momay4000

As promised, here's three pics from our trip on 5/9 in front of the Bay. We do not have a pic of the 19 pounder as we were in too big of a hurry to get back to the dock and get her weighed... (the pics seem to be taking a while to upload for some reason - hang out on the page for a few seconds and the three pics will appear) - Chris

Treetop, Those were kings on the bottom, not lakers. We picked up a few, one of which we saw on our graph swim up and slam one of the riggers. - Chris

Way to go Shawn- nice report!!!! - Chris

Set up around 6 AM and fished until 9:30 AM. Went 6 for 6, all very nice fish and all were released except one. Fish were one laker around 15# or so and the rest were kings between 15 and 19.5#. We thought we had a derby fish so we motored back in around 9:30. The fish was only 19.7 at Bayside. Oh well..... Nonetheless, we started our day in 60 fow and managed a nice laker around 15# or so on an "odd presentation" of a 5-color core with a DW SS orange crush. Things slowed down around 8 AM so we moved out deeper to around 140+ fow. Caught all the kings out deeper in about an hour span. One on a five color core and other four on the riggers (40' back, 60 down and 70' back, 30 down). Two fish on an NBK and two on DW SS 42 second. Speed - 2.2 - 2.5 mph at the ball I'll post some pics a little later as I just received a call from Mayer's Marina that my entire finger pier just broke free and my rub rail is toast.... Good luck to all, - Chris

Rell turner, That's a fantastic video link- thanks to Sponge. We tie exactly the same way, but the only thing I do differently is I add a small wire crimp for the tiny tag end "nub" after I tie the overhand knot and cut the wire to about 1/4" from the knot. I do this b/c inevitably that small tag end is extremlely sharp and the crimp prevents it from poking my finger. Otherwise - that's a great video link - Chris

Thanks for the reports guys - It seemed slow for just about everyone this past weekend. Great job on landing a few! Best of luck for the rest of the Spring LOC gentlemen, - Chris

I agree with YT and Gambler as well. Some other things to consider: 1.) Find structure (very hard around the Rochester area as the bottom is so flat) 2.) Find the surface temp. breaks, even as subtle as 0.5 degrees 3.) Find bait That being said, other than a few scattered temp. breaks which were overfished in tight, the Rochester area was a slow pick this past weekend b/c of clear water, very little bait and poor structure. In order to be successful this time of year, you have to be patient and concentrate on the good temp breaks, trust your surface temp. on your FF, look for slicks, birds picking off bait, whatever you can to make a difference. We are watching our graphs like crazy this time of year for any marks, bait and any change in surface temp. Once we find it, we'll make passes from different directions (SE troll, NW troll, etc. over the same area), and continue to change our speeds and try and hammer a specific location. - Chris

First trip of the year - Fished 6-9 AM between the Bay and the Genny. Caught 3 coho - all between 3 and 4 pounds. All fish were caught at the sharp temp. breaks near the river and west side of the I-Bay pier Depth: 15-35 fow Speed: 2.5 mph at the ball seemed to work best Lures/Presentation: mono with in-line planer (jointed black/silver rapala), 3-color core (DW SS orange crush), 5-color core (DW SS 42 second) Temp: best temp breaks near river. Water over 40 feet was ice cold Good to be out and see a few boats out there on a really nice spring day, - Chris (Yellow Trophy)

Thanks gentlemen, I'll keep you all posted as the year goes on...... - Chris

We dropped the boat in for the year today and had an opportunity to test our new X-5 Autopilot on my 21' Trophy. At several people's request, here is our observations: 1.) Outstanding user's manual - very easy to follow calibration instructions 2.) Calibration wasn't too bad, other than driving in circles about 10 times for a half hour. 3.) One calibrated, the unit held its course very nicely today in two foot seas with a decent NE wind in front of IBay 4.) There is a decent amount of steer/counter steer when the pilot is "on", so I hope the unit holds up in the long run 5.) The steering unit is a bit noisy Overall, I am extremely satisfied. Certainly some of my excitement is having an autopilot for the first time. However, only time will tell if it holds up for the next few years. Hope this helps, - Chris

Scott, I bought all four colors and honestly can't say that any one was better than the other. However, I looked at some of my notes from last year and the yellow color and green color seemed to catch fish. Be careful with the deep Kabooms (the ones with the large lip) - we snagged bottom a few times running them off in-lines with a keel sinker. they seem to run 17-20 feet BELOW your weight. Later, - Chris

The fish in her right hand is definitely a king. - Chris

Way to go Mark! See you in a few weeks at Mayer's.....I'll be back on D-dock.... - Chris (yellow Trophy)

We run the smaller flies off in-line planer boards with action flashers (see below) and the smaller 5" Spin Dr's. Since we're running longer leads off the boards, almost always we add a keel sinker about 6 feet from the dodger or else they plane like a water ski on the surface. I agree with Yankee, they definitely have their days and are not a gimmick, but I wouldn't say they're the greatest thing since sliced bread... http://www.lakemichiganangler.com/store ... lasher.htm - Chris Disclaimer - I have no ties to Lake Michigan Angler or Dreamweaver

I agree with Hank - I pulled all 5 of my drain plugs three days ago AND I put a shop light in the engine just to be safe. - Chris

Try this: http://www.pdfamily.com/weather/buoy/EGLbuoy.php (Just click on the buoy) - I don't think they're in yet though.... - Chris

LTC Dave, I just bought my second set of BJ DR's (I sold my first pair last week). I started salmon fishing in Ludington, MI, and more guys run BJ products there than here. I've used other riggers over the years - Cannons, Vectors and old Penn's - and honestly all of them have been fine. I like the BJ's b/c I'm just used to them and the rod holders are great. It makes me sick that you can spend between $600 and $1000 on a good Cannon rigger with ONE rod holder but you have to "upgrade" to get two rod holders. I just bought a pair of Captain's Packs and they look like the old ones. They are very simple, well built and the motors keep on running and running. Pros - great rod holders, simple construction, extremely well built, easy to find parts, good customer service Cons - older technology, no interface with your electronics, pulleys gouge easily from the cable, booms do not telescope - Chris

Sean, Holy mackeral, that's one nice setup!!!! I love how you kept the transom open for landing fish - great foresight.... - Chris

IntheBox, I have an I/O and each year when I pick it up from the marina where I store it, it is "summer-ized" which means they put all the drain plugs back in and run it with water coolant. My Merc. has to have the hardest to reach drain plugs of any engine known to humankind so I let the marina put them back and I leave 'em in. Nonetheless, I'm always petrified each year when my boat is sitting in the driveway for three weeks before we launch. Listen to Hank r/e the shop light in the engine compartment - it really works and is easy if you have power access. Last year I hung one under the engine cover and I put a thermometer in with it and it reached almost 60 degrees from just one 100 watt lightbulb the following morning even when the ambient air temp. was around 25 or so!!! Good luck - - Chris

Sold pending payment Thx Scott.... - Chris

Mickey Finn, If you have a Scotty DR with the autostop clips you need a different antenna than the stock spring antenna (it replaces the spring antenna and has a larger opening) from Moor. Their customer service is fantastic and you can get it in a few days. -Chris

Take a look at this - http://www.uscgboating.org/SAFETY/vsc.htm I think it might discuss this somewhere. Hope it helps... - Chris

Hey Jim, Way to go..great first trip and pics to boot!!! I'm glad to hear you got out so early this year - I saw your boat at Pugsley's today and wondered what was going on. Let me know if you ever need anything... Later, -Chris (your neighbor down the street)

Hi Stan, Take a look at this link. It helped me a few years ago. Each type of board has their own time and place..... http://www.fishsalmonriver.com/totalchaos/page41.html Good luck, - Chris Disclaimer - I have no personal/ fianacial ties to Team Chaos, I do not use the LOU website for free advertising of any products or to promote any of my own products/services like some people on this site do (yes that's one of my pet peeves)

Anthony, It looks pretty easy to install, but I'm having Bob at Pugsley's in Ontario install it for me this week simply because my boat is still shrink wrapped and he can work on it inside once he uncovers it. The unit looks fantastic, it looks very rugged and well built. The course control unit is small (only about 4 inches wide) and can mount anywhere on the helm. As far as the other parts - I'm going to mount the fluxgate compass and the computer unit on the wall opposite my helm inside my cuddy (it'll also be locked and secure). Apparently the fluxgate needs to be as close to the center of the boat as possible. As far as the steering unit, it has a "torque arm" which needs to be screwed into the helm below the steering wheel so that the unit is anchored to something and doesn't just "spin" around instead of turning the wheel. Because I only have about an inch or two below my steering wheel to mount the torque bar (the base of my helm is open for foot space), I plan on making an extension out of aluminum to mount the unit. I am very impressed with the build quality thus far. The unit comes with all the parts, including adapters for the steering shaft, and the manual is very well written - I just hope it works on the water. I'll be at Mayer's this year again - on D dock, the yellow Trophy on the end. Once I get the hang of it, feel free to stop by any time for a test drive, see the mount, etc. Take care, - Chris