How about Wednesday perch?

How cold was the water - I have no wetsuit...Would it be possible? I have Wednesday off & would love to "Three Prong" some slobo perch. Me & my eldest son went down there to "try" the other day but the water was pretty cloudy - He went in but "froze out" in about 10 minutes! I just watched and LAUGHED!!!! Where do you go in? From a boat? Do you hunt the rocks? Does the temp change from day to day? Again...no wet suit :hmm



Sorry about all the questions but your DOING (Lake Michigan) what I've only been "dreaming" about!!!!

bgill - how tall and how much do you weight? I might have an extra suit - you can wear.

Matt - I can't do Wed. Wed is the only day I work till 11am (work midnights) Thurs, Frid, or Sat. is good-

---------Scott

I'm 5'9" and go about 240...I'll probably need one custom made or maybe cut the legs off a little? Maybe I could just cut the belly out!!!

If things don't get TOO crazy 'round here I'm gonna try to swing purchasing a wetsuit and fins BEFORE summer is over. Is water clarity good in the fall? Would you guys go with a 7mm suit? Thanks...

Bgill - from what I hear - when the weather gets colder and water- it tends to clear up quite a bit. as far as wetsuits. as long as you get "open cell" it should be alot warmer. I have a 5mm Elios (custom made) it ran me about $250 US Dollars. I think that is the cheapest one they make- But I love it! it's way better than my Akona. it's worth the money- even if you have to save up to get it. Home

------Scott

IF your hunting the rubble wall you'll find your perch and lots of carp. If you move to the north and hit the solid wall, by the south gap, you'll start running into walleye's and such.

Water temps will climb in august and the winds will make a huge difference in clarity and temps. You'll also find a difference in temperature between the inside of the wall and the outside of the wall. It's not uncommon to get water as warm as 75 degrees on the inside of the wall due to the shallow nature of the area and the restriction of current to move the warm water out.

When you get a strong east wind for a couple of days it will get pretty muddy at first, which is also the best time to surf the area- with a long-board and everything. After about a day to lay down you'll notice the water is much warmer, all the way down past 100' many times, and a bit murkier. The murky water I'm talking about is nothing like it was 20 years ago- the zebra mussels took care of that. It will still be a good 20-30', but it's not going to be the super clear stuff we get when the cool water blow in- over 100' of vis many times. Expect temps to hover pretty close to 40F when the really clear water comes in.

I'm not sure on the legality of your spearing perch in Lake Michigan, but be aware that the DNR, and the university, net perch very close to the area that your diving in. They do this for sampling purposes as the thought the population was dying out a couple of years ago and have since been trying to re-stock. If you get out close to the green bell buoy you may see where they have them set. If they don't have them set I would work the area of that green buoy on in to the southern tip of the rubble wall- there's a rock reef that runs that whole area. The bottom on the south side of it bottoms out at 40' and the top of the wall will hit less than 10'. The North side of the reef will vary between 20' and 30'. I always see lots of fish in that area- as well as the DNR nets.

A 5mm suit will should be more than enough for all your diving around here- even under the ice. If you want to try and dive Lake Michigan without a suit you can in about another month.

Jon

Thanks you guys...especially Jon...You are a wealth of information!!! I might go out even without a wetsuit & freeze me nards off!!! If I don't get a wetsuit before August I'll be out there then atleast a few times.

That Elios website was pretty cool - I think that their custom fit option would be a good idea for me. The piggy bank has officially been started!!!! I dropped a $20.00 in there today!!!!

Thanks again for all the awesome info - I won't abuse it. Sure would kinda suck to go down there and see 30 guys out spearing perch!!!! Kinda glad this sport isn't for everyone!!!!

Whopper...How long did the suit take to receive once you ordered it? Do you have to "lube up" to get it on??? NO PUN INTENDED!!!

You can PM me if ya want...Or just put it on here!

bgill,

Do a search for threads started by me regarding wet suits. I went through all the same questions last year. Finally ended up with a 5mm Custom Elios Green Camo. I went with the high quality neo. With Socks, 3 fingered gloves & shipping from Italy, ran about $400. For as much as I plan to use it, it was well worth it. I ice dove with it this winter (thanks Jon) & stayed quite comfortable.

Good luck & welcome aboard.

Be certain to check out all the events in the Wisconsin forum, & keep in touch.

Gene

Went spearing this morning. My usual spot was blockaded off due to the fireworks. I tried a new spot which wasn't as good overall, but I did take my personal record for a perch.... just a hair under 15". The other 3 were much smaller.
~Brian

Hey everyone, me & Livebaitboy whacked a few the other day...Alot of fun. Outside the breakwall the water was like glass... Otherwise the visibility was variable big-time. Tons of current going in & out...felt like I was on an ocean dive! I liked it!

On one dive I went down about 20 ft. or so but my asthma was bugging me a little and I was never able to stay down long - But there near the bottom a GIANT carp was gliding - I got close enough to touch him. Wish I had a slip-tip on at the time!

Thanks Livebaitboy - I had a blast - When I get my wet-suit we'll have to hit up some nice lakes I know in the early spring when the clarity is better than it is now. Call me anytime!

Also LBB thanks for DINNER and the use of the extra pole spear when my cord snapped - Yummy!!!:friday

I Made another band & cord as soon as I got home - good to go!