July 2005

August2005

Sept. 2005 

September

9/30/05  Our poll on the planned cuts in the Kings ended up pretty close, after a strong start to those willing to accepts reduced plantings.  53% (yea) to 45%(nay), while a clear majority, is by no means a mandate (unless you're a politician).
     Now, it seems to me,.......something has got lost in the shuffle when it comes to the graph (click for graph) that was in the DNR document posted on 9/25/05.  Something akin to 8.5 million pounds of Kings (Chinooks) were harvested, most of  which would be from Lake Michigan.  We all the know the Kings have shrunk of the past 2 or 3 years, so if we increase the catch rate by 40% by Michigan anglers this could help relieve the pressure on the forage base by harvesting more Salmon.
     This could be accomplished by giving back the 2 Kings that were taken away in 1988, or 1989, when the DNR cut the legal limit from 5 to 3 Kings.  All in all, this solution is very simple, too many fish?....then let the fishermen harvest more and gain a better value from monies spent on fuel, trailering their boat, then the gas burned to and from the fishing grounds.  This is a win-win proposition and a serious chance for the DNR to take a positive direction helping preserve our fishery.
     I installed poll concerning the issue of raising the Michigan legal limit of Kings to 5.  There's a vast difference nowadays in size, 3 average Kings in 1996 would weigh 60 pounds plus in August!  From what I've seen, 3 average Kings in 2005 might go 40 pounds if you're lucky.  Also, in 1996 more alternative species of Steelhead, Browns and a far better Coho catch rate meant you might be able to take for a legal 5 fish combined limit.  In 2005 it was pretty much all Kings ballgame in central and northern Lake Michigan.  Please vote and we'll see how the new poll ends up.

9/29/05  Gale force winds, cold and rainy is the deal here in Manistee today.  This coming weekend is predicted to be pretty decent with sunshine & highs in the 70s.  
     Took a ride thru Wellston on M55 yesterday and it looked like a ghost town.  Normally, at the time of the year, all the motels and cabins in Wellston are full.  Generally, there's a big influx of river anglers. Not so in 2005!  Gas prices must be keeping a certain amount of folks home, along with tougher anti-snagging enforcement.  Wellston & Brethren, MI are the two towns (and I mean small) closest to renowned Tippy Dam.

9/28/05  Manistee County has had a fair amount of rain in the last week.  This flush of new water has Kings staging at the river mouths.  The mouth of the Big Manistee River in Manistee Lake is showing some pretty decent catches for the small boat fishermen.  Trolling with Flatfish in pearl, or white are best from what I heard.  
    Look for action for river Kings to reach it's peak very soon.  The predicted cold snap for tomorrow with lows sinking towards the 30 degree mark should make the fishing even better.

9/27/05  Mr. Tom Rozich was in a guest in my house yesterday, via Channel 7 TV out of Traverse City.  Mr. Rozich is the DNR's fishery management leader for my neck of the woods in the Cadillac Office of the MDNR.  He was at the Little Manistee Harvest Weir doing a TV interview about the spearing of Salmon going on at the weir by militant members of the Little River Band of Native Americans.  
     Tom handled himself knowledgeably, explaining the DNR was there to take names of the tribe doing the spearing.   Rozich is to be applauded for his TV appearance and concern, even though the DNR's hands are said to be tied by the federal courts. 
    This is clearly a publicity stunt by the tribe to draw attention to this highly controversial issue.  Unlimited inland rights hunting and fishing rights issues are now in the federal courts.  It's not enough the members of this tribe are all instant millionaires (casino monies paid to them over a period of time), they demand more!
    Those spearing are claiming tribal immunity and citing the rights from the 1836 treaty.  This is a disgusting display of no ethics from a group calling themselves the First Americans.  I'm sure,...all members of the LRB do not subscribe to these actions!

9/26/05  Making your own "Salmon Candy" is the title of a new article on the drawing board. Preparing Bait 1 which concerns how to fillet and cure your own herring fillets at a substantial savings needs updating. Much has been learned since 2004 when a viable alternative for the commercially prepared strips went into use. 
     While many view using cut-bait, or whole herring as a new way to catch Salmon, 
it fact, it's the oldest method, far pre-dating all the tackle currently on the market!  After the poll about cutting back the fish plants of Kings Lake Michigan, I'll install another poll pertaining to the your most productive lures in the 2005 season. Polls from 2003 and 2004 are archived and available for a true comparison.
    What worries me about the DNR discussions on Salmon plant reductions?  Once they take something away, history shows the DNR unwilling to give it back, hence the 5 King limits we once could catch,.....are only a footnote in the history books!

9/25/05  With the recent news about a planned reduction in the Chinook (King) Salmon plantings in Michigan I have a .pdf document pertaining to this fact.  Several options have been outlined, including a 25% cut across the board in all species which is plainly shows MDNR's lack of wisdom.  I know my comment will be viewed as cynical by the DNR hierarchy, but cutting the Browns and Steelhead which feed on differing parts of the forage base at certain times of the season is plain stupid!  Factoring in, Browns and Steelhead the populations have been down spiraling downward the past few years.  Click here to for the DNR .pdf file and read it for yourself.
     In this day and age, generally everything concerns cutting back and downsizing.  Why not give Michigan's Great Lakes fishermen the 2 Kings back the DNR took away in 1989 and reinstate the 5 Kings as a legal per day limit?  Anglers in other states have this luxury, so why not us Michiganganders?

9/24/05  Lake Michigan fishing info has been pretty hard to come by for the past few days.  Rain and wind has prevented much off the dock action from what I've been able to discern.  Rumors about illegal wholesale harvesting of Kings from the Little Manistee Harvest Weir have been mentioned to me.  Before I give these rumors one iota of credence, more investigation on my part must be done.

9/23/05  Our new poll was running at 2 to 1 with the guys favoring a cutting the King Salmon plant.  The mere mention of this would have brought about war cries 3 years ago!  We'll just have to wait until 2006 to see what the master plan is. 
    A missed opportunity by our DNR was not raising the legal limit on Kings to thin out the herd even more in 2005.  5 Kings are legal in Wisconsin, so why not here?  This would help the charter fleet and the boats with 2 or 3 fishermen get more value out of the fuel costs.  Let's face it, the way fishing has been in 2005, 3 King limits are fairly common place and pretty easy for the knowledgeable angler to come by.  Plus, 5 Kings used to be legal in Michigan until the BKD (bacterial kidney disease) fiasco in 1987 and 1988 that severely depleted the amount of Kings in Lake Michigan.

9/22/05  Please take the new poll I installed in the left border of this website.  It concerns if you're in favor of smaller Salmon plantings.  While I'm in favor of any efforts to preserve our fishery, steps must taken to have a better balanced fishery instead of the "Kings, or not much else"....like we have now.  Lake Trout, Coho, Browns and Steelhead are part and parcel of the fish that dwell in the waters bounding Michigan's north, east and west coasts.  We all realize the DNR can not work miracles, but addressing the issues of ALL Salmon and Trout species is in everyone's best interest.  Let's hope for a sit down, face to face meeting of all the fishery chiefs from Michigan, Ontario, New York, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin to put this issue on the front burner.  The states and province mentioned all have a big stake in this! Click for a fairly average salmon from just a few seasons ago

9/21/05   Something I never seen before and was brought to my attention on last Friday's prototype testing session.  In all my years of Salmon fishing on the Great Lakes I cleaned plenty of smaller early maturing male Kings (jacks), but never seen a mature hen (female) that was under 10 lbs, ripe, full of eggs and ready to spawn.  
   We had a couple females around 8 pounds that were true adult spawners.  If forced to guess the age of these hens, I'd say they were 2 year old adult female Kings.  Granted the times I fished in 2004 and 2005 you could count on your hands and toes, but this new weakening gene pool trend is cause for major concern.
    Scuttle butt from the MDNR is an upcoming 25% reduction in the 2006 King Salmon plants and eliminating local net pen projects.  With this cut-back, no downsizing, or layoffs are planned in the DNR.  Nor are there to be increases in other species to make up for the trimmed down hatchery efforts, or a 25% decrease in our yearly resident fishing licenses.  Please keep in mind, this info is not 100% confirmed yet.
However, I'm willing bet the farm......fishing licenses will not be cut 25% for 2006!

9/20/05  If anyone is under the impression Salmon Season 2005 is over, please check out today's photos posted from Capt. Len's charter yesterday.  He took 14 fish with a good mix of Coho and Kings.  6 of the Salmon came after 11:30am, all on the meat and my stuff. Not too bad for a 1/2 day charter...eh?  Click for this catch
    There's a side bar to this story, as Capt. Len stopped by my place the previous evening to cut-up and prepare the whole Green Label Fish On herring I recommend.  If you're gonna run meat, your meat program is only going to be as good as the meat!  
Click here for Meat Head mug shot         Click for the hot rigs used
It pays huge rewards if you take the time and prepare your own, as today's photo of Lucky Charm Charter's brag board clearly prove.  Len's big catch sidetracked me from a disturbing trend I never seen before with our Kings.....to be discussed tomorrow!

9/19/05  Good weather and good fishing is a hard combination to beat here in Manistee County.  Now-a-days charter operators are blessed with a big crop of Kings in 2005.  All be it may, the size is way down from a few years ago.  Smaller, under 20 pound Salmon are a lot easier for the charter customers to handle then the over 25lb. ruffians. In the 1990s when 30 pounders were roaming about, fish of this size would plain tucker folks out.  I seen a 32 pound King fatigue 3 people, all taking turns on the same rod.  For easier limits and Salmon that can be landed with relative ease, the constant evolving Great Lakes Fishery has the charter fleet grinning form ear to ear!
Tomorrow's focus will be on a new problem I never witnessed before with our Kings!

9/18/05  I guess, I'm still kind a wowed by the amount of adult Kings still providing an excellent fishery this late into September.  This is a vast departure from what is considered normal in anyone's book.  Generally, by the second week of September adults start getting fairly scarce, not so for the 2004 and 2005 seasons!
     Fishermen that fished yesterday off Manistee all had fair to good results and I heard of one charter boat that took 16 on his morning 1/2 day trip.  The boats that did best adjusted from the former deep Salmon (70' to 100') over depths top 200' to fishing much shallower and tighter to the 50 to 60 foot drop off (Manistee's shelf).

9/17/05  Phase II prototype tests were completed yesterday afternoon.  From 4:00pm to 6:15pm we had 6 strikes and boated 3 Kings, then Lake Michigan decided to get ugly.  We started out in comfortable 1 to 2 footer that built to 2 to 4 footers when it got a little to uncomfortable to fish, just past 6:15pm.  We pulled lines after boxing our last King and were underway towards the pier heads about 6:30pm.
     All 5 strikes came on a brand new product/conception for the 2006 season.  My thanks goes out to Capt. Len Mitchell and John J for helping make the test session a huge success.  Click for the 1st fish on 2006 product  I look to refine this project even more next week, so this product (like all my stuff) is fully proven before it's world's debut by March 2006. 
                           Click for further product proof
    There's still plenty of Kings left in Lake Michigan from what we witnessed, thus extending the season well beyond normal.  Full cores and divers did all the damage and never had a rigger hit.  Surface temp was 69 degrees and the thermocline was 60 to 70 feet down.

9/16/05  Fishing yesterday in Manistee was pretty darn good.  Capt. Dave  (a neighbor of John J's) took his limit of 9 Kings mostly after 10am.  The Salmon were coming 90 to 100 feet down, over 180 to 200 feet of water.  His best rig was a 
X-Glow Bluetail Flasher with a top-secret 2006 prototype X-Glow 3 Fly meat rig.
     This afternoon I'll have to change my status as a land lubber and eagerly climb aboard Capt. Len Mitchell's 32' Sea Ray Amberjack.  Look for a hands on, straight skinny Lake Michigan report tomorrow from yours truly.

9/15/05   Small game season and with bow hunting right around the corner means less pressure for the dedicated anglers.  High fuel costs have kept our weekend crowds far below normal and that's gonna help too.  
    More water testing is in order for a brand new product line I hope to debut in early 2006.  Favorable weather and Capt. Len Mitchell's 32' Sea Ray is what the plan is for tomorrow afternoon.

9/14/05  Did a water test on a top-secret project for 2006 yesterday afternoon.  Initial test went OK, but some minor tweaks still may be necessary.  The Big Manistee River is like bath water in the lower half, look for an improving river Salmon bite once cooler weather takes hold.

9/13/05  Recent south winds has done little to enhance fishing off Manistee.  September and south wind team up and pile loads of warm water on the normal fishing grounds.  In fact, I've seen 72 degrees top to bottom out to depths of 200 feet.
    Fishing pressure has definitely lessened, as the unofficial end of the 2005 adult King season is fast approaching.  Look for predicted north and northwest winds to shake things up a bunch and improve everyone's chances later this week, 
    Next year's juvenile Salmon & Steelhead will soon to pile up on Manistee's shelf later this month and into early October.  The only question will be how many days the winds let you get off the dock, cuz the windy season on Lk. MI is just about here.

9/12/05  This past August I had the grand opportunity to meet "Bayliner" Bob J.  Bob's one of those good-natured individuals focused on doing as much damage to Michigan's Salmon population,........as the law allows!
      When I spoke with him at 11am yesterday morning, he'd boated 19 Kings, releasing most.  Bob is now fishing the Grand Traverse Bay not too distant from the Boardman River.  He's in Traverse City and introducing various members of the Detroit Red Wings (their training camp is based in TC) to the area's Salmon fishery.
     Bob was informed by the local experts and charter operators cut-bait didn't work, cuz the Salmon were staging and not eating!  After being armed with a good selection of my products & herring, he's currently setting the benchmark for fish caught in the TC.  Now, he's the go-to guy, as the local "experts" are seeking knowledge from him.
     What makes this story more than interesting is the Grand Traverse Bays offer semi-protected waters and a healthy herd of Kings there for the taking after the action wanes on the more well known ports like Manistee, Ludington and Frankfort. 
      Hope to have some pictures of Bob's great adventure in TC with some of the team members from the Detroit Red Wings very soon.

9/11/05  Capt. Brian G had a passable morning out of Manistee yesterday.  They landed 5 Kings and missed about handful more.  Best depth was around 120' with the riggers set 80' to 90' down.  Brian reported a pitiful early morning. bite.  From my personal experience, deep fish do not get enough light penetration to turn-on until later in the morning (I've seen this countless times).
     The seas were out of the SE and kinda lumpy compared to last Friday's forecast.
If you're fishing Manistee and there's a strong south, or SE wind, fish south past Guerney Creek ('bout 5 miles south). You'll have excellent deep-water structure closer to shore and Big Point Sable will partially shelter you from the wind.  The seas in the area I described are generally half of what you'll have straight out of Manistee.

9/10/05  Just not much to report today.  Reel-busy with a new project for 2006 and that hasn't left much time for anything else.  Capt. Brian G is using my place as a base camp for his efforts and I should have a pretty decent fishing update tomorrow.
    Great Lakes Salmon fishing has long been dominated by the west coast tackle manufacturers who use foreign products and, or outsourcing for pieces/parts.  With the pending sale of Luhr Jensen to Normark (Rapala) I see this problem to only worsen.  Eroding our economy and shipping jobs outside of the USA is not in anyone's best interest.  Buy American, who knows?.......the job you save, might be your own!  

9/9/05  The weather for this weekend is on the side of the fishermen looking to pick a fight with Mr. King Salmon.  Daytime temps in the mid-80s tomorrow and Lake Michigan is gonna be one foot or less with wind out of the south at 5 to 15 knots.
Gas in Manistee was $2.98 yesterday, so let's hope we've seen the worst of fuel costs.  There's been talk in Lansing of suspending the 6% sales tax on gas lately.

9/8/05  I have the world's greatest respect for the Algoma Assassins, cuz they don't mess around and let a simple thing like the fish being down over 250 feet stand in their way.  During this past Labor Day Weekend they took 5 fish (WI legal) per person limits at 270 to 288 feet down on their rigger's counters with my products.       
    Myself?  I never took any Salmon deeper 155 feet and thought that was extreme!  Deep, deep trolling and boxing out sure beats fishing shallower with skimpy results.
    Dickie P, Steve S, Terry's Toy, Sea Dog and Blue Rhino all deserve a pat on the back for breaking into the "undiscovered territory."  Algoma, Wisconsin's structure is far different then what we deal with here Michigan.  Either they have tons of cold water, or warm water to depths us Michigan guys can't imagine for the most part.
    I've seen those deep marks while fishing over 400 to 800 feet of water while fishing top 30 feet for Steelhead (back when we had some in 1990s) in June a bunch times and never actually knew what they were.  Although, I strongly suspected those deep marks were Salmon. Click for Blue Rhino's Labor Day 05 Algoma report
     Once again, my congrats to these wily Wisconsin Salmon fishermen for being resourceful, open-minded and willing to sharing their knowledge base with us.

9/7/05  Fishing with the same group of fishermen, out of the same port can lull one into believing his port and the guys fishing it are the best on the lake.  This a wrong line of thinking.  I fished many ports on Lakes Huron, Erie and Michigan, thus cross referencing several knowledge bases from more fishermen then I can ever hope to remember.   Some ports/fishermen were better at certain techniques and some were misinformed, stubborn and a bunch were phenomenal at all times of the season.     
     However, for the most part, the groups I'm speaking of were great at imitating and did little to advance new methods, or even look at new things in a favorable light.
     So, I guess the point I'm trying to make is; we have a small clan of fishermen, using my products in Wisconsin that have broke new ground all by themselves.  I'm speaking of what I'm gonna call from now on, the "Algoma Assassins" consisting of Terry's Toy, Dickie P, Blue Rhino, Steve S.  Click for a 9/4/05 Terry's Toy catch
     I'll have some extraordinary news for you tomorrow that should set you back on your heels, courtesy of the "Algoma Assassins." Click for a 9/5/05 Blue Rhino catch

9/6/05  The Labor Day Weekend crowd in Manistee was somewhat diminished by the high cost of gas.  Straight out of Manistee and a couple of miles both north and south had the heaviest boat pressure, offering the least productivity. The fishermen I spoke with had traveled about 5 miles north towards Onekama, or south of Guerney Creek and had pretty darn decent luck with many limit catches reported.
    Capt. Tom Rasmussen report from last Saturday was encouraging, he mentioned all bright silvery fish from 9 to 17 pounds.  Salmon are in both the Big and Little Manistee Rivers, but not in full force yet,......for the time being, plenty of adults left in Lk. MI.

9/5/05  Lighter SE winds today shifting to the SW means everyone will finish the Labor Day Weekend with fairly decent conditions.
     Another boat hit the Ludington pier last night at 10pm, the tally is 3 for the 2005 season.  Those unfamiliar with navigating a port should not do so in the dark.  Not being able to spot a lump of breakwall can happen, cuz over-shadowing city lights can be deceiving.  Always mark your main returning waypoint at least a 1/2 mile out from any harbor entrance, then mark a number 2 waypoint between the pier heads for restricted visibility when it's dark, or foggy.
     Capt. J. Foy stopped by my place yesterday to replenish is supply of Black Ice 3 Fly Meat Rigs.  Joe said, "in the last 3 days we've caught at least 30 fish on the Black Ice."  He's found his best success with the Black Ice combo on his divers with 60' to 80' of line off the reels dialed on 2. Click for a Black Ice stuck in a fish face photo

9/4/05 I spent the goodly portion of yesterday taking care of my tackle sale.  Leaving little time for me to have much of a current fishing update for today.
   Here's a fairly recent report from Capt. Jerry: John, I have been a member (of the message board) for a year. My buddy and I caught this 28 pounder last Friday night in Manistee in 40’ of water. We caught it on the Twin Krystal Killer Rig. Your cut meat program has worked great for us for 2 years now. 
 Click here for Jerry's 9/2/05 Master Angler King
Thank you for helping us make our fishing trips more successful. 
Capt. Jerry P               
www.sportlogbooks.com 
“Log It So You Never Forget It”

9/3/05  Yesterday's 3 to 6 footers from the northwest has kept pressure light on the numbers of Kings available to the Labor Day Weekend Salmon Seeker.  In fact several of Manistee's charter operators cancelled yesterday's trips.
                      Here's today's wind and wave forecast:
Saturday: Northwest winds 5 to 15 knots. Partly sunny. Waves 1 to 2 feet.
Saturday Night: Northeast winds 5 to 15 knots. Partly cloudy. Waves 1 foot or less.
Look for the Kings to be up high (top 40 feet) and a war zone in and around the all harbor entrances in central to northern Lake Michigan. Inshore surface water temp in Ludington is 60 degrees according to reliable sources.  There should be a bunch of Kings running towards the rivers in the next few days.

9/2/05  Lumpy seas is yesterday's story from Manistee's Salmonville.  4 to 5 footers meant only the larger vessels fished yesterday. To worsen the situation, the wind was out of the west, making a north/south troll along Manistee's "shelf" a very uncomfortable ride in beam seas.  Combating a stout west wind generally means a west troll to deep water (400'), then turning east, back inshore.....towards the shelf.
     More rough water is predicted for today, so this weekend's population of Kings haven't been hurt too bad this week.  Gas in Manistee came down a bit to $3.38 at the Wesco in Parkdale, MI, so there is some slight relief is insight.
     I'll be sending most of today tagging items for my mega-tackle sale tomorrow.  The sale starts precisely at noon on Saturday, Sept. 3,2005.  Early arrivers will be not able to view, shop, purchase until straight-up noon.  There will be no haggling over price.  I know what the stuff is worth, so do not insult me by asking less then my already rock bottom, low-ball prices for quality equipment.  Those who want to dicker over prices will be asked to leave my property at once!

9/1/05  Today's normal update about fishing would be out of step with what's going on with the fast rising fuel prices.  Gas in and around my area now ranges from 3.20 to 3.60 a gallon.  Michigan is one of the very few states to charge sales tax on gas, now is the time for Governor Granholm and the legislators in Lansing to suspend this tax!  That would save us about .20 cents a gallon. It's also time for the US Congress to reinstate the windfall profits tax on the oil industry like they did in the 1970s.

August

8/31/05  I was on business trip to Cadillac and Lake City, Michigan yesterday.  Gas was $2.99 (highest) at M37 & M55 and ranged from 2.79 to 2.69 in the rest of the areas I traveled.  Marina gas in Manistee has to be over 3 bucks a gallon and my heart goes out to the charter guys trying to make a buck in the fishing business.  
     More costly gas means staying closer to port for charter operators.  My former 28' Cherokee got about 1.1 miles to the gallon, so a round trip (24 miles) to Big Point Sable from Manistee nowadays is at least 100 bucks, counting fuel used while trolling.
     It's like the charter operator that hit the lottery.  When the lucky captain was asked, "what are you gonna do now that you have all that money?  He quickly replied, "I guess,..... I'll just keep chartering until the money runs out."

8/30/05  Things are setting up nicely for this week's Salmon fishermen.  Catching will improve this week, as the Salmon population recovers from the extreme pressure and harvest rate from this past weekend.  Trying to describe the crowd in Manistee is akin to the amount of people it takes to make a "Moses Movie!"  The parking lot at the First Street Public Launch in Manistee has been totally beyond jam packed.  
    Labor Day Weekend fishermen can look forward to outstanding catching if they can locate some "clean" water away from the pack.  In Manistee that means; fishing way south, or way north.  Reports from Onekama and Arcadia have been decent, but not rave reviews.  South towards Big Point Sable is always a safe bet.  The recreational anglers tend to stay pretty close to port, so be prepared to go on a hike for best results.  The serious die-hards will have continued great opportunities after Labor Day when the crowd thins out.  I plan on some dedicated product testing after the holiday zoo is over aboard John J's Megan Ann.

8/29/05  Here's what I know from this past weekend.  Saturday it got lumpy towards noon and a bunch never even left port in the am.  Yesterday, Capt. Tom Rasmussen was sitting on 9 Kings at 9:30am, pretty much straight of Manistee's "shelf."  That pretty much sums up my total knowledge base for now.  As more reports filter in today, I could add another defined update sometime later this afternoon.
    My hat is off to Capt. Chris S for winning the Bluewater Club Tournament held weekend before last in Ludington. Click for Capt Chris & his winning catch His 10 fish catch pulled the scales down to 136 pounds, nearly a 40 lb. advantage over 2nd place.  He also finished 4th in the Frankfort GLPAA a few weeks ago too. Capt. Chris is a firm believer in my products and docks at Thomson's Marina in Ludington.

8/28/05  The Benzie Frenzy Tournament in Frankfort is the big news around my area.  From those I spoke with, the number of boats there this weekend was insane.
I'll try to update you on the winners, once this info becomes available.
     To pick up where I left off yesterday about one of my pet sayings, "if we're gonna make a mistake again?....let's make a brand new one!"  Equate this with beating on a dead horse.  The point I'm trying to make is: it's impossible to be on the fish every time off the dock.  Just be smart enough not to repeat the initial bad call.
      New adjustments in speed, or depth can often make a meaningful difference.  Changing locations must always be quickly considered, especially if you're stuck in the barren desert of No-Fishville!  Boats around you can say volumes and if no nets are going down?.....you're not the only person suffering from lack of rodular activity.  Learning to be adaptable/mobile will pay huge rewards in fish tonnage in the long run.

8/27/05  Yesterday's trip to Capt. Chucks in Ludington was concluded by dropping off whole Fish On herring in the red and blue sizes.  Their supply of my products were replenished with the brand new Black Ice Reel Flasher and matching 3 Fly Meat Rig.  The red-hot Krystal Killer Flasher and it's twin 3 Fly Meat Rig was restocked too.
    Whether you fish spoons, J-Plugs, or finned Flashers/flies Capt. Chuck has the best selections of tackle in Manistee, Mason and Benzie Counties.  Both Craig and Dick (the owners) are avid fishermen and know how important it is to have the right stuff!
    Tomorrow?.....let's have some insights into one of my original sayings: "If we're gonna make a mistake again?.....let's make a brand new one!"  More on the ideology behind this line of thought in the next update.

8/26/05  By all recent reports, from Saugatuck to Charlevoix is good, so no matter where you're gonna wet a line in Lake Michigan, the odds are in your favor.
     I plan on being in Ludington no later then 2pm today at Capt. Chucks.  This store will have Green and Blue Label sized Fish On herring for the Mason County crowd intent on wrecking havoc upon the Salmon population this weekend!  Don's Bait and Tackle in Manistee was restocked last night with whole herring too.

8/25/05  Capt. Bill W reported in from Saugatuck with a one hour meat catch from hell!  Here's Bill's exact words: "John, we got these in a one-hour flurry of total chaos off Saugatuck this morning in 40 feet of water.... The Mountain Dew meat rig got our biggest fish. That flasher/meat rig combo has been absolutely dynamite for us this year"......The "Finchaser"  Click for a 3 man, 9 King limit
      Lack of meat in my area of the north country means a quick business trip to Metro Detroit today, so I can pick up herring.  Don's Bait and Tackle in Manistee and Capt. Chucks in Ludington will be re-stocked with Fish On whole herring (in most sizes) and strips by Friday some time.  There will be bait for this weekend's Salmon angler in Ludington and Manistee.

8/24/05 Fished Frankfort yesterday with John J & Roscoe aka Steve Burns.  Dropped lines on the fish around 4pm and our 9th King went in the net at 6:58pm.  4 to 7pm is not prime time for Salmon, but we were there to test new stuff.  A true test is when the fishing is a little on the tough side, cuz just about anything can catch Salmon in the early and late,....rip-city hours.  Click for our lethal weapon: Mr. Black Ice  
     Our brand new prototype Black Ice combo flasher/3 fly meat rig proved it's metal to all aboard, by boxing 5 of our 9 Salmon.  Please keep in mind, we only ran one matching Black Ice rig.  In the area we were in, we did see several boats, but never seen another net go down, other then ours!  Click for Roscoe's proof in the pudding
    Central and northern Lake Michigan has rolled and our surface temperature was 57 to 55 degrees with the majority of our action coming at 20' to 35' down over a 100' to 140'.  We were working an area 2 to 3 miles south of Frankfort's pier heads.  
     I began my charter career in Frankfort in 1983 and this legendary port still remains strikingly picturesque with it's high bluffs and miles of sugar sand beaches

8/23/05  Ever since last Saturday fishing info has been hard to come by, because of lumpy seas running from 4 to 6 feet.  The charters that have been out of Manistee are catching in rough water conditions, but the guests that can tolerate the big seas without turning into Martians is no easy matter.  The fish have come up higher in the water column too.  30' to 40' down was reported to me by Capt. Tom R from Sue Lee Charters and Capt Dave Deforest from Enforcer Charter echoed the same statement.
     Labor Day is still about 2 weeks out, so plenty of great opportunities await those making the trek to Salmon country. If you plan on fishing meat, please locate a good source before leaving downstate, cuz temporarily it's in short supply around Manistee.
      A former deckhand of mine weighed in a 27 pounder after the King after sat in his fish box all night.  Year to date, this is the largest verifiable Salmon I know of.

8/22/05  Today's update is courtesy from the land of cheese and Capt. Steve S:
Kewaunee, WI.....Started the morning waking up past the time we should of been setting lines, so when we got to Kewaunee with the sun well up, motored out to 100 fow and went to set-up.....oops NO MEAT!.......did I mention I got up late? 
     So, I had to look to see if I could find something to run, sent a J-Plug , spoon and I dug up a lonely fly on the boat (which I put behind a JK flasher) and ran them. Then I remembered my good buddy out of Algoma, "Terry's Toy," got him on the radio and begged for some meat. After looking for his boat for 2 hours (and one small king about 5 lbs. on the fly) got some meat around 9 am. Within the next hour we had 7 kings (largest 18.6 ) in the boat. The 15+ knot wind keep pushing us out and boat control was a bit snarly but we ended 10 for 11 by 11:30. 
     Thank You John for the last shipment, the Krystal Killer took 4 fish, monkey puke/red took 4 fish, and the new green blade with green/glow took 2 for a 2 man, 5 Salmon WI limit. Click here for Capt. Steve's 8.21.05 WI catch

8/21/05  The predicted blow with 3 to 5 footers from the NW, then switching due north is gonna shake-up Lake Michigan's thermocline big time.  The temp break had been down 80 to 100 feet (offering the best action), this will surely change.  
    Warm and cold water to not readily mix, because the difference in water densities. Our existing warm water will be pushed elsewhere.   Reaching the fish at 150 to 200 feet down will no longer be the deal.  Mr. Salmon should be in the top 50 feet, tight to structure once this predicted blow subsides Monday pm.  Look for the harbors to load-up with soon to spawn adult Kings intent on entering the streams and rivers.

8/20/05  August 20th starts the "money in the bank season" for the best catches of returning adult Kings.  From today until September 7th it won't get any better then this!  While the run can last into late September (like in 2004), by the middle of Sept. the majority of adults could be in the rivers and creeks that enter into Lake Michigan.  
     On my travels yesterday, I noticed oodles of Salmon rigs were being trailered into Manistee.  Crowded will not describe what gonna go on for the next few weeks, as Salmon Fever 2005 reaches epidemic proportions.  Salmon fever is a life-long incurable disease.  Symptoms tend to vanish once the patient climbs into his boat and wets a line.  Temporary recovery is only aided by the sound of a screaming drags and a full box of the villainous culprits that spread this unshakeable illness in the first place!

8/19/05  Action on all fronts is pretty wild for those seeking King (Chinook) Salmon on Lake Michigan.  While the Kings are about 5 pounds smaller then what they were 5 years ago, sheer numbers make up for the lack of heft.  The Michigan DNR should kick up the limit to 5, as to thin out the herd ASAP.  There's just too many to grow many big quality 30 some pound fish like we used to have.  Let's hope something is done before Lake Michigan follows Lake Huron down the tubes.  
     The coming cold front means Manistee's harbor is gonna load up with returning Kings.  Look for wall to wall boats and plenty of short tempers.  Harbor patrol combat fishing, while not enjoyable is a sure fire way for the small boater to get his licks on the near shore Salmon. Click for the hot rigs on 8/18/05  Click for 8/18/05 catch

8/18/05   Easy catching is the deal for those now cashing in on the Lake Michigan's over abundance Kings in 2005.  All ports are good, with central and northern Lk. MI leading the way to limit catches, bent rods, sore arms and heavy boxes of Kings.  I updated the GLPAA results to better show all who used my stuff last weekend.
      Here's a rave review E-mail from a 1st time user of my products/meat program: 
"I just thought I would tell you the success I had w/ your product at Manistee last weekend. If you remember I called you Thursday night to get a few tips on how to run your product that I have never tried before. Boy, did they help. We didn’t bother messing w/the 4-6 footers Friday morning, but we did go out Friday night. We started fishing about 6pm, and the action was tremendous. I see why you don’t need to run more than 4 rods. I didn’t even have time to get 6 out. Every time I would try to get my lead core out, someone would be yelling “fish on”. We ended up going 7 for 11 in only 2 hours of fishing. We didn’t even stay for last bite, because I needed to find more cut bait for the Steelheaders Tournament on Saturday. The total catch was nearly 90lbs. The day of the tournament I turned in 9 Kings, for a total of 91lbs. Placing us, “fishin’ addiction”, with 6th. If I could of caught my 1 off-species fish I would have been right near the top."  Thanks for the help,......Capt. Allen M.

8/17/05  Here' s reel-reports from one of our private message board members: 
"John - So many pics I have with all of my kids (partners) but I picked two so as to not overload your puter. The cooler shows the rigs I have used for most of the last month (minus a Chartreuse Glow or canary that is usually out) and the other shows me and my 10 yr old. We have boated lots of good fish and have spread the word on your products to anyone that asks. I made the teaser rigs with mostly your components and filleted the baits and myself, as well...... following your directions. 
               Click for Team Chaos           Click for Capt. Steve's hot rigs
Thanks again for all the good info and products"......Capt Steve E (Chaos) Midland, Mi

GLPAA Frankfort Results: 1 FishByte II 186.78, 2 4C's (Codfish) 184.08,
3 Getaway  179.98, 4 Reel People 176.50, 5 Reel to Reel 171.0, 6 Fish Files 166.28, 
7 One in the box 166.20, 8 Official Business 164.22, 9 R&R (2-shot) 164.06, 10 Sea Joy 163.86, 11 Castaways 163.58, 12 FBI III 163.00, 13 Team RP2 (Fishwhore) 158.02, 14 Reel Screamer (mission awards) 156.68, 15 Big Dog (dgilber) 156.20, 16 Sea Joy II 154.46, 17 Huron Caster III 153.00, 18 Double Time 147.64, 
19 Lucky 146.54, 20 Great White (mwittbrodt) 145.34      Members in: bold blue
Light Blue designates those who used my stuff, but are not message board members.

8/16/05  9 of the top 20 boats in the recent GLPAA tournament for our private message board, means these teams are a fish-force to be reckoned with.
    Let's focus on some history of excellent working colors or patterns on Lk. Michigan from 20 to 30 years ago. In 1977, George Richey (Richey Custom Flies) came out with the "Sparkle Fly" that spelled doom for many King and Coho Salmon ( almost three decades ago).  In 1985, Big Jon ( down rigger company) debuted a Jon's Squid that was called, "Crystal Squid," and tons of Salmon met their death on this lethal offering.  Both of the afore mention products had light gathering characteristics, relying on existing natural light and a prism effect to fool our quarry.
      It was a natural for me to design the new "Krystal Killer" 3 Fly Meat Rig taking a queue from what devastated Salmon a long time ago. For the last 3 weeks, everyone who had this prototype in action reported excellent results, plus came back and purchased twice their original amount.  I even changed the name of the clear blade, Cracked Ice Reel Flasher to the "Krystal Killer," to better suit this deadly combination. Being able to "match the hatch" & have exactly matching products gives my stuff a tremendous advantage over my less inspired foreign competition in this marketplace.

8/15/05  The members from our private message board are all to be congratulated for their remarkable efforts in the GLPAA Frankfort, MI Tournament held this past weekend.  When you crunch the numbers, we had 15% of the total entrants, 50% of the top 10 on the 1st day and 30% overall in the final top 10 standings.  The vast majority of our teams finished in the top 25 of a 75 boat field.
     Now, I know,..... I should be expounding all the virtues about the grand and glorious products I make, but that's just plain not necessary.  I will not subtract any credit from the total team effort put forth by our private message board members.  It was their skill, determination and cooperation that put them on the leader board.
     Trailerable boats that were in the 20' to 24' range beat out the plus 30' battle cruisers and several local charter operations, cuz that's what most of our members have.  I am beyond ecstatic for our membership!  They all did this website proud!
     Tomorrow, I'll spill the beans on the hot meat rigs.  What was once old?..... is viewed as new again and kicking butt on Lake Michigan Salmon.  I've been sitting on this rig for about 3 weeks, to aid our members with an advantage in the GLPAA event. Stay tuned for the reel-story, cuz you ain't heard much about this meat rig yet.
     If you're curious and can't wait until tomorrow for this announcement?  I posted the reel-story on www.michiganangler.com  This new, yet old pattern has been hotter then a firecracker for the last 3 weeks. 

8/14/05  Yesterday's first day standing in the Frankfort GLPAA tournament have been very kind to our private message board members.  Fish Byte is leading with 98.26, 2nd Reel to Reel 95.54, 3rd Getaway 90.00, 4th Codfish 89.64, 5th 2 Shot 88.34, 6th Minnies Money, and 10th place Fishwhore 82.44.  There's 75 boats in this contest and half of the top 10 are ALL private message board members.  This a firm testament to the knowledge level of our cherished membership & the quality of info exchanged. Message board members are displayed in: blue bold type.
      The recent Flint Steelheaders tourney in Manistee was a huge success, all be it may the 2003 & 2004 Manistee winner (Roscoe), plus this 2004 & 2005 Ludington victor fell a little short and finished mid-pack.  Steve "Roscoe" Burns had a great week in Manistee never the less, with several outstanding catches.  Steve unselfishly shared all his fishing info with us last week and his fellow competitors in the spirit of true sportsmanship!  While the details to me on final Flint Steelheaders standings are very sketchy, a boat named Trophie won.

8/13/05  We're approach the prime time for big catches of adult Kings and this reel-fact is confirmed by the many summer Salmon tournaments.  I hope to post the 1st day results of the GLPAA tourney in Frankfort and club tourneys like the Flint Steelheaders contest going on in Manistee today.  I hope to make it to the weigh-in of the Flint deal today for first hand info.
    The word on the fish is a very, very deep subject!  Reported depths where Salmon were being caught was 175' down in Frankfort and 190' to 200' down in Manistee.  Does anyone really want fish this deep?  Heck no, but the alternative could be a skimpy box, if you don't.  Early bite, out of temp fish are coming shallower, after it's gets bright, it seems like the villains from the deep are far more cooperative.

8/12/05  Tomorrow starts the long awaited Frankfort GLPAA Tournament on Lake Michigan.  We have about 10 teams from our private message board in this contest.  The captain's meets starts at 7:00pm with pre-registrations beginning prior at 6pm.  
I plan on being in Frankfort around 5pm to met and greet several of our members.
    Click here for a map to the Capt's meeting at Frankfort Elementary School
Roscoe reported in with another outstanding morning on Lake Michigan out of the Port of Manistee.  He boxed 9 good sized adult Kings and a bonus Lake Trout.  His fish today came even deeper, as 200' down over 200 to 250 feet of water were the magic numbers.  He fished south out of port, and when the crowd started pounding 100 to 150 feet of water on the shelf, he moved out to the 200 to 250 feet range to escape the zany zoo of boats.  Click here for Roscoe's deep water meat catch

8/11/05  Congratulations to the crew of "Sloppy Joe" for winning the Detroit Area Steelheaders annual Ladies Day Tournament.  Capt. Joe fished 2 riggers and 2 divers to lead the field to victory.  His winning weight was 98 pounds in the allowed 6 fish at weigh-in.  Yep, you guessed it, this crew exclusively used my flashers and meat rigs.  Women are a joy to fish with and seldom loose fish from what I experienced during the 21 years I was a charter boat operator. Click for the tourney winning catch
     I did a "oops" yesterday by not completing the update about the deep, 190 feet down Kings that are filling Roscoe's box.  He's targeting the tight to structure fish for the early bite fishing down 70' to 90', then sliding out to the deeper water (200' to 250') to get away from the extreme heavy morning pressure all Lake Michigan ports are plagued with.  His lead length on his riggers varies from 12 to 20 feet back, then he fishes the deep marks at 160' to 190' down.  His best flasher/meat rig combo is a X-Glow Quad Glow and a X-Glow Frog meat rig. The glowie stuff has to provide a better target, as little light penetrates the depths mentioned.  Sight, sound and scent is what's turning these deep fish into biters.
  Click for Roscoe's deep water results

8/10/05  I'll give further details about today's update later this morning.  To spike your interest, a goodly portion of the mid-day fish are coming at 190 down over the 250 to 200 depths.  Prior to my flashers, this was the undiscovered territory and few ever ventured this deep.  Tune in later, ..........if you're up for a deep subject?

8/9/05  I'd like to thank all Ludington area Salmon fishermen for their tremendous show of support at Capt. Chucks for my American made fishing products.  I'm in the process of re-stocking this store today.  Capt. Chucks is a flagship store and a fine example of how a mom and pop tackle store can survive and surpass the larger chain stores with far superior service & tailor made selections to better suit a local area.
    Don's in Manistee is almost out of product too and I'm doing my best to make sure they have the needed colors for the upcoming Detroit and Flint Steelheaders chapter tournaments.  This store is in the rebuilding stage after the former owner (I knew well passed away).  Don's is located about 7 blocks south of the First Street stop light on the east side of US31 by the eyeglasses place.
    Manistee is still bezerk with Kings and the best depth yesterday was 70 to 90 down over 100 to 140 feet of water.  Salmon-City was straight out of port and slightly to the north.  The boats that fished towards the trap net in the 6s struggled early and did not have the same pace of results of those that fished closer to home.

8/8/05  The report from Manistee continues to be an excellent one. The catching was a tad slower yesterday (Sunday), as the fish continue to go deeper.  Capt. Steve "Roscoe" Burns echoed this statement by taking his largest King (23.5 lbs.) of this past weekend with his rigger counter set at 190 feet over 220 feet of water.  The flasher he caught it on was a X-Glow experimental 2006 prototype blade, but it's very similar to the lethal X-Glow Quad-Glow Reel Flasher. Click for Roscoe's hot rigs
    Roscoe's catch on 8/6/05 was a good one, with a 122 lbs in 9 fish in a pre-fish day for this coming weekend's Flint Steelheader's do in Manistee.  He's kinda in a dither over defending his 2003 and 2004 "back-to-back" wins. Click for his 8/6/05 catch
    As a side bar to today's update, there was a 25 and a 27 pounder weighed in MSFAA big fish contest in Manistee recently.  It's good to see some larger Kings coming to the scale finally!

8/9/05  I'd like to thank all Ludington area Salmon fishermen for their tremendous show of support at Capt. Chucks for my American made fishing products.  I'm in the process of re-stocking them today.  Capt. Chucks is a flagship store and a fine example of how a mom and pop tackle store can survive and surpass the larger chain stores with superior service and tailor made selections to better suit the local area.
    Don's in Manistee is almost out of product too and I'm doing my best to make sure they have the needed colors for the upcoming Detroit and Flint Steelheaders chapter tournaments.  This store is in the rebuilding stage after the former owner (I knew well passed away).  Don's is located about 7 blocks south of the First Street stop light on the east side of US31 by the eyeglasses place.
    Manistee is still bezerk with Kings and the best depth yesterday was 70 to 90 down over 100 to 140 feet of water.  The best area was straight out of port and slightly to the north.  The boats that fished towards the net in the 6s struggled early and did not have the results of those that fished closer to home.

8/8/05  The report from Manistee continues to be an excellent one. The catching was a tad slower yesterday (Sunday), as the fish continue to go deeper.  Capt. Steve "Roscoe" Burns echoed this statement by taking his largest King (23.5 lbs.) of this past weekend with his rigger counter set at 190 feet over 220 feet of water.  The flasher he caught it on was a X-Glow experimental 2006 prototype blade, but it's very similar to the lethal X-Glow Quad-Glow Reel Flasher. Click for Roscoe's hot rigs
    Roscoe's catch on 8/6/05 was a good one, with a 122 lbs in 9 fish in a pre-fish day for this coming weekend's Flint Steelheader's do in Manistee.  He's kinda in a dither over defending his 2003 and 2004 "back-to-back" wins. Click for his 8/6/05 catch
    As a side bar to today's update, there was a 25 and a 27 pounder weighed in MSFAA big fish contest in Manistee recently.  It's good to see some larger Kings coming to the scale finally!

8/7/05  Ludington and Manistee is reel hot for limit catches of Kings to 20 pounds.  Manistee's best area yesterday was from Guerney Creek, south towards Big Point Sable.  Although, there were some good reports as far north on the structure of Onekama's barrel.  Best depths down were 70 to 100 feet over a 110 to 150 feet of water (tight to the "shelf").  Many said the meat-bite after 10pm was phenomenal once the swarms of boats moved off the shelf, scattered & headed for deeper waters.  Best colors were Undertaker, blues, greens, chartreuse, & all the glow stuff.
     Frankfort's deal was much deeper, as I heard reports of Salmon being caught at depths exceeding 170 feet.  Next weekend's GLPAA tourney goes down in Frankfort where you weigh your best 6 fish each day in a two day tournament.  I figure we have about 10 boats from our message board members that are going to participate in this inaugural event.  I look to attend the captain's meeting and the final weigh-in.
    August means extreme heavy boat pressure, so be prepared to show courtesy to your fellow Salmon angler no matter how much they piss you off.  Two wrongs never a make a "RIGHT."  Inland waters U.S.C.G. Rules of the Road are predicated on prevention of collision, so no one NEVER has the complete ultimate right of way.

8/6/05  Flasher production is my deal for today!  I was out of the deadly X-Glows Flashers in the Yellowtail and Bluetail patterns. These should ready to ship by this Tuesday.  Keeping up with demand on the 3 Fly Meat Rigs?.....barely, as we were temporally out of the DSTH series in the Clear Reds yesterday (restocked today).    
    Kingfish Products employees that do piece work have volunteered to come in today & possibly tomorrow to get a workable amount of standing inventory on all products.
    I've had lure tape on order since 6/27/05 from WTP and submitted 2 more orders since that I haven't received yet.  So, I'm in a world of hurt when it comes to the special die-cut pieces to complete assembly of both Reel Flashers and 3 Fly Meat Rigs in certain models.  I'm hoping their dedicated, professional staff comes thru this week and the tape fairy visits my place ASAP.  Click for production team in action

8/5/05  Capt. Steve H is staying at King's Salmon Camp 2005 as my guest.  His report from yesterday evening was a 3 person, three King limit off the waters of Manistee for a heavy box of 9 Kings (most all were adults).  His time of the water was just a evening trip under 4 hours from dock to dock.  Best depth on the riggers? 80 feet, a few bites at 90' down and no hits at 70 feet.  SW wind has driven the Salmon deeper then last weekend by about 50 feet.  As a side note, Steve fishes only 2 riggers and 2 divers out of a 19 foot Lund open.
     Ludington was hit by a reel-gulley washer yesterday morning.  Parts of US 10 between Scottville and Ludington were under water when a severe early morning thunderstorm dumped on Mason County.  This storm kept several boats dockside in the am, cuz it was pretty lumpy after the storm passed thru.
     More on my products are on the way to Capt. Chucks in Ludington today. They were out of my custom full-dress Mag Meat Heads in 4 packs.  They will be re-stocked in the high demand colors of Mountain Dew, Secret One, Ruby Red, Wild Canaries, plus a full series of the glow heads on their shelves for this weekend.

8/4/05  There's still one opening left for this weekend's upcoming Salmon seminar in Ludington, MI with Capt. Paul Vantol.  This confidence building experience starts at 2pm at Thompson's Marina.  If you're looking to cram a bunch of fishing knowledge and put it to good use this season, please consider attending.
     Recent tournament boats took Kings and that was pretty much it.  Lakers, Coho Steelhead and Browns are no longer are much of a player in our summer fishery.  The few times I've been off the dock in 2005, I've yet to seeing anything, but Kings come aboard.  Let's all hope for a better balanced fishery like former DNR Fisheries Chief, John Robertson spoke of in the late 80s when BKD nearly wiped out our strain of Kings in MI.  Having fishable numbers of alternate species is in everyone's best interest.

8/3/05  The fishing yesterday in Manistee, Ludington and Frankfort was just like the weather, hot!  Heavy catches are coming pretty easy, as hoards of hungry downsized Kings are looking for a easy meal.  Let's hope the DNR from Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin work wisely together to bring the forage base vs. prey species into a better balance, cuz it's way out of kilter now.
     I was able to deliver some Reel Flashers yesterday to Capt. Chucks in Ludington, including the brand new Blue Mamba Glow.  If you're looking for any tackle across the board Capt. Chucks has the best selection in Mason, Manistee, Oceana and Benzie County.  Even when I was running charters in the 1990s and early i2ks I drove there from Manistee to shop for the hard to find items.  If you want it?......more then likely Capt. Chucks has it, including a complete line of tackle dedicated to cut-bait.  

8/2/05  August is here, the month we've waited for all season long with dreams of hauling heavy boxes to the cleaning station.  Well, dream no longer as all Lake Michigan are showing phenomenal catching up and down both coasts.  Ludington was once again......reel-hot yesterday with most limiting out on Kings before 10am.
     A welcome journey to Ludington is in store for me today to take my Reel Flashers to Capt. Chucks.  I appreciate the opportunity to better serve the Ludington area fishermen with Capt. Chucks as my only outlet for retail sales in Mason County.

8/1/05  Steve "Roscoe" Burns (Flint Steelheaders) and Tim Horton (Detroit Steelheaders) used the structure of Big Point Sable to win their respective club events this past weekend.  Structure, when available fences up the fish and bait, eliminating 180 degrees of the compass of where the fish are likely to be.  Both of these winners used my flashers and meat rigs to accomplish their goals.  Another interesting fact is both Steve and Tim used only 2 riggers and 2 divers to accomplish their well earned victories.  
      I'm of the belief, the products I offer are better suited to those with trailerable boats, because changing the mind the charter fleet into fewer rods and a smaller spread just ain't gonna happen.  Keeping this in mind, you can review my results at:
2003 past results  when I was still running charters to see how deadly 5 rods can be.

July

7/31/05  I guess the best news I had yesterday is that Roscoe won the Flint Steelheaders tourney in Ludington yesterday.  This is two years running, Burns Unit took top honors in the Ludville fish fest with my products and a simple meat program.
    Personally?.....we struggled yesterday afternoon/evening as lady luck did not want to smile upon our efforts.  While our action was OK (11 or 12 bites), we only managed to box 4 of these wily escape artists.  Still, all in all much info was gained and shared by Mike, Michael, Larry and Terry.  Click the hot rig   Click for our catch photo

7/30/05   Many in the tackle business are more then willing to sell you stuff, but not many offer the after the sale support on correct product usage.  I know for a reel-fact absolutely none of my internet based sales competition has my credentials of being a full time year around charter operator (21 years) and river guide.  So, there' s a major difference when you deal with me on any and all tackle purchases.
     I will have a far more meaningful update tomorrow, as I'll be on the big pond out of Manistee this afternoon with one of my last instructional "on the water" seminars.  

7/29/05  Due to popular request I designed a new deadly flasher combines the fish catching attributes of the Black Mamba, Blue Mamba & the Blue Doubl-Glo, all rolled into one lethal combination. Click to see the Blue Mamba Glow This one is a winner!
     If you're in need of meat rigs and flashers?.....please consider placing your order now.  Some of products at www.michiganangler.com are in short supply and I'm out of certain high demand models of Reel Flashers & 3 Fly Meat Rigs (X-glows mainly).  
     I hope to be restocked on the X-Glow Yellowtail and Bluetail flashers sometime late next week, same goes for the X-Glow 3 Fly Rigs.  
     There seems to be an inexhaustible supply of Kings at all Lake Michigan ports willing to go toe to toe with the wise anglers towing meat.  From St. Joe to Frankfort and beyond are reporting full boxes and limit catches.  There is a dark side to this silver lined cloud, as few will reach the 20 pound mark.  However, what the Kings lack in size they make up in huge numbers and frantic non-stop action. 

7/28/05  Manistee continues to produce heavy boxes and limits of Kings.  In fact, it's not fishing!.....it's plain out and out catching!  If you're looking for a port to pillage, Manistee is ripe to plunder!
     Last Saturday's graduates (Rick & Rich), from one of my last seminars were rewarded with sore arms and aching backs from landing and hoisting a huge box of Kings.  I'm highly gratified every time I see anglers new to my products and cut-meat reap repayment in spades with knowledge and a new-found skills that work.  
     I've tried to put my finger on what makes the difference and is the big player in these "on the water seminars" so,......I could share it with everyone at no charge.     
     However, I believe it's a series of often overlooked small details that I package in an easy to learn format.  Rick and Rich now are licensed to kill, and put into practice what I preach, doubt my word?  Click for proof of what they did with just 3 rods
They had enough people aboard to cover their numbers of Salmon on 7/25/05.

7/27/05  Got back to the deep woods (my home in Manistee's National Forest) well after 1pm this morning from the Detroit Steelheaders meeting in Warren, MI.  
    It was excellent to see Roscoe, bignick, Tom G, Dave S, MCD, etc. and everyone who turned out for this deal.  I remembered all the smiles, grins and wonderful people I've met thru the years, as I drove home in the wee hours of the morning.  Fishing truly has to be one of the world's greatest common denominators!  
   I was very impressed with the way the Detroit Chapter conducted business & gave the latest info to all members for an upcoming tournament, leveling the playing field.

7/26/05  It's my honor today to travel to the Motor City today for the Detroit Area Steelheaders monthly meeting.  I lived on the west side of Detroit (in Redford) for 30 years and I am definitely not looking forward to the traffic.
     Here's report from the other side of Lk. Michigan from Capt. Steve S:
John, Fishing was great in Kewaunee on Saturday, with a cooler full we could not shut the lid! Ten 4 year olds full of eggs and 5 others making a 3 man limit. Was giving a quick presentation to all the on lookers at the ramp and cleaning station so you should be getting more traffic and orders from this side of the pond.
    The X-Glow Yellow Tail is a killer! The KD Salmon tournament started Saturday. Out of the 15 fish our heaviest was only 16.98 lbs. I would sure like the 24 lbs. fish from 2 weeks ago!.....Thanks, Capt. Steve  Click for Steve's fish box

7/25/05  This past Saturday I had a brief vacation from shop duties and completed one of my last seminars.  My guests in attendance were Rich, Rick, Tim and John.  In spite of lack luster results by the Manistee fleet in the am and us hearing a lot of one's and twosies from the morning crews, we proceeded forward with high hopes.
    We got off the dock in Solberg's a little after 3:30pm and by the time we dropped lines on the fish it was pushing 4:30pm.  Almost immediately the 3 rigger went off, with a X-Glow Silver Ghost and a Green Frog 3Fly Meat Rig doing the honors.  We had good action throughout, but a drenching rain squall shut the fish down until the barometer moved off rock bottom.  We never hit a double, or a triple, but maintained good steady action in less then ideal conditions.  Click for our dockside catch photo
     My team was impressed with the non-stop bite a simple, but effective 5 meat rod program (3 riggers, 2 divers) produced after hearing tales of doom and gloom.
     This was my second to last seminar, as intense demands on my time prevent me from offering this type of learning experience in 2006. Click for the hot rigs  My many thanks goes to Capt. Dave from Enforcer Charters for pinch hitting on this adventure.
   As soon as I get the word on the conclusion of last weekend's Ludington Gander Mountain tourney, the results will be posted here.

7/24/05  Word from day one of the Ludington Gander Mountain yesterday is: most boats struggled and only 7 in the pro division caught their allotted 12 fish.  The overall big guy Salmon is only 20 pounds and I guess there was only two Kings weighed in over 20 lbs, as our once mighty Kings are downsizing at a alarming pace.
     Don's Bait and Tackle in Manistee (231) 723-5028 is now stocked with great selection Reel Flashers, Magnum Meat Heads and 3Fly Meat Rigs. Click for photo
Hopefully, sometime this week, I'll be able to supply some of my Reel Flashers in what I consider the best stocked tackle store in Mason, Manistee, and Benzie Counties.....
Capt. Chuck's in Ludington!  If you haven't seen their new store, it's now located in the shopping center, just behind their old place. Their new address is: 5770 W. US10.
     Completed a great outing with Rich, Rick, John and Tim yesterday and more details with be forthcoming tomorrow.  We had lines in the water from 4:30 to 7pm & boxed 5 decent Kings, had 2 come un-pegged & missed 3 bites for the short story.

7/23/05  Rough seas yesterday in Manistee prevented much fishing activity yesterday, so I'm not able to give you the low-down.  I be on the water this afternoon and should have a complete, eye witness hands-on report.
    To this attending today's seminar in Manistee: be at Solberg's Marina some where's between 1:30 and 2pm.  We'll be using Capt. Dave Deforest's boat, the "Enforcer."

7/22/05  Mum is the word from my reliable sources who have chosen to clam up with this weekend's big deal Gander Mountain tournament in Ludington looming.  I have heard the area off Guerney Creek has been producing strong double digit catches from a recent convert to pulling my flashers and meat (Bayliner Bob).
    Yesterday?.....those that fished straight out of Manistee caught, but it was not the bonanza the anglers that went south experienced.  From Big Point Sable to the 5s has been yielding limit catches too, but look for the heavy upcoming tourney traffic to slow this legendary location down.  

7/21/05  This coming weekend's Gander Mountain Tournament in Ludington has dried up most of my sources.  Getting the 9 Kings shouldn't be a problem for tourney entrants, but the 3 fish of another species is gonna be a task to complete the 12 fish box you can weigh-in.  This contest looks to be the largest event of the summer.
    Let's focus for a minute on the photo Julie D Emailed to me.  The Lk. Huron Steelhead look plump & well fed, while the Kings are a little skinny in comparison.  This is proof in it's self that Steelhead feed in different parts of the water column.  I guess the point I'm trying to make is; there is room for larger Steelhead plants, or at least maintaining them at current levels.  Click for Julie's catch photo from Rogers City.

7/20/05  Here's a fairly fresh report from Capt. Dave in Manistee: "Our recent charter was very enjoyable for two very nice young men and their dads, thanks to CJ Reel Flashers and CJ3FMR's. A box full of Kings, a Coho, & one very nice 9# Steelie, all on meat. Again, the Quad X-Glo was the hottest set up." Click for catch photo
Capt. Dave DeForest, ENFORCER II Charters, Manistee, MI. Click for hot rig 
     I'd like to thank all who've sent in their photos and reports lately.  Pinch hitting for me during my busiest season means, I can keep up with orders and all facets of tackle production.  All orders received before 10am offer same day shipping, with no back orders, or lengthy delays.

7/19/05  Right now, the ports of Manistee and Ludington are on fire.  Limits are the norm, not the exception for those pulling my products teamed with homemade Fish On Green Label herring pieces.  There's huge numbers of 15 to 20 pound Salmon for the taking.  From what I can tell, unless weekend traffic scatters the fish, from Big Point Sable to Onekama,.....no one place is that much better,....then another.
     Port traffic is increasing as Salmon fever is starting to grip Michigan, so please remember to display patience, even if you get jerked around.  Courtesy to all is a must in the hectic days ahead. Click for Katlin's Salmon taken on a Lemon Ice RF.

7/18/05  Capt. Chuck's in Ludington is now carrying some of my custom Magnum Meat Heads in 4 packs, plus the deadly KRW 3Fly Meat Rigs.  The KRW 3Fly rigs are well designed and feature an interchangeable leader to the Magnum Meat Head.  
    Capt. Chuck's has the ultimate best tackle selection in Mason, Manistee and Benzie Counties.  They've moved into a larger building in the shopping center, just behind where they used to be.  Their new address is 5770 West US10, Ludington, MI 49433.
    Two of the best catches (that I know of on 7/17/05) that came into Solberg's Marina in Manistee were charter operator, Capt. Ed P, and the sport fishing craft, "Capt. Morgan."  Both of these boats had a dozen Salmon yesterday, with fish boxes brimming to the top with good sized adult Kings.  The afore mentioned teams were pulling meat (Fish On Green Label) and my products. Click for Capt. Ed box
    Full fishing report tomorrow, as I'm waiting for the good word from our private message board members.  This I do know, most all Lk. MI ports are producing!

7/17/05  We're about 10 days from when prime time for adult Kings will start.  Sure, right now, everyone is catching Salmon, but the best....... is still yet in front of us!
     Up until today, most Lk. Michigan harbors were producing good opportunities in close to the pier heads, with most action coming in less then 40 feet of water.
     "Meat-Man," Roscoe had the heaviest catch in yesterday's Flint Steelheaders tournament Grand Haven with 86 pounds.  He only took second, as his 9 Kings could not out point "Tipsea's" winning catch of 83 pounds in 10 fish.  Roscoe's hot flasher was the Undertaker in the 7/17/05 Grand Haven event.  The big King in this tourney was some where's over 18 lbs.  My congrats to Team Tipsea on a well deserved win.

7/16/05  Here's a reel-fishing report from Ludington, just a few days old:
"Capt John, Just thought I would send you a picture from our latest trip to Lake Michigan, so much more fun than the Huron side. This is our first trip over since May and we went out of Ludington. Fished Tuesday night with a group of five people only three of us in the picture other person wasn't feeling so good in the bathroom and one taking the picture ended up with 15 kings and 2 Steelies. Click for big fish
     Next morning only 4 of us went out and ended up with 11 fish and 1 steelier... with a few small ones that we threw back... Meat was the ticket as the pictures will show, we were just south of Big Sable Point trolling north of the nets, be careful as you know Bob K. got caught in  them. We had a blast with white, mountain dew and blue racer... Fish were very high, as were temps.. fished 120-200 fow in the top 45 feet. Talk to you soon."......Capt. Mark aka "ROD BENDER"  Click for catch photo

7/15/05  I guess the biggest news I got today was Luhr Jensen and Sons located in Hood River, Oregon was gobbled up by the huge multi-national company, Normark.  Normark makes the Rapala and has bought other tackle manufacturing companies like Storm, who used to make the Tots and Wiggle Warts.  I foresee a large shake-up in the model line of Luhr Jensen and the loss of 300+ jobs in Oregon going to China.
    Here's a reel fishing report from Waukegan, IL on 7/13/05 from Capt. Cliff J:
"Hey John, Despite the bad weather yesterday we managed to catch five fish before getting chased off the lake with 5 footers and a 20 plus mph NE wind. The King in the picture tipped the scale at 21.4 pounds and came on a Monkey Puke flasher with a green 3Fly meat rig. The Kings are starting to stage off Waukegan and he came in 55 FOW which is now 71 degrees pretty much top to bottom. Last week that same water was 48 degrees just 20 feet down. July & August should be fantastic fishing!"

7/14/05  Fishing is pretty good from St. Joe to Leland with reports of fair catching, as far north as Charlevoix.  Lake Michigan's King population has to be at an all time high, but all cold water species are needed to provide a better balanced fishery.  Right now, we have all of our eggs in one basket.  If the Kings crash like when the BKD (bacterial kidney disease) disease showed up in 1987 and 1988 we're gonna be in a world of hurt on Lake Michigan.  Back then, we had other species to fall back on.
    While the Steelhead seem to be on a small increase, Brown Trout, Coho and Lake Trout continue to be scant around Manistee, Ludington, Onekama, Pentwater, White Lake, Muskegon, Grand Haven, Port Sheldon and Holland.
     Here's a reel Leland fishing report from one of our message board members:
"Hey John -Here is a pic of a very nice fish next to one of my homemade three fly rigs, CJRF, and mag bait head..............all I can say is "what a blast !" I had six big fish to the boat in 90 minutes right at, and after dark and it was tuff by myself. I was a sore sweaty mess at the end and lost the big battle with a whale that I had close to the boat 3 times. This salmon fishing is the bomb!! 
    Took my kids and nephews out and they all got the biggest fish of their lives - 
what a treat!".......Capt. Steve E  Click for their largest King

7/13/05  Today's update concerns how we are losing our statewide coho plants.  From heretofore, the only place receiving Coho plantings will be the Platte River, until budgetary problems are solved.  The Platte River Hatchery will not be closing.
This is a retraction from the info that was previously posted by me.  Mark Dietrich from the MDNR straightened me out on this issue.
     In essence, the DNR is cutting back the fish plants big time, but keeping their current workforce. It seems to me, something is wrong with this line of thinking! Legendary Dick Swan wrote a in-depth article about how we are losing our Coho plantings Michigan. 
                                            Click here for Dick's article

7/12/05  Plenty of Salmon being caught in Manistee and Ludington.  South towards the Big Point Sable has been on fire with limits for those careful enough to avoid the nets.  Roscoe has been a mission to wreck havoc on the King population in Lake Michigan with another good catch yesterday.  Click here to see his catch
    Ted and Stefan had another good catch.  Here's Capt Stefan's own words:
"Capt. John, 
In case I repeat myself, I apologize, but this has to be said : Your rigs are working !
I don’t want to make this too long, but Ted and I went out on Sun night ( went 5 for 8). 2 shakers were released & Ted (sorry Ted) lost a couple at the back of the boat. 
     On Monday morning it took us 1hr and 13 min (Ted got rid of his bad luck) to get our limit of 6 nice Kings in the cooler ( 2 smaller ones were released) and we lost only one bigger one which took our whole meat rig. (9 fish in the picture because we did not clean the evening fish right away), (3rd person to cover legal limits took photo)."
Thanks,............Capt. Stefan    Click for Ted and Stefan's brag board catch
     Ted and Stefan are Kingfish Products engineering, design, R & D team.

7/11/05  The big rumor is: a groundswell support for no nets coming from Ludington, MI in the form of boycotting the upcoming sponsored Manistee tourneys by the parent company of the commercial fishing operations.  I don't know this for sure, cuz I haven't seen the nets, from the bath house to Big Point Sable, more were recently installed.  This is a direct deprivation of the most heavily trafficked sportfishing area in the entire State of Michigan and just pisses the Salmon Fishermen big-time.
     I've long been a anti-net advocate and highly outspoken on these issues for the past 4 years.  While I totally agree with all laws and treaties of the United States of America and cede the rights given to our Native Americans in the Treaty of 1836, but what's going on is pure folly!  This whole deal isn't worth the paper the non-legally binding Consent Decree of 2000 was printed on & will probably only worsen over time.
     The best fishing yesterday in Manistee was from Big Point Sable to the 5s, just before the trap net in the 6s.  Salmon continue to be plentiful, all be it may, Kings over 20 pounds are scarcer then "hen's teeth!"  I you plan on fishing this area, make sure to mark the inner and outer boundaries of this net's location.  This area is known to the locals in Manistee as the "humps."

7/10/05  Traffic was medium yesterday out of the Port of Manistee and the catching was light due to flat calm conditions.  I heard a lot of 3 to 4 fish per vessel, as even some of the charter fleet struggled to put a good box together.
    When it flat, there's not much to break up light penetration, causing many to scratch their head and wonder why the fish are not aggressive.  I can not supply the reason, I just know flat calm conditions meant I always a slower bite for me when I was in the charter business.  Especially, when the temp break was up high (top 40 feet) like it was yesterday.

7/9/05  The Little Manistee from the harvest weir down to Manistee Lake has a bunch of smaller Kings in it already.  According to Capt. Tom Rasmussen, "almost every hole had Kings, but the Salmon were on the smaller side, not many adults yet."
    Everyone's friend, "Roscoe"...aka Steve Burns had a good day fishing south from Manistee on 7/8/05.  Steve was accompanied by his buddy from college & took 6 adults to 18 pounds and a fair sized Coho.  Best action was in 80 to 140 feet of water south of Guerney Creek.  Roscoe's best meat rig was the blue stuff, meaning the blue double glo and bluetail, which were hot off the lead cores.  Diver bite was Black Mamba and clear-red.  His best depth was around 40 feet down.  The stomach contents of the Salmon showed very few alewives, but were gorged with some kind of a slender, small minnow about 1 1/2 to 2 inches long.  Click for Roscoe's catch

7/8/05  What I seen first hand, was confirmed by the State Of Michigan's annual charter boat catch data.  This document is compiled from charter skippers sending in monthly catch reports.  The part that I seen was the total numbers of charters ran in 2004 continues the downward trend since 1996 (which I'd rate as best for business and catching).  Factor in a increased number of charter operators and less people seeking charters and you'll see why I chose to retire from that line of work.
     The rest of the report is pretty mundane, stating facts like the King catch of Lake Huron is down and the Kings on Lake Michigan comprise the vast portion of the charter customers catch.  When the State of Michigan's Public Act 244 was amended to include these confidential monthly catch data reports, things like the highest producing ports were not to be for general public consumption.  Info like this can impact certain ports, causing the further loss of charter guests and not beneficial to those trying to turn a buck in the charter industry.

7/7/05  Time dictates today's update will come from Ted and Stefan, first time users of meat and my products last weekend.  Ted was the 3D design engineer in charge the final shape of the Magnum Meat Heads. Here's what they had to say:
     "John, We fished on Saturday morning (3 hours) and Sunday evening (1 hour only). Your advice to separate the flasher 7 feet from the next line made us run 2 spoons and 2 cut bait rigs on the four riggers ( I was afraid of tangling if I do not have 14 feet between 2 flasher rigs). I kept the spoons inboard and on a short leader so they would not interfere. On Saturday we ran also 2 dipsey’s. Those things always scare me because they seem never to run outboard and the line goes straight back. I know there is a bow in the line and they do run out if the weight is adjusted. We did not run those on Sunday because 4 lines in the water were plenty like you said.
     We experienced every thing you said : one line in, the other one has a hit, that one back down and the other one goes off,….....
     All of our big fish (lost or boxed) came exclusively on your rig. More help on board was needed as Ted and I had double and triple header on and this more than once.
     8 for 14 in the first 3 hr outing and 3 for 4 in the second 1 hr outing......
Thanks again for your advice, help and the stuff we successfully rigged and used.....Capt. Stefan & Ted H.  Click here for their fish-box and rigs

7/6/05  Spent a good part of the day reformatting the webstore pages where you can purchase flashers and meat rigs online at: www.michiganangler.com Listed a couple of new boats on the Boaters Guide page at both ends of the pricing spectrum.
There's a 21' Starcraft for 5K and a 34' Bayliner at 75K.  Click to see listed boats   
      Let's use today's catching update from Winthrop Harbor, Illinois:   
"John,  I hope you had a great 4th. Mine was fantastic. We were set up by 6:30 after waiting out some bad weather to start the day. It was stormy and very overcast, so we went with black mamba and both monkey puke and red flies. The wind was blowing to about 20 plus from the northeast and we had some challenging current and waves. Although, we had 3 aboard ....we went with only set 6 rods. Four with meat and two boards with spoons. The two dipsey rods were 70' and 80' back on 3 and the riggers were 28' and 35' down. We were seeing the temp break at 25 feet down. It went from 66 on the surface to 48 only 30 feet down. 
   The fish were on a tear! The Kings were all over the darker colors and some colors I would never have guessed. It was black gold and black red, which may have something to do with them being so high in water column. We ended the day at noon as another storm with rain and 60 mph wind chased us off the lake. We had 11 Kings with 6 being 4 year olds, and 4 nice coho. After a mediocre June, July is off to a huge start".........Capt. Cliff J.  Click for catch photo of mass destruction

7/5/05  For today's update let's turn the page back to last Saturday afternoon's "on the water seminar."  I had super folks to work with and enjoyed their company.  It was a plain out and out, a good time.  Plus, it was a welcome reprieve from 24/7 shop duties.  What comes to mind about Don, Joe, Ken and John N is what a great common denominator fishing is.  Friendly, well meaning pokes at one another kept the mood light during the slow times.  Click here for a great group to fish with
      Started off and finished strong with a triple (one escapee each 3 banger), but there were some blank spots, as we lost the fish and the proper colors to suit light conditions.  After some quick adjustments, we were able to come back in with a respectable box for the area we fished.  We did nothing special (like no long boat runs) and fished straight out of Ludington in 100 to 150 fow for the most part.
     Lines were in the water from 4pm to about 8:15pm, which of course is not the peak time for Kings.  Personally, I like showing the advantages of my products when the fishing isn't gangbusters, so the fishermen can see just how effective it is.  We did miss almost as many as we caught.  Coming up empty after a bite adds to the enjoyment and gives a heck of good reason to kid the person that struck out!  Besides cleaning a full box, crammed with fish has never ranked reel-high on my list. 

7/4/05  Have a great 4th of July! This I can say, Ludington, Manistee and Frankfort all reported in with fairly good catches of Kings, more on this tomorrow.
     In today's photo of how good Fish On's Green Label herring looks.  I know for a reel-fact no 6 strips in a tub of frozen, smelly sauce looks as good or performs like this stuff.  Judge for yourself by clicking here, I think you'll plainly agree.  By filleting your own meat and following the preparations to brine/cure it, you'll save big and catch a bunch more!  Click here for a complete soup-to-nuts 2 page article on making your own meat.  Saving money & more strikes per hour is the reel-deal with grn. label!
Green Label is a size designation, meaning whole herring that are about 6 to 7 inches long vacuumed packed in a heavy duty plastic wrapper by Fish On Bait Company. Many Wal-Mart stores in MI are now carrying this premium scent-enhanced product.

7/3/05......taking the day off like many of you.  Will post a complete report on yesterday's seminar in Ludington tomorrow.  Enjoy this weekend, the weather up north has been lovely, warm in the day, and cool nights.  Ludington was jam packed with people yesterday, as that town continues to flourish and boom.  Ludville has came a long ways in the past 10 years!
    Here's some comments from a confirmed Fish On Bait believer:
John, Ran Green label prepared the "John King" way today, great system. 
Get up late, fish when everyone is going home and get doubles!
Thanks again, nice meat rigs too!!!!...WI, Capt. Steve S  Click for his photo

7/2/05  Scheduled seminar in Ludington will take up most of my day.  Regular updates will resume either this Monday, or Tuesday.

7/1/05  Have a great weekend on our 4th of July Independence Day Holiday.  Take in the full meaning of the costly toll to preserve our national freedom.  The brilliant men who penned the Declaration of Independence in 1776 set a forth a government in the same form that has lasted for two and a quarter centuries.
     Being independent from foreign imports and keeping our jobs, in our country ranks high on my list (as you all know).  Being American made is a credo I highly believe in.
     Another world first for Kingfish Products today by introducing a RED Magnum Meat Head.  Those who fish with meat, know how deadly red is and I'm sure this new color will be a added weapon in the arsenal of many fishermen!  Click for red head
     Busting a foreign monopolies like I did with my new heads comes with a cost.  The cost is the weathering personal attacks as of lately on many competing message boards.  Any publicity, is good publicity, cuz every time this occurs my traffic goes up and my sales increase.  It's my opinion if my foreign competition spent more time on raising the quality/selections of their products to my American Made standards, they'd have less time to worry about what I'm doing......that's a reel-fact beyond compare!