Sk8man

Running "fake" meat as you note has the opportunity to "tune" the bait much more than running true meat rigs or "live" rigs. Running them on lake O for Pacific salmon is a bit different than running them for lakers or browns/Atlantics on the Finger Lakes too as the salmon on Lake O aren't mainly bottom dwellers so you are running them fairly high in the water column with your other stuff or somewhat below it. On the Fingers meat rigs are often run much more near the bottom and frequently with frozen sawbellies rather than imitation bait. A lot of times folks run surface oriented stuff along with the meat rigs or even riggers up considerably higher. The right speed for the roll of the bait in that situation is very Touchy" to get right and maintain along with running spoons and that is what I was referring to Rick. The range of adjustment isn't any where near what it is for the stuff you are running (ie. the "fake" bait). In that respect I think the newer stuff is superior.

I would add that it can be more difficult to get things running right when you mix things up. Running meat effectively highly relates to running it at the right speed so that the bait is rolling right. When you add spoons to the mix it is important to know which spoons to use so that they run at compatible speed with the bait. Often the effective running speed for meat rigs is considerably slower than that for many spoons and different also than other attractors such as flashers and dodgers. Just something to be aware of. Direction of current can also be a complicating factor.

One of the things to be aware of is that often the larger the hook size the fewer hits when the perch are fussy which is "usually" They also don't seem to like exposed hook points.

Thanks for re-posting Stan. Rick gave an excellent update on the current status of things from the ten years ago that the original post was made. All this stuff is still relevant.  Rich emphasized the most critical part of the whole thing : the roll and getting it right. It makes all the difference in the world in results.

23 hours ago, Long time fisherman said:

Thanks again Sk8man! 🙂 At 80 im pritty much a fair weather fishermen..🥶 Good luck ice fishing!! 

I guess I can relate as it is a question mark for me as well from year to year at 78

It was an American Eel Pete. I know lampreys are a delicacy in Europe.....they can have them!  I must admit I do like seeing them though with their heads off

Years ago fishing near Maxwell creek in my 13 ft Whaler during late July I was trolling along running a dodger and fly and a dodger and squid in about 30 ft of water. I had a real good hit on the squid combo and grabbed the rod and started reeling it in. Right from the start it felt odd as the rod was bouncing around all over the place while reeling. When I got it near the boat I realized it was an eel about 3 1/2 ft long. I didn't want to lose my set-up so I carefully brought it to the side of the boat and was going to use needle nose pliers to release it when it slithered over the few inches of gunwale into the boat. It was wriggling around like there was no tomorrow and finally after pinning it to the floor I was lucky enough to be able to release it. Unfortunately for me though it had slimed all over the floor and bench seat and it was nearly impossible to clean and was present for many weeks afterward so I guess it got the best of me after all.

Through the lips with the hook point upward Good luck when you do go. I'm hoping for ice fishing maybe this weekend

Yep sometimes you have to experiment when they are fussy it can help to go smaller hooks like 8's but then a lot of times the bait is easier to pull off without hook-ups especially with fatheads

Certainly depends on a lot of factors; method used, water depth, clarity of water, live bait or artificials (e.g. plastics) used for example. Drop shots or jigging are the most common methods used. If drop shots are used the hooks can either be tied directly to the main line or leader, or a loop can be used to extend a couple inches off the leader or main line with the hook at the end of it. I use setups with both methods and depending on conditions or results I switch off on them. The advantage to using the direct tie method is increased sensitivity, while the loop method tends to have better action of the bait and maybe less feel of the line. I usually tie the first hook up about 18 inches from the bottom (can keep Gobies off too), and the second up about 2 ft or so from that. Depending on conditions I use #4-8 hooks (gold Aberdeen mostly) For the sinker on the bottom I use 1/8th or1/4 oz. tungsten weights at the bottom of the lower hook. The other method involving jigging either bucktail jigs by themself, or small jigs of various weights depending on depth and/or water conditions which determines the weight used. Brown and black jigs have been the most effective over time for me.

Check out Madrivertackle on Ebay as an option.

We have fished quite a bit at the north end for perch with drop shots and haven't had any problems with gobies with our setups with first hook about 15 t0 18 inches up.

Another example of why it is good to carry two nets onboard

Some real familiar faces in that pic

I know a major concern is the effects of long term super cold weather on the water temps and YOY but I also wonder whether it would be just as bad to have the temps this warm and then have an extreme rapid cold snap reducing the water temp.

The unfortunate fact is that the elections in this state are at the root a numbers game and upstate votes don't really mean much these days. The state is run by downstate numbers.

Yeah. government was originally designed to serve the best interests of the people; not to impose your own opinionated will on others without any actual understanding of the issues involved or the consequences of those decisions.

Very cool! Brian deserves a good plug for his company and his efforts. He has helped out a lot of folks on LOU over the years. Along with meat rigs they are the best thing out there for catching lakers.

yeah no shortage of bait on that lake and chunky fish to prove it

To me it looks as if the Lowrance lost the bottom temporarily and is picking up the rigger weight and thinking it is bottom if that isn't a second echo above the 70 rigger which would indicate the sensitivity is set too high as mentioned . Might want to check the mount on the transducer to see if it is loose too.

16 hours ago, marinerak87 said:

Everybody kniw this is a R&R spoon. It was asked what it was, not who could paint one similar....

I was offering an option if he couldn't get one of those particular paint jobs. I've used Dave's spoons for years so I understood the request; I don't know what the problems is with that.

I guess my point was that the ACTION of the same blanks is the same regardless of the paint job. It suggests that you can paint them yourself or have someone paint them for you.

WTG. That is what the holiday season should be all bout!

I've had a bunch over the years but the one that sticks out in my mind is when fishing one of the Spring ESLO derbies back in the early eighties it was pretty rough in the lake for my 13 ft. Whaler so I fished Sodus Bay. I was somewhere near Thornton Point when I observed something in the water coming toward me and it looked like an animal of some type but couldn't tell what from the distance as there was quite a chop on the water. I was fishing two top lines off outriggers at the time so I couldn't make real sharp turns. The thing sped up towards me and  then I realized it was a deer swimming toward me. I had slowed up the motor and the deer swam faster and faster toward me. It came close to the boat and tried to get in ( I kid you not). The boat had very low gunwhales only a few inches up from the surface and I was a bit concerned he might tip my stuff out as I knew the boat itself wouldn't sink. I sped up the motor and got away from him and called the Sherriff boat that happened to be out in the bay. They somehow steered the deer back to shore and everyone lived happily ever after