years too. Personally I think the winters of the last two years have had more to impact the fishing than the cuts. The fish just have not been where they are traditionally but with pretty cold temps until July this year, it is not hard to understand.

Mudhole.com has these: http://www.mudhole.com/Lure-Building/Crankbait-Minnow-Bodies/Minnow-Body-Shallow-5-12

So does Jann's Netcraft: http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/crankbait-bodies/341122.aspx#

3M makes a product called Hook & Loop fasteners that should work. It is similar to velcro but lots stronger. Comes in pieces and rolls with peel off self adhesive on the back. Can get it at most home improvement stores like Lowe's and Menard's or an electronics supply store.

If the cost isn't too much more, I'd go with more rather than less. If you only have 150' but see fish at 200' deep, you can't get there if you wanted to. With 300' on the spool you can. Even on Lake Michigan I rarely go over 200' down trolling, but I have caught fish as deep as 270' and with 400' on my riggers I know I can.

Boats are still doing well off Ludington near the shelf for Kings. Had good reports on staging fish being caught off Grand Haven, St. Joe, and Muskegon pier heads.

Gary, one thing I would suggest (and really appreciate) would be figuring out a way on the website to have a browsing area with pictures of the different "patterns". When you close the online ordering system it also kills the only place I know of to find ALL of the different products. It would be really nice to be able to go to the BigWeenie site and lookup the names as it is difficult to remember them all -- especially with as creative as many of the BW names are. Even worse it telling someone to try a BW Spotted Dick flasher or a Homosezwhat or Poofster fly and then try to describe them.

You already have a pictures gallery. Should be pretty straight forward to configure another one for the products instead of the fish pictures Heck, you already have the pictures from what you have in the store.

Downside is that once people can see the products with the names it will breed more orders... not the worst problem to have though.

Guys if you hear about a specific pattern working or know the name of what you want that isn't available at a store, give Gary a call at BW. If he can, he will get it to you ASAP. I have always been impressed with how much he cares about his customers and the quality of his products.

Cool!!!

I have only fished out of a couple of 30'+ boats but found that they do handle higher seas much better than a mid twenty foot hull. Of course each boat is going to be different and I'm sure some hulls are better than others, so the only way to really know is to get it on the water first. Given the cost of boats in that size range, no way I'd buy one without being able to get out there in conditions that would be typical of what I consider the worst I'd be fishing in.