Fishing Michigan

Guage and Belle are growing, and growing.  Although Guage is still twice as big, Belle has kept up with her as far as rate of growth goes.

Trying to get a shot of these two, by themselves is nearly impossible.  Here Guage is stretching out near a mole that was left behind by Cali the cat.  It was a play thing this morning.

Here, Belle is guarding her rope.  Notice the glare!  Its really funny when the two of them both have a hold of it, and are running side by side not wanting to let go.  Usually it ends with one of them running into  a tree. Ouch!

This is still their favorite pastime, nibble and bite here and there.  Chasing each other around the shrubs, through the pines and then wrestling around.  Guage is much faster, little wonder since her legs are twice as long.  Belle always catches her on the turns though.  She can twist and turn on a dime.  If you ever had your eyes closed, and heard them, you would swear I was raising pit-bulls.  When its all over though, they get a drink, and settle in the crate with their fluffy pillows.

Here is a quick, simple and inexpensive way to store your power auger when not in use.

First go to the local hardware or Lowe’s, Menards or some such type place and buy a pair extension ladder hooks.  Another good place to find them is Harbor Freight.  Should be less than $6 for the pair.  Pick up some screws while you are there too.

Next pick a location where you want to store your auger.  Use a stud finder or use the studs in plain sight like these up in the shop.  Then lift the auger so it is often the ground and and put a pencil mark on the wall.  Take one of the hooks and place it on the stud or the wall, then mark the top section.  Take a level and mark both studs once even.   Screw in the hooks.

Once you are done, it will look like this.  The handles perfectly fit into each hook.  Just for safety  sake, I bungee wrap the handles onto the hook.  Very stable and the auger now hangs vertically out of the way and off the ground.  Whole process once you start will take ten minutes.

Thought I might as well get this going today while I had time, and the coffee was still kicking in!

Power Augers,  God Bless the Tecumseh engine!  Even though there are 4-stroke models available these days, that 2 hp Tecumseh has been around for years and just keeps on going.  You will find them on all the models from StrikeMaster (except the 4-stroke) and Jiffy also, who even has a 3 hp available.  Guess my advice would be to stick with the 2hp based on experience and the extra weight of the 3.

Eskimo makes a fine auger in their Shark models, also in a 2-stroke engine, but they are rated by CC’s.  I say the Sharks, because those are the models I have experience with,  and know people who have them.  They also have Barracuda and Mako models available for less money.

The big difference between Jiffy and StrikeMaster is the style of blades they use.  All the Jiffy models have a single chipper blade.  The SM Mag 2000 also has a chipper blade, being that it is the least expensive in their lineup and has been a workhorse for years, its a very popular model.

The model I run is a StrikeMaster Lazer Mag Express.  Its got that 2 horse Tecumseh, and I have been running SM smokeless oil in it since day one.  I got such a good deal on it when I bought it, I didn’t care what sized auger it came with.  In my case, it was the 10″ blades.  That’s fine, really, because it is perfect for pike, salmon, trout and big walleye fishing.  Now the year I bought mine, was a very good year for ice with a long season.  I thought about getting a 6″ lower unit(actual auger) and just switching them out depending on what I was fishing for.  The 6″ would have been perfect for all kinds of panfishing, but like I said it was a good year for ice, and the factory was all sold out of the 6″, even the 8″ was gone.  I think it must have been a blessing in disguise, because I ended up with the 7″ lower unit.  This auger’s cut has been perfect for all things caught in the inland lakes.  From mid-sized pike, to walleye to bluegills, they have all came through the holes with little effort.

Sidenote:  I should have mentioned this with the hand augers too, but its always good to have backups.  I carry with me a small repair kit for my augers, hand or power it does not matter. Extra blades, snubbers and tools.  The best time to do this is at the end of the season.  Instead of $20 for hand auger blades, you might find them for 12 bucks.  Instead of $34 for power auger blades, you should be able to get them for less than 20 bucks.  Nothing better than being able to switch out the blades on the fly and being able to keep on cutting holes.

I know back in the days of my grandfather, when all the aunts and uncles would hit the ice on  Lake St Clair after church,  the only way to fish through the ice was with a spud.  It was a regular family outing back then, complete with lunches packed for cooking later while on the ice.  Everybody was packed into the Model T, and across the lake they went.

I talked about spuds briefly while discussing items that are essential for overall safety about a month back.  Just for giggles, I have cut, actually chisled a few holes now and then with the spud.  If I had been around in the 1920’s and ’30’s, I would have been out there with the rest of the hardy folk spuddin’ holes open.  I like the sport, and just cannot see myself not doing it. BUT, I am so glad “this ain’t the 20’s”, never mind that they roared or anything else.

Today’s ice anglers have it made.  I would not leave home without my spud, specially during early and late ice season for checking thickness.  I will use it occasionally for re-opening holes made and left by others, but only  if its an inch thick or less.  Its not that its hard or work,  its the time taken to do it.  During the winter, time is prescious; get to the lake, drill the holes, find the fish, catch the fish and before you know it, its dark already.

The first auger I ever had, and still the only hand auger I own, was bought right here in Monroe.  My father got it at Cook’s Sportland over on Monroe Street down by the theatre.  You have to understand something here, my dad walks into Cook’s and starts talking to Bob about the U.P.,  fishing the river or whatever, and the next thing you know, he is walking out the door with something.  Luckily for me,  one time it was a StrikeMaster Lazer Hand Auger.  In the 15 years since then, I have replaced the blades just once.  That 6″ auger has cut ice on Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Erie and quite a few inland lakes in between.

There are other name brands, and I have no doubt a lot of them are good products.  Just going from my own experience, the SM Lazer is going to be hard to beat.  Usually about $80 bucks for a 6″ model, there are sizes smaller, and sizes bigger. This size is pretty universal, and if hand power is all you have,  its not that bad when cutting through some thicker ice.  Bigger diameter augers are a bear to cut through deep ice.

These days,  I only break out the hand auger for early ice and prefer to use it with 5 inches of ice or less.  Three or four cranks and you are through, cleaning out the hole and fishing.  The same reason why I like using it for late ice too.  Another nice thing about using it during these seasons, is because ice thickness is at a premium.  When I am walking out there, I would like to keep the weight in the sled at a minimum.  The hand auger takes at least 20 or 22 lbs out of the sled compared to the power augers available.

Other brands to look at are made by Jiffy and Eskimo.  StrikeMaster even has a less expensive model, called the Mora.  Its worth spending the extra bucks to get the Lazer version.  One thing for sure, compared to the other brands is availability.  If you have a blade come loose, crack or get nicked by a rock, you can walk into almost any “mom and pop” shop and find SM products to replace the blades.  The 6″ size is the most commonly sold, so that almost ensures you will find parts.

Something major, something small, there are ways to make your coop your own, and make the fishing just a tad more functional.

Everything  I have to my Pro has been relatively small.  I added a cup holder that is available at any marine dealer in the area.  Not everyone will be able to do this, some shacks just aren’t built the same.  In this case I drilled and attached the holder to metal corner brace.  Nice thing about it is that it folds up flush, and when in use forms a nice stable platform for your beverage of choice.

In another instance I took my rotary tool, and cut three small slots in the front lip of the shanty’s base sled.  Sanded down the rough spots just a lil’ bit, and inserted rod holders.  The rod holders pictured here are actually made by HT Enterprise and originally designed to be used for holding your rod ‘n’ reel securely to the lip of a 5 gallon bucket.  When I want to go and check some other holes out, but still want a jig in the water, they come in handy.  You can also use them when you have more than one hole in front  of you, dead stick one rod, while jigging another rod.  Third slot, maybe I am having a sandwich and just want to have two rods in, but separated!

With the cabin style houses like the 5600, there wasn’t a lot I could do structurally.  I did pick up some Otter rattle reels and clipped them to the support bars above.  Like a tip up, but instead of using a flag to announce a fish taking the bait, there are little bells or rattles inside the spool that make a racket when line is being peeled off.

Other than that, taking another type of HT rod holder designed to sit on the ice, I just use them inside the fish house.  Both styles of holders are really functional, and will not break the bank.  Both are under $3.50 at just about any store you walk into. Pick up a few now if you like any of the ideas, but look for them at the end of the season, and you should be able to get them for less than two bucks on clearance.

There are two basic styles of portable fish houses to choose from.  One is like a cabin on ice that folds up like a suit case.  The other is built on a sled, and flips over the head of the person fishing.

The cabin style like this CLAM 5600 offers the most comfort for those fishing.  Fully enclosed, with holes already in the floor to fish through.  Drill your holes and then put the shack over the top of them.  There are smaller ones available from CLAM, Shappell and Frabill.  They also come in larger sizes that allow for those fishing to make a weekend of it while sleeping inside during the nights.  CLAM offers the 6800 and Sleeper, they are the largest houses produced.  These cabins are ideal for breaking kids into ice fishing,  being comfortable makes just about any outing more enjoyable.

When it comes to the flip houses like this Fish Trap Pro, you get the comfort and mobility factors working in your favor.  Whether you flip it over to enclose the coop, you have storage for your equipment and a place to sit.  Otter, Frabill, Shappell and many more companies make shanties in this style.

When making the decision to purchase a shanty like these, you have to weigh the factors of comfort and mobility when making your final decision.

PS….I forgot to mention Eskimo brand shanties.  When I wrote this up, I knew I was forgetting one brand that I like.  I really like the canvas that they use for the products, not crazy sometimes on the base material, but if you add some runners it makes all the difference in the world.

To my fishing buddy on Saginaw Bay,  Adam Marchbanks.  Today is A-bomb’s birthday.

Can you tell its a chilly morning out there, posting into overdrive this morning.

To the point,  with the cost of jigs these days, its a good idea to protect them as best you can.  You’ve seen the fly boxes that I use for some of the jigs where they are snug in the foam.  Little Atom sells “Bug Luggage” for storage.  All those ideas are fine for taking the jigs out onto the ice, but there is always a “but”.  How do you organize the jigs; size, color, glow or brand even?

For taking long trips, and just to have organized up in the shop I use these bass worm bags.  Each bag has seven pages that are zippered at the bottom.  The fronts are clear plastic so you can see what jigs are in that particular page you are looking at.  I have the bags separated by species; bluegill, crappie and perch. In each bag I have the pages separated by manufacturer.  It just seems easier to say, I want to use a “Doodle Bug” so I go right to the Northland page in the crappie or perch bag.

The jigs are stored and secured on a piece of foam that slides into the pages.  They are roughly the same size as the window so you can see all of the jigs with the flip of each page.

The bags themselves actually have pockets or areas to store more gear.  In these I might have files for cleaning out eyes or sharpening hooks.  In the bluegill bag I might have 2 lb Vanish for leaders, the crappie and perch bags might have 4 lb test.  I have extra little bags full of species appropriate sized hooks for rigging on the go.  I have had extra bulk unpainted jigs in the crappie and perch bag,  and all the bags have a small selection of split shot to keep the lines tight while fishing if I need it. 

Always good, to be ready for just about anything out on the ice. With these bags you have everything with  you, plus they protect the jigs from themselves.  What’s that mean?  Think about having all your jigs in a loose collection inside a tiny plano box, just rattling around.  The more they rattle, the more they collide with each other.  Eventually you will start to see little flecks of paint collecting inside.  Using a secured way of transporting your jigs will help ensure a longer life on the paint jobs, and many more trips of use for yourself.

There are really small jigs designed for gills and crappie, and then there are jigs that you would consider too big for these panfish.  Like the blonde chick said, you will find one “that is just right” for where you are fishing and the mood of the fish.  Ok so that was stolen from the three bear story, but so what, it fit.

There are quite a few good jigs available to ice anglers these days, some are the tried and true and have been around for ages.  Some are available made of something different than lead.  Then you have the glow paints available that glow in different colors.  You have spoons that incorporate rattles into their body, and even jigs that are dressed up with stickers.

In order to cover a lot of the items available, I decided to break it down going by manufacturer by manufacturer.  Rather than go by lure type, this might be the best way to see what folks have to offer in a wide range.  Now most of these are available online by the makers, some by the big companies, but if  you want to go shopping and walk through the selections there are two places to go to here in SE Michigan.  The place that offers the best panfish selection is Knutson’s out in Brooklyn.  The question could come up, how can that be, with Cabela’s right in Dundee?  Its true Cabela’s has an awesome display available, with more coming to the shelves dailey, but just for panfish jigs,  Knutson’s has more.  Secondary places to go to would be any of the Gander Mountain stores like the one up in Taylor.

First off lets start with Northland Tackle.  The Spider Ant, Fire-Eye Grub and Whistler Bee are excellent jigs for crappie.  Although a bit big for gills, when you do get one on, you know its going to be 10 inch plus.  This happens often while targeting crappie.  The Buck-Shot Rattle Spoon and Forage Minnow Spoon are two of my favorites for catching crappie, also good for perch.

Little Atom has been making products for a long long time.  A lot of their jigs were the first of their king, and later copied by other companies.  My two favorite jigs are actually two different sizes, size 12 and size 10 Stealth Optic Jigs.  The other may be the most copied winter jig available, but made by these guys in Wisconsin first, the Rat Finkie.  What the other companies failed to do, was make the jigs in the smaller sizes available only from LA.  The size 16 is one of the ultimate finesse sized ice jigs available, always good to go small when you know the gills are there but just not interested in the larger jigs.

Fiska jigs are some of the best baits available as well, and the prices reflect it.  To be honest, if I wasnt fishing for $25,000 a pop at the ice tournies, jigs that start out at two $omething would be a little rich for my blood.  Well, maybe a handful, but not the  200 some that I do have.  Available online from Your Bobbers Down , the wolfram models are what I have the most of.  Made of tungsten you can fish smaller and still maintain a tightline because the heavier weight per volume.  I wish the fancy new Handpaint finishes had been available where I first picked up my jigs.  The Epoxy jigs are some of my favorites too, although not advertised, most of them actually glow.  The gold also produce nice fish, and there are some Balances (style of jig) that work well for crappie.

Jammin Jigs  produce the best jigs for the prices.  With good jigs starting out for just 49 cents, and up these really are hard to beat.  I have several of the Neon Glow Tiger Stripe styles and some Runt Rockers as well.  There are several kits available for right around $13.00.  A pretty good deal there.

Custom Jigs and Spins also offer a variety of jigs for panfish.  Some of the names will be familiar or even some of the body styles,  and they are just as productive as the others.  The Diamond, Demon and Rocker jigs are all good and effective panfish jigs, and will put fish in the bucket.

K&E and the Arnold Tackle Companies have been producing ice jigs here locally for many years.  Everybody is familiar with the K&E Moon Glow Jigs and they catch both gills and crappie.  The Arnold Fairy Jig combines a jig with some flash and noise, it is an excellent jig for catching crappie and really aggressive bluegill.  Probably my favorite one is the chartruse with gold back.  Just a fun jig to use.

Now there are lot of other companies out there.  Even more jigs from the companies I brought up today that will go out and help you bring back a bucket full of panfish. 

After getting the auger mount on the front rack,  I started looking on the internet for a tote or storage box that I could use to lighten my shanty up.  To get the size I wanted, it was going to cost a few bucks, few hundred actually.  Luckily, the family tradition of never throwing anything  away was successfully handed down to me.  This is what I came up with,  too bad I didn’t think of it sooner, could have done some before and after pics.

Most of the totes and storage racks and packs were either soft sided,  or too large.  They actually would have fit on the rear rack ok, but only if I removed the back rail along the composite rack.  A fairly easy thing to do,  I just didn’t want to do it.  It just comes in handy for a number of reasons.  What I basically wanted was a storage box, and in most cases what I found was really more of a second seat (often padded) with storage in what looked like arm rests and one for the back too.  I am not entirely sure why this is, there are very few quads out there where riding double is legal.  This Polaris isn’t one of them, besides that style didn’t offer enough storage space.

I found an old Rubbermade tote that had some camping supplies just sitting there,  since the last time it was used was by my brother,  I don’t think I would have even trusted the coffee, much less the pie filling.  So into a box it went to meet the trash next Tuesday.  Cleaned it up, and scrubbed it down, but something else had to be done before I tackled the idea of mounting the tote to the rack.  Originally it was tan and green, and even though it was going to be just for storing my ice gear ( first aid, auger repair kit, flasher, tackle, camera and other small items ) I wanted it to look nice, like it was made for it.

I looked through the shop, and of course I had some black paint in the storage closet.  A can of black gloss,  and a couple of coats later, this is what it looked like.  Again, I should have done some pics going through the steps of converting it to an ice tote, but that whole hindsight thing comes into play.  That will probably be a reoccurring theme for years to come.  I get an idea, start the work, finish the work and then think, I should have had a camera during this whole ordeal.

The next step was to secure the tote to the back composite rack.  If something is on sale, it gets picked up, never mind that I don’t need it right at the moment, but it could be years later, and I will find a use for it.  Same thing here with the latches I used on the side of the tote.  To help reinforce the inside, I cut three by four inch rectangles, drilled my holes with the press, used the hand drill on the tote, ran the bolts through and secured them. Next I took the composite rack off, installed eye bolts near the front, and put the rack back on.

Attaching the tote to rack was fairly easy.  I took bungee cords, and rapped them around the rack until I had just enough left to snuggly secure the tote to the newly installed latches.  This actually left the tote quite secure and there was no play in the tote at all.  I think I picked up this redundant gene from my dad years back, so just in case something happened to the lid, I wanted to secure it also.  I ran a 48″ bungee under the back rail to the front.  Too loose, so I went to the tool box and picked up some wire cutters.  Snipped off the coil spring hook, measured the stretched out bungee,  and snipped off the excess.  Before reattaching the hook, I threaded the bungee through that eye bolt in the front of the rack.  I did this so that if the bungee was loose it wouldn’t fall off, the metal coil would prevent it from snaking back through.  There is absolutely no conceivable way this thing is coming off.