Pier Propeller under Grand Island Bridge in Buffalo. They will tigweld your skeg and repair your prop if repairable. A new prop might be $175 ish, repair....$115 ish.... so might be better to just get a new prop. Repairs take a few days. I hit Sturgeon Pt. a few weeks back sooooooo that is how I know.
On what my be a historically bad year for the size of Kings caught.....you probably managed to catch the biggest fish caught lake-wide all year. Pat yourself on your back, crack a cold one and bask in the glory. nice work.
Glad you made it out Rod. Always something to fix on an older boat. Just got my new prop and skeg repaired because of running up on Sturgeon Pt. on Lake Erie..... . Kings are still in their winter pattern which is frustrating as their metabolism in that cold water means they don't have to feed as much. I have wasted so much time in my life chasing those deep cold water kings. Frustrating.
Nothing magical about them. There is some thought that because salmon develop changes in their eyes to see UV when nearing their spawning cycle (perhaps to differentiate between species in spawning rivers/spawning colors) that one might conclude that using UV infused baits might work better in the late summer into fall. I think the UV lure tape just adds a cool color/flash to the bait......nothing more.
I used to run a Deep-Six diver down the middle. No problems with tangles unless a rigger shot got into them. The deep six will run in front of dipsys with a steeper dive curve. The problem I found was it would kill the spread. I think the center line was "lining" the fish coming down the middle to look at the riggers? I don't run them anymore.
I hope that you were not thinking the fish in picture 2 was a Coho.....because you may have filleted or thrown back the LOC derby leading Steelhead if it was 16 lbs.
As all predatory fish, Walleye will feed where the food is. Perch, gobies, smelt, Jonny Darters, Sculpin, Mudpuppies are plastered to the bottom. Always good to have at least one line down there.
Yep, I have caught a few this year with short gill plates. Just tried to pull some info off the internet on this disorder. One cause that pops up is sedimentation of the water at hatcheries? I think there has been recent problems at Altmar with sediments getting into the tanks but there is very little information on the subject. I have seen this in years past but very rare.
Valuable lesson this video regarding eye safety. You do this long enough there will be a spoon coming back at your at subsonic speed. ALWAYS wear sun glasses or other protective eyewear! Wearing a cup is optional in my boat.