LongLine

"In 20 years, we can tear it down, fix the lake floor..." HOLD IT! Developers scam the banks for the money and then after they become rich by selling it off, we - THE TAXPAYERS - have to fix their damage. BULL FEATHERS! Turbines only last 20 years before they need replacement - Developers need to fix it. Tom B. (LongLine)

Deck Shuffler (?) Tom B. (LongLine)

I 2nd, 3rd & 4th that motion about the clipping trailer! The also ought to do some updates on the telemetry studies that were done way back when and this time take in to account the invasives (mussels) and changing lake temperatures along the nearshore areas. (not just mid lake) Tom B. (LongLine)

Jerry - I'll support anything that good data shows. I certainly don't want it to go like huron, however I've lived by statistics for over 45 years. A fixed location trawl survey cannot give a good estimate of the entire population. Only random sampling can yield good conclusions about the entire population. If they didn't see many 3 yr olds this year then they didn't see many 2 yr olds last year or 1 yr olds the prior year, hence they should have thrown in a bunch of random sampling sites this year before proposing changes. I've seen their trawl site map & I see 120 trawls in the same basic locations. They threw in additional trawls but they were in the same locations. They need to revisit their sampling techniques rather than practicing their advanced mathematics. Is it best to err on the side of caution?...probably...so as long as they cut the Lakers, I'll vote for it. Tom B. (LongLine)

DEC admits that the salmon weren't in the usual places this year but that they were out there. Why can't they realize that alewives are also fish and probably did the same thing. i.e. took a different path? They're adamant in their fixed location trawling & even sent out that peer review paper but they didn't seem to read it themselves. It stated that the fixed location trawl can't give a good estimate of the overall population. I have never seen as many pods of baitfish as I have this year. They claim the salmon will only eat the 2 or 3 year olds but they'll slouch off the statement that we've all caught big fish on little lures & little ones on big lures as well as vice versa. Guess that's all antectodal though, isn't it. Tom B. (LongLine)

Mine jumped 3 times & would have spooled me if I didn't chase him down.

Sorry guys, I got the last one on Saturday…. Alewife is just under 5 1/2†and the pod wasn’t very big. (That lure is 3 ½†long) If the first alewife I've ever snagged is such a rare fish, I will definitely buy lottery tickets tomorrow! Tom B. (LongLine)

Don't be afraid of speeding it up a little. Just under three. try a flasher/fly above a clean spoon on 1 rigg'r. Hard to beat the ole black & silver. Tom B. (LongLine)

L-A-L - It's the gearing that will break. They generally rack & gear type lifting devices. The crank turns the gear. Teeth will break off the gear. Wheel is actually stronger than gear. A 2 1/2 Ton hydraulic jack is cheaper than a good trailer jack. Tom B. (LongLine)

DON'T use the trailer jack. i.e with the wheel on it! You won't know that's it's not strong enough until it breaks. With the rear end blocked up, the full weight of the boat will be on it. (I found out the hard way!) Those wheel jacks are only rated for a few hundred pounds & your boat looks like it weighs about 4200. Tom B. (LongLine)

Lower the tongue of your trailer as low as it will go. Cut some heavy timbers 2-3 ft long (min 4x4), place horizontally and make two stands at the rear of your boat. Bevel the top one on each pile to match your bottom. Then get a hydraulic jack to lift the front of your trailer. (DO NOT use the wheel winch) You should be able to get 6-8" clearance between boat & trailer.

The barge had the right of way....the tug had to continue on it present heading...

Interesting article. Most interesting is that where they plot an awful lot of empty triangles is exactly where I saw the most & biggest schools of baitfish. Tom B. (LongLine)