Early Bird vs. the Worm?

Early bird gets the worm...right?  Well, in this case the launch was backed up with a fairly long string of eager crews.  All seeking Salmon well before dawn.  John J wisely suggested, "let's wait in the parking lot and let the crowd subside, before launching."  Time to grab for the donut bag and began munching on a piece of fried dough (donut) and was totally amazed with this being mid-week (Wednesday) the sheer number of boats stacked up in line.  Manistee's public launch ramps can accommodate at least 14 boats at a time.

I prefer to fish aboard John J's 23' Four Winns, because it far better reflects what most of the readers of this website fish from.  Gone are my charter boat days and 11 foot beam with a flat rear deck.  Seeing the challenges the smaller boat angler faces better acquaints me to before 1983 when I went into charter trade.  Dealing with motor boxes in close quarters areas, working fish towards the net, avoiding an outdrive let's me see what's needed to make life easier for the trailer boat angler in sub-28 foot vessels.  

The 10 inch flashers and the shorter 2 fly meat rigs came into being after seeing the difficulties presented by fish on 10 foot diver rods in a 8 foot beam boats.  Cutting the distance from the tip of the diver rod by even 2 feet is a big advantage when it comes time to pull the fish towards the netting zone.

My vision entering into the tackle manufacturing business in 2004 was to make a professional grade product.   To best standards in the world and make it here in the good old USA.  Seeing first hand, under battle conditions in the same size of a boat most of you fish from leads to constant, ongoing improvement with our line of tackle.

Our box on 8/23/06
Hot Rigs & Flashers

30 lbs. of  Kings
(both fish 8/23/06)



John J's boat
"Megan Ann"

Let the Pole Dancing Begin!

By now, we already paid our cover charge by getting to the ramp early, preparing our own bait and sizing up the situation.  We angled north to avoid the flotilla, setting up shallow in 60 feet of water, heading slightly northwest.  Nary a fish mark was on the graph?  No boats around us were into fish either!  The time frame was pushing 8am when our first lines began to get wet.  

"Drats," we made wrong call by going north from the Port of Manistee.  While there's a good piece of structure, known locally as the "shelf."  The best part of this drop-off (45' to plus 250') lays straight out, or south of port.  Once you're a mile, or two N of the harbor, there's a extended long sloping plateau before the deeper water is reached.

The wind was on the build.  John J was diligently setting rods.  Being only two of us onboard, I had to stay on the wheel, since we had no autopilot (we were in lumpy 3 foot seas with plenty of surface breeze).  He set the starboard out-down (long arm rigger) at 60' and got the port rigger in the 50' range.  Now, we had two riggers down and within a short spell ...the port diver rod was set.  Still, nary a tap.  The graph was no-fish-city.  Vacant of any fish marks, whatsoever!

"Double Drats" my mind, (or what's left of it) began to think.  ...Bad call on going north? ...Bad call? ...Shouldn't have went this way!!!  Second guessing and worrisome haunting hindsight became a clear-cut mental nuisance.  Just about the time, I figured we had our butt kicked and it was gonna be a slow morning. Then I heard the fast scurry of John's feet pounding from one side of the boat to the other & heard him yell, "FISH-ON!"

"Fish-On" is a relief word for anglers, no matter what part of the world you're from. 
Next, another powerful statement was loudly hollered, "FISH, FISH, get that other fish ...on the port rigger," exclaimed John J.  Pronto, I scooted double time towards the port rigger.  

Me on the way to the portside rigger meant leaving the helm.  With port rigger rod dancing, I saw our only diver rod was getting smacked pretty hard too.  Line was wailing against the stout drag at a fast clip!  This was double dilemma, cuz the rigger rod was already in-hand with a fish headed for Wisconsin at full-tilt boogie.  I stowed fish-loaded rigger rod back into a empty rod holder.   My next duty was to get my paws around the diver rod and deal with that nasty varmint's bad attitude.  The bezerk diver Salmon was still pulling line against a firm, but well adjusted drag.  Soon I gained control over a duo of angry line-ripping King Salmon by my lonesome while John J opened up a can of whoop ~ss on his fish.

Two fishermen on 1 boat do not need 3 fish on at one time.  Especially in a non-auto piloted vessel.  After a little verbal coaxing, I did get Johnny J to admit ...I could still move pretty fast for being in early 60s!

Blue Bubble 
Spells Trouble!








Blue Bubble Combo 
A perfect match!

Black VMC Hooks
Sticky Sharp with
use of a file!