quality time

Ben put a video on you tube several years back. When I first saw this it brought a tear to my eye and it shows what a positive impact the outdoors can have on kids. Check out "fish through the years." on You Tube Wes

It is with heavy heart that I must tell you that my son, Ben Foley passed away this morning after a long battle with C.F. He was an avid angler, hunter,trapper and sportsman. He had a great respect for the outdoors and fair chase and started catch and releasefishing as early as 3 years old. Not that we did not keep some fish but he understood that the success of the day was not measured by the quantity of game bagged but by the experiences shared with friends and family. Ben got his first boat which was an old 1958 14 footer that he rigged with riggers and planer boards. That little boat had 22 rod holders! He asked me to fish the Red Cross Derby and I agreed. We trolled From Meyers point to AES and bagged a big rainbow off AES. I netted the fish and to my surprise the fish leaped out of the net. My heart sank but he said "father calm down, he is still on" and I netted him a second time for good. On inspection the fish was 28" long and I told Ben we had to get him to the weigh station as soon as possible. The problem was his boat only had a 5hp Honda and it took 2 hrs. to get back. He missed first place by 1 ounce but it was a still great day. Just like in "Jaws" We are going to need a bigger boat! Soon after I bought our boat "Quality Time" We spent countless hours in that boat over the next few years. It does not have as many rod holders as his old boat but we had some great memories in it. I hope you folks don't mind but I would like to share some pics of him! Wes

Thanks Ed!

This is not about money.

It would be helpful if the DEC put some press releases out to educate fisherman on what to do if they hook one. It will happen more and more as the numbers increase.

I look at it like this. A prehistoric fish That thrived in abundance before white man showed up for many thousands of years. A few dams and little clear cutting, some commercial netting and not only sturgeon but Atlantic Salmon, whitefish, cisco, Lake trout and others were wiped out. The program is to reintroduce fish that once swam these water. These are long lived and slow to mature. They number in the hundreds not thousands. They are going to have many challenges to reach 100 or 200 years old and I would rather not see gill hooking one while sport fishing a good reason for one of these fish to die. We have many good sport fishing opportunities in this state and I see no reason we should target them.I've already seen pics of these fish in the arms of fisherman. We should be spending our time educating people on what to do if you catch one which should clearly include not removing it from the water.

My vote is to leave the fish alone. If you want to catch big fish try carp on 4 lb test. What are you going to ask for next a hunting season for Bald Eagles?

Ed, Do not let the actions of one person change what you have done for years. Welove to see the reports you give. By the number of post from this guy I would guess a newbie who got kicked off other chat sites. Someday he will be asking for help on the site and I for one will remember his actions. You and Kinger enjoy this nice fall weather! Wes

Do you have the depth finder transducer pointing down? If you can see the dipsy it sounds like it is pointing back. If the angle is the same as the dipsy you are not reading the depth of water but the distance behind the boat the dipsy is running. I run a mag dipsy with the big ring set on #1 and have to put out 225' to get down 100' of water at 2.3 mph. If you are letting out 100' of wire you are more than likely in water that is too warm for lakers! When first learning it is always good to get out with someone that has been doing it for some time. We have some great charter captains in the finger lakes and a trip with one of them could cut the learning curve way down. The other thing that you can do is ask someone on the site to ride along. I have taken people many times and have enjoyed watching them come up to speed. I always tell the people I have taken out is I don't want to get a call from a ticked off wife because you are spending so much time and money fishing. We run three dipsy's on a side and seldom get tangles. Keep at it and you will get fish. Wes

These fish are protected and although it is great to see a picture of a fish that we normally do not see you should not remove it from the water. It takes many years to get a Sturgeon that big. Hopefully these fish will continue to do well. I do not remember who wrote the article but they were talking about the reintroduction efforts for a fish that they thought was extinct in Cayuga but when they did a sample netting to see how the fish were doing that they stocked years before they caught a mature fish. I wish I could remember all the facts but it seems like it took 20 years for a sturgeon to be mature enough to spawn.

Nice job Rollie! It seems not to matter what color the bubble is you always get a nice batch of fish! That new ride is a beauty! Wes

Thanks! see you at weigh-in! Wes

Is the lake clean or do we have debris in the lake? I was thinking I would run down the lake and fish my way back for weigh-in. Wes

Looking forward to seeing you guys! We have not been on the water much the last few years. Kyle I think you mentioned Kade will be at camp! That gives us a better fighting chance but I will miss sharing big fish stories with him! Wes

If all goes well I should be able to make it! Did not get out much last year but I hope to make a few trips this year! Wes