Sk8man

Maybe we should trade in for sailboats..... with heaters

Steelydan - Check your PM

Geez.....where are the rest of the reports? We recognized some of the boats that were out there as guys from the forum.....but why no reports? I hope folks aren't returning to the old "secretive" ways Thanks for yours Ifishy...

It would seem to me that one of the factors to consider is how long the boom lengths are. If you have the long extendable booms (e.g. Cannons) you can easily run 4 by running two off the back at 45 degrees (or possibly straight back off the ends and two on the gunnels off to the sides extended. For much of the year though two downriggers, coppers, lead cores or wire rigs might be more productive though and not as risky tangling on turns (especially with Spin Doctors etc.) .

Cool! Thanks for the info Laketrout6

Just out of curiosity. Is the parking right there and for how many? and....what does he charge to launch? Thanks.

Thanks to the generosity of Admiral Bird and his 19 ft Penn Yan we got out today (all day) after the landlocks. Initially we trailered to Severne but once there determined that because it was so windy and with all the whitecaps etc. it might be prudent to launch out of Watkins so we went there instead. There were about 15 or 20 boats there many perch fishing but we set our lines just out of the channel and trolled past the salt plant on the west side without anything happening, We ran (2) 5 leader seth green rigs, two leadcores and a wire rig with dipsey and spindoctor and downrigger with slider. Ran mostly variety of spoons (Suttons etc.) In short, not much happening in the AM after trolling both sides. The afternoon was quite different....we went 10 fish for 12 hits with 9 landlocks (mostly small ones) and a decent laker. Most came off the seth green rigs but one also on the dipsey /leadcore combo. Nothing on the wire rig/spin doctors or dodger combinations but had 2 brief hits. No hits on downrigger. Most fish came out west from the mouth of the channel in 90-145 ft water and at many different depths within that range. Marked bait on west side but down very deep (280 ft plus) No real super specimens caught but a lot of fun. We quit at dark and had a bit of a time with large ice floes that blocked the launch ramp because there was a very strong current running and they were moving outward. I kept one landlock for the grill (pictured). All in all it was a fun day and certainly an improvement on sitting at home wondering what was happening out there. Oh....two doubles and one triple

I think if it were me I'd be replacing the stuff on the platform with STARBOARD and use the present teak pieces as a template. The starboard is pretty easy to cut to shape and there is virtually no maintenance to it. Why screw around with the teak when you know the platform will be subjected to constant water and drying? I had all teak seats etc on my old Whaler and ended up using marine grade urethane on them and it held up for about 15 years or more before it started to flake. The newer stuff has UV protection stuff added to it so it may hold up even better.

I have a Clam Fish Trap Pro and My son has a Frabill >They both have strnegths and weaknesses just like most other things in life. The best thing to do is try them out in person at Gander Or Bass pro etc. The one thing I absolutely HATE about my Clam though is the the metal bottons you have to press on the supports to bring it up or down..they suck when your hands are cold...almost impossible to operate sometimes.

I guess I'm kinda attached to the one I have (18 ft. Whaler) because it's all paid for and does everything I need....well.....almost everything and my wife isn't even jealous of it ....

It's kinda amazing how quickly "accidents" can happen

Big "balls" of red (manure) worms on a hook laying on bottom will also work real well.

I used to fish for big cats when I was younger and caught some beauties on corn meal balls inn the Clyde River/Barge Canal. Basically, you cook up corn meal with a little water added (best done in pressure cooker) until it is 'sticky" and make a big ball and then make smaller ones from it about the diameter of a quarter. You keep the balls in a baggy and can store them in the fridge. When you put them on the hook (at room temp) you form them on the hook so that the point of the hook is barely submerged so they can't feel it (until you yank them :>). We fished them almost exclusively at night (lanterns) as they are primarily (like bullheads) NOCTURNAL BOTTOM FEEDERS. You can set up the hooks either as in still fishing for trout (slip sinker but single hook) or with the hook (s) tied to the main line from a 2 or 3 inch loop so that the cornmeal "dangles " about 8 or 10 inches up from the sinker. The biggest I ever caught was a blue cat that was 9 inches between the eyes but we didn't have a scale at the time...stink bait also works pretty good as does pieces of shrimp allowed to "spoil" until they smell awful (wear rubber gloves) :>) Good luck.

:>) My strategy may have worked.....I was hoping I'd appeal to some sympathetic soul who would take pity on me....and Admiral Byrd is coming to the rescue....it looks as though we are heading to Severne in the AM to try to put some landlocks in his boat Somehow I knew our 30 year friendship would come through in a pinch P.S. I feel for ya Pete....

Here is what the Chamber of Commerce launch ramp looked like today: Here is the State Park launch ramp: here is my current problem :>)