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Michigan’s Awesome Thumb

Posted by Greybeard on Aug 17th, 2010 in Fishing, Local, News and weather | 0 comments

It’s on the other side of Saginaw Bay for us (very nearly Lake Huron),  about an hour and 45 minute boat ride,  but we had a great time over at Port Austin last weekend.   We didn’t do any fishing,  but we did use our host’s motorized rubber dingy to explore the coast line, north and south of the port.   I found this site with lots of winter pictures of the sights.

And I found this site with summer photos,  which looks a lot more like what we saw.

I’d like to thank these folks for making their photos public.   We got quite a few off of a cell phone,  but as yet,  I havent gotten access to them.   My lasting impression of the  the area was,  “I never knew there was that much rock in Michigan.   Rock walls,  rock beaches,  and ROCK bottoms on the lake.

As noted,  we didn’t fish this trip,  but here’s a fishing report for the Port Austin area from Muck Boy.

And finally a food report.  Friday night we stopped in at “The Bank”,  a noted upscale resturant in the town.  It was hot and we needed a place to cool off.   After browsing their menu,  we decide to cool off while having a beer,  rather than one of their exorbitantly priced meals.  The next night,  we decided to try the Sportsmens Bar,  right in the middle of town.    Black Angus burgers served with fries and cole slaw,  washed down with a draft Killians.   Now this is a meal I can recommend,  very good,  and amazingly,  the cost of two, of the half pound burger meals, including a draft for me, and bloody Mary for the wife,  was less that the price of the lowest cost meal on the menu at “The Bank”.   Kudo’s to the Sportsmans Bar and Grill in Port Austin!

Eastern Arenac Sportsmens Club Gun Raffle

Posted by Greybeard on Jul 21st, 2010 in Local, Shootist | 5 comments

Well it’s that time of year again at the Eastern Arenac Sportsmens Club .   Tickets are available again for their annual gun raffle.   700 tickets,  10 new long guns as prizes.     Check the link for more info.

I’ll be buying some tickets,  but unfortunately they’re not offerring the lightweight 20 gauge double barrell I’ve been lusting after, as a prize this year.   Maybe if I win a gun,  I can trade it for the double?   And then there’s that SpringFeild Armory .45 XDm  that’s not on the prize list either. :-(     Oh well,   maybe I’ll win one of those big NRA gun raffles.  (a maybe one in 5 million chance)

It looks like I missed out on the drawing for the Michigan State Muzzleloading Associations Rifle Raffle.  It was a beautiful  little .32 Cal. North Carolina Flintlock.   The drawing was July 11th,  and I haven’t had a call yet. :-(

DryDocked!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by Greybeard on Jul 20th, 2010 in Fishing, Local | 0 comments

Here’s a picture of one of the reasons my boat is currently on it’s trailer sitting in my barn and not at it’s dock.

Churning the river

This is the barge pusher trying to get the barge unstuck.   It seems that they’ve decided that they can move the 70 plus foot wide barge that drafts 6 feet of water,   down the 5o foot wide channel, (they’re digging 6 ft deep).   As they swing around the slight corner in front of my dock,  the current forces the barge over within inches of my dock,  and into the undredged part of the river.    Note:  The river is 150 feet wide,  and they are dredging the channel 50 ft wide,  but not in the center of the river.   In front of our dock,  the channel is fully on the other side of river,  to the point that the boats parked against their seawalls,  are pretty much in the channel. 

As it turns out,  I’m getting zero benefit from the dredging,  plus,  I can’t use my boat all summer.  (that is,  unless I want to launch and load the 12 thousand pound thing everytime I want to use it).   That’s about a 2 hour process,  so I’m guessing it won’t happen a lot.

Speaking of fishing,  (lost fishing that is),   I’ve been hearing that those who can get out,  are hammering Walleye out northeast of Charity Island.     And as for the river report,   that’s a bust.    I’d be shocked to see an edible fish pulled from this muddy mess.     The only bright thing about the mess is,   as it leaves the mouth of the river it quickly turns north and fills up the little bay formed by the river mouth and Point Lookout,    leaving most of the mud, logs, sticks and such,  out of the main Bay.   Not good for those living along the (south looking) Point Lookout shoreline,  but better for the Bay in general.

And another messed up thing about this whole mess.   They’re supposedly dredging the river,  to get access to the State of Michigan Port of Refuge harbor, uptown in AuGres.  Supposedly boat’s out on the Bay that get in trouble,  can come up the river to the Port of Refuge,    for either repairs,  stock up,  or weather a storm.   Problem is,  they’re not dredging the slips!    The newly dredged channel will allow them to get near the docking slips,   but any large boat or sail boat that try’s to dock  will likely get stuck in the mud when they pull into their slip.  (Average depth,  2 to 3 ft)   Perfect example of Government planning at work!

Finally got the pictures of the Dredging Rig

Posted by Greybeard on Jun 29th, 2010 in Fishing, Local, News and weather | 0 comments

The Dredger waiting on the AuGres

It was Sunny and very windy today,  but the river was navigatable in my small fishing boat.   I found the dredging rig,  just around the corner downriver from my property.    It’s a lot bigger than it looks here.

Go here,  for a photo album of the AuGres river, including more photo’s of the dredging equipment

Pic’s of the new boat barn

Posted by Greybeard on Jun 24th, 2010 in Local | 0 comments

As promised here are pic’s of the new barn.  It’s complete,  except for a little grading work in the yard around it,  and putting in some crushed rock at the entrance door.  As soon as I get a chance,  I can start filling it up.  :-)

  I’m still working on getting pic’s of the dredging equipment.

 

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