Gator

Matt, We ran Steve's Otters last weekend cause our Walker boards had the same issue Scott's boards did...diving...but the Otters surf so far forward that getting the releases to go down the line was a chore. Is there a way to adjust them to run more behind the boat? I like the boards, but the $$$$! Yesterday we ran our 20-yr old wooden super skis and they worked great, still the Otters look like the bomb in rough water. Gator

So, if it's learning that you're after, you probably don't want to make "fish-catching" your main priority. There's lots of captains that can put you on fish, but fewer who are willing to take time out of a bite to show you how to rig properly. I'd make it real clear what you want and that you realize there will be a trade off. Also, the rigging techniques differ greatly depending upon the time of year. To maximize learning, you should plan on spreading your trips out. And remember that the presentations you can run on a 15' boat are going to differ greatly from what an experience charter boat captain in a 28' Tiara can put out there. Welcome to the ranks!

We were there in mid-July last year, but I didn't fish much for trout. Too busy slamming the smallmouth! I met a couple guys for beers who I'd seen fishing around some of the humps while I was there...they were trolling copper rigs near the bottom for lakers. The landlocks were scarce, or so I was told, that time of year. Good luck!

Yowza!

Hey Mark, Nice pig! Jim tells me that he takes full credit for putting you on that fish Give me a shout this weekend; we might be over there to jig depending on the weather. Gator

Yeah, he's a hell of a guy...for a lake trout fisherman Oops, that was HambleT on the board with a brown yesterday, wasn't it? You should have seen the catfish rod he caught it on!

I can't speak to the bass, but the perch fishing was phenomenal this winter and spring.

Happy Birthday from the Abacos!

Dang straight it won't last! If I could fit one more boat into my arsenal, I'd buy it. My favorite boat is still an old 16' aluminum that was easy to trailer, easy to launch and easy to fish. I moved to a slightly bigger aluminum with a 115 4-stroke on it, but it won't fit into the garage and so everything...cover, rods, tackle, sonars, trolling motor...comes off after each use. And goes on before each use. As a result, I don't fish as much out of the larger boat. Easier to take the kayak for a quick evening trip. Good luck getting her sold. I bet it won't be a problem.

Don't feel too bad Brian...there's always next year

I fish perch at Seneca with Triple S a few times each year, just enough to know that a limit of two-pound perch is a once in a lifetime haul...and I haven't hit the jackpot yet. It's not unreasonable to consider a limit of one-pound plus perch. I'd guess that in the past five years we've managed two or three days like that. The fishing is good sometimes, but it's hit or miss, and the usual take is more like a couple dozen fish in the 12-13 inches range. Not too many outright skunks, but some awful slow days mixed in there, too. If you're an expert on the fishery, then I guess you could make some money I'm surprised that anyone pays $4/lb, given that those big females are mostly spawn and very thin fillets. From what I've observed, the main reason for the tight lips is that while Seneca is a big lake, fishing is limited to around the edges for perch and everybody can see what you're up to. Once somebody hits a school, the guys start piling on. It's the same reason that folks don't name small creeks. As for techniques, think springtime smallmouth. Little tubes, Charlies sliders, etc...my own personal best fish have come while blind casting near emergent weeds in 17-25 fow during the spawn. The biggest fish been loners rather than schoolies, too. Good luck to everyone over the next couple weeks; I have to go do some "field research" in the Bahamas. Life sucks like that sometimes. Tight lines!

Wow! Okay, I want to come over and rummage through your tackle box...you've given me inspiration for the upcoming season! Nice job.

That's it, Vince...from now on, I'm bringing all my reels to you for spooling. Not sure that it's any better than Stren, but I've fished with Ande pink on my winter reels for years with good success. Let me rephrase that. I've fished with Ande pink on my winter reels. And occasionally stupid'd into a fish.

Some guys I know went out of Severne for perch and said that there was just a ripple on the West side, despite the wind. Go figure? Sounds like you guys pounded them...I wish I could have gotten out yesterday.

Hey Ken, Good post, great explanation. We certainly appreciate you guys and your willingness to share stories and pictures; it makes for great entertainment value. It's obvious that you aren't trying to set up a secret society of finger lakes fishermen and I'm guessing that the information you're refering to is unnecessary for most readers to appreciate your posts. In fact, I even understand why you might want a means of conveying that information privately. However, anytime that you limit information to a particular group on a public board, you create the appearence of privilege. And sometimes appearances are enough to stimulate an outcry. I think that's what happened here. Since we're a cohesive rather than divisive community, I agree that this should be put to rest. Thanks for your insights. Best of luck in Florida! Gator

Isn't the lake regulated mainly by releases down the St. Lawrence? And didn't they put a plan in place recently that sets rotating fluctuations in water levels, providing for couple years of high and a couple years of low water every ten years or so? I remember reading about the public meetings, but I don't recall which plan, if any, was finally adopted. Does anybody have details?

So, there's a thing called a phone that let's people talk one-on-one. It's great for giving updated reports to your friends. Anything that you post onto a public forum becomes public information. And limiting reports to a select group of people is not the purpose of a discussion board. I understand your frustration...I quit posting in myfishfinder.com a couple years ago because of a lack of reciprocation...but if you don't want to share information with everyone, then don't post it. Simple, right? A final point. I read posts for entertainment value. I probably won't fish salmon in the Finger Lakes during February. I bet there's lots of other folks who do the same. Just because the counter is going up and there's no replies doesn't mean that people are unwilling to share. Proposing to start a private forum on a public board is like thumbing your nose at everyone else and screaming, "Nyah, Nyah, na Nyah na". A private forum isn't in-and-of-itself a bad idea, but there's no need to tell everybody that you're going to do it and that they're not invited...

Just think of all the guys at the pond as being there to help celebrate your birthday! It's like a big party on the ice. Have a great day!

Ah, I see your garage sale kung-fu is powerful, but it is no match for my 40 years of accumulated tackle ninja prowess... Seriously though, would one of the nets be suitable for skippy? I just bought a new Beckman salmon net for the boat and I'd thought about putting a second net on for small fish. Keith or I could pick it up from you next time we see you, or just grab it once the boats are in. Gator

We run 400' off the 800 and it's perfect.

If you really hate the LC, I'll take the reel...for not too much less than you paid You'll love it. Until I read about the LC issue I never thought twice about it. And we ran these as our primary rigger reels all last year. I wish we had a dozen more. I 2nd the comment about the drag, too. Nice wide dynamic range for incremental adjustments.

I agree 100% with both posts...I fish out of a Mustang suit and it's my life insurance...my wife didn't even cringe when I bought it. But the Mustang is for me and the rope is for other people. I'd hate to make a bad situation worse by falling through myself. Stay back, toss them a line and go that everybody's safe. Cheers to you for helping the old guy out, Bloodshot. I can't believe folks would drive by and ignore it.

Patrick McManus told a story about how every time that he wanted to go ice fishing he'd first have his wife shovel a bucketful of snow down the back of his shirt. That was usually enough to keep him at home, where he could sit in front of the fire and enjoy a cup of hot cocoa. If he still wanted to go, he'd drink whiskey instead of cocoa until the feeling subsided. Best way to figure out if you like the sport is to go fishing with someone who's been at it for years. If you want to spend $$$, then put it toward good cold weather gear. If you get cold, you won't enjoy yourself, and with the stuff available these days there's just no reason to ever get cold. Once you figure out what you like, the put your money toward that aspect of the sport. It doesn't take much to get started. A good grill and some sausage will make you a lot of friends on the ice...

Yup, the X4 is for measuring temp and depth at the ball versus the surface. Bunch of other tools do the same, Cannon and Moor both make 'em. For a trolling motor, you can't go wrong with a MinnKota Terrova, either the 80-lb or 101-lb flavor (24 and 36 volts, respectively). Make sure that you don't end up underpowered, and get the longest shaft (66 inches??), you'll need it for the Baron. The integrated transducer is convenient, but I don't think as sensitive as the one that comes out of the sonar box. And the iPilot feature is the bomb. Just check it out...you'll want it. As for sonar/GPS, we've run multiple Lowrance units over the years without issues. The latest high def units look great, but our lcx series do the job. It is nice to have separate units for GPS and sonar for both ease of viewing and in case one goes down, but worth the extra money? I am intrigued by the sidescan and downscan technologies that produce a virtual representation of what's underwater, but I would think that it would be overkill for trolling L. Ontario. Probably useful technology when trying to locate or visualize structure for targeting warmwater species, though. My advice to folks trying to equip a boat is to purchase toys based on what you currently do the most, not on what you hope to do in the future. You can always jury-rig what you have in the short term to try something new. I guess this applies to most everything. I've seen too much wasted money spent on stuff that sits unused because people (myself included) think that they'd like to start doing something on a regular basis. Do first, buy later.