Sk8man

The edge of the ice was just a little south of the yacht club yesterday so with all this snow things could be real sketchy out there. I saw one hut on the east side that was only about 50 ft from the edge of the ice and with the westerly wind that was pretty foolhardy because it can undercut the ice underneath the snow cover with a "sawing" motion in just a few hours and you would never even know it. It is always tempting to exploit the ice shelf edge but it is one of the more dangerous things you can do out there. I spent 5 hrs one day last week in up to 12 ft of water drilled 29 holes and marked only three fish and had one hit and that was it. Most of it is a vast wasteland right now...and all the best spots are inaccessible (due to open water) and despite the frigid temperatures the wind has precluded the formation of ice and has broken up quite a bit that formed earlier in the season on the northern end of the lake. It is certainly not ready for "prime time" so far this season at the northern part anyway. I spoke with some guys who had a snowmobile and were fishing on the east side about as far out as you could go the other day (14ft of water) and they had "zip".

In any situation involving firearms of any type the first rule (after safety stays on until ready to fire) is to be absolutely sure of your target. These guys irrespective of their occupational status obviously didn't follow those essential basic rules and horses are not inexpensive. Regardless of the legal outcome I'll bet they are going to be coughing up some pretty big bucks and as with any "punishment" the effect may or may not be "long term" in terms of learning and change (witnesss speeding offenses) but hopefully losing a few grand may make them think twice in the future about selecting their target....but there is no guarantee.....and the situation unfortunately doesn't help answer or quell the concerns of the gun control folks who look for any situation to amplify their case.

Mostly dinks last time out

Good Pete but you really won't know for sure if it is totally OK until you try it out in the water where there are fish and structure because as I mentioned they can be "partially" bad and not mark softer objects than the bottom. I hope it is OK and you can get her going for the ice stuff...it's a lot of fun out there.

When I have run out of Seguar I use Vicious fluoro and have never had a problem with it so I keep some as a spare backup on the boat (only have used 12 and 17 lb though)

Dresden area near the mouth the the outlet into Seneca Lake has various species at that time of year out from the big pipe in front of the electric plant and the mouth itself. The problem will be where to launch the boat if trailered. There used to be a private launch there but I'm not sure it is there anymore. Severne Point launch is quite a long way down the west side of the lake to the south especially for a smaller slower boat but you'd have quick access to lake trout water right there out front.

Often when a transducer goes bad it may show bottom but not much else or if really gone won't show anything. They can be especially very sensitive to being banged around or dropped etc. and then go bad. The ice fishing flashers are designed with cold weather in mind especially in terms of extended power usage and things like that but I believe the transducers on many are the standard transducers but there are also some like the dual beam and tri beam that are made specifically for units used in ice fishing. You may also have a broken wire inside the transducer cord, corrosion on the connector or in the connector part on the unit itself. You would be better off if you purchased a used unit designed specifically for ice fishing (e.g. Vexilar, Marcum, Lowrance etc.) with a matched up transducer. If going with a "graph" type they will be mainly the newer technology and pretty pricey. The flasher units are the "old standbys" and are a piece of equipment I now consider essential for doing it right. I like to make my own stuff and have even used Heath Kit graphs and flashers in the past (fortunately put together by my electronics wizard dad) but a good flasher is worth its weight in gold for ice fishing in experienced hands. I've seen used units on LOU that were fairly priced. You can cobble together all of the other equipment and find inexpensive hand augers, rod/reels, shelters etc. and make your own tip ups and tip downs but if you are serious about getting into ice fishing do yourself a favor and get a good flasher. Good luck luck in whatever you decide to do Pete. P.S. I have fished for many years both ways with and without a flasher and it is like night and day. Many times you would never know fish were underneath you or whether they were interested in your jig or bait as they sometimes just look or mouth the bait without moving the line or rod tip etc. With the flasher you see them coming nearby , getting closer, at the bait and can even tell by their behavior their level of interest, and whether you are jigging correctly or the jig itself is working properly, the bait has fallen off the jig (or if it is spinning and turning them off) and some idea of the size of the fish.

I think what you may find here is whatever someone has that will be perceived as "best" I've had my Vexilar FL-20 for 7 years or so and I love it and hundreds of hours on the ice and am still on the original battery. Yes there is newer technology but this thing is "bullet proof". Whatever you do if you get a flasher get one with the ZOOM function.

Guess I can rest my case about the value of holding on to the old Evil Eyes