Sk8man

You make excellent points st94. As with lakers, browns are scroungers and opportunists and they feed on a varied diet. fatheads will work on them as will golden shiners and emeralds and even worms or egg sacks etc. if presented right, and that is where most of the "secrecy" comes in...the presentation of the bait combined with indepth knowledge of their habits and possible vulnerabilities. It is true with trolling as well but a much different approach. I would add one thing to this though and that is that big browns don't get to that large size by being stupid or careless; they are quite wary and the methods employed in catching the smaller ones or even other species may not work at all with them. They also may be doing things differently in their feeding habits that separate them from some of the other fish such as being highly nocturnal feeders and once this is figured out success in catching them improves The Ryans are also a real good example of something I have reiterated on here a bunch of times in different ways:in depth knowledge of your target fish, their habits, food preferences, and positioning in the water column at various times throughout the season will trump any of the fancy equipment so heavily relied on these days. Trolling and stillfishing are two very different approaches and each has its own set of strengths and weaknesses and probabilities attached to it. Derbies also have a very different strategy attached and that is it is not about catching the most fish....it is about catching the biggest fish which is VERY different in practice. I apologize idn713 for hijacking your thread but it seemed like an opportune time to discuss things

Suttontroller94 - You are correct about Will Ryan, Will Jr. and their buddy Josh Zach being excellent bait fishermen and especially so with brown trout. My son and I have competed against them in derbies, and in fact did so again this year. Bill Sr. is a LOU member by the way so he may respond if he sees this post. They came very close this year to beating my 16 lb.derby record brown here on Canandaigua that beat their 13 lb. brown in the 2016 derby, and Will Jr. holds the record for Seneca and Josh Zack won the Canandaigua derby this year with a 15 plus pound brown caught stillfishing as they don't troll. The original question on this post was addressing drifting with bait which is a very different "animal" than even basic stillfishing, and derby fishing secrets are something that are seldom fully given out or discussed on public forums so you may be disappointed in this regard but I'm sure you understand why. We have spent a lifetime figuring out some of the fishing nuances that make a difference in derby fishing for big fish and those guys have it down to a science Consistant results are not accidental.....

Don't always get stuck thinking flasher or Spin Doc because the old style dodger /spoon combination can often impart better action to the spoon depending on what you are running and may tolerate speed a bit better within the range of the spoon.

I'd even venture to say "Great guy to deal with" he is right up the road from the Keuka Lake State Park so if anyone is over that way stop by he has a lot of good fishing stuff at his place or he can pretty much get you whatever you need if he doesn't have it on hand. Always good to support our own LOU folks.

thx JK My name came from the fact that I rollerbladed on the streets of Canandaigua and down by the lake nearly every day or evening that was available for about 20 years. The kids who skateboarded out in front of the courthouse steps started yelling skateman at me when they would see me and then other kids around town started doing it so I got some tee shirts made up with it on there and the name stuck so I figured I'd use it on LOU.

If the mudline is still present and with these crazy winds and mixed up water temps I'd be trolling to just the outside of the mudline and in and out of the edge with the lures running dowwn toward bottom for the browns especially if the sun is up bright.

Sounds as though the decision is already made jigstick You can't always worry about ball busting buddies either...I'd be in a mental institution if that were that case because ALL my buddies do it regardless of whether the issue is valid and....I do the same thing to them but I still make my own decisions and let the chips fall where they may. If you have the funds available and are comfortable with the decision...go for it OR break from the pack and take your chances. Even aside from fishing this is kinda what life is all about.

It seems as though this is like a lot of considerations buying fishing equipment now days and the issue of "expensive=quality" combined with "Do I really need this?" I guess if you live in Beverly Hills this may not seem like much of an issue, but for many of the rest of us paying $400 for a set of planer boards may be something to really think over.. take for example the lights on the boards....do you fish a lot for walleyes at night using the boards? If only occasionally then some small cheap LED lights can easily be added to other less expensive boards and still do the job. The main consideration with big boards is: how well do they track and will they effectively pull the set-ups I intend to use. A good part of this is how your mast (or intended place of attachment) and planer reels are set up which is separate from the specific board selection. The entire purpose of the boards is to maintain your lines out away from the boat and water turbulance and many brand name boards will do that that are far less expensive although some may do it a bit better than others. If it were me I'd be comparing carefully and determining whether you feel comfortable laying out that kind of money and whether it is actually necessary. But on the other hand....thats me.

X2 on great Lakes Lure Company. You may also want to check with Pam Brewer at Brewers Sportig Goods in Ovid if you live out that way.

Keep in mind the bigger you go the more battery usage which also applies to the throttle You should be fine with a 55# and can get by with a little less. Some of it depends on your battery size/capacity too. Hopefully your Honda has an alternator too.

thanks for the positive comments cinnamon fish....much appreciated.

To answer your initial question: drifting with both live or dead bait has been done for years on the Finger Lakes. It can be done with the single method using a three-way swivel with sinker suspended (weight adjusted to conditions) with various length leader, the method you mentioned above, or using multiple leaders on a Seth Green rig with treble or double hooks and live bait slowly drifted through the water. Night fishermen have used a modified version of this rig for years while anchored as well. The problem with using the multiple leader rig on Lake O is the presence of kings as they could easily destroy one of these rigs by tangling it up in ways you've never seen The key to the drift method is the wind direction and velocity. Conditions have to be nearly perfect to do it successfully e.g. light wind blowing from a favorable direction for your position on the water to achieve the right flow and speed. It can be a lot of fun and effective when done correctly.

I think katydid is correct. The movement of the jig attracted the impulsive (instinctual) feeding urge of the laker much like action of a spoon or stick when trolling. When they are feeding on live bait they often "test" the live or dead bait first which is noted by a tick tick on the rod tip. If they don't feel resistance they then will grab the bait and run with it. At this point they may not even have the hook in their mouth or throat which is why you don't pull on them yet. You wait for them to stop (perhaps turn the bait around in their mouth?) and swallow the bait (usually head first) then they run again and then you pull on them. What I am describing here is a feeding "process" rather than an impulsive chase/grab which applies to the jigging. If there is a lot of bait present they can afford to be "fussy", but they are nearly always vulnerable to their impulse to strike something moving near them when near bait. This could also explain fish with multiple bait still in their mouth throat and stomach still striking a moving jig or lure. They may not be all that hungry but the impulse to grab bait is still strong and determines their behavior. I know this is pretty hypothetical but after seeing it happen a few thousand times it is a strong hunch