Has Been

Steelers pretty much got the game handed to them by Ravens. Jets played like crap & still almost came back &beat them . . Pack looked great playoffs.Rodgers underated. Defence solid. Fast surface of Jerryland is what Dr. ordered for them . Pack 27-17.

HB from the HB.

I have found first thing, that means as soon as you can get out there, As early as mid end of March is the best flat line time. I fish the Oak- Sandy area with great sucess somtimes.Anywhere along the south shore has it's days. If you can get into a set of planer boards, all the better.Plans for homade ones on here. Anywhere there is stained/warmer water is good w/ stickbaits.Gin clear means find a diff area IMO. 3-10' of water. It seems to dry up by May 1 at the latest .Troll shoreline & read temp if you have it. Look for dirty water & if you hookup , keep working that area a while. Good luck .

I run somtimes just 2 or max 6 if I have 3 or 4guys, but mostly just 4& do pretty well. I believe current law is just fine for our fishery. Don't want to exploit it more than we are or turn it into a circus out there. Simple enough?

Absolutely no problem w/ the 5 tipups , in fact when I went I used 5 when they were deployed. But I mainly jigged for panfish for a meal, so I wanted to stay mobile. Besides , releasing the pike caught thru the ice does minimal damage to them IMO . Not being pulled up from 100 ' down and dragged back to the boat out of their prefered temp range. Yo , Fishtails. You have to admit, I have provided you guys with a fair amount of entertainment on this site. A lesser man would have deserted by now. Some of you guys don't seem to be use to someone questioning your views. And get down right ornery when they do.If you want to ignore me , that's fine.

Great area over there . When do you go? What time of year?

Slapshot, time of year you fish is very important as to setup. A few weeks makes a big difference springtime, depending on where you fish on the lake& what you target . Early April is a very good time for Brown action along shore w/ those otter boards for Browns' cohos & the occsional King.Best fishery for starting out IMO. Ask just before you come up & plan your trip for a PRIME time . Also, I go by The KISS plan. Early spring, 4 rods W/ stickbaits on boards for good brown action. Speed is important.don't get discouraged. Good luck .Remember, PRIME TIMES= best chance. Late April - May ,great deepwater off Niagara Bar for Kings Cohos & Lakers .Riggers & Dipsies for them .KISS. Get lure Faves off here.

I have some of the large anglers pal 10 " . Had them for more than 25 years & they are still like new. 360 rotation and firm. I adjust And crank down on the knob as hard as I can & never had a problem even w/ dipsies . Had a few cheapies at first & lost a nice outfit to lake monster so do not play that game.

L& M you are correct& again I humbly apologize. I have pointed out many credible reasons over the past year or so as to why I disagree with the proposed legislative changes , Michigans mismanaged situation(see above) the latest nay. I have seen good years & I have seen bad.Real bad . It's pretty darn good now.One of the very best on the planet & its in our backyard. Lets keep it that way. My point has been made. No I do not come on to argue although most times I feel I have no choice.Admitidly I can be a "little" sarcastic. . I come to share ideas & help out my fellow angler on skills (feel I have done a pretty good job of that) & do what I think is in the best interest of the fishery for the long term future. I'm very worried about the evolution of this. Seen from the begining to now. Lived it& for it . Some say " Whats the Harm" ? I say it could be a lot& not worth the risk . Be happy for what we have.

Look at the good job the DNR did with the fish to forage stocking ratio. Can't keep 6 rods in the water!!Fishin's great I remember you saying a while back somthing like this: Thanks to my rod guys for doing a good job of running the back of the boat so I could stay up front & fish. Here's a sugestion. Have your boat instrumentation & autopilot wired by internet to your home PC. You could fish from home. Get a headset a joy stick & monitors & run the ship from the comfort of your own home. I'm sure the tech is available & if not , why not develop it?Not stopping at any expence to have the latest & greatest , this should be for you. You could comand your rodmen from your house. Just trying to help out. Think of the fun you could have by not driving 530 mile round trip. Get those electri reels & wire them also & play the fish from home. I have read a lot of info on a lot of things on here. But for a few tips here & there, it's stuff I already found out myself or already know . If I don't I ask. 33 years on the Big O and thousands of hours& dollars taught me a little somthing. There was a time when I had to catch every fish in the lake, but I grew up , Spoonfed, You do great, better than most, and you want more. And I'm about sick of your whinning that you aint getting enough .And blaming the state that gives you this great experience they need to do more . Not wanting to let you guys down , heres your baseball reference. I coached an awfull lot of kids & now young men lately & have seen all kinds. The worst ones were the ones who had all the tallent, best atheletes, latest & best equipment. Thought they were the best, better than the team and played that way. When they struck out, made an error , got thrown out in a close play by stretching it etc. , this is how they came back to the dugout. They would throw the bat, swear, blame the ump,blame field condtitions, blame their teamates or coaches . Only knowing you from on here Spoonfed, thats you. The best are the ones who do their best, positve attitude, good teamates & when they make an error or have a bad day, take responsibilty, keep their head up & realize that somtimes you strike out , it's part of the game & learning process. My job on here is to question what I don't think is right. Sombody has to have the guts to . Oink, Oink .

You are barking up the wrong tree about the partcipation thing . I believe two factors. Cost is a huge factor . A very expensive way to fish. Also After about 30 or so years of this,some are finding out it's not for them. Guys plan their trips up , get here, the lake flips, its transitional or rough weather etc. Hear that stuff on the radio all the time. We locals know not to go at these times or short day it but if you are up here what to do?Fish. Would the extra rod help ?The knowing what to do would be better. The streams are growing each year w/ fisherman, so guys are going. State is broke & fishing is on the back burner. Sucks, but that's life. Gambler you hit it on the head with the T-Ball thing. Everybody bats, nobody gets out, no score, we all get I Scream& a trophy. No patience. Then when we face a real pitcher , we can't handel it to strike out.The U.S. as we now Know it. Lack of tackle shops & new fisherman? No wonder.No shortage of Gameboys or Wei's. Sorry to question you're fishing expertise Spoonfed. I should have known better. Been there done that many times w/ the Skip steely thing though.Thats why I'm a dick on this. Good luck on your quest for nervana. Stinger............where the heck did you find that picture of me in the International Pig Wrestle offs.Right after that pic was shot I put a nifty switch on that guy & splaydled him for the championship.

Spoonfed For as well as you did last year, why would you want this law? Seems a bit greedy to me. And please don't hide behind Grandma & Grandpa or the newbies. I hate it when politicals allways make it about Bubba in the hood. As for the Batter thing. If you are swinging at air, I don't care how many times you swing. The best hitters wait for their pitch and know how to swing at it. I ask ,you guys answer, I don't agree, I rebutt, and you guys insult, I say somthing & I get editted . You are correct, I am way beyond your help.

If you don't know how to hit or catch or fish I don't care what you use.If you don't know how you won't succede consistantly. The knowlege is key. My buddies who don't like to troll say it is an "impersonal way to fish" . Can't argue with them on that. When I go fishing I ALLWAYS , ALLWAYS try to learn from what& how I hooked up .............or NOT. Or PLAY BETTER.At first after a bad day I use to go buy more stuff($300 bat) & run that wrong and realized it's not what but how. You watch a game latly? It's all about sstats.ERA, BA, QB, etc, etc, ratings are not scientific data of performance? DEC- What did you catch? How many hrs fished ? How many guys onboard? Where you from? How much did you spend?.........The stats you quoted. Increase..........Maximize . Same thing . Spliting hairs here. Spoonfed. I set my releases so freakin tight I have to yank hard to get them to release to reset lines .I do it to DRIVE the hooks in the hard bone of a fishes mouth deep so they have to be yanked out w/ pliers. I don't want false releases. I use offshores( they tattle tale) & after the line is in squeze them together as hard as I can& replace pads often .Those poor skips( got a lot this year) somtimes get all 3 barbs of a 2/0 hook in their tiny mouth& it amazes me how they do that . I know I killed more than a few this year.Maybe I will put the Blacks back on. You are truly the man to have figured out how to release them unharmed ! ! Please share.

Haven't been river fishing for a while Spoonfed, Been busy w/ work & weekend wrestling w/ the boy.Getting ready though. To me LL it is a lot like Baseball / football. I have coached a lot of kids over the years w/ a few championship teams & am known for my ability to motivate my players & get them to play hard & win. I stress fundimentals & drill them . It gives them the confidence they need to be able to play well,be sucessfull, , not get discouraged & STICK WITH IT. A 300 dollar bat, Glove or cleats is not going to make a poor player play better. It's those fudimentals of knowing what to do that will . Get the comparison here? Those fundimaentals are what will really maximize potential.This is the part of it I don't think a lot of you get. So to tell newbies that these extra rods will maximize their potential& not the rest is warped info IMO.In reality ,it may hurt or lower their potential. A few friends have stated why they got out of T&S fishing . A lot of what i read into their reasons wasMainly Cost, Bad weather on their trips( Which can cause bad catch rates) .A few of my fishing buddies just don't really like trolling, somthing some of you can't fathom. And I have shown them some good days. They want to cast & retrive & will go pikeing but opt out of trolling. And as for the wrestling with the pig in the mud? If the pig is tough enough, he dosen't lose.Pigs a pretty smart animal.

Untill every fish is recorded from every fisherman, the data is incomplete. The stats alone don't tell all the story. If they were recorded during poor fishing times( Transitional, upwellings,highwind-poorweather, srewey currents,etc. )they could be interpreted for year tally poorly. The Cy Young winner had an ERA of 1 but a record of 13-12. QB passer ratings can be high and looking at them only you would think they won the game, the most important stat ,but did not. Gov Financial data is argued both ways all the time. Even the figures from the WIND Energy guys would make you think they were the greatest. When I see lots of stats I ask questions, as allways. My oppinon is that some of the experienced guys on this board could out fish with just one rod, just one , most of the guys on here w/ 3 each most of the time,especially in tough conditions 9 out of 10 times.Some have said as much. 10% of the fisherman catch 90% of the fish. That's because of the intangible experience they have you can't buy. So to say that 3 rods would help the small guy, well , that statement is oppinion in my book. They would be better served to learn what to do under certain conditions, plan their trips to know peak times & areas,& learn their boat & equipment better , instead of throwing more "magic" lures in the water.

Who takes the surveys? Are they the boats W/ the orange buoys that say DEC on the side & sit at the popular ports & show up around Noon on sunny days & weekends?How many times have they heard " should have been here yesterday"? If I went out at first light & came back in at noon that would be ....Six hrs.A lot of times I would go out at first light (best time)do very well & be back at dock by 9 am & go to work. Or go out after work till dark.No survey there. Or drive by the creel survey boat cause I was running late .Big boats that run many rods are generaly experienced anglers, thus the success rate . So the data may be a little lacking.The problem with stats is they can somtimes be not as they seem. Does Anglers on board of a charter count the Captain & Mate?( 4 addl rods). Who keeps every fish they catch? Not most of us,Especialy the guys who go a lot. I have said for years that 1 out of 3 trips I don't do well. The math supports that. And from my experience, the extra rod would have done little to change it. T Bro,you seem like a good guy, so sorry about the pathetic part.

I could probably live with Shades idea of 2 guys 6 & 10 max. But that is not the point. I can see some over the top Cowboy w/ a 82' sport fisherman -cruise ship- floating hotel casino that has an in w/the equipmet suplier. A 3 man crew & 6 anglers. 27 electric reels&rods spread out across 300 yds of the lake.The problem is some moron out there would do it & other got to have it now wannabees would think it was OK. T BRO, DEC regs stipulates specifics all the time. Weak argument by who told you that.Does not support means does not support, PC way of sayin NO. Also yea, what did that old geaser Bill Cullighan know anyway with all those years of experince. Good thing he's out . Ha!I paid my money, give me what I want , NOW!!!Some of the best fishin in the world right at our doorstep, courtesy of the Great State of NY. All for $29 /yr. It ain't perfect ................but it ain't bad either. The older I get , the more I cherish it. And Rolmops, I don't think it will make a diff either way. Guys who know how to fish will catch just as many, maybe a few more , guys who don't will run more stuff wrong , get frustrated & catch less. I said less is more a long time ago, run what you have correctly . Heard that recently from some of the best on here who have figured that out. Some have not,and may never.

Look at the Reg book T BRO . Stipulations for every corner of the state in detail.Not a valid reason of no suporrt. "B of F has NOT supported the idea" is NOT a neutural stance. Kudos to the Muskie guys & certain groups of fisherman .

Thanks Glen!I knew you would come around.

I think that 10 " alewives mean that we have a healthy baitfish pop. Exactly what we want.A great thing IMO . Maybe the reason we saw 2 33 # kings this spring derby . I remember the shores when we had piles of dead ones after the dieoff. Just like money in the bank I want more bait than the fish need.Arrows? I have boxs full of lures & Racks of rods , but what does that have to do with anything.Also,some Charter Capts wanting more fish stocked?Imagin that.Why would the letter I recived from Great Lakes Section Head Wm. Culligan state that B of F does not support the 3 rod bill. What possible difference would it make to them either way unless they knew somthing . Think about that for a minute.

It's not the three rods in Mich. It was the overstocking by the powers at be that led to the bait fish crash & smaller fish .I would rather be us than them.Our Bureau of Fisheries does not support the proposal. These guys in the face of a lot of adversity have given us a pretty consistant world class fishery . I would think they know just a little bit.

And those guys down in Carolina don't "HAVE" to run 24................................but they do.

Man, oh Man.

I went last night to Greece. Combo's gone but got 300 yd Suffix braid for $11, 2 30 Jet Divers ( Never used them before) for .43 each & some jigheads for cheap. Lot of clothing & hunting apparel cheap .Son got Bills shirts & hat for $2.50 each . They are pretty much giving stuff away.

In the early spring till mid may it can be as close to shore as you dare . Run your planer boards in the wave trougth 10-20' off the shoreline. Those pig browns love to lie in the warm water there ,chase bait& get fat. 2-8' of water. So stickbaits that don't dive far at all are best IMO. Spoons sink fast on inside turns or if the board stalls so snags a plenty with them.Sticks float back up. I like the rebels or STRAIGHT Rapalas(Jointeds dive to deep real close)or Smithwicks & there are more . A trick! Bend the wire nose down a LITTLE so it won't dive as deep with the rebels&Smithwicks& they will have a more wide open action at slow speeds. Water carity is critical for lure size & color. Rough weather w/ north wind wiil cause shore erosion & the water close to shore will get dirty.Or steam runoff of dirty water can do the same . Cold and warm water do not mix real well so you get a "Mudline. The dirty water is usually warmer than the clean ( Pick that up w/ you surface temp probe) .Fish run the edge of that line so troll in & out of it parallel w/ shore. Good luck.