Fishing this weekend was not fast and furious, but was the time away from the every day I needed. Fished with two cats that really knowing there salmon fishing. Thanks for the memories and hospitality!
20140727_090659.jpg
Glad to have you aboard! Thanks for reminding me about that tire- found a screw through the tread when I got home.
It was a great trip and I had a ton of fun hanging out with a great group of guys. If you found a way to walk away from the picnic hungry… you did something wrong! There was enough food to feed an army including some fresh grilled salmon cooked up by Randy Wieland. Here’s some of the pics, sent to me by Andrew Bauer.
Slammin-Salmon-016.jpg
Slammin-Salmon-015.jpg
Getting our grub on and getting to know everyone was the highlight of the trip for us!
Slammin-Salmon-018.jpg
Slammin-Salmon-017.jpg
Here’s the last one Andrew sent me.
PS – Ben and I posted a lot of photos from our time on the water on this thread if you didn’t follow along last week >>> Slammin Salmon or Bust!
I really hope we get to do this again next year. To all the guys that made it happen by taking care of the planning and organization of this event… we ALL THANK YOU!
Slammin-Salmon-019.jpg
It was a great time to be had by all, even if the fishing included a lot of time washing baits. Thank you very much to all the boaters who made this possible, and to Nate for all his hospitality (and his smoked fish).
It was a good time for sure. Got to see some old friends, got to meet some new ones, and got to talk a lot of fishing and hear some good stories over some tasty gas flavored brats. We got cooperative weather and fairly flat seas as well. The only thing one could have asked for was a bit more favorable thermocline setup so the fish weren’t quite as difficult to pattern.
Thanks to Joel and Nate for setting up the get together and I as well hope we get to do this again next year.
Here are some of my pics. Please excuse the bloody brown. It took a treble hook through three of his gills so there was no way to keep the blood off. I typically try to release the browns, but this one literally fought to his death and is headed to Mike’s smoker.
Mike-Sunday.jpg
sunrise.jpg
20140726_073814.jpg
20140726_111304.jpg
And here is my favorite picture of the trip with Jake’s (chamberschamps) big fish of his weekend.
Jake.jpg
To reiterate what John said, a big thanks to Nate and Joel, it was a great time! If you ever get the chance to go to an IDO GTG, do it! The amount of intel and knowledge you can collect from one of these events is priceless. There were some great sticks out there who pretty much spilled their guts about fishing.
I learned a few key points from fishing Lake Michigan during the GTG
First and foremost, when you add leadcore, dipsys and me into an equation, you’ll get the craziest lead knots you ever have seen! I also had way more patience than I ever thought, as I was able to save a few colors of lead, turning a 6 color to a 3.75 color set up. Not more than 15 minutes after I spent 45 minutes untangling, I smacked my biggest King to date on the wounded set up. Would I do the same thing again? Not a chance in H*ll, leadcore knots suck! Thankfully, I only got a few demerits from James this weekend, and I’m still employed!
Second, It’s really cool to see the IDO community in practice. There are a lot of really cool dudes who believe it or not, share the same passion! Sign me up for the next one!
Thank you all so much for coming down this weekend! Everybody contributed in there own way. Whether you brought a boat, gear, food, beer or just good company, everybody did their part to make this a great event. I had a blast meeting some new friends, and by the sounds of it, everybody else is in the same boat.
I really feel bad about the tough fishing, but you can all rest assured, we were not alone. The fleet as a whole is reallu struggling this year and we really aren’t sure why, but thats a whole ‘nother story…. The great thing about the Big Pond is even when fishing stinks, you can still go out, catch a few and have a chance at something really big. There’s also almost always a good sunrise\ sunset involved.
I hope we can do this again sometime. Im obviously game as the stage is in my backyard, but you all took time away from home to come do this, and that is not taken lightly. Thanks again to Joel, John, Randy and everybody else who helped make this weekend go off without a hitch! Here are some of my pics from the weekend.
photo-2-7.jpg
photo-1-7.jpg
photo-1-9.jpg
Couple more
photo-1-8.jpg
photo-5-2.jpg
photo-4-6.jpg
The last picture here is how the Milwaukee skyline looked over the launch as you guys rolled out of town yesterday. Seemed very considerate of Mother Nature, that the wind kicked up and storms rolled in AFTER we were all done fishing. Can’t stress how lucky we were just for that!
photo-3-8.jpg
photo-2-8.jpg
photo-3-7.jpg
Thanks to Joel and Nate for setting up the get together and I as well hope we get to do this again next year.
And Randy and everyone else for coming and sharing in the fun!
I think those of you who attended this event as a rider received some great insight into just how this salmon fishing game is played. The trolling bite that pretty much everyone was doing is unlike any other kind of inland, fresh water fishing you might do and the learning curve is a steep one.
And the fishing was definitely not like normal. Like others have already said, its been like that this year.
For my boat, we had a few more chances but the bigger fish we actually did get to bite, all pretty much managed to get off. That’s a bit depressing but not unusual either.
After two trips over to Lake Michigan, I’ve found out that a big part of my trolling program has to change. The flasher/fly setups that have pretty much been my bread & butter are no longer firing. Somethings changed.
We had numerous fish come up and check out our rigger only to reject the offering, turn around and swim away. We know this for a fact because we could literally see this happen on our sonar.
Thankfully Dave did get this nice Steelie into the net.
All in all though, great time indeed and I would certainly do it all over again in a heart beat.
What really made it fun was all of you who showed up and at least tried to eat all that food!
7-26-14-Dave-Ansell-10.5lb-Steelie_11.jpg
As has been mentioned, tough bite all around but good fish were caught, there’s always a way. Mudshark got to take a king home to his wife but Greg only got to bring a brown home for the smoker.
Friday morning I went out solo and ended up 6 for 6 with a 1 chinook, 1 coho, 1 laker and 3 browns.
Saturday we went 4 for 6 with a king and 3 browns. We did have our opportunities however as Mudshark got to battle a couple of good ones that unfortunately came unbuttoned.
Sunday morning, after 3 days with a cumulative 8 hours of sleep, was feeling a bit crispy. Mudshark had enough fun and chose to head home, so Randy and I headed for McKinley harbor. We caught 3 dink browns and had the only decent bite come off as we grabbed for the rod. We stayed right around the cold water by the harbor but it wasn’t our day so we pulled the pin.
DSCN0121.jpg
DSCN0122.jpg
DSCN0115.jpg
Thanks again Gary. Sure glad you shared the photos, I too often forget my phone has a camera. Now that I have a little experience if you or anyone else is looking for a willing partner for another go-round I’m a heartbeat away.
So who ended up with big Steelhead and big coho? I know Mike Martine scored big brown and big king honors, and Art Green had big laker. My boat didn’t see a steelhead all weekend, and our big coho was the one Jake is holding.
So who ended up with big Steelhead and big coho? I know Mike Martine scored big brown and big king honors, and Art Green had big laker. My boat didn’t see a steelhead all weekend, and our big coho was the one Jake is holding.
Big steelie for us was the one I pictured and that was around 10lbs. We never saw a coho all weekend…..
photo-2-81.jpg
I believe there was a hat and a hoodie on the line for big fish of those species. I don’t remember which fish got which prize. Somebody had to have a bigger coho than that one of Jake’s.
I had a 31″ 10 1/2# steelhead with Joel on Saturday night.
IMG_0363.jpg
I never weighed our steelie. Kinda forgot about the IDO swag up for grabs. I’ll just go ahead and forfeit that prize over to Dave Ansell just to keep things easy. As far as a bigger coho John, I dunno, that TANK you guys caught may actually take the cake. I don’t remember hearing of any others caught….
First off…a BIG thank you to Gary for letting me share his boat…I learned hands on a bunch about Salmon and Trout fishing.
As tough as the fishing was, the company and conversation made it a great time.
That’s the thing about all the GTGs…Just plain FUN!
Thanks to all put this together…as usual you did a GREAT job!
I hope this is not the first one also…I’ll be in any time 
Here’s a pic of a King, James had, as we were dodging storms!
James-KING.jpg
Here’s a pic of a King, James had, as we were dodging storms!
That’s a cool picture. Something about the colors maybe, but it just looks cool.
Hey guys. I just wanted to put a huge thank you to every one who put this together. This was on my list to do for a long time. I was paired up with Tim and Rick. The fishing was slow but we managed to get 2 one 13 lb king and a Brown we never weighed. This was my first time on big water and it wont be my last. I learned alot from Tim and Rick about fishing along with many other things. It was great to meet so many of you guys and I would go fishing with any of you fellow ido members any time.
As far as a bigger coho John, I dunno, that TANK you guys caught may actually take the cake. I don’t remember hearing of any others caught….
Geeze guys. I’m speechless. I should have held it closer to the camera so everyone could see how big it really was (that’s what she said).
More Pictures
Slammin-Salmon-023.jpg
Slammin-Salmon-009.jpg
Slammin-Salmon-021.jpg
Wish I had the time to type up a little more, but I think EVERYONE has already expressed much of my thoughts. It was fantastic to have a GTG in warm weather. Huddled up around a grill when its 13 below and ice fishing nearly everyday was a challenge.
It was an absolute pleasure to meet all the new faces. Since the days of the old site….I mean the REALLY old site Fish the River, there isn’t a better group of people to associate with. As much as I try to share, I still learn so much. Joel, Nate, Gary, James, Koonce, just to name a very limited few are always quick to help, assist, and share in all they have learned and these types of events exemplify that. Gentlemen, THANKS!!!
My goal was to just hang out and enjoy seeing all the new guys to lake MI enjoy the show. Mission accomplished!! I got to tag along with James and Ben for saturday morning. I know James has been here before, but I can’t tell ya how excited he looks when those rods scream some drag. You can certainly see his passion for knowledge in his actions and conversations.
Saturday Evening was hanging out in John Schultz rig. Very greatfull I remained up-wind after everyone had their fill of gas flavored brats….and nate’s smoked salmon. Great conversations, lots of jokes, and even a few fish.
Jeff, was sorry to see ya leave, but I fully understood. Standing in a boat and rocking a little bit uses a heck of a lot of muscles that a man normally doesn’t use. Being a bit tired (understatement) and feeling a little beat up happens frequently. Gary and I made the best out of it on sunday morn. Gary with about 3 hr and myself with just over an hour of sleep managed to be out and wash some spoons before calling it. Regardles of the slow bite, Gary I really appreciated getting into soemone else’s boat. That alone is a treat for me.
For everyone else, thanks for some great memories. I think no one has stated much about the most important aspect of this GTG – The smiles. Everyone was tired, sleep deprived, and simply beaten. Yet, Saturday night after a very slow night bite, I didn’t see a single person that wasn’t smiling. From Boog’s glowing grin of receiving his favorite beer (FREE & COLD) to Dave Ansell cleaning fish and everyone in-between, smiles were worn by all. See ya all next year!
I never weighed our steelie. Kinda forgot about the IDO swag up for grabs. I’ll just go ahead and forfeit that prize over to Dave Ansell just to keep things easy. As far as a bigger coho John, I dunno, that TANK you guys caught may actually take the cake. I don’t remember hearing of any others caught….
I say this one is too close to call on the steelie. I’d be honored to have Dave and Nathan sporting an IDO hat. Shoot me your shipping info by PM or email and we’ll get those out tomorrow.
Who took big king honors? I’ve got a hoodie with their name on it.
Mike Martine had big king at 19 and change on Saturday to my knowledge.
Sounds like everyone had a great time regardless if you hooked something or not. And that is exactly what I tell people who ask me “How’s the fishing.” I always answer “The Fishing is great the catching could be a little better.”IDO is the best site on the web because it has the best people running it and the best people visiting it. Way to go guys and wish I could have been there. Maybe next year and I can wiggle it in to my schedule.
Great pics from everyone also.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
