bout time

Today’s progress.... floor sealed, roof tarped, benches built, and carpet installed. ‘Bout Time Mike

I acquired a new piece of land to hunt (85 acres). It came with a “hunting camper”. I was given rights to do whatever was needed to make it “livable”. So far it’s been an advantage but I can start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Did the ceiling and walls today, ripped out the flooring, will paint and new floor tomorrow. Wondering what pics everyone else has of their hunting campers. ‘Bout Time Mike

I have 2 of these reels and they are great. I only use them for a couple guys who have shoulder injuries or just can’t handle the regular rods anymore. Mine are loaded with mono and used for my riggers. Super smooth drags and so far they have held up great (6 seasons so far). As far as “braided line only” I believe that is just for the line counter. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

Raymarine C series. adjust the gain and you can see anything you want ‘Bout Time Mike

I’ve run them off riggers, coppers, and dispies. I’ve had good luck with “bloody nose,and green glow). I’m throwing it out there to see what other people do . Never too late to stop learning new tricks .... 'Bout Time Mike

No flasher. I run them straight 'Bout Time Mike

Now that J plug season is here, what is everyone’s favorite plugs to run, and what is your go to setback off the riggers? Do you run short leads or lengthen them out ? 'Bout Time Mike

It can mean a lot of things : 1. Not interested in particular lure once up close 2. Not the correct action 3. Incorrect lead lengths 4. Not in the mood 5. Wrong speed causing all the above 6. Etc The most important thing is once a strike is triggered pay close attention to details. Depth of rigger or line out of dipsy, Setback from riggers (lead lengths) Speed (surface or downspeed) Direction of troll Direction of wind Repeat, Repeat, Repeat ...... You will often get strikes going one particular direction only to turn around and go through them again the opposite direction and not get bit. One thing to start with is a rigger with a setback (lead length) of 8-10’ and another one at 20’ +\-. Whatever one gets the strikes set the other to match. Let the fish’s mood that day determine your setup Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

Definitely the go to man on the south shore !!!! Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

As the season gets near the end generally Bigger flashers will outproduce others. I run large flashers off rigger and long lines (coppers) and smaller flashers generally off my dipsies. With that said though last week 7 of my 13 hits came off a 8” spin dr and meat head off a rigger. Let the fish tell you on the day what they want. Just remember when using large flashers with longer leads you need to be conscience of the large spin radius and other lines Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

Defiantly a touchy subject with most. I understand your wanting to help and participate but you need to also understand the captains side. Sometimes our fishery can be tough and the difference between getting bites is simply a 5’ +\- setback from the riggers. Not to mention every boat fishes different. We are in a day where riggers are $500+ , rigger weights in excess of $60 or more, flashers, flies etc all adding to a single setup worth $$$ The captain is doing everything he can to put you in position to get a chance to land a fish. When he allows others to rig for him and spends his gas to get to the grounds and back and a rod doesn’t fire the chances of you going back with him are slim. I have mated on many of the top charters on the lake and in most cases I can say this is the norm. On occasions there have been times we have had the clients assist and help and it is definitely a comfort level between us. I also have been on many charters where I paid and I sit back and watch. Use the trip to your advantage and pay close attention to the details. You will be amazed what you can pickup. Talk to the captain and show interest in what he is doing and chances are you will get into his comfort zone. More times than not this will lead to the results you are looking for. Also picture yourself having thousands invested into your vessel and gear and having a perfect stranger jump aboard your boat and start moving rods and changing lures etc. It’s a lot to take in and a lot to think about. In the end it comes down to your overall personality, interest, and the comfort level the captain has with you. It is easy to tell when people really know what they are doing versus the ones who say they do and truly have no clue. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

Wednesday is out if they predicted it right ..... ‘Bout Time Mike

We were greeted with 2-4’ waves once out of the chute from the NW and almost turned around. I decided to push to 400’ and if we were lucky we’d get one troll in. From 400-250 it was loaded and we had non stop action. One we hit 250 it dried up but the waves had died down so we did one more push out to 400. We ended the day 6 for 9 in 4 hours. Some true quality fish. Riggers down 90/110/115 and dipsy out 310 took all the fish. Green jean spoon, green dot with meat, matador with sweat pea fly, and NBK paddle with meat head accounted for all the fish. ‘Bout Time Mike

unfortunately there is always one guy that seems to be the issue. This year especially with the word out that the fishing is lights out i am seeing more and more inexperienced boaters that just dont get it. they see a boat and think they have to fish right next to them to catch fish. i go out of my way to avoid the packs but sometimes i think i have a magnet because there seems to be someone i cant shake. its gets frustrating for sure

Fished 530 -11 Saturday morning with a crew from camp. We ended the day 9 - 13. We hit 3 fish in tight (100-120’) first thing in the morning then things dried up. I pushed out to deeper waters and we hit them solid from 270-350’. We had constant action with 3 doubles and multiple singles Every rod fired in my spread. Riggers down 65/78/88/90. Dipsys set on “1” out 220/240/260/270 Dipsy on a “3” out 300/315/330 And 450 copper Green Jean, Carbon 14, Die Hard spoons Meat rigs behind green dot spin drs, green Echips, and golden boy flashers Green dot paddles with hammer and stud flies. UV 2 face paddles with stud fly Matador paddle with sweat pea fly ‘Bout Time Mike