Grady95

Was up at Wellesley Island all last week. Caught smallmouth every trip on drop offs along shorelines, sunken humps out in the water and current breaks between islands. Also hit lots of largemouths along sides of islands and again, in between small islands where there are current breaks. We all had Province of Ontario fishing licenses so we spent most of our time in Canadian water. I almost always find the best bass fishing to be there. All week I had two rods working. One rod was rigged with wacky rigged Senkos in almost any color and the other had a 1/8 oz brown haired bucktail jig that I tipped with a very small piece of worm. Originally, this was supposed to be a perch rig but the bass were just killing the thing so I just left it on all week and caught tons of bass! I usually boxed out very quickly every day, so if you are looking to fill the freezer, get up there now! This is a great year for bass on the river. I bet even my brother could catch fish this year!

Suggest you bring your chest or at least hip waders. You will be surprised how fast you run out of ramp when you are backing in now. Assume you are going to be fine. Have a spotter watch your axle carefully. You may need to get out and shove the longer boats in and also may need to get in and help guide the bow up and on to your trailer when hauling out. You'll be OK if you are prepared and resourceful. Just don't come expecting for sure that you are going to just slide your boat in. These conditions are managable, but they are tricky. Stay Sharp, Be Safe Grady

Wanted: Used HoverCraft or Everglades Fan Boat. Willing to trade Clam Shanty, Yamaha 500cc snowmobile and boxes of tip-ups! Grady

Catfisher, Would you consider Lake Ontario? Castin Cleos there is a long standing tradition with a lot of people and for good reason. You may find it time well spent this time of year. Grady

I share your pain brother. Sometimes those shakedown cruises can get pretty obnoxious. On the bright side though, think about this: at least you got it all out of your system at once! Fix it up and let's go. Fish are waiting Grady

Ouch.... Had a dump truck gate swing back on my hand like that once. I know how you feel. Once that cast comes off, make sure you move your hand so it stays flexible and doesn't knot up. You're going to be OK, but the first two days hurt. I cringed when I read this. We are both very lucky buddy. Get better soon. The fish will wait. Grady

Good for you buddy. I hope you catch a bunch more. Happy Birthday. Grady

Drove over the bridge earlier today. Don't know about fish, but if you want to catch a boat, there are lots of them out around the bouys! Grady

They're in the Genny for sure. You're going to see them rolling on the surface pretty soon in pods of 6 or more. They're so numerous at times that I have hit them with the prop on the boat. Anyway, I have accidently caught quite a few in there casting in the evening for walleyes. Heard they are all around I bay too in May. Almost any stickbait will work when they are in. Grady

That's a big trout! Enjoy while they're here. Grady

Bayfield should be called minefield! You're right about the potential to hit rocks. A few years ago, I also added some structure to the area in the form of the entire lower half of a Honda 225 outboard. A guy who lives on an island there actually came out because he heard the thing hit. He was nice enough to tow us all the way to Chalk's, even though the tow boat from BoatUSA was on the way. $4,400 damage. Also, do make sure to get that Ontario license. TI Bait shop can help with that. Be sure you also get your Ontario Sportsman's card. They do check. They do sit in boats with binoculars and watch you. They are aggressive so play nice. Having said that, yes, there are walleye there! Good Luck. See you up there. Grady

Answer is, Yes. As stated before, call the Thousand Islands Bait Shop. They will instruct you as to the means. I run trips up there every year and they always help the people who go. We have guys coming from just about every corner of the US, and the folks at TI always get it done for them. Far as I know, nothing has changed. We've been doing this for over 10 years. Don't forget, you're going to need a Ontario Sportsman's Card as well to fish Canadian waters legally. They can help you with that too if you need. Here's the address. http://www.tibait.com/ontariolicenses.html Good Luck to You. Grady

Slush, slush. slush! There are fish out there, but boy do you have to pay a price to get to them. Leave your ATV home for now. They are nothing but trouble. Sleds have been staying above the slop. Even so, pack your shanty light and stay on the established routes. The times I have gone, seems the more people near me, the fewer perch. It's been pretty congested out there on the weekends. Everyone is nice and all, there's just a lot of holes getting drilled and a lot of lines down. Some people think this matters. I honestly don't know any more. Anyway, my best has been on Niagaras on tipdowns a little off bottom. There are a lot of dinks, so expect to lose a bit of bait. Been getting mostly dinks on the jigging rods. Good luck. Let us know how you do. Stay Sharp, Be Safe Grady

Some of the bigger bait and tackle shops have exchange programs on blades. That may be an option for you also. I have tried in the past to sharpen mine with no luck. They are touchy little buggers. Good Luck, Grady

I took one out of Sodus last year. It was the biggest and baddest looking fish I have ever pulled through a hole in the ice. I brought it home, showed it to my wife and off it went strait to the taxidermist. It is now a part of our collection of mounts in the office room of the house. Large pike have a place out of the water IMHO. I hope that every pike that is caught, especially the big ones either get eaten, mounted or released. I don't do well seeing dead fish left out on the ice. Please guys, enjoy that thrill of hauling the big ones through the hole, maybe take a picture, go ahead and add it to your creel, but have a plan for these fish before you catch them. Responsible harvesting just makes sense. We benefit at home from the bounty, the sport benefits by showing the public, especially the non-fishing public that we do more than pay lip service to our rhetoric and we manage our catch with care. That big pike last year was on the ice for at least two hours while I continued to fish. I was surprised to be approached by several non-fishermen who were just out cross country skiing or walking who wanted to see the fish and talk about it. I felt good telling them that the fish was being kept for a trophy mount, and they in turn told me they felt good not just seeing "some guy out there just leaving dead fish all over the ice." Ultimately, we are the keepers of our sport. Make it your commitment this season to show the public, especially the anti's that we are truly the sportsmen we claim to be. Our sport will benefit from this. Thanks from a fellow fisherman. Good luck this season. Stay Sharp, Be Safe Grady

For your inflatable use a coffee can and cement. Bury an eye hook or whatever you have in the barn in the cement to tie to. That would be a good size. I fish that same area. Let me know sometime when you go. I live pretty close to the bay and could run over and dunk a boat. Of course, this is all AFTER I find Bambi with the bow. Good Luck Grady

I carry two anchors when I fish Seneca lake for perch. You are right about needing to get in position and then try and hold the boat still. Getting the hook in and then keeping the boat from swaying around the anchor rope is a real key down there. I do the same out on the Bay and just like you are talking about. I usually fish on the west side of the bay and usually try to set the anchor in the shallows and let enough line out to drift the boat over the edge. The prevailing wind is from the west so this is not too hard to do. Once I feel I am where I want to be, I'll drop a big clunker over to stabilize the boat. I make those second anchors out of buckets and concrete. They just find the bottom and pin the boat into position. Seems to work. Thanks for the report. Sounds like time to get out there again. Wonder if those crappie are getting so big for eating gobies. Did you cut any open to see what they were eating? Grady

Yes, I also see good size bucks inside the fence, but they are the normal kind of brown deer we have everywhere. If there are holes in the fence as someone suggested, I'm wondering why I have never seen a white deer outside. Do they get out on their own ever? Grady

We'll soon see whether there is a residual effect from this summer's blooms. This is the time that most folks pull their docks out on Honeoye Lake. If we see a bunch of people getting sick from being in the water, that should telling at least. My buddy was told last week that as long as he did not actually eat the organs in the fish that they were safe to eat I guess my position right now is that the authorities are not trying to be deceptive intentionally, but rather that they just really don't know for certain what the answers to these questions are. I don't know anyone personally at the Health Department, but I do know several DEC guys, and they are honest, sincere and concerned people who really do care. I'd hate to be in their boots right now. I would just like to know if I can safely eat these fish. The fishing this time of year is great in Honeoye and I traditionally load the freezer up for the winter now. Grady

Now that's funny!! I have no idea what made them white. Like the idea someone had of some food plots in there though. Grady

My uncle was stationed there for a time during WW2. The park, as it is now was indeed a military facility. We are talking about the land on the west side of the road where the current Sampson State Park is now. Yes, there is a museum commemorating this. The Seneca Army Depot is the land north of and on the east side of the road from there. It is bounded by cyclone fence and there is a herd of albino deer that have lived inside that fence for a very long time. The area is strictly off limits to hunters. It is believed that a great deal of nuclear weapon grade materials were stored there during the cold war, and some believe there is still a stockpile there. Not to say there are nukes there, but the components to assemble them. I have no idea whether this is accurate anymore, but the depot has a colorful past! Enjoy the deer. They are something to see. We are not allowed to hunt them. I don't know if anyone is. Grady

A few weeks ago, there was quite a buzz about the poisonous effect of blue green algae in the lake and how there were numerous warnings from DEC and the Health Dept regarding water quality, fishing, and public safety. Since that flurry of information, this topic has gone dark. No one is discussing it, but a lot of us use that lake. I certainly do and I am concerned. I have no information to share with you. Does anyone have any idea what the current status of Honeoye Lake is, especially as it relates to catching and eating fish? Does anyone know if that toxin will still be dissolved in the water in the winter making the lake a health concern for icefishermen? Could use some good info here if anyone has it. Thanks, Grady

Good luck Jim. If I go, I'll give you a call. Grady

Found a mixed bag of nice ones and dinks Saturday. The pattern was that they were sitting either right on the ledges or just on the drop offs. Had my wife in the boat so it was not a real serious effort, but the bite on that pattern was steady. Lots of white perch mixed in. Threw everything back but could have made a meal out of some of the better ones. I think it's just starting to get interesting. Will be out again in the next few days. 1/16 oz jigs with small Berkley minnows or just bits of worm were doin' it. Good Luck Grady