Fishing update

Vision of next summer - Sand Point Charters

2009-12-21T12:44:00.000-08:00

It is mid-June, 2010 and I am on the "Fishin' Mission" on our way out to Stannard Rock Light, a reef located about 35 miles south west of the Mendota Lighthouse. I have on board my new boat, two of my kids and 6 excited customers looking forward to catching their share of the healthy and delectible lake trout.
For the past week, I have fished almost every day with different clients and came back to port with many fish. We caught many more fish than we wanted to keep, so we released most of them. I have booked 18 more trips (a total of 26 for the season) for fishing, touring and general sightseeing out of Bete Grise and the other local harbors.
My printing business, Designotype Printers, Inc. is being run very expertly and efficiently by our staff of experienced and competent people. I have no concerns or worries for the shop or my customers, because I have utmost confidence that our employees can get it all done in a timely manner. They do not need or want me to be there.
The first 6 months of the year have been very good, thanks to our sales and marketing efforts. Additionally, I was able to justify a truck and trailer large enough to haul my boat to Copper Harbor and Eagle Harbor when needed.
Margaret is at our cottage at Lac La Belle with our other kids and she is able to do her design work by internet while keeping an eye on the kids. Our kids are all happy because they love it at the lake and they have their mom and dad with them most of the time. We rarely have to go into town for work and when we do, it's just for a short time do tie some loose ends and get groceries.
I have done the maintenace on the boat and repaired all of the minor things that crop up. The oil is fresh in the lower units and the boat has been inspected and approved by the DNR since it has all of the safety and navigational equipment required by the US Coast Guard.
My fuel is being supplied by the resort at a substantial discount and they have referred many of their customers to me for charters. I have also worked out an agreement with someone to keep my boat at their dock.
The local restaurants and motels are also in partnership with Sand Point Charters and we refer people back and forth to keep each other in business.
Many of my clients find Sand Point Charters on the internet and book long in advance and most of the ones that have fished with me are booking for a repeat trip next summer.

2009-10-21T12:44:00.000-07:00

This photo is un-related to the fishing yesterday, but thought I'd post it. My son caught this king salmon last summer while fishing out of Manistique.

One October day last fall, I had a hard time finding a fishing partner since it was a work day for most and it was raining. I called a few business owners, and close friends, but they were all busy making money. Others that I thought could take off, either did not want to fish in the rain and 40 degree weather, did not have a license yet (my brother-in-law employee) or were not home. One was on the lake already with another bro-in-law... I guess I called him too late.

At any rate, I was not going to stay home (or at work) just dreaming about catching fish, I wanted to be in my boat at least trying to catch fish.

One final option was my neighbor, Kurt, who was un-employed at the moment. I knocked on his door at 11am and he came to the door in his white boxers. I more or less told him that I was going fishing in 1/2 hour and if he wanted to come, be outside. He followed me out the door saying that he definitely will come, but has to run to town for chewing tobacco. Ok, I said, I won't leave without you.

Well , it rained all the way to the lake, but quit just as we started to get the boat ready to launch. No dock, but not to worry, we have launched before without it. I've even done it by myself a time or two.

Just as we cast off, another bro-in-law (I have about 10 of them) pulled up in his boat (from the lake, he was the one with one of my possibilities for deck hand) and gave a good fishing report. The lakers are sluggish, so go slow, under 1.9 to 2.2 mph and they are on the boottom, so try to troll with your lures just about snagging bottom. Ok, good advice.

On our first pass over the reef, where the water goes from 35 feet deep up to 14 feet, we caught 2 lakers almost simutaneously and instead of just trolling, we anchored in a likely spot on the reef and started jigging with light tackle. My rod is a medium weight, 6 foot pole with an open face spinning reel with 6lb test line. I caught several before snagging on the bottom and losing my jig. My partner did not have much luck, losing several lures and jigs. One was a definite fish, that he fought for a few tugs before it snapped his line, but what fun!

By this time, we had our limit, but kept them live in the live well, so we went back to trolling. Almost every pass over the reef, there was one or two fish hooked, but sometimes got snagged on the bottom.

Speaking of snags, Kurt snagged up with a long line out the back and as soon as I realized it was a snag, I stopped the motor and reeled in the other lines. Then we motored back to the supposed snag, and it started to fight. 10 minutes later he landed a beautiful 13 lb laker. What a suprise to both of us, and he was embarrassed that he did not know it was a fish!

I paid my dues in lost tackle, I think about $25 worth, but as I told Kurt: "Last summer I was talking to an old fisherman, who is retired from his regular job now and has lots of time to fish. The way he put it was ...'I buy fishing tackle to lose it... I know that if I am not losing tackle, I am not fishing enough. It's part of the program, par for the course, you gotta expect it and not lose sleep over it.'"

Fishing and finding customers

2009-09-16T06:54:00.000-07:00

Fishing and finding customers:

There are many similarities between fishing and growing a business and the more I fish, the more I learn about business. Here is some of what I've learned:

Species - Do you want to catch certain species like pike, bass, perch, laketrout, salmon, halibut, specled trout. any fish or only a certain kind? Is your product or service only used by certain people? You'll never catch alake trout (sell to Eskimos) if you are fishing (marketing yourself) in theportage canal (in the desert) because lake trout (and Eskimos) need coldwater.

Location - You need to go where the fish are. Many kinds of fish are schooling type. They like to travel and congregate in schools, where there is feed, protection and a comfortable water temperature. Likewise, yourcustomers will be in places where they find these same necessities, although a little different food, shelter and climates.

Timing, seasonal - Your targeted fish (customers) will have very active seasons (This is when you need to go after them) and inactive times. Figure out when this is and work like crazy during the "BEST" season to harvest when the timing is right.

Timing, daily - There is a good time of the day to fish and a bad time of the day to fish. For king salmon, fishermen go out before the first hint of light to set their lines because when the sun comes up they stop their feeding frenzy. Likewise, you cannot expect to get good results if you callon your customers after they have gone to sleep.

Bait - Use the kind of bait that the fish like, not the kind you would like.In other words, just because you like steak, it doesn't mean fish will like it. So find out what your best customers like about you and reel in others just like them with the same offerings.

Patience - Sometime you can fish (market your business) for a long time andnot get a bite (or inquiry), but with patience you can reel in that big one.(A good client) Use the slow times to organize, repair and adjust your tackle, train yourself about new methods and ???? (take vacations) to revitalize and keep the interest in fishing (your business) going.

Repeatability - Once you find where they are and a method that works, stick with it until it no longer produces results. Why would you pull anchor (stopadvertising) when the fish are biting? (Unless you reached your limit) In this case, you will be wise to repeat this marketing strategy when things cool down, providing the other factors like timing are right.

Depending on how specialized your fishing (business) is you may target all kinds of species (people) or only a certain kind of trout (I can't get too specific here in order not offend anyone, but you get the picture) To sum it up, you will have to know what species to fish for, where and when to fish for them, what to use to attract them, wait through the slow times, and make sure to use the methods that work over and over and over again.

Do these things and you will catch fish consistently.

2009-07-16T16:57:00.000-07:00

Did a pre-fish in Lake Michigan out of Manistique last night before the start of a 3 day tourney yesterday. Lost one king and caught one. Not a real productive evening, but at least we found where the fish were for the openner today. This morning, we got out real early, by 5 am and had a fair day, with 2 kings and 6 steelhead, the largest was just over 15 lbs. WAter temps from 45 at the lure to 56 at the surface.
The largest catch of the day was 13 fish for a total weight of 123 lbs. The had the largest fish, but also the smallest.
Our largest king was caught on a cut bait rig with a green flasher at 75 feet below the surface.
The steeleys were all around 30 feet down and caught on bright color spoons.
Two more days of fishing and here is the outlook according to the lunar tables: http://tinyurl.com/preview.php?num=l92tnd
The weather will be cold and maybe some rain, but we'll give it a good try anyway.

Sault Sainte Marie fishing for Atlantic Salmon

2009-07-02T05:34:00.000-07:00

Roger, Leo and I spent Monday and Tuesday this week with Captain Travis White http://tinyurl.com/kpfyhw
Fishing in the St. Mary's river was a little different than i'm used to with a pretty strong current using fly rods for trolling while casting a leaded jig with a Gulp minnow (http://tinyurl.com/lzlmcg) on a 7' 6" medium weight rod with 6 lb test line. I intend to try the same on Lake Michigan and Lake Superior for Coho and King Salmon. It's a blast to fight a larger fish on 6 lb test line and light tackle. Especially the Atlantic Salmon, a hard fighting fish that jumps out of the water, sometimes 5' high! See a live cam and lots of fish at: http://tinyurl.com/lmqvf3
The weather was cold for this time of year and the barometric pressure was really low, which affected the feeding of the fish in a bad way. According to the captain, Atlantics like the sunshine like us human beings. If the sun shines they feed, and when it's cloudy, they are hard to catch. In spite of the rain and cold, it was a real learning experience and relaxing to be away from the office. I just wish we had the Atlantics here in the Copper Country, since it's a 5 hour drive for us.
Locally, we hope to get out on the scum line this weekend for Coho, Steelhead and Lakers. It's starting to look better almost every day, except when we get lots of wind. Chck out the latest temps here: http://tinyurl.com/mrqjpn
If you on twitter, foller me at: http://tinyurl.com/kommmx

2009-06-23T10:25:00.000-07:00

I see that the water temps out of Eagle Harbor are at that magical 55 degrees with colder water futher out. The thermo is forming up nicely and will be producing fish in these next few days. Check out this link: http://www.coastwatch.msu.edu/superior/s22.html You can see the lines are tightening up, so that's where you want to fish. The closer the temperature lines are, the more quickly the water changes temperature, and the more likely to find fish there.
Time has been flying by lately with no outings for me since last week. Wow, time's fun when you're having flies... or something like that.
I will sneak out there some time this week and write the results here.

2009-06-19T06:16:00.000-07:00

Still watching the water temps on Lake Superior. There looks to be a thermocline near Manitou Island, but a few miles out.

Fished on Bete de Gris a few nights ago, late in the evening and caught one 6 lb lake trout. The next morning, I tried to wake my kids and nephews to fish but could not interest any of them, so I went by myself. Maybe I should have took the cue from the kids, because I came back after 4 hours skunked... not even a bite. There were several boats out there, fishing at various places, but I don't know if they did any good either.

Looking forward to fishing at the Sault in a couple weeks with a fishing guide, Travis White. We will be fishing for Atlantic Salmon, mostly.

The next big trip will be to Manistique for the Suomi Salmon Tournament in mid-July.

2009-06-14T20:10:00.000-07:00

Spent the weekend at Schlatters Lake with 292 boys, 4 of which are my own and 6 nephews. There were also 109 dads, with a ratio of 2.7 boys per dad. This was a new all-time record for numbers of dads and boys, because, I'm sure, the weather forecast was so nice.

With plenty of sun, and temps in the 60's during the days and 40's at night, we all had a good time. In years past, there were many memorable trips with rain and cold temps.

The fishing was not the best from our boat, but caught a few pike and some perch. Some boats did pretty good, with catches of 30 plus perch caught on one outing. The pike size and population seems to be down, so very few legal size pike were caught. They varied in size from 10 inch "hammer handles", as we call them, to a respectable 28 inch pike. The perch were mostly small, but a few in the 12 to 14 inch range were reported, although I did not see them.

This is an annual fishing/camping trip that we have been doing since I was a 12 year old boy, so this was the 36th year in a row. I have made many of them, but of course not all 36. Usually, I go out on Friday and come home on Sunday, but we went out a day earlier this time, in order to fish and relax a little more.

Two of my boys and I fished for a little while in Lac La Belle this evening. I was trying for some of the crappies that are supposed to be spawning right now, but had no luck. The only fish we caught was a rock bass.

Lake Superior is warming up, and soon will be creating the "scum line" and producing steelies, coho and lake trout. Average temps in the open waters is 42 degrees, with some warmer spots at 53 to 54. Give it a week or two and we may be enjoying some good fishing!

2009-06-04T14:32:00.000-07:00

My 4 year old son, Bruce fished on Torch Lake today, because it was too windy to get on the big lake. Did not get out until afternoon, but caought a 26" pike. Suyrprisingly it was on my first cast after putting on an old rapala that looks just like a smelt. I had just tossed it out on a whim, with a cheap "kid" rod. Forgot to check the drag, but was able to adjust it during the fight and didnot loose the fish. i do not care to eat pike, but I kept it live until we got back to dock and gave it to a 13 year old boy who was fishing there. Still pretty lively and it was hard to grab him from the livewell.

Oh, yeah, lost a fishing rod today too. My anchor let loose, we drifted into a weedbed and while i was fighting to push out with an ore, Bruceys rod snagged a weed and fell overboard. I could have retrieved it, but that would have meant I'd have to go back in the shallows and fight my way against the wind again. The cheap rod was not worth the work, we have many more like it! As they say, in fishing, yoiu have to pay your dues. Some even go as far as to say just throw some fishing tackle overboard at the start of your day and then fish... get it over with and pay your dues early, then you can start catching fish. At any rate, I don't loose any sleep over losing a little fishing gear.

2009-06-04T05:57:00.000-07:00

As pointed out nm my profile, one of my preferred methods of fishing is bobbing. For anyone not familair with it, bobbing is done from an anchored boat, or if there is little wind, just drifting.

We use a 40 to 5o lb test coated steel hand line, wrapped around a wooden or plastic spool with a swivel and about 6 feet of mono filament line tied to a lead weighted jig. Hooked onto the jig, we use smelt, sucker or belly fat from lake trout.

Usually in deep water, over 100 feet deep and jig right off of the bottom. Lakers like to hang around at the bottom most of the time.

You have to move your hand up and down constantly in order to attract fish to it, and when there is a slight tug on the line, a quick tug of the line to set the hook and steadily pull the line in, carefully letting it fall in the bottom of the boat.

With this method, I don't think it is possible to catch the real big lakers, as they usually will break the line, but we have caught up to 25 lbs occasionally.

The beauty of the kind of fishing is the peaceful, quiet nature of it. No motor noise, just the lapping of water on the sides of the boat. When the lake is flat and the sun is shining, the fish are biting, tit is one of the most enjoyable things I know. Especially when you are with a good fishing buddy or partner where conversation is light and free.

Usually we have 3 to 4 guys in a boat, with 2-3 in the stern area and one on the bow in order to avoid tangling lines, which happens sometimes. At times the fishing is so active that we have 3 to 4 fish on at once, which gets kind of interesting if they are all getting up to the boat at the same time. Remember that we are fishing more than 100 feet deep and it takes a while to get a fish up to the boat when having that much hand line out. Many of the fish we catch do not require the net, but some do.

With legal limits at 3 per fisherman per day, it sometimes does not take long to limit out, so we will release as many fish as we keep.

Can't wait to get to Isle Royal this summer! Had to pass up one trip on Memorial day weekend due to my son getting married on that Saturday. I guess some things are still more important than fishing.

2009-06-03T06:34:00.000-07:00

Have been out 4 times this summer, if you can call it summer up here in the chilly Copper Country. 3 times in Lake Superior and once in northern MN where I caught a 35" northern.

Fishing on Lake Su[erior is just picking up, as the water warms up. Temps are around 45 and looking to see 55 degrees for the good fishing on the thermoclines. Fished the south entry a couple weeks ago, Traverse last week and Bete Gris last Sunday, but only picked up a few fish. Will be fishing in Sault St Marie at the end of this month and the Manistique salmon tourney next month with lots of fishing in between.