Colchester travel time

[LAPORTE]

Hello All

         Can any one please tell me about how long it takes to get over to Colchester ? and witch launch usually is the best to go out of ? On the map it looks like Erie Metropark looks the closest.


      I usually go out of the river and just fish the mouth and no farther.... weather pending it looks like im taking my 18 1/2 foot Skeeter out and stretchin  her leggs....

anyone want to go ?

Don L

[markgoetsch]

at 60 mph it takes ~20 min. and yes metro park is your best bet.

[Firefighter Jeff]

Once on a really nice day I went there from Sandusky west harbor.  It was 26 miles back.  Thank goodness it was flat calm. 

[hookedonsmallies]

im in we can take your boat or mine

[River Rat]

Don,

Are you going today or Sat?  Shoot a msg/pm if you want, debating on hooking-up now as I type!

Scott

Edit 0825: I just chk'd the NOAA reports and it is 2'-4' today and 2' or less tomorrow, I'm gonna work the river today at the GI flats area down to the Livingston Channel.

[capt charlie's charters]

bummer, caught your post to late to consider joining you, how'd you do ?   we met and chatted at Sandusky (BFL) with talk of hooking up sometime to wet a line.  plans for this weekend to hit a private lake my buddy has access to and probably winterize my boat on Monday.  Not sure when you'll bed yours down for the winter, but if your looking for company give me a holler.  Charlie  cgabbeart@ci.northville.mi.us

[capt charlie's charters]

Curious as to how you did this past weekend or didn't you make it out ?  catch my update for LSC 11/22.

capt charlie's charters

[LAPORTE]

We never made the run over...It was very windy on Friday so I fished with riverat in the Detroit river and with my daughter on Saturday at Kent. Im still a little shaky on making the run over their this time of the year alone. (call me a wimp)  If any one is making the run over this weekend I would follow... lol weather pending...



Don L 

[SethV]

Im still a little shaky on making the run over their this time of the year alone. (call me a wimp)  

Wimp

Sissy

Girly Man

[LAPORTE]

thanks Seth     I needed that...

[capt charlie's charters]

heh don don't let SethV get to ya, he thinks 70mph in 6ftr's is fun, only guy I know with a turbo charged electric motor.  good to hear from you Valentine, was wondering why you've been so quiet lately.
capt charlie

[capt charlie's charters]

Laporte.....Sat 11/28....downriver forecast sunny and 45 with wsw 8 mph winds, let me know if you'd like a ride along, mine is put away for the winter.

capt charlie   

[River Rat]

Ummm.... I ain't goin' nowhere Friday!

NOAA Open Water Forecast for Lake Erie as of 0403 today:
.THURSDAY...SOUTHWEST WINDS 15 TO 25 KNOTS. AREAS OF DRIZZLE WITH
A CHANCE OF RAIN. WAVES 3 TO 5 FEET BUILDING TO 4 TO 6 FEET.
.THURSDAY NIGHT...SOUTHWEST WINDS 10 TO 20 KNOTS BECOMING
NORTHWEST 15 TO 25 KNOTS. AREAS OF DRIZZLE WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN
IN THE EVENING...THEN RAIN SHOWERS LIKELY OVERNIGHT. WAVES 4 TO 6
FEET BUILDING TO 7 TO 10 FEET.
.FRIDAY...NORTHWEST WINDS 15 TO 25 KNOTS BECOMING WEST TO
30 KNOTS. A CHANCE OF RAIN SHOWERS. WAVES 10 TO 13 FEET.
.SATURDAY...WEST WINDS 15 TO 25 KNOTS BECOMING SOUTHWEST AND
DIMINISHING TO 5 TO 15 KNOTS IN THE EVENING. WAVES 6 TO 9 FEET
SUBSIDING TO 2 TO 4 FEET.
.SUNDAY...SOUTH WINDS 10 KNOTS OR LESS. A CHANCE OF RAIN SHOWERS.
WAVES 1 TO 3 FEET.

[LAPORTE]

FEET BUILDING TO 7 TO 10 FEET.
.FRIDAY...NORTHWEST WINDS 15 TO 25 KNOTS BECOMING WEST TO
30 KNOTS. A CHANCE OF RAIN SHOWERS. WAVES 10 TO 13 FEET.
. .

It might be time to put the boat up... darn I was hoping to fish into Dec...

[Skip Johnson]

I wouldnt run to colchester, youd be running right past the fish at the mouth of DT River, I fished it last saturday and it was pretty good, if you dont know that area just take out a map of Erie and look where all the channels come into the lake from the river, fish the areas between the channels in about 10 to 15 ft, its a very large area between erie metro park and the channel light houses a few miles out.
If you get down to colchester and get into big wind waves in that 40 something degree water you could spear a wave and get pretty wet and become hypothermic quick.
I wont be parking my boat until Dec 31st just like I do every year but I definitley stay away from open water for safety reasons.

heres a tip for boat care when fishing in below freezing temps that will help avoid your livewells and bilge pumps plumbing from freezing and cracking.

get two unused 5 gallon gas cans, fill them with hot water, keep them in your cab wrapped in a moving blanket and when your done fishing dump one in each livewell right before you hit the road then open your empty valve, the warm water will thaw and warm everything and the water will slosh out as your driving home.
I also put a half gallon of de natureized motor home plumbing anti freeze in my bilge, wallmart and meijer has it back in the automotive section, its red and costs $4 a gallon.
so far in the 5 years Ive lived in michigan Ive been doing this and I havent cracked my live well plumbing or bilge pumps.

also at the ramp stay on the slope of the ramp when you pull your boat out and trim your motor all the way down then dry fire your motor, let it run for only a few seconds and give it a quick tap of throttle and shut it off immidiatley so you dont burn up your water pump, that helps empty alot of the water in your motor.

....it aint over till its over and its definitley not over!

see you out there, be safe.  

[River Rat]

Thanks for the heads-up!  I've been searching "new waters" of the river this fall and haven't gone back to the old favorites at the mouth.  I got it stuck in my head from an older BASS article with Dobson and Gostenick about heading for the reef and deep water.  I guess I developed tunnel vision and lost sight of the trees for the forest...

Scott

Also, good advice about the boat care, I've been getting nervous with the weather changes and never had a boat out this late in the year.

[Skip Johnson]

their right that colchester and the north shore are great in the fall but this late in the fall IMO its a bit too dangerous to run out that far...weather, engine problems etc.
also if the temps not ridicoulousley below freezing just filling your livewells with lake water at the end of the day then dumping them right away at the ramp will work just as good to empty your plumbing but allways dry fire the motor and give a light shot of RV anti freeze in the bilge.


p.s. get a hambys just in case the ramp area is frozen, youd be surprised how thick of ice a bass boat can go through 

[capt charlie's charters]

guess my "weather channel website" was wishful thinking.  wonder how many drift socks you'd need for 6 - 8ftr's?

charlie

[mikesmiph]

Is your boat big enough to carry that many Charlie? I dont want anything to do with 3 ft'ers much less 8.

[capt charlie's charters]

yeah mikesmiph, Triton TR196 is not the best rough water boat and I'd rather only have to deal with 3ftr's and above due to a tournament, not what I'd consider fun fishing water.

was killing me Saturday, beautiful weather ( in Plymouth at least ) and I was winterizing.