Reel Doc

I went in about 10:30 and waved at the one other boat trolling just North of the launch, that must have been you. It was a bouncy ride back from the silos for sure. Glad it settled down for you.

That sure looks like smoother water than what I was on around Dean's Sunday morning. Where were you fishing?

All Laker day.

I had the pleasure of a trip in that rig last Winter. When the sun is out it is like a greenhouse in there. Andy knows how to make it so comfortable you can't complain when the fish aren't biting

A knee issue has kept me off the water and mostly out of the woods the past 2 months so very excited to get out this morning. Strong South wind made it kind of snotty out there but the fish didn't care about the surface conditions. North out of Dean's to get the push of the wind and ran a simple tight formation of 2 downriggers carrying spoons with sliding cheaters down 35-70 and a long copper carrying a flasher fly down the chute. Everything caught fish and was boxed out in 2 hours. Nothing huge, all 20-24 inches and some smaller ones tossed back. Took over a half hour to bounce through the waves back to Dean's but no complaints here. An early Christmas present to be on the water....can't wait to get out again!!

Do photos from the woods overlooking the lake count too? I'm spoiled as it's right outside our window every day so on the water pics, in the woods and from our deck. How blessed are we all to enjoy what nature has to offer

I'm setting him up with a Pflueger Supreme SUPSP30X Spinning reel and a Diawa Spinmatic D travel rod so easy to take on the plane. Can certainly load it with braid. How long a flouro leader? Attach with a little spro swivel or will it restrict casting, or should the leader length exceed casting range? FYI, a newly met coworker at the horse track gave me some Crappie fillets recently as incentive to get me out for Fingerlakes Panfishing in the Spring. I must say the fillets are tiny compared to salmon and trout but really taste good. I haven't had an ultralight setup since college days so I'm going to need a setup in time for Spring.

My son started college in Daytona Beach Florida this Fall. Some friends have been taking him panfishing, primarily for Crappie. I'm getting him a spinning reel/rod for Christmas and wondering what line should go on it. The pictures he has sent through shows lake waters there are crystal clear so I'm thinking Fluorocarbon in 4 or 6 lb test. Does it make sense to go that route or will mono be good enough? I guess they've used some minnows but mostly throwing jigs either from shore or in kayaks. It sounds like fun though I get a little nervous when he sends pics fishing from a kayak with Gators nearby.

Thanks for finding and posting the online version as much easier for all to read

Such a great story. Thanks for sharing it. Could not agree more about how great so many fisherman and hunters can be. Without this website I probably would still be trying to catch my first legal salmon or trout trolling from the boat. 😉

This article came out Sunday in our area newspaper, The Fingerlakes Times. Hope you all can zoom in well enough to read it, but if not, perhaps you fellas who created this story can give us the details. My congratulations to Mark and Vince as well as Jonathan Forder. It's no coincidence that great things happen when fishermen work together. An early Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Nice rig. Good luck with the sale!

These are the first flashers I have seen with an echip. Anyone use them before? Feedback on if the echip is effective?

FishingFool34, Thanks for the very informative reply. I see the ControlKing has different models for the different brands/ages of motors while the Trollmaster does not. Any reason to think one might perform better than the other on certain kickers?

I'm looking to improve control of trolling speed with the 9.9 hp kicker on my 24 foot Wellcraft. Really interested in feedback from all of you that have a throttle controller on what you are using and any likes and dislikes. Thanks, Greg