Calling All Train Enthusiasts

  I know you’re thinking what have trains to do with the outdoors? Well I could go on about how the train workers used to stock streams and ponds with smallmouths and carp near where they would stop for water or a pick up. Doing this they spread the range of these fish throughout the country some for good, some not so. I want to cover some interesting things Downriver that are interesting and could interest people on off days.

From Blogger Pictures

  The Lincoln Par Train Club, formerly the Trenton Train Club, have been Downriver for quite some time. Thanks to the city of Lincoln Park they have a semi-permanent set up in the J.F.K. Memorial Building, some may know this as the bandshell building, and are open every Saturday from 10am till 1pm January thru Thanksgiving. For the Christmas season they help the city with Fantasyland operations.

From Blogger Pictures

   They have 3 different scale train set ups with HO, O and S all running during the open sessions. All the members are very helpful if you have questions about a set up or trouble shoot. Some members may even be persuaded to fix some old equipment you may have. Special arrangements can be made for groups such as schools or seniors to come in for a tour, please do this a month in advance. Call 624-1462 for info. If you do have questions or any interest in trains then this is the weekend to take advantage of their train show.

From Blogger Pictures

On Sunday October 24th at the J.F.K. building the 3rd annual Train Show will be held. From 11am until 3pm for the $3 admission you can swap and buy all things trains. If you’re not familiar with the area the J.F.K. building is just east of the Veteran’s memorial or the First Baptist Church on Fort Street between Emmons and Champagne.

Remember get Outdoors (indoors) Downriver

The perch, the perch, the perch are on fire!

This is one of those feel good stories. The numbers and size of perch this fall are incredible. Reports of foot long double headers have come from more than one source. This would be unheard of just a few short years ago when the commercial fishermen were making big hauls the perch were small and harder to come by. The Ohio operations were bought out and the Canadians are keeping a closer watch on their quotas. The results are a rebound of magnanimous proportions of this fine table fair.




The reports are in Lake Erie east of Stoney Point in 24 feet of water. Use this as a starting point and move around if you must to find a biting school. As always for perch emerald shiner minnows are a must. Check the bait shop link for the phone numbers to call to make sure the dealer has them. If you’re like me, and have a smaller boat, in rough weather stick to the river. Anywhere in the triangle between the crossdyke, Celeron Island and the boundary marker look for an opening in the weedbeds and plant your speader there. Or look for Ray’s marker to make a killing.

From Downriver Outdoors

On the other hand the walleyes are declining without a good explanation. The powers that be are seriously considering a reduction in limits. Hopefully they’ll see a rebound soon. One way to help is reporting any cormorant sightings. According to Larry Meijer who’s on the cormorant advisory Committee for the state the ASF+G considers Lake Erie to be cormorant free. So if you see cormorants please report to the MDNRE to establish a baseline for possible control. Go to: http://www.dnr.state.mi.us/cormorantobs/ for the form.



I just wanted to mention the rebound in sturgeon also. Not as prolific as the perch but a good start from the spawning reefs near Fighting Island in the river on the Canadien side. Here’s proof positive they’re working thanks to DR. John Hartig.

From Downriver Outdoors

If you want to catch an adult specimen of these fine fish contact Walleye Mike from the MI sportsman web site. http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/showthread.php?t=349532, he’s running a special up on Lake St. Clair and the SCR. Fish aren’t guarantied but they have been having great luck and he supplies everything including the proper tags.

Calendar - Many opportunities this weekend

In an effort to disseminate more info I'm posting a few of my calendar events:

Great Lakes Council - Boy Scouts of America – 100th Anniversary

Boy Scouts, Venturers and Explorers from thorughout southeast Michigan will gather at Willow Metropark the weekend of September 24-26, 2010. They too will have numerous exciting activities to choose from. Their evening will end with an Arena Show, featuring Chuck Gaidica from WDIV Local 4 as our emcee, FiftyAmpFuse...A live band, country/pop singer Whitney Raenan and an exhilarating fireworks show. Check out their web page http://www.glcscouting.org/rendez-vous/arena.html
 
 
Harvest Moon Hayride- Oakwoods Nature Center

When Fri Sep 24, 2010 call for a time (734-782-3956‎)

Where Oakwoods Metropark http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Oakwoods+Metropark&hl=en
Also - Fall Festival

Appreciate fall with crafts, games, cider making and guided hikes. $

When Sat Sep 25, 2010

Where Oakwoods Metropark

Lincoln Park Train Club

Take a step back in time and enjoy a miniature version of yesteryear.

Admission is FREE!

•Meets every Saturday from 11am-1pm

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Lincoln+Park&hl=en

That’s a Fine Kettle of Hawk?

   Yes, that’s right, hawk. Most have heard of a fine kettle of fish but hawk. I was confused until the folks at Hawkfest 2010 explained it all to me. I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself just yet. I was impressed with the turnout. I didn’t know there were so many people out there interested in raptors. When I got close to the nature center the road was blocked and I thought there may be an accident but it was the scouts directing traffic.

From Downriver Outdoors

   Traffic, how many people out there are interested in raptors? Ask the scouts they’ve been helping out for Hawkfest for over 15 years and they’re from Ferndale. Boy Scout Troop 1204 and Cub Scout Troop 1245 were directing cars and shuttles without a hitch. I’m estimating 400 cars were there just in the short time I was there and that‘s not counting all the cars by the boat launch.

From Downriver Outdoors

From Downriver Outdoors

Members of the Michigan Hawking Club brought hawks and discussed falconry. Live birds of prey were brought out during special programs by Joe Rogers. Presentations on the Osprey Recovery Project, Peregrine Falcon research and the Oak Openings Raptor Project were featured. The binocular/digital camera tent hosted a variety of cameras, spotting scopes and binoculars for demonstrations and sales. Jerry Wykes had many activities for the kids from the wall climb to hawk puzzles and crafts scheduled thru out the day.

From Downriver Outdoors

From Downriver Outdoors

A kettle of hawk

From Downriver Outdoors

Jerry said the birds have usually passed thru before Hawkfest but this year is different with only a few thousand birds recorded as of yet the main bulk of over 500,000 is staging close by and will be coming thru with the next north or northeast wind. It looks like this Saturday will be prime time for viewing. So if you remember the next time it blows from the north look up to find a kettle of hawk. This usually looks like a number of small circles of birds floating together on thermals pushed by the north wind.
Don't forget Luke the eagle. He lives in this large enclosure behind the nature center but the proud eagle heeds fresh fish to eat. If you launch at the park to fish you can drop off a meal for Luke but Jerry would rather have it cleaned and frozen. Don't forget Luke.

From Downriver Outdoors

Get Outdoors Downriver.

The Rush to Fall

   Happy Labor Day, everyone. Hope you enjoyed your day off, if you got one. The last days of summer are winding down and the outdoor activities are ramping up. No it’s not about the Lions offensive line preparing for the season, this is serious, hunting season is upon us. All I’ve been writing about so far is fishing. With the water cooling off fishing is on a comeback but will be playing second fiddle soon. September 15th is opening day for small game hunting. It’s usually just for squirrels around here, rabbits aren’t ready yet and grouse are up north. The most important aspect about September is getting ready for deer and pheasant seasons, the most popular by far.

   There is a new opportunity for bow hunters this year, the crossbow. The crossbow was illegal to use until this year unless you had a disability permit. Thanks to some local folk the DNRE has relented to allow all hunters to use them. Plus, the fact that many hunters had dropped out of bow hunting because of old age, not a disability needed for applying to the old permit. The traditionalist bow hunters were against it but the lure of attracting new hunters and more revenue persuaded the powers that be to ok the use of these weapons. I believe these bows are easier and safer to use than compound bows. Once cocked the crossbow is just like operating a gun and this will allow even 10 year olds to deer and turkey hunt this fall. Check with the new hunting regulations before taking anyone younger than 17 hunting.

   Now the rush part for people like me, I like deadlines they keep me on track though I rarely meet them. For the bow hunters here’s a refresher checklist. Equipment first, for arrows or bolts (arrows for crossbows) Frank at Trenton Lighthouse, near the entrance to Elizabeth Park, Frank has been making these for over 40 years. See him for a more personal fitting for your bow length draw. Otherwise the big box sporting good stores will have what you need, but you’ll have to customize yourself. Once your arrows or bolts are strait and shoot worthy you’ll need to accessorize. Arrow rest, sights, releases, limb savers, string silencers, peep holes, stabilizers and quivers, just to name a few. See Frank or one of the associates at Gander Mountain for all the possibilities and what’s appropriate for you. Gander has an indoor archery range that goes for $8 / hour, if you buy an accessory you may be able to get some free time to line out the new equipment. Wayne County Sportsman’s Club also offers an archery range at $6.50/ hour. Practice, practice, practice…

   For gun hunters accessories are limited to maybe a scope for deer hunters and the type of shot for wing shooters. Besides the big box sporting goods stores the only gun shop around is Westborn’s on Ecorse in Taylor. If you can’t find a gun or type of shot at the bigger stores Westborn’s will usually have it. I’m told their prices are even cheaper than the sale prices at the big stores, it pays to shop around even with guns and ammo. They have over 200 rifles and handguns there and specialty items like 20 gauge steel shot. Hunters’ associate steel shot with duck hunting and while it’s still true to some extent the application of steel shot I’m familiar with is using it at game farms. Dundee Pheasant Farm (734-735-7271) is where I’ve gone for some guaranteed pheasant action. It’s pricey, but it’s a matter of convenience after state land has been hunted hard and farm access hasn’t been found.

   Along those lines no matter that you’re paying a premium with money or leg work, if you hunt on state land, to get the most out of the investment you need to practice. Shooting at live birds is a lot harder than it seems. Most people think you just look down the barrel and the quarry is yours. Ha, even at a skeet range where you know from where and when the clay pigeon is arriving, for the average amateur shooter, 50 % is outstanding. Wayne County Sportsman’s Club offers any pheasant or duck hunter a chance to sharpen up for the ensuing seasons. They’re located just south of Pennsylvania Rd. on Inkster, look for the sign on the west side of the road, it is a smaller sign so look carefully. At $6.50/shoot, plus a box of shells, you’ll gain a lot of experience and confidence, for just over $10. Call 734-941-9688 for times and the type of shells to bring. This place is quite a gem in the Downriver Outdoors and well worth the trip even considering the long driveway.

From Downriver Outdoors

Get Outdoors Downriver….

Whoaaaaa!

It's been hard to keep up with my articles here in the summer long stretch. I've got a few on the burners but the research has been slow. I did get out for a salmon trip recently heading out from Port Frankfort in the NW lower. The five of us caught 50 in 3 days and much like deer hunting it's a long period of inaction followed by brief intense encounters with some big fish.  So it seems...


As you can see it can get crowded at the back of the boat some times. It's one of those great problems to have. We were on Captain Dan's Stormy Chinook and I really like the way he fishes. He usually knows where the fish are and isn't happy when the boat isn't putting fish in the cooler. Many times he'll say the fish are slashing, he can see this on his depth finder. To a normal person it's just a little streak on the graph but to Dan it's a fish that should be on one of his lures. This is the type of charter to look for, a fisherman that guides to catch fish and be in on the action. There are many other charters in the area and most are of the ilk that they're giving you a great experience on their floating living room and fish are just icing on the cake. I like the catching better.


This is an interesting way to fish with all the technology out there. First is the fish/depth finder. It's much more sophisticated than the one I have. As mentioned earlier the more you use it the more you can interpret. The best thing I could tell right away was the thermo cline where most of the fish congregate. This is the depth where cold water of the deep meets warmer water of the surface. Loosely defined as a change in temperature of one degree or more per foot for so many feet. The bait fish associate with this temperature structure and the salmon follow the bait fish. This trip it was about 100 feet and that depth reading now determines how the lines are set. First the downriggers are set with a 10 lb. weight on the end, three rubber bands are attached to the fishing line, after a fair amount of line is let out and the rubber bands are attached to the downrigger ball. Two downriggers off the back and one out each side with the depths of each separated to prevent any line tangling. So the right side of the boat would have the riggers set at 100 feet and 60 feet and the left side would be at 80 feet and 120 feet. It takes me longer to explain it than it takes the captain to set them up.

Now the long lines go out, dipsy divers and lead core and copper wire. The dipsy divers are disks that steer the line off to one side, so go right some go left. The lure is put on a lead and attached to the dipsy and the main line is attached to the other end of the disk. When a fish hits the dipsy springs open so it no longer tracks to either side and just becomes part of the main line but the extra length of the lead to the lure can cause problems when landing a fish(sorry Dan). These lines are set back 250-300 feet for a 100 foot intended depth. The other lines are the lead core and copper lines and these can be out up to 500 feet, that's a tenth of a mile. Just a little advise when the long lines take a hit and you're not fighting a fish at the time have a backup excuse or plan to evade the curse of reeling one in. Head to the front of the boat for a drink, or a bite to eat , or a cell phone check, or a potty break. Hopefully the youngest member of the party volunteers to take the line or is order to take the line, otherwise you'll eventually make eye contact with the captain and now you'll be reeling for about 30 mins. and your arms will not work for many minutes after. Did I mention 1/10th of a mile?

Such problems to have. It's all very enjoyable but a bit pricey. Hopefully you know someone with a big boat with all the equipment. Just recently steelhead trout were biting in large numbers off of the north shore of Lake Erie. Erieou and Wheatly are the most mentioned spots with catches of steelhead and walleye coming at the same time. How much better can it get, especially with this hot water we have now.

Hopefully things will start cooling off and the fish will start biting again. There was a big bass tourney recently with the weigh in at Elizabeth Park right by the free bridge in Trenton so the bass fishing should be good south of the bridge for a while. Now's the time to get ready for bow season. The Trenton lighthouse sells arrows and bolts for you cross bowers. Gander Mt. has a shooting range for $8 / hour. Start practicing.

Get Outdoors Downriver!

Dog Day Musings...

It 's that time of year when there isn't too much going on DR. Fishing for walleye has slowed, there still in the river if you work for the. Even in the lake they’re spotty and fast action is followed by long slow bites. So other than my calendar entries the only other things I've done or heard about are;


3 Mikes, 3 Strikes We're Out - Went on the Lindberg Crest with 2 other Mikes. We BBed for over 4 hours mid river without even sniffing a walleye. The weather was great however and we had a great time. I did manage to catch one of the catfish in the river. 20" of some fine sweet meat from these fish. It went with all the walleye cooked up behind the hospital near a boat house. Quite a bit of R+R.

My Daughter's family recently went out to Sterling State Park and they had a wonderful time. I was surprised they went after the horrible news about a swimmer there. The Grand-Daughters stayed close to shore so everything went well. If you consider occupying a 6+4+2 year old for 2 hours at the beach and another 4 at home going well. They had a ball collecting seashells and sorting them and cleaning them and then dividing them which is always tricky. It's the closest beach around and has a reasonable admission.

We went to the Humbug Marsh for their open house and a macro-invertebrate program. The program was cancel due to weather but we toured the grounds and enjoyed the solitude it offered. Being so close to cities all around it the atmosphere is quite nice there. Check the calendar or their web site for open house dates and up coming events.

Talked to Joe at the Point Muoillee about hiking opportunities for boy scouts there. A badge is given for a 10 mile hike and they have one there. This is a premier birding and hiking area, especially birding for being rated in the entire country. There are many dikes and paths to walk on to increase your chances of seeing some unique shore birds and other wildlife. Back to the 10 mile hike, if you start at the parking area just East of the storage buildings that are South of the Huron River, you can hike the entire banana dike and the follow the roads back to the parking area. This is just over 10 miles for you boy scouts or other health enthusiasts. There are other paths and dikes in side this area for other activities such as birding or fishing. It's a nice place to check out. You can also launch a boat there to fish the back waters or go out on Lake Erie. Call Mon. or Wed. for info (734) 379-9692.

I'll be heading up to Frankfort for salmon in the morning and will post a report after I get back so...

Get Outdoors Downriver.

7-22-10 Fishing Report

   Fishing has been really good for this time of year. Many fish are still in the river with good catches coming on BBs deep in the river. Read the last article for bb use. The surprising fish this year is the catfish. Many shore anglers are hooking into these like never before. The river supports so many fish it’s nice to see a new species take off.




   A couple of years ago it was the shad that went crazy. Not many were caught by hook and line but the walleye gorged themselves on them. That was bad because in parts of the river the walleye bite stopped, they were all eating the shad. Some of the fish from that year actually tasted like shad, not to my liking. When the walleye go crazy no body notices because they’re so happy catching fish. If you remember the year that a lot of 13” and 14” fish were caught that was the start of some wonderful walleye years. Then there’s the silver scourge, silver bass. Two years ago I was jigging in the river late in the season when my depth finder jumped from the usual 27’ to 20’ and stayed there. I thought the depth finder had bit the dust but no it was a giant school of silvers. It felt like they were playing volleyball with my jig. Needless to say walleye fishing was done for that year.



   From all accounts people are catching fish everywhere. In the lake Lil’ Bill says bell bouy from 23’ to 27’, watch the state lines so you don’t go into Ohio. He’s really pushing the Kelly worms for bass. There’s a big bite from these fish closer to shore on Lake Erie. You just have to fight the weeds. There are many reports of muskies also, they’re making quite a comeback. Very fun to catch but the smell turns some people off. Hopefully I’ll get some huge sheephead soon so I can try a new recipe. Good luck fishing…



Get Outdoors Downriver!

Use BBs on Your Summer Quarry

   Did the laws change to allow hunting in July? BBs for squirrels or bb shot for geese? No, it’s just a great technique to use for the favorite quarry on the river or western Lake Erie, bottom bouncing. Bottom Bouncers are an easier to use version of the 3way swivels. 3 ways are attached to the main line with a lead to a weight and a lead to your lure. Cumbersome to use, but more versatile in that you can change the length of the lead, to the weight, to change the depth of the lure. However, with the favorite quarry in the area being walleye, the bottom in bottom bouncing is more important. This keeps your lure in the strike zone where the walleyes are, unless you’re Redcan.


   The bottom bouncers are very handy when it comes to trolling for walleye this time of year. The gorge on the mayfly hatch is still fresh in their minds and they can’t resist an imitation spinner blade presented in the strike zone. At least that’s a theory and not only are spinners used but also spoons and lipped lures. It’s an imitation of handlining or maybe a precursor (which came first the chicken or the egg?). Both techniques have been around so long no one really knows. The big difference between the 2 is weight. Handliners you 1 -2 lb weights to keep the line at 45 degrees in the water column heading upriver. Bottom bouncers are much lighter and so are more conducive for use in the lake or in the river heading downstream. Many reports are being posted about nice catches of walleye all along the river using bbs and spinners.

   In the lake a standard set up for trolling consists of lighter bbs(2oz) on the outside with in-line planer boards, medium weight bbs(3oz) on a rod perpendicular to the boat and heavy bbs(4oz) strait out the back. This will help keep the lines from tangling up unless the old curse of a sheephead decides to take your rig from here to Niagara. For spinners boat speed is 1.5 to 1.8 mph, for spoons 2.5 to 3.5 mph depending on the whims of the fish. On the river heavy weights are needed to keep the spinners in the depths being reported of 25 to 40 feet. Added note from G. Warsaw from the 7/19 DWF meeting, after hooking a fish on an outside rod ecspecially, give the fish some line until it swings directly behind the boat then reel it in thru the chute between all the rods.

   Speed on the river is very tricky so a gps is a basic piece of equipment. You can get a floating speed of your boat and try to go the speeds for your lures above the floating speed. You can also troll downriver increasing speed until the blades are spinning or the spoons and crankbaits start wobbling and take note of that speed and maintain it. As in any type of trolling speeding up or slowing down can make a difference until the fish tell you what they want. Or you can just look for Cliff in the Lindberg Crest.

Good Luck and Get Outdoors Downriver.

What A Weekend

Here’s hoping this finds you hale and hearty. After this weekend everyone should be. Thanks to all that served, thanks to all that volunteered and thanks to the weatherman. After reading the fishing reports on the web the boys and I went fishing Saturday morning. We got 6 walleye in just a few hours before the wind made it a chore to fish. I’ve never witnessed this before but a boat about 40 yards up wind from us caught a fish. In less than 2 minutes we all knew what was caught, musky. The fish of 10,000 casts has a very distinctive odor. Much like their cousin the pike they release a slime when stressed and the musky is the worst smelling of the 2. We had a great time and the weather was perfect. I was impressed by the amount of boats out on the river and lake. That was probably the reason we didn’t get checked by the Coast Guard of either country, the Border Patrol , the County Sheriff or the MDNRE which is rare these days.



Now with the official start of summer, schools out and the temperatures rising, now’s the time to get the boat summerized. That’s right if you haven’t been out fishing in the spring you’ll need to get the boat ready for the boating season. According to Al Anderson from Aquamarine Boat Brokers in Ecorse you need to summerize. Checking the spark plugs, the air filter, the gas filter, all gas lines and fitting, all belts and on the larger boats the bilge blower among other things. There was a boat fire recently at a gas station on the river. The blowers were on but unbeknownst to the captain an animal built a nest or winter home in the blower system. Add leaking gas lines to the mix and there was a little explosion and fire that could have been a lot worse Thank God no one was hurt. So summerize, summerize, summerize to try to catch those hidden dangers.



By the looks of things there must be fish biting out there. The river had plenty of takers and the lake was also populated with many boats. I understand the lake has seen a prodigious mayfly hatch and the walleye bite is off for a while. So in Michigan stay in the good old DR. It’s hard at times, especially this weekend with all of the parades, fireworks and cookouts, to get out and fish. My buddy Rick only gets out for 1-2 hours at times and does very well. He does it often though and gets to know his spots and how the fish react to weather and water clarity. So get out and fish and don’t forget Luc at Lake Erie Metro Park. He’s the injured eagle that needs fish to survive. The fish can be of most kind but must be frozen. Call first to see if they'll take your catch.



Get Outdoors Downriver.