DUSTER

I'm fond of VMC Hooks for my spoons but I like big single hooks on my flies. Last summer when the Coho showed up off our port....I was losing them about 50% of the time with my customers off our wire line dipseys using spin doctors and flies....So I went down into the boat cabin and rigged up some flies using hook setups from some of ol George Richey's squids I had kicking around in a not much used tackle box. George always told me he had better hookups with big single hooks in tandum rather that the treble hook arangement on most of todays flies. Short of the story is...wire rod on my port side rigged with big single tandum hook arrangement ON A kRW fly body out caught the starboard side with the treble hook fly 3 to 1. Both flies same brand..KRW in Aqua/gold and same color spin doctors. On the next mornings charter did the same thing...kept the same setups from the day before...big single hooks out catching the treble hook fly . Approx.Same number of hits each rod...just that the big single hook fly with an inexperenced fishermen on the rod would get the Coho to the boat....The fish were hooked good with the big single hook buried in their jaw or completely through the jaw most of the time. Others feel the single hook flies lose to much fish..but on Coho salmon which by the time their in our area ,they usually weigh around 7 to 10 lbs most yrs , late August,I find single hooks tied tandum work best for me and now tie Gamakatsu single hook setups for my flies. Looks like the Big Weenie brand uses a big single hook on their flies along with a treble hook Their flies have worked better for me than others using this arrangement for kings I've noticed on my boat ...so just my 2 cents about hooks.

Judging from the looks of your Slickcraft...I'd say its vintage is around 1970 to 74. If that boat has its original motor you will need a lead additive put in each time you get gas at a gas station. I used to buy a additive called VALVE TECH for my 76 28.5 Slickcraft...that boat had twin 1974 350c.i. rated 255 h.p. motors even though the boat had a 1976 mfg date on the hull. Later on I had a newer 350 installed starboard and new heads installed on other port motor so I did'nt need a lead additive anymore.

Here is a little history...if I remember correctly about the past.. The original spoon that the Fishlander spoon came from what was the Big Jon Company's ...FINFIGHTER spoon. Big Jon Co was being sold and the spoon die plates were either bought or given to Mike Steffes who is the nephew of John Emory who was the original owner and who started the Big Jon Co. Mike had his start in the spoon and downrigger manufacturing business from his uncle. So after the Emory family sold the downrigger company Mike went off to Fishlander as a partner and founder of that company were they made riggers and FISHLANDER spoons. That relationship went south and the company disbanded ....so Mike formed the Warrior spoon company that he's involved in today.. Over the years I've always had good results with the FINFIGHTER then FISHLANDER and now WARRIOR spoons...Last year off lead core and copper the Miami dolphin Warrior spoon was a killer for both steelhead and kings. The UV blue pearl Warrior off riggers was great on bright days for kings.. Never been a big fan of Mike Steffes as it seems like he has got an attitude problem with people...maybe it's just I take his personality wrong...but I will say I always buy his product because I do catch many fish with his spoons

On charter boats here in Michigan....DNR officers doing dockside inspections told us that flare guns were not approved on our boats. They said that children could open the flare gun box and accidentally shoot one off while on the boat. There's some logic to that ...as I've had kids get into about everything and anything on the boat during a charter while parents sit there and just let it go on...

Aint all bad guys...the fruit farmers up my way are hoping for a late spring....they took a beating last year with their fruit trees and early budding then frost . Usually in the past we had some pretty good off shore steelhead /scumline fishing with some great temp breaks when the big lake warmed up in June. Mild winters and the breaks were not very defined way offshore and it seemed like those surface feeding fish were really scattered. My spring time brown trout fishing was always better after a normal cold winter then a good spring warmup...can't say that now with demise of brown trout in northern lake Michigan or least from Manistee north that is.

I have had Cannons on other boats...they've been a good rigger with not much problems...maybe a up/down elect. switch go bad on one of them..but thats about it. Last decade I 've owned Big Jons...mainly because they're made about a 1/2 hr from my home here in Northern Michigan. Only issue I've had is 2 bad motors on the new Tournament electrics...Big Jon in Interlochen had me going the same day .They're about 3/4 of an hr from my marina dock. Over the years I've broken a couple rigger arms where the coupling is for rod boom extension pieces hooks together to make a 4ft rigger arm...Have'nt had that happen on their newer riggers. This happened several times on their Capts.Pak model I had 10 yrs ago. Bye in large they've been pretty reliable over the years for the heavy use I've given them. One thing I do like is that Big Jons rigger arms flex...letting me know I have a small fish on that has'nt broken my rubber band release. Scotty makes a great weight retriever so you don't have to lift Big Jons rigger arm to rehook a line to the rigger release. Hate lifting a rigger arm in rolling seas and having a cannon ball swinging around trying hook up a line again. So to sum it up...their factory being close by is the big factor for me buying Big Jons..

Sounds good ...look me up this summer and we'll do lunch....a couple of the guys at my marina may want to have lunch also... They love talking about the day's fishing and what was working for them.. It's one of the nice things about fishing out of a small port...Everyone shares info on fishing.

Hi Michael......I'm new here myself. After reading through the different posts,I'd say you came to a great site for sure. Anyways... a big welcome from me and I'm sure the fisherman here feel the same way.

Beautiful boat there...Capt John..some of the Charter guys at Leland ,Mich are using the 27 Opens.. That used to be a port full of 26 ft Stamas's but the Tiara 27s are now getting to be popular there...

Thanks very much guys with your welcomes ....reading through posts in the various topics... I think you guys have really nice forum here. :thumb:

Matt....I'm slipped in Arcadia,MI at the Arcadia Marine boat docks...then some years I move up to Frankfort ,Mi after labor day depending on fish movements at that time of year..

Eric.....I'll be in G.R that weekend working the Michigan Charterboat Assoc. display booth at Cabelas store grand opening in Grandville. Most likely I'll stop over at the MCBA show booth at the G.R show and check in with the guys for awhile during the weekend. We have 2 different booths to man that weekend so we could be short handed...hope to see ya bud...:D

Yep...thats it...guys had a great time....and the vets made the young reporter catch the last fish of the day. It was his time catching a salmon.

Sure know that area...you had your photos taken in Arcadia lake and the public boat ramp on 1st street ,Arcadia...nice well built boat also you have there...

Just found this forum and site...looks really nice. I had a picture of my boat taken last May when we fished Manistee's Tight lines for Troops Veterans fishing tournament. We had a young reporter on the boat that day from the Cadillac Evening News do a youtube video called Tight lines for troops 2012.. It shows a little footage of the veterans fishing day last May

The Slikker family builds some fine boats...I started out with a 1975 Slickcraft 28.5ft and used that for 20 yrs. I moved then to a 31 ft Tiara Pursuit ..very hi quality construction in both those boats..