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Mike Schoonveld

Mike Schoonveld: Diver modifications that make a difference for Lake Erie walleyes

Featured, Features, Fishing, Home Page News, Michigan, National Fishing /

By the time I started fishing for walleyes on Lake Erie, my boat was already rigged for salmon fishing on Lake Michigan. I had downriggers, planer boards, and Dipsey Divers, and all three presentations regularly produced salmon, trout, and steelhead. Often, all presentations worked equally well on the same day.
That’s why my early attempts at using all three on Lake Erie left me scratching my head.

Mike Schoonveld: Diver modifications that make a difference for Lake Erie walleyes Read More »

Mike Schoonveld: New sun protection product legalized that anglers should know about

Featured, Fishing, Home Page News, Michigan, National Fishing /

It’s summer, the time of year most outdoor people think about and religiously use sunscreen, mostly because they want keep from being sunburned. More important is each exposure to the sun’s UV rays ups your chances of contracting skin cancer sometime in the future.
As a “skin cancer” survivor, I know. I also know that even though I visit a dermatologist at least every six months, the doctor always spots troubling “pre-cancerous” spots on my face and occasionally on other areas.

Mike Schoonveld: New sun protection product legalized that anglers should know about Read More »

Mike Schoonveld: Can anglers aid in a solution for plastic pollution?

Featured, Fishing, Home Page News, Michigan, National Fishing, Nature Page & Night Sky, Opinion /

Twenty-two million pounds of plastic waste enter the Great Lakes each year. About half sinks to the lake bottoms, where some of it will likely remain until a future glacier reshapes the lakebeds during the next ice age. The floating plastic won’t last as long, especially varieties that aren’t UV-resistant.
A small portion will be collected by environmentally conscious people and eventually end up in landfills, but most will slowly break down over the next hundred years or so into smaller and smaller fragments known as microplastics.

Mike Schoonveld: Can anglers aid in a solution for plastic pollution? Read More »

Mike Schoonveld: Here are clear options for coping with murky fishing waters

Featured, Features, Fishing, Home Page News, Michigan, National Fishing /

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 »

Mike Schoonveld: BoatUS membership comes in handy when needed

Featured, Features, Fishing, Michigan, National Fishing, Nature Page & Night Sky /

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 »

Mike Schoonveld: Are you respooling your fishing reels often enough?

Featured, Features, Fishing, Home Page News, Michigan, National Fishing /

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 »

Mike Schoonveld: Making time – not finding it – is key for avid anglers

Featured, Fishing, Home Page News, Michigan, National Fishing, Opinion /

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 »

Mike Schoonveld: How many hooks are needed on a lure, and why?

Featured, Features, Fishing, Gear & Gadgets, Home Page News, Michigan, National Fishing /

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 »

Mike Schoonveld: Here’s how to effectively run a lure down the chute on your next Great Lakes outing

Featured, Features, Fishing, Home Page News, Michigan, National Fishing /

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.

Mike Schoonveld: Here’s how to effectively run a lure down the chute on your next Great Lakes outing Read More »

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