Lund Explorer

Does sort of look like a perch jerking setup, or one of those offshore attractor rigs they use when trolling. Gives me an idea for tying up a Dropshot Sabiki Rig!

Thanks guys! It's been a fairly tough year both on and off the water. It started out good with the roadtrip this spring, but the bottom sure fell out of the season after that. This last trip should have me grumpy all winter, so I'm thinking a new boat just might make me somewhat more civil. A-Jay as a co-pilot/navigator on next spring's trip? Hmmmmm, that might be a plan!

The Dark Side! Just don't start numerous threads about them and you'll survive. I can't imagine a day when a grub isn't tied onto one rod of mine. If confession is good for the soul though, I will admit that I'm going to be straying off the Kalin's brand a bit next year. The Big O gave me the chance to get my paws on the new Rage Tail Grub earlier, and I'm going to have to give them a real tryout. I think that little bugger is going to add quite a few fish to the head count.

That goes right along with a slightly more modern old saying. "The best Game Warden is an Old Violator!"

Don't worry Sam, until such time as all NCAA schools and conferences abide equally by the same rules or lack thereof, a little Patina on their Halos just adds character. Rejoice in the fact that your favorite team is at the top of both games right now.

It could also be the other way. Perhaps members making a list of whom to trust in the Flea Market!

Yup, one team is the current national champion, the other made different headlines! http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/6784149/ncaa-hits-lsu-one-year-probation-recruiting-restrictions http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=6751931

Upon reflection of everything that went on over the last week, I thought I'd share how our last big trip of the year went. Unless the possibility of spending a bunch of hard earned cash is a success, you could probably say the trip wasn't nearly as good as how the year's first trip went. Like many recent years , we schedule a week's worth of fishing towards the top of the mitten. With the kids living just a few miles away, Burt and Mullett Lakes in the northern tip of Michigan's lower peninsula makes for a great year ending trip. Plenty of species to chase that include some of the biggest smallmouth the state has to offer, as well as a decent chance to bring home some walleye and perch fillets to keep me going through the winter. This year's trip was supposed to start on Friday the 14th. The way it turned out, you would have thought it was the 13th! The week started out with the kind of phone call no one wants to get. A death in the family put a hold on our departure for several days as we needed to attend those things we all must do from time to time. Sunday afternoon found me dressed in funeral garb, though I must admit it was too cold and windy for me to even consider an outfit like the Big O wears. Once the funeral and a brief appearance at the luncheon was taken care of, we hooked up the boat for the three hour trip north. Once we arrived, we still had time to pack the kid's gear into the boat, make sure the dogs got their treats from Grandpa, and battle plans for the next morning were made. Sticking my head out the door early Monday morning showed that those plans were going to need some modification. A stiff SW wind with gusts of over 30 mph meant that we would need to search out more sheltered water. Our first stop of the day was Burt Lake's famous perching grounds in and around Maple Bay. However sheltered as it was, witnessing the boat dragging a 15lb fluted anchor at more than 1.5mph was going to be a problem. After an hour or so of this, we headed to the ramp with the idea that a change of location was in order. At the landing we met a couple of guys with the 521 Ranger who had been sitting on shore watching us. They had decided it was too rough to launch and were trying to decide on a revised plan of their own. We introduced ourselves (I even had the chance to mention Bass Resource as they weren't members.... yet.) found out they were from the Chicagoland area, and suggested they might want to try Mullet Lake near Dodge Point as it was a little more fishable. We stopped by the house for another anchor and arrived at the ramp in time to watch the Ranger power up into some pretty good waves headed south along what we had thought was sheltered water. Dang, it wasn't nearly as sheltered as we thought. After launching, we idled out towards the point only to take two waves over the bow of the Lund. That was enough for us, and we headed back to the dock. Even though the day was starting to look like a practice trip for launching and loading, we had one last choice to try out. Launching in the Cheboygan River should have been our first option. We still had wind, but the waves were gone. We idled up to the junction with the Black River and a short run up towards Black Lake put us on some fish. Spinnerbaits and Kalin's Grubs accounted for a number of smallies in the 2lb range. Nothing big, but at least we were actually fishing! Tuesday morning with wind speeds cut in half, we returned to the launch at Maple Bay. The Rangertrail parked in the lot told us our southern friends were already on the water. It was still there when we loaded up nine hours later, and while I never saw them to ask, I hope they had finally found some fish. We started our day out like many by setting out lines for an early morning troll for old Mr. Marble Eye and his friend the landlocked Mr. Steelhead. No trout, but we did manage to put a couple of nice walleye in the box in the 17"-19" range. Once that bite seemed to die off, it was time to try some of the reed beds and rocky reefs for some smallmouth action. I'm not sure if it was the weather or what, but it was a tough bite. After three hours of mostly zilch results, we decided to see if we could scare up some decent perch to add to our catch. I was on dink patrol as far as perch jerkin went, but the kid put a few eater sized fish into the boat. As we had promised the wives that we'd be home early, we quit fishing around 4pm. Had I known what was coming, we should have broken that date as it was the last time we were able to get on the water. Yup, Mother Nature woke up in a sour mood Wednesday. The heavy winds had returned and a good amount of rain was streaming north towards us. The only thing left to do when you can't fish, is to go shopping for new boy toys! We started at the Yamaha dealer to look at quads. The kid is lucky enough to have been bitten by the ice fishing bug, and it's getting hard for him to drag out all the toys associated with the sport. So much so, that a quad or snowmobile is the only cure. Our next stop was at the Arctic Cat dealer, and that is where the trip took on an expensive turn for me. It seems the place also sells Lund Boats. Arrggh, right there on the showroom floor, I'm looking at an aluminum 2025 Pro-V and a real pretty fiberglass 186 Pro-V. The salesman quickly showed up with a drop cloth to soak up the drool as I crawled over, under, and through these beauties. The next thing I know, he is jotting down notes on all of the specifics of what I'm looking for in a perfect boat for the multi-species fisherman I am. As I walk out the door with the full color brochure pages marked with a couple of dream machines, he is promising to email me the quotes. On the way back, I'm thinking the wife isn't going to be happy with the idea that I'll need to change my user ID on here so I'm safe. Not so quick though, as her only comment is how nice they look along with a "whatever makes me happy" line. So now the email is pending. To end the week early, and to make this long story short, Wednesday evening brought the second phone call no one wants to get. Mom's in the ER! So a weeklong trip got both ends chopped off of it. The fishing wasn't a complete bust, but depending on the Boating Gods, the checkbook might be headed that way! A new 2025 or 197 might be finding a way into my garage by spring.

Good job Goose! Happy to notice that the Kalins is still producing for you. Will you be posting up the tote board like you did last year? It was interesting to see what was working for you. One of these days, I hope my priorities can revolve around fishing and not around all of the other trappings that keep the boat gathering dust. I guess there is always next year.

FYI - From the number of them we caught during the limited time of the water, there is a substantial population of gobies is Burt Lake. Anyone headed up to those lakes can look forward to using gobie style baits on both lakes.

Happy to hear you got into a few of those brownies. You also got some pretty decent weather. Our annual fall trip starts this evening, and the weather isn't anywhere close to what you guys enjoyed. That isn't all that strange though as I seem to always make it up there when the combination of cold air and wind kicks up the lake effect rain/sleet/snow machine. Unfortunately, you're exactly correct in the fact that the locals up there mainly target the walleyes and perch. That's who I will be fishing with on my trip, so most of my time on the water will be spent dragging cranks for walter or drifting mud flats for perch. Not that I don't enjoy that kind of fishing when it produces a few meals of good eating fillets. I'm already planning on rigging up one rod with a trolling spoon to long line behind the boat on the chance I might run into one of those landlocked steelhead that live in those lakes. As far as bass fishing goes, I have warned the kids that the old man is going to play the "It's my Boat" card a couple of days so that I can break out the bass baits! I'd really like to see what my North Star spinnerbaits might get me, as this colder weather should be just the ticket for type of fishing.

Welcome to the site bassgrabber! That's a great fish and makes for an impressive picture to go along with your profile. I've been on here for over two years and have been wanting to catch a decent one that I could post it up. Unfortunately, I've been on a real dink-fest ever since. Here's hoping that you'll enjoy the site, and that you'll soon catch an even bigger hawg to show us.

The only thing I can think of is that water seeks its own level. But, I would go you one further. Fishing Lake Michigan, and the channels that connect to the smaller lakes inland show a consistent ebb and flow that runs in roughly a one to one and a half hour cycle. All of these smaller lakes are fed by a river system that has somewhat darker colored water than in the big lake. Where you have a narrow channel between the two bodies of water, you can actually watch the two colors move back and forth. During times right after a heavy rainfall inland, the current seems to override this natural cycle and the current runs out into the big lake constantly. Conversely, I was heading off the Pier at Pentwater MI ahead of a major storm one morning. The clearer big lake water moved all the way through the channel and almost 3/4 of mile into the smaller lake, much like a storm surge. Depending on the season (spring or fall), fishing near where the two waters meet is quite often productive for a number of species. In the spring, Fish will seek out the river's water as it is warmer. In the fall, the reverse is true. Regardless, I always try to spend extra time fishing this type of moving water. In your case, did you notice how the fish reacted to this new current? Was the fishing better or worse than the day before?

I guess I'm going to have start calling you Young Man instead of Kid after this post. Very well said Kid! Oops....

Of course everyone should tell the truth, but there are just as many times when everyone should just back off of the keyboard. There's very little use in speaking one's mind when what you have to say will do nothing to change the other person's opinion. This could hold true for many of the repeated topics that come up here, including the use of live bait, catch and release, or the subject of the greatest lure ever made.... The Senko. Despite the many times that it has been shown that live bait is legal, that eating fish is not a mortal sin, or that the best bait is the one that works at the time, they continue to come up. It becomes a wasted effort to try to inject reason into any conversation with someone who thinks that ALWAYS & NEVER fit into any of life's situations. The mere act of sitting on one's hands can often lead to getting a better reputation!

My charming spouse, A.K.A.: "The War Dept" has a saying she picked up somewhere. She repeats it quite often. Women's faults are many, Men have only two. Everything they say, and Everything they do! When asked by people how in the world I can handle talking with my wife, I explain that I use four aspirin. I swallow two of them, and stuff one in each ear!

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Here's Hoping you have a great day Ronnie!

Don't forget to check out their spinnerbaits. They're built to the same standards, and I've caught a number of fish on them this year.

Yup! As fall progresses you're going to have to do more searching to find productive water. Shallow water pads will die off just like milfoil so you're going to want to search out native cabbage that will survive in colder water. My experience has been to cover lots of water throwing topwaters, spinnerbaits, and crankbaits until I find cover holding bass. And like you, northern pike will haunt many of these same spots. When I find pike, I just move along until I get away from them. No sense in donating tackle to those toothy critters. Not sure if your lake has any, but I always look for rapid drops too. Small points or sand/rock bars that offer bass a place to lay just onto the deep water side of the drop. Also, one lure I always have tied on during fall is a Hopkins Spoon on one of my spinning rigs. I can't tell you how many times I've see bass chasing prey fish up onto the surface during this time of year. The spoon gives me the chance to make longer than normal casts to those distant fish where I'll work it back much like a fast moving jerkbait.

The only showboating rule I'd like to see enforced is where some idiotic defensive player sacks the QB, breaks into his well scripted gyrations, all while his team is down by a score of something like 45-7! The penalty should be 15 yards, automatic first down and sterilization!

GPS! I don't think I want to try to cross a fog bound lake using SI/DI. I also want to return to specific spots, troll back across previous tracks, etc..

X2 on all above. My favorites in the green, brown, white spectrum include; Motor Oil, Avacado, Sand, and Smoke w/assorted metal flake.

It could be worse. Imagine if she had to clear snow/ice off of her car every morning!

A picture would be worth a thousand words (guesses) here.