Sk8man

I believe it was only a partial stocking. They were from the Rome hatchery

Both styles of the Chamberlains work well and are less cumbersome than the Rohmers. I believe there is a max pressure setting of 4 lbs on them but they excel at lighter settings. I ocasionally use the stacker version for that purpose but I favor Black releases over others because they have just about infinite pressure settings so that when tightened they stay that way under load from dodger/flasher/Spin Docs.

3,000 9 inch browns stocked today at the pier at north end. No seagulls noted nearby and no floaters. Hopefully some wwill make it through adulthood

Traditionally they were used with a nightcrawler with a loose section hanging off the last hook JJ

Thanks Bill....much appreciated

Sweet Stan Those pics look good to me....beautiful fish!

Good going Brian. Looks like you are fully back in the swing of things and that is good to see. My first time back on the computer and the fifth day of Covid unfortunately. Can't wait to get out there myself. Lucky the boat didn't sink with all that hardwear back there

Although it may be unclear whether Gobies pass botulism on to humans they do however pass it on to other fish that eat them as well as birds that prey on them. They also indiscriminantly eat the eggs of other fish such as perch, bass, walleye and many others. They severely disrupt the food chain and food web so despite them eating the zebra mussels which is thought to be the source of the botulism and they may supplant a native species such as the freshwater Sculpin it is not without cost.

Gobies can contain Botulism and they can out compete Sculpin which are a re considered a native (rather than invasive) species

Oh Oh! Looks like the Round Goby has arrived (or possibly been there awhile)

The easiest way to tell is difficult from the pics unfortunately Steve. The Sculpin has two fins on the underside while the Round Goby has only one fin and it resembles a "suction cup" Just looking at the pics it appears that they are Freshwater Sculpin.

Welcome. Looks as though you have a good start on things. Best off luck out there this season.

Ditto.... just what I was thinking

Great choice

Thanks looks great

With fresh ones they can be filleted skins off and then put the fillets in a leak proof plastic bag or large zip lock and put salt and concentrated lemon juice in it let them sit for an hour or so. Most of the fishy smell and taste will be gone quickly and gently rinse them just prior to cooking (not too much rinsing as it dissipates the oils). I haven't ever tried it with frozen fish but I also remove the grey lateral line during filleting too as that is where a lot of the strong fishy taste comes from.

Yes but try getting off the lake during a storm when your big motor quits or won't start

Yes the looks on the littlest ones faces was precious and they let the kids gently touch the fish while they took scale samples

It is 36 inches as seen but can extend to 53 inches

Not sure what they would find when they examined further up the creek but my hunch is that given the rather mild weather conditions this winter and the brief warmer temps (e.g. 60) there may have been an earlier run but there still could be fish farther up. In the past I have caught them in mid May. I haven't fished it for a few years though.

For those folks that are curious..... I was a bit late and missed the first go round but reportedly 4 bows netted and 2 browns mixed in at first spot on the main road. I went to Digger Dam for the second netting and a pretty good crowd built up only saw three rainbows netted largest 6.02 lbs. Here are some pics to give you a feel of things: