Sk8man

Normally when they start to blacken up the numbers are there....maybe not a good sign

I know it is kinda crazy for this early but is there any chance of fish in the 60 ft or so of water way out of temp right on bottom starting to "stage" early (say out in front of Maxwell)?

I wouldn't hesitate to also set stuff out of temp in the 60-80 ft range either especially spoons

WTG Marty! great report and....how could anyone be older than you? (maybe me though ) Glad to see you've turned the corner and are now a bonefide rig fisherman! I don't even dare to think about going out on Canandaigua during a weekend right now....yesterday.... looked like a couple hundred trailers a the the launch....must have been real fun with the usual everyone coming back in the launch at the same time in the evening

WTG Mike! ...much prettier first mate than Mike C. You marking much of anything in the way of fish?

I like the mid range sizes don't remember the numbers (not the little bitty ones)

All the available moonlight has probably been a factor in the feeding response (or lack thereof)

Where is Tavion's ticket Nick? oh....snuck him in... or on a child's ticket? The give away will be when he crunches on the popcorn

Yep I do too Mike sometimes two of them staggered in length but that is a lot different than running a full sized set on leadcore near bottom I usually point my downriggers straight back so they are closer together and stagger the cowbells so that one set serves as an attractor for the other set..at least that is my strategy...not sure what the fish are thinking

I think rather than risking hanging up a cannonball and losing a leadcore rig I'd just go conventional and use a rod set up for cowbells with a heavy weight (32oz sinker) and bounce bottom with that...much more control over it and less risky. I use a n SWR (secret weapon rig) which is what you are describing but not with cowbells mostly with a spoon. The cowbell approach with leadcore gives much less control moving over a changing bottom structure.

Yep there is that point there that it be comes ineffective if you go too fast if in doubt go slower.....and I fully agree the big ones like it slow most of the time...especially fishing them in the winter.

I'd like to qualify or "rectify" something before it generates questions....the disparity in the speeds mentioned by Brian (Gambler or maybe should be called "Mr.Laker" ). I've fished cowbells (formerly called flashers) for lakers on all the Finger Lakes where they occur ( for more than 40 years) and also fished for them on Lake Ontario and in my view both of us may be correct. While most of my fishing is on lakes like Seneca, Keuka, Cayuga and Owasco etc. Brian fishes them intensely primarily (and very successfully) on Lake Ontario. The lake currents in these bodies of water (and indeed on each of the Finger Lakes for that matter) are very different in many respects and they are always varying in direction, intensity, location, and duration and change often even within different sections of these bodies of water on a given day or sometimes within hours with wind changes. Lake Ontario seemingly has very diffuse but strong current compared with the other smaller bodies. When trolling flashers you want to be trolling against or across (e.g. diagonally) but NOT WITH the current to be most successful with flashers (or most other methods). This is for a number of reasons but most importantly all the blades will revolve better and your weight won't hang up as easily and the action of the lure whether it be peanut, Spin-N-Glow or spoon, or cut bait etc. will be much livelier. With stronger currents (Lake O) the cowbells have much more resistance against the front of the blades so the trolling speed may be reduced from what it is in less strong current (some of the Fingers). I also assume that the .7 -1.7 is the down speed. My reference is to GPS as I don't have a down speed indicator. Most of the time the rod tips and feel of the rod guide my speed (looking for that rhythmically pulsating tip). The bottom line is if you are fishing Lake O with flashers follow Brian's advice the slower the better usually and if fishing the Fingers you may want to take into consideration what I mentioned above.

Excellent info above.

I think I'd be trying a Spin-N-Glow behind a set of cowbells at that 60 ft range right now....something different. may have to keep buzzing back and forth by them to pizz them off or even run a J plug through them...appeal to aggression rather than feeding response..they may be stuffing themselves in all the available moonlight...just a thought.

There are different sizes but they all work Spike just a treble hook (and uusuaally a few colorful beads before it) behind the peanut or Spin n Glow Hold on....I'll take some pics of setups for you to scope out and maybe it will be clearer. 1 pic - Light weight hammerhead cowbells in sizes 3 and 5 2 pic - conventional cowbells (formerly called "flashers") 3 pic- "beercan cowbells with a Twin Minnow (used like peanuts for lakers) 4 pic - Spin -N-Glow used like a peanut behind the cowbells Attached Thumbnails

A flatfish or Quickfish will work...have to troll slow though 1.6-2.2 (max). (slower with riggers) I run mine (cowbells) on separate roller rods with a 32-36 oz weight. You can tell when the speed is right regardless of whether you have a down speed indicator or not by the rod tips that should pulsate rhythmically.

Hold on....I'll take some pics of setups for you to scope out and maybe it will be clearer. 1 pic - Light weight hammerhead cowbells in sizes 3 and 5 2 pic - conventional cowbells (formerly called "flashers") 3 pic- "beercan cowbells with a Twin Minnow (used like peanuts for lakers) 4 pic - Spin -N-Glow used like a peanut behind the cowbells

The boat needs to be repositioned and the trailer adjusted so that there is tongue weight. It should take more effort than that if it is properly balanced. That is likely what is causing the swaying.The swaying can be a real problem at higher speeds while trailering leading to loss of control of your vehicle or a rollover (sort of like the tail wagging the dog). Usually the trailer has adjustment positions or bolt holes, U bolts for moving the axle etc. or by moving the tongue forward or back so the boat can be centered but usually it is done while the boat is in the water off the trailer....depends on the trailer. When I bought my boat new I had to have it adjusted three times before it was right. Another potential problem causing swaying is if the trailer wheelbase is considerably wider than that of the tow vehicle. I had to move to a Ford Expedition from an Explorer to correct that. Another thing that can happen is if the tongue weight is "marginal" and the boat has a substantial gas tank that is partially filled the gas can slosh back and forth at higher speeds or going around corners such that things can appear to be alright until those conditions happen.