Sk8man

Ditto on what Rick said. The release problem is probably related to the stretch factor in the mono and the 30 wire will solve it.

Yes I knew John and Miriam quite well...she was hell of a mechanic too. I night fished there from 1975 to about 1988 or so. Used to set up near (captain) John Oravec and we used to hammer the big browns and rainbows at the south end. Nothing like just falling asleep and hearing that drag going out with a big one on Most of my bait came from putting a gas lantern out on my downrigger boom calling in the bugs and then the sawbellies would rise up to get them and I used my smelt net to get my bait. The big browns and rainbows would often be mixed in with the bait and sometimes you could see them down there....a lot of fun.

Don't mess with them if you don't have to....if you do... have it serviced by certified folks.

Yeah I guess "calm" wouldn't have exactly covered the memorial Day weekend would it?

Right now Seneca seems to be doing better than most..... Launch at the State Park at the north end Pay launch) or old Chamber Of Commerce (where construction is going on nearer Geneva would probably be closest but Sampson State Park on the East side ,(Rt.# 96) toward the middle of the lake is a real good place to start out too. maximum depth over 500 ft. off on an angle south from Sampson. Lakers, Rainbows, Landlocks, and just abut everything else but Chinooks and Cohos

Good point.....Wellesley Island there is pretty neat...a lot of large pike right nearby too. I don't know how far in advance they need to reserve cabins but they are great....all the comforts of home if they can get one. Just have to be careful not to venture into Canadian waters accidentally while fishing....the boundary line isn't too far off shore.

Yep ..should be fine if you are using 30 pound wire

I've used small dipsys on outriggers for about 25 or 30 years with Black outrigger releases. You have to experiment with the tension a bit between the outriggers and the dipseys so they each release properly but they work pretty well especially in shallow say 20ft of water or so in the Spring and Fall. I also use them out very deep (middle of Finger Lakes) when the rainbows are out over deep water but not down very far (e.g. feeding on flies on surface etc.). I have tried medium sized dipseys but they generate a little too much torque (for me at least) to be effective and are better run on wire. I often run the small dipseys at near the max 3 setting to left and right to get them as far away from the boat as possible....if i want them to go a bit deeper I use the zero setting on each and the separation still works well from my other stuff. but....I use them on mono not wire....the wire is best used without releases in my arsenal at least. Even the rubber band approach led to slight wire kinking for me when I tried it out....but Spike is right an Aftco roller release (used mainly in saltwater) could do it without kinking.

I don't think it will happen anytime soon....but there sure still seems to be a strong presence of rainbows through natural reproduction here. Much of the impetus for the regulation related to Seneca and Catherine's Creek issues not actual data from here. Even though I share your general view I don't think it is a really bad idea to give the bows a bit of "vacation" either....Just hope is doesn't turn out being forever! If they really wanted to do something they could cancel fishing in Naples Creek and the Derby there for a couple years and concentrate their enforcement efforts at eliminating poaching at night and that would definitely lead to an improvement in the rainbow population but that won't happen either....It would also deal with the problem of destruction of the redds by idiots trampling with and without knowledge of what they are doing during Spring fishing and the derby. Money is involved and with it political influence etc. so real action won't happen.. kinda like the NYS Safe Act and gun control - instead of dealing with folks with mental problems and revamping the mental health system they make a law that has nothing to do with the real problem to appease the anti-gun nuts...same here it isn't people trolling taking too many rainbows...

Huge largemouths on Lamoka and Waneta and some decent smallies. big pickerel tooand on Waneta Muskies but fishing for them is pretty much during the Fall (October/November) and on Lamoka there are still a few big ones but they stopped stocking it with them before they stopped on Waneta so not as many. Real nice Black Crappies there, and so so perch and pumpkinseeds....Not the Seneca Perch that's for sure Probably the nearest places to stay would be Hammondsport or Bath ...don't know of any places right near either lake. Might be using surface lures pretty soon though because it gets pretty choked with grass in the summer...only 20 ft or so deep in Lamoka and 25 or so on Waneta as I recall out in the middle where the muskies are.

I am convinced there is no RIGHT ANSWER that fits all situations. My wire and braid rigs are run off 6 1/2 ft rods with roller tips. There is enough separation on my boat and they work great. I run top stuff and small dipseys from 8 1/2 rods from my 15 ft. outriggers..again good separation. The down riggers have telescoping booms and I run them off the back corners angled 45 degrees usually but at higher speeds straight back and seldom if have ever have had a tangle. I find that the shorter rods are much easier to handle in my particular boat (after a lot of experimentation with various rod lengths). An additional benefit is that t is easier to net fish as I often fish by myself. The decision regarding rod size pretty much boils down to personal preference, particular boat set up, and whether or not you can do all that you want or need to do to catch fish. I seldom run more than 6 or 8 rods so this is also a consideration.

Typically June is a "transition" month for the Finger lakes as well as Ontario and with the recent storm activity and heavy rains the apple cart has been upset a bit in terms of the water temps. The bait is still easily accessible to the fish as it is clumped up in shallow (40-70 ft) and they are probably well fed without having to work for their meals....they are located right next door to their prey, and may be feeding heavily at night or wee hours. They won't expend energy chasing down stuff if they don't have to. Once these major bait concentrations start to disengage and break up into smaller pods and redistribute throughout the lake and the thermocline sets up things will heat up....the rainbows will be more active in the upper layers of the water column and the lakers will be more bottom oriented.... but locating the bait pod remnants will still be the key to getting fish in the boat.

Basically each size dipsey has it's own set of strengths and weaknesses. I use the smaller size off my outriggers for shallow water presentations with light flutter spoons mainly (with mono), the mediums for down to70 ft or so (with wire) and the Deep divers for 100 ft plus (with wire).

Good luck and be safe Ed. Hopefully Andy left a few browns for ya. Les