My old ice fishing tournament partner (Kyle Young, formerly of Monroe) sent this pic up from Florida last week. His first turkey came from the state grounds over in Petersburg (Summerfield) last year, and he was really proud of this Osceola he bagged this spring down there.
Happy Mother’s Day! I hope everyone got at least a white carnation, which dating back to the conception of Mother’s Day was the traditional gift. Here’s a thought, if Hallmark can corrupt a day for moms, why can’t the guys have the tackle companies mess with their days? Just a thought
So, here’s to my sister-in-law Michelle, here with Lani at her Christening, Happy Mother’s Day.
There will be more pics of Lani coming, she just turned one on Friday, and we had her birthday party yesterday.
And to my Mother, who passed away four years ago after battling cancer for several years.
She was a pretty private person, but I don’t think she would mind this picture, after all, the house was dusted.
If you remember my topics on tying your own crawler harnesses, you might be recall the use of the water noodles for securing the rigs. Just your average everyday pool toy.
Now you can use these if you make your own rigs or if you just buy them off the shelves at a bait shop on your way to the lake like Matthew’s over in Bolles Harbour.
Today, was a very special day in the family, Lani had her first birthday. Even though the families will gather tomorrow to celebrate. My dad and I took the munchkin out to dinner with her parents. I must say, the gals over at Bob Evans know this kid coming a mile away. After dinner, I couldn’t pass up stopping over at Wal-Mart to see what I could find in their fishing isles.
They had a couple of bins set up right by the main isle as it went by the sporting goods section. Best part was the price, only $1.50 each. That’s 49 cents less than what I paid at Big Lots last year, and $2.49 less than what I found them for on Ebay (plus some crazy shipping prices). The noodles were 58 inches long, so I cut them into 9 and 3/4 inch sections. Worked out pretty good, the last section was 9.5 inches long. So, I got six separate rig holders for the buck fifty. Just remember to stop and get yourself some toothpicks for securing, and you’ve got it made for the season. For that price, I bought seven myself. Just in case I need to replace some over the years to come.
* Just used a tape rule to measure, long pair of scissors, and a sharpie* to mark my spots.
If you remember my topics on tying your own crawler harnesses, you might be recall the use of the water noodles for securing the rigs. Just your average everyday pool toy.
Now you can use these if you make your own rigs or if you just buy them off the shelves at a bait shop on your way to the lake like Matthew’s over in Bolles Harbour.
Today, was a very special day in the family, Lani had her first birthday. Even though the families will gather tomorrow to celebrate. My dad and I took the munchkin out to dinner with her parents. I must say, the gals over at Bob Evans know this kid coming a mile away. After dinner, I couldn’t pass up stopping over at Wal-Mart to see what I could find in their fishing isles.
They had a couple of bins set up right by the main isle as it went by the sporting goods section. Best part was the price, only $1.50 each. That’s 49 cents less than what I paid at Big Lots last year, and $2.49 less than what I found them for on Ebay (plus some crazy shipping prices). The noodles were 58 inches long, so I cut them into 9 and 3/4 inch sections. Worked out pretty good, the last section was 9.5 inches long. So, I got six separate rig holders for the buck fifty. Just remember to stop and get yourself some toothpicks for securing, and you’ve got it made for the season. For that price, I bought seven myself. Just in case I need to replace some over the years to come.
If you are getting that $600 check in the mail or direct deposited, and you have a good fish finder on the boat, here is another option for improving your fish catching experiences in the future.
I’ve got a Lowrance 510c mounted, then also put on the FL-20 from Vexilar, but I want a unit dedicated only for GPS. None of those slpit screens where everything starts to look really tiny, but full screen capability.
My choice is the 5200c from Lowrance. Question comes up, why not the 5300c? Its the same unit right? Almost, there is a big difference. The 5200 has an external antenna, where the 5300 has internal hardware. For the sake of arguement, lets just say the external is a bit more reliable. That takes up $500 out of the check. Go and spend the last one hundred on a mapping chip thats dedicated to the region(s) you fish the most.
A corporate buyout was announced yesterday, with Nature Vision (parent company of Aqua Vu) buying out their biggest competitor (MarCum) in the underwater camera market. This also consolidates their fledgling venture into the ice fishing sonar/fish finder field.
With Nature Vision’s foot hold in the retail market this should this should translate into increased MarCum sales next fall as the ice season approaches. It remains to be seen if the VPG unit from Nature Vision will continued to be produced after this aquisition. Additionally some of the MarCum underwater camera technology that surpassed that of the Aqua Vu’s should enhance their line-up.
Here is the press release from CNBC
Ok, now that my bout with insomnia seems to be over, lets tackle salmon divers and attractors on a $300 budget from your tax return. Originally, I wanted to include this in with the lures and even though it was three am, things were clear to me….This jus’ ain’t gonna happen! Although salmon fishing cannot touch the cost of muskie fishing per lure, by the time you add everything up on the end of the line, it gets on par pretty quick! Diver-10 bucks, flasher- 12 bucks and put a 7 dollar spoon at the end and it adds up quickly.
Sooooooooo, for the sake getting the most bang for you buck; divers, flashers and dodgers ….oh my! Divers come in two categories; the round disc and everything else shapes. For years and years, Luhr Jensen ruled the market in both types with their Dipsey Diver and Jet Divers. Today, there are lots of companies competing in the market, which can be a good thing for consumers. Take Walker’s Deeper Divers, no more screwdrivers or adding extra rings (weights).
They actually have all sizes available from the 45mm which can be used for walleye fishing, way up to the desert plate sizes for getting those mid-summer, deep water salmon.
The “attractors” have also gone through change due to increasing competition in the market place. Again, for years, the standard was the “dodger” and Luhr Jensen again had a big chunk of that market. The dodger type attractor has a unique side to side action. Then came the “Hootchie Mamma” and it seemed liked the “flashers” took over the market. They might not have been the first, but they certainly had a big chunk of the sales. These like the Dreamweaver SpinDoctor below, go through the water in circles, maximizing the amount of flash that can be seen by the fish. They also take your spoon or fly around in a circle teasing the fish into a bite.
next up: electronics
Well I gave it a shot, I looked for new local shops that could help a guy out online for buying some lures for salmon fishing. It was a lot harder than what I anticipated it being. Partly I think because I am not a dedicated salmon fisherman in the first place, but thanks to Google and a few key words, I was able to come up with some good items for loading the boat up.
So getting started with a $300 dollar rebate and concentrating on the lure aspect for fishing salmon what would a beginner or even a regular need for the boat? I can already tell that $300 isn’t going to go far, but it will give you a good start for a sampling of all you will need.
Keeping in mind, for this instance just fishing out of a boat, you will need some lures. Spoons, bait rigs, flies and cranks are your choices. For the lack of a specific category, I am going to throw the J-Plugs in with the crankbaits. The bad part is that you could spend easily $300 on each of these categories. The good news is that the flies are a very effective bait for trolling and they are the least expensive. Usually they come in around $4.00, even better, you can make them easily yourself . Sounds like a topic for another blog down the road. The Lake Michigan Angler site has a decent selection and would be a good place to start looking online. One hint, something green is always a good choice.
Spoons, where do you start with the spoons? There are so many companies, so many choices and so many crazy names to remember. Its hard to go wrong with something that glows, specially something with an ultra glow finish. Fishlander, Michigan Stinger, Silver Streaks, Northport Nailers, Moonshine and Dreamweaver all make good spoons. The Nailers probably have been around the longest, and the Moonshines have a great selection of glow patterns.
Bait rigs are relatively easy to fix up. There are several types of rigs available. Some will hold whole herring or smelt, while others will hold just strips of meat. Lots of companies make this product, and you might remember that Church Tackle (from the interview) does as well. Nice thing about the Shock Wave is what you see, is all you need. No fooling around with toothpicks or other methods of securing the meat.
Cranks are used early in the year, or later when fall approaches and the salmon and trout are staging for their spawning runs upriver in shallower water. Are there exceptions to this rule, absolutely, but these times will produce the most success with cranks. Storm, Bombers, Rapala’s, J-Plugs and probably a few more that I am not familiar with are the most common. Run some deep models, or shallow models on wire, leadcore or your downriggers.
Next up: Divers and Attractors
No, not the egg, and ok not really edible, BUT the 3-way swivel is something much overlooked because you just don’t see it on all the fishing shows. If you do not have a few of these in your arsenal then you are just missing out though. Use them for drifting or trolling, they do improve your chances of getting fish….PERIOD!
On the drift my favorite rig is to hook a jig on an 18 to 20 inch dropper so it runs on the bottom. From there either run a colorado blade #3 with a floating harness or a Smile blade from Mack’s lures on a harness in the middle. The top ring/eye goes to the main line from the rod. You can put live bait on the jig if the wind is slow enough, but if its blowing a plastic twister tail will do.
Trolling you have several options on the big lakes. A 3 or 4 oz bottom bouncer can go on the bottom, or a 3/4 to 1 oz jig for going back behind the boat. Love the Whistler Jig from Northland with a plastic grub/twister tail for my weight and a #4 or #5 colorado blade harness for my flash. Don’t overlook your fav shallow crankbait for your middle eye either. You can also use a diving crank like a Tot instead of a weight and run a harness in the middle too.
Lots of options here, and all can produce double headers. A 10 pound Eye can be a wonderful feeling at the end of your line, but its nothing like having two 4 lbers fighting each other and the rod at the same time.
…and reeling in the gear. Its an option for the angler at any level of experience. So if you have been on top of your bills and you are ready to stimulate the economy…..lets go shopping! The question is this, what can you get for $300, $600 or $1200 bucks?
For $300 your options might be limited, but it really depends what you already have and what you like to fish for. Whether you target bass, gills, muskie, pike, salmon, trout or walleye, lets think about getting the most bang for your buck here and concentrate on something you already do a lot of. So if one of these species is your favorite target, concentrate on lures.
6 Benjamins gives you a little more leeway. You could start to look into the tech aspects of fishing and maybe improve your electronics, or even supplement what you already have. You have a nice fish finder already? Then look into a GPS mapping unit that you can mount in the boat.
1200 clams and its lets go trolling or rod/reel set up time. Take your fav species to target and take a hard look at your gear that you have, or think about getting into something for the first time. The most bang for your buck might just be in rods and reels. You should be able to get 6 really nice combo’s spooled and ready to go trolling, if you stretch your buck out a little further 8 set-ups is not out of the question. If trolling isn’t your gig, get that rod and reel that you always wanted. Specialize (like in bass fishing) with a flipping stick, cranker, spinnerbait, pig ‘n’ jig, tubes…etc.
This could be a one time opportunity to get something, or a lot of somethings that will enhance your fish catching experiences. Staying away from the mega stock market retail type places, this week I will go around the state and beyond to some of my fav destinations, where they specialize in bass, muskie, walleye and salmon fishing. Some will be stores, some of it will be just rod and reel ideas, and some will be direct from the companies online.