IRon

Again, I'm sorry if I'm off topic, but Lake Michigan was in the OP, so in case anybody on LOU gives a rip, here's latest from Michigan DNR about the state of the fishery in a simplified nutshell. Nowhere does it mention competition from lakers in consideration of plantings. But might be mildly interesting.... http://www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/LakeMI-FisheryUpdate-Sept2015-v2_501195_7.pdf?source=govdelivery&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

Chinook dependence on alewife through their whole life cycle is gonna make the next couple years tough. The last two winters set back spawning dates considerably. Depending on the port the alewife spawn being temperature dependent was delayed maybe 3-4 weeks in a lot of ports even more so in more northern ones. So what might have been hatching in late June- early July and feeding/growing to survive the winter, went to late July- early August. Which doesn't give the fry much time to grow and gather weight to survive the winter. That on top of an already depleted population. I've also heard that Lake O has a more diversified forage base than Lake MI, too? Ciscoes and other species and no doubt more fertile. Of course there's the politics and people in denial claiming there's plenty of ales, the DNR just needs to plant more Chinooks? But its not all doom and gloom. World class Sheephead and Catfishing has developed in the harbor areas! Some great smallmouth action and even the walleye population seems to be in an upswing along Michigan. Perch are doing better although Gobies are a nuisance. Just gotta diversify I guess.

Can you guys imagine how devastating it would be to watch your salmon fishery die a slow death like we have over here on Lake Michigan! Feds don't care. They just keep dumping lakers and further depleting the alewife population. Charter captains would be dead in the water without them now, though. Chinook population is so low now they're almost an incidental catch. Sure they have their day when they still catch some, but nowhere near consistently. So if the salmon aren't in, drop down the dodgers/peanuts and keep the clients happy. Coho's took up a little of the slack, steelhead some too, but the size is down on both of them, too. Browns are doing OK just because they'll eat Gobies like the lakers. It's been like a perfect storm over here. Over planting, underestimating natural reproduction, two severe winters in a row with record ice cover, and topped off with zeb's and quag's making the water near sterile. It's so depressing I don't even care go over there any more. I'm not going to drag my boat 3-4 hours and spend a bunch of money to catch lakers or anemic salmon. And believe me nobody loves his big lake fishing any more than I do. Hopefully the El Nina' will help things come back next year, dunno. regardless its not going to happen overnight and may never be anywhere near what it once was. Don't know what I'll do next year. Looks even more bleak. Might hit some browns in the spring. Might go to Saginaw or Erie for perch/walleye. Don't know, don't know............

Don't you Lake O guys use slide divers? My #1 set up this year on Lake Michigan was a slide diver with a 50' lead.

I just got a Humminbird 859ci Hd combo. Its a no frills sonar/gps unit for about $575. I didn't really feel I need down imaging (di) or side imaging (si) for trolling in big water. 7" screen is big enough for me with split screen. I might some day get a Minnkota w/i-pilot for inland lake or for a poor mans auto pilot for big lake and its compatible with that system. They do make 859's with di & si too if you want those. Just look for the di & si designation in their numerical descriptions. $100 or so more for those.

You can also use the sheets/blocks of marine flotation foam. The same stuff they use for floating docks and platforms at marinas. You just have to cut it and install it statically. 1 cu foot will float 60#. This company is in mid Michigan but there's a lot of suppliers around. Some info: http://harborfoam.com/floatation.php

Here's some REALLY good reading about flotation in a boat. Do the math, it might save your and your friends/families life. http://www.uscgboating.org/regulations/boatbuilder_s_handbook/flotation_part1_e.aspx I'm guessing very few if any older boats with just under floor flotation would keep you afloat if you start taking on water, (wave over the stern, bow etc.....). The articles have a lot of common sense advice on safety and it's the law for boat manufacturers. If you do the numbers and figure in hull weight, motors, gear (downriggers, batteries etc.) and where flotation ought to be located, it will scare you.

The bow area looks perfect for some built in tackle/lure storage. Some rod lockers along the sides would be nice, too. Wouldn't hurt to widen them out a bit from the existing gunnels. On my 16 footer the live well was in the walk through area towards the bow, but I think that would interfere with your swivel seats. Kind of limited to behind the seats there. I had my riggers mounted to the gunnels on it, no board. In my current restore, a 21' walk around cuddy, floor space in the back is limited, so I opted to eliminate the live well and bait well. A cooler with ice is my live well, because it's either catch and keep or catch and immediate release so I don't need the head ache of recirculation pumps and a thru-hull hole. So I use a big cooler w/ice and it double as seating plus I mounted rod holders on it so it does triple duty. For live bait/cut bait I have a smaller cooler I can fit inside my big one if it has to. Lots of possibilities.............

I've run meat for a few years, except this year. Didn't really have time. Kinda the downside to meat is the time/prep involved. Many brine it, some color it, if it's whole some fillet it into 2 strips, trimming, tuning,freezing, thawing, keeping cooler space for it.....and of course the dreaded mess. A lot of work to do it right. Next year I'm doing some side by side with with some alternatives: MC rockets Baitrix landbiggish.com slimers Warrior lures has a tunable strip I wish I could get any of these locally because they're expensive once you figure in shipping. I live in Michigan. Some other alternatives Gulp makes a sheet for cutting out strips The salmon belly strips looks promising Shushi flies Sham Wow strips soaked in herring oil The Brads cut bait plugs I've got and like and are available locally. I need to run them more and try some different scents. There's another plug made up in Manistee called Scarpace plugs that you put herring strips in I've been looking for id like to try.