SeaCatMich

The last two seasons meat rigs off divers on wire and braid have been my most productive presentation on the boat. Last year the UV rigs from Big Weenie with either cut bait herring or ballyhoo were great. In May last year I managed to catch a whole lot of alewife off the Holland breakwall and treated them with BW brine and they worked very well through out the rest of the year. Had bait ranging from 3 to 6" and was a whole lot cheaper than buying it. Unfortunately none left so I'm going to order some from Frank down at Calumet Marine soon to get buy until I can catch some more. I tend to run faster than many with the meat rigs out... 2.2 to 2.7 mph on the X4 downspeed. Mainly so that the other lures in the presentation also have good action. Still got plenty of hits on the meat.

Let's see... have a Smart Troll probe on a diver with a flasher meat rig and something bad happens. Dipsy Diver (~$12) 11" Paddle/Flasher (~16) Meat rig w/ twinkies (~$16) So an already expensive problem at $44+ just got even worse with a $150 probe gone too. No it doesn't happen too often but for that kind of money I get to tow the boat over to the lake and fish for another day. Since I already have the X4, I'm not going to add this new technology to my arsenal very soon and I'd have a hard time buying that over any of the other downrigger based products.

Wolf's Marine is a huge warehouse in Benton Harbor that has practically anything that you might want for a boat -- they sell boats and outboards too. Not much fishing tackle but lots of everything else. Both new and used, manufacture overstock, buy outs of other companies... When I lived in St. Joe with the boat it was great to be so close to get what I needed but I learned to never take a credit card. Great family owned business too. Waren Wolf is the owner but his brother, mother, father and sister can be found at anytime helping out. His brother is Winn Wolf. Winn and his wife, Angela, are active participants in the Tournament Trail (Win-n-Angel is their boat). Wolf Marine's web page: http://www.wolfsmarine.com/ I have been a customer since the early '70s. This coming weekend (March 16, 2013 from 9-5, March 17 2013 from 12-5) is their annual open house with stuff on sale plus good food for everyone too. It is well worth a road trip if you have never been.

Looks like Fish307 has the Kell Labs coated cable in 200 and 300 ft spools. http://www.fish307.com/coateddownriggercable.aspx

The 3M 5200 is what I have had recommended in the past and used with no issues. That stuff is tough... once it dries it really takes some effort to even sand it. For waterline seals that are water tight, it is the way to go. I don't think that I'd put any wood in to fill the holes as it isn't waterproof.

I looked at Moonshine's web site and can't find anything listing pattern numbers -- for any spoon... RV or Superglow???

Flounder Pounder and Mongolian Beef RVs were good off riggers and 300 coppers for me from when I bought them in May through the end of the year. The Bloody Nose worked but not as well as the others. Does anyone know if they are going to expand the patterns for this coming season? Seems that some dolphin type patterns would be great in the RV.

Looking good. Functional beats fancy in my book any day!

I'm afraid that last year was a once in a decade type winter with the open water by early March. I'll be real happy if the boat's bottom is wet by mid April. Being cold or in a down parka with mittens just isn't my idea of fun.

Seating/tickets are limited according to the email I got, so go to the link to reserve a spot if you want to get in.

I have four of the Special Mates... yes, I do have too much tackle . Two of the small ones for the smaller regular and ProKing size spoons and two of the bigger/taller ones for the mag and super mags. They take up room, but it nice to be able to see the spoon colors/patterns. By having them hang they don't get beat up rubbing against each other like they do in the Plano type boxes plus they drip dry and don't rust either.

The simplest and cheapest fixed slider is a rubber band. I half hitch the rubber band to the main line and then run the snap through the loose end of the band and around the main line. This holds the slider in place and when a fish hits provides just enough resistance to get a good hookset and keep resistance as it slides down to the main line's lure.

I didn't shoot it... wish I had , but it was just a news feed that I got emailed to me and thought others might enjoy hearing about the new record.

40 years ago I convinced my Dad that along with the fishfinder and downriggers we needed to get a downspeed unit. I saved my part time job money and bought a ProCombinator when it came out. Since then have used the FishHawk 840, then the Depth Raider and now the FishHawk X4. In my opinion the X4 is the best unit by far. I really appreciate that it doesn't need coated cable and a set of batteries in the probe last all year. The display is easy to read in the dark or daylight. I also think aside from the rods/reels and lures onboard, it is the most important piece of equipment on the boat. A good fishfinder is probably a close second but even if you know the fish are down there, you still have to be running the lures at the right speed and be able to duplicate it when going different directions. With the various currents at depths in the great lakes, it is difficult at best without the down speed. Sure you can use the bend in a diver rod or the blowback angle on a rigger cable but I have had many days where one or two tenths of a mile/hour difference meant catching fish rather than washing lures. Very hard to use rod/cable angles to detect that subtle of a difference.

A thermocline is a horizontal area in the water collumn where the temperature of the water is changing rapidly -- genearlly getting colder. Water has different densities at different temperatures with warmer water less dense than colder. This is true until the water gets to 39 degrees where it is the most dense but from 39 degrees to its freezing poiont at 32 degrees, water then gets less dense -- this is why ice floats on top of unfrozen water. In the winter the densest water is going to be 39* and sink to the bottom of the water collumn. Now with that background, it is possible for a sensitive sonar unit to show the thermocline by in effect displaying the rapid density change in the water because it reflects the sound/sonar signal differently. Generally you need to turn up the gain and the sensitivity on the sonar unit to the point where you start getting clutter on the screen (looks like static on an old TV). Then when fishing you MAY see the thermocline as an area of heavier static -- sort of like a weak false bottom. I don't have the Elite 5 but I have seen it on other units like my Raymarine unit and in the past on other fish finders -- even my old SiTex, Vexlar, and Telesonar paper graphs would show it at times.

The new Torpedo system is similar to the FishHawk TD only in that it is a unit that goes on an individual rod/line. Per the posts I have seen on the forums by Torpedo Diver owner Mathew Sawrie the new system will measure speed, temp and actual depth of the probe and report this back wirelessly to the boat. The TD records only the temperature and depth each 5' as it gets deeper and must be retrieved to read the data off the TD itself. The 4 years I used a Depth Raider I replaced the coated cable once due to its coating coming off excessively about 30' and 55' from the probe. Once those spots got in the water the readings on the unit were unpredictable at best. I used the DR on both Big Jon Captain Pack and Vector electric downriggers. I don't really think it was the pulley on either that caused the problem. Small spots where the coating comes off can be repaired with liquid electrical tape and it holds up pretty well. I too have heard that other brands do have models that have pulleys that are hard on coated cable. Torpedo Diver also offers a cable that has a metal sheath instead of a rubber coating to insulate the center wire from the water to transmit the signal to the DR or ST antenna. It is more expensive that the rubber coated cable, but being metal it is intended to be more durable and also allow for the probe to transmit from deeper depths. (https://www.torpedodivers.com/scart/product_details.asp?ItemNum=P0010)

New state record buck taken with bow has been certified: http://youtu.be/LPS6fMj9Sa8

I don't think it makes any difference between the DR and ST. The connection between the readout and the coil antenna is just an RCA plug so it is really easy to disconnect. The antenna and cable stays with the downrigger.

At the end of the 2011 season 2 of my Vectors finally gave out. Consequently I have two that I would consider parting out. They each have two of the Y mounted rod holders that are still in real good shape. Send me a PM if you are interested.

It has been a couple of years since I have gone to the GR show. Didn't realize that Frank's had started going to that one too. For you, that's a lot closer than Birch Run/Flint... even though BR/Flint is a great show too. Another low priced rod that might be worth considering is the Okuma Classic Pro 8 or 8.5' medium action. Lots of guides and a no nonsense design. I don't have them personally, but do know quite a few people that swear by them. At around $20-22 each I think they are a good buy.

Personally either rod in a 8.5' MH action is too heavy for walleye... even if using divers. I would go with medium action. As for the two different lines of rods, I have had the TDRs in the past and they are nice and very durable. The Wilderness rods seem okay but I just don't like them... it may be the color I'm not thrilled with or just that I think you get what you pay for and they are too cheap to be worth buying. If you're going to the Flint Steelheaders show, Franks Great Outdoors always seems to have some good buys on rods and might be well worth waiting to see. Another real good source and worth at least one trip a year is to go up to Northwoods in Pinconning -- always lots of good rods at good prices in bulk.

Michigan State Record Great Lakes Muskellunge Now Listed as World Record by Michigan Department of Natural Resources on February 19, 2013 The state-record Great Lakes muskellunge caught by Joseph Seeberger of Portage, Mich., on Oct. 13, 2012, has now been listed as a world record by the International Committee of the Modern Day Muskellunge World Record Program (MDMWRP). Click to view the full story

Moonshine RVs were very good last year as were the Stinger UV spoons. Old stand by NBK, M&M, Blue Glow and Green Glow Dolphin, and Mixed Veggie were also good spoons. Probably my most successful presentation though was with 11" flashers in many colors but especially the Big Weenie UV with BW meat heads and cut bait herring strips and whole alewife. Mosty ran these off divers but also deep riggers. From mid July on, Ace High 5" plugs did well but not as good as 2010 and 2011. Ghost and Glow Green, Glow Blue, and Glow Purple swiggle and splatter backs all worked well.

About 15 years ago I bought an Igloo Max Cold 40Q cooler to bring back fish from the Florida Keys to Michigan. Packed it full of frozen fish and ice to the top. 3 days of driving in March with temps in the mid 70's all the way to Ohio but when I opened the cooler at home there was no melted ice and the fish was all still solidly frozen. I subsequently bought a 150 quart model for a fish box for salmon fishing about 14 years ago. Used it in my previous boat as the fish cooler and seat for 3 years. The new boat has a built in fish box, but the Igloo is used to take fish to the cleaning station and then to pack the fillets for the trip home (along with the 40 quart on good trips). It is still going strong and has really been beat around... still looks good too. They are around $70 at Sam's Club if you or a friend has a membership. At that price and performance I think it is hard to beat. I know the Yeti coolers are close to 5x that much. Parts like the hinges, drain plugs, and latches are easy to repair if needed and readily available... so far I had to replace a hinge and a drain plug because someone took it all the way off at a cleaning station and didn't put it back on. http://www.samsclub.com/sams/igloo-maxcold-cooler-150-qt/157017.ip?navAction=

I used to change my Fireline out every 3 years or so... not so much because it was going bad, but because it was turning white. Since going to Power Pro about 8 years ago I haven't changed it at all and aside from trimming back and retying the connection to the divers/snap swivel. The PP backing on my cores and coppers are on their 8th and 4th years respectively. I also have neoprene covers for all of my reels to keep sunlight off the line when not in use. Also helps to keep the reels in nice shape.