mrhookup

for a permanent mount vhf then I need an antennae. It seems like 8ft is a pretty standard size. Is one this large necessary or would something smaller like either of these still give you enough transmitting power/range

http://www.boemarine.com/products/5216/shakespeare-vhf-15in-5216-ss-black-whip-antenna---bracket-included

http://www.boemarine.com/products/5215/shakespeare-5215-3--stainless-steel-whip-antenna

thanks

I would put them 6-10" forward of the "R" in the first pic.

Mine slip over the Aluminum peg that's mounted on the front of the wood plank.

Hey Ken, what size tubing did you make those trees out of, I'd like to make something exactly like what you have for my boat.

thanks,

mrhookup

As far forward as I could set mine. But behind the driver seats so you don't have to reach around the operator. Mine work great.

Steve

Hey Steve how did you mount those tree in your boat. It's a similar boat to mine and I'd like to add some.

thanks,

mrhookup

Working on makins some additions to our smaller boat and I'm wanting to add a marine radio for safety reasons. I'm trying to decide between a handheld battery operated model or a permanent mount with an antennae. My questions are does anyone have any experience with handheld vhf radios? Do they have a good enough range for use on lake michigan out to say 120' in the Port Sheldon/Grand Haven area and still have a good reception? How much power does a simple permanent mount vhf radio draw? Is it enough to require a seperate battery to operate? Thanks for any help.

mrhookup

So our boat is a nice 16' aluminum deep v Grumman with a 30hp Yamaha 2-stroke and Shorelander trailer. Boat, engine, and trailer are all '89 when my dad bought it. It's all still in GREAT shape since we've only been able to use it twice in something like the last 9 years (I know sad right) where we used to take it out of Port Sheldon. Well it looks like schedules are finally going to allow it to be used again.

My dad has kept the interior very simple over the years. It still has the original short arm manual walker downriggers he bought and a fish finder that's so old the fish are just a little square pixel on the screen (it still tells ya how deep it is though ). And that was it, key word "was". Well I can't allow that anymore if I'm goin to start using it again . So it's time to make some modifications. Here's what I'm starting with...

So a buddy of mine just did the interior of his 14' flat bottom Lowe that he uses on the river and for spear fishing so I asked him to help me out with this one. He's honestly the brains behind most of the operation since this is his second go around at this. So let's get to the good stuff. Additions that will be made are as follows: a front deck, floor boards, navigation lights, interior lights, a new fish finder, a marine radio, a permanent mount light up compass new set of used downriggers with longer booms, 4 more rod holder (still deciding on what exactly), cup holders, swivel seats, sand and repaint motor mount board on transom, fabricate a windshield for steering console, and a bilge pump. As you can see I'm going to be adding a lot of safety features for more comfortable use on the big lake. So here's what we got done this past weekend.

We started out by working on the front deck since it's the most complex. 15/19" plywood, 2"x2", and 2"x4" were used. There will be a total of 3 compartments.

The triangular one in the bow will be for an anchor.

The 2 square compartments will have plastic bins attached on the underside of the plywood. Also the back two thirds of the entire deck will hingle up so that the rest of the bow becomes storage underneath (a mini cuddy cabin ).

We then cut out the floor boards which were pretty simple and then added support framing under all of it. Then I coated them with 3 coats of clear coat to seal the wood to prevent rotting.

While that was drying I decided to sand the transom board and add some no-slip stickers to the trailer above the tires.

before...

after...

Next step is carpeting the deck and floor boards and then adding the hinges and latches to the compartments. Should be more to come after this weekend.

Tight lines,

mrhookup

pm sent for the newer rivieras

great job! i have to say it sure is nice to see a couple kings that look like they've been eating well this early in the season

idk about browns, but I know they haven't had the money to clip steelhead the last couple of years so they probably haven't with browns as well

has anyone tried lighting the back of there boat with red lights? us trout fishermen use red headlamps when fishing at night because you don't lose your night vision

way to go mike! that's an awesome day

A first class trip with a first class guy, thanks again Mike! Some pics from the morning...

before the storm and 5 footers rolled in

my little sisters first big lake fish

my largest laker to date

all of the charters were fishing in 30-40 fow just outside the piers at grand haven yesterday and it looked like most were done by 10 or 11. i was on the pier and heard they were catching kings in the boats

anyone do anygood off the grand haven pier lately?

I have that salmon trolling tape that Capt. Ken Neidlinger from St. Joseph came out with a few years ago and he uses these reels instead of the normal stuff with counters. I found it interesting and since I also do a lot of flyfishing thought it would make for a good fight out on the big lake. Anyone else try these or something like it?

I was just curious as it came up as sort of a joke the other day between me and my buddy, but it got me wondering. Do any charter captains out there hire 1st or 2nd mates, you know guys to help set lines, cut fish, and keep up on boat maintenance for the summer, or does everyone run there own private deal and do all that stuff themselves. just curious, because it sure would make an interesting summer job:D

Tight lines

Seems like this could be a simple way of covering the top depths without having to rig up a lead core setup. I saw that GLF posted that you can get 30ft with a 4 oz dive bomb on mono. How would you set this up? How much line would you put out before attaching the board? And how far up from the lure would you put the dive bomb?

I was reading a Salmon Trout Steelheader magazine I got in the mail today and there was a couple of adds for UV painted lures and even a scented spray that gives lures a UV coating. The point is that UV light penetrates water much farther so the lure is more visible at deeper depths and in dirtier water. Just curious if any of you guys have heard off/used/think it would be something good to try or just what your thoughts on it is.

Here is the pic off and 18lb king I landed out of port sheldon from the end of July I promised to post. Sorry it took so long.

What's the difference between the prochip and hotchip flashers?

Took our little 16 footer out for the first time in about six to work the kinks out of the engine and such. Ended up fishing for a few hours completely underequipped in terms of lures, so we just ran a couple of riggers. Got one really nice king in 85 FOW 55ft down on a Dreamweaver Caramel Icicle. It was 36in and 18 lbs. It hit at 8:45 and we had to head in at about 9:10 as the sun was setting and we don't have a light on our boat yet. It was great to finally get out again. Will post the pic later.

Do you guys like the regular moonshine spoons or the mags better? Also where is a good place in the Grand Rapids area to get the new Nitro Stinger spoons without having to order them?

Hows the 100 foot rule been working for you?

How far back do you guys set your spoons on your riggers. I know the shallower you are the farther back you set them, and the deeper the closer you set them. I was thinking no more than 10'-15' for 50' and deeper, then more as you moved them up. Then I saw a report that a guy out of Muskegon was running 50'-60' leads to his lures because he was fishing shallower than 50 feet. To me it seems like the lure would lose its action this far back or was this report just some sort of typo that I'm not understanding?

Do you guys run different kinds of spoons at the same time at the same speed? Can you run standard size Stingers with Stingray Stingers at the same speed? Can you run either of these with standard size Dreamweavers? Just wondering if you have to have all your spoons the same size and brand for all of them to have a good action because I need to restock my tackle box as I seem to have lost about half my spoons and the ones left are a mixture of stingers, dreamweavers, and north port nailers.

How do you guys set up a flasher and fly combo behind a dipsey diver with leader length and such?