Sk8man

Browns are highly nocturnal (feeding). For years we took advantage of this at the south end of Canandaigua and Keuka  night fishing with sawbellies so the chances are greater of encountering them at transitional times (dawn and at dark) are better.

I've been using the 8 rod one with pedestal mount(without the back facing rod holder) and I love it. I have 47H's and 47 LC's in combination and I even use it for my thermocline rods with Penn 309's on them. I believe that unless you are using the Saltists  with the side mounted line counter you can position them on in such a way to get them all in there (actually you can see it in the background of my pic here).

On Seneca the browns are very "skiddish" and especially since the clarity of the water has taken such a drastic turn since the zebras and quaggas. Instead of trolling the shoreline in fairly consistent depths for long intervals (e.g. the 10-20ft and closer that you mentioned about Lake O) it helps to concentrate your efforts on areas where the shallows MEET the drop offs and at the mouths of streams where this happens.. Browns feed voraciously on sawbellies especially when they (sawbellies) come into the shallows in the Spring and they come in after them and often can be found "lurking" nearby sometimes suspended but often bottom oriented and are often "mistaken' for lakers on the depth finder in or near the drop offs. In the mornings when light levels are low they can be found in real shallow water around docks and other structure (probably having been in there during the night feeding) especially during moonlight conditions that previous night. The planer boards can be valuable hugging the shore or top lines run way back with a single splitshot about two ft from the lure (eg. with jointed floatiing rapalas in J- 7 or 9) then as the light increases they are almost useless in shallow. This is when the drop off areas need to be exploited with other methods such as downriggers., wire rigs or leadcore run way back from the boat. with a lighter leader (10 or 12 lb test remember...there aren't any Chinooks there :>). Run out from the shoreline going deeper and toward the bottom on angles. Always concentrate your efforts around any bait you can find in these areas. This is all during the Spring time and you'll also hit lakers and an occasional big pike. This same general strategy has also worked on Owasco and Cayuga over the years.

Yes Tuna will fix ya up....great service and fast shipping...

Canandaigua also has some decent perch if you know where to find them

I didn't think there were any left on Cayuga, Seneca or Canandaigua....

I figured maybe I'd save on light bulbs by eating some but but the dim glow of the low voltage in my brain is all I've seen

My hunch is that the governments new approach to the gun control issue is to PERMANENTLY dry up the ammunition availability and the current "shortage" of ammunition that has been allegedly CREATED by our government is the tip if the iceberg and has little to do with supplying the military or Homeland Security the fact is that they wish to make sure that they are the only ones with sufficient ammo when the crap hits the fan. The ammo manufacturers won't be hurt because they will be basically "subsidized" by the government to continue making ammo for just them....and our tax dollars will be supporting this approach. It certainly seems interesting that the timing of this supposed "shortage" is at a time that troops are being pulled out of most combat areas and replenishment of spent ammo is not at the heart of it either because they do that to a large degree as they go along in time. Another thought is that they may be preparing for something with North Korea and that should be as scarey as the former issue because it brings China into the picture just as it did last time (Korean War.....which is officially still on-going).

Good going.....isn't it something when you forget critical stuff...happens all the time...this year I drove 25 miles all psyched up to ice fish and realized that I had left my Vexilar at home and another time I left my boots and just had my sneakers on when I arrived at the spot....didn't stay out too long that day....   

Nice perch...Seneca doesn't give them up easily either

I think Longline mentioned the key to it...check your lines frequently regardless of the line diameter. I use it as an opportunity to change lures as well. Usually the fleas are in patches and you go through them intermittently so by checking frequently you avoid the MAJOR buildups on the lines. Actually the fleas have become an incentive to me to be more active and less prone to sitting around and by changing stuff frequently I believe that I've increased the number of strikes going down or coming up (esp. with the downriggers).

Just ran across this tonight  http://www.democratandchronicle.com/videonetwork/2240923908001?odyssey=mod|tvideo2|article

Also of interest is the type of hose clamps acceptable mentioned further in the article....

Heres one:

Thanks Dave....sounds as though you have it down to an art form

Hermit - as long as you freeze them right away and keep the flesh away from air there is no leeching out of the oils etc. and I've been doing it since the early 70's. One of the things that triggered the idea way back then was an article in the newspaper where a Wooley Mammoth was discovered encased in ice and when the scientists thawed it out the meat was still edible after hundreds of thousands or millions of years,,,,they actually scarfed up on some to test it.

If I didn't have a daughter in college I'd grab it for a Seneca Lake winter machine....

What exactly is involved in the canning method Dave?

My son and I differ on our methods and I thought it might be something worthy of discussion on here. I fillet all my fish (no skin) "old school method" with a standard salt water type fillet knife (a couple sizes) and then I divide the fillets up into usable amounts and put them in zip lock bags and fill them with water completely immersing the fish so that no visible air pockets are there (to prevent freezer burn) and immediately freeze them. I have eaten the fillets up to three years later after doing so and they are excellent.

My son uses an electric knife to fillet his fish and then uses a vacuum packaging machine to preserve his for the freezer. He has a bunch of kids so his never last long so I don't know the differences there

The downside to my method is that the bags take up a lot of room in the freezer compartment. Anyone know the "shelf life" of the vacuum method?

What do you folks do?

Rather than screwing around with all sorts of "half solutions" I'd spring for the kicker if you can do it. Not only the easiest and most efficient solution but you will save your big motors life, run much more cheaply, and have much better control over your speed which is your initial consideration. A good kicker pays for itself over the long haul and provides you with some "insurance" in case your main motor develops unexpected problems while you're out there. A different prop might be an "additional" consideration in terms of being able to troll into the wind if your kicker can't quite do it when the waves are big.

Welcome... and best of luck to you fishing Lake Ontario....you've picked a great time to start out on Lake O....

If those pics don't get ya thinking about being out on the pond ...nothing will! Good going.

They are for real and they are a real pain when they occur. If you'd like to know more check this out: http://www.sciencenews.org/pages/sn_arc99/11_13_99/fob1.htm

or here: http://newyorkinvasivespecies.info/animals/FishhookWaterflea.aspx

or here: http://www.great-lakes.net/envt/flora-fauna/invasive/spinyflea.html

I use a long shaft padlock through the eye holes in the clamps (holesaligned first) but.....I remember a long time ago at the Seneca Lake State Park they had boats docked there for the season and someone used a saw of some kind to take a trolling motor (maybe doing so from a boat?)  by cutting a section out of the transom and taking the motor     so I guess maybe the locking device no matter how strong isn't always the total answer anyway but prevents the rapid "casual" type of stealing> For me it is mainly a preventative of the clamps unraveling while speeding down the lake and the motor being deep sixed.

If by inner hull you mean the deck I would think that might not be a great idea unless you like wearing your life jacket all the time and testing it out occasionally.