Mega Byte

I don't run dipsys off the trees. Typically you want your dipsy rod tips closer to the water. I use the trees for my planer board lines. I use the TX-44 for my 200 coppers and up. For something smaller than that you can use a smaller planer board. You can run dipsys off a large planer board, but I'm not sure what the point of that is. The purpose of the board is to get the bait away from the boat. The dipsy does that anyway. I suppose you could set the dipsy on a zero setting so it doesn't dive to the side and run it behind a board to get your bait down (as opposed to using copper or lead core), but I would be afraid of what might happen if you get into some unique underwater currents. It may cause some tangles. I suppose you could do that, but I never have. (Doesn't mean it won't work though.) I haven't used the Big Jon gear so I can't comment on that. You can also consider https://www.traxstech.com/, but by the sounds of it, the Lund Sport Track is pretty similar. What a fun project you are starting on!

As promised, here is the feedback from the Michigan DNR:

You guys give up too easily. It's a great idea. Get the add-on license. The state gives you a sticker to throw on the bow of your boat by the MC number. No one has to stop your boat to count people and lines. Valid stickers can be checked at any time like they can be now. If you are happy fishing solo and want to do it with 3 lines, go for it. Many times last summer I wished we could throw another 3 lines into the water to try and figure out the fish. When you spend all the money on fuel and gear, you want to catch fish. This will help. This is a simple process, it's easily enforceable without boarding your boat and interrupting your day.

I emailed Fishoak's suggestion to [email protected] I'll reply here if/when I get some feedback.

Wade might do it. (231) 683-3308 Not sure of his last name but he has done a few projects for me. He lives between Muskegon and Ludington and last I knew he was working for a marina in Muskegon. Not sure if he has a crew that works with him or not, but it is his own company. Sent from my LG-Q710AL using Great Lakes Fisherman Mobile App

It would be an optional stamp. Like an upgrade to a regular license. Sent from my LG-Q710AL using Great Lakes Fisherman Mobile App

Great idea. I'd buy it.

At some point, your isinglass was probably cleaned with windex, detergent soap, dish soap, fantastic, simple green or something similar. These chemicals break down the plasticizers and UV inhibitors that prevent yellowing, hazing and cracking.

Wow! Great job.

I use the palomar knot for my terminal tackle (except for wire setups). I love gamma fluorocarbon. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Great Lakes Fisherman Mobile App

Since we're seeing some big waves this week, I wanted to share a picture from November 2014 of massive Like Michigan waves. I believe this was taken by Grand Haven.

Some guys were getting fish. The 3 guys I talked to were 4-4, 2-2 and 1-1. (Kings) Just nothing working for us. We ran a meat heavy spread. But, my captain also decided to make a couple pretty tight turns. You know...the ones where your outside port board is on the starboard side of the boat. So we had some tangles to deal with. We were also in way too shallow at dark. We were way inside the other boats. I wanted to be around 120 fow and we were at 75. The fish we lost was a nice king that found his way into the tangle that we were working on and he got off. He hit on a green paddle and fly down 70 on a rigger...the only fly I was running. So a lot of tonight was on us. We are going out in the am. I will run a more diverse spread and I am driving tomorrow so we'll see what happens. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Great Lakes Fisherman Mobile App

I will be in Manistee this weekend and will provide updates.

That happened in 2010. Details are here and attached. commerical-nets-kill.pdf

I brought GPS/markers/lights up with the DNR a year or two ago. Here is the response: Mr. Bays, Thanks for your email. The department receives one or two requests to post the locations of commercial trap nets on our website each year due to safety concerns. Most Great Lake jurisdictions employ some form of commercial netting on the lakes and I am not aware of any (Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio, Ontario, etc.) that is currently requiring the mandatory posting of their commercial fisheries net coordinates online. I am sure that each jurisdiction has their reasons for not requiring or posting this data, but the common rationale most likely includes a combination that such a requirement would be unpopular with the commercial industry and liability concerns with posting inaccurate or outdated coordinates. Many commercial fishers strongly believe that broadcasting their net locations to the general public over the internet will lead to increased vandalism on their nets and buoys. Vandalism is a real concern for the industry and when acts of vandalism do occur, the fishers are not compensated for those losses. As a result fishery representatives are against increasing public access to their nets. Additionally, the state is resistant to unnecessary regulatory action that could be implicated in loses due to vandalism. Another reason often cited by the state-licensed commercial fishers in their opposition is parity with Michigan’s Tribal Commercial Fishery. The tribal fishery in Michigan is 3-4 times larger than the state-licensed fishery and net locations/online postings are not required of their fishery. Current tribal commercial fishing regulations will remain in place until 2020 but will be negotiated in the coming years. I have no doubt that requiring and posting net locations will be a topic discussed between the parties. In the meantime, the state-licensed fishery believes very strongly that regulation above and beyond that of the tribes, places them at a competitive disadvantage with their direct competition. This position has been successfully argued politically in the last decade against the DNR requiring and posting their net coordinates online One last issue is that trap nets are moved throughout the season and there are some liability concerns with the state posting an area free of nets and that in turn not being the case. The error might occur due to delay in updating locations or simply from having the wrong coordinates. I think that all jurisdictions regulating commercial fishing have grappled with this issue of liability. While the DNR recognizes the concerns expressed in your email and agrees that technology is easing the obstacles to posting net locations online it is a more complicated issue than simply unilaterally implementing a regulatory requirement on the state-licensed commercial fishery. There is no avoiding that such a requirement would be unpopular with the commercial fishery for reasons states above. Currently, the DNR is successfully working with several fishers around the state to voluntarily receive and post net coordinates but so far has been unable to secure universal buy in throughout the fishery or at Muskegon specifically. None of this precludes, charter boat associations or fishing clubs from gathering net location data on their own and posting those net locations to localized websites. This type of collaboration by recreational fishers/boaters is encouraged and is currently employed at certain Lake Michigan ports. Commercial net markings have been reviewed several times over the years and last updated in 2005. At the time, additional buoys, staffs, and flags were added to the marking requirements for deep water trap nets. The number of buoys/floats was increased to three and the number of 5-1/2 foot tall staff buoys increased to two (Figure 1). Additional markings beyond these are required for any trap net set with less than 15ft of clearance above the top of the net. Surface lines are required to be weighted in a manner that causes extra line to be submerged vertically below the buoys. In 2005, a requirement was also added for radar reflectors on all trap nets capable of detection from any direction. If you suspect that any commercial fishing net is improperly marked, please contact the Report All Poaching hotline (800-292-7800) and our officers will investigate. Figure 1. State-Licensed Deep Trap Net Markings (NOTE: Tribal nets are marked a little differently). I know much of what I have provided in this email is not what you were looking to hear, but I hope that it did provide some additional information concerning the mandatory posting net locations online as well as markings on state-licensed trap nets. Thanks again for your email. Tom Goniea, Biologist DNR, Fisheries Division 517-284-5825 [email protected]