Traverse City, MI

Brown, Rainbow and Lake Trout, Whitefish, Coho & Chinook Salmon, Perch and Smallmouth Bass are native to the coast of Lake Michigan. Lake Trout and Salmon are the most commonly fished with Lake Trout being caught from mid May to mid July and salmon from the 1st of July into October. A fish graph is almost a necessity if you plan to successfully catch lake trout, whitefish and salmon.

Lake trout are bottom fish and are typically found in 80 to 120 feet of water, depending on the bottom water temperatures. Their average weight is 6 to 8 pounds, with some going over 20 pounds.

Salmon range from 6 to 15 pounds at the beginning of the season and finishing with weights ranging from 10 to 24 pounds. The chinook, or king salmon, is the largest salmon in Lake Michigan and last year 35 pound chinook were not uncommon. Salmon prefer certain water temperatures, rather than cruising on the bottom, so they normally are found suspended at various depths in deeper water.

Favorite spots to fish lake trout and salmon are off Frankfort Harbor, Platte Bay, Good Harbor Bay, Leland, West and East Grand Traverse Bays and off Elk Rapids. Brown and rainbow trout are normally found in shallower water in the same areas. Brown's weigh up to 30 pounds and rainbows up to 20 pounds.

Trout and salmon baits vary almost weekly, with weather and water conditions and time of year. However, favorite lake trout baits fished off downrigger and chrome or brass cowbells, or dodgers with spoons, plugs or flies in blue, chrome, green and chartreuse. Salmon can be taken on these same combinations, plus more, varying in color. Browns and rainbows will also hit these combinations but the preferred methods and bait is to troll with long lines weighted, or off downriggers with singular fish imitating baits in color patterns of blue/silver, black/silver and orange/gold.

Smallmouth bass and perch are caught all over these coastal waters with bass averaging 2 to 3 pounds and perch running 9 inches to jumbo's. Fish for bass over rocky shoals in 3 to 15 feet of water. Perch like flat bottom areas in 10 to 40 feet of water. Casting or trolling imitating baits or spinners work well on smallmouths. Perch prefer live minnow or wigglers, still fished 8 to 18 inches off bottom.

Whitefish are normally fished for in winter and spring and cught by jigging Swedish Pimples just off the bottom. A favorite spot for whitefish is in East Grand Traverse Bay, approximately a mile off the east shoreline near Acme.

Christine Stalsonburg, Realtor

"A Tradition Of Sound Advice"

231-944-0854

www.Stalsonburg.com

www.NorthernMichiganRealEstatecs.com

Coldwell Banker Schmidt Realtors

402 E. Front St. Traverse City, MI 49686

Kidz Care Foundation was formed in February of 2009 in Traverse City, MI to insure that infants and children under the age of 5 have healthy start at life. The foundation provides grants to families who cannot afford immunizations and well child checks for their children. The primary target population of this foundation is Northern Michigan with focus in the Grand Traverse Region. Currently we are seeking grant funding as seed money for the foundation.

Our children are our future and they deserve the very best start at a healthy life. Many children in our country, due to no fault of their own, are not receiving timely childhood immunizations and child development assessments. Immunizations are an extremely important part of a child's first few years of life and can safeguard them against debilitating diseases later in life. Just as important, are the child development assessments that children receive as a part of their immunization program. Many diseases and growth related health issues can be detected and potentially corrected when caught early.

With love, care and compassion, we can see that all of our children receive a healthy start in life - One Child At A Time. Our foundation colors represent three special areas; Lavender for the magic that a child brings into our lives, Pale Green for growth and harmony and White for the purity of a child.

Many of our children go without their immunizations or are extremely late in receiving these vital immunizations during their infant, toddler and pre-school years. There are many clinics out there that offer free immunizations. Administering the vaccine is only step of the well-child visit. These children also need to be examined by a pediatric medical professional to screen for abnormalities in the child's growth as well as any sight, hearing or speech challenges that the child may have. Many disease and developmental issues, if detected early, can be remedied.

A portion of my commission go to fund this very important foundation and this is my way of giving back to all of those in the community that have supported me and my business over the years.

www.kidzcarefoundation.org

Christine Stalsonburg, Realtor

"A Tradition Of Sound Advice"

231-944-0854

www.stalsonburg.com

www.northernmichiganrealestatecs.com

Coldwell Banker Schmidt Realtors

402 E. Front St. Traverse City, MI 49686

This is a great piece that Avery has put out on making our offices a little more environmentally friendly. There are some great ideas here that are easy to implement. They also have some great templates on their web site for recycle cans, etc.

ENJOY

The Office Guide to Going Green Want to do more to help the environment? The workplace offers plenty of opportunities where you and your co-workers can make a difference. Here are some eco-tips on how to easily incorporate going green into your work day:

When you and your co-workers support each other and make the effort to go greener, doing your part to help the environment will soon become second nature. Share these tips at your workplace, and inspire those around you to make a positive change. Going green isn't just a passing trend, it can be a way of life.

The following article was printed in the Record Eagle by a staff reporter.

Coldwell Banker Schmidt in top 50 list

FROM STAFF REPORTS

TRAVERSE CITY -- The Coldwell Banker Schmidt Family of Companies was listed among the top 50 real estate brokerages in the U.S. in the 2009 RISMedia Power Broker Survey.

The firm ranked 46th with 6,672 closed sales units in 2008 among more than 600 respondents in the survey. That made it the third-ranked Coldwell Banker affiliate in the country and the largest in the eastern half of the U.S. The company also made the list of the largest 500 brokers in the country as determined by REALTrends 500, an annual research report.

"That we've experienced this kind of growth, and done it outside of the large metro markets in southeast Michigan, is truly humbling," said Ken Schmidt, the firm's chief executive officer.

The firm is a fourth generation, family owned realty company that includes Coldwell Banker Schmidt Realtors in northern Michigan, Coldwell Banker AJS Schmidt in Grand Rapids and Coldwell Banker Woodland Schmidt in the Holland-Muskegon area.''

Every day we see another government agency that is facing financial hardship. Michigan's Department of Natural Resources is no exception. Over the course of the past five years, this state agency has had to dip into their savings coffers to meet budget demands. One could criticize the agency for not seeking the publics help and support for alternative funding methods sooner but that would not change the position that they are now in. Without a significant increase in their revenue, Michigan residents and tourists wanting to vacation in Michigan and enjoy our wonderful park system could be in for an unpleasant surprise.

Michigan parks system is over 90 years old and has little updating to its infrastructure. The general maintenance and infrastructure updating is critical to our parks system. We have an incredible recreation system within our parks and it would be a shame to see it look anything but pristine and inviting. Northern Michigan relies heavily on tourism in our area and many of our visitors come to our region specifically to enjoy these amenities. If critical updates are not done, we could chance loosing significant portion of our visitors.

One idea that is being looked at for revenue is to add a small fee to each vehicle registration renewal. The proposed fee would be $10. Although none of us like to see any new fees, this one almost seems like a no brainer. This fee would replace the existing day pass fee that is currently being charged to use the state parks.

As a community, we need to get involved and do what ever it takes to ensure that our natural resources are taken care of and preserved so that future generations can enjoy the same wonders in Northern Michigan that we are able to enjoy.

Christine Stalsonburg, Realtor

231-944-0854

Coldwell Banker Schmidt Realtors

www.stalsonburg.com

www.northernmichiganrealestatecs.com