Sk8man

I think Mark may be right....I don't think they are legal in the Fingers or Ontario.

Pap - the major difference in the fluoro leader material vs. the fluoro fishing line is increased stiffness and abrasion resistance. The fluoro fishing line is designed to be casted so it is a bit "softer" but it is not as durable. The fluro leader material is more expensive but it is also a higher quality line for some of the types of fishing we do (especially salmon on Lake O) but for lighter fishing situations in the Finger Lakes I often use the other variety because I want a little stretch and more flex in the line.

Hey Justin - I was thinking more about your suggestion about online recording of the info and it occurred to me that it could really get more folks interested and at a deeper level say if everyone could view ongoing tallies but could only record their own....could bring out the competitive spirit and increase diary cooperator numbers. My only misgiving with that approach is that inflation of data might occur more readily

We were there yesterday afternoon until just after 6 PM at the south end and there is an inch or so of water on much of the ice with some cracking. The near shore ice in front of the ramp is compromised. We went off to the north a bit and it was OK. The temp was still over 50 degrees last night when we left so I'm not sure what today will bring.....with the creeks running and potential gas pockets (esp at north end) possibly undercutting the ice especially near shore.

9.9 25 inch shaft 4 stroke

Pap - I haven't seen them in a while but they used to be small yellow cover booklets where you record basic info such as where fished, date, species of fish, length,and weight etc. then at end of year you submitted the book to your regional DEC and they totalled up all the diaries for your region broken down by lake and you received a "summary" report later on.

I'm hoping to maybe get out there tomorrow as well if the wind dies down a bit and the ice is still "doable". What I mean by "doable" relates to the condition of the shore ice...and whether the rest of the ice is accessible after this crazy wind and warm weather off and on. When the creeks start flowing after rain the edges get very "sketchy" on Honeoye. I'm not sure about Saturday yet....will know later in the week. My daughter is coming from LA on way back to college in Ithaca so I may be "occupied"

I was told in the past by a DEC Officer It is illegal to make holes in the ice that are10 or more inches because kids could fall through them. A drill has to have a lot of torque to work properly and most are geared for speed only and the higher the speed the less torque. I gave away my gas auger because the drill is superior around here ....If you are in Michigan or way up north here a gas auger may be needed for real thick ice but for the last 5 or 6 years I didn't need mine. They can be a pain (gas spillage,fumes, and noisy).

Yes that one would work but an 8inch blade is pretty big for most drills.....I use a 7 inch and that is about as big as I'd want to go and my drill is very powerful. This is especially true if the ice is thick and/or you want to punch in a bunch of holes. I can't see from the pic whether they have modified the part that goes in the drill chuck but with mine I had to file the edges of the spindle flatter so they would hold better as they were a slightly rounded hex shape

Cool! great (and reassuring) to know there are still good honest people in the world.

I just tie a flashlight on pointed at the bait (sorry couldn't resist messing around). We used to tie a small piece of RED yarn just up from the hook and let the end dangle about a half inch near the hook/bait and for whatever reason it worked both on Seneca (when it froze up) and on Cayuga. The red yarn also works for perch when wrapped around the shaft of an aberdeen hook or small treble and fastened with a small amount of super glue.

Likewise on the "thanks" Justin on behalf of us trolling guys. You've made a noticeable impact on the interest level in Walleye fishing and trolling in general. Your comments regarding the Angler Diary program are well taken. I did it for trout and salmon for well over 20 years and you do gain a lot of information from looking at the data and comparing with the annual report results. I kinda drifted away from it a whie back when I overheard some guys saying that they just filled in the data at the end of the year (i.e. made it up) because it was "too much trouble" recording the data (which is pretty absurd). I was pretty disgusted at the time and stopped doing it but I'll be contacting them again and do it because as you say it is very worth while doing it. Interestingly, back in about 1979 or so I learned from the report that I was the first person to catch a landlock (3 lbs. on Seth Green rig out near Dresden) on Seneca....they weren't stocking them.... and some of the guys didn't believe it so I sent the photo into DEC and they confirmed it and said it probably had escaped Keuka down the Keuka Outlet and into Seneca Lake. My point is that you sometimes learn some things that personally translate from the collected data too.

Yes you never know what you'll get. While fishing for perch with 2 lb test on Keuka a couple years ago I was looking down the hole and an Atlantic salmon swam by I reeled up my jig and spike in front of him and he sucked it in his mouth without even moving the rod tip (just under the ice) I tightened it and he took off but I got him in - a nearly 25 inch specimen which I cooked out on the grill and he was great. The best one though was a guy next to me on Canandaigua fishing for perch through the ice and he started yelling and I ran over to see him land a 12 pound lake trout on 2 lb test line.....pretty cool ....but pretty lucky too

"Ted's new shop is at 5772 Big Tree Road (Rt 20A) in Lakeville, Bob's old shop. Has hours cut down for the fall but is planning on being open full time again once the lakes ice up. He has a facebook page that he posts the hours on if you're on that, too. I think the number is:(585-429-0587"

Hey Sneaky if you get into the perch in any numbers invest in an electric knife....makes your life a lot easier.

Good points Mark.

Just a FYI ....while I'm thinking of it regarding the Clute launch at the south end of Seneca. Last year Admiral Byrd and I were winter fishing and launched from there and it was clear of ice when we went out in his boat but when we returned to the launch at dark there were huge ice floes coming down the creek that we were lucky to avoid....almost like "ice bergs" and they were much bigger than the boat....just something to keep in mind....