SeaCatMich

I have been happy with my Dutton Lanisn TW9000 power winch. It overkill for my boat, but I got it for a good price and too big is better than not big enough. In the past I had the Power Winch 912 (rated for a 11,000# boat) on another boat and it worked, but the DL is faster and I like the strap better than the steel cable. My boat's twin hulls with its bunk trailer loads didn't load well with the manual winch. The bunks for the cat sit higher off the ground which also means I have to get it deeper at the ramp to launch or load. Often this means that when loading I am not able to float the boat on as far as would be ideal so I'm cranking it longer. This also meant it was difficult to load without getting wet due to how far I have to back the trailer in -- not fun in the spring. So I went with the power winch to help load but also for the remote capability. Shortly after going to the DL power winch I also heard about Slick Sticks. They are hard, slippery strips that go on the bunks and really made it easier to load the boat. In your pictures, it looks like your trailer is a bunk trailer too. I'd check out adding the Slick Sticks regardless of what winch solution you go with. The nicest manual winch I have seen is the Fulton 3,700# 2 speed. They are expensive at $200+. I see you're in Michigan and since power loading is not allowed at most ramps, I would go with another power winch for that big boat. Most ramps (especially if low water conditions continue) will require you back in a long way and still have to winch the boat a ways.

What was the brand/model of the electric you had?

Probably too deep. Most reports I have heard have had good results from 10 to 30 FOW from Manistee down to Mich City.

Pretty early in the season so probably not too much radio traffic yet. Overall the radio traffic has gone down in my observation the past 10 years. Many have gone to cell phones to talk to their fishing buddies instead. Can't say that I miss all of the noise out there though -- especially the guy that tell the same story every 15 minutes all day long about a fish they caught at 6 am. Did you send out a "first trip of the year... anyone out fishing... how about a report" broadcast? I know that I often will respond to those. I usually have the radio on scan covering many of the more common channels.

That's a funny looking salmon

PM Sent

Most of the kicker brackets that can be lifted have spring loaded lifts to help get them up/down easier. Pull starting could be a pain once the motor is in the down/running position but one with electric start would help. I would also look at a long shaft OB. With the long shaft you might even get away with a fixed mount bracket which would lift the motor out of the water when the boat is on plane but have it low enough to troll with off plane. Since around 2003 many of the outboards have moved the F-N-R controls to the front of the motor near the tiller handle. I would shop for a setup (new or used) that fits your needs.

Can you, yes. Should you, probably not. Smallest boat I have owned that I felt safe in on Lake Michigan was a 18' center console aluminum with twin 55 hp outboards. Went out to ~10 miles which on southern Lake Michigan would be 120' or so. Up north that could get to 200'+ depending on the port. For fishing it was okay up to 2' breakers and 3' swells to run in on. Trying to run on plane in 2' breakers or more in a small boat is difficult and if seas are building that's when you will likely need to get to port as fast as you can. If you are serious about fishing Lake Michigan for salmon, go a little bigger. The cost isn't gong to be that much different. A 16' mod V even with reasonably high sides is going limit you to spring and fall fishing near shore at best. Fishing in 2' seas from a 16' mod V isn't fun. Lots of people have tried it and it generally causes twofootitis in short order. It happens every couple of years with salmon fishing anyway but sooner and more frequently if a boat isn't big enough to chase the finny critters.

I would get a EZ-Steer style connecting rod to let you steer with the main boat steering. Then add a Control King or TrollMaster remote throttle control to the kicker. They are available with kits to adapt to most kicker size outboards out there. This gives you very fine speed control without needing a full throttle handle at the helm plus the ease of true steering. On your size boat I would agree that a tiller handle isn't going to work very well. A Garmin TR1 for the kicker is another option but a lot more expensive.

Season just opened on the river this past Saturday. Have not heard of anyone trying but there should be some good big lake fish in the river with the late spring. The lousy weather over the weekend probably cut down on the number of people out fishing. Try calling Charlie at Broadlow's Fishn Hole for a current report.

Welcome Red! Do you have any specific species of fish you are really interested in? You posted in the Great Lakes Fishing area, but the state offers opportunities for everything from bigger fish like salmon, trout, and walleye to perch, sm mouth & lg mouth bass, pike, panfish... The what and where is mainly determined by the season and water temperatures. Without a boat, I would look into getting a set of waders. You can use them in the many rivers or to get to spots you normally couldn't on small lakes... even "surf" fishing on the Great Lakes. Another option to widen your choices is to rent a boat at many of the lakes in the state or a canoe for rivers.

Although you might not be ready to fish tournaments just yet, the MSCST is a Muskegon area fun contest series that you might want to look into. Good group of guys that I'm sure would help you get familiar with the port and fishery. FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/MSCST/155723504479308 Web Site: http://www.mscst.com/ Muskegon does not have a local chapter of the Michigan Steelheaders, but Grand Haven and Grand Rapids do. You can learn a lot going to these meetings and start building a network of people to talk to. Half of being successful out there is knowing where to be and a good network of fishing contacts can shorten that learning time.

The nets are for Whitefish not salmon/trout although there is some incidental catch.

I trailer from the Lansing area and fish both ports. Muskegon left a bad taste in my fishing at the end of August last year. Got into the nets after dodging them on 5 previous trips the last couple of years. Lost a couple downrigger weights including a X4 probe, a wire diver, and a copper setup up. It was mid afternoon and I was working on an electrical problem on the boat and the other guys onboard were dozing off. One of them finally pointed at a net buoy/flag off the port stern and asked "what's that?". *%^@#& I'm really hoping they are gone this year, but not holding my breath. They are marked better than ones in Whitehall, Ludington & Manistee but still a pain. Last year for me, Muskegon was better fishing. In 2012 Holland was better. If you go out a ways off Muskegon you can get to some nice structure that will hold fish -- especially in mid summer. Holland is pretty much a steady slope all the way out and leaves temps and currents as the "structure". Since I trailer, the DNR launch and fish cleaning in Holland is much better than Muskegon. The only "public" fish cleaning in Muskegon I know of is Fisherman's Landing which is at the far east end of Muskegon Lake and a long run to the breakwalls. All of the launches in Muskegon that I can launch my boat at are city owned so it costs extra to launch too -- Holland is "free" since I have my DNR passport on the license plate.

Muskegon gets deeper a little faster than Holland Muskegon has a much better Aug & Sept King fishery as the river has a substantial run of spawning fish Muskegon has a better spring & fall Steelhead fishery Muskegon has had commercial nets the last few years, Holland doesn't Less no-wake zone on Muskegon Lake

I'd call Bob at Big Papa and discuss. He will give you the straight dope... very low key guy... unless you get him taking salmon or walleye

Good to hear that you were able to catch fish without having to drill a hole first! Great news in my book and nice catch.

Try Mike Biffel at Big Dawg Sportfishing (http://bigdawg1.com/). It has been a few years but went down for a week long Keys "fishing camp" where we tried every type of fishing down there -- flats, wrecks, bottom, offshore, back country, Atlantic, Gulf... Mike was one of the two captains and was great. He has multiple boats to fit whatever type of fishing you want to do and will provide knowledgeable recommendations on what to try based on what's good for the date.

The outboard is new enough that I wouldn't think it is causing any spurious electrical signals. I would lean toward the grounding of the fishfinder being the issue. This could be the fuse panel, the wire running from the battery to the panel, the connector on the end of the fishfinder power cable, or the boat's main ground. Easiest way to test is to run the fishfinder power directly from the battery. If it resolves the issue then the problem is either the panel or the battery to panel wiring. If it doesn't, then I'd check the overall ground. Another indication of this would be if you are seeing the same sort of problem with your VHF radio getting lots of static when RPMs go up.

1. What transducer are you using and what mode is the fish finder in (dual mode, side finder...)? 2. Have you tried wiring direct to the battery instead of through the fuse block? 3. What is your engine?

Mike, has the St. Joe launch improved under the water? Only time I launched there the concrete didn't go out far enough and my tires went over the edge to get the cat off & on the trailer. I also heard a few years back that they were going to put a breakwall upstream from the launches, but it never happened when I lived down there. It was difficult to get the boat on the trailer due to the current pushing the boat downstream.

Only having 1 dock in the water on the first weekend after three decent weather days in April will do that. Spring salmon fever!

I went with the Big Jon trees. Can be adjusted in 4 ways: 1) pivot angle of each holder, 2) up/down location on the post, 3) left/right angle of each holder, and 4) the whole tree rotates on 90* sets. The ability of each holder to be set to its own left/right angle when clamped to the post is unique to Big Jon. I have them set with each higher rod holder angled a little further forward to separate the rods a little more. The Traxstech trees are also very nice and have 3 adjustments (no left/right individual).