Sk8man

I decided to delete my comment.

yes those bananas I place in your bilge do wonders Get a telescoping stainless steel ladder like mine Bob if you can find one....never any concerns or problems

Good luck.

Haven't seen any boats out there the past few days because of the ice . The water is crystal clear even from a distance. I'd be casting as far away from the boat as you can

Never put your fingers in the gill area or hold them vertically that way if intending to release it and try to keep the fish as horizontal as possible before releasing it.

Skipper is right on target and gave you great advice. The only way I run boards is wth inlines run on the outside and the lines way back with just spoons or sticks and on the outriggers I run small dispeys off braid and with not all that much line out and with the setting on 0 or 1 at most. I also run the outriggers off the front rather than that the side of my boat (I can do either with my setup and fish them off the side when solo) That way you are underneath the board lines with a fish or over the top of the dipseys if fish comes on board lines. It can be a problem however with a big chinook that doesn't listen to you while giving him instructions

You "new to the board" folks are finally making things happen Jason and it is very gratifying to see. Thanks for your efforts and those of the others on the board. I look forward to chatting with you at the Watkins show Sunday.Thanks for keeping us informed. Les

Well basically it relates to your boat itself and where you intend (or have available) to locate them. Thye can be mounted on the tops or sides of some hard top boats and onthe gunwales of other boats. A critical factor is how high off the water the gunwales are on your particular boat. A major reason for htis is that when there is a chop on the water the outrigger poles tend to bounce a bit or tip (fiberglass poles are more prone to the bouncing the aluminums not so much) and you don't want them slapping the surface of the water. Mine are mounted at about a 35 to 40 degree angle or so off the gunwales which keeps the tips out of the water in anything I care to go out in. The holders are critical and have to be VERY sturdily mounted wherver they are mounted on the boat as there is considerable torque transfer to the base from the normally 15-18 ft poles.

They are a nice option to have in addition to the boards. I run mine during derbies as they can be much more easily seen from a distance so most folks avoid coming as close as they do with the boards in crowded conditions. You can run multiple lines from them and I sometimes run small to medium dipseys from them. If they are set up right (at the proper angle up over the surface of the water) they tend to do better than most boards (especialy inlines) in relatively rough water conditions. As far as cons since you already have them there aren't any they tend to be expensive for the good ones especially the holder mounts.

Another important puzzle piece for the Great Lakes puzzle https://www2.usgs.gov/blogs/greatlakesscience/2014/09/05/cladophora-algae-too-much-of-a-good-thing/

Great photos Tg8. I can see a few of my snags near the channel on Seneca real good

The murky water in the bottom right looks like it might be the goose chyt those thousands left when they were parked there the other day Keep in mind most of the ice covered stuff in the pic is only about 3 ft deep so maybe there is some hope yet

Thanks Hank

You can but running it in back of the cowbells and attached to them is the more effective approach..Both methods might attract fish but the idea is to have it seem as though the peanut or Spin N Glow is something vulnerable or wounded following the attractors. If things appear unrelated it may spook the fish rather than attract it. If you use the Hammerhead cowbells you won't be fighting them that much either.

It shouldn't be long if the temps stay up as I don't think the ice is all that thick as it was open water a short while ago

New DEC syllabus out now: changes April 1st The new DEC New York Freshwater Fishing syllabus that goes into effect April 1st is now out and there are some changes that should be looked at. http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/109353.html Highlights of 2017/18 Freshwater Fishing Regulations Changes The following is a summary of the freshwater fishing regulation changes for the April 1, 2017 through March 31, 2018 period: An 18 inch minimum size limit and daily creel limit of 3 has been established for walleye in Titicus Reservoir (Westchester County); Sacandaga Lake and tributaries and outlet and Lake Pleasant and tributaries (Hamilton County); Kiwassa Lake, St. Regis Falls Impoundment, and Little Wolf Pond (Franklin County); Putnam Pond (Essex County); Cazenovia and DeRuyter lakes (Madison County); Waterport Reservoir (Orleans County); Rio Reservoir (Orange and Sullivan counties); East Sidney Reservoir (Delaware County); Taghkanic Lake (Columbia County); Canadarago Lake (Otsego County); and additional portions of the Seneca River (Cayuga, Onondaga, Seneca and Wayne counties). The 18 inch minimum size limit and daily creel limit of 3 walleye has been eliminated in Chautauqua Lake (Chautauqua County) and Franklin Falls Flow (Essex County). Three short sections of Fish Creek, Indian River and Grasse River in St. Lawrence County have been closed to all fishing from March 16th until the opening of walleye season. The number of brown trout and rainbow trout that can be kept as part of a 5 fish daily limit in Skaneateles Lake has been reduced to no more than 3 of either species. The allowable daily harvest of brown trout and rainbow trout has been reduced from 5 of each to 3 of each and the allowable daily harvest of lake trout has been increased from 3 to 5 as part of the 5 in any combination daily limit regulation for trout, lake trout, and landlocked salmon on Cayuga and Owasco lakes. The minimum size limit for rainbow trout has been increased from 9 to 15 inches on Owasco, Skaneateles and Otisco Lake tributaries. Ice fishing is now permitted on Rushford Lake in Allegany County. Crane Pond (Essex County) has been reopened to ice fishing. The restriction on the number of devices allowed for ice fishing on Bigsby and Copperas ponds (Essex County), Upper Saranac Lake (Franklin County), and Fawn Lake (Hamilton County) has been continued. The Lake Erie and tributaries 20 inch minimum size limit, 1 fish daily limit black bass regulation has been expanded to run December 1 through the Friday before the third Saturday in June. The daily limit for northern pike in the St. Lawrence River has been reduced from 5 to 3. The special trout regulation on Whey Pond (Franklin County) has been eliminated. The special regulation for landlocked salmon on Piseco Lake (Hamilton County) has been eliminated. The minimum size length for lake trout in Woodhull Lake (Herkimer County) has been decreased from 21 to 18 inches. The prohibition on the use or possession of smelt in Lake George has been removed and smelt may now be caught by angling. The special regulation for black bass in the Hamilton County portion of the Hudson River has been eliminated. The minimum size limit for trout at Colgate Lake (Greene County) has been decreased from 12 to 9 inches. The taking of suckers by snatching (but not blind snatching) from January 1 through March 15 in specific portions of the Otselic and Tioughnioga rivers in Cortland County is now permitted. Snatching and blind snatching of lake whitefish is no longer permitted on Piseco Lake in Hamilton County. Spearing bullheads and suckers in all Cayuga and Oswego county tributaries to Lake Ontario is no longer permitted. Fishing is now prohibited at any time on Buttermilk Creek in Cattaraugus County from the mouth to Fox Valley Road Bridge. Several changes were also made to clarify or better define existing regulations.