Few places where walleyes are caught regularly are as susceptible to rapidly changing water clarity as the western basin of Lake Erie. A stretch of calm weather can leave the water relatively clear, but strong winds can turn it muddy in a matter of hours.
That muddy water can develop in two different ways.
Mike Schoonveld: Here are clear options for coping with murky fishing waters Read More »
I backed my boat down the launch ramp one predawn morning, guided by the lights on my trailer, the ambient lights in the area, and a pale sliver of moon overhead. I’d done it hundreds of other times so my thoughts were more on fishing than the job at hand.
I was launching alone, so the boat’s long bow rope was cinched to the trailer’s winch support. Once the boat floated off the trailer bunks, I would pull ahead enough to be able to reach the bow rope then move to a cleat on the pier next to the ramp. Easy enough – until it wasn’t.
Mike Schoonveld: BoatUS membership comes in handy when needed Read More »
As an angler who spends a lot of time on the Great Lakes, I have more fishing reels than most. Accordingly, I spend a lot of time removing old line and respooling with new.
Why? Because since ancient times – when lines were made from silk, linen, animal sinew and other natural materials – fishermen have known that success or failure often depends on the condition of their line.
Mike Schoonveld: Are you respooling your fishing reels often enough? Read More »
Are you one of those anglers who buys a fishing license every year – or, like me, several for different states? If so, you’re in the minority. Studies show most Americans who consider themselves anglers don’t actually fish every year.
That reality caught the attention of the sportfishing industry.
Mike Schoonveld: Making time – not finding it – is key for avid anglers Read More »
Years ago, there was an ongoing argument among Great Lakes salmon and trout anglers whether spoons or trolling flies with single hooks are better fish-catchers than lures with treble hooks.
That debate has quieted over time, but it hasn’t disappeared. Some anglers still swap trebles for singles, while others go the opposite direction, replacing factory single hooks with trebles.
Mike Schoonveld: How many hooks are needed on a lure, and why? Read More »
The first time I ventured out on a Great Lake to troll for salmon was on a small boat with a small outboard.
There were three of us, each of us had brought our own fishing rod and a handful of lures we thought might be attractive to the fish. Other than the required safety gear, and what turned out to be a woefully inadequate net, that was about the extent of the tackle on board.
A friend was on a wilderness fishing trip in Canada. What could be better? Pristine waters, fish for dinner every day, no ringing phones to disturb the sounds of the loons.
“It’s all good,” he said, “until you have all the fish you need for dinner, you’re ready to get back to the cabin and your outboard motor won’t start.”
Mike Schoonveld: Another safety tool for outdoorsmen – satellite texting Read More »
People are taught dozens of common-sense rules as they travel down the road of life. One of them is to don’t eat any food from a metal can that shows signs of swelling. Why? Because the can probably has spoiled food inside and could be contaminated with botulism toxins.
Good to know, but why put this warning in a column about fishing and other outdoor recreation?
Mike Schoonveld: Vacuum-sealed products require special thawing Read More »
I can’t remember the exact number of Independence Days I’ve spent on boats.
Now, it’s often on my boat, a friend’s boat, and decades ago it was on my dad’s boat. Fishing is often on the menu these days, but when I was kid, water skiing and tubing were more important than fishing – at least in the midday hours.
Mike Schoonveld: Coast Guard does about-face in regards to emergency signaling equipment Read More »
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