Fowlpursuit

I run both.. The 32# is more user friendly for deployment and retrieval.. But not quite as tough... Guess it's a trade off.. I can fit more 32# on my reels... Idk just found the depth chart a surprise

I am one that routinely fished from a 14' with a 15horse on the back. I fish a 6 rod spread. It requires a lot of energy but I do it. Main concerns with small boat angling is weather. Today's technology has simplified it. I watch predictions on the internet. Have radar and marine forecast on my phone and a handheld ship to shore radio. Your boat can easily fish in Lake Michigan under the right conditions. A bigger boat would give you a more comfortable ride and be a little more tolerant of rough seas as well as being a more "user friendly fishing platform" all depends on wat you want. I was out in my kayak this spring and the seas kicked up and I flipped in 38 degree water 200yrds south west of the pier.. I had a long cold drift in as I couldn't get it flipped back over.lesson learned be careful cause Lake Michigan can be a mean ole' lady some times.

I'm outa holland and plan on goin out this week at some point. I'm in a 14ft aluminum and the temps around here on bottom say there should still be a few fish on bottom in 60-100fow and plan on working those depths. Was wondering if dipsys and spinnies were worth a shot.. Sounds like my coppers are gonna get the nod. Thanks for the report

What depth were you fishing? And what were your productive setups?

So a standard dipsy rod will run run wire? Without damage to guides? Also what are the requirements for reels? Anything special? Ive got 2 magna pros just collecting dust... Would they work?

Wondered wHat I guys believe as far as sink rates in copper lines. The blood run chart seems to suggest little difference between 30# and 45# while other resources suggest a great difference. I realize many factors play a role in depth achieved so for the sake of simplicity I'm looking for 2.5mph standard spoon info. Any and all opinions are appreciated.

Ye not seeing it.. See some cold out near grand haven..Hollands at 61

Fished holland pier last night.. Beautiful night no steel. Tried alewife a top to bottom lake and channel. Cast Cleo's and cast masters only to have some sheep give me entertainment. Good night anyway.

Also I should add I pay a lot of attention to my dipsy rods arc.. This is also a great indicator for speed. I often cross reference between gps,down speed and dipsy rod bend..sounds a lil confusing but over time you'll get a natural feel for it.

I alway vary 2.3-2.7 mph but have heard the fish are preferring a little faster troll this year.. 3-3.5. That being said when I was in my preferred location I trolled at 3.3-3.5 while in "search" mode. Once I located fish I slowed it down to 2.5 and started grinding on them.

Thanks for putting it on. I'm patiently awaiting the next one . Hopefully with some increased advertisement (which I'll gladly help out with) we can increase participation. Always a good time for us boatless fishermen to get in on some fun

Your set up should result in at least a few fish. My first setup was similar. We had 3 riggers and 4 dipsys (2 per side one set on 1 and one set on 3) shortly after we added 4 lead cores. 2-5color and 2-10 color and our catch increased. Then we made the jump to copper. The sink rate charts reveal there is very little difference between 32# an 45#. Our catch easily doubled with the majority of fish coming on 300' of copper. If I were you I'd pass on leadcore and put your money into some copper of varying lengths. Right now the fish are high but come July/august once the lake stratifies(creates a thermocline) your coppers will catch lots. Now that I fish of a smaller boat I use a spread of only 4 coppers and 1or 2 dipsys. And I catch fish. I also would recommend the book "keating on king" by dan keating. The book was paramount in my education of big lake fishing

Just wondering who's planning on it? Hopefully have a good showing.. 5 biggest of any species. Perfect opportunity to get the kids fishing.

I agree waters far to cold and fish are scattered. Ur better of burning gas inshore looking for a school of big kings than grading way out.

Start in 45fow at the harbor work on a NNW troll out to 90 or so unless you find concentrations of fish before 90fow. In that case work that depth. Magnum spoons seemed to be favored but run a few standard size as well.standard blues/greens seem to be best. Heard a few reports of body baits (rapala j-13's ect)most active fish are found in the top 3/4's of the water colum. Good luck report ur catch

Anyone know what the winners did and how the found there fish? I always like the info especially in tounaments like this where fish scatter and forces teams to think on their feet and make split second decisions with huge gambles

We struggled as well. Foolishly following a report of lots and big fish south. Pre fishing Friday morning revealed a location much closer to holland. Saturday morning comes and the jitters got the best of us and we "left fish to find fish" a rule we should never break. We followed the pack south and eliminated a lot of water and changed a lot of baits.. Manage to scratch out 5/7 small kings and lakers. In a Hail Mary attemp we ran back to holland and set up shop in Fridays pre fished location. Picked up a 5# steelie immediately followed by a double on kings 8# and 15# we continued to grind on area and got one more steel.. Really makes me wonder how we woulda done had we started and stayed in holland. But that's fishing and it was an absolute blast with beautiful weather. Was nice to see a great bunch of anglers gather for a great time on the water. Our box was 38lbd I think

I kno you weigh in 5 fish but, is there points per fish? If there is is it the same for all species or strictly based on weight?

5-6 feet per color (10yrds per color)

Half core=5colors

Full core=10 colors

Since your new you will hear talk of copper

-it is copper line available in 30lb and 45lb and in my opinion is far more effective than lead. Has a better sink rate and flat out catches more fish. Some say cause there's no stretch = any movement of the boat in waves is transferred to the lure.

Other say it's the harmonics and vibrations the copper causes as it moves through the water.. Whatever it is it works. I will admit it is a little more pricey than lead and certainly requires some attention when deploying and retrieving(it's a pain in the rear at first) the trouble is worth it if your lookin to put fish in the boat. Many anglers have several reels spooled up with different lengths in order to effectively fish whtever depth the fish are at. I believe 30lb goes down 6-7ft per 10 yards

And the 45lb goes 8-9 per 10 yrds

Hands down a 250 and 300' of 45lb copper puts the majority of fish in my box

Anysize to the fish? Just curios if the big boys are swimming up the coast yet.

There is no maximu depth. Let the water temp determine that. I believe kings are most active in the 42-48degree range (mostly due to bait an forage preferring 50-54 degree temps)and I set my spread in accordance with that in mind. In other words my deepest lure runs in 42 degrees and my highest runs in the 48 degree. There are exceptions spawning run or early/late in the day. From this temp and depth info I determine my best colors an application of delivery. Weather and waves play a prominent role as well.

Recently 2 of my poles had a 3 night stay on the bottom of Lake Michigan. An honest angler snagged and returned them.(long story) anyway the reels were in rough condition. I've cleaned them both out and was thinkin of using mobil1 blue grease lithium based(because it's wat I have) to re lube the gears and get it to smooth out a bit. Is this a good choice? Will it hurt anything?

As previously stated I always ran an 11" white/glow paddle with a white rapture trolling fly 20'-50' back on my center/deepest rigger. Didn't always take the most fish but always was responsible for the biggest kings/lakers in the box. I believe it plays a crucial role in the overall spread dynamic.

This is slightly disheartening as we had a king 15# or better but because of my roll over and risk of hypothermia we didn't make it to weigh in. %banghead&

What was big fish? Couldn't make it to weigh in because my dang kayak tipped over.