ebijack (mi): Please Welcome our guess tonight CAPT TOM

VANDERWEIDE !!!!!!!!!!!

[19:58:58] Drift'r: Welcome Tom!!!

[19:58:59] ebijack (mi): clap clap clap

[19:59:00] Juls (WI): clap clap clap ....welcome Capt

[19:59:03] mm: welcome tom

[19:59:08] RoyGPA: welcome captain Tom.......

[19:59:10] Capt. Tom VW: thanks guys

[19:59:18] canuck: welcome capt tom

[19:59:22] Ephemera: Clap clap Welcome tom

[19:59:52] ebijack (mi): tom, how about telling us a bit about yourself

[20:00:39] Capt. Tom VW: I'm 47 years old. Tool and Die Maker. Tournament fishing

for the past 4 years. Captain License this Winter

[20:00:49] Juls (WI): i want lots of info on handlining...never did it and never saw it

done before...so if you could describe it ..it would be appreciated!

[20:00:54] ebijack (mi): congrats on the lic. !

[20:01:24] Juls (WI): cool....my joe is a moldmaker too.....tough job!

[20:01:39] Capt. Tom VW: Your reel is spring loaded. with 60 Lb Wire, at the bottom is

your weight ranging from 1 .25 LB to 2 LB

[20:02:12] Capt. Tom VW: above the weight is what you call the shank. with cleaves

every 6 inches. up to about 4 feet

[20:02:27] Capt. Tom VW: you can place your leaders at various positions

[20:03:45] Capt. Tom VW: lures you run should be floaters. like smithwick rogues or

rapelas, so you do not hang up on the bottom as much

[20:03:45] ebijack (mi): tom, how long have you been handling

[20:04:08] Juls (WI): what is a cleave? is that what the leader is attached to?

[20:04:20] Capt. Tom VW: believe it or not, less than 1 year. This was our first

tournament handlining

[20:04:50] Capt. Tom VW: yes. It is a oversize cleaves that you use with your spinners

[20:05:09] RoyGPA: like a clevis?

[20:05:16] Juls (WI): :-)

[20:05:22] Capt. Tom VW: yes sorry

[20:05:31] ebijack (mi): how long have you been fishing the detroit river tom

[20:05:46] Capt. Tom VW: about 15 years

[20:06:09] Capt. Tom VW: Before I handlined, I would 3 way with 2 leads

[20:06:31] RoyGPA: how do you connect your line to the clevis??

[20:06:44] Capt. Tom VW: with a cross lock snap

[20:06:58] RoyGPA: oh ok

[20:07:04] Capt. Tom VW: we use 20 lb test leaders ranging from 5 to 40 feet

[20:07:12] ebijack (mi): tom, now that you do handling, do you prefer it for fishing heavy

current?

[20:08:23] Capt. Tom VW: we also like to jig but when fishing a tournament you have

to put as many fish in the boat as possible

[20:08:40] Capt. Tom VW: a handliner reel ranges from 119.00 to 160.00

[20:09:05] Capt. Tom VW: We have a ranger 620 vs and studied handlining for a

number of years

[20:09:12] RoyGPA: why do you suppose..people handline instead of downrigging...is it

a line control thing, or maybe cost ?

[20:09:39] RoyGPA: or maybe a tradition?

[20:09:44] Juls (WI): ok...regulations say i can have three lines out here......so does

that mean i can only have three leaders on the wire? i would think so yes?

[20:10:15] Capt. Tom VW: Handlining you actually hang on the line with your hand. Its

basically a downrigger but you adjust the line for any depth changes

[20:11:03] RoyGPA: so the ball would get stuck as easy..since you can feel when you

start running into stuff?

[20:11:11] RoyGPA: or would the ball get stuck?

[20:11:12] ebijack (mi): tom, what kind of kicker do you run for handlining on that 620

ranger

[20:11:15] Capt. Tom VW: In Michigan, you are allowed 4 lures, upto 2 lines going into

the water. You can run 4 lures off one handlining reel.

[20:11:45] SdDoc: so a total of 8 lures at a time per person?

[20:12:03] Capt. Tom VW: We have a 15hp Mercury bigfoot kicker. Also use pinpoint

trolling motor for depth control

[20:12:20] Capt. Tom VW: NO. Only 4 lures only per person

[20:12:27] ebijack (mi): tom, you run the pinpoint while running the kicker?

[20:12:36] Juls (WI): nice set up

[20:12:50] Capt. Tom VW: Yes we have a 20 foot cord which allows us to run it from

the back of the boat

[20:13:22] ebijack (mi): wow, didn't think that would work in the detroit river

[20:13:43] Capt. Tom VW: we use our pinpoint console sonar networked to our trolling

motor which allows us to see the depth at the front of the boat which our reaction time

is quicker

[20:14:14] ebijack (mi): good idea!

[20:14:16] Capt. Tom VW: It also allows us to fine tune our trolling speed

[20:14:57] Capt. Tom VW: The detroit river is the fastest changing body of water I

have ever seen

[20:14:57] ebijack (mi): tom, have you used handling in any lakes ?

[20:15:07] Capt. Tom VW: Not yet

[20:15:29] ebijack (mi): tom, do you see any applications where handling would work in

a lake?

[20:16:03] Capt. Tom VW: Yes. The guys who took 2nd in team walleye on Detroit

used this method on Houghton Lake

[20:16:30] ebijack (mi): how did they do it in all those weeds?

[20:16:50] Capt. Tom VW: I believe they trolled on the edges and stayed out of the

weeds

[20:17:06] Capt. Tom VW: It works good to get under all the floating weeds

[20:17:09] R Hill(mi): Tom who was that??

[20:17:13] ebijack (mi): tom, does handling also have a problem getting thru weeds?

[20:17:23] Capt. Tom VW: Gorris and Zelinski

[20:17:41] Capt. Tom VW: Yes its the same as anything else

[20:18:04] RoyGPA: how do you connect the handline reel to your boat?

[20:18:23] ebijack (mi): tom, are you going to charter using handling as one of your

tactics?

[20:18:30] Capt. Tom VW: Handlining reel is connected by a pipe mounted in our rod

holder

[20:18:40] Capt. Tom VW: There is also a rail type mount

[20:18:55] Capt. Tom VW: Yes if a customer prefers

[20:19:33] R Hill(mi): Tom what are your projections for Burt Lake

[20:19:39] ebijack (mi): tom, what's your favorite way to fish a lake

[20:19:50] Capt. Tom VW: Unknown, fished there once

[20:20:07] Capt. Tom VW: I like fishing with harnesses

[20:20:26] Capt. Tom VW: If you want to cover water, you can't beat lures

[20:20:44] Capt. Tom VW: Hill, How about yours?

[20:20:45] ebijack (mi): tom, have you ever pulled harnesses behind a handline rig

[20:21:03] Capt. Tom VW: No, but that sounds like a good idea

[20:21:20] ebijack (mi): would you be able to feel a spinner rig?

[20:21:22] R Hill(mi): Youve been there a lot more than I have if you’ve been there once

[20:21:36] Capt. Tom VW: Yes,

[20:22:14] Capt. Tom VW: When I was fishing Canada on the Detroit River, if you run

4 lures, you can only have 1 hook per lure

[20:22:21] ebijack (mi): tom, do you fish both the team walleye and mwt with your son

[20:22:35] Capt. Tom VW: I would feel the fish hit the front of the lure, hang on and let

go

[20:22:48] mm: 4 hooks per rod

[20:22:57] Capt. Tom VW: All MWT and some Team Walleye

[20:23:21] Capt. Tom VW: 4 hook per person total in Canada, only 1 rod in Canada

[20:23:41] mm: 2 rods on erie and lake ont

[20:23:53] ebijack (mi): tom, you might want to put your name up on the walleyecentral

charter page

[20:24:01] Capt. Tom VW: Correct on Erie, Don't know about Ontario

[20:24:20] Capt. Tom VW: We have it under Great Lakes

[20:24:29] mm: yes,just came into effect last year

[20:24:38] ebijack (mi): tom, what made you decide on getting a 620 ranger

[20:25:15] Capt. Tom VW: Had a 690 and was extremely please with the quality and

decided to get the 620

[20:25:47] ebijack (mi): tom, what waters are you going to charter on

[20:25:57] Capt. Tom VW: Have been very pleased with the 620. The storage is

incredible and fish ability is great

[20:26:14] gilman: have you had any trouble getting up on plane

[20:26:35] Capt. Tom VW: Lk Erie, Saginaw, Detroit River, Muskegon, Macatawa

[20:26:44] Capt. Tom VW: No

[20:26:57] ebijack (mi): tom, are you quiting your day job? :)

[20:27:15] Juls (WI): :-)

[20:27:17] Capt. Tom VW: No but I would like to

[20:27:33] Capt. Tom VW: Josh is a charter captain also

[20:27:51] Capt. Tom VW: Josh is my son and partner

[20:28:14] Juls (WI): how old is josh?

[20:28:19] Capt. Tom VW: 18

[20:28:24] ebijack (mi): tom, what drew your interest to handling

[20:28:28] Capt. Tom VW: and college bound

[20:28:33] Juls (WI): cool....captain at 18 ...good job

[20:28:44] How: I give you a lot of credit fishing and being a partner with your son. Not

many sons get that type of interest from their dads.

[20:29:10] Capt. Tom VW: Because of the amount of handliners in these MWT

tournaments was small but there finishes were high

[20:29:13] ebijack (mi): hill is another father son team

[20:29:45] How: Good to see that

[20:30:13] Capt. Tom VW: I watch John Kalesh 15 years ago kick our butts while we

were jigging

[20:30:30] Juls (WI): :-)

[20:30:32] ebijack (mi): that's a while ago :)

[20:30:48] Capt. Tom VW: yes and I did not forget it

[20:31:25] Capt. Tom VW: Handlining works better when the river is dirty

[20:31:29] ebijack (mi): tom, are you a member of st clair walleye assoc. ?

[20:31:51] Capt. Tom VW: No, West Michigan Walleye Club and Saginaw Bay

Walleye Club

[20:32:22] ebijack (mi): tom, is there a difference in the different handlining reels?

[20:32:49] Capt. Tom VW: We have on the west side of the state, an incredible fall

fishery for big fish

[20:33:14] Capt. Tom VW: the three bodies of water is Muskegon, Macatawa, and the

Grand River

[20:33:51] gilman: how about barren springs

[20:33:55] Capt. Tom VW: Basicly all reels are the same. The A&S are the smoothest

[20:34:16] Capt. Tom VW: Could be. I don't know much abouth Barren Springs

[20:34:37] ebijack (mi): tom, how many months a year do you plan on chartering

[20:35:03] Capt. Tom VW: WE start in April thru December or ice up

[20:35:32] Capt. Tom VW: WE guided on the Saginaw River just before the season

closed and caught beautiful fish

[20:35:32] How: Where can we get a flier of your rates etc.?

[20:35:53] ebijack (mi): tom, what technique handling would you use to fish a lake

[20:36:16] Capt. Tom VW: www.i2k.com/~tvanderweide

[20:36:30] ebijack (mi): is it any different than fishing a river

[20:37:03] Capt. Tom VW: I would stick with stick baits or spinners. Must go faster in

the lake

[20:37:31] ebijack (mi): tom, in the river you change depths constantly, what about a

lake

[20:37:39] Capt. Tom VW: I'm thinking it would work really well on the humps by the

steeples area on Saginaw Bay

[20:38:06] Capt. Tom VW: You only pay out as much line as needed to stay on contact

with the bottom

[20:38:33] Capt. Tom VW: So if you are working on a reef and you go up or down

you can quickly adjust as needed

20:39:52] ebijack (mi): tom, would you look for fish before handling a lake? or just start

on the drop offs

[20:40:14] Capt. Tom VW: The Detroit River with the current being so fast, has got to

be noisier to a fish than a lake. So you can run you lures closer to a boat without

spooking them

[20:40:36] Capt. Tom VW: Definitely, try to locate fish first

[20:40:44] ebijack (mi): you think that's a problem in a lake tom?

[20:41:02] Capt. Tom VW: When the water is clear on Detroit, handlining doesn't work

as well.

[20:41:14] How: Tom if you were to fish Houghton next weekend what would you use

and where would you fish? I just fished Burt and did well north side using crawler and

leaches 27 feet

[20:41:28] Capt. Tom VW: Yes, longer leads are needed in a lake

[20:42:08] ebijack (mi): tom, how long a leader do you think you could run handling

[20:42:12] Capt. Tom VW: East bay with harnesses. Songers point with wally divers 15

foot back cd 5

[20:42:52] Capt. Tom VW: indefinitely, the problem would be bringing it into the boat

[20:43:30] Capt. Tom VW: The problem with handlining is not the fishing part, but

staying organized in your boat when bringing lines in

[20:43:36] ebijack (mi): tom, do you think you have more control in a lake handling or

with boards

[20:44:32] ebijack (mi): tom, does wind play a big part in laying your line in the boat

wehn bringing in a fish?

[20:44:44] Capt. Tom VW: handlining. If you are fishing structure, and want to keep

everything on the bottom, I can't think of a better way. It allows you to feel the transition

from hard to soft bottom

[20:45:04] Capt. Tom VW: No wind does not create a problem

[20:45:55] ebijack (mi): tom, do you know of any books written on handling that folks

from others states could get to show what handling is?

[20:46:04] Capt. Tom VW: The clearer the water, the more difficult handlining is

because of spooking the fish

[20:46:38] Capt. Tom VW: The Lake ST Clair walleye club has a web site showing

what handlining is

[20:47:06] ebijack (mi): don't think in-fisherman ever did a show on it :)

[20:47:06] Capt. Tom VW: Don't know what web site is

[20:47:09] Drift'r: do they have illustrations

[20:47:29] Capt. Tom VW: Not sure

[20:48:07] Capt. Tom VW: WE might be able to enter an illustration on our web site

[20:48:16] ebijack (mi): there's a link i believe on walleyecentral to the lake st clair

walleye club

[20:48:39] ebijack (mi): if not e-mail me and i'll get it

[20:48:57] How: Tom have to go, see you and your son on the water. Take care all

[20:49:01] ebijack (mi): are there any more questions for our host tonight?

[20:50:13] ebijack (mi): i'd like to thank our host tonight CAPT TOM VANDERWEIDE

!!!!

[20:50:23] sundance: clap clap clap

[20:50:23] ebijack (mi): thanks tom !

[20:50:27] Dmacattak[Oh]: clap clap clap

[20:50:29] R Hill(mi): Thanks Tom great chat

[20:50:33] Alumajet: thank you tom

[20:50:35] Capt. Tom VW: Thanks for having me ebijack

[20:50:36] mm: clap,clap,clap

[20:50:37] ebijack (mi): stick around and chat tom if you can

[20:50:42] gilman: clap clap

[20:50:44] RoyGPA: thanks tom

[21:03:09] Capt. Tom VW: Sponors are . Ranger, Mercury, Pradco, Pinpoint, Walts Crawlers,

Offshore