Sk8man

plecos4sale - Cool... I knew both Roides and Oravec somewhat back then and used to fish near them at night in my little Whaler then they became charter guys and went to Lake O. I don't think anyone night fishes out there anymore. Miriam Clark was good mechanic and the only female boat mechanic I've ever known and I guess she and John moved to Florida after that. on the M-80

The primary reason for this bait regulation was to prevent the spread of hemmoragic virus and other diseases from spreading worse than they already are in the lakes but the cat is pretty much out of the bag at this point.

Ed has a point it is illegal to transport or use alewives (or other approved baitfish) that have been taken from a different body of water either dead or alive without a dated receipt from a dealer certifying they are virus free and the receipt is good for only ten days from its date. Dead bait has to be commercial in nature with the packaging present.

Nice going John.....but you missed a good tackle show but on the other hand we didn't get there very early either and didn't have as good an excuse

Sawbellies = alewives = member of the herring family

When we used to night fish for trout on Canandaigua and Keuka I used to hang lanterns off my Riviera downrigger booms (mid to late 70's and eighties) pointed outward and brought along a smelt dip net. The bugs would arrive pretty quickly, the sawbellies would follow and nearly surface and we'd net them for bait. Sometimes huge trout could be seen either chasing them or just patrolling the depths below them in 100-150 ft or so of water. I'm not sure of the legality off using a cast net in fresh water here in N.Y.S . now days....it used to be done on Seneca in the old days though and is permitted inmost marine environments. We used to get a bunch of sawbellies for later use as well and I put them 6 to a zip lock bag with all the air pressed out so they wouldn't die with their mouths open from "gulping" air and then froze them for use behind cowbells etc..

You're the man Mark! I just put some salmon in the oven with roasted vegetables but now I'm feeling a little inadequate

KJ Louise - Sorry I misinterpreted what you said initially I thought you meant you were leery about extending the sections because of possible strength issues. The above soluton sounds like a good one.

WTG Dre....a real beauty. I was pretty envious yesterday as we drove home from the Watkins show and I saw about 6 boats out at the south end....didn't realize one of them was you....nice going

If you already have the extendable Cannon booms why not just use it as designed. It would seem that you should be fine with that second section on it or find someone with a solid 4 ft boom. I recently bought an extendable boom on LOU to replace the short one on a Digitroll. Someone may have a long solid one for sale...

Steve - I'm not sure what weights you have on them but if your mounts are secure as they are a foot shouldn't make much difference with 10 lb weights....heavier may be a different matter. Mine are gimble mounted in recessed mounts and I have tested them with the 10 lb weights with no problem but never normally run them that way as I don't have that necessity.

Anyone who is on the fence about getting Rich's weights I saw them at the Watkins show today and he has some really nice ones left and once fishing starts he becomes a fisherman rather than a weight guy so get them while you can

I fully agree shakenbake. It is hard to understand the mentality of people that do that sort of thing and especially so when it is a small businessman standing right there working to make a go of it....very sick stuff....but these jerks are also the type that break into boats and houses too and then sell your stuff.....like I said..LOSERS.

JB235 and I went to the show this morning and I was glad I did. I met up with a bunch of LOU folks there and renewed some bonds. Also felt better about not being able to get the boat out when I saw that just everyone (other than about 6 hearty souls out at the south end some for trout and some for perch from the looks of it) were in the same fix as me....misery loves company It was great to see the spoons flying off the table at Great lakes Lures and Fishy Business' table was tough to get into for the number of people scarfing up the good stuff. It was a real nice show with good prices and a wide selection of things to choose from. I did however feel bad for Fishy (Gerry) because some loser actually stole a brand new Okuma reel from the box while Gerry was busy waiting on customers. Thankfully those folks are the exception to the rule because it is tough enough to run a small business without that S@#$ happening. It was great meeting a lot of LOU folks I've corresponded with and not had the opportunity to actually meet in person and great to chat with Mike S., Hop, Nick, Joe, and Big Dave and others and I look forward to next year's show. For those of you that haven't yet experienced it I'd just say give it a shot next time but get there early .