Paulywood

Welcome Darl!

I used the green Ande for riggers off and on and have never noticed a difference.

I got a pair of the Shimano Charter Specials from Santa. I really like these for riggers. The Convectors are fine too. I've been using them for a few years. Last I knew Calumet Marine had the Charter Specials on sale. That's where Santa got mine:)

Frank,

If you don't find anyone to car pool with you can ride down with me. Saves you half the drive.

I'll probably go.

Just holler if ya need any help.

Anyone want to share a ride?

Alright, looking good guys. I found out today that there will be food and drinks available to buy. My niece's dance class will be selling hot dogs, chili, chips, pop and maybe some desserts to raise money for a trip. Posting if you are coming & the number will help the girls figure out how much food to make. I have about 15 people who plan on coming too.

The fishing ban is just on campus. I know plenty of guys who have fished it without getting in trouble.

Thanks for the post & pics. Hope you recover fast & we'll see you at the seminar.

I'll bring you one Jon, but none of that fancy stuff Ken drinks:)

Tell him kittens work best, they thrash around a lot:)

Here are the details for the seminar day:

Great Lakes Fisherman Seminar Day

www.greatlakesfisherman.com

12 noon to 5pm at Eagle Park Hall in Eagle, MI

January 19th, 2013

http://eagleparkmichigan.org/

Speaker Lineup:

Captain Mike Harvey- Salmon Wagon Sport Fishing Charters out of Grand Haven, MI

Fishing for Lakers

www.salmonwagon.com/wp

Captain Jason Coslow- KC-1 Sport Fishing out of Muskegon, MI

Fishing in the Mudline

http://www.kc1sportfishing.com/

Matt Mishler- Site Member and 1st Mate on Killing Time Charters out of Manistee, MI

Fishing with Cut Bait

Captain Mike Keith- Site Member and Owner of Just In Time Charters out of Whitehall, MI

Tactics for Fishing “Weigh 5 Fish” Tournaments

www.justintimefishingcharters.com

Captain Mike Veine- Site Member and Owner of Trophy Specialist Charters out of Au Gres, MI

Fishing Saginaw Bay Walleye

www.trophyspecialists.com

If you are thinking of coming please reply to this thread so I can get an idea of how many people to expect. And thanks to all of the people who offered to do the seminar!

The cost is $10 per person, and kids 14 and under get in free.

Ok, you should be able to find a nice boat with what you are looking for. I will throw out another recommendation. One of my friends bought a 20' Sea Swirl with a 150 hp Johnson on it. The boat jumps right up on plane and moves along 30-35 mph real easy. The part that might interest you is that it has reel high sides on it for when your wife and daughter are along. The sides are quite a bit higher than on my boat. I think his boat is a 1999 and he paid around 12K. The Pursuits and Islanders you have been talking about are going to be harder to find with an outboard. And if you want a 4 stroke it will be very hard to find any of these boats in your price range. Since it will be just you sleeping on it the smaller cabin on the 20-25' boats shouldn't be an issue. If you do plan on fishing solo I do recommend an autopilot if you can afford it. And wear some kind of tether or cut out for the engine in case you fall overboard. You might want to expand your search out to other brands of boats and really see what's out there unless you have a specific boat in mind. If I get a chance I'll take a look around and see if I can find anything that would suit you.

We had a horrible experience with Parker this past week and I thought I would let everyone else know so that they didn't have to go through the same thing. Thursday while Parker was at his babysitter's he got into some medication. It was put up where no one thought he could get to it but somehow he did. He is fine now with no long-term issues but it was a very scary couple of days. What we are doing now and what I suggest everyone do is get a locking box to put your medication in. I mean lock and key. Don't think that they can't get it, because they will find a way. I don't want anyone to go through what we did. Ok, back to fishing!

Welcome to the site Jamey! Seems like you have gotten some really good help already but thought I'd throw in my $.02. I have a 22' Sportcraft WA with a 225hp 4.3 L V6. I bought this particular boat for a few reasons. I wanted a boat large enough for my wife to be comfortable on and at the time any future children. I also wanted a ride that was good in any waves that were small enough for me to fish (5' or less for me, under 3' for the wife). I live in the exact center of the lower peninsula so trailerability was a huge factor for me. I narrowed it down to 20-25' fiberglass due to these factors. I've ridden on Islanders, smaller aluminum boats, smaller fiberglass boats and even large cabin cruisers up to 38'. The 22' ended up being a great size for me. If I wasn't going to trailer I would definitely go up in size and add a 2nd engine. I wider beam would be better to as it would improve the ride. The problem is that when you add the 2nd engine and go wider the price goes up substantially. Also the upkeep goes way up. It sounds like ride quality is your most important factor so to me that would eliminate any aluminum boat, sorry Islander guys. Now it comes down to the walkaround question. I chose a WA because the layout gives you more room in the back to fish. The cabin is usually smaller but it is pushed farther forward than conventional boats. The cabin is narrower though, so that might be an issue if you plan on sleeping on it. To be honest a boat like Mike's that 1maniac linked would be a pretty good setup for you. The cabin is bigger for sleeping, it's wider and longer so the ride would be better, and it has twin 4.3's instead of 350's so the gas mileage should be better. Or a larger Grady with twin OB's could be good too. If you find a newer one it should get decent gpm and have room. Plus I think that Grady makes boats up to 27' that are only 8'6" wide if you did want to trailer. Overall, it really comes down to what is most important to you and what your budget is. If you want something that would really move and be comfortable you could get something like Boltman's cruiser. But then you are talking a whole different financial range. The best thing would be to go look at different boats and if possible get them out on the water before you buy. See how much gas they use, how the ride is and how big the cabin is. If you come up with some options feel free to post them here and the guys will give you the pro's and con's of each one. Good luck and have fun, it should be an enjoyable experience. And like was already said, get a survey. Best money you will ever spend.

Very Nice!

P-Line is the name of the other one I have used and liked. For the life of me I couldn't think of it. Thanks Rob.

Yeah, I did not like Vanish. I use the Seaguar for trolling and like that. I also use it for walleye jigging.

You might have to put in some serious work or pay someone. You need to get rid of the oxidation and that could require wet sanding the whole boat and then polishing it back up to a good surface. Might want to take some pictures and post them, people would be able to help you out. If it's not to bad you could use some rubbing compound and a polisher before the wax. Either way it's a multi step job and takes a lot of time.

Starport Marina and Thompson's Marina (site sponsor) are both in Ludington and you can camp at both with the boat right out the front door. I know that Arcadia has a campground/marina but I have never been there. Insta-Launch in Manistee offers slips but it would be tough for you to get your boat out to the lake. We have stayed in Frankfort before, it's only a couple of blocks from the campground to the launch, I can't remember the name of the campground. At Grand Haven you can camp on the water but have to slip your boat seperately, but it's close. Same with Holland, both are state parks. Those are all I can think of off the top of my head, unless you want to fish walleye.

Ok, things are starting to fall into place. I have 1 confirmed speaker and 3 others that are 95%. So far topics are fishing with meat, fishing for lakers, fishing in the mud and tactics for fishing the weigh 5 fish tourneys. For the 5th speaker I am hoping to have a walleye presentation, not sure on that one yet. Plan on starting at 12 noon and finishing up around 5 pm, admission will be $10 per person and kids are free. I will post a sign-up sheet next week so I can have an idea on the number of people. Should be a good day.

You don't really have to notch them out and weld all the way around if you don't want to. I know that the Stinger trees were only welded on the top and bottom. Plenty strong enough to hold rods. I can check mine but they are different angles, flatter as they go down. If I was going to make them I would have the top holders angled slightly forward with the bottom one straight out. I would also make them so that they rotate. I have to take them down when I dock.

I might have to give these a try. Even though my current sharpener does a great job, Mike (red eagle) drinks to much of my beer while he sharpens them. He uses a stone and does a great job but it isn't as convenient since we don't work together anymore. I can't sharpen a knife on a stone for the life of me.

I noticed you also have Shimano reels on sale, I added those to the email I sent to my wife:)

Ryan, can these be used to purchase electronics through the online store and then have you guys install? Or are there options for in store certificates? I'm eyeing one of the new Fish Hawks for the spring and my wife has been wondering what to get me for Christmas. Thanks, Nick

I think that the biggest factor in what kind of boat people are going to recommend is your price range. If you are looking for boats under $5k then that is a whole different kind of boat than if you have a $20k budget, or more. If you are looking for a trailerable boat then a boat like Jim's (26') is going to be about as big as you want to go. In my opinion the ride on a fiberglass boat is much better than an aluminum boat. But they are heavier to tow. I have towed a friends 26' Islander (hardtop) and didn't notice any difference between towing it and my boat (22' Sportcraft). It is also a good idea to try and get out on a few different boats and see how they ride and fish. To be honest, I don't really fish in any worse weather now than I did with my previous boat, a 22' bowrider. It's just not than fun. If you give people an idea about a budget range and style then you might get some more concrete ideas. Oh, and have fun with the boat search. I actually enjoyed it.

I talked to someone about doing a presentation on electronics. I hope to finalize the speakers soon.