the Sarge

I'm also interested in the status of this unmarked net as I'll be at Muskegon starting Wed.

Also, does anyone know how to get the coordinates of the marked nets. Tried both the Coast Guard and the DNR, neither of which maintains a list, & Fish Dock has posted no information.

Thanks and tight lines.

the Sarge

Fowlpursuit, check your PM.

Joe, most ports the fishermen use channel 68. If your radio is capable you can set dual scan, 16 / 68. You also might consider setting up DSC if you have a chart plotter or gps and your VHF has the capability.

Mark, I think you have what I'm looking for. I sent you a message on Craigslist with phone number. Give me a call,

Thanks, the Sarge

Didn't know there were any nets near Saugatuck. Did not see any nets. Of course with the 4 - 5' rollers the small net markers in use would be hard to see.

8-28-13 pm, 8 for 15 ?? (biggest King 16#)

Rocked and rolled in the 4' (+) rollers. Mostly a South troll with the waves, ending up near Saugatuck.

Marked lots of bait around 70 FOW all afternoon. Slow action until 6:30, then lots of action including a triple around sunset.

What worked:

72 FOW - Wire Diver back 75' - Spin Doctor dbl white crush with BW 'homosezwhat' fly

65 FOW - Rigger down 50' w/ 11" Paddle dbl white crush w/ white & blue Streak fly

65 FOW - Wire Diver back 105' - 10" Spin Doctor dbl white crush w/ meat rig (went off about 4 times)

65 FOW - Braid Diver back 95' - Pro Troll blue holo w/ homemade blue fly

70 FOW - Rigger down 45' - SS Green Chillie Willie

70 FOW - Braid Diver back 105' - Spin Doctor 'Fat Nancy' w/ homemade green/gold crush fly

70 FOW - 225' Copper - SS Mag Blue Dolpin glow back

70 FOW - 10 Core - SS Mag Yellow Sub

68 FOW - 225' Copper - SS Mag Blue Dolpin glow back (missed)

8-29-13 pm, 5 for 10 ?? (biggest King 23#). Sunny, warm & flat water.

Set up in 60' looking for the bait from yesterday. Nothing so turned West and trolled out to 180'. Picked up a couple on the way out but only found a couple of small bait pods right on bottom and very few suspended fish so trolled back in hoping for a sunset bite. Most of the action right after sunset between 125 & 140 FOW.

What worked (including a few that got away)

95 FOW - 225' Copper - SS Mag Blue Dolpin glow back

120 FOW - Rigger down 70' - SS Green Chillie Willie

165 FOW - Rigger down 70' - SS Green Chillie Willie

140 FOW - Rigger down 90' - 11" Paddle white crush / blue holo w/ homemade aqua mirage fly

127 FOW - Wire Diver back 75' - Spin Doctor dbl white crush with BW 'homosezwhat' fly

127 FOW - Rigger down 90' - 11" Paddle white crush / blue holo w/ homemade aqua mirage fly

125 FOW - Rigger down 90' - 11" Paddle white crush / blue holo w/ homemade aqua mirage fly

125 FOW - Braid Diver back 150' - Pro Troll blue holo w/ homemade blue fly

125 FOW - Wire Diver back 105' - 10" Spin Doctor dbl white crush w/ meat rig

Again a triple just after sunset, lines tangled, drags screaming, rods all over the boat - lots of fun.........

Spring COHO BLAST Tournament St. Joe, MI. / Changed to April 27th, 2013

Notice: The Battle Creek SteelHeaders Spring Coho Blast Tournament at St. Joe, MI. scheduled for April 13th has been canceled due to weather.

NEW DATE: Sat., April 27th, 2013. All (amateur) fishermen welcome to this fun fishing event.

Sign up by April 24th.

Contact Nate Suhr with any questions. 269 377-8213

Click here http://battlecr.michigansteelheaders.org/cohoblast2013.pdf for sign up sheet, rules are the same - only the dates have changed.

Thanks for the tip on 'hoax' Lake Erie mayday calls. I did find two posted 'hoax' transmissions and I'm positive that it is not the voice I heard Sat. I'll forward the sound clips to the guys who with me for their identification.

the Sarge

Thought I'd post on this location even though it's not a fishing report but might be of interest to all boaters on Lake Michigan.

Sat., 4-28-2012 my crew and I were fishing out of Holland. We were about due West in 200 FOW. Around 1330 hrs as were pulling a couple of lines we heard on the VHF "Mayday - Mayday - Mayday, Port Sheldon, we're going down". The Mayday call did not sound like a hoax to us. It was an adult, male voice and sounded like a panic call.

Right at this time the weather had been rapidly deteriorating - wind, waves building and very limited visibility.

There was no other transmission. I waited for any more communication for about 30 seconds then called the Coast Guard in Holland. The call was answered by the Coast Guard in Grand Haven. They had not heard the Mayday communication. No other boats responded but I believe most all of the fisherman had already gone in for the day.

We pulled the remaining lines and headed for Port Sheldon. On radar I found very few boats but did check all that we found. We searched the area of Port Sheldon to about four miles North. After three or so hours the Coast Guard released us to return to Holland.

We never did see (nor spot on radar) the CG boat sent from Grand Haven but did see the CG helicopter once in the vicinity of Port Sheldon. When arriving back at Holland we met the Coast Guard boat from Holland just leaving the piers.

This call might well have been a hoax but there were still lessons learned.............

If you have a problem on the water you will be on your own for some (long) period of time

The Coast Guard (this is their words) "does not monitor nor has any means to communicate on channel 68".

The Coast Guard will want to know;

Your name

Your current location

Your antenna height (so they can calculate potential distance of the call you received)

The exact wording of the call you received

I know I'll be reviewing the safety of my boat before heading out again.

I know I'll make sure my crew knows how to use the VHF. Even with a limited amount of time some critical pieces of information to help in location would be depth of water and North or South of (XXX) Port.

In the future I'll also have some of my flares & flare guns in a more accessible location top side not in a hatch.

One thing that concerns me is would you call for help on channel 16 (knowing the Coast Guard could be hours away) or on channel 68 and hope to get a fishing boat in the area?

I'm sure there are some more knowledgeable Captains that might want to chime in on safety on the water.

Hopefully this was a hoax and no one was in danger or lost.

the Sarge