Sk8man

I make mine the length of the rod I'm using usually 8-8 1/2 ft.

I think that opinion is dead on target Andy.

If it were me (and I didn't have many rods...which is not the case and its why my boat is called the white porqupine) I'd opt for 30 lb. stranded wire.....most of the braid will catch the fleas very shortly.

I never use the down button on my Cannons... just a waste of juice.... I feel that I have more control by just using the drag knob to control them. Not sure what the setup is on a Big John having not used one in about a million years (a buddy used to have them on his boat). It takes both hands to do (one thumb on the reel and the other on the drag to lower) but I never even think about the down button after all these years .

Yeah ....wouldn't "Life at the Launch Ramp" make a great reality show?

Good report....at least you got out there. I just got my boat back from the shop ($400 lighter in my wallet) but too late to fish or to get it ready for the derby here on Canandaigua tomorrow. Just glad to have my main motor functioning again....and to be in one piece after the Seneca fiasco last weekend . Not a great derby year for us....

John is right....stay with good swivels ...it is one of the most important items...stay away from the chaepo split ring type no matter what....the depression in them can cut your line especially with good sized fish....speaking from experience

In the Finger LakesThe temps become more and more important as the lake sets up the thermocline (starting about now this year). In the winter and spring specific water column temps aren't as crucial as it is for DIFFERENCES in temp....finding the temp break near shore where the water is starting to warm and finding a "color line" in the water or in the case of power plant discharges or other potental "warmer" temps (which still may be outside of your temperature chart information). We have all encountered fish outside their optimum preferred temperature RANGE so the chart is a general guideline at best. Probably the most profitable thing is to look for bait "congregations" regardless of temp or depth and exploit it by trolling through and around it back and forth. In general fish will be located in or near the bait which can be boittom oriented or suspended. In the summer and especially for browns look for drop-offs where the preferred temp or the temp of the break in the thermocline intersects the bottom ( e.g. determined by your Fish Hawk data)...very often rainbows and landlocks locate above thethermocline in summer and the lakers either within, just below, or on bottom in deeper water. As with many "gizmos" we tend to spend copious amounts of time looking at screens and sometimes forget about the actual fishing tactics...Temperature meters, fish finders, and all the other"stuff" we use are only as good as the fishing person's ability to integrate the information and make effective use of it. Actual experience plays a huge role in using these "tools" effectively.

"Lakers can swim faster if they want too". :smile: Dave....

Nick you capped off a tough derby with great results and a show of "flair for description" as well. Again, congrats. Les

Thanks Just Fishin...it sounds much more plausible than the temperature change theory.

They are also great fertilizer for gardens and shrubs etc.

One of the best that I witnessed back in the eighties should have been a video commercial for JEEP. A guy was pulling about a 25-27 ft. boat out with an Astro van at Sodus Point. As he got the boat on the trailer and started pulling out his van lost traction on the ramp from the algae and moss on it and he lost control and spun the tires etc. all the while sliding down the ramp into the water. The whole back part of his vehicle was in the water and the boat stared to float off the trailer. A guy with a Jeep Laredo hooked up a chain to the front of the van and pulled both the van and the boat out of the water....pretty impressive!

Our last time out on Canandaigua we were part way out the channel heading for the lake and a guy we had talked with briefly before he left was coming full blast back in the channel toward the launch and his bow was way up in the air.....forgot to put the plug in....back of boat full of water Guess we have all had our moments with boating....

Or how about the folks that pull their boat out of the water to a few feet into the middle of the ramp and then start putting away their canvas, and unloading their equipment into their tow vehicle. putting on their tie-downs emptying their cooler water etc. all the while there is a long line of folks waiting to back their boats in and folks circling in the water waiting to get in to the docks....welcome to the Canandaigua launch ramp in the summer!