Pike Hunter

I need to be careful about giving out advice because this is my second season trolling for the fins. The length of the leader between the flasher and fly is about 21" to 23". The rigger set up - I set back the line about 10' from the ball. I made a mistake in the past for letting the line out for more than 30' from the ball and I've learned to keep the dodger set up close to the ball. I bought copper rigged reel recently at Atomik - http://www.atommiktrollingflies.com/reels.htm I want to add another copper but I was warned by Tom that I need to give it enough time to lgain experience before I can do the multiple copper set up. I will use the boards if I do more than one copper set up.

Thanks for the report. I was out last Fri and Sat mornings from 5:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. and boated 6 teen kings in 80 - 120 FOW. Copper set up with NK Monkey puke was on a fire. Rigger down 40' with dodger and atomik hammer fly. Copper was the best addition to this year arsenals. Fishing is definitely picking up in Rochester.

Yes, we landed northern pike last Friday morning using minnows with bobbers. About 26 inches long - I didnt get to weight it because of the size. Pike action is very good at this time of the year.

Damn these polluter: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/22/busin ... ref=slogin

Way to go! Thanks for sharing the report.

A buddy told me about Nile Perch. This is no pan fish!

Hi You have PM. Thanks.

The fish appears to be a muskie. Very fat diameter.and its green color and scales were very striking. The behavior of the fish sticking its head out of the water with mouth gapping open is unreal. This is the moby dick of the Lake Ontario!

Back in 2004, as I was going out of the Irondequoit Bay channel on my waverunner with my neice and we saw a large wood floating just before the end of the channel. That floating piece of wood turned out to be a huge Northern Lunge - it was over 54 inches easily. The head was above the water with mouth open. I circled it twice with my waverunner and that monster never flinched. Then, it swam away quickly and never saw that monster again. Hence, I came up with my nick name and I hope to catch this beast someday!

This turns out to be my best year of fishing since I moved to Rochester in 1989. Took me a long time to realize how great fishery we have in our backyard. Having bought a trolling motor last spring was the best purchase I ve made. Last spring, as I was tying the lures on my boat, I saw a huge white fish dancing on the surface of the water. I wasnt trained at that time which is to jump to the rod and reel in right away. I was fortunate during that whole time, the fish continued to do the aerobic dance and it did not lose the lure from its mouth. This turned out to be my biggest steelhead - 11 lbs. Last month, fishing solo and reeling in my biggest salmon at 23 lbs in 4'-6' chops was my personal best accomplishment. The members of the LOU boards ve been terrific about sharing advices and tips. All of this generousity from the LOU members has validated my ability to catch fish. Tight lines.

Way to go YT! Thanks for the report.

Way to go, Hope this rainbow brings you some pot of gold!

Thats great number of catches - 15! I would love to be able to do that someday! Went out this morning from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. fishing solo out in 180 to 280 FOW slightly to the east out of bay. My friend backed down and I tell myself what if I landed a derby fish and nobody was with me. I would've skinned him 20,000 ways had it happened. But no, it barely happen. Went 3 for 3 with 23 lbs King and teen king and small steelhead. I became real tired dragging the fish and trying to net the fish all in short time. Kings took spin doctor mount dew and A-TOm_mik Fly. The steelhead gave a great acrobat dance in the air. Gotta love the steelies. tight lines and good luck on the derby fish.

Motoman We headed out slightly NE of the I bay and then trolled to the west. The 22# King that was caught were about in front of I bay when we were trolling from NE to West. Tight lines. Anthony

Hot damn! Great looking fish. I continue to battle myself about fishing after 8 p.m. This is the best time to find the the most hungry fish as it continues to feed throughout the evening and they tend to be much bigger than the rest of the pack that are full from feeding all day. Good luck!

Heres my another rookie moments: In short, went 1 for 2. Landed 22# king in 200 FOW and riggers 35 feet down and 20 feet out using Spin Doctor/A-Tom-Mik Fly. Long version: Went out for a short time last night from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. heading NE out of I bay. Warm water inshore and it became cold real fast which was a left over from the recent upwelling. It was 48 degrees in between 40 to 130 FOW. Headed out to 160 FOW and the cold water disappeared. Surface temp was around 67 in 170 FOW. The rigger fired around 200 FOW. Grabbed the rod and it pulled me swiftly causing me to fall down on the transom while holding onto the rod. The reels were screaming the whole time - 75 feet of line out became 250 feet of line out instantly. My buddy helped me get up on my feet. The line kept running and my F finger got stuck in the reel. Another bonehead move. After 20 minutes fight, there the fish came and we netted it! I held 22# king while my friend took a picture with his Sidekick and he didnt save it. Second rod fired about half hour later. I grabbed the rod. This time I didnt fall down. As I handed the rod to my buddy, he had a bottle of Heinkein in his hand as it was foaming all over and he handed it to me while I had a rod in my hands. Of course, this is a great way to lose the fish. After we docked, my friend left the poles at the back of the car before he ran to relieve himself in the woods. Unknowingly, I backed out my car in a hurry from the parking lot and ran over my two brand new poles - one was dispey rod and heartland rod and the Daiwa 47LC reel was completely destroyed. It was definitely not my night but my memory of fighting the 22 lbs fish helped me endure mental anguish. Let alone, my bruised "F" finger serves as a reminder that I will be going out again this weekend. Tight lines and good luck with the LOC!

Thanks for the great Report! Fighting kings just before the sunset tends to yield the biggest catch of the day. I figured that any fish that continues to feed through the late evening has to be a very hungry fish and its voracious appetite would result in a very large size. Thats too bad about the 8 p.m. cut off at the weight station. Wish you best of luck the next time. Tight lines.

Way to go Upgrady! The lake has been very generous today! Went with Yankee Troller and got 15 out of 21. Mostly kings, 9 lb steelhead, 11 lb laker. King the biggest nearly 25 lbs. Plan to head out this week. With the things I learned from LOU members, I hope I ll find the Kings to put up on the board. Good luck with the derby! Tight lines.

Thanks Yankee for a great fishing trip. My buddy came as in a rookie and came out as a king junkie. He tells me that he wants to go out again soon. The copper experience was interesting. It was fun to watch someone reel in brute king as he swore over at least 600 feet of lines, or two football fields as I called it. Fly, Fly, Fly is the lesson of the day. Kings love em and cant resist em as much as we want to catch them. tight lines.

Thanks for the awesome report! Cant wait to head out tomorrow! Tight lines.

Upgrady: Given the upwelling notice, does this mean fishing this evening is not a good option? Been busy regrouping my fishing strategies. Ordered depth raider and found someone to install it next week. Bought two wire rods and need to buy reels to hold up to 1,000' of stainless steel wire to go with each reels. This weekend, I will be picking up my kids from camping at Old Forge and I hope to get out on Sunday a.m. with or without the little rug rats. Tight lines Anthony

Keep up with the excellent reports! I speak for myself as I ve been having a hard time catching fish the past week. You mentioned in other report about down temp/speed probe being a must have on the boat. Need to get busy on this one.

I am curious about what our fellow fishermen has to say about this. Would you like to set up a poll to yield the responses? Thanks.

Awesome catch! Congrats. Tight lines.

I have to vouch that smallies fishing at Hedges is now nonexistent. I started fishing for smallies back in 1995 and has always landed 10 to 15+ smallies every time we go out for them. Two years ago, I landed 35 gobies and one bass during evening fishing. That is when I gave up fishing for smallies. Very unfortunate situation. My friend went out for dinner at Hedges last week and he said he couldnt believe his eyes when he did not see any boat out in front of hedges. Typically, you can find at least 10 boats at any given day in front of Hedges.