chowder

Not too sure about bass fishing in the S. end, but could give you some pointers about the N.end for sure. Maybe somebody can chime in if you are determined to go out of Treman.

Frisco, wait till you get 2 different down speeds at different depths! Especially on LO but on the FLX as well you will encounter several different currents at different depths which will cause the same lure to run very differently at 40' down than at 80' down. It's this situation which causes the "I catch fish only when I'm trolling going this way today" statement. There's a good article about it in this months GLA. I've been running 2 depth raiders since I 'inherited' my 2cd one last year. Mostly I use them to bracket temps but I've also noticed the 2 different down speeds at times as well. There's no such thing as too many gadgets (especially if somebody gives them to you!). -Andy

You guys want to be using 30lb Seaguar floro from your diver to the flasher. The constant twisting is very tough on line. On my rigger spoon rods I use 30lb Ande to a 10-20' stretch of 15-20lb Seaguar floro. On my flasher spoon rods I tie the 30lb Ande right to the flasher. Junctions between main and leader; on every thing except for core & copper I have gone to the Spro micro swivels. Knots are key, use the Palomar. For my steath rigs (slide diver, core,copper- I like to go w/ long (60-100') stretchs of 20lb Seaguar Floro (on long coppers for pulling big flashers I use 30lb Seaguar). Since I started using these leaders two years ago, I've never lost a fish to a break off on the FLX (lots of 13lb+ lakers, 10lb+ browns, & 8lb+ bows & Salmon. I use the same rigs on Lake O and although I've had a few 'freight trains' snap off, those fish were probably 30lb+ Kings and you just are not going to have to deal w/ them on Cayuga. A couple other thoughts; Keep socks on your rods when not in use, I think a lot of leaders and main line abrasions occur when not fishing, especially in trailer boats. Always, always check your leaders by trying to break the line and or knot (don't just feel along the line w/ your fingers-this does not tell you what you need to know). Just my 2 cents! -Andy

I like 6'6" and 7' ugly stiks in ML,M,MH, and H, for riggers,core, and copper. I like the 7' Talora med rigger rod (fast action) w/ a Twili-Tip for wire divers. If I'm running 4 riggers I use 10' Eagle Claw Diver rods for the divers. Only time I really like to use anything over 7' are my flat line/planer rigs, which are 8'6" Eagle Claw Starfire L rods (rated for 6-10lb). I do also use these for running spoons off the riggers on the FLX in the spring for browns and in the fall for Bows, they are also good for 'eyes'. I fish mostly w/ Kids and greenhorns and a 7' rod is much easier for either one to handle. On the other hand I do like to use the 'noodle' rods w/ the light line for browns & bows b/c they are very forgiving w/ the occasional lunker on the other end.-Andy

The old saying still rings true; "If you want something done right then take it to the busiest guy you can find" (that would be Hank). -Andy

I have not been able to get out since June 2cd. At that point it seemed as though the spawn was still in progress (I thought at that point it was winding down). I'm figuring the alewife spawn is done & over at this point but I'm curious if anyone knows where things are at? Hoping to get back on the water Sun. Thanks! -Andy

The welder that does repair work on our farm machinery and I cooked up a design for an arch using the Cannon planer board masts that came w/ boat and it turned out pretty nice, but let me give you a couple words of advice on this whole arch topic; First, it doesn't matter whether you buy one or build one, it will only work well if it is installed w/ proper backing plates on the upper and under side of your deck. Look at this issue 1st b/c the bigger the backers, the more stable the arch is going to be (making and or buying and installing the backer plates can add substantially to the total cost of whatever you do. 2cd, I'm not sure you can really put together a cheaper alternative to the manufactured arch setups unless you have access to 'free' materials and don't charge yourself for, and have a bunch of unspoken for, time spent welding ,getting specs and chasing down 'this , that and the next thing'. 3rd, if you are bound & determined to build one I would consider mounting Berkley plastic rod holders on it. I used them and really like them and at $10/ 3 holders (I used 4 for a total of 12 rods up in the arch) you can't beat the price. Whatever you decide to do you want to include planer reels in the setup- Do it right and do it once! I'll try and find time to get a pic up here of what I put together but again I think maybe a manufactured unit might be the way to go ( because remember; there is no wrath like that of a wife who runs around taking care of all kinds of things while Hubby works on the boat ) -Andy

The shakers are a real 'PITA' on sliders and other presentations in the 40' and up bracket.Cleaning these hitch hikers off high lines is a price you have to pay to 'search' the upper parts of the water column. It's pretty easy to drag these little guys around w/out knowing it - so check your spread frequently (some days are worse than others). Remember Cayuga LLs have to be 18" to be legal. Bigger Salmon and Browns are usually to be found over structure/bait pod combos. I don't typically run baits in just the top part of water I'm working, I like to offer presentations throughout, though this can get tricky over structure. -Andy

Greg, sounds like a pretty good fathers day outing to me . I'm jealous (spent Dad's day chopping 2cd cutting but we should be done soon ) -Andy

Chris, it made my day to know you are back on the water! -Andy

Vic, my thoughts & prayers for you and family. -Andy

Outstanding Brown! GREAT BALLS OF FIRE- THAT'S SOME FISH!

Sorry if I clouded up the thread. I was trying to get Mark some good basic speed guidelines that he can use w/o a temp/speed monitor for trolling on the FLX. I use 2 depth raiders (high & low) on the Fingers/ big O to deal w/ both temp and current considerations. I run DR down speeds from 1.7-3.0 on the Fingers and Ontario.-Andy

Great pics Sean! That's some quality steel hauling I'm jealous as all get out (stuck in a tractor).-Andy

Mark, I'd say these are gps speeds. I think you will find that for the most part you can go 2.5+ and target most species in the Fingers. Faster speeds cover more water if you are in 'search' mode. If you are marking good concentrations of fish and they don't respond to what you are showing them, then change speeds as well as lures + drive in a 'S' pattern. -Andy

Thanks Split, I'll stop at Barney's house tomorrow, anybody else need an entry form? -Andy

Give us some background info or link? -Andy

I'm hoping to get out tomorrow, sounds promising! Might have to do a solo run- if anybody wants to fish out of LP or Myers PM me.-Andy

Sounds like a great adventure, the heck with the fishing! -Andy

Mark, you want gps speed or down speed?

I agree w/ Okuma on maxing sensitivity for jigging, also check ping speed - you want to crank that up pretty good too. Another thing that could be a factor is where on the boat you are making your drops from w/ respect to the location of the transducer.Also, remember that if the boat is drifting a fair amount, fish marks will look like smeared lines, and the jig drop can take on an unusual look, especially if your drop rate is on the slow side.

Sounds like a good brown and a great adventure!

I like to run peanuts, spin n glows and squids behind the BW Grease traps, slower speeds seem to make this combo work better most days.

If you are only going to be running 2 rods, you might want to consider using at least one Roemer liberator instead of 2 free sliders just b/c then you will have more control over where the cheater baits sits in the water column.Also, you won't have quite the control over a large fish w/ a spinning reel that you do w/ a trolling reel nor will it be as easy to control your leads behind the weight.

Thanks for all your hard work on the fishery! Have a happy B-Day!-Andy