Finders Keepers

Jim - Ok, thanks for the heads up! Andy - I'll post how we do this evening...

Nice fish!!

Hey Jim, Nice fish! I would also have to say that is a coho based on the coloring and slight hook on the upper jaw. We're heading out tomorrow am and will be working the deeper waters (I'm thinking we'll start over 180 fow and work between 200 and 400 fow). Give me a shout if you guys get out!

I would start in close if I were heading out tomorrow - 40 to 60 fow and look for the bait pods. If no bait, move deeper until you see the pods of bait. Good luck!

Fishing Report Your Name / Boat Name: Finders Keepers ============== TRIP OVERVIEW ============== Date(s): Aug 2nd & 3rd Time on Water: 6-3, 5-10 Weather/Temp: warm, sunny Wind Speed/Direction: south 10-15 becoming light southwest Waves: 1-3 Surface Temp: 74 Location: Fair Haven to Sodus LAT/LONG (GPS Cords): =============== FISHING RESULTS =============== Total Hits: 3, 4 Total Boated: 2, 3 Species Breakdown: (2 small kings) (2 kings, 1 brown) Hot Lure: Nuclear NBK, NK Raspberry Mag Trolling Speed: 2.4 - 3.2 Down Speed: Boat Depth: 80-600+, 50-75 Lure Depth: 35-160, 35-65 ==================== SUMMARY & FURTHER DETAILS ==================== Aug 2nd: Got on the water about 6:15 and started east of Port Bay almost to Fair Haven over 80 fow. Boated 2 small kings over 90 fow then washed lures all the way out to 600+ fow in front of Sodus. Pulled lines and ran in close west of Sodus for last hour and had one shaker on the riggers. Very slow day. Didn't mark hardly any bait or fish all day. Really needed a probe to determine temp and speed!! Aug. 3rd: Got on the water at 5 am and set up over 30 fow in front of East Bay after hearing that the cold water had moved in at the "the oak", so figured it was the same here. Just after setting the second rigger the first one fired with a nice 8 lb brown over 50 fow on a Nuclear Green NBK stinger mag. Picked up a small king later on a NK mag raspberry over 70 fow followed by a shaker that shook free. Then at 9am the 68 ft rigger fired and started bouncing - looked like a brown hit. Then it felt a little heavier with slow head bobs - more like a big laker. Then when it reached the surface, there was a huge splash and it took off ripping over half of the line off my reel! 15 minutes later a dark, plump 25 lb king hit the deck. It hit the Nuclear Green NBK mag. Had to call it quits at 10am and finished 3 for 4. Marked quite a bit of bait and some fish 40 to 60 fow early then 80 to 90 fow later (suspended 20 to 50 ft down). When I pulled in the 42 ft rigger ball it felt cold, so I would guess the temp is fairly high. I may get out tomorrow (if the wife lets me)

We were out there today in the 600 fow range for over an hour without a rod moved. Slim pickins to say the least right now...

Nice fish! Were you east or west of Sodus?

Over towards Sodus we marked several thick bait pods (45-100 ft) with hooks on top and underneath between 200 adn 300 fow. But they must have been full or just wanted the real thing over our presentation. This east wind now will likely mess everything up... Hopefully it will just bring temp up a bit - to 45-65 ft would be great! Dale - Let me know when you're available...

Hey Jim, Yeah, we were the 2nd boat out behind you and powered out just NW of you. I tried to reach you on the radio, but I don't think our unit is working properly - when I try to transmit, the "low voltage" warning comes on our FF. Maybe next time we're both out we can test it out to see if we are transmitting. I'll try to remember my phone next time too! My daughter had my wife up at 6am, so she was already up today. Were you guys working the shorter waters today? And did you stay west of Port Bay or did you slide east a bit? Also, how deep was the temp? I guessed somewhere between 85 and 115, based on where we saw fish. I wish I knew how the boats were doing west of Sodus out deeper - there quite a few out there today. That's where we saw the best screen with the suspended bait pods. Further east we marked a few fish here and there, but nothing consistant. The item at the top of my list for next year's gear: PROBE!!! I hate having to guess at depths and speeds! Hey Andy - If you get out let us know how you make out!

Fishing Report Your Name / Boat Name: Finders Keepers ============== TRIP OVERVIEW ============== Date(s): 7-31 Time on Water: 6:30-Noon Weather/Temp: Warm partly cloudy Wind Speed/Direction: SSE 10 Waves: 2' Surface Temp: warm Location: West of Port Bay LAT/LONG (GPS Cords): =============== FISHING RESULTS =============== Total Hits: 6 Total Boated: 5 Species Breakdown: 2 kings, 3 steel Hot Lure: Wonderbread Glow Echip w/ Glow Hammer Fly Trolling Speed: 2.7 Down Speed: Boat Depth: 200 - 400 Lure Depth: 80-120 ==================== SUMMARY & FURTHER DETAILS ==================== Started over 120 fow and headed NW. Worked our way out to 340 fow and swung back in to the 200's. By the time we got back to 220 fow (about 8:30am), we were 5 for 6 (2 small kings, 3 small steelhead) and it looked to be a decent day. Then we washed lures until noon when we called it a day over towards Sodus. Marked some real decent bait pods with hooks underneath, but couldn't get them to go. Had 2 wire shots and 4 on the riggers at 87 and 121 ft. Hoping to get out Monday am again...

Nice fish Dave!!

Last week while pre-fishing the Pro-Am, I ventured out of Port Bay solo to 720 fow and it was pretty bleak. I scored a nice 23 lb'er and a 9 lb steely somewhere in the 600's but nothing much. The FF was blank the whole time out deep. On the way back in I marked some good fish over 350 fow, but no takers. Then hit them good over 200 fow just west of Sodus, boating a 21 lb king and several steelies 8 to 11 lbs. Every fish I marked 35 ft down I hooked up with. No deep marks, and no bait. I also find it strange that there has been no bait offshore, but the pods are definitely there under 100 fow and staying put for some reason. Have patience, the big boys will be showing up in numbers as we head into August... (if not, head to Oswego )

Fishing Report Your Name / Boat Name: Finders Keepers/Hide & Seek ============== TRIP OVERVIEW ============== Date(s): 7/16 - 7/18 Time on Water: 5-1, 6-1, 6-12 Weather/Temp: cloudy with T-storms, sunny & hot, sunny & windy Wind Speed/Direction: SW 5-10, west 10-15, west 20+ Waves: Rougher each day Surface Temp: 70's Location: P-ville to Sodus =============== FISHING RESULTS =============== Total Boated/Hits: 6 for 8, 6 for 6, 5 for 6 Species Breakdown:(4 kings, 2 steelies), (5 browns, 1 steely), (4 browns, 1 steely) Hot Lure: white/green echip with ultra green glow fly, raspberry NK mag, black/green glow nk, mt. dew echip/hammer fly Trolling Speed: 1.8-3.0 Down Speed: 2.5-3.0 Boat Depth: 65-220 Lure Depth: 45-130 ==================== SUMMARY & FURTHER DETAILS ==================== Big Fish Friday: Coup couldn't make it out with Woody and I, but he was gracious enough to let us take his rig our for the day! Started the day heading west of Hughes to our honey hole for the past two weeks (where earlier last week we hammered them boating over 20 fish per trip). Right off the bat our 72 ft rigger pulling the white/green glow echip/ultra green glow fly got whacked and after a 10 second battle the line went limp. Brought in the echip with no fly! Soon thereafter as I was re-tieing a new rig, we hooked up with a small king that shook free when it hit the surface. 0 for 2, not a good start, but we weren't quite to our honey hole yet. As soon as we were in the right spot over 150 fow, the same rig that bit-off earlier got whacked again, but this time we got a good hook set and the drag started singin'! Soon thereafter we thumped a sweet 25 lb'er on the deck and it was GAME ON!! We worked that same area only to find no fish, no bait, and no hook-ups, so we went into search mode. A little while later the same rig fired again and started ripping line... another 25 lb'er hit the deck! High-5's and some "yeah baby's", then it was back to working that area, only to find nothing. Hmmm... New strategy: keep working the same depths but keep heading east - seemed like there was a big here and there, but no concentration of them. So we stuck to the plan and boated a nice 8 lb steely on a mt. dew echip/hammer fly on the 65 ft rigger (there was our third fish), and now we were looking for bigger fish. A little while later the 85' rigger got hit pulling a cheerleader and a good 22 lb king hit the deck soon after. Now we had a box!! As we continued east we managed another 12 lb king and small steelhead before we decided to call it a day a little early to ensure we made weigh-in and not take any chances like in Oswego! We were the 2nd boat to weigh in and were in 1st place with 121 points and also had the biggest fish at 25 and change. Our big fish got knocked out, but our total weight held and we took 1st place! Pro-Am Day 1: Our game plan was to hit the browns first thing in the morning then swing out deeper to our line from the previous day and knab a few big kings and steelies to finish our box. Well, we did manage a few browns, but the numbers we wanted, so we headed deeper for kings and steelies, only find a blank screen and no fish, so we swung back in to the brownie waters, which by that point had been worked over pretty well, so that was a very slow bite. So we decided to head to another decent area from earlier in the week for kings - nada. Then back in to try the brownies one last time... Hind sight we should have banged the browns until we had at least 8 or 9 in the box before thinking about kings, but having had boated 3 majors the day before, we had a false sense of security in the deeper waters. We did manage 4 browns and 2 steelies (one was just shy of 12 lbs), but didn't have the 200 pt box we needed on day one. Pro-Am Day 2: I had stayed on the boat the night before and was put to sleep by the sound of the waves crashing on the beach...I knew it was going to be a rough go of it the next day. And when I saw the big guys' boats bobbing as they passed the pierheads, I knew it was ROUGH. Wow, those were some serious waves. Especially out over 200 fow! Since we hadn't boxed out the day before, we knew we either had to box 9+ majors, or get one major in the mid 30's to get back into the money. So it was a "go big or go home" game plan. We set up a king program and started looking for kings. Soon after setting up our king program started getting whacked with browns (one over 10 lbs). So we kept working deeper and found the temps a bit deeper, as expected with the west winds. We worked west for half the day and covered 75 to 220 fow with no kings to speak of, only a couple steelies (one lost at the back of the boat). The waves also didn't help as we boated the one steely, the slider somehow got sucked down into the prop and wrapped it up good. Since the kings were non-existant, we decided just to do fish, and slid back into brownie waters, but the bite had died already. We ended with 4 browns and a steely. As our first Pro-Am appearance, I think we did well and still a lot to learn (like boxing on browns when the kings are hit and miss). I had a blast with Coup and Woody, as well as our observer Sam - I hope you had fun with us too!! We're already talking about next year and look forward to many more good times. Well, now it's time to re-coop and get things doen around the house before the Fall LOC starts. This year should prove to be one for the books with all the big fish being caught!!

Thanks guys! Yeah, by the way the fishing was all weekend, we were very lucky to have landed 3 major kings and take first place for overall weight. A huge thanks goes out to Coup for letting Woody and I use his boat - without his probe, we never would have found those kings!!

Ok, thank you!

Does anyone have any info on the "Big Fish Friday" kick-off to the Sodus Pro-Am? Format, entry fee, place to enter, etc.? Thanks!

Hey Rob, Yeah, it was frustrating, but you're right - our fish were not at the scales by 3. No hard feelings and I'm sure we will be looking to bring in some big fish ON TIME next year! We're looking forward to fishing against everyone this coming weekend at the Sodus Pro-Am! Good luck to everyone!

I know for me, I do not have any adverse reactions on my skin. However, if I get the juices from those buggers in a cut or the nicks in my fingers from hooks, etc. or if it gets in my eyes, it stings like a mother! But to answer your question, no I have not had any skin irritation or reaction to the fleas.

Thank you for the clarification Tom (I'm glad to hear it was you on the phone ), and I appolagize for having made you make a difficult decision. We will make more time next time, in fact we had made more time yesterday, but the wind came up on us just ahead of those storms and what we thought was going to be a smooth run in became a much slower go through 2-4'ers. Live and learn. I do think a slight adjustment in the rules would be beneficial to all, and situations like this could be avoided all together. See everyone at the Sodus Pro-Am!

Yes I did. I said, "According to Verizon, it just turned 3:00 pm" as I showed it to her. She simply said, "Sorry, weigh-in is closed. You're too late." She was talking to someone on the phone this whole time I was there trying to reason with her, and then she asked whoever she was talking to if she should allow a weigh-in, and then stated, "They say it's too late, sorry". I don't know exactly who "they" were, but "they" didn't know I was standing there in front of her prior to 3:00. Very frustrating.... Hind sight (and after discussing the situation with Coup), we probably should have asked to file a formal complaint with the Challenge Director (if there is one) and should have weighed our fish to get official record of our weight at least written down. We were so floored, weren't thinking....

Yeah, I know it's only the top 3 - I mention we had over 80 lbs because that is why we didn't carry the cooler across the parking lot and through the tent, and thus why my teamate was driving it around the tent to the side closest to the weigh-in. Just in case they wanted us to bring over the cooler. We would have had about 51 lbs/pts for our 3 biggest fish (25 lb king, 14 lb laker, and 12 lb king). I was asking other teams if they were in the weigh-in line maybe a minute or two prior to reaching the woman in charge... But definitely before 3pm!!

I posted this in the other thread, but I feel this needs to be addressed by the masses so I have posted a new topic for discussion. I need a clarification. I fished the challange today with my team and I made it to the weigh-in tent at 2:59 and told the woman with the clipboard that I had a cooler to weigh in, as my teamates drove the truck around to that side of the tent to unload the fish. I was told it was past 3:00 and that I was too late (even though my cell phone had just turned to 3:00pm while I was standing infront of her-she confirmed later that I was there before 3:00 when I expressed my disappointment) and my buddy hopped out of his truck and joined me at 3:01. Not to mention I was under the tent trying to distinguish where the weigh-in line was well prior to the 3:00pm deadline. We were told that since the COOLER was not under the tent at 3:00, we could not weigh in. The rules state: "*You must be in line by 3:00 p.m., absolutely no later ". The rules do not state that the COOLER has to be in line or "under the tent" as we were told. We wouldn't have taken first place, but are pretty sure we would have had about 50 lbs, good for 4th. I have a mix of feelings right now towards this tourney, and I appreciate the other teams who came over to say that they should have let us weigh in. I feel we were jipped out of $600 give or take. The rules need to be adjusted and clarified: if the cooler is what needs to be in line the rules need to reflect that (apparently me in line and the cooler just outside the tent on the tailgate of our truck isn't considered in line for weigh-in - we had over 80 lbs of fish in it and were only going to bring over our top 3!!). Also, might I suggest an official clock be displayed at weigh-in if you are going to be so strict on the time that you won't allow someone within a minute of the deadline to weigh-in. I have fished the Fair Haven Challenge for several years now (as well as other tournaments with time deadlines) and they have all been lienient on the time if someone came in that close to the cut-off. I play fair and by no means want to be "that guy" trying to sneak in between the lines and complain. But I feel we played fair and were not dealt with fairly. My team is not happy and I am very disappointed that we were not allowed to weigh in...

Ok, I need a clarification. I fished the challange today with my team and I made it to the weigh-in tent at 2:59 and told the woman with the clipboard that I had a cooler to weigh in, as my teamates drove the truck around to that side of the tent to unload the fish. I was told it was past 3:00 and that I was too late (even though my cell phone had just turned to 3:00pm while I was standing infront of her-she confirmed later that I was there before 3:00 when I expressed my disappointment) and my buddy hopped out of his truck and joined me at 3:01. Not to mention I was under the tent trying to distinguish where the weigh-in line was well prior to the 3:00pm deadline. We were told that since the COOLER was not under the tent at 3:00, we could not weigh in. The rules above state: "*You must be in line by 3:00 p.m., absolutely no later". The rules do not state that the COOLER has to be in line or "under the tent" as we were told. We wouldn't have taken first place, but are pretty sure we would have had about 50 lbs, good for 4th. I have a mix of feelings right now towards this tourney, and I appreciate the other teams who came over to say that they should have let us weigh in. I feel we were jipped out of $600 give or take. The rules need to be adjusted and clarified: if the cooler is what needs to be in line the rules need to reflect that (apparently me in line and the cooler just outside the tent on the tailgate of our truck isn't considered in line for weigh-in - we had over 80 lbs of fish in it and were only going to bring over our top 3!!). Also, might I suggest an official clock be displayed at weigh-in if you are going to be so strict on the time that you won't allow someone within a minute of the deadline to weigh-in. I have fished the Fair Haven Challenge for several years now (as well as other tournaments with time deadlines) and they have all been lienient on the time if someone came in that close to the cut-off. I play fair and by no means want to be "that guy" trying to sneak in between the lines and complain. But I feel we played fair and were not dealt with fairly. My team is not happy and I am very disappointed that we were not allowed to weigh in...

Hey Woody, at least I haven't told them about the special sauce we use!

I haven't had any issues with the stuff. However, I quickly learned that you cannot run romer releases for cheaters on it as they will cut you off because of the oval shape of the line. Therefore I run about 75 to 100 feet of fluoro ahead of it and put my cheaters on that.