LongLine

And some guys thought fleas were a problem Tom B. (LongLine)

Happy B'day Hank. Tom B. (LongLine) p.s. boat's running fine

During egg collection runs, the DEC at the Salmon River hatchery records/monitors all Kings as to natural or stocked. They look for clipping & nose tags. As they had over 5K kings, I doubt very much whether they had the time to rip open the gills of each one and counted before they stripped them. They do not throw back the ripe Natural Kings. Rather, they take eggs/milt from them also. Per the 2011 Lake Ontario Annual report: So what happens if the father and/or mother were crossbred? Some 2nd or 3rd generation crossbred Kings clipped by the mass marking trailer? Tom B. (LongLine)

I'll often run a ff on the high line with a short lead and a clean spoon a little further back & below it. Tom B. (LongLine)

mach - I wouldn't doubt that's there is a lot of crossbreeding going on. Years ago when you caught a coho, the floor of the boat was covered with small loose scales. That hasn't been the norm for a couple of years now. (at least not for me anyways) Tom B. (LongLine)

Let's see - we have 1 guy with Chicago as his home town & another from big business. hmmmmmm... I can't see that city nor the shipping industry being forced to give an inch on the issue. Actually. it's the corps of Engineers that could stop it and even though Fed treaty just signed, I don't forsee funding being freed up from anywhere to prevent it.

Great season Tom B. (LongLine)

Have a happy B'day Ed. Tom B. (LongLine)

Mach - Definitely a King. Spots & look at the anal fin. (compare fin to other pic you posted) Also note it's a stocked King as it's adipose fin is gone. Tom B. (LongLine)

Welcome Jeff. Post some reports in Jan & you'll make a lot of us jealous. Lot of "jiggers/jig guys" in the Finger lakes section. Tom B. (LongLine)

Thanx Jerry, I didn’t have much to do today anyways… I read thru it and there are a lot of things in it but I only picked out things that I feel would be of major interest to fishermen. (Please realize that I'm not a lawyer) Where does the treaty apply? One guiding principle: so if occidental or whoever messes it up – there goin’na pay. (Also, the old adage “solution to pollution is dilution†is no longer acceptable)The state can make their own laws, so even if I’m perfectly legal via the federal treaty, I still have to worry about state & local regulations: Max targets for Phosphorous levels & loading rates are numerically stated in the treaty for each lake. These are the only really “cast in stone†or “hardcore†number limits in the document. Here are some things directly affecting us boaters & fishermen: 1. Regarding general discharges from vessels: Phew…my old two-stroke outboard is still legal!! (According to Federal treaty and as long as I keep her tuned up) 2. More Ok, not worried about the toilet as I don’t have one and that’s been law for a long time. The oil spill thing may be an issue with some though. Guys are going to have to be real careful about fueling at the dock. Better not overfill the tank& have any go in the water. Discharge in previous quote refers more to exhaust/drive side of motor & not the fill side. 3. “Bilge vs Ballast†water. I found this interesting; Keep your bilges clean. If you have oil & water in the bilge then pump it out on the water, you may encounter an issue. 4. This may be troublesome: I never throw cut-off pieces of fishing line overboard (& hopefully you guys don’t either), however animal carcasses may be an issue. Current fishing regs say it’s ok to gut a fish & dispose innards overboard, if you’re far enough away from shore. I read the treaty to say it’s a no-no. 5. Regarding invasives: Bait fish regs, pulling your drain plug, cleaning off your trailer, hulls, etc are types of things in accordance with the treaty. 6. The biggie – water levels: The treaty doesn’t say anything about water level. The water level issue of the last couple years was presented as a means to restore habitat by an arm of the IJC. I'm not clear wether 2nd paragraph refers to water flow out the St lawrance or mid-west water withdrawl; or both. IMO, the “saving grace†to this whole treaty is the multiple mention of mutual agreement between many parties/agencies/advisors/localities and public input. It also agrees & tasks the IJC and advisors to specific periodic public reporting – both input and output before any actions are taken. Here’s the complete text of the agreement: http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/glwqa/index.html http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/glwqa/20120907 ... _FINAL.pdf Man, where'd the time go? Tom B. (LongLine)

Flying solo, keep it simple. One thing to try: 1 rigg'r w/ flasher and fairly short lead. 2nd rigger w/ clean spoon about 7-12 deeper and 15-20ft farther back. Change depth as a pair, as if both lines on the same rigg'r. Try trolling, rather than parrallel or perpendicular but at an angle to the depth gradient. Also slight zig-zag to your path. To find the speed, rather than play with the trottle - set your speed at say 2.5 & zig-zag and watch you cable angle. Figure that on the inside of the turn, your lure slowed down AND it went a couple feet deeper. Outside rigg'r speeded up & came up. Good luck, Tom B. (LongLine)

WD-40 will put a great shine on silver. Tom B. (LongLine)

I'm sure if you put in at 60FOW, you'll be in 300+FOW in no time. Hopefully we'll be able to read about your adventure on LOU & not in the paper. Tom B. (LongLine)

Don't forget to wear you hats - Remember:- if it gets wet, it's rainning & if it blows off your head it's windy. Tom B. (LongLine)

FWIW Lot of people talking about the big asian carp & I didn’t know what a little one looks like so did some checking. Here’s a Michigan comparison to some common minnows. (takes a few seconds to download & don’t ask me why the 1st page is upside down) http://www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/a ... 8343_7.pdf Found this more interesting from the people that have the big time infestation: (& much faster to download) http://mdc.mo.gov/landwater-care/invasi ... rp-control For anyone not wanting to download stuff: One’s a gizzard shad & the other an asian carp. Bodies very similar but snout & eye quite different. (upper is a shad) Tom B. (LongLine)

Clean & fast. Tom B. (LongLine)

Charters generally know their gear & what it can withstand. I think, but i might be wrong, that I use lighter down lines than most guys. I also have 3 defined edges on most of my hooks. Of course you have to realize that what works for one guy may not work for another and that is part of the challenge of fishing. i.e. finding out what works for you. Tom B. (LongLine)

For me, flying solo from mid summer onward, one rigg'r is nearly always stacked. Tom B. (LongLine)

Hey Pete... I missed something here. What was the score of the cowboy game?? Tom B. (LongLine)

F1 - You should not have to really yank on them to release them. The way I have mine set is to firmly lift/jerk the tip, probably 2 ft, & they'll release. IMO, sharp and proper sized hooks do more for hook-ups than cranked down releases. Tom B. (LongLine)

I was told that Captain’s training used to mention a little bit about safety & well-being of clients & vessel. I know basic boating courses talk “a little bit†about it. Most charter sites talk about a little about client comfort & safety. Some even brag about weather radios, radar & other gear. So I guess my question is what “Good, dependable, responsible, safe, secure, steady†charter captain would ever voluntarily chase waterspouts with a boat load of clients? Please let me know as I'd never hire a guy that takes chances like that. Judging from the pictures on the ICWR gallery of waterspouts (those just forming)…IMO, anyone on the water with the skies shown is pretty desperate for fish and certainly not thinking safety. ICWR wants actual sightings not that conditions are right for it. They already monitor the conditions and are looking for confirmation that they occur. BTW - I don’t see anything on the ICWR sighting submission form even identifying the source (or his credentials) of the sighting http://www.icwr.ca/waterspout-report-su ... n-form.php nor is there any mention of credentials on form to become a member of the ICWR. I once had a Physics professor tell me “a meteorologist is a guy with both feet firmly planted in the air.†Perhaps he was right? May he RIP. Tom B. (LongLine)

f1 - I'm guessing what your seeing is line stretch. It's caused by line tension. XT doesn't like to stretch so it frays. Either by your rod being over loaded or the the speed that your trolling against the weight of the hardware your using. i.e. if you have a 6 ft rod with it's tip touching the water and you have the release tension "cranked" down, it stretches the line something fierce on the rod side of the release. It'll get worse the deeper you cannonball is. If your pulling a flasher fly at 3.5, it will also stretch the line but on the other side of the release. Some guys swear they have to have the rod tip touching the water but if your rod holder is at 45 deg or higher from the water and your ball is 100 ft down, it doesn't make any difference to your hooking ratio whether your rod tip is touching the water or if it's 3 ft off the water. I only use 3-4 line twists, not the recomended 5-6. I also use 8'6 rods with 12# co-poly line and don't have that issue. One other thing on mono - and I'm not bashing anyone here: When you spool up your reel, if you ever notice a white powder on your fingers that have guided the line, don't use that line. It's the plasticizer coming out & the line is becoming very weak. (Remember to store your line out of direct sunlight-UV weakens mono) Tom B. (LongLine)

Chris - Maybe you, me & a bunch of other guys aren't "reliable." Don't you love how the weathermen can mess things up? Guess they don't realize that most fishermen especially rec's carry cameras and most operate with active GPS. All we'd have to do is take a pix of the spout with part of the boat in the pix, take a pix of the shore, report coordinates & send them in so they could confirm on their radar/dopler. (Then get the he[[ out of there) Fishermen have been telling the weather just by the hats they wear a lot longer than weathermen have been around. When water drips off the brim - you know it's raining; when it blows off your head - you know it's windy; when icicles form on it - it's freeking cold! But hey...we're not reliable..... Tom B. (LongLine)

Welcome. Tom B. (LongLine)