BlueEye

Phil is there anything you don't catch? Nice pics!

Amazing Phil - thanks for sharing Love the pictures of the graph!

Great pictures Phil! Thanks for sharing and welcome aboard Looking forward to more!

I applaud Capt. Larry’s efforts in bringing this idea to light. The benefits of the proposal seem obvious (i.e., longer fishing season, more money spent in Chaut. County & NYS, less money leaving the state, increased license sales, more hotels booked, etc.) and I am in full support of any effort going forward with this proposal. The idea of a longer fishing season combined with catch & release certainly minimizes the risk to the fishery itself. The extra days/months that the lake remains open would in my opinion not add a significant amount of fishing pressure to the lake. Certainly not to the extent that the lake experiences during the summer months. I also don’t see the proposal as being economically unreasonable either. The stocking levels of the lake would not need to be changed if the catch & release only was implemented during this time frame. The only cost seemingly associated with the proposed change would be the cost to print/re-print the legislation. The regulation books get reprinted every other year anyways so it would be simply a matter of changing the wording therein. Does anyone know who the head of the Chautauqua County Fish Advisory Board is? I have recently met with Fish Advisory Board representatives from Jefferson, Oswego, Cayuga, Wayne, Monroe and Niagara County (Lake Ontario's Sportfishing Promotions Council - LOSPC) and would like to help Larry out if possible in finding out the best way to move forward with such a proposal. I am also interested in any RISKS associated with Larry’s proposal. If you can think of any risks associated to the state, county and fishery as a whole to extending the musky season on Chautauqua Lake to open water fishing year round, please post. I would be oppose to targeting muskies during the hard water season as the risk to hurting the fish increases dramatically. In single digit temps, a fish out of water can be damaged very quickly.

Wow - that is just awesome! Thanks for sharing

Thanks Rob - you fishing in this one pending good ice?

Jeff - I believe the entry fee is $15 and there are perch and pike divisions. The tournament is restricted to only Braddocks Bay. You can sign up right there. Not sure of any other details...... but I thought the tournament was only a 1-day event (saturday). I could be wrong though.... I am not sure what the prizes/payouts are. Anyone else know more details? Chad

Welcome to the dark side Lucas! Enjoy the Pro side of the site! All your tournament links can be found in the left hand column now.

Looking forward to participating! Should be a fun time if there is enough ice... else we can just have the tournament off the docks I guess

Glad to have you Vince! Sit back, relax and make yourself at home

Glad to have you Dave! Make yourself at home

Nice Rob! Your hired for next year's LOU Slideshow

http://www.crankbaitcentral.com/FeatureArticles/The-Bone-Jarring-Muskies-of-Lake-Chautauqua-Part-I.html A great article that Capt. Mike Sperry wanted to share with me. Worth the read! Thought I would pass it along to anyone else who might be interested....

Nice fish Gaffman! I had a couple buddies fish Mendon this weekend and did 4 pike (all small) along with a couple bass. They had a great time.

Hey Bob - The guy who caught the winning pike refused to give up any information about where the pike was caught. The only thing he would say to everyone was that it was not caught in Braddocks. I do know that the second and third place pike were taken from Braddocks. I think I was one of about 20 people that asked him where he caught the winning pike and he refused to say and wouldn't even tell the tournament director either. We can only speculate.... C

Here was a quick picture that I took of the results: The winning Pike was just under 10lbs. We did not place in this tournament - struggled all day to find fish on Long Pond and Cranberry. Maybe next year for us....

Dave, Congratulations on the launch of the new tournament! I think the idea of having a trout division with minimum weights is excellent! The Big-O too often gets overshadowed when it comes the trophy class trout fishery we have here. This tournament could help give others a reason to put away the salmon sticks for a day and try for something else they might not have otherwise considered fishing for. Plus, I spend most of time aboard the Runnin’-Rebel-Brown-Trout-Machine so this tournament is right up our alley! Looking forward to participating!

I'm sure I wouldn't be able to control my wallet at such a show...... I might go, but only if someone forces me to leave all purchasing power at home. I got a wedding to pay for this year and I am sure the future wife would be thrilled with me if I came home with a new tackle box full of toys.......

Welcome aboard Lance! I have fished with Mike Sperry several times last year. He does make a great jerkbait. You can find some of this other lures here: http://www.chautauquareeloutdoors.com/smiling-jack-lures/ His jerkbait lures are called "Smiling Jacks" and have a nice action to them. I will certainly be getting my hands on some this summer. I love his perch color and I believe he can do up custom colors if you request it. I spent some time on his boat last year for the filming of his spinner baits (see video on the web link above) and was very impressed with those as well. Mike also mentioned to me recently that he will be at the Butler show with all his lures.

Thanks for the report Chaz. This helps a lot. The fishing has been pretty slow almost everywhere I have heard of lately and was just looking for a change of scenery this weekend.

I read a recent report by Chris Kenyon on the ice conditions on Sodus Bay being pretty unpredictable right now. Does anyone know how safe it is out there right now? Looking to maybe head out that way this weekend.... Thanks -

Ahhh yes - thanks Nitro! My favorite color - BLACK! I have a black LEO that looks similar but smaller in size. Also have some sledgehammers that are similar looking. This lure was made of wood I am assuming. I heard one of its unique characteristics was that it "backed up" when paused instead of simply floating straight up or forward. Thanks for sharing!

Nice Shane - was out there as well but didn't see that much action. Only a few pike being iced. Way to go!

Nice Scott! Congrats to you and Rob I fished Braddocks today and it was slow. Only a few flags and a couple eater size perch. Lots of really small perch. Didn't anyone out there really doing well. Couple pike caught here and there out deep but other than that, not too much going on at Braddocks. Still has good ice though.

Welcome aboard CF! We are glad to have you as the newest Professional member as well! Lots of great guys on here. See you on the water.