Fishing Michigan

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

http://www.cnbc.com/id/24483634/

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