Fishing Michigan

…and then off again, then on again yesterday.  Will have pictures later on,  but the one day get-a-way was worth waking up at 3 am to get things going before heading out at four.  Fishing like any other outdoor activity can be just about getting out and being with good friends.

Between the five of us who started out, there were 9 fish caught in the morning, with a few misses, and lots of teasers on the Vexilars.  A couple of more guys from the Fish Michigan website came out and caught a couple of more and a whitefish between when the walleye were biting in the morning, and again after 4 pm.

Seemed like the hot spoon for the day was a quarter ounce Do-Jigger, nickel with the green flash on the front.  During, roughly a 40 minute period my buddy Adam caught seven on the is spoon and minnow head presentation.  It wasn’t long before everyone in the group had this combination down the hole catching walleye. Most of the fish he caught seemed to be  while he was on the phone with other folks on the bay checking in and getting reports.

 It was a good day all around, some new friends, lots of good sized fish,  food at the right time and great weather.  Have you never been hungry until you realize there is food on the way?!!!!!!!!!!  That’s my thought for the day lol. puzzler

As I was rigging up some of my rods today for the trip tomorrow morning, the calico cat wanted to play.  Now this isn’t unusual because she is the more social of the two out in the barn.  Bad thing is, she wanted to play with my lures.

I had attached the spoon to the line first, and then the swivel, then while tying the swivel to the main line she pounced.  This time the toy at the end of the string bit back.  It must have been bouncing around a bit, because she swatted at it with her paw.  Luckily the treble hook did not get driven in far and once I got a hold of her head, I was quickly able to remove the hook.

She was more stunned than hurt, and kept looking at it funny before commencing to give it bath.  It was just something that I had never concerned myself with, or even thought could happen.  Just something to keep in mind, and be aware of those lil’ buggers around you.

I touched on this the other day,  and then got busy out in the shop getting this project done and getting ready again for another trip to Saginaw Bay tomorrow, so this is the first opportunity to get back into it.  Building your own runners for your ice sled,  its quick, its easy and if it costs any money at all, it will be about a third of what you will pay for factory runners.

Old water ski’s are the way to go here, in this case really old wooden ones.  This old red pair actually didn’t cost anything, for they were found on the side of the road on somebody’s trash day.  I removed all the foot hardware, and laid them flat on the bottom of the sled.  Next step was to trim the backside to fit with the sled’s length.  I know absolutely nothing about water ski’s, but these came with their own pair of wooden rudders which I decided to keep to allow it to track better in snow.  In the picture, I have already reattached them after trimming off the back sections.  See how I actually captured the toe of my shoe, really have to work on those picture skills.

Next was drilling the holes, which I had already done before throwing in that cut off section above for the picture.  I drilled four holes for the bolts to go in.  First I measured a foot from the back, and two more times a foot apart.  To get the front done and to fit with the curve of the ski’s, the last hole was only 10 inches apart.  The ski’s were exactly 7″ wide, so the center hole went on the 3.5 inch mark.

The next step was just to dress up the ski’s a bit to match with the sled.  Instead of having an old red pair of water ski’s for runners on a black sled, I wanted to paint them black.  Now these are going to get roughed up a bit, so being neat was not going to score any points in this project.  Taking a palm sander I took most of the paint off any surfaces that might be in view.  Mostly the back side, where the skis turn up and the edges.

During most of the project the pups were out there with me, except for the painting stage and the time it took for the paint to dry.  Although I really didn’t care if everything came out perfect, I still didn’t want pups running through everything.  Still, the process wasn’t without observers.  The barn/shop cats came out to check out what all the fuss was about.  We have never had cats before, and I totally blame this on my sister-in-law, so their names aren’t the most original.  Cali for calico cat, and Alli for alley cat, see I warned you!

Next up was drilling the holes and securing the bolts to the sled.  I started at the front when I took to the drilling.  Slid the bolt through, and repeated the process towards the rear of the sled.  Doing it this way helps keep the ski’s lined up and even during the process.   The bolts used were the flat anchor types, about an inch and half long.  Now a few years down the road, I can just punch them out at some point, and use the same holes in the sled when I replace the ski’s.   I used one large washer, then a smaller one and a locking washer before tightening down the 1/2″ nuts.  If you have the nylock nuts, that works too.

Just to protect the gear, I used an old remnant of carpet for laying over the exposed bolt ends.  Loaded the sled up with my fish cooler, beverage cooler, bait bucket, spud, rods and tip ups and put the cover on to check the fit.  Finished project, not only protects your sled from abuse and rough ice, but its something you can do at home for a few nickels and dimes compared to the factory kits.

Remember when I put a new tub and sled runners on my Fish Trap Pro a few weeks ago.  Well just as important as protecting the base of  your shanty, is protecting the bottom of your ice fishing sleds.  Some companies sell them, some guys improvise.  Want to guess what category I fall in?

So recently I bought a Jet Sled XL from Shappell,  it is the big gear sled I always wanted to have come ice fishing season.  I had the hitch already, but with my experience with rough ice started me brainstorming on how to protect the bottom of the sled.  I could spend up to $50.00 and buy runners from other manufactures, or I could do this.

What I did was take a pair of OLD water ski’s.  I took off all the hardware, placed the ski’s in place on the bottom of the sled.  Did some measuring, and cut the back of the ski’s to fit the length of the sled.  I found some flat head bolts to match the length I needed for my plans.  Measured from the back of the ski’s and made a mark dead center every 12 inches toward the front.  Then drilled the holes for the bolts.

That’s how far I have gotten so far.  Up for today is sanding, painting the red ski’s black, drilling the holes into the sled and attaching the skis.  This time I will take the camera out with me to document some of the steps.

Think it was last week that I put up the picture of Barry Williams and his recently caught 2 lb, 4 oz crappie.  Pretty sure that back last spring that I mentioned his lineup of flies and spiders for tackling spring bluegill and crappie.  Recently I picked up some of his newest creation, beaded flies for ice fishing.

Whats makes these a tad bit different than the normal type of ice “fly” is that the Ice Man has incorporated something new to give it a whole different twist.  Not by using the standard brass bead, but by using tungsten.  A heavier weight by volume than the standard bead, this metal gives the fly a great rate of drop though the water column.

For most anglers thats all  you have to say, give me a small jig that drops fast so I can get to fishing quicker.  For those who study how fish react to lures, tungsten does more than that.  The extra weight gives you greater control on how the flies moves though the water.  What does that mean,  well basically you can give this artificial bait the movement that most reflects something natural that the fish would find in their prey.  Rather than just a slow rate of fall, you can make the fly actually dance enough to entice fish that normally wouldn’t bite under tough conditions.

Barry does this basically as a small scale operation, if you want to see more and learn how to order your own, just click on (  Ice Man  ) and take a look at his website.  Prices are right, shipping is more than fair,  and the tickler is, they catch fish!

You spend the money on those rods, but dont kick in a few more bucks to protect your investment?  With the rising costs of ice gear in general it doesn’t make sense to not take care of the investments you have already made.  There are a lot of companies out there that offer products to help in this matter.  My first case was from Ready Rig, one of the original 42 inch Ice Pro tube cases, although no longer in the product line, it made an impression on me back then.

Now all my cases are from Ready Rig.  I have the back pack model for early ice, when its just me, a jet sled, couple of buckets, my Vexilar and hand auger.  Its padded, zips out at the bottom and holds four to six rods.  The detachable pack also stores gear like leader line, GPS, flasher (glow charger) and odds and ends that find a use through one trip or another.

For walleye hole hoping and charging all over the ice on the machine, your rods can take a lot of pounding.  The 38″ Ice Pro Plus is the new model that fits most of my other longer rods.  It works on my longer 36″ Medium Heavy casting rods, and works really well on the newer 32″ St Croix Medium and Heavy rods.  Contrusted with a built in PVC tube to protect the blank, the zippered section is fleeced lined and gives the reels the right amount of protection.

My shorter rods go into the Ice Rod Gear Case, which is basically a 35″ suitcase style.  Depending on the size of the rods being stored, I have put anywhere from four 32″ rods, to eight 16 inch rods into the case.  With two extra long exterior cases on either side, there is ample storage for spare tackle, tools and line.  Depending on the size and style, you can also fit a tip-up or two into the sides.

So whether you are dragging a sled and walking across a small lake, or roaring across the bay, there is a case made for your style of fishing and your choice in rods.  Ready Rig has a large selection from which to choose from to fit your style, and for my money, has performed up to every task I have thrown at the brand.  Shop around, look around, you can find the right brand and case to fit your needs as well. 

The main thing is, there is absolutely nothing worse than drilling your holes, setting your electronics up, then pull out your rods to find a busted tip or cracked eye.  Take care of your equipment,  and it will take care of you!

One of the things I have learned over the years is to take care of your equipment.  The clowns you see on TV in the bass tournaments slamming their gear all over the place can afford to do that, most of them get their rods and reels for FREE at that level.  So things like I mentioned yesterday about changing out lines, checking rods and greasing reels are all part of the process.  There is such a thing as lure maintenance, also.

Before jumping into the open water stuff, because I am still holding on to winter fishing, this is about taking care of your ice jigs.  In this case, walleye baits.

When I got geared up for the trip to Saginaw Bay I downsized a bit, and took lures from five Plano 3700 sized trays, and put a selection into a double sided tray with a handle. It looked like the right way to go for some jumping from spot to spot on the bay and keeping things light.

As it was, it wasn’t quite snow proof.  This was fine while up there and kept in the cold where nothing melted, but it was a situation that was going to have to be addressed upon coming back to Ida.  At first, I just wiped down the moisture I saw in the case, and propped up the lids for the water to evaporate.  It worked to a degree, but not enough.

The solution was to take the time, to wipe down each lure, and then hang them in these 3730 three inch Plano trays to complete the drying process.  Yes, it did take some time to complete the process, about a hour and half in fact, but think of the consequences.  I could have easily have had three or four hundred dollars of jigs, spoons and swimbaits with rusty hooks or worse on the baits themselves.  Choice for me was simple, do the work, preserve the baits,  and fish another day with the tried and true baits I  have come to depend on.