Sk8man

I'm assuming you are referring to an outboard? I don't think that the low temp for such a short time should adversely affect it. I know you aren't supposed to actually run a motor without having it in the water but on mine I would just very briefly turn it over to make sure any water possibly in it would exit and I'd keep the motor in a fully upright position so that anything in there would be drained.

WTG Vogel! Beautiful landlocked salmon. Josh - although the tailed looks a bit squared in the pic it has a slight fork to it and the spotting pattern extends to only just about the midline (or lateral line)... most browns the spotting also goes more toward the belly of the fish and the spots on this fish aren't really "rounded" in appearance as they usually are on browns.....they are more"irregular" in appearance (sometimes they even resemble "X's" on landlocks) If the pic looked at closely it appears that there is some spotting on the mid and lower part of the tail...on browns it is usually confined to the upper part of the tail. If you look closely at the dorsal fin it has a narrower angle to it than most browns would have (theirs is usually more "upright" and "boxy" or squared in appearance). On immature fish these differences may be less pronounced and they can be harder to distinguish. Notice also how the head is very small and "torpedo shaped" in comparison to the body.

Thanks for the heads up Kev. It is one of the things folks don't tend to think about when they are really anxious to get out there......and potentially very costly.

Yeah one of my buddies is moving to West Virginia ina few days....he's had it with the taxes here and the NYSAFE crap with Emperor Cuomo running the show. He said his taxes will be 1/5 of what they are here (lived on Conesus Lake).The lakes and fishing are the major reason for me being here now.

And then there is the issue of rising cost of natural gas which we have an over abundance of but it is being sold to China and India and others which drives up the cost to us. The main problem in this country now is greed and self-interest and this"global" mentality. The Founding Fathers would be rolling in their graves if they were to witness what is happening in this country and particularly under Emperor Cuomo''s rule here in NYS.

Looks like things are off to a great start Rick I hope this is a good omen for the rest of us as well

Nautitroller made good points....don't be afraid to go deeper and deeper after them (or shallow with bobber/jig setups) and as far as bait Oak leaf grubs, live fatheads, and sometimes spikes or left over waxies,or plastics sprayed with scent in deeper water are the ticket.

John - Seneca is notoriously difficult to locate the perch unless you fish it VERY frequently and over a long stretch so that you have a good understanding of their possible migration patterns. This is somewhat because of the size of the lake and for the northern half especially there is a lot of terrain to cover (as contrasted with the south end where the water deepens much more quickly). The guys that are highly successful on Seneca are either out there all the time and/or have spent a lot of time on the lake (or are with people that have been). It is basically a matter of putting in your time and "paying your dues" because the perch guys are almost without exception "secretive" about their spots and for good reason. Don't give up.....stay with it and keep experimenting and when you do hit them take some notes because next year they will probably be there or near there around the same time. Once you find a bunch of these spots and times you will be into the Seneca gold

Best of luck to all of you fishing the tournament. I just finished getting all my stuff back in my boat so the perch better look out tomorrow. After being out of commission for a couple months I'm gonna be dangerous

Big Game 30 with a 10-12 lb fluoro leader. You'll be prepared for the fleas and have plenty to handle kings when the season starts and the light leader will help with the early browns.

Nice going Sean! It sure was a nice day for it. I drove by the north end on the way to Barrett marine to pick my boat up from an engine tune up and it was dead calm and a half dozen trailers in the Chamber lot....I still have to load all my stuff back in the boat or I think I would have "soloed" at the north end on the way home . It sure must have been refreshing to be out there after that crazy long winter....best of luck this season. Les

You might want to try Attwood Premium Cleaner Wax which restores/rejuvenates color and waxes too. You only do small areas at a time but it does a good job of removing oxidation and black marks and minor scratches without damaging the gel coat and is not nearly as abrasive as rubbing compound. It can be found in department stores with boating sections (e.g. Walmart) and is only about $10 or so. Once I have a good coat on I maintain it by using the manual car wash downtown after every time out.

Did KInger get any points for the take down or just the pin?

Was that also with Boris and Natasha Ed?

As mentioned above the Blood Run Sea Flea mono or Berkley Big Game line helps a lot to discourage fleas both on Lake Ontario and the Finger Lakes where they occur. The primary reason for using 30 lb test in either of those lines is the larger diameter of the line discourages the fleas from "hooking on" and then bunching up creating a "wad" on the line preventing it from being reeled in and when you have a good fish on the other end this is a real concern. For those of us that have spent many of our years using 10 or 12 lb test mono for just about everything including King Salmon using 30 lb line is like using "rope" but is really necessary for the reasons I have given. The use of a fluorocarbon leader at the end is because it largely gets away from the visibility issue of "line shy" fish (especially browns) and they probably would be laughing out loud if we went with just the 30 lb mono itself because they could see it at a distance and the lure action can also also compromised by the "drag" of it in the water. The fluoro leader (say 8 or10 ft. usually and 8-12 lb test of leader quality fluoro which is a little more durable than most of the cheap stuff) gets away from this for the most part. I know this is a little long winded, basic and boring for the experienced guys but it is intended for the "newbies" for whom it may help to "fill in the blanks".