Reel Doc

My wife spent the time researching vacuum sealers a couple years ago and found this Avid Armor.  It checks all the boxes for us, highly recommend. 

Stopped Tuesday to find duck hunters chopping it open.  Looked again just now and it's open but note the chunks at the launch

Have enjoyed every post on this thread.  Congratulations on a great trip and to both of you for getting it done!!

49 minutes ago, Big Spoon said:

Hey, I know that guy!   

No kidding, your smoked Laker recipe is top shelf.  Have a lil Chief smoker do the smoking. Just had some of the last batch on a salad for my lunch.  I have a crew I work with who love when I bring along some for them to enjoy!!

4 hours ago, kavorka said:

That lure looks familiar!? Did you try the cherry wood yet for smoking? Thanks for the report 

. Your cherry wood made outstanding smoke for a stout Ontario Laker.  Sliced the fillets thin and used this dry brine recipe including the honey glaze for the last hour.  It really is candy.  Apple chips also work great with the recipe, while Alder not quite as well with Lakers, better with King fillets.  If I run low on wood I might give you a shout!  

Hmmm, without evidence of intact fish caught out on the lake, we have to wonder if those fillets were caught in the seafood section of the grocery store on the ride home!!  

Went out on Cayuga yesterday morning for the first time since early July as took some combo camping/fishing journeys to Ontario instead.   Beautiful morning though the pesky South wind gave the lake those nuisance tight white caps to deal with.  Marked some fish and bait, mostly 50-100 feet down in 80-200 fow.  This post spawn Laker stayed on board to head to the smoker.  Stomach full of alewives.... Funny it hit the goby pattern spoon.  No doubt there will be many more post spawn Lakers out there in the weeks to come.  A few more 18-20 inch fish kept the morning entertaining.  The foliage is peaking now, so great time to be outside!

Beautiful fish!  Sorry to hear about the net overboard.  Fishing solo can often have you wishing you are an octopus as a few extra hands would be helpful!!

Incredible that a buck would be that far out.  Was that some velvet coming off the antlers or something else?

BTW, nice fish too! 

This was in the Fingerlakes Times Newspaper today!!

Yes, very peaceful place with minimal boat traffic. We really enjoy that campground so will bring the boat again.  I'm still a novice fishing Ontario so any water time is great for the learning curve.

Camping this weekend at Golden Hill State Park and brought the boat along to spend some time on the water.  Nice launch area but a little surprised when going through the channel into the lake there was excessive mud/sediment build up in the center so had to raise the prop a bit.

On an evening trip so stayed inside setting up at 150.  Meandered out almost to 300 before turning back in.  The lake was flat as no significant wind, yet when zigzagging the boat speed varied up to  3/4 mph when going West/Northwest vs East/Northeast. Must be some strong current moving through there.

Screen had occasional bait pods and rare fish marks, most down 75 to 125.  Coming back in at 180 fow found some very acrobatic steelhead.  Hits were on spoons off the riggers down 75 and 95. Dipseys with flies never fired.  One last heavy fish gave my wife 10 minutes of entertainment before it finally broke off.  

A beautiful evening to be on the water.

Looking for recommendations on someone who does fiberglass boat detailing in the Finger lakes region but willing to drive for getting nice work done.

On 7/28/2022 at 8:46 AM, MSFishing said:

Hey all,

 

I had been creeping around on the forum for the better part of 6 months and had even made two posts asking for help catching lakers from a kayak. I recently got back from a trip to Cayuga lake and actually had some pretty good success for a first time laker fisher (on a kayak no less). I really want to thank all of you who replied to my posts (JJBat150, Muskie141, Reel Doc, Dlott, Jk1, ecto2, wildlaker607, follow the waves, and anyone else who gave me a reply). I'd like to especially thank GreenLaker75 and ChasinFin who reached out via PM and answered many of my questions. 

 

I was able to catch 3 lakers off of sheldrake in about 100ft and then another laker off Taughannock in about 80ft. Biggest was 25".

 

 

 

 

The picture says it all.  Cayuga has you hooked now......Congratulations!!

Looks like those youngsters had a blast!! 

Sounds like you fished most of the day to get on them.  Your patience and persistence is admirable.  As always, way to get it done.

I asked the same question in This Old Boat tab back in November 2019.  This comparison table was submitted so hopefully it helps you decide.  There is a significant difference in costs between units.   I ended up going with Control King as simple with no extras worked for me.  

I tried a coho setup on Cayuga this Spring with a yellow 6" Spin Doctor and a trailing Howie fly.  It caught a couple Lake Trout,  but no Silvers.  When Cayuga Lakers are hungry, sometimes I think they will attack anything you put in the water ......

16 hours ago, BreakingBass said:

BTW, it was so bumpy I lost my hat on the ride out to 150'.  Tried to recover it but no luck.  Once out there I saw someone else's hat float by.

Nobody likes losing their hat......Try the Wind finder app.  I like that you can get a real time map showing wind speed and just as important, wind direction.   As we all know, conditions can change in a hurry, but it's nice to have up to the moment wind info.

BTW, Nice catch!!

Sounds like you had a great week.  Getting out on the water before sunrise or at sunset is a beautiful and peaceful time.  Thanks for sharing the photos!

Isn't it great when you get to that point where you ALMOST say, "Please fish leave us alone".  Fishermen's Nirvana......when I die I hope God sends me there!!  Great stuff, thanks for sharing

Welcome to Summer fishing.....  Weed pods seem to float around completely random .  At least on a slow fishing day if a line hits one you get an instant of excitement thinking a big fish is on!!

Great fish, and there is definitely added satisfaction to getting the job done Solo!

Looks like you found some good fishing!  Past couple years the fleas have been bad on Cayuga for about a month from mid June to mid July, then they tail off some.  Even with preventative line it seems like you need to check lines out every 20-25 minutes as definitely no fun having a nice fish on and you can't enjoy reeling it in.  

Nice!  I thought you had gone exclusively kayak.  Gave your legs a break from pedaling today.  Thanks for reporting!