Reel Doc

Can you fish live bait on the bottom or do you need to suspend a little? I've heard in some areas the gobies are a nuisance. Sent from my Pixel 2 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Most perch fisherman were very polite back when water leverls were too low to launch from Cayuga state park. Of course I wasn't quizzing them on where the hotspots were.

Nice. Fish fry at your house! My neighbor down on 89 claimed the perch move South fron the shallower North end on Cayuga this time of year. Do they hang around long or move back North soon? I have never targeted them here but seeing that stout pile makes me hungry!!

Sounds very similar to what was happening last Sunday. Sooner or later the Silver fish need to come join the Laker party in the shallows. Those huge balls of bait should attract their attention. Maybe another week will bring them in. Did you go South past Sheldrake? I didn't last weekend but wondering how it is from there down to the powerplant.

I checked in with Tony at Great Lakes Planers and sent him a bunch of pictures of what I have. He's pretty comfortable that he can get me set up. Thanks all for the help. After a couple trips with Chowder seeing Planers in action I'm looking forward to giving it a go on my boat.

I appreciate your reply. Metal work is beyond my.capability but I'm sure i can find someone who will give it a go to get it up and running.

I obtained this Invader double mast years ago but never mounted it on the boat. It came without a base or backer plate and looks like the company is long gone. Does anyone know if mounts are compatible between brands or does anyone happen to have an Invader mount/backplate kicking around? The third photo shows the short threaded pope that came with it for engaging a base plate.

Great pictures! 👍 Nice meeting you at Dean's dock as we loaded out at the same time. I second your comments as we discussed at the dock the same happened to me with hungry lake trout smashing the stickbaits on the boards. Did also get a couple borderline small salmon and one robust laker off spoons on the downrigger set from 15-25 feet down. Kept a couple Lakers for fish fry tonight and set loose the rest. It was a super calm morning on the water......perhaps that's why the silvers were finicky or is it better to get farther South on the lake? Unfortunately I found a bunch of floating debris and weeds in spots primarily South of Deans. We all can do without the weeds.....😨

Very nice!!

You and anyone else who needs rod systems absolutely should go to greatlakesplaners.com as they are right in upstate New York. Others on the LOU recommended them to me. I bought a pair of triples this winter and really like everything about them. Well made, fully adjustable, the price was right and shipping free. I will look to them first for anything I may want to add in the future.

So to finish the Empire Pass topic I checked in with Cayuga state park and was told a $5 savings to renew online. But then I stopped at the park office to get the above blue tag renewed to display in the truck. They said sometime this summer the self serve automated machines at unmanned launches like Dean's will be replaced with units that will read Empire Pass cards so in the future we will swipe and get a ticket to display on the car dash.

Nice shoes!

This is what they gave me at Cayuga state park last year

Sure, my annual Empire pass expires at the end of the month. Betting if I don't renew and use a launch the first week of May there will be a ticket waiting on the truck when I get back.

Yours must have been the only trailer in the Dean's parking area this afternoon when I drove by. Nice to see the water temps and water levels are rising!

Here are some pics of the trip. One thing I have to say is that a trip with Andy is about more than just fishing, it's an adventure!!

Ok, I may lack many years of trolling experience like most of you, but I have to consider the science behind this. Don't you have to believe it all comes down to timing? If you put your bait in the right place at the right time, then whether suspended or at the bottom, that big ass lazy fish is going to say "that is an easy meal" and hammer it. OR, you drop it right in front of it's face and hungry or not it says "how dare you swim 2" in front of my mouth" and they hammer your bait again. Keep in mind most, (but not all), of us fisherman have a significant number of brain cells BUT, the fish we chase are really not too bright so we have to keep it simple and on their level. Also consider, if a fish had a human brain would it ever in a million years try to eat some flashy chunk of metal or a plastic bag, (fly) colored and sliced thinking it is a small fish? I sure as hell would not and if anything would swim the other way as if my life depended on it, which it does!! When I look at it from that angle I truly believe that fish have minimal brain cells and are really stupid. What that says about us as fisherman I'm unsure since if we are infinitely smarter than the fish then we should always be catching our limit!! Maybe I'm nuts, but that's my 2 cents and even with that in mind I still love fishing even if I am getting the best of a rather dumb creature.

Is that true in the Spring? Seems like this past month I find hungry Lakers but no silvers in the upper zone.

Very nice. I'm guessing you were working the East side as nothing out that far on the West. A half dozen boats were out on the West side while I was out but no reports at the docks as I was off the water ahead of the others. A beautiful day and hopefully signs of great days ahead.

Late Saturday night at the track so slept in this morning. Such a great day I just had to get on the water. Launched at Dean's and lines wet by 10:30. Worked the shallow water for an hour hoping the overcast and little chop on the water might help but nothing doing. Didnt mark much bait and water temps at 36-37 even in shallow so maybe need a little warmer? Early Spring fishing is all new for me. Hopefully will get an idea of what the silvers like over the next month. Wind died off and lake went flat so worked out to 100 fow and started finding active lake trout. The biggest of the day was also the first of the day. Hammered a white flasher/fly off a dipsey set #2 out 200. Took a few minutes to get that one in and the next hour and a half was non-stop with fish taking the dipsey rig as first choice but downrigger with spoon and the long copper with a flasher/fly were firing too. I was spent at a Baker's dozen, all fish were in the 100-130 fow corridor. Scooted out towards the middle to take a peek but the screen was pretty much blank from 140 fow all the way out past 250 and back. Home by 2. Now time to try another recipe in the new smoker!

Dean's is open and should be fine. Water level up a little from 2 weeks ago so should keep getting better

I wish!! A nice looking ride for sure.

Looking good! Wish I was there but did enjoy working on my Funky Chicken Dance!

I forgot to add, that is a sharp boat! I'm looking forward to getting a hard top on mine but really need to invest in an autopilot and updated electronics first. All in due time.....

I agree. This week the lake has come up a little more so I would think you'll be ok at Dean's. Last week I backed my trailer in past the end of the concrete ramp and at least to the end of the dock but the ground was smooth and firm. I was on the South side of the dock. If the water levels keep coming up like they have the last 2 weeks we will be in even better shape next week.