fishshack

My son Ryan and I took our boat up to drop off at the marina. After taking care of the dead battery we ran out and set up for browns. We managed to go 6 for 8 but we really had to work for them. Much different than Saturday when they were almost jumping in the boat.

The surface water temps came up. We had 51-53 all night. Sat we had 43-46 degrees. The water is also clearing up quite a bit. The bright sun and calm water probably didn't help much either.

We had our best luck out in front of where the park pond empties out into the lake.(8-12 fow) We caught fish on Smithwicks (firetiger and black/silver) and a blue/silver XPS.

All fish were 3-5 lb cookie cutters. Didn't see any lampreys and all of the fish were clean with no marks.

No pics tonight. I thought my camera was in my truck. It wasn't.

This article isn't so optimistic!!!!

Ebola-Like Virus Kills Fish in Great Lakes

By Dennis Cauchon

USA Today

(April 30) -- A deadly Ebola-like virus is killing fish of all types in the Great Lakes, a development some scientists fear could trigger disaster for the USA's freshwater fish.

Because of a lack of genetic resistance to viral hemorrhagic septicemia, fish populations could be damaged in the same way the smallpox virus struck Native Americans and Dutch elm disease decimated elm trees, says Jim Winton, chief of fish health at the U.S. Geological Survey in Seattle.

The disease has been found in Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, Lake Huron, the St. Lawrence Seaway, the Niagara River and an inland lake in New York. The aggressive virus, which causes fish to hemorrhage, was unexpectedly found in the Great Lakes in 2005. Last year, it resulted in large fish kills that struck at least 20 species. Scientists are watching to see whether the disease returns in mid-May when water in the lakes warms to temperatures at which the virus attacks.

"VHS is the most important and dangerous fish virus known worldwide," Winton says. "Its discovery in our fresh water is disturbing and potentially catastrophic."

The United States and Canada try to contain the virus by restricting the transporting of fish and live bait and telling boaters to wash their boats when moving them between lakes. Michigan's Department of Natural Resources has taken the most dramatic action: closing hatcheries that produce three important sport fish - walleye, northern pike and muskellunge.

"The last thing you want to do is get the virus into the hatcheries and become a vehicle for spreading the virus," says Gary Whelan, who runs the state's hatcheries and chairs the multistate Great Lakes Fish Health Committee.

"What's so disturbing is that it's killing fish from so many species and with amazingly high mortality levels," says Paul Bowser, professor of aquatic animal medicine at Cornell University. The virus does not threaten humans, Bowser says. "If you cook the fish, heat will kill the virus," he says.

How VHS got into the Great Lakes is unclear. The dumping of ocean water from an international cargo ship is a suspected cause. Also not ruled out: spawning fish swimming upstream or a bird carrying a diseased fish.

Genetic tests show that the strain of VHS found in the Great Lakes probably originated in the Atlantic Ocean, near New Brunswick, Canada. That places the virus' origin near the start of the St. Lawrence River shipping route that leads to the lakes.

VHS thrives in water of 40 to 59 degrees. Most water in the Great Lakes, which contain about 20% of the world's fresh water, has not hit that temperature yet this year.

"The best-case scenario is that the virus becomes something that lurks in the background and attacks only when conditions are ripe," Whelan says. "I'm not expecting that, but I am hoping."

Congrats on the nice mixed bag!!! I love that walleye. I wish I could figure them out up there. How deep was the king? I might try sniffing around out deeper for kings my next trip up.

Bill -Andy doesn't look like he's having fun. Anybody catching fish inside the breakwalls? I thought you bought a waterproof camera last fall.

Yea Bill- what a difference a year can make. I was at Bass Pro last night talking to a friend who works there. He said his buddy caught 10 from the pier yesterday morning. Hopefully they stick around a while.

Musky- The reason Ryan is always in the pictures is because he is a rod hog .

Bill- I'll be staying at Shawns. I'm going to bring it up one of the next two weekends for good (depending on work).

We got the boat out of storage and worked on getting it ready until 10:30 pm last night. We launched out of the State park around 6:30 am and ran East. 15 minutes after setting up we hit our first fish. For the next three hours we couldn't keep the rods in the water. I lost count after 20 fish. Lots of doubles and one triple. They were all cookie cutter 3-6 lbers except one that weighed 9lbs 4oz on the digital.

We caught fish on everything we had out but the firetiger Smithwick and Billy V's grape ape spoon seemed to always be getting hit. 5-15 fow was best for us and trolling East worked much better than trolling West.

There was lots of nice colored water and temps were around 46 degrees.

The browns were mostly all healthy and chunky. Two had lampreys on them. After the morning Chinese fire drill things settled into a nice pick where we could relax for a few minutes in between fish. I'm guessing we caught around 35-40 fish. This is as good as I have ever seen the spring brown fishing.

Here is a shot of the lamprey that made it into the boat. My friend Dan tried to stick it on my neck when I had my back turned. Dan almost went swimming.

Looks like you guys were busy again Bill. Way to go.

That's an awesome looking boat Bill!!! Congrats.

I read this weather report on another site. Who says NY has crappy weather?

A major spring Nor'easter with the capability of causing damage equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane may develop Sunday off the U.S. East Coast. A storm system currently crossing the Pacific coast near British Columbia is expected to dive southeastward across the U.S., possibly triggering a significant severe weather outbreak over Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas on Friday. The storm will emerge into the Atlantic on Sunday near the Virginia Coast and rapidly intensify. By Monday morning, the GFS model is forecasting a 975 mb low pressure system just off the New Jersey coast, with 50-60 mph easterly winds over Long Island Sound and the waters just south of Long Island. The 00Z UKMET model forecasts an even more intense system, similar in strength to a Category 1 hurricane. However, of great concern is the fact that most of the models forecast a very slow moving system that will weaken only gradually, battering the coast for at least three days. This will allow a long period of time for the tropical-storm force winds over the water to pile up high storm surges in Long Island Sound and along the entire Northeast coast from New Jersey to Maine. Combine this with the arrival of one of the highest tides of the year Monday night--the Spring Tide, which occurs at the time of the new moon in April--and we have the potential for a very serious flooding event. If the worst case scenarios of the models come true, the Tax Day Storm of 2007 could cause extensive moderate to severe coastal flooding, costing hundreds of millions of dollars. The areas at highest risk appear to be New Jersey, New York (especially New York City), Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. Heavy snow is not expected along the coast, but heavy rains may cause flooding problems. As usual, there is considerable uncertainty about the exact track and intensity of the storm, and we'll have a better idea Friday what might be in store for New England. However, I believe there is a greater than 50% chance that this Nor'easter will be strong enough to cause significant storm surge flooding along the New England coast. Damages of at least $100 million are likely.

I'm looking to pick up a pair of ****s for the ms. and me. Either a windbreaker or just a t-shirt. I'd like to have a chest logo with our boat name and maybe something on the back.

Can anyone recommend someplace online?

Nick

Nick- Reread your first sentence carefully. :shock:

I went steelheading today and checked out the lake at Fair Haven when I went through. As YT said, the ice just went out this past week. There was the the mother of all mudlines out in the lake. It looked like chocolate milk out several hundred yards from shore and then it turned green. A nice defined edge that looked VERY fishy. It was pretty rough so no boats were out. It's good to go as soon as the weather cooperates though.

Thanks for the input guys. Lots of help. I know I've got to go heavier after reading the posts. Stix, I've heard other people say they don't like flouro, especially in cold weather. Tim, Thanks for the invite . I'll definately take you up on that sometime.

Al

I have to respool my brown setups this year. What brand and lb. test does everybody use? Last spring I used 8 lb test. I didn't get out much but it seemed way to light. I was thinking of going w/ 12lb test with flourocarbon leaders (not sure if the leaders would be necessary). Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry Chaos . On Sunday the ice was getting a little sloppy on top. Hopefully it will be o.k. for this weekend. . Good luck if you get out.

The big ones fight better (salmon), but the little ones taste better.

Some pics from channel 9 in Syracuse's website

http://www.9wsyr.com/news/local/story.a ... a90d13fb86

This was in Spoonpullers classified ad section. I'd assume hes talking Canadian dollars.

FL-18

This machine comes with a soft case, battery and charger. Excellent condition. Asking $350.00. 705-737-7906

Or you can buy them reconditioned from Vexilar. My friend bought one direct.

http://vexilar.com/purchase/direct/outlet.html

Syracuse

Northeastern Sport Show

Syracuse's annual cure for cabin fever, the Northeastern Sport Show, will take over the Verizon Center of Progress building at the state fairgrounds Jan. 26-28. Show hours will be noon to 9 p.m. on the 26th, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on the 27th and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the 28th.

This year's ticket prices, $9 for adults and $3 for kids ages 6-12, give the buyers a chance to hobnob with 200 exhibitors and check out feature attractions including Brody, a trained 1,500-pound Alaskan brown bear; Vermont's famous deer-hunting family, the Benoits; and "Bwana Jim" Moulton's wildlife menagerie.

Show-goers can also take notes during free seminars on turkey and deer hunting, walleye fishing in Oneida Lake and field dog training, among other topics. We'll print the full schedule of seminars as showtime draws near

Stix- good one. LMAO. How many years of advanced training does it take to master it?

Bassmaster- have you looked on Vacationrental.com? There are 3 on there now on Sodus. I rented a place on Cayuga that was listed on there a couple of years ago. More listings should pop up as we get closer to spring.

Here is a few that will be held at Bass Pro in Auburn, NY with Tony Buffa:

January 20, 2007 - March 10, 2007

Captain Tony Buffa's Winter Fishing Outdoor Skills Workshops start January 20

Charter Captain and Bass Pro Staffer Tony Buffa will start his popular winter fishing outdoor skills workshops on Saturday, January 20, 2007 and they will run until March 20, 2007. The seminars will start at 11 am and are free.

2007 Captain Tony Buffa Seminars

1. Sat., Jan. 20 Spring Fishery, Lake Ontario, Browns, Early

Salmon and Scent/ Pheromone Technology

2. Sat., Feb. 03 Salmon Fishing ,Cutbait, Flies, Dipsy Divers &

Copper techniques for Lake Ontario

3. Sat., Feb. 10 Late Lake and Harbor Tactics for Lake Ontario Salmon

4. Sat., Feb 17 Sonar/GPS demo/Lowrance

5. Sat., Mar.03 Jigging and drift tactics for Walleyes/Oneida Lake

6. Sat., Mar.10 Oneida Lake, Walleyes & Weeds, & Nightcast

That is a MONSTER brown in picture # 1. I love the floating rod in that pic also.