TOPIC:

Hello,

My name is Chad, and I found your site when searching for information about safe boating on Lake Michigan. I'm from Fort Wayne, Ind., and I recently punched a Lund Pro V SE 1775 with a 60 hp Mercury. I bought the boat for inland lake fishing as well as getting her rigged for occasional fishing on Lake Michigan and Lake Eire. Knowing my boat is smallish for the big water, I've read a ton on safety and watching weather, and I plan to take the Boater Ed course very soon. I am not new to owning boats and fishing the big lakes, but I am new to running my own boat on them. So, I'll be lurking for awhile trying to soak up as much fishing and boating info as I can. And if I find myself getting into the fish, I'll surely post a report.

Thanks to the admins for approving me.

Chad

Thank you for joining us here. Don't be afraid to ask questions or send pms.

Welcome Chad. Great to have you aboard! If you have any questions dont hesitate to ask.

Make sure you have a reliable compass, marine radio with a good antenna and flares. You can get Sirius marine radar for some of the fish units such as Lowrance HDs touch 2 and touch 3. This will show you real time marine conditions, such as lighting strikes, wind speed and direction, storms, etc. Good Luck with your boat.

Bruce

Welcome aboard Chad!

Hello Chad. Welcome to the site. I don't think you will have a problem with your boat on the big lake as long as you stay aware of the weather conditions. I have seen small John boats out their and have often scratched my head.

Congrats for joining the ranks of one of the best fishing sites out there. Lot of good info on the site. Many varied topics are talked about. There is something for most everyone.

Welcome aboard. As a fellow 17.5' Boat owner I can say that it is very doable for Lake Michigan (although I have a 115 HP on mine). Watch the smoke stacks for wind direction changes and just be smart and you should be fine. As others said make sure you get a good marine radio with an antenna. I started with a hand held and upgraded to a full blown marine radio with an 8' antenna - not only are you safer if you run into trouble the extended range really helps with talking to other fisherman to help find the fish (yesterday I was near portage and was hearing guys talking in the Benton Harbor area). I also tied my radio into my depth finder's GPS so in an emergency it will send out my GPS location. Since I really don't care if people know where I am fishing I don't care if it sends out my coordinates.

Thank you everyone for the welcome messages and advice. I can't wait to get up that way and get some lines wet. I do have a marine radio and antenna, but I'm not sure it's hooked to my Humminbird GPS. I'll have to look into that for sure. In the mean time, I'm trying to acquire the pieces to get a starter setup for trolling. I plan to start by installing a couple of tracks and a few rod holders then go with planer boards and dipsey divers. Someday I'll get into a downrigger or two, but I'm in no big hurry on that. I certainly would't mind getting into the kings, but I'm just as happy boating some tasty coho.

One question I have, being brand new to marine radio is, is there a list somewhere of particular channels I should know about for weather, safety and general boat chatter?

You should have a weather button on your radio? Most of us use 68 for talking when we are on the lake.