chowder

Tremendous report from the Bow Squad!. I got to spend that same morning going over mid year projections with my man at the bank, gee I'm not sure whether I would rather have been out on the lake with that kind of action or staring at pages of squiddy lines of numbers.

We are planning an unprecedented 5+ day stay w/ my wife's mom in Lockport at the end of the month or early in July and we will take the Islander out with us. I'm planning to fish where stuff is happening but I need some pointers to get the thinking process rolling, like; 1.) direction to head in for what species,etc 2.) Likely depth range/temp zone to start in 3.) likely speed ranges & some good setup choices. Thank you. -Andy

Thanks for the heads up on temp situation. Sounds like you just crushed em,WTG!

I also use Tim's strategy of raising the rigger w/ out popping the release when you want to clear a cheated line, it's a good tip. One pretty important thing I don't think I saw mentioned above is the need to respond very quickly to a trip on a cheated rigger rod. There is a lot of slack in a slider & you need to get that line tight quickly if the strike is on the cheater. In general I like to reel down on any rigger fish w/ the rod in the holder as long as it is located in a spot that's easy to crank on and then remove it from the holder just as I'm approaching a tight line. If you are king fishing I like this cuz sometimes I need to loosen the drag a bit on my rigger reels if I had em set too tight to keep them from creeping out line, and having the rod in the holder gives me a free hand. Mark, on the FLX, a lot of times a non fixed slider will out fish a fixed cheater, especially on LLs that are out of temp, and they are much easier to use if you are fishing alone w/out an a AP. On Ontario I usually use Roemer Liberators to fix the cheater so I can bracket temp zones precisely. Good luck & don't be afraid to experiment! -Andy

Nice multispecies mission

Outstanding as usual!

Have a good one Mister! -Andy

Woody, good to see you are out & after em! I like to hear steel reports, can't wait! I still owe you a jigging mission & I'm almost freed up a little. -Andy

I'm sure there is nothing wrong with fishing a lot but there is certainly nothing wrong with putting your family's needs first either. Speaking for myself, I'm putting in 100 to 120 hours a week right now but when I get done with 1st cutting & get caught up with other stuff and get back on the water with the kids I know I will truly enjoy it. Family, work, and some recreational time = a balancing act (screw it up brothers and the road back from that place looks like a long one).

I fish w/ my 3 boys often (13-17). They are not all fishing all the time by a long shot but I try hard not to over do the fishing when the fishing ain't happenin - when things are really 'off', they (and I) start a chorus " Dad sucks, Dad sucks",etc - the focus changes to who ever is running the program. Even when the fishing is on you need to remember you are all sharing each others time and space so I always do the following little things; 1.) XM is key, check out each others music interests (I'm learning stuff about 'dub step' that is very cool!) 2.) We always make lunch on the water (something about cutting boards, smoked goose breast, sour dough bread and ranch dressing balanced here and there just goads reluctant fish into action) 3,) Always keep a good pair of binos on board - my crew is always intrigued by a flesh colored bikini (mind boggling true story from last weekend) or even just some weird looking boat. 4.) Cayuga lake creamery (or some kind of good ice cream) after the fishin is done. 5.) board games & a deck of cards. 5.) Let em pick the spoons n' flashers. 6.) I always grill burgers & make real russet potato fries for dinner after we get home (it's all about identifying fishing with other good stuff!)

Super nice silvers Sean!

Yo Scott, good to hear that the 'Blue Moon' is off & runnin! Might be over this weekend if the weather gets scuddy- you know where I'll be! -Andy P.S. left my axe @ home on B&B weekend so I didn't attempt a 'stand in' but I'm definitely bummed I didn't get to catch you guys jammin.

Red,orange,pink are supposedly very visible down to 30' or 40'& maybe 50' too. Coho, atlantics,& bows, which can often be out of temp suspender types seem to 'like' this part of the spectrum, but I think under the right conditions these colors work on all species and much deeper down too. Purple has always seemed to be a go to thing on overcast days for me (love purple diehard & the bloody death spoon). =Andy

Oh jeez, don't you hate it when somebody say's 'never seen that before!' Well, dam sorry John but... Um, my memory isn't what it should be (without beer), but what are you running for wire( I run Malin and John's AFW camo & haven't seen this issue for a while. I'm sure that you do want to run a quality coast lock on the leader to the flasher & be sure the flasher has a good quality coastie to the 30lb leader. another thing - I never take my mags off. I use a heavy duty velcro strap to fasten my diver to the rod handle & then wrap my leader around the reel & secure it w/ a hair zingy. I had some somewhat similar curling 'issues' when I went to just running Mags about 3 years ago but,alas, I can't quite recall exactly what I did to resolve them. You are a way smart dude though, and I'm sure you will prevail! Keep on it! -Andy

Nice going Jeff, good to see the crew in action! -Andy

Last weekend on Cayuga we 'cleaned house' w/ the 300' & 400' copper pulling clean spoons while the boats around us were doing nothing (including a smokin hot atlantic that was worth fishing all day for!). We did catch some fish w/ the riggers & divers but the 2 coppers took 4 fish to every 1 on the 4 other rods. An aggressive bite day when you find the right depth & speed and the riggers & divers light up the fish is a wonderful thing but it simply don't go that way all the time. I deploy 2 divers, 2 riggers and 2 'stealth' rigs off the boards and let the fish tell me what they think. I'm more than happy to pack away the junk lines if the riggers & divers are filling the box and I really like it when I can run just 4 riggers and clobber them, but I'll take a king or big laker on copper or core to washing lures any day of the week. I do not like Copper & core in the chute but out on the big boards they can be very easily deployed and become a sort of routine part of the program once you use them enough. Just my 2 cents anyway. -Andy

WTG

If you find a good 19', I wouldn't hesitate for one sec. Had mine out in in some really bad stuff & no problems at all. Same free board as the 22'. 'It's not the size of the sea, it's the motions of the mariner'. Great boat either way! -Andy

Hang in there Ed - the whole picture has got to come together before too long! -Andy

Put it in the farm dumpster (or the P&C dumpster) I've seen a few boats 'redone' w/ last years and it's not pretty...

Congrats!!! This is a very exciting and wonderful time, enjoy it fully (it passes too quickly!)

I'm back on this again. Clip the release snap to the top eyelet where the cable is tied? I don't like attaching it to the eyelet on the tail cuz when there is current it seems like the weights plane around but maybe that's my imagination?

I'm telling you bro, you are totally welcome aboard at anytime! -Andy

Love the grill install- drop us a link to get one of those babies, eating on the water is half the fun! Good to see the kicker project in the flesh too, glad to see it 's working out! -Andy P.S. we left at noon but at that point you were on the board -CONGRATS!!

Think I talked w/ you guys as we were trying to get around the point. - thanks for the heads up on which way you were going. I had 2 kids fighting over some 'prime spot' in the cuddy, my 80 year old neighbor talking my ear off w/ 8 lines out, a fish on and the bottom coming up like a race horse.