Reviewed by: CAPT. MIKE SCHOONVELD

A friend of mine fished area inland lakes and trailered his my boat to Florida each winter to spend time fishing for sea trout and redfish. The boat was well equipped for these activities, handled fine in moderate waves so he decided to rig it for Great Lakes fishing, as well to get in on Indiana’s great salmon and steelhead fishing. 

He loved it and soon found himself fishing on Lake Michigan as much or more than on inland lakes. He fished without downriggers, relying on divers and lead core during the summer months, but he was reluctant to add downriggers since he thought that would require drilling holes for the downrigger mounts or installing a track system. He wouldn’t mind doing that but he plannedi to upgrade his boat in another year or two. A boat with tracks or holes in the gunwales would either limit the market for potential buyers or degrade the resale value.

I noticed his boat had flush mounted rod holders built into the gunwales and so I suggested he find downrigger mounts that would slide into these rod holders. After checking around on the Internet, he found some Scotty 1028 Gimbal Mounts at Amazon.com that would fit his rod holders perfectly. I told him Scotty products have been around for decades and always get great reviews. So he bought a pair.

Now he’s set for another season on Lake Michigan and I know the addition of a pair of downriggers will up his game and increase his enjoyment. Perhaps he’ll even learn his current boat will do just fine for more than another year or two.

Reviewed by: CAPT. MIKE SCHOONVELD

Almost every Great Lakes fishing trip for me starts in the dark. I’ve installed lights in my boat to help me negotiate at the helm or on the back deck when I’m setting lines and I have mounted an LED floodlight on the stern to light up the “action zone” where salmon or walleye are reeled in close enough to net from the otherwise black waters. Those lights take care of what’s going on in the boat and in the immediate vicinity, but what’s happening 10 yards away or 100 yards or more?

I used to keep a Q-Beam spotlight on board I could plug into my boat’s cigarette lighter outlet. It would shoot a brilliant light at distant items, like nav buoys, pierheads or bonehead kayakers with only a dim firefly of a nightlight showing. It would brighten up these or perhaps unknown things 20 yards or perhaps 200 yards ahead. It worked, but it’s an antique these days of flashlights that don’t have to be hardwired or portable lights that eat non-rechargeable batteries.

All the “regular” flashlights I use these days are rechargeable, including the headlight I strap on to give me hands-free lighting down to small “pen” lights that shine brighter and longer than the D cell lights I used to employ.

I own several NEBO lights and their quality and function are top shelf. NEBO is a company that produces rechargeable lights from keychain size up to spotlight models, probably brighter than my old Q-Beam.

The small one I use most is a NEBO SLIM+ 1200. I reviewed it for GLA a couple years ago and you can now see that review at:  www.fishgear.reviews/2022/07/24/nebo-slim-1200-flashlight/

As the name implies, it’s a 1200 lumen model, almost blindingly bright. When I got the news release from NEBO about their Davinci line of “super-bright” flashlights, with models up to 12,000 Lumens, I was intrigued. “If a 1200 lumen is bright, a 12000 lumen must be blazing,” I thought. 

I got one and it instantly retired my old Q-Beam. The Davinci is more compact than the Q-Beam (or other super bright flashlights) and there’s no wired plug-in for power. It’s similar in size to a Maglite 3D that cops often carry as a light and a weapon to bonk the bad guys. I’m sure the Davinci could double as a billy-club in a pinch, weighing two pounds and with a stout, sturdy construction.

More important (at least for fishermen) it turns night into day out to an amazing distance when the adjustable beam is tightened from wide angle to narrow with a twist of the knurled ring just behind the light. A different ring-dial dims the light to five lesser settings all the way down to 300 lumens. Dialing down extends the battery life to 12 hours.

If you would like to check out or purchase the Davinci 12000 light or other models and sizes of rechargeable lights go to:  www.nebo.agcbrands.com.

Reviewed by: CAPT. MIKE SCHOONVELD

Tom Mitchell, spent a career in the medical device industry and had supplied tiny LED lights to surgeons that could be mounted on their fingers to put additional light in areas where they were working and hard to illuminate with overhead lights. Tom is also a deer hunter and realized there are times before dawn or after sunlight a tiny light would be enough to allow him to climb in or out of his stand, load or unload his gun, knock arrows and not light up the woods, possibly scaring the deer. Putting these thoughts together and into action, the Fingerlight was created – not the stainless, fragile model the doctors require, but a rugged, weather-resistant light that will adjust to nearly every man or woman’s fingers.

It’s great for hunters, I’m sure, but when I saw it, I’d just finished installing a battery in the nether-regions of my boat and realized it would have been perfect for that chore since the compartment was dark, cramped and the light from above wasn’t bright enough to illuminate the battery box. I needed two hands to make some of the connections and a third hand to shine a light so I could see the connections. A small light on one of my fingers would have been perfect answer.

I got one of the Fingerlights and put it to use immediately. The salmon run was on and I started the day long before dawn. I’ve put red interior lights in my boat to help preserve my night vision, but they won’t light up the counters on my downriggers or diver rods. The Fingerlight will. Or it will light up the inside of my glove compartment where small tools work their way to the back. Or it will light-up the oil filter on my tow-vehicle where some auto engineer thought it would be funny to mount it right above the front axle.

I’m sure, over time, I’ll find other nooks and crannies barely big enough to insert a hand, much less shine a light and the rechargeable Fingerlight will be perfect. I’m sure once you get one, you will find your own special uses for it as well. They are available at some retail and online outlets including Amazon.com or directly from www.fingerlight.com. 

Reviewed by: CAPT. MIKE SCHOONVELD

Every boat has (or should have) a storage container for “necessary papers.” At the least, it should have the boat’s registration certificate, perhaps the boat’s trailer registration and insurance papers. I keep my BoatUS membership papers, my captain’s license in it. There’s a copy of my fishing licenses (for each Great Lake state I visit each year) and several other licenses and documents dealing with my charter business. Throw in a pen, pencil and Sharpie, a few AA or AAA batteries a roll of electrical tape and a folded-up Approved Day Signal Distress Flag and several zip ties to mount the flag on my VHF antenna. It’s become my “necessary box.”

 The Compact Marine Dry Box by Flambeau is perfect size for me (9.625″ L x 7.5″ W x 4.25″ D) and checks several other boxes. It’s rugged and waterproof due to the rubber gasket that seals out water when the end-hinged (like an ammo box) lid is shut and latched down. It’s bright orange. I keep it in a storage compartment along with other gear – first aid kit, a tool kit, zip lock bags and other items. When I need it, I can locate it at a glance. If I forget to stow it away, it’s heavy enough that it won’t blow out of the boat at highway speeds.

 Check the Compact Marine Dry Box (and larger sizes) along with other Flambeau storage box options at www.flaumeauoutdoors.com. They are available to purchase at the site, at other online sellers and widely available at retailers.