Gator

Hit the high bite out deep for steelies on Saturday...fished blind, as the electronics didn't make the trip to the boat...but we managed a few fish on 125' coppers and wire dipsies out 120'. The single king came down 55'; most of our hits were on green variants or orange crush. Sunday we stayed in 200-240' and fished the deep program for steelies and kings. We ran into lots of immature kings and small steelhead down 70' on the riggers, out 200' on the wire. While picking up (and hardly moving) we banged a decent king down 70'. It was a spoon program with green and purple predominating, and dark spoons worked much better than lighter tones...overcast conditions??? I'm amazed that the water temperatures are so high. We had 58F down 70' and inside of 200 fow it's more like 62F. Seems more like July than June. On an unrelated note, I left the bimini for my Lund at Alburgh last week while fishing northern L Champlain...anybody traveling that way in the next week or two who'd have room to bring it back? Long shot, but just thought I'd ask. It'd save me a trip up from L George next month. Gator

Wow! 80% no-shows? Only 18 boats registered? Seems a no-brainer...you've gotta cancel it. Sounds like the community 'd itself royally. After reading the numerous responses from folks who wanted to participate, I don't think we can generate a higher level of online enthusiasm...though we personally chose not to enter...I'm guessing it'll be tough to convince anyone to pony up again, either from the sponsor or participant side of things. So, what's happening with the "other" daily derby that started coincident with the Spring LOC? Gator

Hey Ray, My point exactly! What's the use of 1' contours if you're fifty yards away from the structure and you have to zoom to maximum level to see it? It's better to stay zoomed out, get the big picture, then use your sonar and your head to identify the "fishy" water. If someone tells me there's a six-foot hump in an area the size of a football field, I'll find it pretty quick. At least Navionics chips are better than the factory loaded Lowrance maps...we were over land in Canada one time while running the Niagara river...I actually had to check under the boat to make sure the water was still there Gator

I've found that in order to see the "high def" contours on these chips, you have to zoom in so much as to be useless unless you're actually sitting right on top of the structure anyway. Highly overrated. Not so accurate either, particularly near sharp changes; for example, Long Point on Seneca...the new chip had me in 70 fow when I was sitting in five. Generally great tools, but I'd argue that one foot intervals might not be worth an upgrade. Just my opinion. gator

My wife has quit wearing the Mauis that I bought her...prefers larger frames and cheap glass, I guess...of course, look who she married I like Costa Del Mar and my brother swears by Action Optics with the interchangable lenses. Gator

Jeez Sean, you got me...I was expecting some eye candy named Cherry or Mercedez, maybe a photo of a lap dance

Short report. The water's 64F on top, 46F down 45. Scattered marks from 60-120 fow. Lots of floating scum inside of 45 fow. Fished inside for several hours then trolled to 450. Only two fish, a tiny king and a 3lb laker.

Matt, Much appreciated. Nice thing about the Passage is that we can motor over to the IS or go west toward the main lake and the "Gut" area. Gator

For a change of pace, we're heading up to Lake Champlain to fish the Alburgh passage, which is at the Northern end of the lake in Vermont, the first week of June (4-11). Primarily bass, but maybe some laker jigging or trolling for landlocks. I know it's a longshot, but does anyone have reliable information as to what's been going on in that neck of the woods? I've been on the L. Champlain board and I hope to make a few contacts, but with this freaky hot weather I think it's going to be way ahead of where I expected and it'd be nice to have an up-to-date report. Post or pm, either's good (pool or pond...) Gator

Great fish, Brian! Hopefully we'll be in this weekend as well. Nothin' but Net is all shiny now...you might not recognize her.

In the interest of fairness I'll mention that both my Lund and Nothin' but Net have always run Lowrance units...over half-a-dozen separate graphs or graph sonar combos now (LMS350A, LCX20, LMS332) without a single issue. We had a transducer that needed replaced last year, and we swapped units between boats because of some weird interference, but for the most part it's been problem-free. That having been said, I've never needed to contact Lowrance, either. But I've read enough about Linda over the years to realize that she was a saving grace for some folks. Without that ace in the hole, it's harder to keep faith with Lowrance. I guess we'll have to look closely at everything out there when we upgrade. Maybe make a few "practice" calls for customer service to sort out what's what... Gator

Wow. That's a pig! Good job.

Alright, I've kept from weighing in on this because that last thing we need is an internet controversy over regulations all due to a simple picture, but let me be clear: the only way to release this fish effectively was to bring it into the boat. Our boat has quite a high freeboard and there was no simple way to just lean overboard and pop the hook out; it was buried deep. And that's a damn big fish to be handling in the water next to the boat anyway (I know they jump in the water to release sturgeon, but the water was 46F...my kahunas are too small to endure any further shrinkage ). There's the law and then there's what's right. What was right in this case was to bring the fish onboard to remove the 4/0 hook and 2 oz jig without causing further injury and stress. If there's any grief to be had over this, then I take full responsibility. It was a judgment call. As for the folks who've commented favorably on the picture, captains or otherwise...well, let's just say that it's no crime to admire a magnificent fish. Bottom line: let's leave enforcement to the DEC. We're all aware now that removing a sturgeon from the water is illegal. Thank you. However, knowing that, my feeling is that if I had to do so in order to ensure that the fish was released humanely and effectively, then this is my choice to make and I'd make the same choice again tomorrow. Sometimes the law, ethics, and common sense don't live in the same county. Gator

Hey, I recognize Tracy and Jeff! I bet it was great for them to get away from the triplets for a day of fishing. I'm betting with the weather and calm, they weren't complaining, even if you only stuck a couple. Way to go! We wanted to check out Wilson yesterday but I had to hand out diplomas at UofR. Maybe later this week. Gator

I'm about the quadrillionth person to echo these comments, but Tom's service record is fantastic, both as a vendor and as a custodian of the resource.

Here's the biggest of the lakers caught during the LOC on Nothin' but Net, as well as a sturgeon pic...the sturgeon was released ASAP, of course.

Landshark. I'm going to step onto this thread...nope, I don't agree. I've caught more browns in the mid-teens than lakers over twenty. In fact my biggest (and only) laker over twenty was 21.11 this spring. And that's after spending probably 30-40% of our time fishing for Lakers at the Niagara Bar over the past six years with some success, usually both weekends of the derby (cause we never get blown off ) I like Dave's relative weights of 10, 13 and 15, though I agree that may be a bit small overall and could encourage keeping fish that might normally be released. With those weights, it's like giving the browns 5 and the steelhead 2 lbs on the lakers. That's the kinda spread that seems fair. However, I agree with Brian that giving browns and steelies eight pounds relative to the lakers is too much of a spread. I like my chances at a twelve pound brown MUCH better than a 20 lb laker. Plus, the timing of the Derby over the first weekend is what contributed to the larger lakers as well as the sheer numbers. We had 120+ fish to the boat on the first Friday. That's not normal...there's probably one day a year just prior to the bait influx when the lakers are on a rampage like that. We'll see if the summer and fall numbers keep the promise of the spring laker board, but I for one doubt it. Finally, shouldn't you have a better chance of winning just to make up for having to fish for mud-chickens? Gator

Nothin' but Net put three mud-chickens on the board, eighth, twelfth, and thirteenth...all caught the first day. The one was near 22 lbs and would have been good to most other derbies, but this was the year of the laker. Jeremy had that monster 27 pounder the same day we caught ours. Kudos! I know that Pequod and his crew ended up with seventh and ninth place, cause they fished right next to us. Give a guy some advice and he goes out and beats you . Hint: I like Newcastle. A tip on the next hot crappie bite at Honeoye would work, too It was a great first weekend out of the Niagara. We also caught our yearly sturgeon. They're getting bigger: this one was probably ~60 lbs. Too bad things were squelched by the weather the second weekend.

We have two old style high cannon swivel base mounts that I'd like to upgrade to new aluminum pedestal swivel mounts...it looks like the mounting pattern is different, though, and I'd rather not have to drill more holes in the fiberglass where we need to mount the riggers. Do they make a deck plate to convert the old mounts to the new type? The new ones appear to be able to be used either fixed or track mounted, so the base must be a rectangle (likely 4x3), while the old bases were perfect squares (4x4). Any suggestions? Thanks. Gator

Hey Steve, I seem to recall from two years ago that we were hitting some great big slabs on Senkos fishing the reefs for bass...I bet time of the year has a lot to do with it. Nice fish, guys!! Gator

I will second the Albright knot, but mention that using a small 30 lb test in line barrel swivel that can fit through the guides and onto the reel can help to prevent line twist, particularly if the lure fouls something, like another line or debris. Gator

Saltwater striper-style white bucktail jig from Cabelas, either 1 oz, 1 and 1/2 oz, or 2 oz, depending on the wind. We've done okay on these the past few years

Ray, i understand your perspective...once a guy gets over a certain age, it's a lot easier to cover the stream than it is to get the stream going Or is it the other way around? Either or, I can tell from the way she's holding the rod that she doesn't have much experience. Without proper instruction someone's likely to get hurt. Might as well be me. Gator

My brother tells me that Woody Wax is the bomb for keeping off bloodstains; they simply rinse off with water. The wax isn't supposed to be slippery, either. I haven't tried it yet, but this is the year. Gator

We went on Easter and there were hundreds of walleye stacked in lower stretch by the parking area, but none right up at the dam. The dam itself had a bunch of bullhead and panfish trying to make the run...never seen that before. Couple of pike in the run just below the dam.