Copperliner

...looking NW from King Ferry toward Sheldrake. Open water in background

Very sorry to hear Wes, my heartfelt condolences to you and your family. Mike

...those fishfinders take some training...he use to often jump ship as a pup. It was a bit hairy (pardon the pun) pulling him back into a 14' boat!

Hey Ed, don't let the needle in the haystack get you down -- The rest of us "hay bales" thoroughly enjoy your posts! Here's my "fish-whisperer" Tucker... good spot: bad spot:

Yep - a nice 'bow. Surprised us a bit, first jump was behind our backs.

Spent Friday on Cayuga jigging with my buddy Chris. Great to be out after a long hiatus. Found the bite sporadic overall (typical bluebird day), but we managed to catch a bunch of fiesty, clean lakers. Best of luck to all in Barney's derby, my son & I planned to enter but a flu has created other plans for me this weekend. Chris landed this nice leaper, released to fight another day...

My .02 fwiw...been at this game awhile, still learning... I have good luck using a painfully-slow jigging motion of only a foot or so on/off bottom, always a tight line, set the hook on any slack. Like Guff mentioned, a horizontal approach often works well. Also, try letting the jig sit motionless on bottom for awhile, then rip it up quickly and gradually slow down to meet the speed of any chasing fish, don't stop reeling. As mentioned in posts above, keep your jig above any rising fish, then reel away if they're interested ("Getaway mode"). Seems the less they can inspect your offering the better - they become educated ("edjigucated"?) fast. Don't sit and pound away on non-responsive fish - move. Chasers will hook themselves, no need to cross their eyes with a stout hookset. I also enjoy using my custom 7', med-heavy, mod-fast rod (Cayuga) and a flipping reel spooled with 8lb mono when the chasing's good, which I'll dare say is a majority of the time. The flipping switch comes in very handy for jigging. I resort back to braid on a bit faster rod when they're more bottom-prone. Have patience, the bite cycles throughout the day (and month). Try a lighter, 3/4 or 5/8oz jighead on occasion, even in deep water. Sometimes they seem to prefer a slower-falling meal. I wholeheartedly agree with Dawsonscreek - treat yourself and enjoy a jigging trip with John Gaulke, www.fingerlakesanglingzone.com . I retired my trolling gear many years ago after do so. (Warning - an addiction will shortly follow! ) Have fun, Mike

Interesting post! My favorite pre-dawn - 9am or so morning jigging trips on Cayuga are usually productive (I enjoy the peace and coffee too!), but I've experienced several humbling afternoon/evening trips just the same. Sun/moon cycles, cloud cover, barom. pressure, who knows....that's the fun of it. May need to try a late-evening trip sometime though. Nice to see Cayuga on the rebound this year, we're really blessed with this fishery.

First trip of year for my son & I yesterday also, Hammondsport end. Good time, weather was almost too nice. Found cooperative fish at all depths, usual staple of white & seafoam shakers did the trick.

Reduced to $250

MEC model 8567 "Grabber" 12ga progressive shotshell reloader, lightly used, works great - in excellent condition. Includes dust cover, powder baffle, and large bag of Claybuster wads. $275 firm. Located in S. Tier of NY - Will deliver for free to Finger Lakes/ N. PA area within reason, otherwise add $25 for UPS shipping (to U.S. address-only please.) PayPal accepted.

This is a feature-packed, comfortable, functional boat - I have the tiller model and enjoy it immensely on Cayuga. Plenty of room and very stable for a 16' r.

Good luck to all! Ry & I hope to attend one of these years, unfortunately we're busy at home this weekend. Mike

I still enjoy using a Lowrance X85 after testing out other updated units over several years of jigging. Its "Fastrac" (quick scrolling) mode makes it easy to track jigs, fish on bottom, etc. without delay. 3000W P-P, 375W RMS. A bottom-lock feature would be my only wish for this unit, but that's just a minor inconvenience. Discontinued, but they pop up quite often on auction sites for well under $200.