Gill-T

They work, but they don't spin as freely as standard clevises. How big is your boat? I know the walleye in your area head out into the main lake as the summer progresses. Out near the islands towards the St. Lawrence river entrance the fish suspend.

The Black has huge fish that can be caught at night in the fall casting stickbaits like rattling rougues or thundersticks from the bank. Can't help you with trolling in the river although in the spring I have heard there is good fishing off the points near the mouth with crankbaits and spinner-worm harnesses.

It all depends on the body of water. Where are you fishing?

Yeah, wierd year again shaping up. Climate change? shifting of seasons? All I know is '06 on the bar had to be one of the best for numbers and size. Last year had to be one of the worst. For what ever reason....wierd winter weather or otherwise, the baitfish and salmon missed each other. Because the Niagara plume was colder than the rest of the lake, most of the salmon were off Jordan to Weller in Canadian waters where Hamilton Bay water was mixing in ( warmer ). Lake Erie kept it's ice well into April keeping Niagara water cold. The bait did not move in shore until mid-June, and by then most of the fish were between Olcott and Oak Orchard already. I was charting huge plumes of bait between Wilson and the bar all June with NO Hooks around them. Steelhead dominated our catch early. It was not until late June when some of the Canadian fish moved thru the area that the bait and Kings found each other.....then it was on! July and August was great off the bar and I had the whole are to myself. We were the only boat out there all summer. Not sure what happened, but recounting a post in May on Spoonpullers' site, a troller disappointed with the poor bar fishing headed out deep for ****s and giggles, and reported a pod of bait that extended for MILES. Two weeks later I believe all that bait came a shore. Too bad the mature Kings had moved on.

Big Jon's web site

Grouse hunting, teaching my kids to ski and skate, Steelhead fishing, tying trolling flys, respooling reels, creating new doctored spoon patterns, repairing broken equipment, and most importantly the "HONEY-DO" list.

I did not get your PM, sorry. I have the manufacture's suggested line length already established on my boats.....and they work fine, but I am doing a little fine tuning to get them to not sag behind while under a heavy load, like a dipsy w/ring or heavy copper.

Ok, not to highjack this thread.....but..... .... what modifications to the otter boats do the "copper gurus of Oswego" recommend for pulling 600' of copper. I have heard various modifications to cause them to pull harder ie. change hole position, string length, and even a second add-on keel that some Michigan boys are running. Which is correct?

Billy, could you expand on "proper copper-care". I am getting together a couple of copper rigs and any tips to keep things from getting FUBAR'd would be appreciated.....copper ain't cheap.

I would add to Capt. John's info-link that because of the zebra muscles, your line will get abraded quickly while dragging bottom. Check often. I have found going to a light braided line for the main line and flourocarbon as a leader works best. Use mono for the drop weight line. The braid holds up better against the sharp muscle shells.

If this is will be your first trip drifting the Niagara, consider staying below Artpark. The water above Artpark is very dangerous. You may have heard about the guide and clients who lost their life recently on a drift trip. This was a seasoned guide! STAY AWAY FROM anything that looks like a whirlpool. Sometimes these fisherman killers appear out of nowhere, and can suck your transom and you under in seconds if you are not under power. You don't have to worry about whirlpools below Artpark. Fish safe.

All the rock jetties in Florida where the intercoastal way meets the ocean have serious outgoing/incoming tide currents which attract bait/gamefish. If you go down to the jetties at first light the water is alive with predators wacking bait balls. For kids, a live shrimp 3-4 feet under an ocean bobber is the coolest thing in the world. You will be amazed at the species of fish you will catch. If casting is your thing, Yozuri stickbaits or Little Cleos work. Make sure you bring some heavy Fluorocarbon leader material for those toothy critters.

There is a farmer closer to Randsomville who will store your boat, but I don't have the specifics. Ask some of the local Youngstown farmers, they know who he is.

I could have sworn last years Pro-Am web site had some tournament locations not allowing cell phones......in re-checking the updated site I see I may have been mistaken? Oh well, my bad.

Some of the Pro-Ams have a no cell phone, no radio contact rule already.

Yea, the Niagara is awefull!!!! I would not waste your time there either. Rumor has it that the red and green cans were actually placed in the water by aliens and emit a strange vibration that repels fish. You best not fish there. I, however will keep an eye on these strange objects in the water all season long and report any strange happenings.

www.BestBoatBuys.com Plenty of awesome boats for the Great Lakes.

I have a 305 I/O with an easy-steer connected to a 9.9 four stroke mounted off a swim platform. I agree in heavy seas....steering is tough. Not sure you are going to notice much difference in the 350. Make sure you read the fine print and talk to knowledgable people before you convert. Done wrong your block will be the next thing to replace.....$3,000.00. I like the idea of an independant steering wheel for the kicker but have no experience. This year I am running beefy trolling bags with the main motor when going against the waves, because of the loss of control when using the trolling motor. Cheaper alternative.

What should be done with the spots of undercoat paint that have come off from trailering? Do you do touch up, or do you have to restrip everything and start over?

Lets hope common sense prevails and the few stocking outside the Salmon River go to ports with tribs that receive a decent run of fish ie. Niagara, Oak Orchard, Genesee, Oswego, Sandy and South Sandy, Black etc. and not to ports such as Wilson with no decent trib. I am pretty sure they can treat eggs from the West Coast to make them disease free. Otherwise, three years from now.....fishing is going to suck. I can't imagine decent natural reproduction took place this year esp. with warm temps and low water in all streams. Heck, the Niagara was 70 degrees during the first week in September. No fry is going to live in that soup.

Maybe we can pressure the DEC to step up and put some of our license dollars to work and purchase eggs to cover the shortfall from Michigan or west coast stocks?

Craaaaaaaaaaaap!!!!!

They were giving those style out for free at the ELSO weight stations.

My wish list would include... 1) Moor subtroll.....I almost have enough Cabela's visa points 2) Get the balls to ignore the "preferred water temp" readings and put more baits in the "ice" water where those lone wolf mature kings patrol. 3) A really hot bikini wearing observer for the Pro/Ams. 4) Two copper set ups 5) For Cannon to go back to the long, heavy duty booms and aluminum bases of yesteryear. 6) For everyone to release small Chinooks so they have a chance to grow

Another nice usage of bing-cha-cha-bing-bing music!