Heartland Outdoorsman

We're Moving!!

Mike Clifford — Sat May 17, 2008 7:23 pm

Author: Mike Clifford

Posted: Sat May 17, 2008 7:23 pm

The current site is moving to a new platform shortly.
It is suggested you continue posting at the following domain, as new posts as of this writing will not be carried over.

http://www.heartlandoutdoorsman.com/smf/index.php

It is still a work in progress, but we need to bang it around to see how it performs.

Thanks!

Florida - South Indian River Fishing Report

fishtales — Sat May 17, 2008 2:25 pm

Author: fishtales

Posted: Sat May 17, 2008 2:25 pm

May 15, 2008

INSHORE:

May has brought us some great fishing around the river and the usual conditions to test your fishing skills, too. I had to get out today in spite of what the weather predicted for winds. It was a mostly a scouting trip for redfish. Mornings aren't too bad to fish around the river and top water works well this time of year. Look to the islands to give you plenty of areas to fish and use the wind to your advantage. May will continue to give us warmer water and great fishing action on the Treasure Coast.

Redfish was my target this week and I found several small schools feeding around on the flats. Look in the shallow water this time of year. They will most likely not show themselves and slip off unseen, but whenever the opportunity for sight casting come up.....it's a very exciting way to fish! I lost one upper slot redfish near the boat and watched three lazily swim in front of the boat and boated one 28" redfish while sight casting to them. I only stayed a couple hours, but did find my target to try this weekend. I like to use smaller soft baits, like the DOA CAL grub tails when fishing shallow. The fish are rooting around on the bottom and these lures can entice them into a strike. May and June have traditionally been very good for redfish on the river. Stealth and patience can provide some good rewards!

This 28" redfish was suckered by a DOA CAL grub tail on the shallow flats south of Fort Pierce this week.

Snook feeding on the many baitfish around the river. Watch for bait being chased and it will more than likely be a snook, trout or jack creating the havoc on the flats. Only a short time left this month to catch that slot snook! There have been some snook taken around the bridges and inlet at night, but with the weather it has been a little quieter this week out there. Live pinfish or mullet has been a good choice for bait.

Another recent redfish that was fooled by a DOA CAL shad tail around the Fort Pierce docks...

Trout have been caught up around Queen's Cove and Round Island. I spoke to an angler at the ramp who had caught several nice trout on top water at first light. Watch for nervous baitfish on the flats. There is usually something lurking around them! Top water early and jerk baits as the sun rises will give you a good chance at a hookup.

Bridges have been slow this week. Some sheephead and snapper, but a quiet week for fishing those areas. Jetties have held mackerel, bluefish and jacks. The Surf has produced whiting ,bluefish and a few scattered pompano when fishable. As the winds finally die off for the summer, look for fishing to continue to improve around the river. I love this time of year on the river!

Tip of the Week:

I plan each trip around weather, tides and winds. I set up the equipment for my first two stops on the water. Always a top water, soft bait and suspending lure ready for any opportunity that presents itself. You already know where you plan to start fishing and being ready for that first cast can save you valuable fishing time. When I am done fishing an area, I have the gear set up for the next place I plan on fishing. Certain colors or lures for redfish flats and different set ups for trout flats. A little preparation ahead of time can give you more fishing time on the water. Have a great May out there!

As always, remember, fishing is not just another hobby....it's an ADVENTURE!!

Good Fishing and Be Safe,
Captain Charlie Conner
www.fishtalescharter.com

email: captaincharlie@fishtalescharter.com

772-284-3852

Big Pond

pegsguy — Sat May 17, 2008 9:55 am

Author: pegsguy

Posted: Sat May 17, 2008 9:55 am

Don't understand all this seasickness. I usually spend one day a week on Lake Michigan in any condition from calm to 4 footers and have yet to get sick. The worst part is trying to use the head in rough weather. That bowl is awfully small when you and it are going in opposite directions.
I used to describe Salmon trolling as riding around on the boat while the captain caught fish and let me reel them in. Then I hooked up with a guy who owns a boat rigged for the lake and included me in the whole process from lure selection to rigging and netting. That turns the trip into a fishing trip instead of just catching. It's a lot more fun than a charter. My buddy and I went out on the 10th and in 4hrs boated a lomit of coho and steelhead(rainbow). All in all,not a bad way to spend a spring morning.
Tom

Get 'em While You Can

TexIndian — Sat May 17, 2008 12:08 am

Author: TexIndian

Posted: Sat May 17, 2008 12:08 am

I laughed till I cried. Get your official Bosnian sniper bullet fired at Hillary "rhymes with witch' Klinton. Place your bids HERE.

Wisconsin fishing report - Wausau area

Joel the Muskyman — Fri May 16, 2008 6:20 pm

Author: Joel the Muskyman

Posted: Fri May 16, 2008 6:20 pm

Anglers looking to cash-in on excellent multi-species action should consider wetting their lines in the Wausau area right now. Crappie fishing has been terrific the past week with excellent numbers of fish available. As they continue to make their way toward spawning areas, look for high concentrations of fish holding in deep water adjacent to these grounds. Slip bobber and minnow combinations are a fine choice for these deeper fish as are small countdown style crankbaits. With the continued warmer weather, the crappies will continue to slide shallow, frequenting downed trees, stumps, and log jams as they look to spawn. Again, live bait is an excellent choice as is fishing small in-line spinners or spinnerbaits in and around cover.

The top-notch smallmouth fishery that is the Wisconsin River system is also producing large numbers of quality smallies as they also look to spawn. Key on shallower hard-bottomed areas and explore them with lipless crankbaits or in-line spinners until fish holding sections of shoreline are located. Tubes rigged Texas-style are a fine choice once numbers of fish are located, and may be utilized to thoroughly work a spot to contact as many fish as possible.

Northern pike are greedily attacking lures fished over and through the newly emerging weeds found in many of the backwaters and bays of the Wausau area. Water temperatures are such that many of trophy female specimens are still shallow and active before making their hiatus for deeper water as surface temperatures rise to summer conditions. Look for sunny days to produce the best action right now, with the bite best often during mid-day hours.

Walleye fishing has been consistently good, with more fish showing up in their deeper water haunts with the post-spawn transition completed. Slip-bobbers have been accounting for many walleyes as has the reliable jig-and-minnow combination. Stretches of river channel containing sharp irregular breaklines or submerged wood are excellent places to start. Don�t be surprised if you boat several bonus slab crappies as they have been frequenting many of the same areas.

Next Saturday begins the 2008 musky season for Northern Wisconsin and should again begin in a banner way in the Wausau area. Unlike many deeper, clearer lakes to the North, the Wisconsin River system in and around the Wausau area will have temperatures that should find the king of freshwater actively chasing down a variety of presentations. Good starting points are the newly emergent weed beds and shallow to midrange depth wood cover on the lakes with the aforementioned structure types adjacent to current breaks good on the Wisconsin River itself.

Joel DeBoer

St Joe Challenge

MrBass — Thu May 15, 2008 8:30 pm

Author: MrBass

Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 8:30 pm

Al Mudhill wrote:

The Joe has some HUGE Flathead Cats Mr. B, thats my guess!

Your probably right Al..We did talk to a local who was fishing off his dock for small gills to use for bait later in the afternoon. He told us he had caught a 26 pound Flat Head right off the end of his dock a couple of days before using a Bluegill for bait.
There's also more than a few good sized Channel Cats in that section too.

Site Decision Time.....

Mike Clifford — Thu May 15, 2008 5:58 pm

Author: Mike Clifford

Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 5:58 pm

Is the template I'm currently using a little easier on the eyes?
http://www.heartlandoutdoorsman.com/smf/index.php

Al-
there is a latest posts feature, right on the index page near the bottom.

Have yet to migrate all of the posts from here (if we even can at this point), but the feature is shown there.

If you have Kids, know your Neighbor!

Cheech — Wed May 14, 2008 3:22 pm

Author: Cheech

Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 3:22 pm

Here's the site address if you want to maximize the screen.

http://www.familywatchdog.us/

Global Cooling?

MT Net — Wed May 14, 2008 7:40 am

Author: MT Net

Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 7:40 am

First it was the threat of Global cooling. THen hte inventer of the internet sold many on global warming. Now we are back to global cooling once again. Sort of like watching world cup soccer. The ball is passed around to both zones of the field, but not a whole lot of scoring is going on.

As of today, May 14th, many lakes in northern Minnesota have not declared ice out. Simply too much ice on the lakes. It would appear that we are recycling the weather patterns from the 1950's where ice out dates were later than average.

MN Fishing Opener

MT Net — Wed May 14, 2008 7:26 am

Author: MT Net

Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 7:26 am

Last weekend of May 10th was the Minnesota State Fishing opener. And for the first time since 1990, I missed our Lake Vermilion Opener with my Pop. The reason, ice. Too much ice on the lake. Even today, much of the lake is unnavigatable due to ice. I heard a report that out in Big Bay, there is a stretch of ice hanging tight amungst the islands. On Mother's Day,. my folks reported to wakingup to 3 inches of snow on the ground. (Happy Mother's Day, Mom).

So, this has been my Opener fishing report from northern Minnesota.

The average ice out date for Lake Vermilion is April 29. THe earliest ice out date was April 10, 1945. The latest was May 23, 1950. 9 more days to go until the latest record is tied.

May head up this weekend to put in the docks, lift and boat...providing the ice finally melts. Or,. I simply may go fishing.

3:10 To Yuma

TexIndian — Tue May 13, 2008 11:58 pm

Author: TexIndian

Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 11:58 pm

If we left it to Hollywood, it would have been the 3:10 to Brokeback Mountain.

Deep water fishing in Saugatuck

westrate — Tue May 13, 2008 7:11 pm

Author: westrate

Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 7:11 pm

What a difference a week makes. The fish that we had been fishing in 50 to 100 foot of water have moved out and we ended up fishing in 225 to 275 foot of water. The problem was that the water temperature is almost the same from top to bottom so the fish are scattered out throughout the whole water column. We caught steelhead and lake trout 20 foot down, 30 foot down and 80 foot down. The boats that fished the St. Joe tournament were fishing in 300 foot of water and fishing 200 foot down to the bottom. Today the boats out of Saugatuck fished in 250 to 275 foot of water and fished from 180 foot down to the bottom and caught a mixture of salmon and trout.

The problem is getting down to this depth and if you do you can not run many lines. Downriggers with flashers and flies and 400 and 450 foot of copper with glow stingray and stinger lures worked the best. Some boats are using wire line with 2 to 4 pounds of lead and letting out 600 to 750 foot of line. Any way you run it, it is a recipe for tangles if you run to many lines.

I think the fish are out deep because there is very little bait in shore and once the bait moves in, the fish should follow. Check back and see how the rest of the week went and where the fish ended up. For information or for charter reservations, email me at captron@chartermichigan.com.

Milwaukee Fishing Lake Michigan Salmon Reports 5/12/2008

Jim Blue Max Charters — Mon May 12, 2008 9:10 pm

Author: Jim Blue Max Charters

Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 9:10 pm

Milwaukee Fishing Lake Michigan Salmon Reports 5/12/2008
By Capt. Jim Hirt
We had our best action working 70 to 90 feet of water between the north gap and off the Water Filtration Plant. We also fished the temp breaks in front of the harbor gaps and marked fish at all depths with some success on Brown Trout. The Brown Trout action has slowed considerably. Church Mini planer boards and Vulcan regular size Dolphin Green Silver spoons with a 1/2-ounce bead chain sinker running 8 feet ahead of the lure produced well for Rainbow Trout and Coho. Downriggers with magnum spoons worked great for us running 60 feet behind the balls 8-40 feet down. The Reaper Magnum Peacock and Magnum Fish n Chip worked for Chinooks. Our best boat speed was 2.0 mph. We ran Slide Divers they took their share of fish with 20 to 30 feet of line out set to number two. A class of four inch Alewives is now showing up in the stomachs of the fish. With the Alewives around we should see increased action on the Chinook soon. The only place you will find Reaper and Vulcan spoons is on the Badger Tackle web site at http://www.badgertackle.com Jim charters out of Milwaukee, WI. With Blue Max Charters He can be reached at 414-828-1094 or visit his web site at http://www.bluemaxcharters.com

Blue Angels (IMAX)

Mike Clifford — Mon May 12, 2008 5:14 pm

Author: Mike Clifford

Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 5:14 pm

The Magic Of Flight by IMAX

Link

The 88 Fast Food Items Most Likely To Kill You

callie — Mon May 12, 2008 11:12 am

Author: callie

Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 11:12 am

I must be writing this from heaven (or maybe from the other place) I don't remember my passing but I believe I fell in a vat of fat without the Trans removed. AGGHH! Help Me Little Caesars!!