Sk8man

Big Water has some good points and his comments also hit on some other important factors in the equation.....one of them is distance. I have trailered for over 35 years and have a vehicle that get about 11 mpg without the boat attached but I only live about 5 minutes from the north end launch ramp here and about 20 minutes from the one at the other end of Canandaigua Lake. I am within an hour or so of Lake O and about that for most of the Finger Lakes ports I use. So in this case paying $2,500 for a slip is ridiculous (despite the crowded launch ramp conditions at the north end). For a few years I kept the boat on the trailer but at a marina half way up the lake and I would call ahead and they would launch the boat for me at $1,000...for the season which runs from early JUNE until after Labor Day (my favorite fishing is in the Fall and I fish until late November) Another problem was I had to wait until 8 AM or so for the staff to be there and there was a chain across the ramp so I couldn't do it myself earlier....nothing like starting fishing derbies after 8AM or launching during the summer months at that time (assuming the staff could do it at 8AM or were even there) when it starts heating up at 10 AM. I never wanted to leave my boat in the water because of the discoloration from algae etc. but one year my boat was sitting on the trailer there and a big storm came up including a water spout and high winds (mini tornado) which wiped out many boats in the marina and threw some against others and the docks.....another reason for forgoing the convenience and opting for security. My boat is kept outside my garage for the summer months and stored inside a barn in the winter or plastic wrapped if I decide to store it here so I have no security issues that some marina folks have. Quite a few guys I've known over the years have moved up to large boats and then back down again and then trailered mainly because of the financial and practical concerns and the freedom of going anyplace you wish to fish unencumbered. I think the bottom line is different for everyone....I used to take my closeness to these resources for granted until years ago when I ran into some guys from PA at the ramp in Geneva who had trailered for hours to get there and after an exhausting day on the pond had to trailer back home for hours....it made me real glad I have the circumstance I have and I have never taken it for granted or complained to myself about the half hour trip to that launch since then. I also admired those guys resolve for doing what they did to just participate in our sport.

Heck of a nice Finger Lakes brown (or fish for that matter) That one must have eaten a couple more sawbellies than Joshwa's....isn't that the way it goes ion derbies though? Both real nice fish and the excitement of it all is what it is really all about.....I'm really beat and it will take me a week to get my equipment straightened out and the boat clean again (ever notice how those lakers like to make their statement right when you get them over or in the boat and that stuff when it dries is tough to get off without scrubbing

I wish I had some excting details and information for you but ....it was a tough day at the "fishing office". We trolled from 6 AM until 2 PM and all we had to show for it was one rainbow about 16 inches and a 19 inch brown. Flasher/fly and Spinnny/fly, downriggers with sliders and a 5 color lead core and a TX 44 board with both sticks and spoons were used as well as top line tried with an assortment of lures used. We decided not to go with the "rigs today and although we saw a bunch out there using them they did not seem to be doing anything more than us either. Two hits on my homemade fly that didn't take hold and that was it. We marked very few fish or bait. A lot of cotton in the water and also a lot of algae and debris at the south end (we launched at Woodville today). It actually resembled a lake "turnover". I even tried to work the scum line in and out in the middle of the lake but no action. The shallow areas at the east side and all sorts of debris and although it looked like fish and bait we interpreted it as suspended debris because of what we saw on the surface. Upon reflection it may have been fish and bait because we marked little of either out deep all morning. My hunch is that the live bait still fishermen we saw in close over there may have had a field day on the fish in there but although I got my start that way I can't bring myself to do it anymore these days even for derbies A bad day of fishing is still better than a good day at work

The way it should be done very classy

That is why the idea of wrapping it around the spool first pulling it tightand then crimping is a good idea

That should do it OK

Kinger is a Fish Retrieving Beagle right? Give those fish heck Ed but save a few for the rest of us so we have something to post....

Crimp sleeves crimped good and covered with clear hot glue....never had one break yet at that point

What are they charging now for the 550 rounds boxes of .22 ammo?

I use separate rod/reel setups that have 12 lb, 20 lb and 30 Sea flee (12 for Fingers in Spring/Fall, 20 for Lake O Spring, and 30 Sea Flee for summer flea season and use fluoro leaders on all of them

I think this info is right on the mark. I use 12 lb fluoro leaders on the Fingers and 20 lb on Lake O for salmon (Spring browns use12 lb fluoro leaders) If the 30 lb.mono is used as a main line you don't have to be as concerned with the fleas and they can really be a problem sometimes I use 30 lb. Blood Run Sea Flee line on the riggers as main lines as it has a slick coating on it as well.

I used to stack them frequently in the old days along with cheaters/sliders but now just use sliders on each downrigger as I feel there are more productive ways to increase the success rate using other setups e.g. wire, boards, outtriggers with dipseys and stacked rods can be a pain when you have multiple fish on or even big kings.

My suggestion was to "check" Seager's as I haven't bought any there for many years and as far as I know Terry at Pelican Point doesn't sell sawbellies anymore.