Sk8man

You sure can tell you've taken very good care of your "baby" too John. I cherish my 18 Ventura and have never had a nervous moment in her on Lake O. Whalers are second to none in the boat department and yours is a wonderful specimen. Best of luck with the sale. I would imagine once someone gets a look at the price of a new one at the shows they will be VERY interested

Thanks for the "heads up" Chad. You do a great job with this site and we all appreciate your efforts. Have a great holiday season by the way

Best of luck this season

Thanks Esox. The one thing I should add regarding the drill/auger approach is something that I have mentioned in previous posts is that the majority of the fishing I do is a foot through15 inches max. of ice or less. Up north I know the ice can get much thicker than that so the results would differ greatly with the much thicker ice (e.g. 2 or 3 ft or more etc). That is where the power auger approach excels.

The latching and holding is a main reason I switched to the Duo locks years ago as well as the fact that they have a well rounded snap face so that the action of the lure whether spoon or stick tends to be better than many of the other options I used to use (e.g. coast locks etc.). I guess the bottom line is whatever option you have faith in and what seems to work best for you is what you go with and personal preference is a factor in all this stuff

I think you're going to enjoy the change Esox

You guys did see that this original post was from 2012 right?

You'll have a lot more and better control of things if you do hand load and experiment along the way. Once you have a good feel of it your confidence in your shots will increase dramatically.

Some great info right here...thanks Jimski http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/threads/more-chinook-salmon-stocking-cuts-proposed.567335/page-71#post-6075822

The solid ring can make a big difference Mikey because with the split ring type the line can get caught in the depression and cut itself off (don't ask how I know ).

Man.... they may think the cottage owners around the lake used to b!@#h a lot in the past wait until they implement this Sounds like another great idea from government...they have a lot of them....and few of them seem to work well.

SOLID RING ball bearing swivel and use a Duolock snap for the snap itself.

I agree with the possible feeding scenario and have in the past found some packed with those shrimp out deep. The lack of them in the shallower water in the usual places until later on when the water became "murkier" was also interesting and the ones we did catch out in 60 ft. had mainly either nothing in their stomachs or else partly digested crayfish which presumably they found in shallower but maybe not.

As I go along reading and thinking about the apparent decrease in available fish, the appearance of Zebras and Quaggas in the water (with their extreme straining activity) as well as other invasives present that the primary causative set of problems is at the microscopic level and basically taking out a critical link near the base of the food chain (phytoplankton and zooplankton). These microrganisms are collapsing probably for more than one reason ranging from the presence of chemical toxins in the water (e..g. waste effluents, pesticides from lawns and other places, ineffective levels of basic bio-limiting factors like nitrates and phosphates relating to photosynthesis, and the depositing of harmful substances in the sediment within the lakes. The sum total of this activity in combination is negatively affecting the presence of food for the baitfish of various sizes and species, the spawning of both bait and the fish above it in the chain and those fish with highly specific diets as in the case of salmon (vs. rainbows and browns etc.) are most quickly and severely affected. The previous severe winters theory can be tossed in for good measure. The increased clarity of the water from the zebras and quaggas straining out everything is probably pushing other species such as smaller perch and bass out to greater depths to avoid predators in the clear water too. I know we were catching perch in 60 ft of water on Canandaigua Lake this summer and early Fall and they didn't seem to be present in the usual places shallower when the water was gin clear and they were very pale in appearance suggesting they had been at depth for some time.