Sk8man

Renegade (about 4 inches)

12:01 at Honeoye with my son tonight. I'm hopeful... last year I had two good keepers and one that got off at the last moment on the first day but the water temps are different this year so who knows? Its fun anyways. I'm also going after the trout early tomorrow morning on Canandaigua so it doesn't look like a whole lot of sleep tonight...especially if the walleye action is there. Good luck fellas!

The water all over the place is being reported as very clear so you may want to run your lines further back and run a little deeper water. The fish you are marking in that depth may or may not be trout for one thing. When I use weight I usually just place one or two (at most) #3 split shot about 2 or three ft above the lure. Unless you are running very fast this should keep you well beneath the surface. Light line is also a good idea (8-10 lb) for most situations with a fluorocarbon leader (6-8 ft long) and very small swivel snap.

Great looking on both counts

I run dipseys from wire and braid on 6 1/2 ft. roller tip rods successfully but the most I run is 9 rods....not 18 like some of the folks and I'm real careful on turns

Still beats sitting home like last winter

Ahhh Ok thanks. They hitting the bloodworms on bottom? Was wondering about using large nightcrawlers or even small "tubes" if having trouble locating bait? I've never river fished for them just in the ocean....

The Furunos are what most of the "big boys" on the ocean use but the price tag keeps them out of reach for a lot of us sport fishermen....great units though

Hey Nick, It's hard to tell from the pic which bridge that it and which direction?. I know it isn't the Walkway

Yes that's what I'm hoping for....

There are times when it could be double the frustration (as when marking them but they won't hit )

I'm pretty pumped too. I've been rigging equipment all winter.....I'm still not certain what they are going to do about the north end weigh station this year as they knocked down the Chamber Of Commerce Building. I hope they have something at the north end as it sure helps on gas not having to run all the way to Sampson full tilt just to weigh something (if I fish to the north). Last year mine was flopping on the scale though I was at Seneca today looking around at the Long Pier....the water was crystal clear to the bottom for as far as the eye could see. A good rain a couple days before the derby could certainly help out in stirring things up a little ....I've come up with a few bizarre new weapons this year...must have been the long winter

That's what I did I just left the old transducer/impeller on and left the electrical and transducer wiring intact but disconnected. If my Lowrance should conk out I could just hook the wires up to my Impulse and at the battery end and I'm back in business.I do have a separate panel installed on my transom for my transducers so I can move them around if necessary too and only have the 2 screw holes on the transom to deal with if I ever take it off.

Hey its my birthday as well.....instead of fishing I will be at brunch with my mother , wife and daughter but then again...there is always Monday

Yes your English teacher was probably horrified by it!

Lowrance H2O It won't set you back a whole bunch and it is versatile. The speed function is within a tenth of a mph of my depth finder and I use it to verify the speed and it also is handy when I go hiking or travel in someone else's boat who without a GPS. Takes a secure digital card for extra memory

A good general strategy is to use a small bobber (I use a weighted one lead ring at the base of it) about 2ft. or so up from a 4 to 6 lb test fluorocarbon leader (2 ft long) attached to the main line (6 lb test mono ) by a very small barrel swivel. At the end I use a "Fast snap" or "Quick Clip" and a trout magnet jig with a small live fathead minnow or a gulp bait (smallest immitation minnow they make). Some of the best crappie fishing can occur at NIGHT in relatively shallow water (sometimes 6 ft or less). Generally with the live bait you let the minnow swim around and just watch your bobber but with the Gulp Bait approach you cast the bobber out and retrieve it slowly jigging it as you go and stopping briefly imtermittently. They usually either hammer it while jigging it or will nibble and then pull your bobber under. Sometimes all you see is your bobber moving away without going under. You have to experiment with the height of your bobber and adjust it accordingly sometimes they like it just a couple feet below the surface and other times they prefer it to be just above bottom. I use ultralight rods and reels for them.....You don't want heavy tackle. Hope that helps....Good luck!

Thats why I switched to outriggers back in the 80's :

Sure hope not but then again whats another foreign invader when things are already screwed up?

Hey Kev I think the DMV needs your money

Thanks for the laughs fellas

If not marking them AT ALL try turning up the gain/sensitivity way up and see what happens if too much turn back a bit until you get something .

One of the things to consider is whether you have a spring loaded victrola or the motorized version. I think the lighter the wire you can get away with onthe spring loaded one the better I've always used the 20 guage for the victrola and 22 for my A &S automatic reel (spring not as strong as victrola). 20 on motorized. AC is on target too ....it's mainly a preference thing and what you get used to. No matter what you use remember to wear finger protection because if you hang up on bottom unexpectedly or get a big one on you could lose a finger without it. ( Cut off first finger and thumb from pr. of leather work gloves) As far as stories go.....I once lost my favorite ultralight perch rod and reel in 59 ft. of water on Seneca (my knee popped it out of a rod holder) a couple months later I was jerking copper and making a pass by there and pulled up my rod and reel....after drying it out ...good as new What do you think the chances of that happening are in terms of probabilities?