1mainiac

I only run my wire divers on 1.5 and high divers on 2.5 when running a high diver and copper get the copper away from the boat as far as possible. It is not unusual for me to have my boards nearly out of sight in the distance I never fish the pack and have often ran my outside board 600 or more ft from the boat generally I try to keep my copper board at least 75 to 100ft from the boat. And I try and keep the boards at least 50ft or more apart so when I am running 4 boards per side I am covering some acreage.

Mike it has taken them over a decade to take over the river and there really are very few rivers that offer the conditions they need to spawn effectively so my bet would be that we have a lot of time left our kids on the other hand it does not look good for. We have more to fear from having the great lakes turned over to the UN then the carp but that would likely start a major war.

Sorry but the government's answer to our problem will be to end fishing. For me I am preparing for the 2nd revolution as soon we will have only 2 choices become a failed state and risk becoming a Socialist nation or fight to regain our country and and our consititution Obama and many in Washington prefer the first plan as many of them have been involved with the Cloward Pivens stratigy for decades. Follow the money it always leads to the top and simply put George Soros is the leader of this country. Look at all the groups he started funds or totally controls and see how many people Obama included grew from those groups.

Salmon are a bycatch they are not supposed to keep and strangly enough very few end up in the nets. Mostly because the nets are setup for Whitefish which hug the bottom and Salmon seldom hug the bottom and when the do they are pretty much just relaxing.

just did a quick check in 2001 293 master angler patchs were given out in 2008 it was 5 in 2007 none are listed and 2009 data is not on the site yet. I was told only about 1 in 10 who catch the fish apply for the patch.

The Alewifes and Lamprey pretty much trashed a great fishery and stunk up our beachs. They wiped out our Lake trout and nearly our Perch fishing and gave a lot of other fish a tough road to survive. There are one of the reasons we have no natural lake trout as the Grease balls we catch now are imported. Salmon were brought in to combat the Alewife and the fishery we got as the result was a byproduct. Many who lived on the spawning rivers at the time hated the Salmon as the dead carcuses were floating down the rivers in mass. Which is why the DNR allowed snagging to come up with a way to get rid of the spwaning and dieing fish. Salmon were introduced in the late 1800's but did not survive but the Alewife gave it new life. Fast forward 40 years and we no longer allow snagging and have learned how to better control the fishery but now have new problems to deal with that are wrecking the food chain again. I can remember when 30lb plus fish out of Lake MI were not uncommon and no one even got excited till they approached 40lbs or more. The DNR master angler patch for Chinook is 27lbs and they used to send out hundreds each year now they send out a handfull and I don't think I have caught a fish that would qualify since the 80's.

Automotive GPS would tell you what your coordinates are and remind you every couple of min that you need to make a U turn and retunr to the road LOL. I bought a Gamin Marine handheld years ago for my old boat it works great gives me speed location and direction traveled very accurate unit it also has all the harbors and lights marked on it in the basic map program it came with so it will get you back to port in the fog and steer you right up the channel. It was about 150 bucks when I bought it. Lots of choices in GPS fishfinders as well.

I would find someone who does well and have them come fish with you a few times see what they suggest based on what you have to fish with. I have had guys come fish on my boat and they often pick setups I have but don't use or suggest changes in setups I allready use sometimes with good success. Sometimes there is nothing wrong with what you have but small changes can have a big effect on how it performs.

Matt 4 yr old Kings are smarter they seem to know if they come in easy and charge the boat most people will lose them.

Mike GLF I did a bit more research on your boat and the few I found all said they did not have room for the Simrad on a 270 Amberjack. When you come up tommorrow I will come over and we can do some measureing. If I had a choice between the Simrad AP14R and the Raymarine I would choose the Simrad. However a few guys on other sites are using the X5 Sportpilot on boats like yours. I have not heard anyone say it won't steer on the none power steering engine just that it responds faster with the power steering.

Honestly Robert I don't know what system they priced for you but regardless of number of engines with Hyd steering the only issue is getting the right size pump to match the steering cylinder. Someone had their profit margin set on kill rather than stun also most AP that have been out a while have actually came down a little. However I can get the Garmin system installed and my boat converted to Hyd Steering for less than they quoted you for the AP. Personally the Garmin is the way to go it is a very nice system for what we do. Give these guys a call http://www.marinerscentre.com/ They are here in Muskegon and where I will buy mine from when I get the money as even if I have to pay a little extra I will buy it locally.

Robert you if I remember have a 320 Sundancer which is Hyd steering who quoted you 6k for a autopilot? There are a bunch of units the will drive your boat for less than 1/2 of that. I would look at the Garmin GHP10 last quote I got was around 2700. and have had a few guys tellme they got theirs for less than that. WMJ Marine has the core pack for 1649 and the 2.1 pump for 999 which is pretty much all you need. here is a a Raymarine system that should work on your boat http://www.wmjmarine.com/stpack1.html a Simrad setup http://www.wmjmarine.com/stpack1.html here is a Furuno system http://www.wmjmarine.com/furunoau4.html

I have no idea Bromley it was a good unit but it was a good unit could be they spent a bunch on the new drive unit and decided to make it the only one they carried

Mike you only have a couple of options unless you plan on spending a bunch of money. You are stuck with same choices as me actually you might have room for the Simrad that I don't know because I did not measure your boat. The Simrad AP12R and AP14R are both discontinued models but still quite a few available. Both of these replace your current helm control under the console and require at least 10in of clearance behind the steering wheel for the new unit to fit in my boat that would mean cut a hole into the head and have it stick thru the wall above the toilet. The wife says well I can't repeat her response her this is a family channel but I am sure you understand. If you have room for it the Simrad may also require you to replace the steering cable depending on which cable yours uses. Simrads replacement for the AP 12 and 14R is the AP24 with a new servo drive which adds on to your current system. If I added it up correctly it comes to just under 4k plus install. Raymarine offers the X5 Sportpilot this is the easiest install remove your steering wheel install the motor drive box and reinstall the steering wheel mount the control box and compass and course computer hook up all the wires and you are pretty much done. If you go back roughly 3 years to when I first started hanging out here I bought one of these systems with my boat only problem is they never released it so after spending the entire summer hearing one excuse after another as to why my AP was not on my boat I got my money back and gave up on it. I have planned on converting the boat to HYD steering which opens a whole new world of options and systems however it also costs a bunch more so this has not happened either. So I am more humble this year and likely will buy the X5 if I have a tax return and can save a few pennies by fishing time. I will however upgrade to the ST70 control head as it gives you programable trolling patterns. I have not met very many who were unhappy with their AP and no matter which one you get my bet is you will love it. Even the worst unit on the market is still a Godsend when you are short handed on the boat.

Well rule 2 for sure has no Great lakes application. 3 very much applies here or there would be no reason to get up early to fish. 4 applies other then the west coast birds find a large group of dumpster ducks in a area and you can bet there are fish feeding under them. 5 would apply to fishing in currents and is pretty much true they will always rest facing into a current

I have a spare Bimini from one of my old boats might just have to try that.

2nd event is Grand Haven Offshore weekend 3rd is Muskegon Shootout weekend so looking pretty much like not gonna do any this year.

Diesel that is cold funny but cold

since they were part of a fairy tale to begin with they never really existed. When the government subsidies dissappear these will becaom rusting hulks all over the land scape. In low winds they produce nothing and in high winds they have to feather the blades to protect themselves. I really like the fact they are adding lights to the blades to protect bats that is class A thinking there. GE stands to make billions off this crap them and a few other companies will suck up all the Government money they can before it dries up.

Keep in mind the line counters need a full spool to be accurate so unless you are going to put some backer on it the smaller reel will always be more accurate.

I voted Moonshine because over the last 4 years they have been my most consistant spoon in low light conditions. Once the sun is up then you have to match conditions and what the fish seem to want to pick a spoon but in the dark I will always have some Moonshines down and they pretty much always catch fish.

I am going to nominate Mark Just Hooking to manage the Port Sheldon beer blast LOL. I like night fishing because no better way to end the day than a evening fishing trip.

http://www.ieso.ca/imoweb/pubs/marketReports/download/HourlyWindFarmGen_20100108.csv If you read this page it shows only once during a 2 day period has it acheived 90% of rated capacity. The chart goes back to Mar 06 so only on a couple days in the last 4 years has everyone promised power from this actually got power from it. Yea baby thats what we want all of the power none of the time but some of the power most of the time. Imagine sitting at work waiting for a wind report so you can turn on your machine and do something. Or explaining to the boss it's not your fault the wind didn't blow hard enough to run your machine today. I guess this will add new meaning to the term " That Blows"

Very true but imagine you fall overboard and your wife panics and does not push the right buttons. With the Shadow Drive in the Garmin you just grab the wheel anytime and make course changes hold the new course for a few seconds and it takes over on the new course. Not all of us have experienced crews I often fish with friends and family some who have zero boating experience the Garmin is the only unit that allows you steering control at all times engaged or not. Even on the Hyd steer systems you can turn the wheel and the boat will turn however if you forget to push the button the auto pilot will correct and return to the previous course. Every unit I looked at for my boat offered the push button course changes. The Garmin Shadow Drive however allows you to use the wheel to make changes no need to read the screen or push the right button. If you want to turn to Port just turn the wheel.

Good luck and feel free to PM me if you have any questions.