# Ludington Outing Report



## kati

Hey everyone!

Just wanted to thank all of you for spending your weekend at the Lands Inn! I hope you all know that you are welcome to come up any time! No need to wait for an outing! Also want to thank those who helped Chris with the ballroom on Saturday night!

I have been a friend(and now his boss!) of Chris' for over 7 years, and I must say that this site and you group of guys and your friendship means a lot to him. He doesn't get to fish much, as Ralf referenced to, so being able to go with guys who are as passionate about the sport as he is, is a great time for him. (Sorry for getting mushy, Chris!)

Although some get a little crazy in the bar, (I know where you were last saturday, Don!) you are all kind and respectful people and I really enjoy chatting with the handful of you that I do know!

Hope to see you all real soon!


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## Steve

Kati, once again thank you for the hospitality. As for the crazyness  I cannot be held responsible for the actions of the members of the site


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## unregistered55

Kati, Chris and the Lands Inn Staff you are all Top Notch! THANKS!... Kati, I am "Offended" that you mention MY name after ya said there were crazy people in the bar, LOL! Chris we will get up there more and get ya out fishing More! 

I found two more Pics of "The Short Bus". I took them on Monday and my camera batteries were almost dead so they are Blurry, or mabey it was my eyes, LOL! 

That's Dale (Neapolis) in the front and Chromium John on the Oars









Another view of the Short Bus!


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## Whit1

Shoeman and His Crew,
Look guys, I know it was cold out on the river, but it is inadvisable to go into the trees in order to secure wood for a warming fire. However, if you insist on such activities I recommend that you bring a saw. Trying to snap limbs of that size will hurt ya!

Thanks for the pix and that goes out to everyone who shared.

Chromium,
I would be remiss if I didn't give you a huge THANKS for being the catalyst for this outing. You deserve a giant YAHOOOOO!


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## Shoeman

Whit, 
That's about the only thing they didn't do to that poor boat is build a fire in it. They.ve dropped it from the second story, lost it on the highway, used it as an icebreaker (for real and in conversation) and filled it with water for bathing purposes. Oh.... and let Knockoff take the sticks 
When John first bought that, it was in mint condition. Now look at it......

Fear no Rock, my foot


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## chromium

"Fear No Outing" is more like it. 
Now there is a challenge. I say that we should test these boats for ClakaCraft. 
The MS Proving grounds. Clay could be the crash dummy.


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## Steve

I'd be happy to evaluate one  for a product review.


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## chromium

Clay, I was checking to see if you were hiding in the bushes.


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## Shoeman

Nope, he's right HERE










Looking for bugs of course......


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## Whit1

> _Originally posted by chromium _
> [BThe MS Proving grounds. Clay could be the crash dummy. [/B]


ROTFLMAO!!! I'd vote for using Clay. He's tough, resourceful, fearless, dexterous, and a man who laughs in the face of threatening events.


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## Whit1

> _Originally posted by Shoeman _
> *Nope, he's right HERE *


Ralph,
From the photo it looks like Clay found some sexy blonde in those cedars!!!!!!


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## kati

Hey Don,

No need to be offended, YOU ARE CRAZY!!! I STILL know what you did last saturday! (wasn't that a movie?)


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## chromium

Yeah Kati, It was a movie. I think I saw it at a bachelor party once.


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## Shoeman

> _Originally posted by chromium _
> *Yeah Kati, It was a movie. I think I saw it at a bachelor party once. *


It was, just edited for length and size.....lol


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## chromium

Oh. A Mini-Series.


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## ESOX

LMAO............. I can see it now, "Can you help me try these on?"


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## unregistered55

You guys are the crazy ones, Taking me to the store to buy Long Underware was NOT a Pick-up line...LMFAO!


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## Shoeman

Too Funny

That reminds me of Rodeo buying waders. He asked the clerk (a female) if his ass looked good in them?


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## solasylum

You guys are just too much!! 

Don_Juan (aka Northern_outdoorsman) was definitely the winner this weekend. Biggest brown and......

BTW....Don we didn't see you after the locals left!! Did you follow one of them babes out the door!!

Scott


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## Neapolis

Finally made it home. Another great outing. I only managed two small Rainbows at Tippy, but it's the thought that counts.

Thanks for the ride Monday Chromium, it was a blast (literally). I didn't know the short bus could fly. 

Kati and Chef, thanks for the hospitality. And to all others a good night.


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## tangleknot

What a great time, as usual!!!! Thank you very much Chris and Kati for the wonderful food and hospitality. The room rate is an unbelievable deal, to top it off. The kids and I really enjoyed the pool. They were the only fish I saw all weekend. (Oh yeah, sorry about the boys and the accidental pool stick jabs to the local karaoke chorus!) 

Wished we could have made it up on Fri night but work pushed it till Sat night. It was great to visit with friends and meet new ones. Seems like there is never enough time....There are so many people I would have liked to talk with more and some I never got a chance to meet. Sam Kineson's "no show" was a bit disappointing but the karaoke entertainment more than made up for it! There is ONE song that MUST be removed from the playlist! Yikes! That song was just plain scary! Chromium retired and I returned to the bar to enjoy an evening full of great conversation! Sue, Kris and I ended the night in a fit full of laughs!

Sunday, the boys and I headed out to Hamlin Lake to check out ice fishing possibilities. It is a very promising lake but Sunday was not the day. The wind was whipping and there was only one local out there fishing. We enjoyed a good laugh watching him chase his gear filled bucket 50 yards across the lake thanks to the vicious wind. The lake was totally frozen except for the NW side. It was a spectacular view with the frozen lake, swirling snow, open water, and dunes in the back ground! We are prepared for the next outing! Enjoyed the drive. It it amazing how different the scenery can look depending upon the season. Gorgeous, have to love Michigan!

Kris and I spent the late afternoon together while the kids played. What a sweetie Sara is! Is a trade possible? You get first pick, LOL! 

Dinner at Applesbees was great. I offer my sincere appologies and possible condolences to anyone who was affected by our son's stomach problems. Never knew a 6 year old had such capabilities. That was very kind of you Sue to say that you were gagging from laughing so hard! Finished up the night with a swim and dip in the jacuzzi. Didn't even need to turn on the jets, we had Derek!

We had a great time and can't wait till the next one! Thanks to everyone for being going out of their way to visit with the boys and for being so kind. They really had fun.


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## gunrod

> If your going down Rainbow, I suppose the Short Bus would be a good method of transportation. I am going to have to give it a try one of these days.


And everyone will have a helmet on already.


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## 1fish2fish

Below Rainbow is quick and bumpy and it is a step up from McDougals but if your not real familiar with rowing I would definately hold off on the very top of the flies only section. M-37...down. You'll definately be hitting some stuff and it is tight.

Nice pics Kurt...not bad for camera they just give away .


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## chromium

Dann09 and ESOX










Chef, Shoeman, Hunter333 and Knockoff reaching for the Wisers.










Trout


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## DANN09

Boy was that a weekend or what. Every time I think about it I start laughing. Here are some pics. with more to come
Once Shoeman arrived it did'nt take him long to get everyone going. All Splitshot could say was "Your going to kiss Me arn't you.








I think this is where Whit was telling one of His stories and Trout was being Esox's interpeter. The later into the evening it got the more Paul sounded like a Grayhound bus going through the winsor tunnel.







The rest are some shots around the room.







Here's one of the great orator himself proclaiming something to the masses.














And My thanks to the crew at Lands Inn for laughing with us and not at us. You are the greatest.


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## Shoeman

Looks like Pat (Gunrod) was fighting fish the entire night.


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## Steve

If laughter is the best medicine we should all be cured of our aliments after one of these outings!


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## DonP

Ok Guys...

Since there was a request for the smoked fish recipe... I suppose I could tell ya (but then I would have to kill ya  ) Actually... it is quite simple. I use Lawry's brand marinade for my "brine" ... yes... this is the same company that makes the famous season salt. 

http://www.lawrys.com/webFamilyDetail.jsp

I usually use one bottle of the Hawaiin marinade and one bottle of the Teriyaki marinade. I believe they have 13 different flavors so one could get really creative if they wanted. Next time... I might try adding some of the Carribean Jerk flavor to add a little spice to it. Get a 2-gallon ziploc bag... pour each bottle in there... mix it up... add fish... let it marinade for about a day (turning the bag over every 4 or 5 hours. 

Now this may be the key here... while smoking my fish (I have an electric Brinkman smoker)... I use the leftover brine and baste the fish every 30-45 minutes which helps it keep from getting dry. Oh... one more thing... make sure there is plenty of water in the drip pan to also help from drying out.

Takes about 3 hours (varies in weather conditions) to smoke.

Oh... forgot to add... I believe I used a combination of cherry and mesquite wood chips for the smoke flavor.

So... there you have it.

Now I have to kill ya though!! 

Glad you guys liked!!


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## gunrod

That just shows you how die hard we were fishing. It was so cold my hands froze in that position from gripping the oars all day. 

If you notice the picture of Whit, [email protected], Esox and Trout someone elses hands froze around a rod.


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## Whit1

George,
Thanks for the pix they do present quite a scene. Actually the "orator" was me watching Shoeman hanging from the ceiling preparing to do his "squirrel monkey" routine.

DonP,
Thanks for the recipe. That smoked fish was great. It shows what one can do with a bit of experimentation. I think it works out best with smoked fish rather than with women.....LOL!


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## Whit1

Gunny,
I noticed that. At first I thought it was you, but the sleeves are different. Perhaps the two of you were hooked into the same fish.........LOL!


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## gunrod

Half the fun with these outings is reliving it thru the pictures and stories when we get home. I love these things.....


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## DryFly

I finally found time to get on line and say how nice it was to see you all again. Sorry I did not get to fish (I mean get skunked) with you. LOL

It was nice to meet a few new faces.

Trout you were mentioning that when you went with Splitshot this past summer in the UP, you guys really put the Dry Fly Float Boats to the test. If you scroll back a few pages to see SFK lodged in a tree with one of Ray's boats, you will see that he also put it to the test.

The boats perform nicely. While the lucrative automobile industry has "crash dummys" to test their vehicles, Dry Fly Float Boats has Splitshot and SFK do the job. lol

See ya


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## Steve

Hilarious Dave.


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## stelmon

Talking about Clay, where is he?


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## Whit1

Ray n' Clay the Crash Dummy Duo!!


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## unregistered55

YOU CAN LEARN ALOT FROM A DUMMY


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## Whit1

> _. In fact I have seen him pulling his float boat up hills behind that Audi before while making a combined duribility & speed test. [/B]_


_ 

Actually several of us witnessed that "You Gotta See This" event, including Dave. You might want to add that the uphill towing of that line of floatboats out of a river bottom involved no roads either on the Audi's end or the floatboats...........LOL!_


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## stelmon

> _Originally posted by Serial Fish Killer _
> *In the bushes right behind you Danny...*


Mommy, Mommy, SFK scaring me


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## DryFly

Hey Clay, If you recall you and I were fishing with artificial lures, you know, being real sportsmen. 

Splitshot was out fishing us and you noticed that some of his crickets got loose so you went after them in that tree down stream.


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## toto

even though I didn't go, I read these posts and it looks like everyone had a good time. Some of the posts are particularly mind boggling. Like the one where shoeman finally shows up and gets the party started, and of course Ray asks for a kiss, I'm sure ralf gave it to him, he's pretty much that way. Of course he was probably having quite a bit of fun before he got there I'm sure.


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## Shoeman

Gotta draw the line somewhere.......


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## Whit1

On which page is the photo posted? I'll stick with ya Ray, us elders must hang together........LOL!

By the way, does my 30" northern qualify as the longest fish caught?


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## broncbuster2

Hmmmm..........i think you once mentioned a "crown" Ray. LOL


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## broncbuster2

LOL


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## unregistered55

Coho-Steelhead....a fish is a fish, lol!


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