Sandy Blows

Frankenstorm Sandy has allowed most outdoorspeople to have a break. The pounding wind has kept just about everyone indoors. The wind beating against the house sounded like thunder and it just went on all night. Coming in to work this morning I had slush formed on the sides of my windshield where the wiper blades stop. So much for Indian summer and now a chance to take a break from all of the outdoor action.

The Lindberg Flash reports good perch catches north of Grassy Island. When pressed about how far north he would just say anywhere south of the Ambassador Bridge.

Fr. Walleye, Capt. Nick and Muskrat Adventures all report good catches of walleye in the Trenton channel. Some adjustments in shanks and leaders may help the bite but the fish have been very receptive.

Or jig with a Bondy bait for one of those. After this brief resprit there will be so many choices along with pheasant hunting, turkey hunting, deer hunting...

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New State Record Muskie

Species: Great Lakes Muskellunge. Weight: 58.00 lbs. Length: 59 inches. Caught in Lake Bellaire, Antrim County on October 13, 2012 @ 10:30am. Method: Still-fishing with a minnow. Angler: Joseph Seeberger of Portage Mich. Verified by: Patrick Hanchin, Charlevoix Research Station

These guys were out fishing for smallmouth and hooked into this thing. It took Joe 2 hours to reel it in as he was using 8 lb. line for smallmouth, but faced an even bigger hurdle when it came time to land the fish. It took three adults, two nets, two life jackets, and a dock line to get the behemoth into the boat. Once the fish tired, two bass-size nets were used, one at the head and one at the tail, in an attempt to scoop the fish into the boat. “But both nets busted as soon as Chuck and I tried to lift the fish up,” said Orbeck. By this time, another fishing buddy, Derek Barnes, had hopped aboard Seeberger’s boat in an attempt to help land the fish. Now with no usable nets, two life jackets were tied together in an effort to make a cradle. “But they were too buoyant and we couldn’t get them below the surface enough,” Seeberger said. Finally, one of the boat’s dock lines was lassoed around the fish’s head, slid to its middle, and tightened down. With one man grabbing the head, one grasping the tail, and a third pulling up on the line, the fish was brought safely into the boat at 10:30 a.m.

As soon as the crew got the boat out of the water, a county sheriff was waved down, who incidentally measured the monstrous muskie with a crime scene tape. Once the fish was brought to shore, Seeberger drove for an hour in search of a scale. He finally found an industrial-sized certified scale at the Ellsworth Farmer’s Exchange. The fished weighed in at exactly 58 pounds, and measured 59 inches long, with a 29-inch girth.







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Watch Out and Be Careful

You never know what wild animals are going to do. Try as you might to harvest a deer, go up north, tromp thru the woods or sit on a prime spot, it's hard to do for the average person. Most times just to see a deer is a big deal, not so in Wyandotte recently.

As seen from the USS Friendship this 4-6 point buck was looking for a new home. After a quick flyby of the McDonalds carry out window his freedom was achieved.

Soon he was roaming the streets of Wyandotte and ended up on 22nd near Eureka. The police escorted him to the tracks and left him to his own devices. It's exciting to see wildlife anywhere unless you're traveling in a vehicle or jogging. If you're hunting this is when you need to be careful. Always make sure you know what you're hunting and what you're shooting at. Recently there was a tragic accident when a coyote hunter shot another person that was scouting for deer. The excitement of seeing your quarry can cause you to see things that aren't really there.
  This brings me to a report from Utah that states an avid goat hunter recently dressed up as a goat and was seen trying to invade a tribe of goats in the mountains. The hikers that spotted the "goat" were at first startled and then became very concerned after they could discern that in fact the "goat" was a person.

 Coty Creighton, 33, spotted the goat man Sunday during his hike. He said he came across the herd, but noticed something odd about one goat that was trailing behind the rest.


"I thought maybe it was injured," Creighton said Friday. "It just looked odd."

He said he pulled out binoculars to get a closer look at the herd about 200 yards away and was shocked. The man appeared to be acting like a goat while wearing the crudely made costume, which had fake horns and a cloth mask with cut-out eye holes.
The Utah DNR has contacted the goat actor and the two have come to an agreement that the charade will not happen again. SNL however is trying to contact the man/goat/boy.

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Bring It On

Finally some cool temperatures are cooling the local waters and fishing is heating up. There were many reports already of perch limits coming from the lower river but I was skeptical. It seemed there were more skunks that limits. Now the water temps are in the 60s and the fish are gearing up for the long winter. The usual spots are producing from the Nicholson docks to Grassy Island, right across from Portofino, Mamajuda, and down to Celeron Island. The hardest part is finding the shiners and you need to call all the bait shops to find out who has them. Get the numbers from the bait shop link.

Typically I just use a spreader. If the fish aren’t hitting well you can switch to the Lindberg flashes method of a small spoon suspended on a bobber or a perch jigging spoon. Jerry Hinton the perch Champion from the DWF uses a special set up that can induce some bites. With this he can detect the lightest bites.

Another consideration is where your're fishing and what regulations you need to consider. If you fish with minnows make sure to keep your reciept to prove they are VHS free. If you have a Canadian license you'll need to buy minnows in Canada and this entails many regulations that I don't wish to get into. To get around the minnow issue you can try a perch jig. Slab Grabbers are good for this.

No minnows needed with these things but you still need to call in and tell the Queen you're fishing in Canada.

Get Outdoors Downriver.