Small boat on the "BIG" Water?

[jbsteel]

I have a 16' Mirror Craft Troller. I am heading to Ludington this weekend to try for Salmon on the Big Pond (weather permitting). I know there are many charter boats out there, but I was wondering how many of you fish Lake Michigan (or Huron for that matter) in a small boat (15', 16', 18', etc)? How well do you handle the waves? How far out do you venture? Any advice would be helpful.

[adjusted3]

17' Lund, 140hp 4 stroke,

I pick and chose my days but have no issues in 2-4. I have ventured out max 27 miles and will not think twice about running 20 on the right days. I alway have an ear to the weather, watch the conditions and will not take undue risks.

Yes I have been caught out there on more then one occasion. I worked my way in once in 9's (no joke) with soiled paints and PFD's on but took my time and picked my way thru them. Just make sure you have good electonics, a great radio and the required safety equipment on board.

Again, read the first sentance, I pick and choose my days.

Mark

[jstfish48162]

a high quality compass is priceless when it is foggy.

[adjusted3]

JST,

I agree... A compass is your best friend. I have a Chart plotter on board that cost me my 2nd born, but I always carry a handheld compass ($14.95) for a back-up. you never know!!!

You are right on target!

MARK

[roger23]

watch the weather You will be ok don't be hard headed like me and stay out to long when you see weather coming . make sure you have a good radio .the hand held compass is a must I don't care how many GPS's you have when all that fancy stuff takes a ***** only when you really need it,

[HuRon]

I've got a 16' Smokercraft w/50hp. Fished every great lake except Lake Ontario with it. Likes been said, watch the weather. I've got a bow cover on mine, which helps. Open bow isn't good in rough weather. GPS (2 of them), compass's (2), radio, cell phone, bailing bucket, sea anchor, spotlights, flashlights, batteries, spark plugs,tools,gas. Everything & a backup for everything. All coastguard safety equip. too, of course. Hope to up grade to a bigger boat next year, though.

[myers0729]

Me and my brother fish out of Tawas and we have a 310 quick silver raft which is 10 feet long and has a 15 h.p. johnson on it. We take the raft all over from tawas to oscoda and harrisville and we also have been caught in the fog and 6 to 8 footers. But like the others say have equipment aboard and watch the weather and you will be fine. Our handheld chartplotter has saved our butts many a time.

[bluekim7]

Same as everyone else says about pick your days. I have a 16 ft sylvan that I take on Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. I usually stay withing 5 miles of shore since I only have a 28 Johnson on it. I just wait until the Salmon come in closer to stage and then try my luck with them.

[CaptainNorthwood]

I have a smaller boat and the only place I fish is Drummond Island and Presque Isle, mostly because thats where our cabins are and you can get to deep water fast, and get in from deep water Fast. Getting out isn't as important as getting in!!!!

[jsmith2232]

2 years ago i had a smoker craft 14' with a 40 on it and put on 285 miles salmon fishing in one summer on the big lake, i even made the run from holland to port sheldon with it. I have a 17.5 foot crestliner now with a 70 on it and hit it last week thursday with 4-6 footers, 15-20 mph out of the west, it was rough but we still got out to 90 foot of water, remember rollers are alot better then chop.

[jbsteel]

I appreciate everyones helpful advice. I checked weather.com and it looks like smooth sailing for the weekend. 5 - 10 mph winds W to WSW, slight possibility of scattered T Storms. I will be heading out in my 16' mirro craft with a 40 HP Evenrude E-Tech. I have been out on Saginaw Bay in 2 footers. I like the idea of the bow cover, I will have to look into that one. I have a handheld GPS with plenty of batteries, but I will be buying a compass on my way to Ludington this afternoon. I also bought an extra 6 gallon gass tank, now I have a 12 gal. capacity.
I always carry PFD's, flares, cell phone in zip-lock, 2 fish finders, two 12 volt batteries, fire extinguisher, first aid kit, etc.
I will look into getting a marine radio too, maybe even a handheld one.
We plan on fishing fairly close to shore. I won't be heading 20 miles out! I think I'll do just fine.
Again, thanks for all the advice. I will post a complete report with photos when I get back on Sunday. Tight Lines.

[ALLEYES]

A marine radio is a must IMO.

[limige]

Originally Posted by ALLEYES

A marine radio is a must IMO.

i second that, wouldn't hit the lake without one..period.

[jsmith2232]

check out www.weatherunderground.com for a hourly breakdown of the weather, they are usually really close.

[gunrod]

Originally Posted by jsmith2232

check out www.weatherunderground.com for a hourly breakdown of the weather, they are usually really close.

They're close a day or two before but have been horrible if you are trying to plan a week out. They change it about 48 hours before in my experience.

I use my 17' 60hp on Erie all the time. I've been out as far as 7.5 and the only reason I haven't made it farther is I usually run out of time. I feel safe down here because of all the nearby launches and I'm not sure how I feel about Lake Michigan or Lake Huron yet. As time goes on I'm sure I'll be out in Lk. Mich. soon.