The Michigan Sportsman Forums

Southern Lower Michigan Open to ORV's On The Road?

hitechman — Thu, 17 May 2012 03:52:58 GMT

HB4925 was passed by the House, and is now in the Senate Natural Resources Recreation and "whatever committee". It basically makes all counties in the state "eligible" to pass their own ORV Regulations (including the south half of the lower penninsula).

If you guys/gals want to legally ride on the roadsides in those counties, contact your legislators and express your support.

You may also want to let them know your feelings on the 300% fee increase for the "ORV Sticker) next year.

I'm not opposed to the fee increase, but feel it should be spread out over 2-3 years, and be ACCOUNTED for as to how/when and where it will be spent.

Steve

We need a pic thread

Flints Finest — Thu, 17 May 2012 03:47:42 GMT

I like looking at pics, i don't take nearly enough so post what ya got boats, bows, fish whatever lets see it.

Grindstone

ZPS — Thu, 17 May 2012 03:30:59 GMT

Is Grindstone open to launch trailer boats? Heard a bunch of rumors that its closed for the summer. If it is open do they have docks and channel markers in? Thanks

St.Clair county Black and Belle Rivers

hairyjoe123 — Thu, 17 May 2012 03:23:46 GMT

I have a fishing trip coming up and I want to know, has anybody ever caught anything out of these rivers? I have done float trips down these rivers in the winter but saw no fish. I wouldn't expect to have seen much in the winter. I have not been there in the warm months. Any advise or tips?

Lets go, hurry up, there's fish to be had!

Lets go, hurry up, there's fish to be had!

St. Clair county Black and Belle river

hairyjoe123 — Thu, 17 May 2012 03:19:43 GMT

Kolpin Dirtworks

gkskiii — Thu, 17 May 2012 03:17:26 GMT

I finally broke down and bought a kolpin Dirtworks system for my outlander max, and while I was at it I bought the power pod pro to hook up all my electrical accessories. Was going to by a tractor but, I wouldn't be able to get a tractor through my swamp. First impression, very well built and easy to hook up. After using it the other day, I wish I would have bought a long time ago! First passes with the s-tines tore the ground up excellent, and after the second pass they had pulled all debris out of the dirt (wood). Next I used the disc and it really cut up the soil and it was perfect for seeding. This was all virgin ground, never planted. From start to finish for 1 acre plot, it took hour and 15 min. Very happy with the purchase. FYI, I had a ground hog max before, don't believe the hype, unless it is ground that has been worked before, you are going to be there for days to get good soil to plant

Fake Island for Puddle Ducks

finaddict2 — Thu, 17 May 2012 03:05:20 GMT

While daydreaming in school, (What else is it good for anyways?) I came up with an idea. The idea was inspired by the frustrations of not being able to use my Mojo spinner on a couple lakes around my house, (Because of there being no bottom, just straight muck) and me hunting a river in witch i can set my Mojo one morning, and go back the next and then the next have the water raise a foot! So, here is what i came up with, it is a wooden frame, 3' X 2 1/2', with fast grass stapled to it and pool noodles zip tied underneath the boards for added floatation. I have put it in the water, and it seems surprisingly very sturdy, but only a field test will tell. I was wondering if i could get your guys opinions on it, or any improvements that could be made. Or, let me know i wasted an hour of my time...:rolleyes: Thanks in advance. Here are two pictures of the Island.

Goose banding at mouille??

peters — Thu, 17 May 2012 02:17:42 GMT

Anyone know when or if they are doin it thus year. I think it's in June or somewhere around this time

Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine

QDM on less than 150 acres-Charles Alsheimer

soggybtmboys — Thu, 17 May 2012 01:48:42 GMT

Here is an article that helped me understand some basic concepts when I was first getting familiar and beginning to do some work on my 40 acres. It seems every year that we are getting more and more new folks getting into habitat and land stewardship. This is a great article and one I refer back to from time to time.
I hope this helps some of the newer folks, and cut down the learning curve to some degree. Enjoy

http://northcountrywhitetails.com/articles/QDM150.htm

QDM ON LESS THAN 150 ACRES - by Charles Alsheimer

PART 1
Between this column and my speaking engagements across America I've heard from many DDH readers concerning small property quality deer management. By far, the most frequent question I hear is. �I own less than 150 acres, is there anything I can do to have better deer?� The answer is a resounding yes.

For some strange reason most hunters/landowners think they have to put together 1,000+ acres to have any kind of a QDM program. Not so. When I decided to walk away from �status quo� deer management in 1990 our farm was only 185 acres in size. Since that time we've purchased additional land and today we own 205 acres. However, 35 acres of the farm is a high-fenced research facility, which is off limits to hunting of any kind. If you back out the house, barns and yard area I wind up managing about 165 acres for hunting and deer management. So, I don't have a large amount of acreage to manage. In spite of limited acreage the results we've seen have been nothing short of incredible.

When I began in 1990 there was scant information available for small landowners who wanted to implement a QDM program. Because of this I �flew by the seat of my pants� in the early years. If I knew then, what I know now the ride would have been much less painful, with a much flatter learning curve.

In the next four Quality Deer Columns I'll outline how a quality deer management program can be implemented on a small parcel of land�fewer than 150 acres. I believe in its most basic form four ingredients are required to be in place before better habitat, better deer and better hunting are possible. The four categories are�The Plan, The Make Over, How to Feed Your Deer, and The Hunting Strategy. I'll cover the plan in this piece and the other three in following issues.
THE PLAN

Dare to Dream�But Use Common Sense

�Failure to plan is a plan to fail.� I'm not sure where I heard this the first time but it works, especially when it comes to small property quality deer management.

Formulate a plan: When assessing your property step back and take a hard look at its layout, as well as the properties surrounding you. Understand going in that no two properties are the same and your needs and goals are probably not the same as your neighbors'. As a matter of fact, your neighbors may have no desire to have any deer management/land management plan. If this description fits your neighbors, don't despair. Stay focused on making your property better.

When I started our QDM program in 1990 none of my neighbors had a clue that there was a better way of managing deer than what they had been practicing for the previous 50 years. Today12 landowners border our farm and only three practice any form of QDM. However, even with so few participants, what we are seeing now, compared to 14 years ago is like night and day. To be successful under these conditions, with so little land required creative thinking, a great plan, and diligent execution of the plan.

Property layout�what's best for the deer and you?: As you'll see in the following segments, laying out the property's natural habitat, food plots and hunting locations are keys to having success. These locations can't be just any place on your property. They must be in locations that work for you and not your neighbors.

What kind of habitat do you have? Work to make it better. Look closely at the lay of your natural habitat. One of the keys to having a successful quality deer management program is having adequate cover and natural habitat. Deer are thick-cover lovers, the thicker the better. Remember this and remember it well, because it will be a key ingredient in your success or failure.

Having an adequate number of food plots (with the right forages) go hand in glove with natural habitat. For starters at least 5% of a property should be in food plots. Part 3 will address the food plot issue, from what to plant to where they should be located.

What are your expectations? Be realistic when it comes to antler expectations. If you think you are going to settle for nothing less than a Boone & Crockett size buck you are probably going to have one of two things occur, and maybe both. First, you will never kill such a buck because of hunting pressure on surrounding properties. Secondly (and most hurtful) you will quickly become frustrated by the lack of 140� Boone & Crockett bucks in your area. So, for starters try putting all yearling bucks off limits. Once done, try raising the bar each year.

You may find that you'll be satisfied with hunting and killing 100�-120� bucks (usually 2 1/2 year olds). If this is your goal, that's fine. I went though this stage and eventually found that I could pass on the 2 1/2 year olds. We now find that hunting and killing 3 1/2+ year old bucks is possible. We get there by having a minimum 8 point, 16� inside spread requirement.

Develop a hunting strategy. I'll expand on this in the last part but basically you must resign yourself of the fact that drive and still-hunting techniques are gone forever if you wish to have any kind of quality deer management success on a small parcel. I've found that when you jump a deer it normally runs or walks up to 600 yards before stopping. On a 150-acre parcel this usually means the buck is off your property before he stops, leaving him at the mercy of non-QDM neighbors. Because of this, stand hunting is the way to go.

Limit human activity on the property. Whitetails may not have the same intelligence level as black labs but they are incredibly smart and they learn fast. If you think for a moment you can run ATVs all over a small property and not turn your bucks nocturnal, you're just kidding yourself. For the last 9 years I've been involved in a cutting-edge research project dealing with deer movement in relation to sun and moon light. We are using high-tech equipment to monitor deer movement and have seen first hand what happens on properties that have little to no human activity and those with a high level of activity. On the properties with little activity 56% of deer activity occurs during the day. On properties with a lot of human intrusion daytime deer activity is about 25-30%. So, the fewer people you have running around the property, the more daytime deer activity you will have.

Keep records. You'll never know where you are going unless you know where you've come from. Don't leave things to memory; keep records of what you are doing. If you don't you won't possibly know if you are being successful. It's important to know if your deer are getting larger or digressing. At the very least you should know live weights and the age of the deer you kill.

In Part 2 I'll address what I call �The Make Over� which deals with improving and thickening the natural habitat as well as how to set up a sanctuary.

Estimated Selling Price

mvd — Thu, 17 May 2012 01:32:21 GMT

Looking for some opinions on a selling Price for the following boat. I'm actually looking to purchase this boat. Through NADA it works out to be about $20,000. Just curious if the actual sales cost typically run higher or lower than NADA values.

2005 Lund 1800 Fisherman with single axle trailer
150 HP Yamaha 2 stroke
9 HP Kicker
70lb Bow minn kota Trolling Motor
Fisherman Top and full Cover.
Berts Rail System.

The boat is in good shape. Thanks in advance for the help.

Kick It In The...

midwestfisherman — Thu, 17 May 2012 01:28:30 GMT

Sticks!

You may want to crank this up! :D

Brantley Gilbert - Kick It In The Sticks - YouTube

Marquette MI RGS Meet and Greet

dallasdog — Thu, 17 May 2012 01:17:59 GMT

Hello all,
I have just recently moved to the UP from the lower, where I was an active member of the Robert J. Lytle chapter. After speaking with Bruce W. We Decided to try to get a chapter established in Marquette again. We are holding a Meet and Greet at the American Legion ( in Marquette 700 W. Bluff St.) on May 23rd at 7:00 PM. Anyone and Everyone is welcome, the goal is to see how much interest is in the area. If you are interested in getting involved with RGS and would like to help out please stop by. Thanks Jesse Z

Straits area perch?

Deerslayer_87 — Thu, 17 May 2012 00:52:50 GMT

Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum and pretty new to fishing too so I don't know if I'm asking for too much here. Are there any places in the Straits area/NWL where you can go to shore or pier fish for perch? From what I read the water temps are just about spawn-ready and I got a real taste for yellows through the hard water this winter. Any thoughts or advice on how a guy without a boat can continue to target perch in the area would be oh so helpful.

Thanks!

beagle pups

homer hounds — Thu, 17 May 2012 00:44:43 GMT

1 male and 1 female 10 weeks old akc and nkc registered first shot and 2 wormings phone# 989-871-2212 - See More Here: http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/cl...?product=23202

Who`s is it ?

Anita Dwink — Thu, 17 May 2012 00:32:46 GMT

Does the fish count toward your creel if you set the hook or reel it in ?

Had a few situation where I helped little kids get their fish on and have also taken over when they got tired. Also last year a buddys rod went while he was watering the lillys so I handed it to him. I`m sure this has probably been kicked to death at one point and time but it could mean a expensive interpretation.