quality time

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

Yep! 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.

Lots of good rods made just for wire. You need not worry about feeling the fish, you feel every head shake. If you use a rod that is to light you may have a hard time tripping the dipsys. I run 8' and 10' and 10' on each side. Most any line

counter reel will work. All my wire rods have twillie tips. Spooling the wire is

critical. Have someone help you or you will end up with a mess. It must be tight.

Some buy rod and reel combo's with wire and twillie installed. If you are on a budet keep an eye on the classifieds. I bought a dozen rod and reel combo's from a lake Ontario Charter Captain cheap. I use a roller rod for copper. Wes

nice!

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

Replace the bulb. Ethanol eats the check valve in the bulb. Newer bulbs are ethanol compatible . Wes

Rollie , It's early yet. Many of the hardcores are not on the site this time of the year. I think the money will come. Hookedup has a good idea And I would be in! Pass the hat! I would think that grant money would be available. It is for a good cause. Don't give up! You might want to try some of the sporting goods chains. Even if they can not give you money towards the project they might be able to help get the word out!  Wes

Thanks for the info!  We are looking forward to the trip. We have put thousands of miles on the boat trolling, it will be a nice change to use the boat  in a different capacity  and see a good chunk of the canal system.  Wes

My boat is a fishing boat but this trip is more geared for the wife and myself seeing the sights. New York has a good web site on the canal which has been helpful but looking for people like yourself that have traveled it. My boat has   ample vberth for sleeping but not much more for amenities. That is why I was thinking Oswego which has several hotels. If we had a bigger boat a longer trip would be great fun but 3 or 4 days will be long enough in a 21' trophy. I wish it was not so far but a trip down the Hudson or up to Lake Champlain would be a nice trip. Time to travel from Oswego to Cayuga would be helpful .  Wes

I'm all set in the boat department.

 Looking for input on a few day trip on the canal system. I would like to keep it to a 3 or 4 day trip starting at Cayuga. I was thinking Cayuga to Oswego and Back. Anyone make this trip? I have no idea how long this would take with all the locks. The other choices would be Cayuga to the west or trailer my boat to Onieda and head towards Albany. Looking for a nice boat ride with places to eat and even overnight places to stay along the way. With the help of a therapist I might be able to make the trip without 15 rods on the boat     Wes

Rollie, I'm in any way you need help!  Wes

Andy, We have not been out much this year but we got out for the lou all. We started at the south end and the water was real warm down to 90'. We then went to AES trolled North till the kicker dies got that going and started trolling west north of AES. We had a good action for a few minutes near the middle of the lake. We broke off 2 good fish one looked like a rainbow and then dropped 5 more fish. Our bad luck might have had something to do with the wife got trail mix for us to munch on and it had bananas in it. We also broke a downrigger. Enough about my bad luck go get them. Wes