Has Been

My buddy talked me into meeting him at Sodus this morn. Went out in the lake in 10-25/ in front of Maxwell for smallmouths. 1 rockbass. Havent been  to that spot in 30 years.

 Went into the bay and we did about 12 largemouths by 11 biggest 3 lbs . . Hula grub & Sencos 6-15' off weed drops.

A  Lucky 13? Is that boat a Lyman? Old School for sure.

On the lam is spot on.

I use to fish the Oak are all the time spring LOC & do OK on kings. Then the Zebras showed up. Looked at the leader board and saw where all the fish were caught.

Went to the bar & did execptionally well . Look at the Fall loc & see where those fish are caught.

Not going to catch many browns this time of year in 50' of water. You increase your chances of success by

being where the fish are, AT THE RIGHT TIME . Then use what you are confident w/ & you will do well.

It took me a long time to realize this. When I did, I buy & use way less stuff & catch way more fish.

Most important part of the fishing equation is .......LOCATION. Can have all the right stuff out & running great but  you cant catch what ain't there.

KISS.

I drained dry  30 gal or so from my I/O that sat for 5 years.Tuned it up & changed the oil. Spayed fogging oil in cylinders . I then put 5 gals of new gas w/ a LOT of red stbil in it & ran the boat in my driveway on the muffs for a few hours. Ran great after that.

 Put the old gas in my van & shortly after had to replace the  fuel pump.

65# Power Pro for years , no probs. Lots of fish when dipseys are going.

 The Keep it simple plan will serve you well.More is not always  better.

I have the older Black lexan 10a's. Maybe the guy  forgot to give everything /w the rigger. I bought them new and my came with patience.

3 1/2 "  &  4 1/2 " Jointed Rebels , tuned.Great in the shallow water for browns. Also good off riggers past 8 ' .

 A 5 1/2 " was my best spring LOC for kings last year.

02 GMC Savanah 3/4 HD van.  350. 184,000 . New Tranny 150 K . New alternator2 month ago. Brakes last year. Need TLC.

 Been driving every day to work till today. Never let me down. Hauls my 21' Hardtop easily.  1200.00

Could be as simple as a  7' spin rod w/ 8 # test and a  few cleos & krocodiles and go to any of the local piers. . If you have a boat  get a few shallow stick baits & troll around in 5-10' of water. 

On the other end of the spectum,you can go as hog wild as you want.

 Fish will be in close ice out till mid may. Don't forget the net.

I have a 86  35 hp merc  2 stroke. When is last time carb was rebuilt ? Mine did kind of same thing.  Is your hose the original  silver . Mine broke down inside & sent particles to carb.Also check fuel pump diaphram . Whenver I clean out the carb , it fires right up after. Then adjust jets, Last time it did it I was camping. Took off Carb, sprayed WD 40 in the end & dumped it on a white napkin. A tiny piece of funk came out. Thats all it takes.

 DO NOT....... repeat ........... DO NOT use ethenol gas. I have driven 35 miles to fill my tanks. Learned my lesson the hard way. My buddy did also.

Also my nephew down in Naples FLA works with a Marine mechanic. He gets a gallon of gumout &  imerseses whole carb overnight , washes w/ soap & water & blows out w/ air gun. Fixes carbs others don't.Does it all the time.

 Might be time to take it to a mechanic before the season starts . Could be money well spent.

Use 65# braid. Problem solved.

If they are painted I use WD 40 on a rag & or paint thinner & work it off, it takes time. I then repaint if I want, respray W Clear & retape . If Silver plate, I use stripper to get ALL finish off, polish, clean w/ paint thinner for good bond, Paint    if I want , then clear coat. I take the ones I don't like or are beat up  every few years & make a project out of it that takes me  some time to do.   It's fun & I have got some real winners .

As I recall , did they not come wrapped in tissue ? All nice & shinny like jewelry ? I remember how Sexy they looked when they were brand new.

The Hammered 22 was an OK  LO spoon but  an Evil eye or Andy Reeker or Sutton  outfished them , I remember the 06 size that had a tuft of marabou on them. Looked Sexy as all heck  Didn't run  well & no hits. That is when I found out most lures are packedged to catch fisherman, not fish. I went down And looked at all the ones I bought after readind this post.  IMO poor exuse for a spoon. A friend of mine in Hamlin was a field tester.

I have a few of the 7's never saw the water, & yes Dave what I call a mag was a 5 ,not 4.Caught a bunch of fish on evil eyes. real silver plating .

That top one looks like a size  # 2 evil eye. Before the NK / Pirate invasion , they were the go to  spoons for me. The # 3 was the the one most used & the # 4 was the mag. the Blk Silv/ bolt was my best all around. The Silv chart bolt a killer for lakers. Have a # 4  hammered gold one good for late season kings.

 Was fishing in the Si-Tex derby one year long ago  & A # 2 blk silv  got our biggest kings  .i still use them when I have to. Got a bunch of them.

Yes, it gets on the line but it has never once been a problem landing a fish. I bang bottom once in a while in 100' of water .That is about the max I figure on a .5 setting & A reg size dipsey w/ a ring &  some creative S- turning. All I know is how good I do on them w/ like no  problems. See no reason to switch . Sounds like  they will be jumping in the boat if I do.

Since I invented the "Splice in a 150' section of 40# mono method"  of  keeping the fleas off back when these thing first showed up  , I never once had a problem landing a fish w/ fleas.

 Maybe I never have been in them as bad a some of you guys have.

I too also check and change every 45 min MAX as w/ my rigger rods also. You should that often at least anyhow.

Went to open house on Sunday w/ the wife. Would have written a purchase offer on the spot but wife was not enthused.

 Nice house but  some updates needed redoing.

Liked the fact I could come home , jump on Boat & fish or Fly fish just up the street.

 Lit the fire under me to get something like this soon .

 I fish Oak mostly.

My dipseys catch most of my Kings from  late July to Labor day.  I like Spinny & Fly or 11" Hotspots & Meat rigs on them .

 But I'm switching to wire now , Can't wait to turn a 12 fish day into a 36 fish day. Thanks Tim!!

I NEVER have Flea problems with  my braid,NEVER. 

No kinks or curls w/ braid . No twilly. Lasts forever. Cheaper.

 Get a 100  or 300 yard spool 65# power pro, Get empty  reel of similar size, Reel on braid, then mono backing, 20# till full. Then reel back on LINECOUNTER reel you want to use, Palomar knot a big snap. A dipsey rod or a med - heavy rigger rod & you are in the game. As little as $ 15.

As w/ any motor i wonder if it is not the rigger but it not getting enough amps to do the work. If i work on bad power on my const jobs, I tend to cook the armatures on them . Could be the same thing . I have an I/O &  305 chevy  alternator & notice a retrive diff . If I at at say 650 - 850 rpms. A lot of you guys are running kickers that don't generate much amps for a 15lb wt. at deep depths.

Been running 65# power pro for about 7 years now also . See no reason to switch to wire. Gets down to 100 ft. no flea issues.

Can't get warm soon enough