Paulywood

I was told not to use Soft Scrub, because the abrasive, however mild, will put microscratches in the gelcoat that dirt/grime builds up in. I've used it in the past myself, but just sayin. Personally I like Comet with bleach.

Just an FYI, Comet also has abrasives in it. That's why it works so well.

Hey Matt, glad to have you back! Looks like you made a small upgrade on fish catching machines. Looking forward to your reports and to seeing you out on the water.

I use the deck cleaner. Soft Scrub or anything else that is abrasive will leave tiny scratches in the finish that will actually collect and trap more dirt over time and remove your wax fast. My boat sits in my yard on a gravel road and I get dirt under the cover on the floor all the time so I have to clean it often. And while the Woody's wax might work good in a marine environment I hated it on my boat as it seemed to trap the dirt and make it difficult to clean. I just use a deck brush but you can buy different broom heads that will give you a little more scrubbing power. Look for a broom that is for rough or semi-rough surfaces as they will be stiffer.

Is there a length I should tie my meat rigs up at? Just got the flashers for them and I want to do it right. Thanks.

I change out all my spoon hooks to singles. I am running all Big Weenie flies this year so I leave those alone. And I always make sure my hooks are sharp.

You can get the X-4D for $700 from Calumet Marine, I feel that's it's worth it. The true depth is different than what your riggers read. If you are just upgrading for something better, why not go all the way? But, it's easy for me to spend your money:) I'm going with the X-4D next month when I get mine.

Welcome Dan! I'm trying to learn more about Sag Bay walleye fishing so your reports are welcome anytime:) Let us know if you have any questions or need any help.

Thanks for the link. There is a link on the bottom to another site that shows the correct way to replace thru-hull fittings and seacocks. Also good information. My thru-hulls are plastic and one of my projects this year is to replace them with brass. Looks like more work but they should be much stronger doing it the right way.

Composite decking material would work Steve. That's what I used for backing on my tracks for the boat. And the screw in hooks work well.

Good job Steve!

How is the PVC in the summer? Seems like it would get hot.

Nice job Steve and thanks for the report.

Very nice Don! At this rate in 3 years you'll be riding in a brand new 50' Tiara:) We need details man, motors, rigging the whole 9 yards. I'm jealous, I would like to have a hard T-top like that and I wish mine was a few feet longer.

Great job Shannon!

Is it rack & pinion, rotary or hydraulic? They can all be done but there is a difference. I have the Raymarine X-5 and have been happy with it. I don't see why it wouldn't work on your boat.

Yeah, we launched there saturday and it wasn't too shallow. The 3 docks on the river side were ok to use but the other ones were to shallow for even the smaller aluminum boats.

I have a 2001 Sportcraft and really like it. Mine's a soft top but I know one of the complaints on the hard tops is that they are only around 6' tall so taller guys tend to hit their heads. Any boat can be good or bad depending on how well it was taken care of so I would highly recommend a survey. It will cost a couple hundred dollars but it is money well spent in the long run. Mark Veurink was very helpful to me when I bought my boat, here is his website: http://www.teamreelaction.com/index.php

Other than that Sportcrafts can be very good boats, you see a lot of them on Lake Erie and I see quite a few around on Lake Michigan. Good luck in your boat search and feel free to come back with any other questions you have.

Good report Nick. Good to start the year with fish in the box! Hey let me know if you need someone to set lines for you this summer. Sold my boat and it may be a bit before I find the next one...

Will do Eric.

Nick,

Why the dislike/hate Big Game? Outside of running Hi-seas once i have always used BG. On my walleye gear 12lb as it is the same diameter of10# XT. My salmon stuff is either 20# or 25# depending pn the setup. Been running BG for 20yrs + never a problem. I do keep ALL my line in the freezer for storage.

Hmmm, must be you misread my post. I never mentioned Big Game. In fact, I have never used it. I used Ande when I first started and have never had any issues so that's why I still use it. I have no opinion on Big Game, good or bad.

I don't even know Steve, saw them putting big fish in there and knew we didn't have a chance and they didn't say points or weights while handing out the money.

I went along with Sixshooter and tgafish as the designated boat driver in the Brown Blast. My shoulder still isn't ready for fish fighting action. We set up just north of the water plant and trolled almost down to the Cook plant. Fished from the first sand bar out to 25' and ended up 4/6. 3 coho and a small brown. Orange seemed to be the ticket with an orange River Rocker being the best lure, orange UV Hot-n-Tot taking a couple hits and a jointed rainbow trout Rapala taking one fish. One hit on the riggers with the rest coming off boards. Our 4 fish were good for 8th place out of 23 boats so the fishing wasn't great. The winners ran down south of the Cook plant and caught lakers and a big brown. Weather wasn't too bad if you stayed tight to the shore. Felt good to get back on the water and Jim and I didn't loose any fish, but I won't say who did. Hopefully we get some warm weather this week and the fishing picks up. Good luck.

Welcome to GLF Jason!

Whatever I can buy for less than $20 at the gas station that will fit my fat head. I'm hard on sunglasses, just like I was hard on regular glasses before my Lasik surgery and safety glasses at work. I'm sure the expensive glasses are nice but they aren't for me.

Ryan, I will be making a trip to Jay's in Clare in the next couple of weeks and I'll check for Ande there. I use it too and usually buy it there. They normally have it in bulk spools. I also ran 15# on my riggers for the last 5+ years and can't remember much in the way of break offs or tangles into rigger cables. My dad likes to crank down on the drag and winch fish in hot but I put an end to that a few years ago after he brought one in and it got into a braid diver which cut right through the mono. I am going to try 20# mono this year because my new rigger reels came spooled with it, if I don't like it I can change it back out to 15#. I'll let you know if I find any.

I fished yesterday in the Brown Blast as the designated boat driver on the Sixshooter. We went 4/6 with 3 coho and a small brown. Not a lot of fish weighed for the 23 boats that fished. Winners went south of the Cook plant and caught lakers and a big brown. We fished from the water plant all the way down to 1/2 mile north of the plant. Sounds like things were starting to set up before the big north blow on friday. If we get some decent weather this week maybe it will pick up, but you aren't missing anything yet.