raider44

Thanks for all the suggestions... Happy New Year.

Hi guys.. Off-topic question. I am getting married in September 2014 and we are looking at the Finger Lakes as a possible honeymoon destination. I am from northern Ohio, I am familiar with Oak Orchard and Rochester areas- but not the Finger Lakes region. Unfortunately we wont be fishing... but interested in Wine country and other fun things. Does anyone have any advice? Thanks for the help! Troy

Not to be the broken record, but I fished #30 braid years ago the first time I had ever fished on Lake O, the fleas were terrible. Had to cut the braid and hand wind the dipsy in. If you don't want to invest in wire, run #30 mono and Walker Deeper Divers. You can achieve depths of 55-60 feet. Took several big kings using mono each year. This is what I did before buying a few wires from a guy on this site.

Will give that a try. Thanks guys

I added a boom corner rigger this year. However, I rarely run downriggers unless fishing Lake O. For the first time today (on Erie), I tried the newly added boom corner rigger. I think it may have cause some stress to the gunwale it is mounted to. The gunnel is 8 inches wide and pure aluminum (as the rest of the boat is). Is there anyway to reinforce the gunnel? I not worried about the rigger causing damage, but am not 100% sure either...

This is a problem in Lake Erie, particularly around the Islands. It looks like green (sometimes even red) paint floating on top of the water.

Just as important to buying a quality unit is correct installation. I like to think I can do everything myself, but I always have a professional install my transducer. [ Post made via Android ]

I have read that one and dan keatings other books. He charters lake michigan but the majority of the text is relevant to lake o. It has helped me put more salmon and steelhead in the cooler for sure. All of his books are easy reads. [ Post made via Android ]

I have two 10 colors loaded CV 45's. I have 250 yards of 40/10 braid for backing. There is a current topic discussing the more effective set-up; 10 color or 200' copper. I am not 100% positive, but am pretty confident the 200' copper would fit on the cv45 as well.

I fish the western/central basin of Erie and would bring my Jets with me to lake O. Recently I invested in 2 leadcore rigs and a 400' copper. The core and Jets both achieve depths of 50', but the leadcore/copper adds stealth to your presentation. Jet has a 5-8' leader, core/copper has 25-50' leader.

I've been stopped by the DEC and they have taken samples from the snouts of kings that have been clipped. They said there is a miniature magnet inserted and can give them information regarding the fishes history. They did state a 25-30% failure rate regarding the clipped fin. We had two that day that were not clipped.

Thinking about using pancake weights on our boom riggers, but I have never used them. Couple of questions; 1) How far to the side will pancake weights track versus finned weights? 2) Will 10lb pancakes have too much blow back? Also considering torpedo weights, have never used them either.. Any suggestions are appreciated. [ Post made via Android ]

Looks like a future fisherman! [ Post made via Android ]

We use to order our pike balls from Eagle Claw, however they just discountinued them this winter... I can find out and re-post here later if anyone is interested.

Very insightful. Thanks for sharing this.

What's the best way to catch Cohos in later summer? It's been a while since we've brought in cohos that time of year. Always target kings and steelhead, and land an occasional brown, atlantic, and laker, but never the coho... We do know how to tell them apart. [ Post made via Android ]

They're beginning to make a come back in lake erie... I've never caught one. I believe many people used to catch them and use them for firewood because they would burn in the wood burner for days.. thus leading to the endangered list. As for the snakehead more and more are being reported caught in newspapers and online forums. I know of a few caught in the central basin of erie the past 2 years. [ Post made via Android ]

I like sampo swivels too. Use the smallest size you can get away with. Depending on the lb test line I am using determines if I use a leader or not. 17lb test I don't use leaders. 30lb test and I use a 20lb flurocarbon leader.. around 8 foot. [ Post made via Android ]

Walleye and yellow perch!!! Just not as fun to catch.. [ Post made via Android ]

Anyone ever tried it for yellow perch? swapping the original spreader for one of these... it can be tough enough to keep two hooks baited when in a pile of yellow/white perch though.

I got mine a few days ago... I did not receive the Aug issue and had to call customer service- very helpful.

In the early morning hours, 5:30-7:00am, I like running all spoons of downriggers, and I like running them with short leads from the ball. Try 6-12 feet early in the morning, if time goes by with no hits, begin to stretch them out a little further as the morning goes on. As for colors, numerous patterns involving green and glow are popular. http://www.attheoak.com/spoons.html this link will give you a good idea and has pictures of most spoons too.

We took a lot of fish off the NFN UV Black Death meat combo last year.

Thanks for sharing the website and ladderback info. I had not heard of it till just now. [ Post made via Android ]