Walleye Express

I attended the Stinger Spoons Pro Staff meeting yesterday in Muskegon. Was good to finally meet some of the people I've been involved with for a few years, yet never met personally. Of course being only one of the only two walleye guys there, I had to set through all the boring Salmon Fishing stuff. But for you guys who know as I do the productive nature spoons have had in recent years on walleyes in virtually every body of water on the Great Lakes, the meeting was well worth it. Seeing the new (IMV) walleye killer spoon colors coming out and a new Blade and Harness product that Stinger is coming out with was also worth the price of admission. Here's the sampler below. And either I instinctively love that Pink Squirrel color, or just like saying the name over and over.

This SUCKS big time. But precisely why I put a lock through my trailer ball coupler on all my trailers, whether on or off the ball hitch, no matter where or how long they are parked anywhere. At least they're going to spend more then a couple of seconds on scene stealing my trailers. It's just to damn quick and easy for this crap to happen in areas like this. And I hope his insurance don't give him any crap about where he was parked.

If the abundance of baitfish I've been seeing in the rivers and that first record reproduction year (now in it's 5th year of growth) has anything to say about it, it will happen and probably within ther next 3 years.

Record-breaking walleye caught in New York state ESPN - USA Fishing with tip-ups, Thomas Reed of Kill Buck, NY, pulled a 16-pound, 9-ounce walleye through the ice on Mystic Lake on January 20th. ... http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/general/news/story?id=3879791

The 22nd annual Saginaw News Shiver on the River Walleye Contest: Opening day results by The Saginaw News Saturday January 31, 2009, 10:16 PM It wasn't your typical opening day for the 22nd annual Saginaw News Shiver on the River Walleye Contest. Click on link for pictures. http://www.mlive.com/sports/saginaw/index.ssf/2009/01/the_22nd_annual_saginaw_news_s.html Thanks to the 12.085-pound catch of Saginaw's Gary Nye and Ace Neering's (Bay City) 5.735-pounder, there was more buzz than usual surrounding the contest's early activities. Nye landed No. 1 on the E&J VSOP Brandy Leader Board with Saturday's weigh-in at Gander Mountain that puts him square in contention to win the tournament. "Compared to last year, that's top three and that's if anything tops him," said Gander Mountain Assistant Store Manager of Sales and Service Phil Bellor, who added that he couldn't recall a fish of that size being caught so soon during the two-week long event that ends on Saturday, Feb. 14. "We had a few guys talking about possibly catching 14-pounders (after hearing of Nye's fish). If they're catching big fish this early, who's to say? It's anyone's game, really." There were other legitimate catches at the top of the leader board, with Bryan Rouech and Donald Boensch, both of Saginaw, weighing walleye of 9.935 and 9.015, respectively. New to this year's tournament is the "Wally Award", which offers $100 and a free mount from Gander Mountain to anyone bringing in a fish weighing exactly 5.734 pounds. Neering missed the mark by one one-thousandth of a pound. "We got more entries at our store than we have in the past," said Bellor of the store promotion. "It gets everyone out (to Gander Mountain) that would normally be running middle of the pack." LEADER BOARD 1. Gary Nye, Saginaw 12.085 2. Bryan Rouech, Saginaw 9.935 3. Donald Boensch, Saginaw 9.015 4. Michael Scaindler, Bay City 8.920 5. Allen Kosecko, Kawkawlin 7.480 6. Jeff Eads, Bay City 7.390 7. Todd Zwetzig, Essexville 7.120 8. David Rogers, Vassar 6.880 9. Thomas Collison, Freeland 6.725 10. Richard Glave 6.36 11. Neil Griffor, Bay City 6.26 12. Kelvin Caspers, Bay City 6.215 13. Donald Jeske, Linwood 6.140 14. John Krause, Saginaw 5.495 15. Daniel Periard, Birch Run 5.880 16. Greg Wendling, Saginaw 5.875 17. Chad Hacker, Bay City 5.795 18. Ace Neering, Bay City 5.735 19. Ron Coffel, Saginaw 5.565 20. Randy Dittenbir Jr., Au Gres 5.510 21. Jimmie Hauxwell, Clio 5.380 22. Dan Cherry, St. Charles 4.870 23. Joseph Rosolowski Jr., Midland 4.730 24. Brian Timm, Bay City 4.705 25. Robert Kaufman, Saginaw 4.685 26. William Gutwiller, Saginaw 4.635 27. Joe Koterba, Owosso 4.615 28. Tom James, Bay City 4.310 29. Rich Baker, Bay City 3.915 30. Dave Aubers, Saginaw 3.760 31. John Mikulcik, St. Charles 3.735 32. David Malecki, Bay City 3.695 33. Dennis Anklan, Saginaw 3.590 34. Thomas Kern, Deford 3.535 35. Brian Dinsmore, Bay City 3.430 36. Mark Karwat, Vassar 2.935 37. Dave Gauthier, Flushing 2.795 38. Dan Majzel, Owosso 2.260

Yupper Frank, these were the ones I posted last summer after Tommy sent them to me. These are (what I call) #8 thumper blades I pull behind the Eyeliminator flasher spoon in front. Tommy makes and sells between 50 and 70 thousand blades a year at shows and places like Franks. I thought at first the design was a gimmic to catch fishermen and not fish. But the spider is meant to form an eye and gill slit on the blades. All I know is, they works.

I'm a split ring man (more flutter) and I loose the red/yellow plastic attarctors.

Got these in the mail today. And what's more rare then having some original Storm Lure Company Pink Falmingo/Red Billed 1/4 ounce Hot-N-Tot's in the original box? How about having 6 custom painted Do-Jiggers by the Picasso of custom lure painters himself, Tommy Harris. And check out the keel weights Tommy is doing for this year. Mr walleye, make out your will.

Adam is correct. I hook the minnow on the top, just under the skin between the Dorsal and Tail fin. This particular hooking position hinders the minnow from having very good forward purpulsion, yet allows him to kick and vibrate up a storm when he see's trouble/walleye coming. The trick then becomes knowing when the walleye has the hook in his mouth and when to set the hook. If ordering any Genz Worms, I prefer the #6 hook size. But like the looks of the new XL hook size.

Yes. I was a little further SE from Royce2 on your numbers.

That's a damn fine idea Adam. I blame it mostly on my new shanty with that Norpac R2 insolation. That thing is like fishing out of a 6 X 12 snowmobile suite. Can't even have the heater on low for more then 5 minutes and your ready to explode from the heat. A shanty to warm, now that's a good one.

Well, we headed out into a white out this morning with very few signs of a worn trail to fallow. I must say this is not the way I like to see conditions, knowing I was headed almost 5 miles out. But we managed to find a few old snow blown trails that kept my arrow on my GPS cumpus pointing straight ahead so we trudged on. Stopped just short of my GPS destination noting a huge section of ice that looked a little wet. We ended up going 6 for 9 with all in that 17 to 19 inch range. All but 2 fish were caught on Genz Worms and live minnows. As were the ones we missed. One client managed 3 fish with 2 coming on Gold/Red Cleo and a minnow head. Heres a few of the foggy pictures. Don't know what I'm going to do about this new camera. Maybe use it in the summer only, as it is a HD video camera.

For what cause I'm sure is an adequate abundence of baitfish, the walleyes (so far) this winter are showing those same finicky signs as they did last winter. Come in the hole, look at your bait and swim off. Few things other then a plane minnow (live hooked) has been doing very good for most of the guys I know catching most of the walleye this winter. This can of course change quickly and I've seen it do so. The (Whys) of course remain a secret until I or somebody else can find a walleye that speaks english and interagate him. Water boarding I'm guessing will not work, but maybe dry boarding him might. Anyway, the guys fishing straight out or south of the Linwood road seems to be doing better on the average then the guy north of it. Maybe that inner most bay section is holding more available bait fish, who knows. Got 2, maybe 3 trips planned for this week and going to try and fish a few spots south of Linwwod road. Will hopefully post better reports and pictures if things pan out. Sorry Matt. But don't throw those north GPS numbers away just yet. :eek:

I'm coming down from up North to fish either the Bay or the River. I've fished the river before in open water and have heard finding fish there is hit and miss. Any help would be appreciated. Stan. Stan. River fishing can be very much more productive (at least numbers wise) then the bay. Often walleyes in the river are moving around foraging or are moved around by the current when heavy run-off is present. Of course make that current to strong and they will also pocket up and hold in one spot better/longer as well to get out of the current. There are of course better spots to fish when either of these two things happen on a river. Fish in general use the bottom contours as underwater pathways when migrating upstream, and only deviate from them when the feeding urge pulls them away from these routes. Spotting these pathways has become second nature to me when there is open water, but add a layer of ice to camoflage these signs, and only a good memory of where they previously were can help. Of course being able to read the banks and bends in the river can also give you clues of the flow and bottom dynamics that walleye will take advantage of for any easy meal virtually anywhere when the mood strikes them. So I say if the current is strong, try to find an area where it is lighter. If light don't move around as much, but try to remember where your open water fishing was the best and fish there. These are often in those underwater pathways. The other things of course like water clarity, weather patterns and your own fishing prowess play a role in your success. But that's why they call it fishing.

Matt. Don't feel bad about the poor success on the Bay. The last week has been more miss then hit for me and a lot of my friends. And most fish are coming on the dead rod versus any jigging spoons. Heres a hint. When a fish comes in the hole, don't move anything. Make sure you have a live minnow rigged with a simple gold single hook and split shot, or a Genz Worm in the other hole your not jigging in. Not saying it's going to work every time, but it's cathing most of the fish lately. And I think the fishing will only get better. This is as early as I've ever fished the bay in the last few years. Good luck bud.

Please Forward this Email to other Captains TWIC deadline changes to April 15th 2009 The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on May 2 announced that the deadline for Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) compliance by mariners has been bumped back to April 15, 2009. Even though the compliance date has changed, Captains are encouraged to enroll for their TWIC well before the new April 15, 2009 date. (The original deadline was Sept. 25, 2008) TWIC was established in the Maritime Transportation Security Act and the SAFE Port Act to serve as an identification program for all Coast Guard credentialed mariners and personnel requiring unescorted access to secure areas within a port." (There are more than 100 TWIC "fixed enrollment centers" had opened, and dozens of mobile enrollment centers) Estimates vary on the number of workers who eventually will be required to carry a TWIC, but that figure generally is expected to top 1.2 million. At the time the DHS announced the extension, roughly 260,000 people had enrolled for the card, but fewer than 90,000 TWICs had actually been activated. TWIC Program Help Desk: 1-866-DHS-TWIC (1-866-347-8942) Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. until 12:00 a.m. EST. Helpful Links TWIC enrollment process TWIC Faqs The TWIC Help Desk You may be entitiled to a refund! ALEXANDRIA, Va., January 19, 2009 - Recreational boat owners who paid state sales taxes on a boat purchase, or those who secured a bank loan to finance a boat, may have some tax deductions available when filing their 2008 federal income tax return. The Sales Tax Deduction For boat owners who paid substantial state sales taxes on a new or used boat purchase last year, the Tax Extenders Act of 2008 signed by President Bush on October 3 continues to offer a federal tax benefit with a deduction for state sales taxes. Boaters must choose either the state sales tax deduction or state income tax deduction on their federal tax return -- you cannot take both. In addition, to take the state sales tax deduction, the sales tax on a boat purchase must be applied at the same tax rate as the state's general sales tax. In order to claim the sales tax deduction, tax returns must be itemized. State sales taxes are entered on IRS form Schedule A, line 5b. The Boat Loan Deduction For those owners with a secured boat loan, mortgage interest paid on the loan may be deductible from your federal income taxes. Taxpayers may use the "second home" mortgage interest deduction for one primary home and one second home and must itemize deductions on their returns. A boat is considered a second home for federal tax purposes if it has a galley, a head, and sleeping berth. Some boaters may be unaware of this potential tax benefit because not all lending institutions send borrowers an Internal Revenue Service form 1098 which reports the interest paid. Not receiving the form does not preclude taking the deduction. If a 1098 is not available, boaters should contact their lender for the amount of interest paid and should enter it on line 11 on Schedule A along with the lender's tax ID number. If a form 1098 is sent, boaters should simply enter the amount on line 10 of Schedule A. For those who fall under the Alternative Minimum Tax, (ATM), most deductions are unavailable as taxes are calculated differently. For more details on the mortgage deduction, go to http://www.IRS.gov and download Publication 936 or the Fact Sheets. For state tax deduction information download Publication 600, which also includes state-by-state tax tables. Press Contact: Scott Croft, 703-461-2864, [email protected] ### Remember to check out the website for more information at http://www.michigancharterboats.com/members.html Sincerely, Michigan Charter Boat Association See you at the Show Michigan Charter Boat Association will be at the following Sport Shows: Michigan's Outdoorama NOVI CENTER FEB 26-MARCH 1 Lansing Boat and Fishing Show MARCH 12-15, 2009 Ultimate Sport and RV Show DEVOS PLACE MARCH 19-22 USCG Renwal Questions? Ron has had quite a few calls here at central regarding the renewal packet for your USCG license. MCBA has the services of a retired USCG Licensing Specialist Lt. Commander Charles (chuck) Kakuska who will help answer any questions you have. His number is (734)847-1723 or e-mail at [email protected]. Do you need help with vessel Documentation? As you know, beginning in the spring of '08 the USCG started random boardings of MDNR inspected vessels with a safety check list. This safety check requires both vessel documentation and PML's. Every Charterboat will need to have on their boat a Certificate of Documentation (COD) with a "Coastwise" endorsement. Jim Fenner has put together great reference material for you to use located under the Compliance section of the MCBA members pages.

Matt. I can/will only vouch for the road access I used (Ericson road). Drive out on the ice off the end of the road and park on the ice. It had a very well groomed and easy to fallow trail going out and crack problems were none. The trail does meander through some impressive (heaves) but not a single bad spot. I would only use caution if deviating off these well worn trails, as there is still some wet/deep slush spots caused by the recent heavy snows. And the new ice out 2 miles is still only 7 to 8 inches thick. But the longer this cold blast lasts, the better it will get.

With the action red hot Sunday and the ice thickness reports a whole lot better, I took two clients out yesterday to the same spot my bud limited in 2 hours. But ahhh, what a difference a day makes. Funny part though, the day was almost exactly the same type day as Sunday was the day before. But yesterday the fish were very, very moody (lots of lookers but few biters) and few people I/we talked to did very well anywhere. We did manage to go 3 for 5, but most all but one came on the dead rod rigged with a larger Genz Worm and shiner. My new HD video camera also didn't want to act right in the warm shanty with all but this photo unviewable.

I'm easy to find Frank. I'm taking a couple of ice charter clients tomarrow from Grand Rapids to the same spot. Just look for a bald headed Sasquash in a camo suite riding a BIG BEAR Yamaha. :eek:

My buddy Jimmy/Walleye Dreaming, just sent me this picture and a message from the Saginaw Bay using his blackberry. I on the other hand was busy after yesterday 12 hour snow event, making the snow piles in my driveway a lot higher. :x :x He started fishing at 8:30am this morning and by 10:30 had his limit. Ice thickness was 7 1/2 inches. The spot he was fishing is one of mine and his favorite spots and is well away from the crowd. We've both enjoyed this spot for over 6 years now, so I'm sorry to say I cannot/will not say where it is. I will say it is in 19 FOW on the west shore. And he was using Rattle Back Spoons, Chartreuse/Orange tipped with a minnow to catch the fish. :wink: 8)

Rayman. Only seen 2 Rattle tots in all those lures listed and shown, and that bid was $10.00 each.

Yup....Just like the Antique Road show. I found this Million dollar painting at a garage sale. :eek:

Bill. Rattle Tots only come in one size 3/8. And good luck finding any, as they are as rare now as hens teeth. Normark/Rapala quit building them and Hot-N-Tots when they bought out Storm Lures about 12years ago now. A couple years later, and after a lot of verbal abuse from old buyers like me, realized their mistake. Tried making some cheap plastic billed Hot-N-Tot knock-offs a few years later that didn't sell. And are now using the original molds and making some of the original Hot-N-Tots again, but not the Rattle Tots (YET). I have roughly 85 Rattlers left myself. I've seen some of the rare Rattle Tot colors going for as much as $45.00 each on E-bay. I got a few Hot-N-Tots that I've seen sell for $75.00 each on E-bay when new and still in the original box, and one color (Flamingo/Red Bill) go in an auction for $250.00. If you think loosing a good lure is simply stressful, try loosing one of those.

ouch!!!!! The wifes progarm digitizes for 6 different popular embroidery machine brands (plus free lessons for however long it takes to learn to use it) and is on sale for $1,400.00 right now.

Heres the finished product Maniac. She didn't do to bad eh?