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8:52am Coho 1
First fish on 9/26/17
9:17am Coho 2
Skinny Minnie 10" combo
Phat Coho II 9:19am
Over 12 pounds!
8/10/06 XG Frog
Short trip, lots of fish
7/28/08 Manistee
X-Glow Frog proof
5/15/15 Spring Coho
Alewife SUV Salmon Buster™ Spoon
6/2/17 Manistee King
Alewife SUV Salmon
Buster™ Spoon |
9/26/17 Trip Conditions and Report
Late September with daytime high temps approaching
90° is an opportunity too good to pass up! Especially, when
you see your season shrinking fast. Todd B and I had not
been off the dock enough to keep dreaded fishing fever in check.
Plus, the wind was going to play nice with seas under 2' that went to
almost flat calm when we pulled lines around noon.
This late in the season? ...there should still be
enough scraps left on the table to test highly successful SUV
Alewife spoon (number 1 seller in 2017) pattern transposed into Meat
Rig™ and flasher combos. This a repeat of happened in 2016
when the Ghostbuster spoon pattern earned the right to be made into
Meat Rigs™ and flashers.
Recent S wind had pushed the thermocline down to the 70'-80' range.
Perfect depths for a dedicated meat program. That's what Todd
B. and I hung on every rod in our 6 rod spread.
2 riggers, 2 wire divers, a 300' copper, and a 450'
copper were the weapons deployed. Target troll zone was the 125'
depths. Using structure to our advantage. Our all-meat program trolling speed was slow, around 2 mph. We used
super mag heads with a slight more bend in whole bait to make
sure the bait had an enticing snappy roll at 2.0 to 1.8 mph.
Name Game
Naming tackle is how we differentiate the many
options we have in colors. Where many these names come from? I know
not. Do know lure vernacular covers the spectrum. Monkey
Puke, Yellowtail, Michael Jackson and Hot Red Panties are just a few
of iconic names that are part of our fleet's history. Some of
the color names I've used have came from our message board members.
Even used a Facebook contest that came up with UFO for one of our
glow spoons.
Shortening lure names for easy reference on a boat
saves time sorting thru the many colors of tackle. Factor in,
a catchy name that flows off the tongue well is fun too. On
the spot, came up with, "Skinny Minnie" trying to shorten
Alewife SUV flashers/meat rigs™. When Todd asked, "what are we
going to run?" Skinny Minnie says, it all ...in 4 short syllables.
Test for the
Best
Testing new colors is one
of the most rewarding parts of my job. Seeing imagination turn
into innovation that catches fish is what we do. The only way
to verify? ...is to run the newbie against a tried, proven selection
with history. The catalyst for a direct transfer was expanded
from the very popular SUV Alewife Salmon Buster™ spoon to meat heads and flashers. Reel image
baitfish lure tape, mimicking a school of Alewives is no more far
fetched than a lot of the Bozo circus colors in use today. To the best of my knowledge, this
is another world 1st for our tackle lineup.
Testing protocol is run
the test color against a tried and true, proven color. Such
was the case in 2016 when the new XG Ghostbuster flashers/meat rigs™
went head to head against the X-Glow Frog. The glow Frog has been
pounding out boxes of Salmon since 2006. We chose the proven XG
Ghostbuster as the control factor vs. the Skinny Minnie. The
final tally was 5
hits, 3 on the Skinny and 2 on the Ghostbuster. Making it a
no-brainer to put this forward thinking school of Alewives pattern into production
for 2018.
Unexpected
Fishing always involves
an
infinite amount of variables. You'd think experience would
lends a hand on what to expect ...wrong! Each trip is a
journey into the unknown. Last thing that was on my mind when
we left the dock was 3 MDNR master sized (Coho over 12 lbs.).
Caught 1000s of Coho going back to 1968 and not many were over 12.
Only had 2 clear 16 lbs, 1 in 1999 and on this event. So, this
was a shocker for me and made up for a small 4 fish box and shows,
"You don't know, unless you go."
Click for this article
8-10 pound adult Coho are
considered good fish. To have 3 year old Coho over 12 is an
anomaly for a fish that only spends 18 months free ranging in Lk.
MI. Another scenario is the Salmon Todd B. & I caught on
9/26/17 were actually 4 year old fish, like in 1999. Plus, in
2017 the Coho return at the Little Manistee Harvest Weir was over
3000. Doubling the amount of King Salmon that were captured.
Click harvest weir verification
Photos
Posted several photos
going back to 1983. The 1996 catch pic is special to me.
This is when my friend, Freshwater Hall of Fame fisherman, Bud
Raskey was still alive. We ran this trip off my 28' Cherokee
with Bud as my crew mate and cleaned fish at his place. Last
pic in the right border is directly from the outdoor page in Detroit
News in 1983 when I was a newbie charter skipper. Rest
are to add credence and fill in the high points to this piece.
Let's face it, talk is
cheap. Reel-proof beyond any shadow of doubt is not!
Will the Skinny Minnie aka Alewife SUV be a hit with the fleet?
That's up to you and history to decide. With just about every
color, pattern and hue being covered, having images of bait fish is
reel 21st century technology enhancing our 2018 tackle lineup!
Click here
for 18% off special pricing
Limited time offer
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Coho 3 11:24am
Giant at 16.95 lbs.
Coho 4 11:56am
Skinny Minnie 12"
Chunky
Coho 4
Mid-day meat fish
8/10/16 Manistee
Frog vs. Ghostbuster
9/26/17 Fish Box
Skinny Minnie vs. Ghostbuster Pattern
8/2/9/96 Manistee
Over 20 Coho & Kings!
August 1983
Detroit News photo by Dave Richey |
