Sk8man

Fished Honeoye today (all day) from Trident marine. Be advised it is no longer possible to walk out there from Trident as of tonight . The ice near shore has been severely compromised (all broken up) by the bubbler near there and although there is about 5 inches out away from shore there is now no way to get to it from that location....today was it for the ice fishing for this season for me. Oh....and did I mention that I no longer have a cell phone? and.....that my Ice Armor suit saved my butt when I went in? Yup thats the kind of condition of the ice near the marina....

Fished Honeoye today (all day) from Trident marine. Be advised it is no longer possible to walk out there from Trident as of tonight . The ice near shore has been severely compromised (all broken up) by the bubbler near there and although there is about 5 inches out away from shore there is now no way to get to it from that location....today was it for the ice fishing for this season for me.

I have a 2 stroke 135 Merc Salt Water Optimax. I have stored it inside every year but this one because the place I stored it has been sold. A couple years ago I decided to put it away without winterizing it in the barn all covered up with custom canvas and a heavy duty mooring cover on it (including a motor cover). The next Spring when I went to use the boat for the first time it ran rough and seemed sluggish etc. I took it to the marina and had it checked and they found that the lower unit seal was shot and surmised that it was that water had gotten in from ice deposits during the winter. It cost me $600. This year I had it winterized and then the entire boat AND MOTOR including the prop hub shrink wrapped in very heavy duty plastic. I should also mention that the year I didn't have the winterization done I have a live well and I had to also replace the pump as well because of left over water in it during storage. I learned.... Incidentally, they don't need to "fog" your motor anymore they run a little heavier mixture with marine stabilizer directly into the engine by-passing your lines and tank etc. I also run a lot of marine triple strength stabilizer all year long in my tank (hoping to prevent moisture buildup...although I realize the jury is still out on whether it helps) I think the key to it might be making sure that the water is run out of the lower unit completely when the boat is put away. Unless the lower unit fluid is changed when the boat is stored then water in there might not be detected (you may already have a bad seal) and even covering the prop hub etc. may not be the answer come Spring and running the motor may cause MAJOR damage. Keeping the lower unit in the full downward position seems always a good idea as far as drainage. I know a lot of folks (including one of my fishing partners) don't believe in "winterizing" but based on the above I'm a firm believer

You "Southenders" would probably get all snagged up on bottom up here after all those years in the depths at the south end Its always a toss up where to start out from year to year isn't it? My boat is so used to the northern half of the lake that I don't even need an autopilot....it already knows its way...

I fished Honeoye yesterday and today and there was 7 1/4 inches in most places....and yes I did actually measure it The near shore areas are questionable in some spots and care needs to be taken there. Yesterday 30 large sunnys and gills, a keeper largemouth, and a small pickerel all jigging. Today, a half dozen good sized gills and sunfish and nothing else. A lot of "lookers" both days (especially today though) but they wouldn't hit despite many changes of jigs, bait, line diameters rods/reels...you name it. It may have related to barometric pressure or something of that nature....

Good going....nothing better to eat than them as far as I'm concerned ...except maybe Grouper from the ocean

You guys are sick buckaroos.......I jumped up from my chair and tried to hog the rod.....

Nice fish Zack ! Always fun getting them through the ice....Were you on C or H? hard to tell from the photo....using shiners or emeralds?

Got our registration tickets back today #41 and #42 I once had my lucky number 12 but it didn't so any good that year So much for superstition.... Hey Poke I hope you bring some of that nice Alabama weather when you come up here

I second that! :>)

Hey Bob where did the foam rubber salmon come from....Cabelas? :>)

:>) :>) Kev

:>) Your pic on here is a good one......a shadow of your former self :>)

It is a tradition with me too. I've fished since shortly after I came back from overseas in 1967 (military). I start looking forward to the next one about a couple weeks after I fish it :>) We've placed several times over the years (including last year) and have led it a few times but never scored the winning position. The funny thing is that a couple times over the years I've caught bigger lakers than the ones that won it BEFORE the derby or AFTER it.....timing is everything in life :>) My son (35) has been in it with me since about five or six and thats truly the best part of it....fishing it together as a team and busting each other too :>) Out fishing Adm Byrd comes in a close second as well :>) Les

We welcome you as a fellow fisherman and wish our north shore brothers good luck in the days ahead on the big O. The anticipaton of Spring is killing me already :>)

I third that! I've been getting my stuff together already during down time between ice fishing sessions :>)

MarkNY - If they are the same size as the new 47 Daiwa LIne Counters (i.e.the spool setup) they should hold 1000 ft of 30 pound wire plus a moderate amount of braid or mono for backing. Check the line capacities of both and compare. I put it on my new Daiwas without any problem.

The problem with ANY money they collect is that ALL the money is impounded by Cuomo and not released to the area DEC folks.