Sk8man

Although my boat is fiberglass I believe this also works on painted aluminum. It works great for most stains. It can be found online or most Walmarts etc. carry it in the boating section.

Might want to upsize your spoons to see if change.

Great honest appraisal of the situation out there. Thanks Rick

Spoonfed - the data in derbies is radically skewed and not truly representative of the usual fishing conditions. With hundreds of fishermen running many more hundreds of lines and lures an unusual number of fish will be caught including big ones, but that does not represent the usual situation I was referring to . Normally, there may be only 5-10 guys (or less) out fishing for trout on a given day here. Most of the trailers at the launches are rec boaters and perch and bass folks. I based my comments on 35 years of keeping DEC Angler Diaries and sixty plus years of fishing here,. My intention was not to be critical of the lake but to alert potential people who may travel long distances to fish the lake that they may not be getting the results of the derby leader board; avoiding disappointment and the feeling that they were being unintentionally mislead by the derby data. John's results on the rainbows to laker ratio were about the same for us about 7 to 1 and most were in the 15to 18 inch class boding well for the fishery. We had one Rainbow about 6 or 7 lbs to the surface that got off but most seemed to be in the younger year classes.

Although Canandaigua Lake has produced some impressive trout over the years they are few and far between. The number of fish caught and present in Canandaigua Lake has been constantly reducing for many years now. I have fished it since the late 1960"s and the amount of bait present, the number of fish present has radically diminished. In the seventies and eighties bait could be seen stacked up over a hundred feet high for hundreds of yards. There were also large schools of Rainbow Smelt present in addition to the sawbellies. On the graph many fish were noted both on bottom , suspended, and mixed in or near huge bait pods. Now days bait pods are very much scattered and much smaller although there is still noticeable bait present in some areas. There is still a strong contingent of naturally produced rainbows present and strong year classes of smaller ones quite active. In the 1960's through the early 2000's there were a lot of Lake Trout across the range of sizes. Lately, there seems to be the occasional large one caught, but nowhere near the presence of small to medium sized ones that used to be caught. Although the occasional large Brown Trout is caught and mostly during derbies routine trolling does not turn up many and some of this is related to their habits which used to be exploited by night fishing for them and which is seldom seen anymore. Canandaigua Lake is VERY heavily used recreationally (e.g. ski boats, cigar boats, sailboats, and jet skiis) so during the summer given the crowded congested launch and parking lot, narrow navigation channel, and heavy concentration of people unfamiliar with fishing concerns or even boating courtesy it can be daunting. Luckily, the derby is early in the season when recreational boat traffic is lighter. The folks that caught winning fish in this years derby really earned them as the wind and weather was pretty brutal for trollers as you had very little control of speed/direction etc. because of the extreme WNW wind.

Hope I'm not the only one fishing it but at least I would have a chance to win

Hard to tell the condition of the hub but if it is in good condition I will take it.... message me for details.

Why no trash talking this year guys....kinda disappointing

Another example where persistence pays off

Over the years I have tried to give tips on here based on my own experiences on the Fingers, and I always keep my eye out for things that I feel work real well. I know this one may backfire on me as giving out "top secret" things that should be kept to myself but I couldn't resist mentioning this before the upcoming derbies because I believe it is something special. It is the use of Elmer Hinckley spoons. I have been using them for awhile now and they are by far the best I have ever seen. The real gold and silver plating on them makes them show up for a lot further than nickel plated stuff. It is so shiny that they are hard to photograph without reflections of other stuff. The hardware on them is superb. They are about all I use now. Is this a plug for the owner? Yes; but totally voluntary and without his knowledge. I always feel good about supporting quality stuff and especially when it is made by one of our own guys on LOU. These spoons were originally developed in the late 1800's specifically for the Finger Lakes (in Naples, NY for Canandaigua Lake in particular). Anyway, just wanted to pass it along before the derbies in case someone is hoping to increase their chances. My wife made an interesting comment when she saw the spoons (she has no interest in fishing). She said "Those things look like they belong in my jewelry box"

Nice one! If you (or anyone else for that matter) ever need to buy more fixed hook Sutton's for pulling copper let me know. I have a bunch.

After fishing the derby for 60 years I've seen all of the ups and downs both in fish populations and number of participants. Despite some close win calls over the years I have placed a bunch of times but never won. What keeps me coming back has always been the challenge of trying to figure out the fish and what adjustments I have to make to the conditions and my tactics. The sporting challenge is everything; not the money. Even after all these years and the changing conditions I still get excited every year about the derby and look forward to seeing old friends out there and kicking around ideas and theories. And after things may not turn out well I always say to myself "maybe next year". That is part of the game and keeping that excitement alive is a mentally healthy thing to do.

Nice going Kevin. Did you hook up an air hose to that bottom ones butt?

I share Fisherdude's concern about whether catch and release fish actually make it after release; especially when netted and placed on a hot deck and coming from warm water. I seldom if ever bring fish into the boat or even net them when in my own boat. I use needle nosed pliers at the side of the boat and use single hooks to facilitate this. I figure if the fish isn't touched or traumatized by netting or bringing into the boat they have a much better chance of survival but the question atill remains: Do they actually make it after the fisght (maybe lactic acid buildup might croak them?). This method doesn't apply to walleyes or perch however. If they are big enough they are bled out and "coolerized"

exactly it.

Nice going Bill Always a great time when your kids are into it to the same degree as you