Paul Czarnecki

GREAT NEWS for you guys in Sandy. I ran it by the committee and everyone agreed that Sandy Creek will be included in Saturday's tournament and the August and September events as well. Please remember though, you MUST register with CASH only and only at one of the four registration sites in Oak Orchard. You must also weigh in there and be present for the award ceremony in order to collect your cash. Good luck! Let's make this monthly tournament a GREAT one! Paul

Scott, I will look into the possibility of also including Sandy in the Tournaments. I will let you know what the committee decides. Thanks, Paul

The date for the August event is Saturday August 16th and the September event will take place on Saturday September 6th. The fish must be caught out of Oak Orchard--just like in the Pro/Am Prefish Tourneys. We're doing this to promote Oak Orchard and the businesses that support the Pro/Am. Although we really have no way of making sure that all fish are actually caught out of Oak Orchard (no observers) we really hope everyone will be above board with this. You're on the honor system----don't abuse it......please. See you on the water! Paul

With the tremendous response we have recieved from the Friday "Prefishing Tournaments" before each of the ProAms, the Orleans Pro Am Committee has decided to host a MONTHLY fishing tournament out of Oak Orchard in July, August and September. Proceeds from this tournament will go directly to the ProAm fund to benefit the tournament and all of the local businesses that support it. We have incredible fishing out of the OAK this summer and we feel this is the perfect time to introduce this fun tournament to EVERYONE. All prizes will be paid in CASH and payouts will be based on the number of entries. We MUST have a minimum of ten boats for the event to go off so get your entries in today. Charter boats as well as rec boats are encouraged to participate. Since only three fish can be weighed in ANY boat has as much chance to win as any one else. A prime example of this is the huge success Rod and Team Lucky Enuff had in Oswego last week against some of the best charter captains on the lake. If you will not arrive in Oak Orchard until late Friday or early Saturday you can still get in by calling me at 716-390-0085. OAK ORCHARD MONTHLY FISHING TOURNAMENT RULES The rules are very simple: Entry deadline is Saturday, July 26th at 6:30 AM and the entry fee is $100.00 per boat. You may register at Lake Breeze Marina, 4 C's Marina, Narby's or Captains Cove ---NO OBSERVERS--- ---Only trout and salmon may be weighed in ---Heaviest 3 fish (one entry per team) ---No more than 3 fish in a cooler ---Fish must be caught on Saturday, July 26th ---Fish may not be altered in any way (such as adding weight) Weigh in between 1 and 3:30 PM at Captain's Cove with Awards Ceremony immediately following ---All awards will be paid in CASH!! Winning entrants MUST be present at Awards Ceremony to win See you on the water at the Oak this weekend. Good luck to everyone and remember.......YOU CAN'T WIN IF YOU DON'T ENTER! Paul Free Spirit

Most of the guys at the Oak are running either Dreamweavers or Silver Streaks. DW has the actual 42 second spoon already taped up. The "original" 42 second was created at the Oak by taking a green thunder Silver Streak (dark green with black edges) and taping it up with a glow ladder followed by a silver lazer ladder and topped off with a large glow eye at the bottom of the blade. Good luck! Paul

Mike, from what I can tell from the pic I would have to say that your "coho" is actually a king. A close up pic of the tail and/or the mouth would tell for sure but that fish certainly looks like a king to me. At 26# its a good king---a 26# coho is "magazine and paper worthy". Nice fish!

It doesn't really matter whether or not your down speed matches your GPS speed. What does matter is that your downspeed is consistent---which the SubTroll definitely is. Don't try to match your downspeed to your GPS speed. Instead find the speed on your unit that catches fish and then duplicate it. Good luck! Paul

How were the fleas in that area? I've noticed that large concentrations of fleas can cause the fish to leave an area. The "veil" you mentioned may well have been a flea layer that the fish simply wanted to avoid. Capt. Greg Gehrig (Top Gun) has noticed the same thing recently in the Oswego area. Paul Free Spirit

Have you given any thought to the danger you might be putting those fish in? "Punching a hole" in a meaty fin can subject the fish to infection, fungus and a myriad of diseases. I would also question the effectiveness of a hole punch on a fish fin. Fins regenerate easily and, more than likely, will be completely healed over before the fish is ever caught again therby invalidating your "research". That is, of course, IF the fish survives the stress of being caught, handled, "punched" and then released. If you insist on doing this I would suggest you contact the DEC and see if there is anything you can do (or use) that would be more reliable and SAFE and still provide accurate data.

Like Rich said....call Dave first thing in the morning. I emailed him on your behalf today, explaining what happened. I have every confidence it'll go through but ONLY if you call early and take the necessary steps. There are usually plenty of slips available. Wrights Landing is probably your best bet. Good luck! Paul

The Pro/Am website address has been changed. Dave Turner and crew have been working very hard on it but the old website had to be shut down to start up the new one. It was scheduled to be annoounced this week so I guess we'll just consider it announced. www.lakeontarioproam.net

Christie has been extremely busy the past few weeks with other projects. She did recalculate the sheets and they will be posted sometime before the Oswego tournament. However, if you need them now your best bet might be to PM me with your info and I will personally look it up for you. Paul

The answer is......there isn't one! Its a matter of personal preference. If it makes you feel better and more confident to use a snubber--use one. In 25 years of chartering Lake O I have never used a snubber. I used the old Luhr Jensen ones in my first year and broke off a giant king at the back of the boat when the snubber broke. Haven't used one since. For those that think you MUST have them try this little trick. While sitting at the dock or in your driveway put your diver setup out and set it in a rod holder with the drag cranked down tight. Attach a scale to the swivel on the end of your diver leader and pull to see how much weight you can put on the setup. Pull as much as you want and I can almost guarantee you will NOT break the leader. Look at the bend and stress you put on your rod as well. I can also guarantee that a 6 foot, 200# man on land can pull a LOT harder on a diver set up than a fish ever could in the water. If YOU can't break it a fish never will. Just my opinion.

Ray, have your been heating up your PVC pipes and sniffing the fumes again? Back away from the torch Ray, just back away.

HI Rod, The ProAm Committees have made provisions for those situations in the Rules. Every port is different so we have made the Rules flexible enough that Tournament Heads in each port can "customize" the departure times to fit the complexities of their particular port. In the case of Mexico, I believe Dave Turner addressed that issue last year and allowed teams to leave their dock before the "designated departure time" and assemble at a "certain point". I'm not familiar with Mexico myself, but I remember getting a call from Dave last year about this very issue and it was addressed. I'm sure it will be this year as well. Good luck! Paul

Screamer, Capt. Bob Songin (Reel Excitement) is now certified to do surveys. I can PM you his number if you can't reach him through here.

Hey Billy, have you tried any of the Area 51 patterns with either a silver or gold cup? Its a great walleye blade as is but I've airbrushed a few area 51's on silver and gold blanks. They are smokin on walleyes in clear water and I'm thinking they will be just as hot on the browns.

Just trying to keep things on an even keel Rich.....pardon the pun. LOL Great comeback, BTW....you made my day!

All this macho talk of flashing weapons and launching various projectiles to "defend" your junk lines is all well and good but I see some fundamental rules being ignored here. First and foremost......you and YOU alone are responsible for the lines/tackle dragging behind your boat. YOU chose to put it there and if YOU choose to keep it there in the face of incoming traffic you have only yourself to blame if it gets mowed off. Secondly, blow boaters are among the most ignorant, self absorbed ego maniacs in the world. They thrive on the idea that they have the "right of way". We all know that. If a sailboater deliberately tries to come close behind your boat hoping to cut off or foul your lines he is simply showing his ignorance. By getting furious with him you are merely showing yours. His keel may be 4 feet under the water. 6 at most. Unless he passes within 40 feet of your stern your junk lines will all be WELL below his keel. If he passes close unintentionally or simply because he thought "he had the right of way", while very aggravating, the situation is still the same. Why would you waste the energy getting angry with someone who, in all likelihood, has never SEEN a salmon much less fished for them? If you want to get back at blowboaters for harrassing you while you're fishing "return the favor" by cruising slowly by one of their little "races" in front of the harbor. I've found that my 10 Meter throws about a four foot wake when run at 2000 RPMs with the tabs up. Enough said about that! Finally, like I said, all this talk of weaponry is fine and dandy on here but be VERY careful about actually trying to implement any of the suggestions. Since 9/11 the Coast Gaurd is VERY sensitive to ANY vessel displaying weaponry or engaged in any hostile action toward another vessel. Discharging any type of weapon at another vessel might just be met with unbelievable force from a very unamused Coast Guard. I recall an incident a few years ago off Olcott where a charter captain was having some fun with some clients who had brought along their LEGAL fully automatic weapons. No fewer than 6 vessels responded including 2 helicopters within minutes. 16 hours later those involved were still being questioned. A week later they got their weapons back. Hardly worth a little fun. Don't get me wrong here guys. I'm a junk line fanatic as well. On more than one ocassion I've yelled at other boats to get away from my lead or copper. However, if I'm fishing tight quarters with lots of boats I minimize the amount of "junk" I have in the water. I am responsible for it. Probably the best response I've ever heard to the statement, "HEY, I've got copper out!" was actually given to me by another captain who had not yet made the transition to copper. When I called him on the radio and told him I had copper out he simply said, in a very calm voice, "Not for long." True story. Have fun this summer and be careful! Paul

Ray. historically the transition takes about two or three weeks on Lake O. We're only 10 days into it. By the end of the month things will be rocking again. BTW....the walleye fishing out of Erie PA is nothing short of incredible. As many as you want in 25-40 feet of water. The small fish from last year are now 23-26"---perfect for filling the freezer.

Well......you don't need rubber bands for starters. You also will never have an Add-a-line fail to slide down the line to the terminal spoon. I used to get rubber bands that would jam up on the main line with small fish, fail to slide down and then cause a horrible mess. I suppose if you were to attach your rubber band directly to the cable so that it would break consistently it would be better but I just like the action of the slider spoon when its away from the cable and still fixed at a particular depth.

Keep in mind, also, that Lake Ontario is now entering its summer "transition period". There will be VERY little consistent action on Lake O until the transition is complete and the thermocline sets up toward the end of June.

Add-a-lines are fixed cheater systems. It allows you to set a slider/cheater at a particular depth and keep it there. They are available at Captain's Cove, Narbys in Oak Orchard and (I believe) Slippery Sinker in Olcott.

HI Howie, The biggest hitch in that idea is dock availability in Olcott and Wilson. The ONLY reason we can even put tournament boats in Wilson is because of the time frame. Wilson is largely a "blow boat" harbor with lots of "yachters" that normally don't put their boats in until after Memorial Day. Trying to have a tournament in late June, July or August would simply leave us with no docks for out of town boats. Also, having a tournament later in June would leave us with another problem---VERY few fish. June is a big transition month and the fishing can really suck. Lots of guys are complaining about fishing the Niagara tournament last weekend and catching too many fish. How much complaining would we hear if NO fish were caught?

I have had twelve calls so far today about teams entered in the Challenge Cup that are not listed as such in the posted results. In the zest and zeal to get information out sometimes people forget to check and verify the information they are posting. The scores and standings that are currently posted are correct. The Challenge Cup status of some of the teams is INCORRECT. Christie has it correct in the computer but that information was not available at the time the scores and standings were released. At the Orleans event you will see a special, yet to be determined, designation next to your team name on the score board if you are in the Challenge Cup. Don't panic.....yet.