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Mike Schoonveld

Mike Schoonveld: What’s next, plastic clouds? Researchers looking into it

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

The title of the vintage TV sitcom, 3rd Rock From The Sun, was a somewhat apt description of our planet.
The Earth is the third planet in our sun’s solar system and it’s mostly rock of various kinds. Earth also features water, metals and organic matter, but there is far more rock than anything else. The Earth’s rocks come in many sizes and forms.

Mike Schoonveld: What’s next, plastic clouds? Researchers looking into it Read More »

Mike Schoonveld: Do Michigan fish cleaning rules need changing?

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

At the end of successful fishing trip on the Wisconsin side of Lake Michigan, after the requisite photos were taken, the deckhand unsheathed a knife, plastic bags, and other fish-cleaning necessities and expertly dissected fillets off the salmon and trout we’d caught.
The fillets went into a plastic bag, and the carcasses and other offal were unceremoniously chucked overboard as the boat motored towards the distant shore.
I approached the captain and asked, “Is it legal to clean the fish and throw the carcasses back into the lake?”

Mike Schoonveld: Do Michigan fish cleaning rules need changing? Read More »

Mike Schoonveld: Fill the gas tank on your boat using a jiggle siphon hose

Blogs, Fishing, Gear & Gadgets, Michigan, National Fishing, Opinion /

I never saw a guy stuff five-dollar bills in a cigar box any quicker than the enterprising person in a simple booth at a boat show I attended years ago. There was a line of people waiting to hand over their fivers while they watched him demo a siphon hose that probably took him two minutes to make using about 50 cents worth of materials. 
Called a “jiggle siphon hose,” it only had three components.

Mike Schoonveld: Fill the gas tank on your boat using a jiggle siphon hose Read More »

Mike Schoonveld: Get the net! But which one? Here’s what to consider

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

Whether you are fishing from a rowboat in a farm pond or on an offshore cruiser in the middle of a Great Lake, one of the most welcome phrases an angler can say is, “Get the net.” 
In most cases there’s no better tool than a net to complete the assignment. So, “get the net” – and get the right net. What’s right?

Mike Schoonveld: Get the net! But which one? Here’s what to consider Read More »

Mike Schoonveld: Replacing regulated water repellents

Featured, Fishing, Gear & Gadgets, Hunting, Michigan, National Fishing, National Hunting /

Have you ever heard of “long-chain perfluorochemicals?” Probably not, but I bet you’ve used them. Often abbreviated PFCs, they were used in manufacturing thousands of everyday products like carpets, upholstery, non-stick cookware and outdoor gear – particularly items like raingear, backpacks, tents and other items that needed to be waterproof.
Unless you are one of the few avid outdoors-people still relying on rubberized or vinyl rainwear, chances are there are long-chain PFCs in your gear if it’s more than a few years old.

Mike Schoonveld: Replacing regulated water repellents Read More »

Mike Schoonveld: Are pink salmon making a comeback in Lake Michigan?

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

Catching a pink salmon in northern Lake Huron or in the St. Marys River isn’t an uncommon occurrence. I don’t fish that area often, but I did catch one in the St. Marys on a brisk fall day just below the lock and dam at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
Like most who caught them back them, I was underwhelmed. Our target was king salmon – hopefully a 20-pounder – not a tiny fish that weighed less than two pounds. This was just before the king salmon crash in Lake Huron so most anglers viewed the small pinks dangling at the end of their lines as a nuisance more than an opportunity.

Mike Schoonveld: Are pink salmon making a comeback in Lake Michigan? Read More »

Mike Schoonveld: Four steps to get out of messes that come with trolling

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

Trolling used to be simple. Each person in the boat would select a lure, drop it into the lake and let out some line.
Once the right amount of line was uncoiled off the spool, each angler would simply hold onto the rod until something bit the lure. Then salmon were stocked in the Great Lakes, and nearly extinct walleyes came back in Lake Erie. Innovative anglers started festooning their boats with rod holders, downriggers, planer board masts and other paraphernalia to up the number of rods that could be trolled and to keep the lines and lures separated.

Mike Schoonveld: Four steps to get out of messes that come with trolling Read More »

Mike Schoonveld: Some foreign fishing companies dodging excise taxes

4 Comments / Discussions, Featured, Fishing, Michigan, National Fishing /

Ask an angler the question, “Who pays for fisheries programs?” and he’s likely to say, “I do.” If you follow-up this question, asking “How do you pay?” The answer will be, “I buy a fishing license.”
He would be right, to a degree. The Michigan DNR sells well over a million fishing licenses each year, collecting almost $30 million this year. That’s a lot of money dedicated to fish management, surveys, stocking, and plenty of other “fishy” things.

Mike Schoonveld: Some foreign fishing companies dodging excise taxes Read More »

Mike Schoonveld: Are anglers catching drug-crazed salmon?

Featured, Fishing, Michigan, National Fishing /

The rod set on my deepest downrigger popped straight and then a second or two later, the rod doubled over again as the fish felt the pull of the line arching through the water and the strain of the lure pinned in its mouth. Then the fish went crazy.
First, it headed for the top of the lake. “Perhaps it’s a steelhead,” I thought as my fishing partner grabbed the rod.

Mike Schoonveld: Are anglers catching drug-crazed salmon? Read More »

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