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Mega Byte

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  1. Mega Byte
    I decided to go with a pump that sprays the water. It is a portable system so I can use it in a cooler or one of my big fish boxes. Someone was complaining about all of the bubbles caused my those air stones and they would have preferred something that filtered the water and sprayed it. Plus, this system can serve as an emergency bilge pump which is nice. http://www.marinemetal.com/products/12-vt-air-pumps/super-saver-kit/item/super-saver-kit We're going out in the morning, we'll see how it does.
  2. Mega Byte
    I am starting to think I need a livewell for those long, hot summer days. It gives me the option of releasing some smaller walleye if we get into a school of larger ones. I'm also not sure if I'll be able to keep ice frozen on all day trips. My boat has a small (51 qt) baitwell built into the transom, but not a livewell big enough to hold decent numbers of fish. I am thinking of either using a big cooler or one of my big 108 qt fish boxes built into the deck of my boat. (The fish box drains through a macerator pump and then discharges out the side of the boat.) I've seen some livewells that filter, pump and spray water into the livewell for aeration. I have seen others that use air stones and just bubble air into the livewell. It seems it is easier to pump air than it is water. Just wondering if you guys would have any recommendations when it comes to implementing a livewell. Links to some of the things I am considering are below: http://www.westmarine.com/buy/marine-metals--powerbubbles-12v-dc-air-pump--1184357 http://www.basspro.com/Frabill-Aqua-Life-Tower-Pump-Aerator-System/product/1408061724/?hvarAID=shopping_googleproductextensions http://www.boatus.com/fishing/articles/building-a-livewell.asp http://www.pensacolafishingforum.com/f39/cooler-seat-into-live-well-144859/
  3. Mega Byte
    Great post. Nice looking king and you named your colors which is a lot better than I usually do because I don't remember all the names.
  4. Mega Byte
    Thanks. I've never tried the map lips. I might add those to my spread. My boat is in Saginaw Bay right now. I've been learning how to catch walleye this spring and summer. But I'm putting it back in Lake Michigan at the end of the month and will try your suggestions. Thanks.
  5. Mega Byte
    Do you use your charts to determine how much line to let out on the wire divers or do you let line out until you feel it hit bottom and then pull a little line in so it runs just above bottom? I worry about letting it hit bottom before because I've found I'm pretty good at catching zebra mussels on my hooks.
  6. Mega Byte
    I was at a salmon clinic about 4 years ago and the person teaching the class (some big, successful tournament / charter fisherman) was asked about targeting lake trout. He showed the set up he ran which was basically a dodger trailed by a Spin N' Glo. The biggest tip he gave was to limit the number of lines you are putting down low, just above the bottom. He said his catch rate actually decreased with the more lines he ran that hugged the bottom. Because of this, he only runs 1 line down deep for Lake Trout. I am wondering what you guys think of that and if there are other presentations I should try other than the dodger and Spin N' Glo set up. I was thinking about trying a couple of SWRs down deep and seeing if that does a better job of not spooking them. Also, can you effectively target them without riggers? I've caught some suspended Lakers on my 300 Cu before, but I'm more interested in ways to target that bottom 10 feet and I'm not sure how accurate I can be with my long lines. Feedback? Suggestions? Thanks!
  7. Mega Byte
    Beautiful fish! Nice job.
  8. Mega Byte
    Do be afraid to get on the radio and ask guys what SOG they are trolling, which direction they are trolling and what the speed is at the ball. Someone should get back with you. Your ideal SOG will often be different depending on the direction you are trolling. I agree with the others, run some meat rigs or flies. I usually run my meat rigs at 2.2 mph at the ball. Add a couple of planner boards and short copper setups so you can target steelhead which are usually higher in the water column. They seem to like orange spoons up high. Good luck.
  9. Mega Byte
    I added new ball bearing swivels to all of my spinner/crawler rigs (which isn't a lot since I'm just starting out). It made a big difference. I only noticed a tangled crawler leader line come in once and we boxed 25 walleyes. Prior to that, our best was 12 fish. So I think it made a difference. Thanks for the help.
  10. Mega Byte
    Makes you wonder if that big boy learned to eat something other than alewives. Wow, what a fish.
  11. Mega Byte
    Sweet! Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Great Lakes Fisherman Mobile App
  12. Mega Byte
    We started out in 32 fow water just north of the green spark plug. We didn't mark much and only picked up 1 sheepshead and 1 walleye in an hour of trolling. We moved into shallower water to the west. We got into the walleye in 24.5 fow. We trolled back and forth over a 3 mile area. The bite was off and on at times, depending on the wind and sun. We ran crawlers on the bottom with copper color blades working best. We kept 25 walleye, 2 catfish and 2 perch. Threw back about 7 walleye, 8 sheepshead and a perch. We lost about a dozen fish due to poor rod handling techniques. Shout out to Cheap Limits for the Plan B location suggestion. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Great Lakes Fisherman Mobile App
  13. Mega Byte
    Big wave question...I don't have a kicker motor yet. My 250 hp outboard sits on the back of my swim platform. If I am trolling with the waves, in 5+ footers like you were, and I've got both trolling bags out, do I need to worry about a big wave hitting me from behind and swamping my outboard?
  14. Mega Byte
    Thanks. We're going to give it a try on Saturday.
  15. Mega Byte
    I've noticed that sometimes when I pull my crawler harnesses in at the end of the trip, they are all twisted up. So from the point where they attach to the bottom bouncer and back the line is all twisted up like the swivel isn't working. Is it like this underwater when I am trolling or just because I may be reeling it in fast and that blade is spinning and there is more pressure on the swivel and it isn't turning? I'm trying to decide if I need to cut off all my swivels and replace them with ball bearing swivels, or if it's just a fast retrieve at the end of the trip that is causing the issue. I guess I could do a slow retrieve at the end of the trip and see if that makes a difference, but if I need to replace swivels, I'd like to do it before my next trip. Thoughts from anybody?
  16. Mega Byte
    We fished from Pt. Au Gres and north to roughly the opening of the pier in 34' of water. Most of the boats we saw were in much deeper water, so we were kind of by ourselves for a while. It was hot, flat calm and sunny. We picked away at them for a few hours and managed to boat a dozen nice walleyes. I ran a reef runner, 2 flicker minnows and the other 5 lines were crawlers on the bottom. We caught 3 fish on the lures and the rest came on crawlers. The lures that took fish were 150' behind the board and 135' back behind the board. The crawlers were back 70 feet. After a while, we had gone about an hour without hit so we decided to pull lines and try it in close. Someone on the radio said they had limited out in 17 fow on hot-n-tots and since we were planning to fish on Sunday, we thought we'd try it shallow and see if it was any different. It was. We trolled a combination of crawlers, hot-n-tots and our existing baits that caught fish earlier in the day and we didn't get a hit. We also didn't graph much in there. Sunday was a little too rough for my liking and after venturing out to check the waves, we decided not to fish.
  17. Mega Byte
    You say "bags" - so plural. I would think with two 48" bags you should be able to get down below 2 mph, unless you are running a big diesel without trolling valves installed in it. I've got a 250 HP Mercury outboard on my Proline 251, and my two 48" bags get me down to 0.9. One bag got me down to 1.3ish. Most guys run their bags hooked to the mid and rear cleats on their boats. But I think the 48 inch bags are relatively newer. I found was able to reduce my speed more when the bags were hooked to the front side cleats and given a longer lead line to the front of the bag. The center of the 48" bag needs to be lower in the water than the center of the common 36" bag. I think the angle afforded by the longer lead line helped it open up better and allowed me to place it beside my boat where I was told they should run. I also found the depth of the output end of the bag would affect my speed. I did my experimenting with the bags on a dead calm day so nothing was affected by the wind or waves. This is my first year trying to pick up walleye fishing so I'm in a similar learning stage as you. Good luck!
  18. Mega Byte
    Help a new guy out....what makes the walleye decide to get into that skinny water? This is my first year fishing walleye and we started in mid-April over structure. The fish seemed to have gradually worked their way deeper since then, but I haven't been out in a couple of weeks. The last time I was out we got them in 30 fow. I fish out of Au Gres. I am trying to understand what made you decide to go in so shallow and why the fish would be there. I have heard similar reports on the west side too, that the fish were in shallower water. Not single digit shallow but significantly shallower than 30. Thanks for the report.
  19. Mega Byte
    Thanks for the post. We made the run over there on Saturday, but then the wind and waves picked up so we headed back to the west side of the bay where it was calm. I'm hoping to get out there this weekend, but I don't know if the weather will allow it. We'll see.
  20. Mega Byte
    Thanks for link! Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Great Lakes Fisherman Mobile App
  21. Mega Byte
    We were 5 - 7 tonight. We will give it a go in the am. Nice job today. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Great Lakes Fisherman Mobile App
  22. Mega Byte
    Slow bite today. Took 6 walleyes off Whitestone Point in 8 hours of fishing. 18 to 25 fow. All on stick baits. No crawler hits. Surface temp was 40 degrees. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Great Lakes Fisherman Mobile App
  23. Mega Byte
    I got this in my email. I don't need the rod holders but the prices were so darn good I thought I'd share. Rod Holders I'm not selling these so don't contact me to buy them. Just seemed like a great deal.
  24. Mega Byte
    It's not cheap, but it's here in west MI and it holds world class whitetails. This is my brother's place. http://www.superiorwhitetails.com/private-lease.html https://youtu.be/Ww7Yiegge8E
  25. Mega Byte
    Here's the MLive story which posted today: http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2015/10/chinook_salmon_lake_michigan.html#incart_river_home
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