Sluggo / NY

Thanks for the compliments guys! John.. We usually launch out of Barcelona, but also launch out of Dunkirk.. mainly when fishing tournies. We've done the Amera-Can, Kawa and fished the Am. side of the PWT out there. What an awsome fishery! We even boated a 60"+ musky straight out of Dunkirk while fishing the Amera-Can.. if only it was a walleye! You probably know my buddy Fred (Castaway Charters). We do quite a bit of fishing together as well. Can't wait to get back out there! Nice area and people as well! Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

Antonio.. Here's a couple of exerpts from my trolling articles about dipsies.. hope they help! These pain in the neck little gadgets are probably my least favorite of any device to use. They’re extremely hard pulling and difficult to adjust for different situations. That being said..we probably use them more than any other device since they’ve accounted for more fish than any other! The “Dipsy Diverâ€Â

Thanks Bob.. Glad you enjoyed it! Let me know when you're ready to try Erie and I'll shoot you some info on where to stay and launch. If the timing's right.. we'll join you out there and give you a guided tour! Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris) ps.. still hammerin' them down on the river!

Mike.. I got stuck working for a few days, but I'll be there Friday afternoon and most of the weekend. Hopefully see you down there! Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

Well.. This is supposed to be a picture of the 13#2oz. walleye I got yesterday.. let's see..

I've been doing well on our local river when the weather allows.. Monday and Tuesday were really good. I let numerous big girls go while searching for limits of nice eater size walleye. With Tuesday nights rain, I knew it would be high and muddy yesterday.. which it was. Fished for several hours before catching a fish, but finally boated a nice 18"er. Several hours later, with the wind driving me almost to the quiting point, I got another hit. This one felt substantial when I set the hook.. and it was. She taped at 32" long and 20" around and read 13#, 2oz. on a certified scale. I feel just a tad guilty for keeping her, but also feel that she was well past her spawning prime. Just had to get some pictures and a certified weight! Seems ironic, with all the big walleyes we get trolling the eastern basin of Erie, that my biggest comes from the Susquehanna.. five minutes from home! I'll post pictures once I get the software I need loaded on this new computer! Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

Mike.. I feel terrible and embarassed! It wasn't until you left that I realized who I was talking to down there! I guess this "old age" is starting to take it's toll on me! Anyway.. I'll do a seperate post about yesterday's fish.. I think it deserves it! Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

After being off the river for a few weeks because of high water.. then ice.. I finally got back out. The big girls have moved in and are apparently trying to fatten up! I had a tough time finding good eaters because the big females have been so aggressive! I don't like to keep those hens, so I finally sorted through a bunch and got limits of decent fish the past few days. One female snuck through, but she was skinny and fooled me! The water's back up and colored after last night's rain, but I'm heading down to give it a shot. The fish are there, but it will be a bit tougher getting them today. Small jigs, tipped with a minnow is doing the trick. Also got a huge musky up to the boat yesterday. My biggest recorded one there was 54", 38#.. and this was much bigger! Didn't even try netting her.. no tape, scale or camera.. so no point! Kind of fun to play with though! Gotta go get wet! Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

I don't fish Whitney Point very often.. and never have at this time of year. I think Mike (Landshark) does and it looks like he's already helping you out on it. Isn't this internet stuff great! Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris) ps.. even though the river shot up like a rocket.. it's dropping fast. May be fishable this weekend.

Congrats.. great fish! I troll that area often for walleye and have picked up a couple of musky over the years, but nothing close to that size! I assume that you were searching for walleye? Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

Finally dug the little boat out and rigged her up Monday. I hit the river about noon and only caught dinks until the sun got very low.. then I nailed 5 nice eaters in a row! Pretty much the same on Tuesday! The water was pretty clear and skies were bright, but I couldn't get them to bite even in the deepest runs. The rain has muddied it up and got it moving a bit now, so we'll see what happens tomorrow! The migrating males are starting to show up, but I don't think those big girls are here yet. Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

Mike.. I'd love to, but I'd rather go have a heart catheterization. Actually, I'm leaving in a few minutes to do that! But... I've got lots of vacation to burn and the big boat just got put away, so post again in the offer arises. Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

The big boat doesn't get put away for at least another month! Then.. the little boat (14', 15hp) gets rigged and parked in it's place. I'll be pounding the Susky for walleye as long as the launches are open! Last year there were only 2 weeks all winter that I couldn't get in. The ice-guys looked at me funny as I drifted past them..but..I don't do ice! I've never fallen thru the bottom of a boat! I never did make it up to Ontario for salmon this year. I feel a bit guilty after all the advice and samples I got from several of you guys.. but.. just turned out to be one of those "crazy" summers. Only made it to Erie three times! Next year for sure! Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

Ray.. Congrats on your maiden voyage out there! It's not a whole lot different than salmon fishing on Ontario.. aside from a slower pace and a little less fight. I fish mostly out of Barcelona, which is about 15 miles west of Dunkirk. I really like the launch better.. plus we found a great place to stay just a short drive away from it. I would have been fishing there this weekend if I didn't have a prior comittment. My buddy charters out of there and had a super season. John.. you probably know Fred (Castaway). Anyway.. John has given you some great info. If you get bored and want more.. feel free to ask or shoot me a PM. Maybe we'll hook up next summer out there.. heck.. you're just down the road a bit! Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

BP.. The ones I referred to that I hook while jigging are on my local river (the Susquehanna). The only one we got on Erie is this one... Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

Tommy.. OK..They ARE fun to catch, but I'd still trade you a musky for a 3# walleye any day! Bosco.. Let me clarify my statement about taking muskies while jigging for walleye. Normally the muskies take me while I'm jigging for walleyes! Of the hundred or more that have hit my jig (or hooked fish).. I've actually landed 2! One was 54", 38# and was hooked by my 1/8 oz. jig on 6# Fireline in the tip of his snout. Very cold water.. or he would have torn me apart. Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

I don't target them, but I seem to have a nack for finding big muskies in strange places! We caught a fifty+ incher trolling deep water just north of Sandy Pond many years ago. Then we had a 56 incher take a stickbait behind a planer board on Erie well below Dunkirk (during a walleye tourney). We were over 90 feet of water and about 40 feet down. The harbormaster at Barcelona said he'd never heard of one taken that far west. Of course I get them while jigging my local river for walleye as well. They are kind of fun! Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

Just got back from a four dayer to Sydenham Lake (1/2 hr north of Kingston). Although the weather was better for swimming and tanning than for fishing, we did OK. Unfortunately, there are no walleye in this lake, so it's pretty much bass and pike fishing. My biggest for the trip was a 3.5# smallie that thought he was a six pounder! What a blast! One of our group got his personal best.. a 5.75# largemouth! All our fish were released. With the bright days.. the best presentation I found was dragging weedless rigged Senko's (plastic worms) just over and through the weeds. Though the fishing wasn't the greatest.. we had a great time and will be back again next year! Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

Mike.. Sent you a PM.

Bob... I usually run the riggers about 25 down, but seem to have better luck with the dipsy's for some reason. I also try to target the same depth with the dipsy's. BK... I normally fish out of Barcelona Harbor when I fish Erie. During mid to late summer we're targeting suspended fish over fairly deep water. We'll typically be running 40 to 50 feet down over 80 to 90 feet of water. We use all the gadgets.. downriggers, dipsy's, leadcore, snap-weights off boards as well as a huge variety of terminal gear.. worm rigs, stick-baits, spoons in assorted sizes and colors. Sorry I can't be more specific, but the same stuff doesn't always work. Just gotta keep trying til you find what they want. Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

There aren't many on this board who fish walleye.. much less the n/e corner of the Lake. I usually put in some time at Mud Bay, but spent this year pounding Erie. I would suspect that the walleye fishing should be starting to pick up at the mouth of the bay by now. My favorite troll there is pulling worm rigs and Renosky's along the 35-40 ft. ridge that runs from the tip of Grenadier n/w towards Charity Shoals. There's some huge walleye there.. hope to hit it once more this season! Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

I agree that the Amish Outfitter bags are probably the best way to go, but I also run a plate and have no problems with it. The Cabelas plates don't hold up! I run an "easy troller".. which replaced the old "happy troller". Actually, the plate bolts right up to the Happy Troller bracket. Being hinged allows it to flex if it needs to.. without breaking pins or bending. It really does work.. been running the same one for several years. Here's the link.. http://www.ironwoodpacific.com/products ... roller.htm , Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

The wife dragged me to Taughhannock Park for a picnic last Sunday.. so I dragged the boat along. I managed to sneak away for a couple hours and trolled from the park south to the point and back a few times. Surprisingly.. picked up three nice sized lakers between the tubers and jet skiers. I just dropped the riggers down to 60 and 70 feet and pulled some old Suttons I still had in the box. I expected fleas.. but had none. The floating grass mats made up for that though! Only saw one other fishing boat.. a big, light blue rig with twin Yammie's. Looked more like it belonged on Ontario. Oh well.. beat working and at least caught fish! Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

I know this doesn't help, but if not for our third wedding this summer.. I'd be out there this coming weekend and you'd be welcome to join us. Lotsa good that does..huh? I'm hoping to get one more trip out there in the next few weeks. I'll post when our plans are set.. just in case the timing's right. Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

Yep.. it sure can get nasty out there? Glad to hear that your trip out wasn't a total loss. The fishing's been awesome out there all sumer! We found that if we were hitting large numbers of smaller eyes (3-4 lbers).. by moving out over deeper water, we'd usually get into bigger fish. Of course for eaters.. you can't beat those "little" guys. One of the things I like about Barcelona is that you've only got a half-hour haul to Chautauqua Lake for those "blow" days. Not quite like Erie, but sure better than nothing. Thanks for the report.. I'm hoping to get back out there soon! Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)