Grady95

Well done! Dropped one, picked up one nice one and again, caught a ridiculously huge smallmouth trolling. To end the night, trolled across a shoal, took no hits so reeled everything in to move. There on one of the plugs was a rock bass, no more that 4" long, hooked right in the mouth. The plug was bigger than he was. Never know out here. Beautiful night to be on the water.

Honestly, if I were you, I would take everything I knew about trolling on lake O, put it in a box under the bed and leave it there! There are virtually no similarities between that and walleye fishing on The St Lawrence. I have a big rig too, a well appointed Grady White with all the toys. It's almost useless up here for walleye. I don't even use it. This is about knowing the behavior of the fish and adjusting your techniques to get their attention. I'll be trolling tonight for example. I'll be running in 18-22' but making repeated passes over little humps and shoals that are where these fish come up to from the deep to feed No way are you going to be able to do this with a downrigger or a planer board. Maybe you could adapt using a couple colors of leadcore, but I wouldn't even bother. You would learn SO much from going out even just once with a real St Lawrence River walleye guide. Full disclosure: I am NOT a guide! Not looking to drum up business I promise you. I've tried all day to come up with an answer for you . Other than there is water, tackle and boats, there are no comparisons. This is just totally different. If I could suggest anything, it would be to leave the downriggers off. I can't imaging how long it would take before one snags and snaps your transom off. As you say, "like I do on lake O." This river is very different.

Will probably release any more of these zeppelin size bass. Don't mind the 14" - 17" size, they make decent table fare. Picked up a few more eyes tonight and thank God, no mosquitos. Something hit me right when I ran up my favorite little hump. I think it was maybe a huge walleye but this one could have been a musky. Where I fish, they have always been there. Jimmy Evans used to take his guided trips to this place back when we were kids. Also happens to be a premier general purpose fishery! (as is most of this river) Anyway, he just stayed behind the boat and fought. Could not gain much ground on him so I was trying to be real careful about not losing patience and horsing him in. I usually run about 125-130' out so he was out there a ways. My lines don't ever break on walleyes. After about three minutes, this thing took a big head shake and snap, my line got very easy to reel in. If it was a walleye, I want that plug back! It was the most productive lure I had. Something tells me this was no walleye though. Not this one. Would have been the first musky of the season. He's still out there and I'm not leaving just yet...........

Got literally driven off The River last night by a swarm of mosquitos. Just all of a sudden and seemingly out of nowhere, they descended on my boat and just started having me for dinner. Going back tonight armed with repellant for sure. Before they got me, the eyes started hitting. And along with them, this absolute pig of a bass took my plug trolling. I could not get my hands around this thing. Cleaned it, there were no eggs, just a few partially digested gobies. Look at this hog!

If you are really serious about walleye fishing and want to go with someone who knows what they're doing, Pat is your guide. Probably one of the most capable captains I have ever fished with. You want to learn how to catch walleyes on The St Lawrence? Go with someone that knows what they're doing!

Had a bit of a rookie out last week up on the St Lawrence. Moral of story? Never let a rookie tie off a drift bag! Started my trolling run and away went the bag, no chance of retrieving it. #$@%^ Do you still have this for sale? If so, let's close a deal now. I live in Ontario, NY, area code 14519. What do you need for the sale price plus a shipping charge? Bob

I stopped at the TI Bait Shop a couple weeks ago to fuel up a boat. There were glitterboats all over the parking lot. I asked the kid at the register if there was a tournament this weekend. He rolled his eyes and said "there's a tournament every weekend." I was then out on the water in the area near Singer Castle on the American side about 100 yards off shore. This damn puddlejumper came past me in between me and the shore going probably 50+ MPH. I was under power and making a turn toward the shore and it was only just dumb luck that I didn't choose to accelerate because this moron came at me from my blind side. Had I increased my speed at all, he would have T-Boned me for sure. I'm sorry but I have no love for these people. I don't own a marina or a tackle shop, I don't own a motel, but I've lived here all my life and I have NEVER seen such inconsiderate, in to themselves people on this river as these so called "real fishermen." I thank God that for the most part, they're gone for the rest of the season. I have many friends who own bass boats but they also possess an ethical compass, born of experience up here that we once took for granted. Not any more. I mean really, this son of a **** barely missed me and there was NO room at that speed for him to make any kind of course correction. And I know I'm not the only one this keeps happening to week after week.

Heading up there next week again. Hearing similar reports from some friends. Sounds like you had some better luck steering clear of weeds than I had the previous week. I'll be running deep diving sticks and if needed, bottom bouncers. With them turning on now, might have to spend an extra day or two at the cottage, PM me if you're up that way.

We're seeing surface temps in The River of over 76 degrees. It was 77 the other day out in front of Singer Castle. Sounds like a lot of that hot water from the lake is washing downstream and staying up top. It's also incredibly weedy on the surface. Really hard to troll. Is it weedy down there as well? Grady

I just looked at a YouTube video about the most recent "Real Fishermen" bass tournament held up in Waddington. I was immediately struck by listening to participant after participant rambling on about having to run the 90 miles down from Waddington to Lake Ontario every day. They had to stop at least twice to refuel their boats, burn all that fuel, then go bombing down The River like a bunch of adolescent teenagers so they could catch a few large bass, throw them in their livewells, stress them to the point of nearly killing them and then have to run all the way back the other way to load their damn boats back up in Waddington! Can anyone explain to me the absolute absurdity of this concept? Are there no launches near Henderson, or Chamount? If these guys feel they need to fish in the lake, why are they launching their puddlejumpers all the way the hell up in Waddington? Sounds like with very few exceptions, the vast majority of these guys did exactly that. I'm not making this up! It's right there on YouTube today if you don't believe it. No matter what aspect of this I try to rationalize, all I come away with when looking at this is disgust. Disgust for the needless waste, disgust for other people out on the water trying to enjoy their time, being mowed down by these clowns going by at over 60 MPH, burning all that fuel for what? And then, go to anyplace like Waddington on the day of and the day after these so called "professionals" leave and you'll see what we all see, parking lots, shorelines, even shrubs and bushes full of dead bass and trash. To me, these are a bunch of selfish little boys with big expensive toys to play with who couldn't care less for those of us who call these places our homes. Not a fan of the "Glitterboys." I hear they're back down in Clayton again this year September 9-11. Looks like after that, they won't be back until mid-July of next year. This thread was originally started to discuss courtesy and mutual respect while utilizing The St Lawrence River. I find these concepts severely lacking in any of these "real fishermen." My answer to you is to tell your son to watch the way these people treat others out on the water, have him watch their callous disregard for anyone or anything but themselves, and then model his behavior to be the exact opposite. For every one of them, there are hundreds of people like me, out there, trying to do what we have done for generations, while at the same time, being courteous and respectful toward one another. Make sure he takes in some of the manners of the people who live here and to pass those values on to his friends and ultimately your grandchildren. That's how I learned it. That's how we all learned it, by example. You ask a good question. It deserves an answer.

When I was a teenager, I bought a rod/reel combo at Sears, line included for probably $30 back then. Our family friend. living legend on The River, Jimmy Evans told me to go drift in The Brockville Narrows and countdown a big Abu Reflex spinner to catch some nice pike. Got in the family 14' rowboat with our old 5 horse Johnson (yep, the green Sea-Horse!) and putted out there at around 6:00 AM by myself. She hit me right away, must have been down there, hungry. I held on for dear life, current sweeping me right past Brockville, past The Three Sisters with something on the other end of that line. After an eternity, I finally saw her. To me, she looked almost as big as my little boat. She saw me too and at that moment decided it was time to dive. She flipped her tail and took off for the bottom so fast, my little Sears rod snapped right in half just above the reel seat. I watched helplessly as the rod section slid down the line into the water. Wasn't long after that the line went ping and it was all over. Kevin, it's not important whether you landed that girl. You would have let her go anyway. What we have are memories so vivid, we will relive them forever. I will always remember that green back, the swirl on the surface when she came up to give me the finger before she let me know who's river this really was. Great story, I believe every word. Cherish the memory friend. Tight Lines, Grady

Just came back. Fished all that area from American Shoals to Chippewa Bay for walleye. The River has been glass calm for way too long and there are WAY too many recreational boaters churning up weeds. Trolling was nearly impossible. We did manage a few fish on sticks but I wouldn't say it was worth the drive, the gas, and the hassle of cleaning lines off. Water surface temps were at or above 75 from Singer Castle to Jacques Cartier and there are just weeds everywhere you try to fish. If you are going to do it, I might suggest running bottom bouncers and worm rigs along the side walls of the shipping channel or in the trenches. Pulling sticks is just frustrating as hell, they clog up right away. BTW: if you are not familiar with trolling The River for walleyes, I might suggest considering taking one trip out with a seasoned walleye guide so you can kind of learn the ropes out there. There's a pretty steep learning curve to successful walleye fishing on "my river!" but if you know where, how, when and what to use, there's some world class fishing up there. Best of luck to you. Send me a note if you need any more info. One more thing......see if you have any purple or dark red stickbaits! Good colors right now. Grady

Want an eye-opener? Go to the marina where these superstars have to do their weigh ins about a day or two after they all pull out of town. All around the docks you're going to see a whole bunch of dead bass that these "pro" fishermen just threw out on the parking lot and the shoreline. Unfortunately, they are coming back to Waddington in August so you can expect to find at least two glitterboy boats in every spot you know pounding the water, dragging breeders out and running back to Waddington at 60+ MPH. They don't even have the courtesy to give these fish away. "Oh the seagulls will eat them!" NO THEY DON'T! They just sit there and rot. It's disgusting to see and it happens every time they're here.

Went to Honeoye the other day and launched at the south east park. Kind of thought there might be a few people there? I arrived at 9:15 AM, the lower lot was already completely full. I had to park the truck/trailer up in the overflow lot which already had probably half dozen trucks in it. The south west corner across from the launch looked like a parking lot! There must have been 15 or 20 boats all stacked up like cordwood out there. Only reason I mention it is to point out that the interest is still there and guys were out. I have to suspect this was true at almost any other popular fishing hole in the state. This is going to be tough. My two vices, fishing and golf both got scrubbed on the same day. My buddies and I are talking among ourselves, making sure we have bail money available if one of us winds up going cabin-crazy!! Just kidding, but this is going to be tough, no work and no diversions. Time to go out to the workshop and make a bunch of useless things out of wood.

Agreed. So again, monitor 16 while on the water and if you hear someone in distress and you are somewhere in the vicinity, pull your lines and go try to lend assistance. Every second counts. We're a brotherhood out there guys. Always remember, "There but for the grace of God goes you." I hope if I am ever in trouble, someone like jimsji2 is the first person to hear my distress call. Grady

Yes to the suggestion to join Boat US. They also have the best boat insurance policy I've seen. It includes a provision for striking an underwater object. I hit the American Shoal two years ago up on The River with one of the boats, a 2015 Grady White 225 with a 250 Yamaha 4 stroke. Did over $8,000 damage to the motor and boat. Boat US paid everything but the $750 or so deductible. Underwater hazard inclusion on a policy is a lifesaver. And, they do also have towing and roadside assistance. Well worth the premiums. No doubt you're going to run into an occasional USCG radio operator with a bit of attitude, but they're human like the rest of us! I know way too many who don't so take it with a grain of salt.

Been boating for over 60 years. I offer this from experience for what it's worth. Put your radio on channel 16. Use the WX button to check once in a while for weather updates possibly alerting you to incoming storms. Ask me how I know! Hail other boats on Channel 16. When they respond, say switch to 68 or 72 and continue your conversation. It is considered proper etiquette to hail on Ch 16, but it is not appropriate to carry on conversations there. And if you are tuned to 16, you like everyone else become the eyes and ears of the entire boating community out there. You may be the first and best person in position to lend assistance. And believe me, the United States Coast Guard hears EVERYTHING! I you call for help, they'll be on you as fast as humanly possible so with all due respect, the notion that they are somehow diminished would be a hard sell to any of the men and woman who wear the uniform. Their commitment to service is heartfelt and reliable. They'll be there, rest assured. A marine radio is still the single best safety device one can carry on board. A cell phone is useless if you don't know who to call. You hit 16 and call for help, the world stops. You are no longer alone. All boaters share the same creed. Hope this addresses some of your concerns. And a Thank You to "dandyeyes" for such generosity. Not sure I've ever seen anyone on here do something like this. Always liked the folks from Hughes Marina. Nice group of people.

Been tying these forever. Great way to use old bait. We freeze what comes back from trips and these rigs are just the ticket for getting new life out of dead sawbellies. I will add that we run a small Colorado spinner blade up at the top of the stack of beads. Adds almost nothing to the cost and I think it make s difference in attraction. Either way, yes, they work great. Our stinger is not in the tail of the bait BTW. It is trailing about a half inch behind the bait. I think we grab a few nippers this way.

There are a few, very few people on this board who's opinion I would be willing to risk life and limb on. Jim (Pequod1) happens to be one of those people. Thanks Jim for the plain language common sense approach you take to posting reports. I will not be heading toward Honeoye Lake until I hear from Jim, Mark (The Shark) or Norm that there is ice down there that I am willing to bet my Grandchildren's future on! Grady