Fishing Michigan

One of the popular methods of fishing for walleye this time of the year is tossing “hair jigs”.  I really didn’t find too much in my search on Ebay this time.  There is one seller with a fair selection on two different auctions for $9.99 on 8 jigs.  Small wonder that the seller is from Rockwood, Michigan.  Of course folks in this area know the effectiveness of these jigs on Lake Erie.  They come complete with stinger hooks rigged up.  You can rig these with large shiners or Berkley Gulp .

The first batch includes green, chartruse, purple and either white or glow.  Can’t quite figure that out, but guessing white.  Either would be good choices.

The second batch has 4 really sharp looking purple head with pink hair jigs.    The second group of 4 is mostly chartruse, but the jighead looks like it has a bad case of measles.

Here is the link to the site:  3 Rod Proposal

It sounds like the DNR has come up with a pretty good proposal that would increase the number of lines anglers can use for all species, Great Lake and inland lake alike.  For the last couple of years this has been in effect already for salmon and trout fishing on the Great Lakes.  It could very well have been a trial run for this proposal that they have now made.  A study of sorts to see what effect the extra line would make on the salmonoid fishery.

This would also be in effect throughout the year and thus also apply to ice fishing under the current proposal.  An angler could have three tip-ups,  one rod and two tip-ups, or two rods and a tip-up set up on the ice.  For anglers on the open water who just want to get their limit and get out of the sun, you could be cutting out some serious  time for being on the water.  Not too mention saving a little fuel while trolling.

Click on THREE ROD PROPOSAL, for an article found on the “outdoornewsdailey”  website

Well I was really hoping that Gauge spent a better night than Belle did here at the house.  So while I am standing in line with the rest of the folks for my pickup,  I get a clue that she might have had her own issues being away for one night.  There is just something about your own beagle’s howl that sets it apart from other beagles.  Needless to say, she could be heard through the whole building over all the cats and other dogs.  She is home and resting, Belle is relieved, and so is Bonnie who thought she had done something wrong when i made her stay in the garage last night to keep Belle company!!!

Reef Runner’s popularity must be limited to the Midwest region because there were only 11 items during this search on Ebay.

First off is the Ripshad, these lures are limited I think to basically fishing the smaller inland lakes, like Houghton (tip up town fame).  There are two sizes, and the larger of the two are more effective on the big water than the smaller sized ones.  These are the 400 series, the larger of the two, the smaller ones are 200’s.  Love the “Cheap Sunglasses” color, not only for catching fish, but my fav ZZ Top song. Hmm, well right up there with “Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers,  and I’m Bad/I’m Nationwide”.  Fine, I like all old ZZ Top before Eliminator came out!

These are the Ripsticks , a shallow running bait that is popular for getting in close during the spring while the eyes are running shallow.  These are not my favorite colors to choose from, but the Chrome/Blue at the far right is an excellent color choice.

Next, you have the deep running baits, and they come in two sizes as well.  The 800 series does seem to better in the spring while the big girls are in town.  I like running them on my far outside board, so on the retrieve they can come in under the 600 series.  I see some of the better purple and perch patterns in these two lots.  The rest I haven’t used.

More later……………

Went down to Toledo this morning to take the pups in to get fixed.  Turns out if a pup has started in heat,  they aren’t a good candidate for this surgery.  Poor Belle just started three days ago.  This dog was not a happy camper being separated from her sister.  She put her head against the back of the truck seat and just kept looking back.  Not a whimper the whole way home.  Have a feeling she will be pampered more tonight than Gauge will be when she comes home tomorrow morning.

Here she is all alone, well not quite, there is Bonnie to keep her company,  but she is going through some big time separation issues.  It was the new camera phone, so its not the best pic.

I know sometimes it seems like I am bashing Rapala,  and with good reason.  In their own product line they have made some great lures for catching walleyes.  Then they get rid of the best colors in that lure series.

For fishing on Lake Erie,  the Deep Diving Shad Rap is the most effective lure while trolling for walleyes.  On Saginaw Bay,  spring time means trolling the 7 + inch original floating Rap minnow.  One of the biggest sins was the discontinuation of the “clown” pattern in both these lures.  This is the Shad Rap(DDSR) in clown.  This lure represents what is a HOT pattern on Erie, and catching on up in Saginaw….METALLIC, METALLIC, METALLIC!!!!!!  Not that the pattern wasn’t a producers on the Bay already, but it seems like the metallic series of baits just caught on in Erie’s waters a little sooner. Its got a silver base, chartreuse back and a bleeding head, what more could a walleye angler ask for?  The same can be said for this “Gold” pattern.  Erie=gold lures,  its a standard that goes back to the days of the Golden Nugget.  It really seems like we are punished, while the anglers fishing those ponds in Minnesota get the preferred treatment.

This new X-Rap Jointed Shad Rap has a color very similar to another bait that was discontinued, and later brought back.  The metallic perch pattern ranked right up there with the clown and gold colors.  This bait is not a deep diving lure, so fishing on Erie has its limited time windows.  During the heat of the day, leave it in the box.  Prime time for this lure is when the sun is just cracking the dawn and your lines are already out, or when the breeze kicks up late in the evening as the sun goes down.  Walleye rise off the bottom to feed, and catching suspended fish 6 or 7 ft down is well within their strikezone.

This time when I looked I did not see any of the bigger sized floating raps that are popular while running leadcore for this time of the year, but I did get a decent selection of the bigger Husky Jerks .  These two are size 12’s and the colors are fish catchers on sliver plated bodies.  Both the Clown and Silver/Blue are time tested lures.  The HJ-14 is the slightly bigger size that is used as well, but both sizes have their time and place for catching Eyes.  With a day to go,  right now the price is really good, with only 3 bucks for shipping.

More later………….

Sometimes you can find a good buy in a used/return shop, but in most cases there is a reason someone didn’t want the item in the first place.  The product could have been unreliable or just too cheap to be effective in the first place.  Design flaws, unresponsive, trashy….etc.  But, if you are looking for a specific item, you know the products background,  then doing a little window shopping and selective buying from the comfort of your own home on Ebay just might be your answer.

With the season upon us,  walleye fishing rules on Lake Erie.  What better way to spend a cool morning than with a cup of coffee and your fav cd in the tower, just looking for STUFF.  Today, I am looking walleye cranks like Storm, Rapala, Reef Runner and Cotton Cordell.

The first page that came up was on Hot n Tots.  I know I could go and pick apart Frank’s site again,  but my order from there is going to be big enough this year.  This was the best deal on tots that I found.  Not only on prices, but on colors that I know are effective.  Four of the items are the 1/4 oz size, but one is a hard to find 3/8 oz.  For those who remember fishing with this bait back in the day when the company was really Storm and not Rapala,  you know this was the highly effective “Rattle Tot”.  Effective on overcast days, as well as muddied waters.

This time of the year minnow baits can be highly effective,  and one of my old favs was the Storm Deep Jr. Thunderstick.  There are some really GREAT colors in this lot.  The price is getting up there, but still less than what the new baits would cost in a store today.

The ThinFin can pull double duty.  Not only a great walleye bait, this is a favorite of those fishing Michigan’s West Coast on Lake Michigan for salmon and trout.  These two are the same color, what was commonly called Blue Metallic Tiger.  Not only did I like this color for walleye, but have caught several steelhead over in Flat Rock on the Huron River on these baits.

The only other crank from Storm that rivaled the Hot n Tot for popularity and catching fish was the Wiggle Wart .  This was a fav of the guys going fishing after work and charter captains alike.  The price is getting up there, but these are two of the same color ( Mad Clown).  One of the great things about the old Storm company was they had a selection of colors, a very wide range of colors, something Rapala just didn’t embrace when they bought out the company.  As time goes by,  it gets harder to find these rare color schemes.  It explains why the price is up a bit, but also why there are those willing to pay the price for an effective fish catching color.  You can tell that this seller is from California,  he doesn’t mention walleye anywhere when listing the fish that these baits will catch.

More later…………………..

Here are the pics of the TX-22 Specials.  These are the boards from Church Tackle that can be converted from either running port (left) or starboard (right).  You can see the two holes under the tow arm with the pinch pad (this holds your line from the rod).  Just take the two screws out and re-insert when you turn the board over.  The next task needed to convert the board are two screws in the top and bottom center position.  These hold the weight and foam on the backside of the board, so turn the foam over and reattach the weight to the “new” bottom.  Lastly,  take out the screw holding the flag, and put back on so that it is in the right position.

When you go to store the boards,  just push the flags back so that they are now behind the board.

You can choose to run the boards without the flags.  They are not part of the tattle tail system that can be installed on the orange boards, and many choose to run the boards without the flag.  I have found that for some reason the boards do run smoother in the water with the flags attached.  It is also handy to have the flags on, if nothing else, just so the knuckleheads fishing around you know where your lines are at.  If you have the original Mr Walleye boards, you can go to Frank’s Great Outdoors and just purchase the flag by itself.  Click on Planer Board Flag

If you go to their main page (Frank’s),  you will also notice that there is a sale going on on the original boards.  $19.99 is the best price I have seen in quite some time,  its at least 3 bucks cheaper, and closer to $5 off what other stores charge.  Click on Church Tackle Main Page

After writing about the Church Tackle company last month,  I wanted to try out the new TX-22 planer boards.  They came yesterday via UPS in the afternoon.  These are the boards where with a couple of twists of a Phillips screwdriver can be made to run on the port or starboard side of the boat.  Another nice feature is that they will stand upright right off the bat, where the older style, will lay flat in the water until there is resistance on the line and the boards start pulling.

I gladly took a small break in my landscaping duties around the house to study these a bit further.  One thing led to another, and I was taking them out of the packaging. They were a snap to put together.  The directions were clear and precise, which is always a good thing in my case! 

One thing I had not known from the interview, is the reason why these boards will stand upright right away.  There is an internal weight that goes between the board and the foam insert.  This will also make it easier for the board to run true with a heavier weight (like a bottom bouncer) dragging a harness off the bottom.

I will have pics later.