LongLine

I didn't mean to change the subject from clipped fish to preyfish assesment but here's their report on how they do the assessment: http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/fish_marine_ ... 0part1.pdf Tom B. (LongLine)

Vince The preyfish assessment is predicated on the assumption that the alewives are randomly distributed throughout the lake. I've proposed to the DEC that perhaps they are not & have been met with "quizzical" looks. My reasoning is to look at the fishing reports for most of the year of East end vs West end. While it is true that more guys fish west, hence more get caught there but the question is why do more guys fish there? (rhetoriclly - more fish caught???) I believe the Niagara is a big magnet not only for the predators but for the prey as well. Also check out how deep East enders go vs West enders. (and the temp differences) And finally, look at my sonar in the central area. (yes I find pods, but nothing of the size of a couple years ago) Additionally, DEC said there was a shift in alewife population a few years back, towards deeper water. But in the next few paragraphs of their report they say that the alewife population deeper than (I believe) 450 FOW hasn't changed significantly over the years. This tells me that the zone where alewives live has been compressed, but only on the shore-ward side. This also weighs against the random distribution theory. An interesting point on Lakers: If there is Nat repro, does anyone realize what kind of "mongrels" they'd be. I mean look at the latest report, as to where they've come from in the last 10 yrs. I mean big ones, short ones, fat ones, skinny ones, deep guys, & everything in between. Regardless: Tom B. (LongLine)

Lakers actually doing a lousey job on the Nat Repro front. Those (Nat & stocked) that survive get huge. DEC determines stocking policy with input from other agencies. It's based upon predator-prey-ecosystem balance. No one wants to repeat the Huron disaster, however just about everyone recognizes Ontario is a different ecosystem. (NY politicians only determine funding for overall DEC.) Salmanoid fishing brings in a lot of money to the local economies. Laker restoration is a Fed program - State only helps out with putting them in. DEC has it in their charter about listening to stakeholders. There'd be a riot if King stocking was cut without tremendously solid scientific proof it was required. IMO, that includes long term survival rates. As to repro sites, only SR, Credit are widely known. I'm willing to bet that there are a couple other smaller ones that are being kept under wraps. Tom B. (LongLine)

Anytime you see this on the lake, it is an area with a temperature difference. It may only show up on the surface as a couple tenths of a degree, however down a ways there will be some interesting temperature changes. If you check out the article section, I posted a few interesting pictures years ago where the temp change (density) actually caused some waves to break as the areas collided. Tom B. (LongLine)

Natural repro of Kings in Lake Ontario was first observed by NYSDEC back in 1998. There have been many studies by respectable academia concerning it. Most suggest that Nat repro is highly variable from year to year and can range anywhere from 7-85% (seven to ninety). This is why the current 5 yr undertaking with the marking trailer is so important. It should give a pretty good glimpse of what is going on out there. Also the Canadians (MNR) have documented it on some of their rivers a few years ago. However we do have to remember that it will only be a 5 yr "snapshot". If you look at the Annual reports that DEC publishes, they really do not publisize yearly results when they talk about restoration or about preyfish, rather they talk about long term averages. i.e. 10 yr. If you dig into the data, you can see some pretty good swings. You also have to look at other specie. Couple/3 yrs ago, some wild Atlantics were netted by DEC in the SR & last year was probably the best Atlantic year in our lifetimes. This year isn't nearly as good for them. Back to Kings, this year, I've only caught 16 Kings so far and nothing over 15 Lbs, but 12 have had their adipose fins fully intact. I interpret this as either the Marking trailer had some horrible QC issues or Nat Repro really jumped this year. But again that is only this year. Another thing to remember is that research always sprouts more questions. The 1st question that has to be answered is to what degree is Nat Repro happening & where; and then secondly what is the survival rate? Tom B. (LongLine)

WTG Chad Tom B. (LongLine)

I would'a helped you out with some thoughts but what the heck is a pota-boat? Got a pic? Tom B. (LongLine)

Fishing Report LongLine Launched early again. Very slight Easterly wind and very clear. Headed out & just slightly west, putting in at 120FOW & worked out to 210, back & around. Currents & Temp down 70 very stable in the 120-140 FOW range, totally wacky in the 150 range then stable again after 170. Anyways, first thing was a double of this Laker & a clipped shaker at 125 FOW. Down 70 (LT) and down 50. NK28 Wonderbread & Bloody Blk/Silvr R&R. Into the stable water and around 190FOW, again down 70 & found this 15# wild one. (Wndrbrd) Back into 150FOW & 80 down ran into this guy on the R&R. (Bow) Strange to catch a Bow below a Laker....(Everything released, wild count now stands at 12 out 16) Thermocline very narrow. 1/4 mph would raise down temp 5 deg. Some boats working off the ponds, looked like most working 90 to 150 FOW. Fleas are now in season. Off at 10:30. Got warm out there & slight wind shift to NE. Luck to all, Tom B. (LongLine)

Welcome home. Rochester/SUNY Brockport/Army. Well, 2 out of 3 ain't bad. (Semper Fi) Welcome to the site. Tom B. (LongLine)

Fishing Report LongLine Launched early again. Clear sky, love the sunrise over the pier & CG station. Wind out the N, slight chop, maybe 1 ½ ft. Headed straight out to 110FOW & trolled out. Clean screen for the whole trip. Worked out to 250 then back in to 160 & went West. Found a major scum line at W36.2 in 160 & followed it towards shore into 90FOW. (between Russell & tower) Temp down 70 went from for 54/58F (E side) to solid 39.9F (west side). Fleas starting to show up. Anyways, 3 little guys, all with adipose fins (now 11 out of 14 for the year) Biggest about 6 Lbs. Plus a LT about 7 Lbs. Salmon on DW Dolphin 70 down, LT on bloody slvr/Blk flasher with Blk/grn fly (very short lead) at 45 down. Off at 11:30. 3 "million dollar yacht" convoy from Canada coming out the River. Wonder if Border Patrol hassled them like our guys have been? Border Patrol truck parked just above launch. (Great place for lunch.) Maybe 15 trailers in parkling lot. Luck to all, Tom B. (LongLine)

Never drive towards the fish, unless you have a very fast reel, especially fly solo. If you do, you're helping him get reduced tension on your line. Best to maintain steady tension on any fish. Tom B. (LongLine)

Towards Palmyra, there's a park next to the lock (on the cana). I've seen people fishing near the small falls but don't know what's being caught. Tom B. (LongLine)

Were you doing anything with lines when you see it? Was the boat turning? Did you rev the engine? Tom B. (LongLine)

1. Yes 2. Call them back & ask. (I don't mean that as a wiseguy but nothing in what they said tells you that. It also doesn't say if they had a ring on it) Sometimes guys give to much "credence" to what they overhear on the squakbox. Transmissions may carry a long ways over the water. What works off Sandy may or may not work off I-Bay. What works in 400 FOW may not work in 80 FOW. What works at 2 mph may not work at 3 mph. What works with a spn-dtr/fly may not work with a spoon. What it does tell you is that he was fishing off to the side and the fish were not coming into his rigg'rs. You may to post a poll and ask what the most popular size dipsey is. Tom B. (LongLine)

Those transects are interesting however you really can’t see much for water less than 150 ft deep. Remember the vertical scale is in meters (approx 3 ft) I’ve found the best use of them is to visualize the general pattern. What I do is click on the times, say -6, -12, -18, -24, -36 etc then click on the “back†arrow on the browser to see what the lake has been doing, then on the forecast for +3, +6, +12 etc. I also do this on the surface temps to visualize where the cold water is going and try to mentally connect the two together. Another thing to remember, especially in 50 to 160 ft range is that the water temps can be quite different 1 mile away from those lines. (Also note on surface temps map, if you scroll down they show what the bottom temps are doing.) After all your calculations are done & you think you have it all figured out, just use that as a start point. i.e start shallower then go out past it & adapt to what your screen/probe shows you. Tom B. (LongLine)

? Just Tom B. (LongLine)

Fishing Report LongLine Launched at 5:30. SE Wind & clear. Dredge heading out & toward the East. Headed out Slightly NW to 85 & set up. Lot of bait in 120-160 FOW down 75-90 Ft. Ran into this shaker at 75 over 145 on DW Dolphin: Of the 11 little guys so far this year, 8 have had adipose fins. I’m really wondering if something’s going on here. I mean I know the DEC trailer has great QC & all, but 8 out of 11??? Plus the fact I haven’t seen any Kings over 10# in this area all year? Anyways ran in to this chunker at 115 over 155 FOW – Bloody Blk/silvr R&R Found a major N-S scum line at W33.38 Down temps goofy to the west of it. Steady 45F down 100 East of it. Kind of interesting. Off at 12:00, Dredge coming back in. Ragboats on the way out. Ramp antics beginning. (Guess it’s summer time) 3 guys futzing with their boat on trailer at the 1st ramp so I pull into the 2nd ramp; tilt engine, make sure everything is off, move the rods, box, antenna down & he moves over to the 2nd then asks if I’d move so he can use #2. Okay, no biggie, I’m easy so I move over to #3 & tie up & go get the truck. A girl & 2 guys launching one of those ski-doo thingies in #4 & can’t open the console under the wheel. (How do 3 people fit onto something built for 1?) As I’m walking up, a guy pulls into #1 & another pulls into #3 & #4 ie truck cockeyed into #4 & trailer partially blocking #3. Both parties have to get explanation from security guard on how to use the parking/launch machine & the schpeel about being checked every hour. I squeeze into #2 & back down to get the boat. The guys at #2 dock now have their boat backed into #1. (Guess they were afraid to go in reverse straight out?) I have the boat on in less than 2 minutes & look at the ski-doo thingy and the 3 of them are in the water- Guess 3 really don’t fit on that thing. Oh well, that’s why I like to get off the water by 11:00. Luck to all. Tom B. (LongLine)

I believe there is a law that you must have an anti-siphon valve on your tank. Best to replace it rather than remove the ball. They're not inexpensive. Tom B. (LongLine)

Size doesn't matter as long you know what you're doing with it. (or so she said) Tom B. (LongLine)

FWIW - I have a small open run-about for chasing the T&S (18 ft’r) and I’ve often been asked how I keep it under control when setting up or fighting a fish while fishing solo on Big-O. My 75 Hp Evinrude and steering system are not adjustable for tension and even though at WOT I can take my hands off the wheel with no problem; at trolling speed I quickly go into circles with the bigger engine. An auto-pilot is out of the question for me as the engine doesn’t put out a lot of current & those units aren’t cheap, so this is how I use a $0.79 bungee-cord: I installed an eye-bolt (not a screw) on the side of my console then simply loop the cord thru the steering wheel. Both ends of the cord simply hook to the eye. What happens when hooked up, is that the engine turns slightly and the wheel turns but the bungee tightens when it hits a spoke on the wheel. If the boats turns in a slight arc path, it actually helps you bring the fish in if you land it on the outboard side of the arc. The important thing to remember with this set-up is that the idea is to keep the boat from going into circles and not necessarily keep the motor perfectly straight. Many factors will determine how straight your boat runs other than how straight the engine is. Basically if you have anything causing more drag on one side of the boat, it’ll swing you in that direction. i.e. You have only one rigg’r down; you have 2 down at greatly different depths; you have 1 planner board out; 1 dipsey; 1 lead core, etc and of course the wind. Initially, I loop the cord in a space on the wheel that keeps the engine straight. After gear is deployed, I’ll change which wheel space the cord is looped thru and observe how straight it runs. While driving the boat, the cord is unhooked, as I like to zig-zag. When a fish hits, I’ll turn the boat slightly down wind and hook the cord. Only takes a second or two. Hope it helps someone. Tom B. (LongLine)

Winds push the waves directly in the direction it is traveling; however other than the top inch or two of water, the water does not move in the same direction. I am thinking first that you mean a “bad day†means caused by big waves & a rough ride. (?) If this is the case then check out the following website: http://www.weather.gov/forecasts/wfo/se ... neWeek.php You can get a pretty good correlation between wave height & wind direction by toggling back & forth between the wave height screen and the wind direction screen. (click on “more†& use the pull down) The little flags on the wind speed screen point into the wind. For any of the locations on the map, you can only depend upon it being protected from waves by the shoreline. For example Olcott is only protected by the South and somewhat by the SE. Watertown is only protected on the East & NE, hence it has the most “rough†days. On the other hand Rochester/I-bay are in a slight coastline cove thus is protected on the South, SE & SW and is very often the calmest place on the lake and very fishable when everyone else gets blown off the lake. (Be forewarned, Rochester gets very rough during a North or NE wind) I would not expect much change in the waves at Olcott due to a West wind vs a WNW wind unless there was a change in wind speed. Normally wind speeds increase around 10:00AM and generally begin to subside after 3:00PM. Of course with fronts or thunderstorms moving in, throw the generalities out the window. One more comment, generally beginning this time of year thru August, when the wind picks up out of the west, WNW or NW, it generally stays that way for 2-3 days. If on the other hand, you mean a “rough day†because the fishing went someplace in a hand basket when the wind shifted, that’s a different story. (With a little longer answer) Tom B. (LongLine)

Gokudl3 - use a bunge cord. (I'll try to get a pic later to show you how) Tom B. (LongLine)

Lake Ontario covers 7,340 sq miles. In comparison NYS covers 54,556 sq miles. So that's enough to cover NYS with .13 inches of water. Big whoop....according to USGS, there's enough water in all the great lakes to cover the entire US with over 8 ft of water. Tom B. (LongLine)

I fish for recreation, not for hassels. The only way I'll ever go to Canadian water is if my engine dies and a south wind causes my boat to drift the 25 miles there. Tom B. (LongLine)