Daily Blog Archive May 31 to June 30, 2007

Here is an archive copy of the daily blog from May 31, 2007 to June 30, 2007.

Saturday, June 30, 07

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood. (My oldest sister's birthday.) Deer in the yard, a pair of Loons with two little ones calling on the lake, Blue Heron fishing near the dock, and Rose Breasted Grosbeaks at the bird feeder. Aah the north woods.

Spent a couple hours yesterday afternoon pulling all the bait boxes, and bags out of the boat. What a hodgepodge mess. Spent quite a bit of time rebagging, sorting and repacking. Then it was back in the compartments hopefully with rhyme and reason so I can find what I need. Way too much stuff. Need to spend some time tomorrow going through baits and sorting them into seasonal patterns. That way, I can carry about a third ot the stuff and actually know where to find most of it.

Came across a pretty neat web site Animated Knots by Grog . I was looking for directions on how to tie a loop knot so when I throw topwater I'll be able to get the most out of the bait. Reading some related articles about topwatering smallies and the loop knot is always mentioned. They also talk about making sure you get that bait out there as far as possible. To do that, while maintaining contact with the bait for action and hookset you need to use a super line. Most recommend that you use a mono leader to help with buoyancy, and at the same time the leader acts a shock absorber when that big fish hits. Fireline Crystal was a super line I talked about earlier in the month, and it's mentioned in the articles as a good choice for your topwater line. For a rod, the articles recommend a short five and a half foot pistol grip type rod in a medium light to medium action. Your casting accuracy is maximized and the softer rod gives your bait the best action. Nothing like topwater fishing to get the excitement level maxed out.

Well so much for Verlander's run of things with the Tigers. From a no hitter to a last night eleven to one loss. Don't want to rag on him because sometimes you're hot and sometimes your knot. Hopefully with my new loop knot we can put up some good numbers on Manistee.

Get your boats ready, retie those rods, make sure you bring any ad money you have collected and throw your proof of insurance for your boat in the truck to give to Dennis.

See you Sunday at the Stronach launch by 6:00 am. Good day and good luck.

P.S.

I am going to break the blog at this point. It's been one month already. I'll add a link at the top of the blog page so if you want to get back to this month's blog you can. Sunday's blog will obviously be late or maybe I'll just wait till Monday. We'll see how much energy I have Sunday night.

Friday, June 29, 07

Sitting here looking out at the lake. A pontoon just pulled up. A bunch of folks are bobber fishing right off the end of my dock. Not uncommon, but yesterday I was at Manistee, and my wife calls, and says there is a guy and gal with kayaks on our beach. He's on our dock fishing and she is on the front yard with a picnic spread out. Kind of strange and a tad bit bold. My wife was a little nervous about what, if anything, she should do. I told her to just go outside. With my truck gone it looked like no one was home. She did and engaged the couple in conversation. They said, "They wouldn't leave any trash." Again very strange. They said they had their own place on the lake, and so I'm now wondering why picnic then in my front yard? Oh well. My wife said, after she came out and talked to them, they decided to leave shortly thereafter.

Yesterday I said that today we should talk about Mike Iaconelli and ESPN's ESPYS' awards. Mike is coming off a phenomenal season in 2006 where he won the coveted Elite Series Angler of the Year. If you go to the ESPYS site via the hot link above, you can vote for Mike under his category of "Best Outdoor Athlete." He's up against an 18 year old girl mountain climber who has climbed the "seven summits" (the highest mountain on each continent), an older mountain climber Ian McKeever who has climbed six of the highest mountains on each continents and is presently climbing Denali, musher Lance Mackey who won back to back Iditarods, and Dean Karnazes who ran 50 marathons in 50 days in all 50 states from September through November of 2006. Fifty marathons in fifty days is insane. I use to jog and ran the Chicago Marathon, which I still feel is one of my biggest accomplishments, but to run 50 in 50 days is unbelievable! I still voted for Mike though. You can vote up to and through July 7th.

If you go to Mike's web site by clicking the hot link above he has a bunch of very good articles he wrote. I just finished reading the one on preparing for a tournament. I thought it was very good and have incorporated a couple of his points into my memory bank for the next prefishing trip.

Got cold here in the north country last night. Down into the low 40s. Beautiful day today. Just went out and talked to the bobber fisher ladies on the pontoon boat as I was changing the sprinklers. They said they hadn't even caught a bluegill yet.

This cold is going to put the fish down for a few days. Hopefully though, all those smallies that went deep on Manistee will be coming up shallower to make Sunday's contest somewhat easier. Manistee can bite you in the butt when there are high skies and hot weather. Could be some goose eggs Sunday.

While I was checking the email this morning I got a flyer from Barlow"s Tackle . Ordered some spinnerbait building stuff from them a few years ago. They sent me a catalog and of course I had to order some secret baits. On their site, they have some links that are cool. I used the pro links to get to Iaconelli's site.

Well, too nice of a day to be sitting much longer on the computer. Going to go pull the boat out and get it ready for Sunday. Have a great day!

Thursday, June 28, 07

Forgot that last night when Don and Darlene came over for dinner that Don brought me a green sheet of paper that has the changes to the 2007 fishing regulations effective June 28, today. The changes are focused on controlling the spread of viral hemorrhagic septicemia, VHS. These changes were enacted under a Public Act, PA 451. In Michigan, the laws are referred as Public Acts. Even though these changes were enacted I didn't read any where if there was any teeth behind them. What happens if you don't empty your livewell and bilge water? Are they going to ticket you? I hope they are aggressive with it, but with all the cut backs there really aren't many people out there working to protect our natural resources. Make sure those livewells and bilge areas are empty and even go beyond that when we fish connected waters like Manistee Lake. You should be using hot water with a third of a cup of bleach per 5 gallons to also rinse livewells and bilge areas. This will kill viruses and larvae of the Zebra Muscles. Another aspect of the regs refers to transfer of fish or the release of fish. You can't transport fish you caught unless their dead and you cannot release fish that you caught in one lake into another. They talk about movement of fish and bait fish within the VHSv Positive Management Areas, but it's pretty much all of Michigan waters. You can release fish if it can "freely move between the original location of capture and the location of release." If you haven't made yourself a resource for others concerning VHS make sure you take the time to do some reading. There is a button on the Tear Drop main page that should get you started. If you fish you need to do your part to make sure we all can continue to fish.

Lots of eagle information today on the news. Eagles came off the endangered species list today. If you fish Manistee you should see eagles. I saw two yesterday, one mature bird and an immature one (without the white head and tail feathers). First thing I saw today as I was putting the boat in was the mature bird soaring above the lake.

Yes I did go back to Manistee today. It didn't start out well, however. Got there and put the boat in at Penny's Park. It's weed choked and shallow so I trolling motored my way out to deep water. Before I started the big motor, I threw some topwater over the shallow weedy flat. Had two splashes, saw one nice fish hit my bait but not get hooked. Hooked one for about 5 cranks of the reel handle, and caught one that was probably a little shy of 14 inches. Didn't measure it because I was negotiating around some pilings and the wind was making things quite difficult. I was then ready to go hit the channel to the big lake. Turned the key and the engine light came on and the alarm went off. Great!! Messed around and trolling motored around some more, but each time I tried the big motor the same thing happened. So... back to the ramp, and I put it on the trailer. Got on the phone and called Ted. Ted has a marine repair in Coopersville called TLC Marine. I told him that I was having problems and one of the things I noticed was the bulb on the gas line wouldn't pump up. You would squeeze it and it would just stay flat. He asked if I had checked the gas line to make sure it wasn't kinked, of course I hadn't. . He also said that the problem might be. in the intake piece that is in the gas tank There is a hose connector that has a little anti siphoning device in it. He said that in stern drives these things are required, but you don't have to have them in outboards, but many gas tank pick ups have them. He said you can take a little punch and pop them out. If they get stuck or jammed up with a little piece of something it can restrict the gas flow. The engine computer notices a change in the vacuum pressure and it will set your engine buzzer/alarm going. I've had problems with this type of thing happening intermittently now for a year or more, so I am planning to pull my gas pickups out of the tanks and pop the spring, clip and little anti-siphoning ball out of the line. That's if mine has them in it. Ted had some good info. After talking with him, I stopped the truck and checked the line for kinks and it was fine. However, I had gotten gas yesterday and switched the tanks over so, I switch them back and tried pumping the bulb again. This time I could feel the gas pulling and the bulb hardening. Well, I thought I'd better put it back in and try it. t ran, so I was off to the channel. I fished up one side and down the other. I caught a walleye down by the Coast Guard Station on a spinnerbait, and caught one short smallie pitching at moored boats.

I went down and into the man made cove near the Coast Guard Station and fished it even though they now have a sign that says "No Fishing." The new condo owners must not like people fishing around their boats. As I entered the area, a resident came out and started talking to me about the fish he had caught out in front of his place. I asked him about the sign, and he just waved me off saying that no one would hassle me about it. I don't believe that the Riparian Rights legislation that came out of a suit in Michigan allows the owners to make the water, which is connected to state water, off limits. There has been a similar discussion about this kind of situation on the Great Lakes Bass Forum where anglers were complaining about people in marinas harassing them. I guess cities can pass ordinances, but barring that, I don't believe they can band you from public water. That's what public water is or means, right? A long story short, I didn't catch anything in there anyway. The wind was so bad even in that little protected cove that if I faced into the wind it would blow my hat off. Fishing the channel was about the only option today. Manistee Lake was white cappin'. Would have been a very tough tournament day today. Lets hope for less wind Sunday. Manistee is the only lake that the Tear Drop has canceled a tournament on. When it blows on that lake there doesn't seem to be any place to hide. It can get wicked. Tomorrow we have to talk about Ike and the ESPYs Wednesday, June 27, 07

Went up to the "Dublin General Store." for some groceries yesterday. Dublin Store is an oddity in that it is truly in the middle of no place and no where. All of a sudden though, you find yourself in front of a 40 ft. meat counter that is all homemade jerky. They have every kind of jerky you can think of and then a couple more. They have a meat cooler almost as long as the jerky counter and their meat is cut and ground right in the store. They have homemade hot dogs, a variety of homemade specialty brats like potato bacon, chili cheese, sauerkraut, and at least 5-10 other "flavors" of brats. They have smoked cheese, hot deli items, and bakery goods. They also have a hardware section that has everything and anything. You need help fixing something, they got the part and usually always have an answer to your how to questions. They just remodeled their coolers and front entry. We often marvel at how their prices are competitive and for some things cheaper than than the big box stores at home. If you get up in the Irons, MI area which is roughly west of M37, just south of Wellston on M55 you gotta stop.

Well, making this post late. In fact, I only have 21 more minutes to get it in for the 27th. I got over to Manistee and knowing I had promised to report on the prefishing trip I felt a little pressure to catch some fish. Things were very slow and didn't get the first keeper fish until about 10:30. It was a largemouth that came on a topwater bait. Didn't catch the next keeper until another smallie decided to hit a tube along a wall. I then decided to go where no one has ever gone before. Not really, but just got caught up in the Star Trek verbiage. It was a spot I had never practiced before though, and ended up catching my biggest fish of the day and one other keeper there. The big fish wasn't a giant, but did measure seventeen and a half inches. It then heated up and I caught several other just fourteen inch fish. Got off the water at 4:00. Saw three Tear Drop boats at the Stronach Ramp. Also saw two bald eagles that I got some good video of. Took both my cameras, but fishing by myself makes it kind of hard to get fish pictures. Besides if I put them in the blog I have to camouflage the background.

Did make a stop for ice-cream at "House of Flavors." They have some of the best ice-cream and I usually get the butter pecan with hot fudge and hot caramel with pecans sprinkled heavily on top. There is a House of Flavors in Manistee that you can dock in the channel and run up to get food or ice cream. There is another HOF in Ludington, downtown right on Main Street just before it runs into Lake Michigan. Got to plug those Tear Drop sponsors.

Spent a nice night having "State Team Don" and Darlene over for burgers. By the way, his trip to the doctor for the skin cancer went well! Keep after him to wear the sun screen. They want him to stay out of the sun, but golfing and fishing take place out doors and he says he's playing through.

Two more minutes to go before midnight and I'm planning another 5:00 am wake up for a trip back to Manistee to check some more water. Good night or good morning!

Tuesday, June 26, 07

Ah, technology! It still amazes me what you can do today with a tablet size piece of hardware. As a kid, I can remember that a transistor radio was a biggy. Now you can read just about anything, talk to whoever you want, play bridge with people in Australia, buy whatever meets your fancy, all while sitting up in the north woods where not too long ago they only could receive maybe two TV stations and those were fuzzy. Amazes me! Right now I'm using my iPod as a traveling hard drive so I can update the blog and put up the Manistee results from the cabin. I use to use a little thumb drive but that has limited capacity and the iPod is 30 gigs which is way more memory that probably the first 4 computers I had combined. Boggles the mind that they can put that much into a piece of hardware smaller than a pack of playing cards.

Got up to the cabin last night and have to work around here for a day and then plan on going to Manistee prefishing tomorrow.

Talked to Don and Hoogy already this morning so I guess everything is right with the world. I always enjoy hearing from them. Don did say he's getting some more skin cancer cut off today. PLEASE USE SUN SCREEN!! Keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Haven't checked on the fires in Tahoe, CA yet today. They will probably have something on the news at noon. My son lives at the north end of the lake and the fires are in the south.

Tahoe is considered a "high desert" and rarely gets any rain in the summer. Moisture content has to come from the snow melt and for the last few years that hasn't been what it should be. Hopefully Mother Nature will conjure up something and either the winds will die down or they get a chance rain.

If you ever get a chance to vacation in Tahoe it is certainly a scenic paradise. The lake area itself is a picture postcard where ever you're at. You can drive northeast over the pass to Reno in 40 minutes and be in the desert. You can drive west and be in Sacramento's palm trees in two hours or San Francisco in three hours. A week goes by fast there.

If you haven't heard, KVD, that is Mr. Kevin "Unbelievable" Van Dam, won another tournament down on Grand Lake in Oklahoma. That 100K puts him at about two and a half million dollars! The all time money winner in bass fishing history! It also moves him into the lead for Angler of the Year. This is his second win on this year's tour and both wins he credits to a crankbait pattern. There are several sites that have the story, but you can link to one story on a new site I found called "Bass N Edge."

Can't be spending too much time on the computer today. Need to mow the grass and it's already in the mid 80s, and it won't be getting any cooler.

I did find another site that you all need to put on your significant other's computer. It's "Bass Gifts.com." They have some things in the bass theme that I haven't seen before. They even have a bass putter. Don's got to get one of those! Well I'm outta here. I'll be posting the next blog bit late tomorrow after I get back from prefishing Manistee. I'll let you know in the blog how I did.

Monday, June 25, 07

Hot, sticky, wish I had central air, July/August pre-dog day Monday. Not complaining, because it's still better looking out at green leaves than piles of dirty snow. Worked a bunch of hours putting together an iMovie of the race we went to Saturday. Came together well, but when I burned the DVD and then checked it, there were parts that had inexplicably lost their sound. Worked well into the wee hours of the morning trying to find the glitch. Who knows why it did what it did. Couldn't see anything wrong with the initial piece so I downloaded it to my camera and reentered it as a new iMovie and burned the DVD. This time I had sound!

If you are a Mac user, and haven't tried iMovie, well you have missed the boat. If you use a PC(BM) well, too bad. The iMovie program allows you to easily input digital video, still pictures, music, etc. You then are given a myriad of tools to create editorial splendor. If anyone is interested, I have a couple old Tear Drop DVDs from a few years back. I also have a salmon fishing DVD of my last year's trip out of Manistee with Capt. Rico. I could mail you one if you would like to see one.

I have been reading with interest about the big FLW bass fishing event in Detroit coming up this July. It starts July 12th with a 6:30 take off out of Elizabeth Park . I have fished Erie and St. Clair from the launch at Elizabeth Park. The ramp there is at the south end of the Detroit River almost to the mouth of Lake Erie. It's really not all that far from the Cabellas in Dundee. The weigh in Thursday and Friday is at 3:00 at Elizabeth Park. The weigh in Saturday and Sunday is at Cobo Center. Looks like the City of Detroit is really getting behind the event and for a full schedule click on the link. I know I am seriously considering going down. I would love to be one of the boats chasing around following the pros like you see on tv. I would be sure to have the GPS fired up and take advantage of their hot spots. Who wants to go?

By now you know about the daily walk/runs so I'll try not to belabor that daily ritual. While out today, I did once again, hear discussion on a couple of products that look like good buys. One is called Loc-R-Bar . It's a device that you use to lock down the lids on your boat. Most boats do have locks, but this just adds one more measure of security. In a rod locker alone, you could easily have several thousand dollars worth of rods and reels. Most anglers take their rods in to the motel at night, but when you stop to eat those tools are vulnerable. Some anglers do travel with a cover on. I use to with my first boat. However, traveling with a cover on, creates marks on your boat. Some of the new travel covers do a better job but all that wind buffeting results in mars in your fiberglass.

Another product discussed was a Keel Guard. I think you all have seen keel guards and may have one. However, at the link above you'll find skeg guards, and what they call "Scuff busters." These Scuff Busters protect your hull where your strap connects from the winch. These products from Keel Guard look like they could really save your butt those times when you do something , well stupid.

Prefishing week for the Manistee tournament. I am going to get up there on at least Wednesday and Thursday. Maybe I'll see you on the water. Have a nice day.

Sunday, June 24, 07

Good morning! Went to a wedding Friday. A couple I met through my kids, Mike and Lynn were married. Mike is one of those young men you hope your own son grows up to be like. He's a hard worker and is very knowledgeable when it comes to cars. He has become my mechanic. He works at a local repair shop and works on my vehicles when they need it. Unfortunately I keep him pretty busy. The wedding was very nice, but the honeymoon was postponed a week so that he could race Saturday, last night. I'm not really sure that's why they decided not to go on their honeymoon right away. It might of been a reservation problem, because I know they're heading to Vegas next Friday. In any case, my wife and I found ourselves in the bleachers of the Hudsonville Fair Grounds, watching what they call "West Michigan Off Road Racing." Can't say I've ever been a big race car fan. I have, however, gotten into watching NASCAR simply because it has become so popular. I can then appear knowledgeable about it with my buddies. I guess because of my lack of mechanical ability I have never gotten the car bug. I do know where the gas and air goes, but that's about it. Any ways, the racing was loud and full of action. There were several roll overs and the cross country racing is a kind of stock car demolition race. Many of the cars ended their night badly mangled and smoking. Mike and his brother Steve did quite well and I was impressed with their driving skills. Mike got spun around at one point and jumped right back in the race driving in reverse. I think he could have won the thing if he hadn't had some bad luck in chain reaction crashes.