Dave Mull

I finally had a chance to walk around a little bit thanks to David Anderson taking the booth over for awhile. Lots of good stuff. I here Cabela's is packed, so come over here instead!

The Grand Rapids Sports Show is, hands down, the ultimate in Michigan, hence it's name, the Ultimate Outdoors Show. Why, just sitting here in booth 2002, I can talk to folks selling morel mushroom paraphernalia to my right (facing the aisle) and members of the Michigan Steelheaders Grand Rapids Chapter to the left. One booth down from the morel folks is a big Daiwa display, and across the aisle from that are "Tactical Bags and Backpacks." I bought one of those bags a few years ago, and it was $25 well-spent.

Upstairs is some of the finest taxidermy I've ever seen.

I'm giving a seminar on new techniques at noon today but the big event is tonight at the Trout Pond, where, according to the show brochure, "Flounder of Thunder 94.5 FM will host a Bobbing for Trout Competition." That action starts tonight at 7.

Where else in Michigan can you find this kind of stuff?

Last night was a good opener, with a lot of friends and acquaintances stopping by the booth. C'mon by! We're giving away Lindy River Rockers, 12-pound Stren Line and spoons from Dreamweaver, Contender and Silver Horde when you buy a subscription. Hope to see some of you guys here. Mention you saw it on Great Lakes Fisherman and I'll give you a TripZ Diver (while supplies last and I think I only have five).

It's truly a great show, the last of the winter season. I'm ready to go fishing.

I did not have to do a single thing and I received my first issue of GLA this week! I was pleasantly surprised with the content. Mr. Keatings contribution is really good!

I will be in Holland with a buddy on March 9.

Thanks Pulp, I have to agree that the new owners and editor did a great job.

Dave

Bill:

I was just glancing through this thread and realized I didn't answer your question about the mag. You should have received your issue by now--they were planning to honor all previous subscriptions. If you haven't you can check with Lorraine at the Frank Amato Publications office in Oregon, 800-541-9498.

See you in Grand Rapids. Just saw my speaking times are 10:30 in the morning Saturday and Sunday. Not sure if I'll draw a big crowd especially on Sunday!

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?

Also, I see you are on the docket for the Ultimate Sport Show in GR this March. I'm looking forward to having two of my adult sons there to hear your story about ending up in the drink. You're going to make a difference in a lot of people's lives with that one.

Thanks

For anyone coming to the Great Lakes Angler Super Salmon School on Saturday March 9, the address is 661 E 24th St, Holland, MI. It's in a kind of strip mall--looks nothing like a church.

Dave

Yeah, sorry I forgot to answer that part of your question. Frank Amato Publications has transferred all of the current subscriptions over, so everyone who had a subscription ought to get what they paid for. And if there is any problem, you can call them at 800-541-9498. Just keep in mind they're on the West Coast, so if you call before about noon or 1 p.m. you're likely to get a recording if you're in the Eastern Time Zone. They do seem very committed to customer service (whether or not you know me!) and have been a real pleasure to work with.

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?

Also, I see you are on the docket for the Ultimate Sport Show in GR this March. I'm looking forward to having two of my adult sons there to hear your story about ending up in the drink. You're going to make a difference in a lot of people's lives with that one.

Thanks

Well thanks for noticing! Where did you see that? I don't remember establishing I was going to talk about the big sink, but if that's what they say I'm going to talk about, then I sure will!

Hi Dave

Thanks for the update. I'm signed up for Holland.

Paul C.

Great Paul. Look forward to seeing you there.

Guys, sorry I haven't posted a blog lately, and promise I'll get back on it. Just a few updates. First, I have seen the new Great Lakes Angler Magazine, the first published by Frank Amato Publications, and I think the complaints of all the guys who saw it getting thinner and getting a higher percentage of ads will see that the new company is taking it in the right direction. It's full of content and at 64 pages, bigger than any magazine the company published in the last couple of years. The ad guy Dave Eng says the next issue, April/May, is on course to be an 80-pager, and I honestly can't remember the last issue that was that big. I'm not on staff anymore, but contributing a feature and a new product column in each issue.

Second, about Dan Keating's and my Super Salmon School, in part sponsored by Great Lakes Angler Magazine. Here's the schedule:

Feb. 9, Winthrop Harbor, Illinois, Lake Michigan Angler Tackle Shop. (includes lunch)

Feb. 23, Port Washington/Saukville, Wisconsin, The Railroad Station (bar and restaurant--admission price includes lunch)

March 3, Birch Run, Michigan, in conjunction with the Flint Steelheaders Boat, Fishing and Outdoor Show (free admission to show)

March 9, Holland, MIchigan, in conjunction with the Holland Steelheaders. I'll get the address, but it's at the same church where we had it last year.

Cost is $60. In addition to an extra hour of instruction (five total), the first 100 anglers to sign up for each school get a fine tackle bag. We also have lots of door prizes. Call Capt. Dan Keating to reserve your spot: 847-395-5730.

Dave

I'm already envisioning hooking up with those offshore steelhead that are high in the water column early in the year, using a Deep Little Ripper set like 12 feet behind and run well back of the boat. I think it will be a good part of a lot of different spreads.

I like the idea for deep cranks run way behind the boat.

Yep, you were the Lake Ontario angler to whom I was referring, Tim! I think this has a lot of potential to get used a lot behind my boat throughout the year. Something I didn't work into the article and should have is the efficiency with which it hooks fish. Bill Church said they first tested it on bluegills, trailing spinners with worms, and these things had the highest catch rate compared to the little TX-6 boards and even compared to flat lines. It must help set the hook when the lure is close. Lausman said the same thing about hooking up with steelhead--they seem to get hooked better.

Hi Dave,

sounds very similar in application to the "Pike Ball Rig" I had in a Basics and Beyond a couple years ago. That application was for copper down the chute, but we have also used if for many years for a tail gunner with a stickbait when trolling the shoreline for browns in the spring.

I really like Church's setup.

Tim

I had a hard time figuring out what a “Stern Planer” could be used for when I first saw the press release about this new product from Church Tackle, probably because I couldn’t wrap my mind around a product called a planer that apparently just follows along behind the boat.

Church Tackle's 007 Stern Planer

Then I talked to Capt. Coho Bob Lausman, who is on the Church Pro Staff, and it all got clear why many of us Michigan trollers will add these devices to the salmon, steelhead and walleye arsenal in the coming season.

Basically, they just attach ahead of your lure, then trail on the water’s surface in a nice straight line behind the boat. When I saw Coho Bob using a pair of them behind his vintage Starcraft on the St. Joe River a week ago, their usefulness became crystal clear.

To explain:

Say you want to run a high-action, deep-diving crankbait in the shallow river to provoke a strike from a lethargic steelhead. Well, you just put the Stern Planer six feet or so in front of the lure, let it behind the boat as far as you want, and you’ve got a hard-wiggling lure diving just three feet deep—and way behind the boat where the boat isn’t spooking fish. Coho, who was fishing Bill Church, the product’s designer, said a lure behind the Stern Planer was the hot deal of the day, responsible for 4 out of 5 fish.

Now, think about this for the big lake. Say you want to run a couple of wiggly Lindy River Rockers or a deep-diving Reef Runner for spring coho in shallow or for offshore steelhead that are high in the water column. The Stern Planer makes it easy as pie.

Two prototype 007 Stern Planers trail behind Coho Bob Lausman's vintage Starcraft on Michigan's St. Joseph River.

Bill Church says the Stern Planer will be able to float and tow heavy copper and leadcore lines, which will let you run these weighted lines down the chute. Get a fish on another line, and you can drop the Stern Planer behind the fish-fighting area. Some guys on Lake Ontario tow copper line behind big muskie bobbers suitable for floating big suckers. When they get a fish on another line, they can let out the bobber so it stays behind where they fight the fish. This 10-inch-long, 3-ounce-heavy Stern Planer ought to do that job better.

Church’s biggest name walleye pro Mark Martin, a walleye champ from Muskegon, Michigan, outlined some other cool things about how these things can be used:

• The TX-007 Stern Planer can be staggered, allowing for more lines to be run out the back of the boat.

• You don’t have to retrieve or reposition the TX-007 Stern Planer when retrieving your side planers, giving you added fishing time.

• It’s great for trolling in congested areas and for more effective contour trolling along drop offs, contour lines, reef edges and weed lines in rivers, lakes or the ocean.

• It takes advantage of the prop wash, which moves disoriented bait-fish, sediment and bugs around that attract fish.

• Although its primary use is as a stern planer, it can also run off of outriggers or be used as a buoy marker.

•Â You can even use it to take the memory out of mono line that has been spooled a long time on a reel.

Stern Planers will allow you to add lines to a trolling spread while avoiding tangles.

I really think a lot of different troller-types are going to like this. I can see it being used by Lake St. Clair muskie anglers, who can set a high-action muskie plug behind the boat so it runs just behind the prop wash—which at times brings muskies in. Crappie anglers will even like it for dropping a little crankbait high in the water column behind the boat.

The Stern Planer attaches to the line with a clip on the nose and a snap swivel in back for simple attachment or removal.

I’m looking forward to running these deals myself in the spring on Lake Michigan, along sandbars with a goby-colored Shad Rap for brown trout. According to Lausman, the TX-007 Stern planer has so little drag you can still see the action of the lure at the rod tip.

The price of this 007 Stern Planer hasn’t been established yet, as the tooling is still under construction, but the folks at Church say they’ll be on the market in time for spring fishing—probably in mid-February. For more info, check out www.churchtackle.com.

Every once in awhile, a new product comes along that all sorts of anglers are going to like and use. I really think that the Michigan-made Stern Planer is one of them.

I'm a fan of the actual Torpedo weights from Torpedo. I think the heaviest is 14 pounds? Very hydrodynamic. Yeck makes great stuff, though, and I'm just unfamiliar with that weight.

FLIPPIN, ARK. (December 17, 2012) Ranger Boats, the nation's largest manufacturer of premium fiberglass fishing boats, announces the launch of an all-new aluminum series of boats for the 2013 model year. A state-of-the-art production facility, located adjacent to company headquarters in Flippin, Ark., was unveiled earlier this week. The new operation includes two series of boats, the fishing-specific Tournament Series and ultra-versatile Apache Series. Both are scheduled to debut at dealerships and boat shows across the country in January.

“We know there are a lot of anglers and boat buyers looking for a premium-quality aluminum fishing boat at a great price,†said Ranger Boats President Randy Hopper. “And the new Tournament and Apache Series are built precisely to those standards. We're proud of the best-in-class features in our fiberglass platforms and instilled the same craftsmanship and attention to detail in these aluminum designs.â€

The all-new Tournament Series will consist of three models, built with the same Ranger DNA that's crafted a 45-year legacy for making the industry's best fiberglass fishing boats. The RT 178 sports a 17-foot, 8-inch bass configuration, while the RT 178C features a similar platform (17-foot, 8-inch) focused more on crappie and multispecies angling, complete with multiple seat locations and livewells. Rounding out the Tournament Series line is the RT188, an 18-foot, 8-inch bass design rated for 115 horsepower. All three models are built to exceed the needs of boat buyers in search of a durable, feature-laden, mod-V aluminum boat.

“So many anglers enter the boating lifestyle by purchasing an aluminum fishing boat,†said Ranger Vice President of Sales Keith Daffron. “We're excited to offer these customers an affordable, durable product paired with the Ranger name and the long list of 5-Star advantages that come with it.â€

In addition to the Tournament Series, the Ranger Apache Series will consist of four ultra-versatile models designed to appeal to anglers and waterfowl hunters alike. The Apache Series will include a 16-foot tiller model, 17- and 18-foot side-console models and an 18-foot center-console model. Whether the focus is on the spring spawn or the fall migration, Apache Series owners will benefit from an intuitive, all-purpose interior layout and a bevy of special features such as the durable, no-slip Rawhide interior surface and hand-painted camo exteriors.

“We know that Ranger owners aren't just anglers, they are outdoor enthusiasts serious about their time outdoors, who expect the best in their equipment and gear,†Hopper said. “The versatility in the new Apache Series gives owners the freedom to take Ranger's legendary quality with them year-round – whether they're pursuing fish or waterfowl – without sacrificing features on either side.â€

Photographs and more information on the new Ranger Apache and Tournament Series will be online soon. Customers are encouraged to visit www.rangeraluminum.com.

About Ranger Boats

Headquartered in Flippin, Ark., Ranger Boats is the nation's largest manufacturer of premium fiberglass fishing boats, which include series of bass, multi-species, fish 'n play and saltwater boats. Founded in 1968 by Forrest L. Wood, Ranger Boats continues its commitment to building the highest-quality, strongest-performing boats on the water. For more information, go to RangerBoats.com.

Kyle McClelland’s first memory of fishing was when he was three years old with his dad and uncle on the Escanaba River in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. He got to hold a push-button reel dangling a worm while the men cast Rapalas.

“I caught a five-pound walleye right over the side of the boat,†he chuckles. Now 16 and a junior in high school, he’s an angler possessed. He’s already picking up sponsors that he helps promote on his XXL Chrome Chasing page (http://www.facebook.com/XxlChromeChasing?ref=hl) on Facebook and on his www.chromechasing.com website, where he displays pictures of fish and shows videos of his fishing trips. He’s got his crosshairs on a business degree, a guide license, an online store and a charter captain’s certification.

Although he fishes for different species, his main passion is targeting steelhead in streams—“chasing chrome.†And he does it with spinning gear, fly tackle with flies he ties himself and center-pin rigs.

Kyle McClelland readies to release a steelhead caught with help from a Clear Drift float.

The serious pursuit of steelhead began when he was in fifth grade, living with his parents in the Upper Peninsula town of Manistique, where the Manistique River empties into Lake Michigan.

“It was spring break and I saw all these guys fishing the Manistique River, and I kept bugging my dad to take me down there so I could see what they were doing,†McClelland recalled. “He finally did and I must have looked funny to those guys fishing, a little kid coming up and asking them questions.â€

But he got answers, and soon was flinging baits with his spinning gear every snowy day of his spring break.

“I didn’t catch anything but kept at it,†he said. “Finally, on the last day of vacation, I cast in this one last hole before quitting and caught a seven- or eight-pound hen steelhead. Then on the next cast I caught a male about the same size.â€

Fishing and steelhead were becoming something of an obsession. Fast forward four years. A freshman in high school, McClelland was again on spring break and on the Manistique, this time following a professional guide around, casting his spinning gear while the guide casted flies. They fished hard all day without success, but finally, casting an egg fly with his spinning tackle, he landed a seven-pound male steelhead as light was waning. That fish changed him.

Fall salmon are other fun targets for teenage angler Kyle McClelland.

“I just remember how long I was out there, how cold that day was, and how hard I worked, finally hooking that fish and seeing it jumping and peeling off line and I remember being so nervous when I hooked it my legs were shaking. I didn’t want to lose it! Then when I landed it, I was jumping and screaming. I really can’t explain how awesome it was, catching that fish after working so hard.

“After I caught that one, I didn’t want to do anything else but fish,†he says. “I gave up hockey because every time I went to hockey practice, my mind was on fishing. I fished every day after school and would spend 30 hours on the water on weekends, pack a lunch, get to the river an hour before sunup, then fish until about an hour after dark.â€

That spring his father bought a 16-foot Tracker boat, a deep vee model good enough to take on Lake Michigan when the weather allowed. The two McClellands were soon trolling for salmon in the warmer months—after steelhead vacated the river of course.

He took his first video with a smart phone, shooting a jumping steelhead he hooked on a fly. He admits that first attempt was “pretty shaky,†but it got positive comments after he put the recording up on YouTube. He soon invested in a couple of better video cameras, including his current one, which he can put underwater for up-close shots of fish. He said he’s spent many hours learning how to edit video, and now has several, including some short “how-to†segments shot with himself and friends as instructors.

Soon, his www.chromechasing.com site will have an online store specializing in steelhead gear. This summer, he’ll continue as a first mate with Running Deep Charters, a summer job he plans to keep through college and until he gets his business degree and his own captains license. And he’ll continue guiding customers stream fishing and instructing them on the finer points of fly-fishing, a sport in which he has become proficient through long practice sessions.

Along the way he has found many mentors willing to help an outgoing, inquisitive kid with a clear desire to learn how to catch more fish. He recommends the straightforward approach to any kid who wants to learn more about fishing.

Young Kyle McClelland has added underwater photos and videos to his repertoire.

“Just never be afraid to ask questions and talk to people,†McClelland said and added that and open mind, focus and hard work are also parts of the equation. “Experiment with different things. Do some research, Never give up even if you don’t have success the first couple times. Work hard at it because it will pay off for sure.â€

McClelland has quickly learned the art of fly-fishing and tying many of his flies.

No doubt hard work will pay off with a fun career in fishing for Kyle McClelland.

Back trolling was a common method used for walleye fishing when I lived in Wisconsin. You troll backwards, the transom of the boat slows the boat speed. This was popular before the advent of electric trolling motors that enabled one to troll slowly. Of course in that very strange state Minnesota, back trolling was illegal along with their one rod per person law.

When it comes to steelhead in the river, back trolling refers to slowly dropping plugs back, with the current. I feel a couple of Hollanders (FBD and Ash) jerking my chain.

The Down-Low on Trolling UPSTREAM in Winter

Trolling Michigan’s tributaries for winter steelhead and brown trout has always been something of a backwards proposition: Most anglers try to “drop back†those plugs into a nearly dormant steelhead’s face and let it wiggle there until the fish gets fed up enough to attack.

But growing numbers of steelheaders across the Great Lakes State are learning that trolling upstream against the current is often more productive than the rainbow seekers’ version of “backtrolling.â€

Elmer Rudlaff with a good'un caught on a Bandit C-200 doctored up with WTP tape.

Apparently steelhead don’t need as much sustained wiggling in front of their faces before whacking a plug as we thought they did. In this article we’ll discuss the options on lures and tackle, speed, boat control and how to spread out your trolling swath with planer boards.

“Lots of times we face slow current in the winter,†says “Coho†Bob Lausman, who plies the St. Joseph River in the southwest corner of the state out of his vintage 18-foot Starcraft. The boat was specifically upgraded for winter river fishing with an RV-type enclosure, anchor with electric winch and super-reinforced keel to withstand beaching on rocky river banks. He also has a Minn Kota iPilot trolling motor, that spends summers on his fishing partner Elmer Rudlaff ‘s Lund. It works great as an autopilot in the river, keeping the boat on course while the four-stroke 50-horse Mercury quietly pushes the boat forward. In real slow current, the outboard stays off, and the iPilot trolling motor provides all the forward motion needed.

Author Dave Mull holds a steelhead taken while trolling upstream with Coho Bob Lausman.

Lausman says when the current is too slow for backtrolling—the lures don’t kick enough—it’s usually perfect for slowly working upstream. And, areas with slow current are good places for steelhead to hold.

Gear

Rods and reels used for downriggers on the big lake feature good, forgiving bends that helps control and land a hooked fish in the river, too. Lines directly behind each corner of the boat can be on 7-foot, medium-action rods—even shorter rods are fine. Two rods set perpendicularly to the gunnel and the waters surface—straight out to the side—can be 8 to 10 feet long, which keeps those lures spread away from the lures set on the corners. Lausman almost always sets a rod with an online planer board out to each side of the boat. These rods go in holders forward of the rods sticking straight out. If he’s fishing when or where boat traffic is minimal, he sets as many as three planer board rods to each side. These rods are also bendy, medium-action sticks of the sort used for downriggers and can be 7 to 9 feet long.

For reels, baitcasters that hold enough line to handle a long run from a ticked-off steelhead are the rule. Reels with line-counters can help duplicate a set-up that just caught a fish, but usually aren’t necessary.

Lausman spools his river reels with 30- to 50-pound braided line, which is highly durable, yet super thin so lots can fit on the reels. He ties a small barrel swivel on the end of the braided line and adds a 6-foot leader of 12-pound test Blood Run Fluorocarbon.

For planer boards, Lausman likes the small. TX-6 Church Boards, which hold steady on the braided line. He likes to set these boards so they don’t release and slide towards the fish, and usually wraps the line once around the lower lip of the board’s clip.

Lures

Although his boat is loaded with different lures, Lausman puts four in particular at the top of the list for cold-water steel. A key consideration is that the lure dive within a foot of the bottom in 6- to 8-foot depths, with varying amounts of line out. Top lures include:

• Bandit C-100. Mostly known as a bass lure, this rattler features good hooks and a shallow dive, letting it be put a good ways behind the boat.

• Lindy River Rocker. A reincarnation of the old Heddon Tadpolly with brighter colors and a slightly different body shape, this lure doesn’t rattle and works especially well in super cold water when it wiggles at super slow speeds.

• Storm Rattle Tot. High action and lots of sound even in slow motion. Sometimes these go just 25 feet behind a planer board to rouse fish in shallow water to the side of the boat.

• Worden’s Mag Lip 3.5. An evolution of the banana bait with high action and lots of different, good, flashy colors.

For colors, experimentation on any given day helps, but go-to hues for Lausman include pearl with chartreuse in clearer water; metallic finishes with red lips (aka “piratesâ€) with silver and blue or gold and black bodies particular faves, and orange finishes whenever the water has some stain.

Sorry for the delayed reply!

Use the one with the lines, first, working up to the fine hone.

Dave

Dave - I have the Orange one you have in your blog photos. One side is for "honing" and the other is for "sharpening." Which do you do first?

I think they just see it as food that's easy to see. It looks segmented, wiggles a little and I bet it smells good.

A version of this story and these pictures appeared earlier this week on the outdoorhub.com website.

It’s so sad that so many Great Lakes anglers have their boats put away for the season. In the southern part of Lake Michigan, the fishing is still rocking, and you don’t need a real big boat to catch some steelhead.

Or at least hook some steelhead, as my friend Troy Scharlow and I found out last Wednesday, November 21. We hooked five of them out of his 17-foot Boston Whaler. We landed zero.

Shortly after Steelhead Number 5 came close enough to see it weighed about 8 pounds before making one last lurch to freedom, Troy commented:

“It’s a good thing we both have turkeys defrosting at home and aren’t fishing for food.â€

But good fishing trips aren’t always qualified by the quantity of fish in the cooler. I’ll take five hookups in three hours any day, along with good company and learning about where to catch, er, hook, steelhead on Lake Michigan in late November.

Troy invited me for a Thanksgiving Eve day trip after he and his 16-year-old son Drew caught a steelhead trolling the channel between the big lake and Holland’s large Lake Macatawa the previous weekend. That fish hit an orange Silver Streak spoon behind a Church planer board almost immediately after they set lines under a midday sun.

Two deadly lures for cold water salmonids: Brad’s Thin Fish and a jointed orange Rapala. Both got hit on our recent trip.

We met around noon on Wednesday, and soon had four lines set. The lake proper was a bit lumpy with a moderate breeze from the south, so we trolled an oval pattern between the piers, out to where the slightly murky Macatawa outflow mixed with clear Lake Michigan and back up the channel. It got downright repetitive, and whatever fish might have been there didn’t like our offerings, which included the weekend’s hero Silver Streak, a soft plastic swimbait on two colors of leadcore and a couple of Brad’s Thin Fish, a short, rattling crankbait.

This is the fish that spurred our trip. Drew Scharlow caught it on an orange Silver Streak spoon a week ago Saturday. We hooked more Wednesday, but landed fewer. Like none. Photo By Troy Scharlow

After an hour I pulled the swimbait and replaced it with a jointed orange and gold Floating Rapala Minnow, a cold-water favorite. Within a couple minutes the planer board swept back and a steelhead of maybe three pounds somersaultedout of the water. It was on about 90 seconds. And then it was gone.

As we continued our oval troll, I got a call from fishing and hunting pal Kevin Esseg]burg, who calls Holland his home port. When I told him how we were trolling and our general lack of action, he suggested we try the sandbars to the north of the pier.

“Some guys surf fishing up that way have been catching some steelhead. I’ve done well trolling in that direction all the way up to the state park, about a mile and half up.â€

He said lots of guys troll crankbaits slowly and catch fish, Others get steelhead by trolling as fast as 4 mph with small spoons such as Dreamweaver Super Slims.

We opted for the crank technique, putting out a second jointed Rapala and adding a fifth line that had a copper/red Thin Fish.

Kevin had spoken truly, and we soon hooked a second steelhead on the Rapala behind the 20-yard length of leadcore. It stayed hooked for about 30 seconds. Then it was a Thin Fish’s turn to briefly hold a steelhead, and then ia fourth steelhead bit and spit the Rapala behind the leadcore. It was a wee bit frustrating.

“You’re bad luck,†my good friend told me rather directly.

“Yeah, it’s the curse of the camera,†I said, reciting a common outdoor writer excuse but actually feeling like maybe I really had put the whammy on the outing. “I’m good to go back whenever you want to.â€

“OK, we’ll just turn and troll back and up the channel,†he replied. He was doing the driving while I was watching the four rods across the back of the boat.

“Hey, your flat-line spinning rod just took a hit!†I said. It had jerked down violently. Just as Troy turned to look, it bowed deeply, this time, drag squealing as I pulled it from the holder. It felt like a really good fish. Troy slowed the boat to a crawl and cleared the leadcore as I tussled the fish towards the boat. Two long runs and much guessing about the species since it hadn’t jumped like most steelhead do, it came close enough to see. It was indeed a steelhead. About 8 pounds—smaller than I had figured. Troy had the net ready, I eased it closer and it jerked its head, snapping the line and swimming away with the second orange Rapala.

Good time to call it an afternoon. Those fish made both of us mad enough at them to look forward to another trip before Troy for sure puts up that Whaler!

Knife Sharpening for the Ages

Noticed a fellow greatlakesfisherman member wondering about knife sharpening and thought I'd share the tools I've found to work really well.

The Edgemaker knife sharpening system has done the writer right for nine years.

About nine years ago, I was down at the Cincinnati sports show selling magazine subscriptions, and in the next booth was a retired couple selling a knife-sharpening system that I'd not seen. It was called the Edgemaker, and after three days at the show, watching the gentleman demonstrating how he could take a dull pocket knife from a passerby and sharpen it to the point it could shave a Kleenex, I finally bought a set of them. Don't remember what I paid, but I just looked for them online and found that direct from Edgemaker, the same set I bought costs about $30.

The four-part system is fast and easy—it takes about a minute to resharpen a knife.

It's a four-part system, and it has kept the knives around the house and my fillet knives in really good shape. All you do is start with the blue-handled Edgemaker, lay the tool flat on a table making sure your hand holding it is out of the way of the blade, and snick the knife through 15 times. Then you do the same thing with both sharpeners on the orange-handled one. And if you want, you can finish up with 15 pulls through the yellow-handled on, which dies a final touch polish and straightening of your new edge.

The first step removes some metal from the blade, shaping the edge.

I don't know if it's the best knife-sharpener I've ever used as I have an electric one that does a fine job, too. But it's certainly the most convenient system. We keep the three sharpeners in our drawer for kitchen knives, and they're always there and always handy. And I leave them there instead of packing them up for fishing trips at other places--I just don't want to lose them at some cleaning table, and I have a couple of small "v" style knive sharpeners that are good for touching up a blade after a mess of salmon.

Just thought I would share.

I only meant that I thought only you are supposed to start posts in this section...

Dan:

I don't know if we had an official policy. If someone wants to start one that leads to a BLOG it's fine by me.

But if Mike doesn't want that to happen, then that's fine, too.

Hope you're staying warm and going fishing soon!

Dave

I don't know where to get them--I got mine at a sports show in Cincinnati about 9 years ago, but I have a set of three "v" type progressive sharpeners you lay flat on the edge of a table. Does a wonderful job. I'll get some pictures and post them.

Dave

Dave, thanks for the update on the magazine. Who knows, maybe the new owners will take it to a whole new level. I am glad you are a contributer here.

Best regards

Tom Torrice

Thanks for the kinds words, Tom. I think it will be better than ever--for sure it will be a bigger magazine with more content as it appears Amato operates with lower overhead than is possible when the office is in Chicago's South Loop on "Historic Printers' Row." I'm just glad that there will be a magazine with stories in every issue to help Great Lakes trollers catch more fish!

Dave

Great Lakes Angler Magazine was almost gone, but now it's coming back.

For the guys who don't know this, I was the editor of the magazine for 12 years, but got laid off for the second year in a row in July this year. I figured I might go back in December under a contract basis while working on getting clients for an outdoors-related, content supply career. Surviving on seven months of work and being unemployed for five months wasn't feasible.

But the opportunity to go back apparently ended after a conversation with a friend who worked for an agency and placed ads for the magazine's largest advertiser, as well as two smaller advertisers. In the course of conversation, he asked me what the circulation of the magazine actually was. And I told him what I'd seen on the latest publisher's statement. That number was about 33,000 subscribers less than he'd been led to believe by what the ad salesman was telling him and actually what was published in the media kit in years gone by.

News of my truthfulness wove its way upstairs (I advised the ad guy about the conversation so he didn't embarrass himself the nex ttime he called the agency) and suddenly my cell service was cut off and I was asked to return my laptop, and my email didn't work anymore.

And several weeks later, I heard from someone who still worked there, that Great Lakes Angler was "dead."

A few weeks ago, Amato Publications, the company that publishes Salmon-Trout-Steelheader (IMO, a fine magazine, largely covering West Coast salmon and steelhead fishing) bought the magazine and glangler.com website, with plans to bring the magazine back in February, and publish it six times a year, every other month. (In the past, it had been published between six and nine times a year, with most of the magazines coming out in the first six months of the year, which is when most advertisers that GLA could get wanted to advertise.

I have been in consistent contact with Nick Amato, the editor of STS, who has been assigned by his dad Frank, the publisher, to also edit GLA. I've given him contact info for the writers I liked working with, and he has asked me to contribute a feature and a new product column for the "New GLA." And I'll be doing that. In addition, the gal who really helped keep GLA publishing, Kirsten Moxley, resigned at O'Meara-Brown Publications (the publishers of GLA as well as Lakeland Boating) and was later asked to sell for GLA, which she is now doing.

I'm just glad as heck the magazine and website, which I worked for, well, for a long time, is not dead. I wish the new owners well and I hope to be a regular contributor for a long time. I'm no longer the admin for GLAngler.com, but have been unbanned, and will participate there from time to time, too.

I have an avatar over there that kinda sums up how I felt the old owner treated me.

In the foreseeable future, though, I plan to continue my blog here for as long as Mike Heckman will allow, and as long as there's no upsurge of discontent from the members of greatlakesfisherman.com.

I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving! I can only count my blessings and be truly thankful for all of them!