LOC Derby

Below is the link to the NYS DEC website where you can review and comment on the proposed 2010 fishing regulations. Dave Chilson http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/51001.html

Earlier this week I attended the state of the lake meeting and the budget was a big concern. There is a request in to find out who exactly proposed this stamp which I doubt came from Patterson because I would be surprised if he actually knew there were salmon or trout in Lake Ontario. I will keep you posted. As ususual, no one was thinking about the extra money that those that promote the industry will have to try and extract from our customers. It will add an additional $40 bucks to a four person charter. What we all must pay close attention to the Oxy settlement monies which are frozen and no one could tell us exactly why. So all those projects are on hold. Everyone I have spoken to said the money could not be raided but also could not explain the hold. There are no expenditures over $500 that can be made without approval and as of the meeting no expenditures had been approved or turned down. The pheasant farm closure was a real kick in the keester because we just completed a 1/2 hour video of a youth hunt at the Adubon facility utilizing these pheasants and showing the positive aspects of introducing young people to hunting. The good news is that the egg take for 2009 was great and everyone will get a full compliment of fish.

Gill, As Ray stated, one reason is the misidentification. Two times fish have been disqualified at the awards ceremony for that very reason. We took a one year hiatus on the polygrapher to work out some technical issues and that will return in 2009, so they must be present. I only require that 9 winners and their witness show up. At the bottom of the fish sheet is says, "Overall winners, first and second place division winnters and their witnesses are REQUIRED to attend MUST bring their fish." It states the same in the rules. Is that confusing? If there is a problem about attending calling me right before or the next day after the awards ceremony will NOT get it straightend out. If you leave me no time to make other arraingements and the winner and fish are out of state, THEN I am notified, what does one expect me to do?! We take pictures and there are outdoor writers getting the individual stories for press releases. We are capturing the event in high definition video for future advertising, outdoor show promotions, and a video archive to be hopefully published on the web soon. This material is paramount in promoting and growing the derby so the requirement to attend will continue to be mandatory. Attending an awards ceremony is NOT a bad thing. Most people have fun, eat free food and I write big checks and give them trophies. I guess if you enter you are going to have to take into account you just might win. Dave Chilson LOC Derby

Two second place finishers failed to show at the awards ceremony so they were disqualified. And yes I was out of the office yesterday, I am trying to collect all the tickets so I can verify winners and finalize the leaderboard, which should be done this week. All checks will be mailed by Monday or Tuesday of next week. Thanks to all who participated and to all the people at the weigh-in stations and registration outlets. Dave Chilson LOC Derby

There is no youth division, the youth that enters the largest fish of each species receives a trophy. As long as the fish met the required minimum weight, this weight will hold even when division minimums are greater. In addition youths are eligible for all divisional prizes and when they are listed on the leaderboard (Youth) will follow their name. Dave Chilson

Gee whiz and day one isn't over yet...... Sorry about the web site rules. They are now corrected. And YES I should have raised the salmon min to 25 but it will probably be over that by the end of the weekend. Trout minimums are correct. Where I will have to watch out is for the daily prize so YES a 20 pounder could win a daily. You will notice that the date caught is listed after the entrants name: ie 815. Thanks Dave Chilson

The awards ceremony is being held today, July 20th at Abe's waterfront in in Sodus in conjuction with the pro-am. The awards ceremony will be held around 4 (We have had to do a little juggling with the weather) There is a lot of insided seating and there is also a large tent outside. Everyone is welcome and there is a Pig roast. The pig roast is less than 10 bucks and it's all you can eat. See you there.

Mark, Having the date and time fish are entered (that is the tie-breaker) should be on the leaderboard. I have been considering it for a time, except I was told I would have to remove something to make room. Maybe boat names? JUST KIDDING! I'm sure it could be done by the Fall Derby. I am going to ask Chad to do it so if it's not done, you can email him with your complaints. Dave Chilson

For a clarification.......ALL persons aboard MUST be registered, to include the observer. The observer can pick up a free pass at the Captain's meeting to comply with this rule. The pass is only good for the pro-ams and is not eligible for any prize consideration. So make sure if you will be entering fish in the Summer LOC, your observer gets his/her pass. It will be announced at the meeting. Thanks and good luck! Dave Chilson

Before any scale controversy arises, I would like to address this issue. There are four scales in Niagara County, all which have been certified by the County Weights and Measures. I know, I have all the bills for certification. The scale at Youngstown is brand new and he has to reset the zero for several days, until it is completely broken in. I was on the phone this morning with him when it was done. This zeroing function on the scale in no way effects the certification. As far as the difference of the indicated weight of the two scales is concerned I have seen it quite often when weighing fish. I have no idea how this fished was stored for 8 hours, but if it is place in ice and or water, picking up an additional 2 or 3 ounces of water weight is very easy. That’s why if the fish comes to the weigh-in station in ice and water, the fish is supposed to be inverted. It has been my experience that fish lose or gain very little, <1-2%. I have weighed fish over a week later on the same scale and had them weigh exactly the same and with a swing of up to 5 ounces. The only way a fish will lose “a couple of poundsâ€