Gator

Let me know if you decide to sell that autopilot You gonna pick up that boat, or did you find something to buy?

When you talk about the Science behind activated carbon clothing...do you know of any studies, other than industry-sponsored, that examine their effectiveness? I'd like to see an unbiased report. I know that there's lots of people who swear by AC clothes and others who don't buy into AC at all. My experience is that they work. I know all about the loading issues and the fact that you'd need a boiler room to reactivate them, but I wonder if the movement of scent through the clothes makes a difference? By that I mean that smelling something requires a critical concentration of odorant to trigger receptor activation. You don't generally project smell equally in all directions, so when a deer gets a whiff, it's probably from an airstream that concentrates your odor. If the odor is from a particular place where it's already concentrated, like your groin or armpits, so much the worse. If the AC clothes act like a dispersion system, taking in scent from particular places then releasing other stuff slowly, or a filter...not binding, but slowing it down...then it could conceivably work. I'm just trying to figure out why I see more deer wearing the stuff. Experience has taught me that it works, so I'd bet dollars to donuts that there's a reason. Maybe somebody else has a better idea? Let's hear it.

That's a really great observation! I never considered it, but feet sweat something like a liter a day. If even part of that wicks up your pants, it's like a neon sign to the deer. Nicely done, and thanks!

The four biggest deer of my life have come since I started wearing Scent-Lok six years ago. Coincidence? Maybe. Am I becoming a better hunter? Probably not But I'm seeing more and bigger deer. After watching several deer cut my trail and react violently...boots got something on them?...150 yards from my stand where I walked in...it became clear just how sensitive a deer's nose is. The problem with most hunters, me included, is that if you smell bad, you'll never know it. You generally won't see the deer spook. You just won't see the deer. BTW, I got new boots that night. And watched deer cut my trail the next day with a complete lack of concern. I don't think it matters whether you use expensive activated carbon silver fiber impregnated sewn by virgins camo or just roll in deer crap in the backyard, minimizing human scent is probably the most important factor in determining success. Okay, second most important...to dumb luck.

I kind of like that idea! Although I guess I'm not certain what the rationale is for not being able to weigh a fish in that was caught between 8-12 pm, anyway. It can't just be weigh station hours, because the weigh stations aren't open until 9 am, and we're usually out fishing at 5 am. Can a weigh station distinguish between a fish that's been on ice all day versus a fish that was on ice all night and part of the day? If there's a lie detector test required for the top prize, just ask whether the sports were in the derby when they caught the fish. I guess it's possible that you'd get some yahoo that'd try to beat the system by not registering, then weighing a fish in the next day, but who's to say that doesn't happen now? But, honestly, probably not too often...I think that most fishermen are good joes, almost everyone I know who fishes regularly enters the derby, I recognize lots of names on the leaderboard, and the charter boats generally police themselves...lots of 35-42 lb fish caught over the past two weeks where the sports didn't get into the game In the overall scheme of things, there would be more benefits to the participants than drawbacks to the derby itself by leaving the evening open. I'd still like to hear from the man himself as to whether there's something I'm missing...okay, that was a setup line if I've ever heard one.

We have a couple of Catalinas that we added to the arsenal this year. They seem like decent reels. The clicker adds appreciable clout necessary to reel them in, though...more so than comparable reels, I think. Hence, the clickers are on for the strike, but go off during the retrieve.

It sounds like the new Accudepth Plus is worth looking at as an option to ~$180 for a Saltist or Tekota. The original Accudepth were lousy reels, though, and I wouldn't mind hearing from a few more proponents. I recommend the Sealine as a workhorse reel at a reasonable price. We abused ours for >15 years and they're still functional. For the most part.

Not any that still have two hands

Tekotas are great, so long as you don't mind buying a reel where you know you'll want to upgrade the drag. We have all of about two clicks on our Tekota coppers where the drag is at the right poundage. I've heard that the drag upgrades are much better, though. So, I'd have to side with Brian on this one. Of course, we've only been fishing Saltists for two years, and we haven't had to go to the reel repair guys with them yet...I suppose time will tell. The Sealines are way, way better than the Accudepths. Don't know about the 6500 series. The other inexpensive reels out there are the Okuma Magda and Tica CS, both of which we've owned. I can't really recommend either of these reels, though the Magda can be a decent short-term option for the money, particularly if you like to toss them overboard on a regular basis.

Old reels? Tuna Tom for new drags. Or clip a Cannon downrigger release to the hook holder on the rod and clamp the wire line into the release itself. Some people use rubber bands, too.

Hey, if Cannon can sell their product based on "positive ion control", then maybe copper line can generate some mystical (I like that, "mystical") force field of electrons that attracts fish. Weren't e-chips all the rage a couple years ago? And they were supposed to send out little electrical impulses, too. Fish certainly can sense these, even if we can't. Or, it could all be in the rise and fall of the lures, like the expert says Next topic: we've been having a heck of a time the past two weeks keeping them buttoned up on the copper. We'll get a decent rip then gone. Usually we set the drag on the Tekota relatively light, but lately we've tried tightening it up, thinking maybe we're not getting a solid hookset with it so loose. I'm not sure I buy that, though. I know that the salmons' mouths are getting harder this time of year, but I hoped that someone else had experienced, and solved, this issue. BTW, we're running the copper straight down the chute and not off the Otters. Nobody suggest lengthening the leader, please

We just got a Beckman net this spring and we couldn't be more pleased. It's well-built, no tangles...a bit pricey, though. You'll pay somewhere ~$110-150 depending on whether you want the Northern/Coho size or King Salmon size. Be sure to get the extendable handle, too. Having owned a variety of nets over the years (and even had to use one or two on occasion), I think IMHO that this is easily the best.

Sounds like a swivel issue. Atomik has the specific type of swivel you want to run between the leader and the copper; it won't catch in the guides. Check him out online. As for the leader length, we go with 5' so as to maximize the electrical properties of copper. Maybe attractive? More likely just a matter of preference. We've gone as low as 15 lb fluoro, too, but no lower.

What's funny is that the only times you can't keep a fish is from 8-12pm. After midnight, it's okay again. Seems funky to me. I guess I don't understand the basis of the rule, and I agree that it penalizes the honest fishermen. David C? I'm sure you've heard the same gripe more than once over the years? You want to weigh in (no pun intended)?

Yeah, this rule has been around forever. Don't know how you missed it Sorry about the brown.

Couple of state record browns came from Keuka prior to the Lake Ontario blitzkrieg. It was never fantastic for rainbows, though, except for the brief spring run in Cold Brook. Lots of landlocks in the late '90s though. I also agree on size being small, but in terms of #s, the lake is polluted with fish. Good read on the DEC site.

These fishes' mouths get hard right before the spawn. Not uncommon to see your hook-to-land ratio go South this time of year. Pull out the file, and every time one hits say a little prayer

Wire. Fleas don't stick to it.

I went with the 500-lb stuff from Amish Outfitters and a couple of their snubbers for just the reasons you've stated. Thus far it works great, but we haven't had to challenge them yet...2 footers at most. I also put some washers around the holes in the Otter Boat itself to spread out the torque where it makes connection.

Slow for us. Wish I had some tips for you, but given our success, you'd be better off not listening anyway...

My condolences. Hopefully they find a good home.

How're those breathable waders on the ice up at Quinte ?

Right there with you, Joe. We fished from the Nose back to the creek, into 90 and out to 140 fow. Our take was a single brown on a 400' copper off the boards on a Dalmation Spin Doc/Fox Fly combo. We had fish marking pretty good when we first got out there, then again right before dark. Hopefully these winds they're predicting don't drive temp any deeper than it already is...we had 52F down 110'.

Everyone came out of their offices at the University of Rochester Medical Center to see whether anyone else had felt the building shaking. At first we couldn't figure out if it was an earthquake or just construction...