chowder

Well done, let the games begin. 

Sweet. You persevered, setting a great example and providing a great time for you and your son- what fishing is all about!!!

Economical basspro jointed minnows in black/silver were hottest stick. Best spoon off the riggers was the small copper confusion .

Some good action aboard Esther II on browns this weekend. The bowmount installed by L&M continues to prove its worth as a precise trolling tool. Clients were elated and overwhelmed Saturday and not so much Sunday when calm water , lotta boats and an easterly breeze made for a negative fish mood

 Nice  job, WTG! 

I'm west aways but couple general observations: 1. warmest stained, water you can find early in April- so creeks, etc. 2. Dont leave fish to find fish- circle until they arent hitting anymore (so be careful about a spread that makes that difficult). 3. always start out with some color, some jointed and some nuetral colors- let em decide. 4. Boat traffic can kill things quick- 5. Zig zag - will tell ya a whole lot bout speed and depth. 

Hope to get over there this week 

Ok, Hank and the guys at L&M have helped a ton on the new to me bigger winter boat and we splashed her the other day. A new experience trolling with an electric bowmount and a pleasant one. Looking forward to getting her on the Niagara and out on the bar soon.

I stopped and looked at it. Even further down from the concrete wall and railing than last March. Hopefully the snow pile infront of the launch at Hughes is gone and they are open for biz?

Hank has done 2 for me -expert work!

I just realized that I have friends who would greatly benefit from parts off this motor that are hard to come by so I guess it will be kept for that purpose. If somebody needs something specific let me or Hank at L&M know what it is and perhaps that part might be available. Thanks and apologies!

Motor does turn over- no spark. Has been taken off the boat. Located in Wolcott, NY . Needs a new home-Make me an offer.

I did get a gismo that enables one to raise and lower the transducer which should come in handy at the ice chunk filled Lewiston launch in Jan,Feb, March

Project update: 1.) The Johnson is off and the Merc Optimax is on and running; need to hook up controls, hook up new batteries-Perko etc and install and hook up external oil reservoir (got on eBay). Received the bowmount but realized quickly we got to have a quick connect mount plate (got on wBay). Next will be the 3 battery install and charger setup. 

4 hours ago, Tboo said:

How is the distance capability of the monocular? Are you only scanning with the night vision now vs lights?


Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

I am still in real green mode with this device. Since my terrain is completely new to me I am using the unit to avoid potential mistakes navigating in the dark vs. having a red light on all the time. Also using it to attempt to scan while calling however long range scanning is not really within the units capability. Since I am in unfamiliar territory however I do not plan to attempt very long shots at night anyway ( don’t have a good sense what’s well out behind the business end of my .204)

well, I ended up going with an even cheaper scanning monocular for a lil over $100. They are perfect for scanning without hitting the night eyes and lighting everything up. I think this tecnology has a real benefit to the predattor hunter who is unwilling/unable to commit huge dollars to this pasttime.

Nice! Hope to be out soon!!

13 hours ago, DoubleTrouble1 said:

Well...if you have night eyes mounted on your scope already. Do you have a separate scan light from night eyes ? If u were going to try scanning with the night vision then light them up when it's time to shoot I suppose it wouldn't be a bad idea to try the night vision binos.....you can always return them

 

Sent from my LM-V450 using Lake Ontario United mobile app
 

 

That's my concept. I'll let you know how it turns out. I used to scan with the light on the shottie especially as I was moving to my set location- when I am moving to the set I like to hit the mouse squeaker here and there, (have popped a few loose that way) but I have the sense that scanning too much can educate them- theyr'e pretty damm cagey animals, i don't think you can overestimate the survival skill set of a mature eastern coyote

18 hours ago, DoubleTrouble1 said:

I mean i wouldn't waste any money on night vision binos...if anything I'd put that 200 towards a night vision or ir scope.....yea you will be able to scan with the binos I guess but what's your plan when you have to get on the gun ?

Sent from my LM-V450 using Lake Ontario United mobile app
 

I have a lot of experience with the 'night eyes' kill lights mounted on both the shottie and the .204 that I carry. The semi .204 has decent glass with a lighted reticle which makes a good como with the light when I hit the pressure switch. I walk in to where I'm gonna set up with the .204 and bipod slung and the shottie at the ready. When i'm in the forward firing position I typically look through the scope with the shottie next to me for dogs coming in upwind behind me if I'm hunting alone

I'm in a new coyote hunting location after years of Chenango County focused activity. Now basically living on the edge of Lockport NY I'm considering upping my game to enable me to become more rapidly familiar with new sets, so I'm considering these inexpensive night vision binos. seems to be a lot of positive reviews for the $200 price point. I'm skeptical.

Sold

30 minutes ago, Reel Doc said:

Great.  Thank you.  Hoping there will be a few hungry fish out there.

one way or another I think there will be some guys hungry for fish looking for them.

6 hours ago, mr 580 said:

Andy, sounds like a good plan. Should keep you busy this off season.  Hope you don’t have too many bumps as you put this package together!

Words of encouragement are always appreciated Frank. I have yet to play a very active role in this outside of pulling some raw ingredients together but my time will come eventually. I actually was one of the first people to look at Sparky’s boat but my better half put the kibosh on that real quick ( reasonably so)

SS

                                                                                                                                                                                                       So, the 'Bigger offseason Boat project' started when i moved from near the fingerlakes to right next to the Niagara River Lake Ontario , and Lake Erie for real this past summer. Sixteen years ago when I got 'reinvolved' with fishing and subsequently involved with LOU I managed to convince my sweet wife (seriously) to allow me to get a 16' aluminum deep V and set it up to fish Cayuga lake which was 'big water' and not far away. As this 'passion' (my wife would call it something else) matured I eventually got a lil bit bigger Islander for Ontario and eventually bit the whole enchilada and started a part time charter business. For the past couple years I've done a small amount of trips with my Crestliner 245 hardtop that replaced the Islander I had for many years. The 245 hardtop came rigged mostly rigged to fish but Hank at L&M installed a large screen Lowrance HDS gen 3 with autopilot. That boat was purchased out in Minnesota at a very,very attractive price. Now, back to the original 16' boat: over the years the 'Lil boat' got a lot of upgrades and it was an awesome ANYSEASON boat that I and many here on LOU had some daring escapades on. BUT- after moving from the Fingerlakes proximity to next to Ontario (all to be with the love of my life who moved back to her hometown to care for her mom) the lil boat was just not up to the rigors of the Niagara River or safe, roomy, cold weather charters on the Great lakes. Anyway here's where the plot thickens because my sweet wife put her foot down and basically said you can put together this 'bigger boat' but it better pay for itself!! Fellas, that's a tough thing to contemplate and nevr mind accomplish but after many conversations with Hank at L&M, a plan was hatched. STEP 1.) Sold Esther II (the 'lil boat' (very sad...) then bought an old Crestliner Sabre 2105 SST Great lakes Special for next to nothing with a  150 hp OMC outboard.(motor is for sale and priced right if interested) STEP 2.) Bought a used 200 Hp. Optimax after seeing compression checked, watching it start cold , run, shift etc. (note; bought new controls for it). That is where the project is now unfolding underneath Hank's custom mobile retrofitting facility. I will keep updates rolling as 'Comments'. Step 3.) will obviously be the power plant swap/controls install. Step 4.) will be electric upgrades to enable the install of a 36 volt Spot Lock, autopilot MinnKota bowmount. Step 5.) Install my lowrance Hook, as a quik detach deal that I use for icefishing and in my kayak Step 6.) reinstall the late model electric down riggers and planer riggers from Esther I (the old 'lil boat' and some new trax and cannon rod holders. I'm sure this will be a journey with some twists and turns-I'll keep ya posted.NOTE: All blame for mistakes, poor judgement calls and general stupidity involved with this, as with past crazy ideas of mine, are entirely my fault- In no way should anyone confuse L&M's good natured attempts to humor me and my insanity as in anyway responsible for any pitfalls...