Sk8man

Thanks JJ Great description.

Thanks WWIV

I can't wait....this has been a really LONG winter

I was hoping some of the Keuka laker jigging experts would offer some tips to Lively 1 about what they feel is the best line to use etc.

It is unfortunate indeed that the Sutton spoons aren't being produced right now and although I don't have an easy answer as far as a "substitute" I will say that there isn't anything magical about the Sutton 44 but they have always been popular. I've used nearly all of the Sutton's over the years and at one point had nearly 300 of them of varying size,weight, and type (some for copper jerking etc.). On the Finger Lakes these spoons have been very effective for many many years...possibly not so much on Lake O because of the higher general trolling speeds frequently for salmon and steelies. The larger the Sutton and the wider in general the less tolerant of higher speeds they seem to be. The Sutton 44 is sort of a middle smaller sized spoon (compared with something like the 88 for example) and as such it approximately represents the size of a medium stage alewive. This is possibly one factor in its success because there will be medium sized alewives present for quite a bit of the life cycle during the boating season. A most important factor regarding any of the Sutton spoons is that they are silver plated on a brass blank and are quite thin in thickness making them appear to"flutter" in the water at depth and because of the silver plating they can be seen at greater distances than say chrome plated spoons. Suttons also have shallow "cups" at the rear that don't really dig down in the water like some spoons. These are the critical attributes that you need to look for in anything considered as a "substitute". I have also done as well over the years with similar sized Sutton's other than the 44 such as the 22 (a little wider), 31 (a little narrower), (the irregular 29),21(little wider). Some of the smaller ones such as the 8, 9 and even the real small 6 work very well immitating the immature alewife and can tolerate greater speed variations than the other sizes of spoons. They work particularly well on rainbows, landlocks and browns on leadcore or copper. What I'm leading up to here is the fact that often these other very effective Sutton spoon are often overlooked in favor of the 44 and they may be present at yard sales, tackle flea markets etc. One of the things about the finish of Suttons is that the silver finish is very thin and easily tarnishes and water spots especially with extended hard use so when they appear in these "sale" situations they are often in poor shape appearance wise but they still function fine. Those of mine that have tarnished over the years I have used thin prism tape (often silver) on to cover the blemishes that don't respond to silver polish with a soft cloth. Sometimes it is difficult to "bring the spoons back" as they have had a clear varnish like substance applied over the silver to "protect" the finish. Another thing to consider with Suttons is the quality of the hooks that come with them....they are not very strong or durable and I have always changed those trebles for hardened single siwash salmon hooks of appropriate size to the spoon with the exception of the tiniest 6's and 8's which I am reluctant to tamper with because of weight difference issues affecting the action. I never mess with the soldered rings on the rear of the spoons as they are more solid than split rings I merely sacrifice the trebles and then replace them on the solid ring with singlel It is often noted on here that the Suttons are to be used for slower speeds and this is generally true especially for the larger lighter flutter spoon versions (not so much with the smaller spoons). They are relatively easy to tune because of their thinness and this can often make them run better at speed (careful bending of them). Suttons also come in medium and heavier weight spoons in many of the same numbered versions as well as other sizes and shapes. The common spoons are the plain silver, silver with brass under side, plain brass, and hammered finish versions of these (my favorites) as well as silver with copper undersides (primarily heavier weight spoons) which seem to be very attractive to brown trout in the Fingers. I guess the long and short of it is if you can't find substitutes look around for overlooked "gems" used ones....it is primarily the action of them that you are really after.

Dealing with sensitive bites: When fishing for panfish and perch the standard short light weight jigging rods may not be sensitive enough to detect very light bites or "mouthing" by fish. When weather conditions are windy and or it is snowing it is hard to detect line movement that might be involved in this fish behavior too. As an aide to assist in the detection of these very subtle behaviors it can be beneficial to use a wire extension to the tip of the rod such as a "spring bobber" or a homemade device made from a single strand of stainless steel wire gauged from .022 to .026 inches (stiff enough but sensitive and flexible enough for the job) in diameter with a highly visible plastic or glass bead affixed to the tip with a rounded section that your line runs through extending from the tip of the rod itself. This springy flexible wire is strong but highly sensitive to movement or vibration of the line as a fish at the other end does something to or with your jig. I have watched even large fish such as landlocked salmon and bass as well as perch "suck" the bait into their mouth without moving the line or rod tip and if not watching them through the hole you'd never even know they were there. There are various inexpensive versions of these devices for sale but for many years I have made my own. They only take a few minutes to make and are inexpensive and you can choose your own colors,shapes and sizes and materials for visibility beads as well as adjust the length of the wire to your own preference. In the second pic the wire at the right is the wrongly bent wire and bead. Make your bend at the edge of the bead toward you at a sharp right angle NOT at the loop end. leave a tiny end of the wire past the hole in the bead so that you can bend it with needle nose pliers so that it holds the loop in place. It should then only protrude about a 1/16 inch past the outer circumference of the bead to hold it in place. I use hot glue to attach the non bead end of the wire through the tip of the rod so it extends to the desired length but regular glue can be used as well.You have to be very careful with the hot glue approach not to weaken the rod itself as it is pretty thin material so I drip it on rather than placing the gun tip right on the rod itself. You want to make the loop at the end a generous size so that it helps keep ice buildup off the tip of the rod and it is easier to clear as well.

Just a little side note on the flea issue - A lot of stock is being placed on line DIAMETER or even texture/material but when the fleas are really bad in an area of the lake not just east/west etc. but at certain depths in the water column they will adhere to nearly anything regardless of diameter especially things vertical in the water. The 150 or 200 lb downrigger cable in my previous post above is a good example of this. Most folks get only intermittent variations of concentrations for a variety of reasons. What I'm saying is don't be fooled into thinking that just because something is a given diameter or texture and may work when the fleas are at some level doesn't mean that it will always work that way. I do believe though that they are easier to remove from wire than braid in thick concentrations after experiencing them in both situations.

The slips at Sampson weren't quite ready as of this morning

Could be named "Gumby " lure

The bottom line is that you can't take it with you so enjoy it while you can...life is short... make the most of it....in the end we are all "renters" of what we have.

If we based our concept of normalcy on how much fishing gear we have or compared it's cost with the price offish per pound we'd all be locked up

I didn't install the lights that go with them but here it is on the trailer

:yes: