by Capt. Dan Manyen

November 2008 : Issue 2

At this writing the timetable for both the river jig bite and the night time trolling bite seem to be off and late just a tad. The water temps are running slightly on the warm side yet and the rainfall although almost normal for this time of year, are also slightly light for the season. But some action is starting both at night and during the day. These fish are what you would expect, with many being smaller males with just a few bigger ones showing up in the sporatic catches. My little fishing internet group had a get together tournament of sorts on the 1st of November, and 14 people fished it for 6 hours. Even though a few walleyes were caught, only 2 of them were legal size, with a 19 1/2 incher being the biggest. There was some other species caught that were very impressive though. I was catching some very nice smallmouths and weighed in a 17 1/2 incher, while others caught some monster flathead catfish. Things can only improve as the river is full of shad and as the month wears on and as the temps get colder things will. I've also included some Great Lakes news and a few other things that interested people might find interesting.

Walleye Pulse Questions and Answers:

Fished Huron Ohio this weekend and had a blast. On Friday most of the fish came on the left side of the boat, Sat on the Rt and sunday back on the left. Ran both sides about the same 40-70 back, all reef runners. Wondering if anyone has any idea why this happens or is it just luck. Thanks Randy

Randy.

This phenomena happens a lot to trollers. And the time spent trying to figure out why, at times can be useful. And sometimes others, it is something so miniscule or down right different you'll never see or notice it, but does make a difference in the total catch. Guys like me who just have to analyze everything good or bad about fishing do have some ideas about this.

Given the wind and wave directions, one side of the boat will almost always act/pull/haul different then the other side will. Thus the pull on the boards (rather In-line or Mast) will be slightly different from one side to the other. Sometime this subtle difference makes all the difference in the crankbait's action and the fishes response to it. And if and when you turned around and troll the other way, having the same length leads on both sides, that action can be transferred to the opposite side of the boat, and thus duplicate that same exact productive program you had going on the opposite side before you made the turn. Make sense?

There now with that all figured out, I'll go back to figuring out why one lure with the black dot on it's side is better then the one without it.

Now that river walleye fishing is soon to be here, what kind of poles (brand, action, length, pieces) does everyone use for casting or jigging? I am currently using a Quantum, 6ft, two pieces, and medium light action. I am thinking about upgrading for this coming fall for walleyes. Any help would be great. Jamie

Jamie.

I personally love a soft/light tip with a quick but medium load action, especially so since I've went to no-stretch braided lines. This gives me the leeway to really slam the hooks home with a big hook set action in both shallow waters while vertical jigging, and at the end of long casts, which is usually the type waters and conditions in the rivers I fish. I have used many types of stiff action rods and have pulled way to many jigs out of fish that I feel I should have caught. Now, If I was fishing in some deep/high current waters, like the Detroit, stiffer might be the best way to go. This is only my opinion based on my experience and the way I like to fish.

I have/use a (very rare) 6 foot 2 piece G-Loomis that was custom built for me over 20 years ago, that I still cherish for all types of jig fishing. I've been teased by some close friends about when I'm going to trade in that Buggy Whip for a real rod. And that the time I spend playing a fish is way to long. I tell them that rod to me is like braille or a walking cane is to a blind man. I can discern every type of bottom strata, mentally visualize every hump, stump or depression, and feel when a walleye swims by my line, let alone when they strike it. Me and that rod are one when it's in my hands.

Ya know, I never bothered to figure out any (stike-to hook-up) ratios when using my old buddy G. Lomis. But I'll bet mine is very close to 100% with this rod. I seen way to many days when others in the same boat would miss hits time and time again. I'd throw in the same spot and nail the fish on the first bump. A lot of this of course has as lot to do with jig size and how good your feeling the fish pick up or engulf the jig. But to a degree a light rod tip allows the fish just that extra small amount of leway and give from the rod tip to jig.

Capt. Dan. Do you ever use plastics for virtical jigging?

Early last fall while picking up a few more Northland Mimmic Minnow bodies and jigs in the perch flavor, I seen the new (3 inch) Berkley Realistix Minnows in the handy 10 pack. They come packed with 10 seperate bodies, with 2 already pre-rigger with color matching 1/8 ounce jig heads in the pack. I've been a (Real Live Bait) guy forever when it came to river jig fishing. And Northland was the first artificial I tried the fall before, that had shown me that you can consistantly catch fall river walleyes on rubber. And with all the new VHS rules and laws, as well as good live baits scarce availabilty anymore, having a reliable fall back only makes good sense. So anyway, I picked up a package of the Realistixs in the perch pattern along with more mimmics. And even though I wouldn't call this test either scientific or conclusive I jigged with both (side by side) on my next trip to the river that November 10th day last year. I only did so the last 1 1/2 hour before dark, and at a time when the fish were first starting to come into the river. I caught 7 walleyes with only 3 being keepers and the picture is below. 2 of those 3 were on the realistix as was 5 of the 7 total.

But the realistixs charm also extended to more then just walleyes. These little rascles were killer, dead fished under slip bobbers for both smallies and whites this past spring as well. So when I seen that my local bait imporium had stocked some new colors, I went kinda crazy. I'm not sure this picture can do them justice. That white one with the chartreuse tail, is actually a glow in the dark that I'll be trying this coming season a few times after dark. And the Green one at the bottom you have to see in real life to believe. Those people at Berkley seem to have to much experimental time on their hands, and I'm glad they do.

Walleye Pulse Commentary.

Ethics and Harvest

Ethics: Webster describes ethics as a system of personal morale values. The standards and principals of what is right or wrong conduct in the scheme of the laws, both man made and natural.

This topic alone when applied to hunting or fishing can really ignite some real arguments and anger, but that never stopped me before. "Bow season should be with a simple bow and wooden arrow". "Compounds are not bows at all". "Cross bows (especially with scopes) should be illegal". "Muzzle Loaders when used for hunting, should only be authentic replicas, not these scoped and rifled grooved, 200 yard Bulls eye shooting muzzle loaded snipers rifles". Need I say more?

But because every mans own ethics are initially formed by what he was taught during his own chilldhood and upbringing. And lastly when he grows up, by his own ideas of fair play and his own principals of what really is right or wrong. Even the law at times bears little weight to change what a man perceives as what is right or wrong once his own adult ethics are formed and set in stone.

With that said. I remember watching a stunning In-Fisherman show a long time ago where Al Linder showed some of his very old pictures of both himself and his brother Ron holding up huge stringers of dead bass and walleyes. Most were true trophys. His message and reason for doing this show was two fold. To show that both the times and he himself used to see things different, and that things have changed when it comes to keeping or killing more then you can actually use. Or at least it did for him as he got older and wiser. I found Al's own younger experience to be much the same as mine was in my younger more (show off) years. But I was taught my first ethics both by a Grandfather and Father, who both went through the great depression, when everything you caught or killed was needed and gratefully used by all the family as the next meal. Possession laws were more liberal, yet broken quit often back then. Not so much out of greed or disregard for the law, but to offset the shrunken grocery allowance forced on everybody by the tough times. So to adjust the ethics, be law abiding and conserve the resource, was hard to change and mentally reconfigure in the minds of people when the monetary times did get better.

Of course the resources themselves back then seemed unexhaustable and held out for quit a while under this onslaught, but probably only because there were more of them and fewer users of it. But in today's world (even though you are legally allowed to have more then your legal one day limit of fish in the freezer) do we really have to store so much fish and game away any more to make sure little Johnny doesn't go to bed hungry? Obviously not, yet this mentality of catch and/or kill all you can while you can remains the same for a lot of people in today's world. And with that being said, I worry about all our resources, but especially about our new abundant Saginaw Bay Walleye fishery. And when I hear or read stories like we caught 500 walleyes last summer on my boat, I guess my first question is, what does one do with 1,000 fillets? Or the guys who come here or any other lake from out of town and catch their limit in the morning and then again in the afternoon. And probably do so for the whole weekend they are here. I guess if you have 50 or more friends that trade off fishing with you every weekend, the divided math would works out O. K. But if your throwing out freezer burnt fillets every spring to start over, or supplying every friend, neighbor and relative down the street (who does not even buy a license and contribute to the resource) with fresh fish, your doing more to harm to our resource then helping it. And yes, I personally caught quite a few walleyes this last summer myself on my charters. But I insist we quit catching after the legal limit is reached and head in for the day if we do. And 100% of my clients not only buy licenses that help support the resource, but spend money in our local economy while they're briefly here. And few of the people I take and send home with limits, seldom even fish again after that one day out. And it's not my intention here in posting this to beat my own ethical drum and put a hole in anybody else's. Like I said before, everybody has their own ethics. I'm just reminding everyone (like Al did) to occasionally examine theirs for the good of all and the resource.

Sub Commentary:

This subject comes about as close to, and is IMV, in the same realm as talking about politics or religion. Those beliefs to are intrenched and an integral part of whom each person is, what he believes and what he see's as important. And often just talking about them or stating your own views on them, can both offend, loose you a friend or two, or put others not agreeing with your perspective in a defensive state of mind.

And a lot of resource particulars from one place to another can indeed shape or adjust what points I tried to make in my original post. And the laws set for each area by those particular professionals are done so to protect that resource as best it can. It's often when things get to easy that your ethics truely get tested.

Years ago when our smelt runs were massive, you could dip for quit a few nights without hitting the run. Then in one good/right night, fill a 20 quart cooler in one dip. The sheer excitement generated by this bounty after a few nights of failure, and when shared with the many others dipping around you, encouraged you to fill every tub, pale and orifice you brought with you. Then the long trip home, stopping at every bar to see if anybody wanted some free smelt, as you knew you were never going to clean or eat that many. This is the same ethical mind set I worry about and that took over this year by many on the Bay.

Great Lakes News.

Erie fishes for industry

Chamber uses water as bait to lure businesses here
BY LISA THOMPSON | lisa.thompson@timesnews.com

Published: October 09. 2008 9:50AM

Jake Rouch, Vice President of Economic Development for the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership. Photo taken Oct.

TAKE A DIP

For more information on this initiative, visit: tapintoerie.com.

On Oct. 23, business leaders in Atlanta will huddle to brainstorm about how to ease the water-shortage crisis affecting businesses as diverse as soda manufacturing and real estate.

If Erie economic development specialist Jake Rouch has his way, he will have gotten to some of those businesses' owners first with another solution:

Come to the cool, wet, shores of Lake Erie.

Erie's economic development leaders on Thursday let go of the past.

No more will they simply troll Web sites looking for leads on companies looking to relocate or sit in their offices waiting for tips from the Governor's Action Team, said Rouch, the vice president of the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership.

The development officials are going hunting for businesses that need what Erie has, in this era of global warming and depleted natural resources -- water.

First target?

Water-intensive businesses doing business in drought-stricken Atlanta.

Water, water everywhere

Odd, submarine-shaped gray cardboard mailers soon will be landing on the desks of Atlanta executives at companies such as Anheuser-Busch, EarthLink and AK Steel.

Inside the mailers, the companies will find a note from Rouch that touts Erie's abundant freshwater supplies and offers that water at a steep discount -- 40 percent for five years -- to any business willing to set up shop in Erie.

As a reminder of the city's great, sloshing water supply, there is also a small souvenir -- a pair of cuff links shaped like old-fashioned water spigot handles. One cold. One hot.

They're attached to stiff cardboard postcard with a reminder that water shortages are on the rise.

Erie, located on the shores of Lake Erie, the card says, "provides a smart and stable environment to expand Atlanta's businesses."

Rouch plans to travel to Atlanta for a national economic development conference from Oct. 18 to 22. He hopes to meet with some of these executives in person.

Later in the month, he'll carry the campaign to San Francisco.

Riding a wave?

The new campaign, "Tap into Erie," marks a sea change of sorts for economic development.

Rouch said the agency in January decided to expand its focus from retaining and growing existing businesses to actively recruiting new businesses to the area.

"We frankly were not paying attention to trying to recruit businesses here," he said.

Rouch said every time officials kicked around what Erie assets to market, they came up with the stock list -- abundance of college students and colleges, good transportation, first-rate medical establishments, a decent manufacturing base and a fine quality of life. But none of those, he said, was outstanding enough to pull Erie above the competition.

Finally, this summer, they settled on the obvious -- water.

To check their instinct, the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership and several other organizations commissioned a $45,000 study to examine the prospects of luring water-intensive businesses to the area.

The study, by Erie-based McManis & Monsalve Associates, completed in August, said the region does have an opportunity to market its water resources. Only one other city, Milwaukee, is marketing its water on a national basis and with no success, the report said.

The key to success in Erie will not only be targeted, imaginative marketing but offering incentives, such as custom building for all lease purchase agreements, Rouch said.

Testing the waters

Making water supplies the focus of economic development in Erie is only "logical," especially given the critical shortages emerging in the Southwest and Southeast, said James Kurre, an associate professor of economics at Penn State Behrend's Black School of Business, and director of the Economic Research Institute of Erie.

His only caution was that officials target industries that "use water, not use it up."

"If it is using all the water up, it is short term rather than a long-term policy," he said.

Rouch said those kinds of considerations went into the planning of Tap into Erie.

The mailing targets breweries, data centers and small steel mills. Those industries focus on conservation to keep costs in check, he said.

Rouch said even if the mailing does not result in a mass relocation, it should create valuable buzz.

If executives remember nothing else about Erie, maybe they will remember its attitude, he said.

"We want to make a splash," Rouch said.

"Erie is open for business and it is aggressively trying to get companies to come in and it is doing it in a creative and cool way."

LISA THOMPSON can be reached at 870-1802 or by e-mail.

Greetings Capt. Dan from NOAA, National Weather Service, Detroit/Pontiac...

Earlier this week NOAA/National Weather Service officially deployed a new marine observation site on Saginaw Bay Light #1. The new instrumentation reports wind speed, peak wind gust, wind direction, air temperature, and air pressure every 10 minutes. This new observation site will provide critical weather information for researchers, Coast Guard search and rescue operations, commercial and recreational fisherman, wind farm operators, and commercial shippers.

The data can currently be accessed via the NOAA National Data Buoy Center Web site at

http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=sblm4

Remember also that the latest weather and water forecasts for Saginaw Bay can be accessed at…

http://weather.gov/greatlakes

Capt Dan. Additional FYI

The Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab (GLERL) plans to install a wave sensor, along with other water measuring equipment, on Light 1 during the spring of 2009. We expect these measurements to become available for use through the NOAA/NWS/NDBC satellite data connection and be reported along with the wind speed, direction, etc., once the installation is complete.

Hopefully, updated information will become available next spring as installation of this equipment draws nearer and I will pass it along to you.

Bryan Tilley
Meteorologist/Marine Focal Point
NOAA/National Weather Service
Detroit/Pontiac, Michigan

Area residents tell John Cherry about problems along Saginaw Bay

Posted by Eric English | The Bay City Times October 29, 2008 15:07PM

Categories: Environmental News

Melanie Sochan | Times News Service Lt. Gov. John D. Cherry Jr. responds to the discussion Thursday at Saginaw Valley State University concerning the ecological health of the Saginaw Bay.

Lt. Gov. John D. Cherry Jr. asked local officials Thursday about what issues are affecting Saginaw Bay and the Great Lakes.

He heard an earful.

Sewage overflows, beach grooming and an invasion of big reeds called phragmites were some of the many problems identified by the group.

"We've got to do something about what we're putting in the Great Lakes. Phosphorus is the number one villain," offered Carl Osentoski, director of the Huron County Economic Development Corp.

Osentoski was one of 20 local leaders who met with Cherry on Thursday at Saginaw Valley State University. Cherry also hosted a public hearing on Great Lakes issues Thursday evening at SVSU.

Cherry is traveling the state to get input on a new, comprehensive Michigan Great Lakes Plan. The state will use the document to press for federal funding, he said.

"If we can develop a clear agenda, we can put this on their desk and say, 'This is what we want done,'" Cherry told the audience.

Cherry said he hopes to have the plan finished by year's end so it can be sent to the new president. Both presidential candidates have pledged support for protecting the Great Lakes, he said.

Ernie Krygier, a Bay County commissioner and president of the group Save Our Shoreline, told Cherry that beachfront restoration is a big issue affecting waterfront property owners as well as the public.

Phragmites, muck and zebra mussels are ruining beaches and lowering property values on Saginaw Bay, he said.

Annette Rummel, president and chief executive officer of the Saginaw Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau, said boating and tourism in the region is hurt by the number of alerts issued for combined-sewage overflows.

She wants the state to visit the issue to determine if all overflows warrant public notification, or only those that are a threat to human health.

Greg Eagle, of the Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy, said the federal Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program - which pays farmers to take land out of production along waterways - doesn't focus enough on improving water quality along larger rivers and streams.

And Jim Hergott, project coordinator for the Saginaw Bay Resource, Conservation and Development Area, said competition for existing funding is tight and he would like to see a system ranking watersheds by those having the greatest impact on the Great Lakes.

The state is accepting public comment on Great Lakes issues and the Great Lakes Plan until mid-November. Information about the plan is available on the Internet at www.michigan.gov/deqgreatlakes. Comments can be sent by e-mail to DEQ-GreatLakesRestoration@michigan.gov.