Traveling Circus

we got a late start and launched at about 8:45. I didn't notice anything or anyone "suspicious"...... but I didn't look at the t-covers to see if they were intact. 

Did anyone file a police report? You can contact the park police..... and file a report....... I had a battery stolen once and did so...... don't know that it will help your case, but at least the "authorities" become aware of what's going on, and may park in the East lot more often.........

As for the fishing...... couple of small kings and a couple of browns.... one at about 13 lbs....... no lampreys

Best pic this year!

We had a nice day today off Troutburg..... 18 to 20 kings boated, half matures, 5 matures had lampreys, one of which had 2 lampreys. 2 of the juveniles had lampreys..... great day, but they are sure under a lot of parasitic pressure.

I'm sure that killing every lamprey that comes aboard makes us all feel better...... I know it does me. 

I'm also pretty sure that it doesn't make a dent.

The best thing we can probably do is keep posting what we are seeing on our fish, and hope that the DEC takes our input and does something with it..... Perhaps we should start a "lamprey thread" and LOU members lakewide can post how many, or what percentage of fish landed are winding up as hosts to the f#$%ers. And maybe the post can be pinned at the top of the page. 

10 kings today..... 2 matures, and 8 shakers or "super" shakers........

one mature had a lamprey attached, and the other had a bloody scar as the lamprey detached boatside. 

none of the little guys had lampreys or scars. Been fishing Sandy to Braddocks for 30 years, and this is the worst lamprey infestation I've seen.......... We also got 1 brown which was clean.

9 browns this morning..... 4 with lampreys.....

assuming that you are using the alewives as whole bait or cut bait............... what's the first thing you do with them once they are in the boat? Ice? Salt? Brine? and then, how do you treat and store them for future use?

I own a 12V and a 24V Terrova and am very happy with them........ the main functions I use are spotlock, and "autopilot"....... and their wonderful in those applications, but I've never used a route function. 

Looks like an ad for Ruby Red.

I bought a Warfare over 2 years ago to try as a walleye lead core reel, and the clicker failed in less than a year. The repair was going to cost me over half of what the reel cost......... send it back to Penn on my dime.... minimum repair cost.... etc. and so I just have been fishing with the reel in the damaged state. But I won't buy another Penn product again. Back in the day, I used to fish 716z ultralights with a passion...... but I will no longer be a customer. Their customer service was of little help.

Water temperature is a big factor also.........as well as target species.

Take a look at the MODIS imagery from late April and compare it to the images from today.  You will see a Niagara plume that has transformed from an Easterly ribbon along the Niagara County shoreline to a blob of green water extending further out into the lake and projecting Westward towards the Canadian Western Basin of the lake. The East wind of the past several days is responsible. 

I don't fish that water enough to say definitively how the fish respond to long periods of Easterly wind, but my opinion is that in general the East wind holds the fish to the west and closer to the bar. 

Last Tuesday, we had a great morning out of Wilson, boating 11 Kings on 20 some hits (ya, we suck), and we never got further west than 3 miles from port. This week, I would expect the fish to be holding closer to the Bar..... There are many members who have lots more experience than me over there, but that's my view of it. 

Very nice report...... Thank you.

17 hours ago, skinny420 said:

on my big boards the attachment is toward the front and top more. 

Mine as well.............. 

It's tough to tell from the photo, but the leading edge of both boards should be angled back, from top to bottom, and should be mitered so that water flowing past the leading edge of the board pushes the nose of the board away from the boat......... the leading edge almost looks "flat" in the photo.

the drawing below was cut and pasted from another thread on the board. Search "planer board plans" and that thread will be returned.... This design has pulled DD plugs and lead core on Erie for me for countless years........ with a minimal investment. Follow this design exactly and you won't be disappointed. Well, except for the paint...........

what size shot?

Lots of info here...............

Beretta A400 20g Xplor Action - Break in? Cycling problems | Shotgun Forum (shotgunworld.com)

Yes they are..........

The NY waters of Lake Erie have lots of White Perch, and White Bass.......... They're typically a nuisance while trolling worm harnesses for walleyes. 

Got one on the Kootenai River on a Panther Martin spinner.....

Years ago, my then 13 YO daughter was "lined up" on a tresspasser during turkey season, while working a bird.... she never had the safety off, but was shaken to the point of tears. I approached the guy and he literally ran away. Orange is a good idea when moving....... Carhartt brown, is not........ The story had a great ending as we called in, and she killed, a beautiful longbeard, 20 days into the season. One of the most memorable hunts of my life.

Now that I have a kicker, I just throttle way back when fighting a fish.... but for years we used to go to neutral when fighting bigger fish, or fish that you wanted to get into the boat and release. It's really not a problem if you keep an eye on the boards and reengage forward to keep some control of them..... of course wind dictates feasibility..... with the wind, or gentle wind is no problem... other directions and wind speed require some attention and common sense. It is very doable..... or at least that's my experience.

Great Job Chase! 

That's unbelievable!

Chamberlain releases have an adjustment for rod release tension, and one for fish release tension. They can be adjusted so that you won't drag any fish......  walleyes, yellow perch, or silver bass....... 

could have been worse............

coulda forgot the plug...........

It's perfectly legal to fish and possess fish, downstream from the first bridge...... so for Sandy, from the Parkway bridge to the lake is fine.......... it's upstream from the parkway bridge that it becomes a violation.