Mega Byte

Nice job. Those kings were a great surprise. What was your surface temp?

Another one to think about: http://www.itroll.us/itroll.buy.html

Wow, the water has warmed a lot in just a few days. Temps were 40 - 41 in New Buffalo on Saturday. Sent from my LG-Q710AL using Great Lakes Fisherman Mobile App

We were 5 for 9 Friday afternoon. 1 for 3 on a N troll. Everything else came on a south troll. 20 fow was best. We came off the lake early because the kids wanted to swim in the pool. Orange 00 dodger or a 6" orange UV spin doctor with a 1" marti gras fly took 5 hits. Got 1 on a blue/silver thin fin, one on a 6" orange spin doctor with a orange fly, one on a silver smithwick. Can't recall the others. Baits were presented 5 to 12 feet down. The SWR (50' Cu) behind a board took 3. I also used dive bombs on plain mono setups. SOG was 2.7 going south. Played with 1.8 - 2.7 going north. Seemed a little fast to me for this time of year and our baits, but we got hits so I didn't change anything until the bites stopped when we spun back north. I didn't break out the fishhawk to check currents. We fished south for an hour or so and then back north and then went to the pool. 2 of the North bound hits happened right out in front of the river mouth. We'll be back out today after a breakfast run and another trip to the pool. Sent from my LG-Q710AL using Great Lakes Fisherman Mobile App

Welcome to the forum. Here is class 1 of 7: Watch them all. Your spring will start with browns and then cohos. Kings ususlly follow the alewives near the ports in May. The guy in the video fishes the west side. Should be perfect for you. Sent from my LG-Q710AL using Great Lakes Fisherman Mobile App

I don't fish MC, but i would think browns would be near shore. Look for warm and chalky water if you can find it. 4 fow to 40 fow. No need for riggers with the browns. Sent from my LG-Q710AL using Great Lakes Fisherman Mobile App

Beautiful fish! Sent from my LG-Q710AL using Great Lakes Fisherman Mobile App

Just noticed you said fish the tributaries. I always think offshore when it comes to steelhead so my prior post might not be relevant to you. Sent from my LG-Q710AL using Great Lakes Fisherman Mobile App

Sent from my LG-Q710AL using Great Lakes Fisherman Mobile App

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.

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.