quality time

PM sent

You have to let the dipsys out real slow. We also run two on each side. We had some trouble last year with weeds. The weeds would slide down the line and fowl the dipsy making it hard to trip or worse yet it would not plane to the side and get tangled with the other line. Many of our fish are on dipsys. Make sure you have a good rod holder because the mags. with rings pull reel hard. Wes

Thinking more on this post I wanted to explain more on the purpose of the vhf radio. The first thing you should do is search the web for info on using the radio's. All radios built after 1999 have DSC which is a digital signal which the radio can use for several things. Most important distress signal. Your radio when set up has a number somewhat like a phone number that gives a data base your info, boat type, name, size ect. If the radio is hooked up to a gps it will also give location. In the event of abandon ship with the distress button pushed your location and boat info is known but you must have the radio hooked up to gps. This can be a life saver. All coastal waters and most the great lakes have coverage for this. Not sure the flx. The bad side of this is if the distress button gets pushed by mistake rescue will show up and then you could be in trouble so mount the radio out of reach of small kids and pets. We were fishing a derby last year when a mayday came over the radio I'm getting ready to cut my lines and run to help fellow boater when the boat says mayday again and then says I'm out of ice for my drinks! Thats a felony and could bring jail time and a fine of $5000 or more. Channel 16 is used for distress calls most of the guys use ch68 to chat. We hail other boats all the time when we are trolling. The radio has a high and low setting so when you are trolling the same depth of water as a another boat on a head to head course I would hail the other boat on a low power setting so the transmission is only going to the boats close to me and tell them which side I plan to pass them on. I would give them info on if I had boards out and how long of lines I am trolling. I run 600' copper most the time so you don't want someone cutting back to soon. We troll many boats in small area with few problems. The guys that do not have the radio are the ones in the past that have run over each others lines. We often call another boat on the radio and have them call us on the cell phone if we need to chat. This keeps the radio clear and we can chat on the phone as long as we want without jamming up the radio. Some think that we are talking about secret lures more than likely we are talking about the big one that got away

How low can ya go! How low can ya go! More than once I've looked back to see Ben with his finger on the down switch. He stops when he is down to a couple of wraps of wire on the spool Wes

They run a ton of those boats in Alaska. We run short distance to our honey holes they might run 50 miles or more so the second motor gives them security if one of the main motors go bad. Many fo those boats are rigged to run 50 mph. I've lost a couple of hats at 35 mph so I think they tend to over muscle them for long runs. Wes

That Hewescraft is my dream boat. I have seen many pics of those boats with twins plus a kicker. If you have the boat made to order they will build that into the extended transom. I have the 9.9 honda kicker on my boat and I can troll 2.5mph for 8 hrs. on a 3 gallon gas tank. Not sure which model you are looking at, the weight is less than the glass boats. I think the Pacific Explorer is about 1000lbs more than my boat so you might have to go to 15hp. They have a hewescraft forum and I am sure you could get an idea from the people that own one. If you get one could you let me google at it? Wes

Was this a fresh water only boat? Is it tarped,shrink wrapped or inside? How about type 1 pfd's? You call out triple trees but the pics show 3 Heavy dipsy holders per side. Does the Baha have closed loop cooling? and how about the deck is that self bailing?Never been on a big Baha but it looks like a sweet ride. Hours on motor and was that a new crate motor or rebuilt? Wes

You should take Mark up on his offer. My boy and I have helped several people on Cayuga and it is fun to see how they do after a few lessons. I've been accused of costing them money When I take them out I tell them to not give their spouses my phone number so they cann't complain to me about all the equipment they buy. We normaly fish the South shore marina derby on father's day so we might see you then. Hail me on that new VHF radio. Oh no spending your money already! Wes

Watch the site. The guys and gals can help on how deep and on what they are catching fish on. Things change every day. Lakers are easier to catch but if you choose lures that run fast enough you catch lakers and silver fish at the same time. Wes

VHF radio is a must for safety. If you get in trouble on the water your radio is best chance for rescue. We all watch out for each other on the water and things do happen. A torn boot on an I/O , broken livewell fill line, blown cooling hose on I/O forgot the plug not mention weather related problems can land you in trouble in a hurry. Radios are cheap and if you do not have alot of room they make nice handheld ones. You could call for help on a cell phone but it could take a long time for help to arrive. Many guys upgrade equipment and have old ones kicking around that still work fine. The antenna might cost more than the radio. The site has a "wanted to buy" section. Might be a good place to look. I'm looking to put a second radio in my boat. Wes

I think when I looked at the lou calendar the other day Jason's birthaday was on the 19th. The calendar is blank so I'm not sure but if it is happy birthday Jason! Sean he is getting pretty old so a pair bifocals might be in order soon so he can tie Knots on those fine leaders It would be funny if it was not the truth. Old eyes are a pain in the butt. Wes

Arney's marine, Sodus

Great job guys and gals! Jason are you going to be at the lotsa show again this year? I have not heard anyone talking about it this year. Wes

I've got them at South Shore marina as well, Owasko lake. Wes

Santa should be here soon! I've been good this year so I hope he brings me some stuff for my boat! I hope he watches out for the fish hooks on the tree Wes

Everyone will be studying the lures trying to figure which ones you are talking about I think it must be the 5 of diamonds dardevle. That lure caught me tons of pickerel when I wa a kid. Most of the flys I tied but you might see a b/w fly on the tree!. Wes

Thanks, The only problem is you have to be carefull when you walk past the tree. Several hundrad trebles

I would like to wish a Happy Holiday to everyone. I would like to thank all the fellow fisherman and woman on the finger lakes for being such a great group. We had a very enjoyable season and that in part is because of many of the people on this site. You are almost never alone on the water and it is great how people work together. Looking forward to next season. I included a few pics of my tree. If you get your spouse onboard with the decor you can say the tree needs more trolling flys or we have way more green spoons than blue or orange we need to even out the tree See ya on the hard water next! Wes

Nick that was agreat video! We are blessed to have some of the best charter captains anywhere. Looks like you had a great season hope you have many more. Thanks for sharing. Wes

Brenda, Ben and I are sorry for your loss.

Sorry to hear about the motor. Sounds like the fishing has been good I've got this week off bow hunting.I've been trying to get my hunting buddy to take an afternoon off to hit Cayuga with the big boat. We will see! Browns and salmon should be spawning hope I can find a few lakers. Wes

Is the river water clearing up? I've been thinking about inline boards on the river with the kayak for tigers. Never got a keeper tiger. I got some nice pike at Grippen park. Had a huge Tiger on but lost him. Had one pike hit the plug with only 4' of line left. Went under the kayak came out the other side jumped right in the boat in my lap. That is not good. He flipped back in the water with no blood drawn Best fishing of the year for people that brave it. It was tough running leadcore never done that with the yak. I lost many more than I landed. All my bites were on spoons. I kept the flasher fly out hoping for a kayak grand slam. Close but no cigar. If people are wondering I wear neoprene waders while fishing in the kayak in cold weather .That works great to keep me warm as well as dry. No matter how hard you try you still get water off the paddle. PFD on at all times even when its 100 deg. Wes

Had the day off from work, layed around the house part of the morning decided to go fishing. Big boat was tarped so I decided to get the kayak out. Weather was good, no wind. Started at T-falls headed northt to scout camp. Set one leadcore with flasher fly and started letting out leadcore with M/stinger spoon out. The rod was in the rod holder because it is hard to paddle and handle rods at the same time. Leadcore was out about 7 colors and still in freespool when a nice brown pounded it. Got him right to the boat when he spit the hook right into my thumb. It was a nice male around 5 or 6 lbs in full fall colors. Great sight and I hope to do battle with him another day. Headed north and had a many fish on. Landed 3 salmon and 2 rainbows. Many fish lost due to head wind. I had to leave rods in the rod holders while I turned the kayak down wind when I would remove the rod from the holder. It was a great day to be on the water. Fish turned off around 1:00pm but I still had a nice paddle. Wes

I checked to see if my dogs pfd would still fit him. I got it when he was younger but never got him out. It still fits so I am going to try to get him out. He loves fresh fish so it is only right that he help me catch it He is one of those cranked up german shorthair pointers. The only thing that worries me is that he might not want to get in the boat. At 90 lbs it is hard to pick him up. If I get in the boat first I think he will follow. Time will tell. I'll post pics if we make it out. That pfd makes him look real fat! Wes