jobsite

Great job this weekend, guys! It was a pleasure to meet you (while having an ice cream) at Hots Point. We had a less than stellar tourney, but certainly had a fun time in Sodus! The water was fun on Saturday... some pretty good 6' rollers to deal with. Fun fun. Craig (Savant Spoon)

The length limits are set in stone for the Pro-Am... they just need to be sure that the folks doing the pre-check know the rules also. We had to fight to be allowed to enter a king that was only 18 1/4", as the pre-check people kept trying to say it had to be 18 1/2". Finally, they pulled out the rules and saw that they were wrong and our fish was legal. You may have tried to check your fish after we went through the line?? At that point they may have been a little gun-shy and were allowing non-legal lengths of other species?? The rules clearly state as follows: "Minimum size for steelhead is 21 ½ inches. Minimum size for Atlantic salmon is 25 ½ inches. Minimum size for all other trout and salmon is 18 inches." Where-as the state length limit is 21 for steelies and 25 for Atlantics, the Pro-Am has set legal limits to a minimum of 21 1/2 and 25 1/2" for the tourney. This is to help prevent people from keeping a fish that may shrink to a non-legal size for state standards. If you brought one in under state reg sizes, you not only would be DQd from the tourney, you'd be fined by the state. The 18" minimum for all other trout and salmon is set 3" higher than state limits, so no fear of bringing in one that shrinks below state regs. For the PRO DIVISION only... the 18 1/2" number is in place to allow captains to "cull" fish between 18 and 18 1/2" of that species category... you apparently can do the same with Steelies between 21 1/2" and 22" or Atlantics between 25 1/2" and 26". The rules state this: "The tournament allows for captain’s discretion within a ½ inch buffer for releasing fish." AGAIN... the 1/2" rule is only listed under the PRO rules, it does not appear to work the same with AMs. The way it reads, the AM captains do not have the right to this 1/2" buffer, which to me, does not make sense. Fish shrink and this buffer will only help people from bringing in fish that are not tournament legal. We've had fish shrink by 3/8" in the past, so sometimes its tough to keep one within a 1/2" of minimum size. We really debated throwing back the one we had that was 18 1/2" by our tape... at check-in it had shrunk to a shy 18 1/4". That was only a couple hours after catching it! Trust me, we went through this with a fine tooth comb when our box was put in question at the Oak. We were clearly following the rules... and a quick look at the written regs by the pre-check folks squared that away. Craig Team Savant Spoon

Wow, this is very exciting! Can't wait to see the website and read every detail. Loving the anticipation!!

We were there for four hours or so. One fish on first thing then nothing. Tons of bugs. Gave up and drove to Fort Niagara. We were the Grady White from NH. Talked to a few guys at the launch (Mexico), maybe one was you?

Fished out of Olcott on Tuesday... we were the only boat out there! Great color line at the end of the creek. We trolled the same half mile stretch of water (west of the creek) for four hours. Pulled in 7 browns (largest at 6 lbs most 2 lbs), three cohos (one biggie at 9 lbs), one king and one steelie. Had maybe six more long distance releases. Great day. Little chilly but nice. When we came into the harbor, we were greeted by the DEC biologists. They came aboard and checked the fish, took some scale samples. Was very interesting talking to them. They were quite happy we caught and kept some fish as they were waiting a few hours for us to come in. Apparently we were their only "action" for the day! Well, besides one guy fishing off the pier for perch or something. Was my first time fishing out of that port. Very nice place. I'll be back again. Stayed at the Lighthouse Motel and was very happy with the setup. The three dollar cheeseburger and wedge fries at the bar across the creek was deliscious! and a definite bargain!

Funny. We were out there that same day. Marked tons of fish. Had one fish on within five minutes of setting the first flatline. Lost it and didn't have another bite for three hours. Decided to pull up the gear and make a small move... we went to Niagara Bar (thats a small move right??). Much better luck there on kings and lakers! But yes... the bugs were horrible! In both spots too. Never seen it so bad. They turned the boat black there were so many of them! Good thing they weren't biting.

Thank you very much for the quick replies. Sounds good... I'll run the rods a while and only install twilis if needed. I'll spend the coin to pick up a couple other reels... I figured the Okuma drags may be a problem. I saved the names to order the line soon. And you're right I should invest in the heavy duty rod holders just in case. Main reason being that my multi sets are triples on a pedestal. My luck if anything let go it would be the pedestal and then I'd be out three rod holders! Best price I've found is about $95 for a HD big jon holder... anyone know of a better deal? Thanks again everyone. Hoping to have everything ready soon!

I think I've read all the posts on tackle, equipment and technique, but I have a few questions that weren't previously answered. At least I didn't see the answers... maybe I missed them? I am new to wire... Anyways, hoping you all could answer a few more questions for me. Thank you very much in advance. I have already learned quite a bit from what I've read here. Okay, first question is: Has anyone here tried running the Okuma DX series of reels for wire? Mainly thinking the DX30 as it is most comparable to the Accudepth 47 I've seen mentioned a lot here. The reason I ask, is that I have a couple of these reels and would like to use them if possible. Next question: Will a regular dipsy rod (say a med/heavy 9'6" or 10'6") work with wire line or does it need to be rated for wire line? Third: I read in another post that the new wire won't cut through a rods line guide like the old days. However, I have heard that a twili tip will also help keep wire from "wearing" at the pivot point while trolling. Any sense to this? I would think for the small cost of a twili tip it would be worth adding it just in case. Agree or disagree? Fourth: I see BigJon sells a heavy duty rod holder for use while running wire line and dipsys. Is this heavy holder necessary or would my existing multi-set Big Jons be okay? Fifth: Where do you guys buy 1000 foot rolls of wire? All I'm finding is 300 and 600. And my last question... the one you were waiting for... Will wire wear out the "guides" on a level wind reel? Do you have to do anything special to the reel to keep it from wearing? I know that's quite a few questions for one post, sorry. I appreciate any help, even if you only have time to answer one of the above. Thanks everyone!